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Family papers collected and collated by River Falls businessman and historian Bruce Earl Foster (1932-2007), great-grandson of early River Falls resident Judge Joel Foster.
Foster was born September 6, 1932 in River Falls, Wisconsin, to Letha (nee Chinnock) and Earl Hunter Foster. The last of three children, Bruce graduated from River Falls High School in 1954 and obtained a bachelors degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1958.
Foster worked as a professional Scout Leader for the Boy Scouts, sold life insurance for Metropolitan Life, drove a school bus, and operated an animal shelter for Pierce and St. Croix counties, which he later expanded to include grooming services. In his personal life, Foster was an avid fisherman, and involved in numerous social organizations in Pierce County throughout his life. He married Joy Rasmussen in 1961 and they had two children, Judie (1962-) and Andrew "Andy" (1968-).

Genealogical chart, 1772-1961, of the Bright family, compiled in 1962 by Sumner Spurgeon Bright, Jr., of Hudson, Wis.
The family ultimately settled in St. Croix County, Wisconsin.

Letter, 1947 December 20, presumably by Dr. Boyd Williams, superintendent of the Williams Sanatorium of Hudson, Wisconsin. The letter writer, who signs himself simply "Dr. Boyd," conveys his Christmas greetings to a friend. The letterhead shows a picture of the Sanatorium grounds.

This collection includes: Merit badge book series on Citizenship, Communications, Space, merit badge patches and workbooks, meeting minutes, phone lists, correspondence and recruitment letters, fundraising, and The Mound property memo.

Genealogical charts, written descriptions, and maps documenting the Boumeester, Yost, and Knipel families, 1832-1976; compiled by Alice Chapman in 1978.

Journal of the Boardman Co-Operative Cheese Co. recording cheese sales, 1921-1930; milk purchases, 1928-1930; and labor, equipment, and other expenses, 1921-1925.

Proceedings of the County Board of Supervisors, published annually in pamphlet form under the provisions of Wisconsin Laws of 1901, Ch. 298, Sec. 3; including the County Clerk's minutes of each meeting of the County Board, and documents considered by the Board at each meeting. Documents include: petitions, memorials, communications, and claims addressed to the Board; reports of county officers and of Board committees; resolutions and ordinances; and other papers relating to operations, services, finances, planning, and policy of county government.
Included are proceedings for these years: 1875, 1876, 1878-1880, 1883, 1885-1950, and 1952-1985. Additional volumes may have been added since this cataloging.

Original papers from County Board of Supervisors' proceedings, 1969-2016, including agendas, minutes, notes, correspondence, committee reports, resolutions, proclamations, and ballots from committee and officer elections.

Official manuscript and typescript volumes of the proceedings of the County Board of Supervisors, including clerk's minutes of meetings, and complete or partial copies of documents considered at meetings.

Records of the Bi-County Ministerial Association of St. Croix and Pierce Counties, Wisconsin, including correspondence, constitution and minutes, and announcements of meetings.

Photocopy of sacramental records of Bethlehem Lutheran Church located in the hamlet of Esdaile, Town of Hartland, Pierce County, Wisconsin; in Norwegian and English.

Photocopied records of the association including treasurer's records, 1938-1980; scattered minutes of association meetings, 1965-1980; and listings of payments to the cemetery association's perpetual fund.

A program and an historical sketch from the 75th anniversary celebration of the Bethel Lutheran Church.

Letter, 1929 April 7, from Bunker to William Barter of the National Bank of Hudson, Wis., describing tornado damage throughout St. Croix County. Bunker also prepared a map showing the path of the April 5, 1929 tornado including the names of the owners of damaged properties.

[1] School District Record (1927-1948) containing minutes of school board meetings, records of receipts and disbursements, reports of district board auditing committee, orders drawn on treasurer, notices of budget hearings, and teachers' contracts; [2] Teachers' Reports to Superintendent (1937-1938, 1948-1949) including a copy of a program showing recitation and study periods, six weeks or monthly reports, term averages, and textbook record; and [3] School Registers (1925-1957) containing attendance record, and monthly and term summaries showing pupil's classification number, sex, age, name, and record of standing and report of work accomplished, daily programs, visitors' record, and state reading circle record.

Minutes of the church's Winners Bible Class, 1910-1913, and minutes of a women's group, the GCBS Society, 1912-1913.

