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Reports of the club's presidents and treasurers, committee reports, constitution and by-laws, membership records, and bulletins, 1930-1965.

Both the internal workings and activities of the group are well documented in this record group. The records, 1930-1965, include a constitution and by-laws, minutes, 1933-1952, reports of the club's presidents and treasurers committee reports, flower show material, bulletins, and clippings. Illustrative of some women's activities during the 1930's, 40's and 50's, the record group also provides insights into local Ann Arbor history. The records, left in their original order for the most part, reflect the organization and activities of the club.

Correspondence, meeting minutes, lists of members and scrapbooks.

The record group has been organized into a single alphabetical series primarily by type of material. The meeting minutes are quite extensive, covering the years 1899 to 1989 and include budget information beginning in 1946. The files of applications, new members, Certificate of Distributive Interest (CDI) correspondence and resignations date mainly from the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s. The audit reports cover the years 1959-1972. The calendars cover the events and functions held each year by the AAGO from 1964 to 1986. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and photographs about the AAGO. The clippings appear to be mainly from the Ann Arbor News. The history written by Orrin Mohler dates from July 1980 and covers the years 1890 to 1903. This is a good source of information about the early history of the AAGO as well as golfing in general in Ann Arbor. The correspondence series deals mainly with club business and contacts with other area golf clubs.

Ann Arbor neighborhood association. Correspondence, constitution, bylaws, minutes, financial records, and other working papers.

The records of the Ann Arbor Hills Association (AAHA) document the association's interests, concerns and general business. These records have survived and been sent to the Bentley Historical Library by Mrs. Elizabeth (Betty) Brown, one of the association's long-standing members and secretary for several decades. Perusal of the records will reveal the intricate intertwining of the association's life with that of Mrs. Brown.

The records have been divided into three series. Each series has been organized alphabetically, for the most part. Within sub-series the records may reflect subject organization rather than alphabetical or chronological organization. The 1996 accession has not been described in detail.

Minute books of the Fire Department and of related voluntary fire companies; also other administrative records, including records of expenditures and salaries, and records detailing individual fires; and record books, 1876-1899, of city poor relief (then administered by the Fire Department); also photograph.

The record group includes an early minute book of the fire department as well as minute books of various volunteer fire companies in the city. There are, in addition, scattered administrative records, including records of fires in the city, 1899-1962, and records of the poor relief administered by the department. These poor relief volumes include the name of the recipient, the amount, and the items purchased. Also included are the names of the individuals who funded the relief fund.

Photographs collected from various donors relating to Ann Arbor, Michigan; include photos of buildings (public and private), houses, churches, and schools; also views of the city (by street and area); and miscellaneous photos of local events and activities, school class portraits, and other group portraits.

This collection of Ann Arbor photographs includes a wide variety of images of Ann Arbor buildings, street scenes, schools and classrooms, public events, and people. The images, dating from the 1860s to the 1970s, has been arranged into three series: Buildings, Houses, etc.; Views; and Activities, People, Events. Each folder may contain one or more images.

The researcher should be advised that this collection represents only a small portion of the library's Ann Arbor photos. The most complete access to the total holdings of the library is through the card catalog.

The records of the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan include council proceedings (1834-1919); assessment rolls (1830, 1839, and 1958-1959); scrapbooks relating to city government (1904-1951); and records and photographs detailing the city's waste management and recycling program beginning in the 1980s. Miscellaneous materials include plats of the wards, 1912; election returns, 1847-1852; records of the former city of East Ann Arbor and the Village of Ann Arbor (Lower Town); and minutes of the Ann Arbor Park Commission (1905-1956). Also of interest are files concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad and the city's street railway and interurban system.

The series in this record group include: Election returns; Bonds; Assessment Rolls; Miscellaneous; City of East Ann Arbor; Council proceedings; Scrapbooks; Ann Arbor Park Commission; Village of Ann Arbor (Lower Town); Photographs; Recycling and Environmental Issues; and Other City Records.

Records of railroad companies, mainly Michigan lines, absorbed with the merger of the New York Central Railroad Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company into the Penn Central Transportation Company.

The nature of the records of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad reflects the recent history of the two companies. When the Penn Central Transportation Company was formed in 1968, the offices of New York Central--the junior merger partner--were dismantled and only a small percentage of records retained. Therefore, the extant New York Central records consist almost entirely of minutes and account books of a routine nature. By contrast, records of the Pennsylvania Railroad were relatively undisturbed by the merger and are today richer and more varied than those of the New York Central. The Penn Central records are most useful for their documentation of the growth of the railroad industry. They depict an industry in constant flux due to the opportunities for success offered by a burgeoning industry and the intense competition among railroads that resulted. A single volume of records often contains minutes of two or more railroads, reflecting either the failure of the original company or its takeover by or merger with another company.

