Athletic Association Records
name: label: Collection Creator
content: United Shoe Machinery Corporation
setName: label: See more items in
content: United Shoe Machinery Corporation Records
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1929 - 1962
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0277, Series 10
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: These files belonged to Wilson Palmer and were generated during his tenure as the Association's President.  The materials consist of correspondence, financial statements, invitations, programs and some photographs for the company's Athletic Association, established to promote the enjoyment of sports and other leisure activities.  At the Club House, there were a library, theatre, locker rooms, lounges, and bowling alleys.  Sports sponsored by the company included baseball, bowling, a gun club, tennis, football, cricket, boating, and soccer. Each year United Shoe hosted an field day with athletic competitions and prizes awarded.     

The correspondence is mainly concerned with activities held at the employees' club house, such as dinners and golf tournaments.  It also covers the operation and organization of the Association and the maintenance and improvement of its facilities, especially the care of the golf course and its landscaping.  There is also one file dealing with outings of other organizations that used the Athletic Association's grounds.          

The Financial Statements primarily consist of statistical information on the Association's assets and liabilities, income and expenditures, and cash flow.  Each type of statement compares the financial situation with the same period of the previous year.  The quarterly statements provide data on the main association and on its many subdivisions--boat, cricket, gardeners, golf, gun, hockey, tennis, bowling, pool, and chess.

Additional items of interest include bowling league schedules, programs for various activities such as the Entertainment and Dance of the U.S.M.A.A. Gold Division (1948) and Foreman's Banquet (1948); sketches of tennis court construction (1953); a golf division schedule and dues and green fees (1960); and  menus for the country club (1960-1961).