Memphis Park Commission Minute Books
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Memphis Park Commission Minute Books Processed by John T. Dulaney 2014 Memphis and Shelby County Room Memphis Public Library and Information Center 3030 Poplar Avenue Memphis, TN 38111 Table of Contents Page 1 Title Page; Photos of Memphis Park Commission Minute Books Page 2 Table of Contents and Container List Page 4 Notes on the Scope and Contents of the Memphis Park Commission Minute Books, and on Using This Collection; Memphis and Shelby County Room Rights Statement; Acknowledgments Page 8 Table I. Summary of Features of the Memphis Park Commission Minute Books Page 10 Table II. Photocopies of Original Indexes to the Minute Books, Collected for Reference Purposes into Box 28 Page 11 Tables IIIa (Auction Square to Morris Park) and IIIb (Museum to Zoo). Memphis Parks and Some of the Park Commission’s Other Facilities, 1906 to ca. 1941 Container List (Inventories, and Introductions and Excerpts, for the Memphis Park Commission Minute Books; Other Items) Minute Books, Page Boxes Other Items Folders Inclusive Dates Page 15 Box 1 Book 1 1 to 11 Sept. 13, 1900 – Dec. 13, 1910 Page 26 Box 2 Book 2 1 to 8 Feb. 14, 1911 – Jan. 12, 1916 Page 34 Box 3 Book 3 1 to 9 Feb. 8, 1916 – Mar. 4, 1924 Page 43 Box 4 Book 4 1 to 13 May 6, 1924 – Sept. 16, 1930 Page 50 Box 5 Book 5 1 to 14 Oct. 14, 1930 – Dec. 21, 1937 Page 57 Box 6 Book 6 1 to 11 Jan. 6, 1938 – Dec. 2, 1948 Page 66 Box 7 Book 7 1 to 11 Jan. 6, 1949 – July 20, 1954 Page 74 Box 8 Book 8 1 to 10 July 29, 1954 – Aug. 1, 1958 Page 81 Box 9 Book 9 1 to 12 Sept. 4, 1958 – Jan. 4, 1962 Page 89 Box 10 Book 10 1 to 11 Feb. 1, 1962 – May 6, 1965 Page 97 Box 11 Book 11 1 to 10 June 3, 1965 – May 2, 1968 Page 105 Box 12 Book 12 1 to 11 May 2, 1968 – May 7, 1970 Page 114 Box 13 Book 13 1 to 12 May 7, 1970 – Nov. 2, 1972 Page 123 Box 14 Book 14 1 to 12 Nov. 2, 1972 – Nov. 7, 1974 Page 131 Box 15 Book 15 1 to 12 Nov. 7, 1974 – Aug. 13, 1976 Page 140 Box 16 Book 16 1 to 11 Sept. 2, 1976 – Jan. 4, 1979 Page 149 Box 17 Book 17 1 to 7 Jan. 18, 1979 – Dec. 6, 1979 Page 155 Box 18 Book 18 1 to 7 Jan. 3, 1980 – Dec. 4, 1980 Page 161 Box 19 Book 19 1 to 7 Jan. 8, 1981 – Dec. 3, 1981 Page 167 Box 20 Book 20 1 to 7 Jan. 7, 1982 – Dec. 2, 1982 Page 173 Box 21 Book 21 1 to 6 Jan. 6, 1983 – Dec. 21, 1983 Page 179 Box 22 Book 22 1 to 5 Jan. 18, 1984 – Dec. 19, 1984 Page 185 Box 23 Book 23 1 to 4 Jan. 16, 1985 – Dec. 4, 1985 Page 189 “ Book 24 1 to 3 Jan. 15, 1986 – Dec. 17, 1986 (Total of 7 folders in Box 23 from Books 23 and 24) 2 Page 194 Box 24 Book 25 1 to 9 Jan. 20, 1987 – Dec. 14, 1989 Page 204 Box 25 Book 26 1 to 7 Jan. 17, 1990 – Nov. 20, 1991 Page 212 “ Book 27 1 to 6 Jan. 22, 1992 – Dec. 17, 1993 (Total of 13 folders in Box 25 from Books 26 and 27) Page 221 Box 26 Book 28 1 to 8 Jan. 26, 1994 – Nov. 20, 1996 Page 231 “ Book 29 1 to 6 Jan. 29, 1997 – Mar. 23, 2000 (Total of 14 folders in Box 26 from Books 28 and 29) Page 240 Box 27 Cassettes Recording Various Meetings, 1988-1994, 1997 Page 242 Box 28 Photocopies of Indexes to Minute Books Page 244 Figure 1. Watermark on Memphis Park Commission Stationery, ca. 1983 Page 245 Appendix 1. Park Commissioners, Superintendents, Secretaries, Attorneys, and Other Personnel Page 245 Members of the Park Commission for the Period Covered by Each Minute Book Page 251 Names and Terms of Park Commissioners in Order of Appointment Page 252 Names and Terms of General Superintendents, Executive Directors, or Directors Page 252 Names and Terms of Park Commission Secretaries Page 253 Names and Terms of Park Commission Attorneys Page 254 Lists of Park Commission Personnel Found in the Minutes, 1919-1959 Page 256 Appendix 2. Some Primary and Secondary Sources in the Memphis and Shelby County Room for the History of the Memphis Park Commission Page 256 Some Relevant Publications by the Memphis Park Commission or City of Memphis Page 258 Early Park Maps Page 258 Contributions to the History of the Memphis Park Commission, Park System, or Individual Parks Page 260 Relevant Bartholomew Reports Page 260 Other Archive Collections of Significance 3 Notes on the Scope and Contents of the Memphis Park Commission Minute Books, and on Using This Collection The Memphis Park Commission met for the first time in September 1900. Its final meeting took place nearly a century later in March 2000, and in April it was