Besides documenting the history of individual railroads and of the railroad industry as a whole, the Penn Central records are a good source on the economic and commercial development of Michigan and neighboring states, and provide insight into the rise and decline of various towns along the railroad. Minutes of New York Central subsidiaries, for example, contain discussions of negotiations with town officials over the proposed construction of tracks, bridges, depots, and the like. Similarly, the locality files in the Superintendent--Toledo Division series of the Pennsylvania Railroad records consist of correspondence and memoranda regarding improvements to, or the abandonment of, stations in small towns in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. This series also contains substantial correspondence files on Toledo, Detroit, and Grand Rapids.

Labor and social historians will find the Penn Central records useful in illuminating the lives of workers and in documenting relations between management and workers. More than 40 feet of labor relations files of the Ann Arbor Railroad include agreements between the company and unions, grievances, petitions concerning work rules and pay, wage and hour schedules, and circular letters. There are small series of labor relations files of other companies scattered throughout the collection. Researchers will also find information on the workplace and working conditions in the locality files of the Superintendent--Toledo Division series of the Pennsylvania Railroad; these files contain, for example, memoranda concerning clubrooms and sleeping quarters for workers in city depots.

There is very little technical material in the Penn Central records; photographs are likewise scarce. The most notable exceptions are in the car ferry files, found in three subseries of the Pennsylvania Railroad records: General Manager--Western Region, Vice-President and General Counsel, and Subsidiaries: Mackinac Transportation Company. The car ferry files include maps, plans, specifications, blueprints, and some photographs.

A large portion of the collection consists of records of small railroads that ran through Michigan or were based in Michigan. Records of these companies are brief, often including nothing more than articles of incorporation, a few pages or a volume or two of minutes, and perhaps some annual reports and financial records. Although many of these railroads were subsidiaries of either the Michigan Central Railroad, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, or the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, they have been filed under the parent company of which the sub-system was a part (New York Central, Pennsylvania, or Ann Arbor Railroad) to promote ease of access. Thus, for example, records of the Canada Southern Bridge Company, a subsidiary of Michigan Central Railroad, are filed under New York Central Railroad, the parent company of Michigan Central. Researchers uncertain of the parentage of a particular railroad should look in the subsidiaries section of the contents list under Ann Arbor, New York Central, and Pennsylvania Railroads. The railroads in each of these subsidiaries sections are arranged in alphabetical order.

Brief histories of individual railroads can be found in the "Green Books"--the annual reports of the New York Central Railroad Company and its subsidiaries. There are several published histories of the Pennsylvania Railroad in boxes 183 and boxes 155-157 and on microfilm in box 60.

A card file giving the date of incorporation, name changes, and parentage of subsidiaries of the Michigan Central Railroad, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, and the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad has been photocopied and can be found in box 1 of the collection. This folder also contains a list of records in the Public Archives of Canada of Grand Trunk and Great Western Railway system properties in the United States. Finally, there is a section of Aids, Gifts, Grants and Donations to Railroads Including Outline of Development and Successions in Titles to Railroads in Michigan by the Michigan Railroads Commission (1919).

Information in this finding aid concerning the histories of the various railroads was drawn from the collection itself, from sources compiled by the project archivists, and from the following published sources: William Frederick Dunbar All Aboard! A History of Railroads in Michigan (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969) and Henry E. Riggs, The Ann Arbor Railroad Fifty Years Ago (Ann Arbor Railroad Company, 1947?)

Ann Arbor chapter of national service organization; administrative files, topical files, and publications.

The collection consists of four series: Administration, Music, Projects, and Publications and documents the club's institutional and community activities.

This record group contains the records of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the Women's Association for the Ann Arbor Symphony, and partial records for the Michigan Civic Orchestra Association. The record group includes administrative and functional records, photographs, and audio/visual concert recordings.

The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (AASO) records document the founding and development of the orchestra and the Women's Association for the Ann Arbor Symphony. There are also some records of the Michigan Civic Orchestra Association. The records include administrative and functional records, photographs, and audio/visual concert recordings. The records are arranged into 11 series, History, Board of Directors, Symphony Business, Youth Activities, Fundraising, Publicity, Women's Association of the Ann Arbor Symphony (WA3S) Records, Michigan Civic Orchestra Association, Visual Materials, Scrapbooks, and Audio Materials.

Philanthropic organization established to aid the needy through the resale of merchandise. Minutes of board and general meetings, financial records, constitution and by-laws, history, and photographs.

The Thrift Shop Association of Ann Arbor record group has been arranged into six series: Historical/Background Materials, Minutes of Board and General Meeting Minutes, Committee Records, Topical Files, Photographs, and Chronological Files.