Title: Wisconsin State Musicians' Association Records
Inclusive Dates: 1932-1946

Creator:

• Wisconsin State Musicians' Association

Call Number: Mss 413

Quantity: 1.0 c.f. (3 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a loose confederation of Wisconsin area local chapters of the American Federation of Musicians (AFL-CIO), concerning the state and national interests of union musicians; including correspondence, minutes, newsletters, bulletins, financial records, materials on associations in other states, Wisconsin Bandmasters Association materials, and other records.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00413

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The Wisconsin State Musicians' Association (WSMA) is a confederation of the Wisconsin area local chapters of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AF of M), AFL-CIO. The AF of M was chartered as a national union in 1896 and immediately thereafter, on October 19, 1896, the Milwaukee musicians group became the first Wisconsin local. Thirty-one Wisconsin chapters and three fringe affiliates (Dubuque, St. Paul, and Winona) joined individually in the following years. The WSMA officially grouped together during a statewide musicians' conference held at Watertown, circa 1930.

The WSMA has no judicial, legislative, or executive power. All locals retain their autonomy and answer directly to the AF of M headquarters in New York. Rather, the WSMA is an “interest group” of professional, union affiliated musicians in the Wisconsin area. Delegates who attend the semi-annual Wisconsin state conference elect the officers. From 1933 to 1935, Joe Weisheipl was president, followed by Harry A. Thompson from 1935 to 1938, and then by Volmer Dahlstrand who served until 1946. Dahlstrand is credited with having strengthened the state association. However, after his term was finished, the constitution and bylaws were amended to limit the presidential term to two years.

The records of the Wisconsin State Musicians' Association cover the activities of the organization from 1932 to 1946, and also include an assemblage of conference programs, correspondence, and miscellaneous articles from AF of M non-Wisconsin chapters. The collection has been arranged into eight series: Secretaries' Records, Financial Records, Correspondence of Local Unions, Wisconsin State Conference Records, Non-Wisconsin Conference Records, Wisconsin Bandmasters Association, Oconomowoc Legion Band Crisis, and Miscellany. The records are illustrative of the affairs and concerns of union musicians in the 1930s and 1940s. The formative years of the WSMA are not documented in this collection.

The Secretaries' Records deal quite comprehensively with issues on the state and national levels. The correspondence in this section is between AF of M officials, and other state leaders both in and out of Wisconsin. Bulletins and the Buzzer newsletter cover pending legislation, union “unfair lists,” and other trade concerns. The Financial Records are lacking in detail and are quite brief although they do contain the union wage-scale schedule.

The Correspondence of Local Unions deals with the local concerns of thirty-two Wisconsin area chapters. It is arranged in alphabetical order by town name.

The Conference Records are divided into a Wisconsin and a Non-Wisconsin series. The Wisconsin section documents the programs and activities at regular meetings of the Association and its affiliated locals. The non Wisconsin segment includes correspondence and miscellaneous articles as well as conference programs.

The Wisconsin Bandmasters Association series contains a small sampling of the Association's correspondence with the WSMA, a copy of its constitution, and some convention programs. The Oconomowoc Legion Band Crisis file documents the united effort of the WSMA locals to protest the appearance of an “unfair” band at the State American Legion Conference held at Ashland in 1938. The Miscellany section contains several letters, an address by Chauncey Weaver and some of his writings.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. Hilda Smith, La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 18, 1976. Accession Number: M76-450

Processing Information

Processed by Kathleen McDonough (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, October 31, 1977.

	Secretaries' Records
Box   1 Folder   1	Correspondence of the office of the secretary of the WSMA, 1934-1946
Box   1 Folder   2	Minutes of the meetings, 1932-1936
Box   1 Folder   3	Bulletins to local unions, 1935-1940
Box   1 Folder   4	Buzzer newsletter, 1937-1940
	Financial Records
Box   1 Folder   5	Correspondence/reports, 1936-1946
Box   1 Folder   6	Wage-scale schedules
	Correspondence of Local Unions, 1932-1946
Box   1 Folder   7	Abbotsford - Kenosha
Box   1 Folder   8	Kewaunee - Milwaukee
Box   1 Folder   9	Monroe - Stevens Point
Box   2 Folder   1	Sturgeon Bay - Wisconsin Rapids
	Conference Records - Wisconsin
Box   2 Folder   2	Proceedings, 1940-1946
Box   2 Folder   3	Resolutions
Box   2 Folder   4	Programs, 1937 - (1941-1946)
	Conference Records - Non-Wisconsin, 1932-1946
Box   2 Folder   5	California-Arizona-Nevada
Box   2 Folder   5	Connecticut
Box   2 Folder   5	Des Moines
Box   2 Folder   5	Eastern Canada
Box   2 Folder   6	Illinois
Box   2 Folder   6	Indiana
Box   2 Folder   6	Michigan
Box   2 Folder   7	“Mid West” Conference
Box   2 Folder   7	Minnesota
Box   2 Folder   7	Montana
Box   2 Folder   8	New England Conference
Box   2 Folder   8	New Jersey
Box   2 Folder   8	New York
Box   2 Folder   8	Northwest Conference
Box   2 Folder   1	Pennsylvania-Delaware
Box   2 Folder   1	Southern Conference
Box   2 Folder   1	Tri-State Musicians (Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia)
Box   2 Folder   2	Wisconsin Bandmasters Association, 1937-1942
Box   2 Folder   3	Oconomowoc Legion Band Crisis, 1938
Box   2 Folder   4	Miscellany