The Kenneth W. Hones papers deal almost exclusively with the Wisconsin Farmers Union during the period of Hones' presidency, 1933 to 1959. They include organizational records, correspondence, minutes and speeches from state conventions and county meetings, a legal case file, financial records, membership lists, WFU publications, newspaper and periodical articles, and a few personal papers of William Sanderson. A tape recording of speeches from the Wisconsin Farmers Union conference held October 24, 1954 is also available.
The Organizational Records consist of the WFU constitution, by-laws, articles of incorporation, and correspondence relating to the founding of the Wisconsin Farmers Union. Included is the 1927 correspondence of the executive committee of the Northwest Division of the National Farmers Union concerning the foundation of a Wisconsin chapter. Also filed here are copies of the preamble to the WFU constitution, and revisions to the constitution down to 1954.
The WFU Correspondence file is separated into two sections. The first is correspondence of William E. Sanderson with the WFU, mainly from 1935 to 1937, though a few letters date to 1951. The larger body of the correspondence, however, is that of President Hones, covering the years 1945 to 1958. Most of Hones' file deals with organizational and leadership problems within the WFU. Of special importance is correspondence relating to the purge of communists from the WFU (including letters and circulars from Fred Blair, Wisconsin state chairman of the Communist Party) and correspondence dealing with the dissatisfaction of some WFU members with Hones' leadership.
The WFU meetings segment consists of minutes and speeches, 1936-1958. These are concentrated in the years 1948 to 1958 with a few pieces of earlier dates. Of special interest are the circulars and resolutions of the Committee for a Better Wisconsin Farmers Union, composed of the farmers dissatisfied with Hones' leadership.
The Legal Case File, 1946-1958, includes stenographic minutes of the United States District Court of New York containing testimony about the rumored Communist sympathies of Archie Wright, president of the North-eastern Division of the National Farmers Union. Also found here are documents pertaining to court suits brought against the Union, especially by members of the Committee for a Better Wisconsin Farmers Union.
The Financial Records are divided into two groups: those dealing with the National Farmers Union; and those dealing with the Wisconsin Farmers Union. In the national financial records are quarterly reports from December 31, 1957 and June 30, 1958, and an insurance report dating from roughly the first quarter of 1958. The fragmentary state financial records consist of only a few miscellaneous pieces of scattered dates, 1948 to 1958, which deal with local cooperatives and the Farmers Union Insurance Corporation.
In the file of Membership Lists there are two lists of WFU cooperatives, a list of the WFU local board members' names, and a list of delegates to the 29th annual convention of the Pure Milk Products Cooperative in 1958. The WFU Publications section contains assorted Wisconsin Farmers Union pamphlets, booklets, and educational materials with dates ranging from 1934 to 1957. Included are an informational booklet on the WFU correspondence course for youth; a printed booklet relating to Kamp Kenwood, the WFU summer youth camp; a photo album, with typed text, on Kamp Kenwood; and a series of miscellaneous printed or mimeographed pamphlets relating to the WFU and its concerns. Filed here is one pamphlet from the Committee for a Better Wisconsin Farmers Union.
The Newspaper and Periodical Articles, 1934-1959, are from a wide variety of printed sources. The articles fall basically into four categories: those relating to communism or alleged communist infiltration of the Farmers Union; those relating to William Sanderson's death in 1952; those dealing with the struggles between Hones and the Committee for a Better Wisconsin Farmers Union; and those dealing with Hones personally, including his retirement in 1959.
William E. Sanderson's Personal Papers, 1945-1950, include income tax returns and related personal correspondence. They provide a relatively complete picture of Sanderson's financial situation for the years indicated.