Minutes of the youth organization.

Letter, February 3, 1970, from Beatrice Raygor containing her recollections of teaching in 1957-1958 at the one-room Iverson School, Towns of El Paso and Ellsworth Joint School District #6, Pierce County, Wisconsin.

Booklets containing bylaws, ordinances, and regulations for the village.

Business records of an early St. Croix Valley land speculation office which evolved into a general real estate agency, and personal papers of agency owner Harry D. Baker. Originally known as the Cushing Land Agency, the company was established in 1854 to manage the land and water power investments of Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts lawyer. Included are detailed financial records, letterbooks and a few client case files, records relating to land acquisition and sale, occasional administrative and advertising papers, and some maps which document the transition from an agency chiefly involved with timber cutover land sales for agricultural purposes to one selling developed farms and vacation lake homes.
Harry D. Baker in 1893 joined his father, agency owner Joseph Stannard Baker, in the firm's management where he worked until 1966. Harry Baker's papers document his civic involvements in St. Croix Falls and regional communities and relate to the First Presbyterian Church, Red Cross and county assistance following a 1922 tornado, Polk County Council of Defense during World War I, and establishment of Interstate Park at the St. Croix River Dalles, Wisconsin's first state park. Reminiscences about the land agency, his childhood, father J.S., First Presbyterian Church, and Interstate Park are in a tape-recorded interview with Baker and a series of letters which Baker wrote to his long-deceased brother Clarence. An unpublished booklet containing recorded dialect renditions of stories told by Swedish immigrant Olag Strandberg is also part of the collection.

Secretary's record books of the Authors Club, a literary discussion and social group; including a constitution, minutes and dues records, plus printed programs.

Copies of Civil War letters, 1862-1864, from Sergeant Mower, 7th Battery Wisconsin Light Artillery, to his parents in Wauwatosa; and one 1868 letter from an unidentified writer visiting friends in Michigan.

Audit reports for the city containing summary financial statements for city accounts. Included also are audits of the city water and sewage treatment departments.

Records of property ownership, type of land, building data, and tax assessments for real estate.

Copies of letters, 1883-1886, to Stanchfield from his fiancee, Maud who taught school in Richardson and Clear Lake, Wisconsin; and other family letters, 1896-1926, n.d., including several from Maud's cousin Annie (Mrs. George) Van Alstine of Hastings, Minnesota.

Papers of a dairy and animal husbandry professor at Wisconsin State College, River Falls, consisting of personal papers, course notes and lectures, papers from his local civic activities, family papers, and photographs including some of agricultural scenes.

Transcript of a 1952 radio speech to the people of Pierce County, Wisconsin, by State Assemblyman Arthur L. Peterson in which he attacks the methods of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.

Two letters written by Chapman to his mother and sister Ella in River Falls, Wis., while he was working as a riveter at the Hog Island Shipyard near Philadelphia, describing his living conditions and work at the shipyard.

History of the Madson Lumber and Flooring Company of Spring Valley, Wisconsin, 1898-1978, by Arnold Madson. Genealogical information regarding the Madson Family, 1843-1962, compiled by Stella Madson Carpenter, is also included, as are copies of Madson Lumber Company brochures, information regarding the Spring Valley earthen dam, and a list of articles that have appeared in "The Spring Valley Sun" regarding Madson Lumber.

Papers of a Minnesota farm family that also had connections in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Included are correspondence from family members who served in the military during World Wars I and II, two brief diaries of Laura Sheldon Arnet from the l940's describing her life when she managed the farm alone, photographs, and financial records of the farm ranging from the late l920's to l970.
The military correspondence concerns daily life rather than combat and chiefly focuses on training, life in the trenches, and the post-war occupation of Japan. The financial records provide information on record-keeping practices on a family farm and some summary data on its overall economic condition.

Papers of Antoinette (Mrs. James Monroe) Bailey including reminiscences of her family's move in 1842 from Saratoga County, New York via northern Illinois to Rock County, Wisconsin; an account of the founding of early churches in Prescott, Wis.; histories of Clifton Hollow, Pierce County, Wis., written by Mary Bascom Wheelock and her brother, Frank Bascom; a talk delivered by Mrs. Bailey at a family reunion, ca. 1895-1900; and a eulogy of Mrs. Bailey. Brief genealogical information is present on the following family names: Bailey, Case, Cornish, Crippen, Ellsworth, Fuller, Hazeltine, Karner, Kelsey, Loomis, Meloon, Palmer, Scott, Shatswell, Stark, Treat, Tullar, Webster, White, and Wolcott.

