The collection consists of seven series: Administrative Materials, Blood Services, Disaster Relief, Financial Materials, Junior Red Cross, Publicity, and Service to Military Families.
Administrative Materials (1916-1992) consist mainly of board minutes (1916-1921; 1929-1992), newsletters (1982-1992) and volunteer information, though not comprehensive lists of volunteers. There are a few annual reports from the national office 1981-1985, but all the extant annual and financial reports from the local La Crosse County chapter are interfiled with the minutes. Some national Red Cross publications are also interfiled in this series. There are also local Red Cross annual reports in the Archives' annual report file.
Blood Services (1950-1994) is well represented as one of the Red Cross' major focuses since World War II. The local chapter works in conjunction with its regional office in Madison, Wisconsin, the Badger Regional Blood Program.
Disaster Relief is another major focus of the Red Cross, yet only two folders about this effort are in the collection. Many clippings in the Publicity section more accurately demonstrate the workings of the Red Cross in time of disaster.
Financial Materials are also lacking, as most financial reports are included in the board minutes. There is a cash book (1942-1953) and records of gifts, memorials and bequests to the chapter. The gifts over $100 have been alphabetically arranged by name of donor.
The Junior Red Cross was active in the schools from 1957 into the late 1970s. Adult committee minutes (1957-1971), financial reports (1959-1970), and two activity log books help to document their activities.
Publicity is the largest series in terms of bulk. All newspaper clippings have been photocopied onto acid neutral paper and arranged chronologically. Wei To solution #3 has been applied to the pages of the scrapbooks, which contained largely newspaper articles glued onto acidic paper. These articles date from the 1930s into the 1990s.
Lastly, Service to Military Families is another major focus of the national Red Cross, yet little of that is evidenced in the collection. Some committee materials from the later 1970s exist, as well as monthly statistics from the late 1970s into the mid 1980s. Again there are some national Red Cross office publications in this series.