abolished by the Memphis City Council. The Commission customarily met once a month, although at times meetings could be held on two or more successive days. At the other extreme, several months might pass (especially in late summer) without a quorum being present. The frequency with which meetings took place over the years was, in a word, irregular. During its tenure the Commission was made up of at least 47 Commissioners (one serving twice), of whom at least 16 served as Chairmen. Some Chairmen may be perceived as being more forceful or involved than others. It seems likely that successive Park Commission Secretaries (also numbering at least sixteen) smoothed over the occasional behavioral quirk or contentious issue as they compiled the minutes. This is to say that, as reflected by the minutes, the Secretaries seem to have striven to be informative and impartial. In addition to the actual accounts of meetings, during certain periods the Secretary or staff or Chairman inserted material that was bound into, or pasted or glued to, or simply inserted between pages of, the minutes. Such material is sometimes not where it belongs chronologically; nevertheless for the most part this paperwork will be found as the Park Commission Secretary left it. Indeed, some of this material may be considered more significant than the minutes themselves, although always being related to the Commission’s concerns. It should also be observed that, especially in the 1970s and ‘80s, there are occasional errors in page numberings, as well as other problems affecting the continuity of the minutes. Before they were disbound, all minute books except Book 1 consisted of heavy-duty archive-type covers with three lockable binding posts containing up to 500 of 8 ½- by 14- inch pages (that is, 250 sheets of paper) punched with three holes. In Book 1, on the other hand, the sheets of paper were folded and sewn together in true book form, yielding 400 pages (of which only 357 have been used). The book has not been taken apart, but it has been photographed. Because it is still intact, the various portions of Book 1 are described here in its Inventory as “Sections” (each spanning a decade), rather than as “Folders” containing disbound pages. A review of the various parts of this finding aid may be helpful. Table I summarizes the features of the Minute Books and lists the period of years each book covers, book sizes, the extent to which the minutes are enhanced (or burdened) by additional matter, and whether or not they are indexed. Table II is a list of photocopied indexes that are provided in Box 28 for the convenience of the researcher, making it largely unnecessary to consult the originals in their nearly two dozen separate archive boxes. Tables IIIa and IIIb summarize and date the appearances of the names of some of the Park Commission’s acknowledged facilities over the period 1906-1941, as they are listed in budgets, audits, reports, and the like. 4 The Container List of Minutes of the Memphis Park Commission is probably self- explanatory. Each of the Minute Books (including the still-fully-bound Minute Book 1, as described above) is found in its own archive box, from Minute Book 1 (Box 1) through Minute Book 22 (Box 22). However, the later minute books are of irregular length and their contents have been distributed into boxes for which the book numbers and archive box numbers no longer coincide. An Inventory as well as an Introduction and Excerpts have been prepared for each of the 29 books, as well as Inventories for a set of cassette tape recordings (see below) and for the set of photocopied indexes listed in Table II. The paragraph introducing each of the 29 Inventories includes a short note about the various types of minute-related material present in each book, material that is almost always adjunct to the minutes and included because the Secretary or others felt it should be bound in or pasted in or simply inserted between two pages. The Inventories are intended to assist in locating information about audits, budgets, lists of employees, and the like (dealing with finances or fiscal matters in general, including fees, rentals, and other uses of Park properties), as well as references in later years to Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs). There may well be overlap between items mentioned in both a book’s Inventory and its counterpart Introduction and Excerpts.