Miscellaneous items concerning Morrow's family and youth in Clifton Hollow, Pierce County, Wisconsin; including souvenir pupil lists, 1900-1905, from Clifton Hollow School; a 1959 letter from Dean S. Smith discussing his ancestors in Clifton Hollow; and a 1941 clipping about Mrs. Morrow's father, Nicholas Kohl.

Reminiscences by Mrs. Anderson in which she discusses her childhood in Pierce County, Wisconsin, at the turn of the century.

Five diaries of Anna (Caruthers) Corcoran (Mrs. W.P. Corcoran) who lived near River Falls, Wisconsin, documenting rural life and agriculture in the years 1918, 1922, 1923-1925, 1926-1928, and 1934-1939. The diaries provide insight into family relations especially her relationship with her husband's parents and brothers. Subjects documented include her day to day activities and the activities of others in her household, including trips to town, daily chores, and various social activities.

[1] Teacher's Register (1953-1957) with names of teachers and pupils, attendance record, remarks concerning the promotion and progress of students, and a register of visitors; [2] Financial Records indicating the balance in the district's bank account (1942-1960), and a Cash Disbursement and Receipts Ledger (1954-1960) which shows the names, amounts, and dates of financial transactions; and [3] Annual Report (1960) which has information on enrollment, school district expenses, and financing.

An account, written in 1980, of Johnson's experience pledging the PEX fraternity at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1977, detailing the violent and dehumanizing acts perpetrated on the pledges by members.

Papers concerning members of the Andrew Monteith family who immigrated to Grant County, Wisconsin, from Scotland; consisting of letters, tax receipts, genealogical information, and a hymnal, "The Missouri Harmony." Included are negative photostat copies of a few Civil War letters from his sons, Samuel and Robert, both serving in the 7th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers; church certificates (1852) of David and Andrew Monteith from the Parish of Penningham, Scotland; and a letter (1862) from David Monteith describing his trip from New York via Panama to San Francisco and Washington Territory to mine for gold.

Photocopies of genealogical charts, illustrations, and written description of the history of the Andrew Malgren family of Hudson, Wisconsin, compiled by Swanson. Other surnames treated in the genealogy, 1779-1925, include Plato, Persson, Lindstrom, and Erickson.

Typed translations of 3 letters written to friends and family in Tonset, Norway by brothers Anders and Ole Stortroen, immigrant residents in Martell Township, Pierce County, Wisconsin; including detailed information on farming, building houses, pay rates and prices, the availability of churches and schools, and references to the Civil War.

Records of the Polk County Red Cross, principally correspondence between chapter officers and volunteers and materials received from the national Red Cross. The records concern the making of knit garments and surgical dressings for use by the armed forces, and peacetime activities of the chapter.

A history of the chapter, an authorization to organize, by-laws, and minutes of meetings.

Records documenting the activities of a local post of the American Legion, mainly its Auxiliary, including community service projects, aid for veterans and their dependents, post building bonds, and promotion of the annual "poppy drive." The collection contains minutes, reports, correspondence, financial records, and scrapbooks including photographs and news clippings.

Records of the Post, including correspondence, 1924-1930; minutes, 1920-1928; receipts and requisitions, 1928-1930; and membership lists.

Business account ledger, 1869-1890, kept by Peter Meath, proprietor of the American House, a combined store, saloon, hotel, and boarding house. An index to the names appearing in the journal is included plus a brief biography of Meath and notes compiled by Catherine B. Heiting on the descendants, 1800-1969, of John and Mary Coleman Meath.

Records of the River Falls Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), including business records, reports, publications, files on community service activities, history of the branch, photographs, scrapbooks, sound recordings, and videotapes. Cards listing members include addresses and dates of membership, college attended, and degree earned. There is also a nearly complete run of the monthly publication of the branch bulletin, "The Falls Notes" (1973-2014). Also detailed are various programs and conventions in which the River Falls Branch participated.

Records including a chapter constitution, minutes, correspondence, financial records, membership lists, salary surveys, and program materials; plus papers from the state and material parent associations.