Summary Information
Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company Records
1903-1975
- Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company (Green Bay, Wis.)
Green Bay Mss 100
1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes)
UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Records of a Green Bay, Wisconsin company engaged in the business of harvesting, buying, and selling ice at wholesale and retail. Included are files of general correspondence; articles of incorporation, 1903; dissolution papers, 1975; minutes; contracts; deeds; mortgages; an abstract; financial ledgers and statements; insurance records; tax returns; personnel files; union contracts; blueprints; and a few personal papers of a company founder, John C. Miller.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0100 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
As a young man, John C. Miller (1874-1945) worked as an ice wagon driver for L. P. Larson's ice business in Green Bay. Later, Miller joined with his brother, Frederick Miller, and Lawrence P. Rasmussen to buy out his former employer and establish the Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company. This new company was incorporated on November 18, 1903, with a capital stock of 10,000 dollars. Their business was the harvesting, buying, and selling of ice at wholesale and retail.
The new company prospered and by 1906 was the largest of its kind in Green Bay. In May 1916, the capital stock was increased from 10,000 to 50,000 dollars. Lawrence Rasmussen died on February 25, 1921, leaving his wife, Emma, as sole heir. She remained a stockholder in the business, but was not interested in taking an active role. The Rasmussen name remained on the company, with John C. Miller in charge.
Miller married Christine Damer, a native of Germany, on November 2, 1898. They had two children, Irma and Myron. Myron succeeded his father as director of the company in 1945. On August 5, 1947, Frederick Miller sold his family's stock to the company, leaving John Miller's children in sole control. Myron Miller became president and his sister, Irma Miller Wilson, became secretary.
The Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company experienced financial difficulties during the 1960s. The possibility of liquidation is first mentioned in the company minutes in 1966. On April 26, 1973, Northland Cold Storage bought out the Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company, and dissolution papers were filed March 3, 1975.
Scope and Content Note
The records of Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company span the years 1903-1975, but most documentation dates from the mid-1940s to 1975. The collection has been arranged into series of General Records, Financial Records, Personnel Records, and Other Records.
General Records include business correspondence, most of which dates from the 1960's and 1970's pertaining to day to day operations and the dissolution of the company; articles of incorporation with amendments; deeds; agreements; notes; a land abstract; minutes, 1944-1975; dissolution papers; contracts with customers and with the Northwestern Railroad; and mortgages.
Financial Records consist of insurance policies; cash, general, Iron Fireman Department, and trial balance ledgers; financial statements; and Wisconsin and federal tax records, mainly concerning employee tax withholding.
Within the Personnel Records are employee data records and a file of union records, containing contracts and proposals between the company and the Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers Union Local No. 75, and a few dues receipts.
Other Records include a folder of blueprints and maps, 1909-1966, showing the Miller-Rasmussen Ice Company buildings and surrounding property, railroad tracks, and buildings. There is also a folder of personal papers, 1911-1967, of John C. Miller, including stock certificates, an account book of home expenses of Myron Miller, 1948-1967, and other items; and a few legal papers of John C. Miller and probate papers from his estate.
Many photographs were retained by the family. Copies of photographs retained by the family are available at the Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Irma Wilson, Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1980. Accession Number: M81-007
Processed by Debbie Honish, Joanne Hohler, and Menzi Behrnd-Klodt, 1986.
Contents List
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Series: General Records
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Box
1
Folder
1-5
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Correspondence, 1925-1975
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Articles of Incorporation, Amendments, Deeds, Agreements, and Notes, 1903-1947
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Box
1
Folder
7
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Land Abstract, 1909
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Minutes, 1944-1975
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Box
1
Folder
8
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Dissolution Papers, 1975
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Contracts and Agreements, 1946-1975
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Mortgages, 1905-1975
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Series: Financial Records
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Insurance Policies, 1942-1973
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Ledgers
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Cash Received, 1972-July1973
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Box
2
Folder
1
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General, 1944-1973
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Iron Fireman Department, 1950-1973
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Trial Balance, 1944-1973
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Financial Statements, 1917, 1952-1974
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Tax Records
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Wisconsin State Sales Tax, 1969-1973
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Box
2
Folder
6-7
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Federal Taxes, 1964-1974
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Series: Personnel Records
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Box
3
Folder
1-3
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Employee Records, A-Z, 1936-1972
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Box
3
Folder
4
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Union Records, 1950-1965
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Series: Other Records
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Blueprints, 1909-1965
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John C. Miller Papers
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Box
3
Folder
6
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Personal Papers, 1911-1967
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Box
3
Folder
7
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Legal Papers and Estate Legal Papers, 1941-1953
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