Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the First Ladies Investment Club were donated to the Center for Archival Collections through the cooperation of Pat Burnside in July 1998, with an addition received from Peggy Schmeltz in 2003 when the club disbanded.

No restrictions exist on the use of this collection. Duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and research. The register was compiled by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in November 2004.

Agency History

The First Ladies Investment Club traces its origins to March 1961 when a group of women in Bowling Green, Ohio met at the Public Library to establish a mutual investment association for women, starting with 14 members. The first Agreement and Bylaws were dated April 1961, with revisions over the years which expanded the membership level to 18 in 1966, and 20 by 1979.

Early members of the club included Frances Bachman, Esther Hayhurst, Dorothy McFall, Etta Richards, Doris Warmley, Colinne Anderson, Virginia Merrell,Betty Cummings, and Ruth Wright.

In 1975 the club joined NAIC, a national organization of investment clubs. Around that time the monthly contributions of members was $10, but it increased in 1977 to $15, to $20 in 1983, and to $30 in 1989. Through 1989 the total contributed investment amount was $3560, with a portfolio valued at more than $156,000 around 1990.

Late in 2002, due to a decline in club membership and number of stocks owned it was moved that the club disband. The course of action was initiated and the last official minutes of the First Ladies Investment Club are dated March 26, 2003.

Scope and Content

The records of the First Ladies Investment Club of Bowling Green gives a comprehensive view of the operation of a mutual investment association for women, established in 1961. The series of minutes in the collection spans almost the entire history of the club, missing 1989-1990, and provides a detailed picture of the operation, stock purchases, and finances of the group.

More specific information about stock investment histories can also be found in the statements from the brokerage of McDonald & Company, with information covering the period from 1968 through 1988.

Additional material in the collection provides a look at First Ladies from the publicity generated by their successes, including articles and interviews that focus on the club and its activities.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES
1961-2003
Typed and handwritten minutes including membership information, reports on stocks, and general meeting discussion topics

BY-LAWS/HISTORY
1961, 1979, n.d.
Typed and mimeographed bylaws, with added compiled historical sketch and card with key dates and figures noted

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE - RESIGNATIONS AND INVITATIONS
1977, 1981-1988, 1995, 2000, 2002
Resignation paperwork, letter of invitation, pay-out to membership and to those resigning

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

TREASURER'S STATEMENTS
1984-1988
Typed and handwritten ledger sheets and reports of annual club financial activity and assets

STOCK INFORMATION SHEETS
1962-1988
Information on stocks-prices, dividends, shares owned, worth, etc. Also individual sheets, arranged by name of stocks owned with investment price history

MEMBER'S PAYMENT RECORDS
1971-1978
Ledger sheet with alphabetical listing of club members and their monthly payments

TAX FORMS
1984, 1985
Taxable Intangible Property Forms from Wood County, Ohio, with receipts

BROKERAGE STATEMENTS
1968-1977, 1985-1988
Various monthly statements, confirmation statements, dividend, and open order notices from the brokerage firm of McDonald and Co.

PRINTED MATERIAL

NEWSCLIPPINGS
1992, n.d.
NAIC information (including clippings on Peggy Schmeltz)

ARTICLES
September 1985
Article in Better Investing entitled "All-Star Investment Clubs" with reference to First Ladies Investment Club on p.26

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS

VIDEOTAPE
February 18, 1988
"Mom's Investment" - First Ladies interviewed on TV show "Home"

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Minutes, March 1961-November 1969
2. Minutes, January 1970-December 1979
3. Minutes, January 1980-December 1988
4. Minutes, January 1991-December 1997
5. Minutes, January 1998-March 2003 (when disbanded)
6. History/Agreement and bylaws, 1961, 1979, n.d.
7. Resignation paperwork, letter of invitation, pay-out to membership and to those resigning, 1977, 1981-1988, 1995, 2000, 2002

Box 2

Folder

1. Treasurer's statements, 1984-1988
2. Information on stocks-prices, dividends, shares owned, worth, etc., 1963-1984
3. Stocks owned - Price history, 1962-1988
4. Members monthly payments, 1971-1978
5. Taxable Intangible Property Forms, 1984, 1985
6. McDonald and Co. - Monthly statements, 1968-1973
7. McDonald and Co. - Monthly statements, 1974-1977
8. McDonald and Co. - Monthly statements, 1988
9. McDonald and Co. - Confirmation and statement of stock purchases, 1970-1977
10. McDonald and Co. - Substitute Combined Statement for recipients of dividends, 1985-1988
11. McDonald and Co. - Open order notices 1986-1988
12. NAIC information (including clippings on Peggy Schmeltz), 1992, n.d.
13. Better Investing, All-Star Investment Clubs (article on First Ladies, p.26), September 1985
14. Videotape "Mom's Investment" - First Ladies interviewed on TV show "Home," February 18, 1988

Manuscripts by Subject | Business & Commerce | Women's Studies Collections