The collection is arranged in three series: Potter Lumber Company Records, the Personal Records of Henry L. (H.L.) and Elmer Meyer, and Rudolph Greve Hardware Company Records. The POTTER LUMBER COMPANY RECORDS which constitute the major portion of the collection, include the company's Corporation Record Book containing the original articles of incorporation and minutes of both the stockholders' and directors' meetings. The Journals for the company span the length of the company's life, 1922-1959, except for a gap from 1929-1939 for which there are no journals. There are three sets of Inventory Sheets, one for each of the years 1957 and 1958 and one undated set. Unissued stocks as well as issued stock certificates are in the Stock Book. Within the Annual Statements, an incomplete run for 1950-1956, is a company self-audit report prepared by Elmer E. Meyer. Business Correspondence between Elmer E. Meyer and H.L. Meyer deals mostly with preparation of the company's tax returns, but includes many references to their personal lives. Miscellaneous legal papers such as deeds, articles of corporation and papers of dissolution are grouped together in Legal Records.
The PERSONAL RECORDS of Henry L. and Elmer Meyer include stock certificates, 1920-1924, issued to H.L. Meyer and other family members for the H.L. Meyer Company. Nothing else pertaining to the H.L. Meyer Company and no information indicating what or where it was found. Federal Tax Returns for H.L. Meyer from 1936 to 1955 include estimated income tax forms. The Tax Returns from 1958 to 1961 include both federal and state forms for the period when the Potter Lumber Company was going through the process of dissolution. While serving with the First Army Corps School in France during World War I, Elmer Meyer found a copy of the German book Der Deutsch Tag. His translation into English of this book is in the collection along with a clipping of the obituary of his mother, Mrs. William Meyer, a newspaper clipping relating to H.L. Meyer and a photograph possibly depicting a family home.
The RUDOLPH GREVE HARDWARE COMPANY's Corporation Record covers the period of the company's life, 1924-1956. It contains the articles of incorporation and minutes of meetings of the board of directors and stockholders. The Financial Statements from 1938-1954 are incomplete; they include statements of profit and loss as well as annual reports. Tax Returns span 1944-1955 and include both federal and state returns. In addition, correspondence with Elmer E. Meyer, the company's tax consultant and a member of the board of directors, is included with the tax returns. The Stocks-Correspondence and Lists contain lists of stockholders, and documents and correspondence pertaining to transfers of stocks after Rudolph Greve died. Miscellany contains one of the earliest dated documents in the collection, which is a grant dated 1905 for the founding of the J.M. Duecker Hardware Company, a possible predecessor to the Rudolph Greve Hardware Company. Miscellany also contains various records dealing with the establishment of the Rudolph Greve Hardware Company.
