Title: Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A. Walworth County Barracks No. 3241 (Delavan, Wisconsin) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1963-1991

Creator:

• Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A. Walworth County Barracks No. 3241 (Delavan, Wisconsin)

Call Number: WVM Mss 905

Quantity: 2.0 linear ft. (5 archives boxes and 2 oversize folders) of papers, 1 folder of photographs, 1 folder of paper prints.

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Records of the Walworth County, Wisconsin organization composed entirely of World War I veterans and dedicated to advancing the causes of those who fought in the First World War through increased benefits and recognition. Includes fairly complete records from the organization's inception in 1963 through its dissolution in 1991. Meeting minutes provide insight into their activities, with early minutes showing active membership recruitment and efforts to secure pro-veteran legislation while minutes from the later years show a dramatic drop in membership due to deaths and difficulty holding meetings due to the age of members. Also in this collection are bank statements, cancelled checks, and reports that show large amounts of money being acquired through membership dues in the 1960s and '70s, with that amount declining significantly in the '80s. Correspondence deals largely with the term of Barracks #3241 member Claire Congdon as Commander of the Department of Wisconsin from 1985 to 1986. Also from Congdon's term as Department Commander are meeting minutes and other materials relating to the Veterans of World War I's participation in several state veterans institutions such as the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, State Council of Commanders, and Veterans Council. Also included are meeting minutes, financial records, and membership lists from the women's auxiliary. The materials show a similar decline in membership and resources as the members aged, as well as similar concerns for supporting and recognizing aging and deceased members. A sympathy card log documents their concern for the families of deceased members. A photograph shows five members of the barracks at the final meeting, after voting to disband the organization in 1991.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00905

The Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A. was a voluntary, fraternal organization of the individuals who served in the United States military during the First World War. Unlike many veterans organizations that formed immediately following a war, the Veterans of World War I took root more than thirty years after the conflict.

The major veterans organization to form immediately after World War I was the American Legion. In addition, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) opened its membership to the men returning from France and Germany. These two organizations took the forefront in fighting for veterans' rights and benefits. The surviving Civil War veterans remained in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Spanish-American War veterans constituted a very small number compared to veterans of World War I. Thus the returned doughboys were able to control, to a large extent, the focus and aim of the American Legion and VFW. After World War II, a fresh and large influx of new veterans joined these organizations and took an active role in their pursuits.

When the Korean War ended in 1953 and a new batch of veterans returned to take part in the veterans organizations, World War I veterans began to feel outnumbered and ignored. Many thought the younger veterans had forgotten them and their needs, and they began to look into forming a group of their own. As early as 1949, World War I veterans had begun forming their own small groups. In 1953, representatives from many of those small groups met in Baltimore to discuss forming a larger national organization. The Veterans of World War I of the U.S.A. were formed from that meeting and an official charter from Congress was granted in 1958. The group charged itself with protecting the rights of World War I veterans and in procuring proper benefits and pensions for them. Local groups called barracks were formed in cities with large numbers of barracks banding together to form departments.

In July 1958, five barracks formed the Department of Wisconsin. The group grew rapidly and the national organization reached a membership of over 200,000 in 1960. The Department of Wisconsin grew as well and had more than eighty barracks at its peak. However, the membership was in its late fifties and sixties at the birth of the organization and the number of deceased members increased dramatically in the 1960s. While the organization continued into the 1980s, its time of power and influence ended very soon after it began in the 1960s.

The Walworth County Barracks #3241 formed in 1963 and held its meetings in Elkhorn and Delevan. Its history matches that of the national organization, with its membership steadily declining through the 1970s and '80s. The remaining members of the barracks voted to disband in May 1991.

The records of the Walworth County Barracks #3241 are divided into three series, Barracks #3241, Auxiliary, and Photographs.

Barracks #3241 (1963-1991) contains fairly complete records relating to the operation and interests of the organization. Included are meeting minutes that span the lifetime of the barracks and provide insight into their activities. Early meeting minutes show active membership recruitment and efforts to secure pro-veteran legislation while minutes from the later years show a dramatic drop in membership due to deaths and difficulty holding meetings due to the age of members. Correspondence and meeting minutes document the decision to disband the barracks in 1991 due to those problems. Also included in this series are financial records that show the rise and decline of the organization. Bank statements, cancelled checks, and reports show large amounts of money being acquired through membership dues in the 1960s and '70s, with that amount declining significantly in the '80s. The barracks spent money on national organizational dues, flowers and memorials for deceased members, and patriotic materials such as flags for the meeting hall. The theme of rise and fall in membership is also supported by applications, dues records, membership lists, and death notices of members. Correspondence deals largely with the term of Barracks #3241 member Claire Congdon as Commander of the Department of Wisconsin from 1985 to 1986. Letters relate to scheduling meetings and conventions, visiting barracks around the state, as well as helping and visiting members in hospitals. Also from Congdon's term as Department Commander are meeting minutes and other materials relating to the Veterans of World War I's participation in several state veterans organizations such as Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, the State Council of Commanders, and the Veterans Council. These materials provide a look into the concerns of other veterans organizations and the declining role and significance of World War I veterans in the 1980s.

Auxiliary (1965-1991) consists of the records documenting the role of the women's group that formed to support Barracks #3241. Membership consisted almost entirely of the wives and widows of World War I veterans, and the meeting minutes, financial records, and membership lists in many ways mirror those of the barracks. Meeting minutes show the group's patriotic activities declining as the members aged and became less mobile. Financial records, such as bank statements and cancelled checks, are fairly complete and reveal declining funds raised through dues and corresponding fewer expenditures. A log book holds records of sympathy cards sent out to the families of deceased members

Photographs (1991) contains one photograph of five members of Barracks #3241 at the final meeting of the group in 1991. The men, all above the age of ninety, are standing together after voting to disband their barracks.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Claire Congdon, Whitewater, WI, 1995. Accession Number: TR0398. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2005.

	Series: Barracks #3241
	Subseries: Administrative
Box   1 Folder   1-2	Background, 1971, 1977-1978
Box   1 Folder   3	Constitution and by-laws, 1974, 1981
Box   1 Folder   4-7	Correspondence, 1970-1991
Box   1 Folder   8	Disbandment of barracks, 1991
	Meetings
Box   1 Folder   9	Annoucements, 1985-1991
Box   1 Folder   10-17	Minutes, 1963-1991
Box   1 Folder   18	Procedures, undated
Box   1 Folder   19	Officers, 1970-1980
Box   1 Folder   20	Dept. of Wisconsin, 1968-1986
Box   1 Folder   21-22	Elections, undated
Box   2 Folder   1	Resolutions, 1971-1991
	Subseries: Conventions	⇧
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Dept. of Wisconsin, [1973-1987]
Box   2 Folder   4	Program contracts, 1980, 1985
Box   2 Folder   5	National, 1979, 1985, 1987
Box   2 Folder   6	Ephemera, undated
Box   2 Folder   7	Doughboy memorial statue, circa 1982
Box   2 Folder   8	Stamps, undated
Box   2 Folder   9	Stationery, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	"Your Commander Comments" columns, undated
	Subseries: Financial records	⇧
Box   2 Folder   11-13	Bank statements, 1977-1991
Box   2 Folder   14-16	Cancelled checks, 1978-1991
Box   2 Folder   17	Checkbook, 1976-1978
Box   2 Folder   18	Expense vouchers, 1983-1986
Ov   17 Folder   12	Expense vouchers (oversize), 1982-1983
Box   2 Folder   19-20	Quartermaster's ledgers, 1971-1991
	Reports
Box   2 Folder   21	Convention fund, 1984-1990
Box   2 Folder   22	General fund, 1984-1990
Box   2 Folder   23	Operating budget, 1980-1991
Box   2 Folder   24	Statements of receipts and disbursements, 1974-1983
Box   2 Folder   25	Supply order forms, 1975-1985
	Subseries: Membership	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Applications, 1963-1983
Box   3 Folder   2	Cards, 1978, 1990
Box   3 Folder   3-4	Death notices/obituaries, 1963-1991
Box   3 Folder   5	Be a buddy to a buddy program, undated
Box   3 Folder   6	Sympathy cards, undated
Box   3 Folder   7	Dues records, 1978, 1983-1984
Box   3 Folder   8	Lists, 1963-1972
Ov   18 Folder   6	Lists (oversize), 1975-1977, 1988
Box   3 Folder   9	Portage Barracks #3114, 1978-1979
Box   3 Folder   10	Renewal reports, 1977
	Subseries: Veteran organization affiliations	⇧
	Veteran Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) Advisory
	Committee Meeting Minutes
Box   3 Folder   11	Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, 1985-1986
Box   3 Folder   12	Zablocki Vets. Administration Medical Center, 1985
Box   3 Folder   13	Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, 1984-1986
Box   3 Folder   14	Legislative bulletins, 1985-1986
Box   3 Folder   15-16	Meeting minutes, 1985-1986
Box   3 Folder   17	Schedule of meetings, 1985-1986
Box   4 Folder   1-2	Wisconsin State Council of Commanders meetings, 1985-1986
Box   4 Folder   3	Wisconsin Veterans Council, 1984-1986
Box   4 Folder   4	Wisconsin Veterans Home (King, WI), 1984-1986
Box   4 Folder   5	Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial project, 1985-1986
	Series: Auxiliary	⇧
Box   4 Folder   6	Walworth County Barracks #3241 Auxiliary, 1984-1988
Box   4 Folder   7	Certificates, 1985-1986
	Financial records
Box   4 Folder   8-11	Cancelled checks, 1967-1985
Box   4 Folder   12	Checkbooks, 1968-1985
Box   4 Folder   13	Deposit books, 1979-1983
Box   5 Folder   1-2	Ledgers, 1965-1987
Box   5 Folder   3	Treasurer's book, 1975-1977
Box   5 Folder   4	Meeting minutes, 1972-1984
	Membership
Box   5 Folder   5	Applications, 1965-1983
Box   5 Folder   6	Cards, 1986-1991
Box   5 Folder   7	Dues records, 1979-1990
Box   5 Folder   8	Lists, [1972-1990]
Box   5 Folder   9	Officers, 1987-1988
Box   5 Folder   10	Supplies order form, 1984
Box   5 Folder   11	Sympathy card log book, 1970-1971
	Series: Photographs	⇧
Color Ph   3 Folder   27	Members [1] , 1991
Paper Print   3 Folder   32	Members, (paper print) [1] 1991