The papers which document the full-range of Grede's business and civic activities are arranged in five series based on type of record: Correspondence, Subject Files, Speech Material, Sound Recordings, and News Clippings. Major subject concentrations of the collection include Mr. Grede's involvement in Grede Foundries, the J.I. Case Company, the John Birch Society, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), and the YMCA. Extensive labor files contain material illustrating Grede's stand on unions and union activity, as well as his thoughts on labor management. Also of note are Grede's papers relating to Carroll College, the Rampart College Freedom School, Grede Publishing Corporation, the League to Uphold Congregational Principles, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
The CORRESPONDENCE file records fifty years of Grede's business and public concerns. It is an alphabetical file organized by correspondent or subject and details his business, political, and civic relationships. Included in the file are copies of letters from prominent individuals, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Hubert H. Humphrey, John F. Kennedy, Joseph R. McCarthy, Richard M. Nixon, and Robert A. Taft. Originals are in the vault at the State Historical Society and photocopies are in the boxes of the collection. [See the list of prominent correspondents in Appendix I of this finding aid for dates of letters.]
Grede's SUBJECT FILES include minutes, memoranda, financial records, and publications stemming from his various public activities. Included is a biographical file on William J. Grede. Files in the Grede Foundries material document Grede's involvement in the management of each individual foundry site as well as general policies and publications. J.I. Case Company records include minutes, memoranda, and financial papers of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, annual and quarterly reports, and various other financial and fiscal papers. Grede's Labor papers contain a vast amount of material on unionization, union elections, labor and employee policies, negotiations, and management labor strategy, both at Grede Foundries and elsewhere. Included are notes, memoranda, legal documents, employee lists, and election results from the Iron Mountain, Milwaukee Steel, Reedsburg, and Smith Steel Divisions, and the Spring City Foundry. Also of note are transcripts and related papers from National War Labor Board and National Labor Relations Board cases, primarily focusing on complaints of unlawful discharge for union activity, and legal papers and notes from the Tri-Partite Panel of the Regional Board of the NLRB, 1938-1946, on which Grede served. The John Birch Society papers document Grede's role as an associate of Robert Welch and as finance chairman of the Society. Grede's activity as president, public spokesman, and taxation committee member of the NAM is chronicled in the National Association of Manufacturers files. YMCA papers document Grede's local, national, and international activities and travels, with particular emphasis on the National Board, the North Central Area Council, and the Milwaukee YMCA.
The extensive speaking engagements of William J. Grede during his busy career are documented in the SPEECH MATERIAL. This series consists of handwritten notes on index cards, arranged alphabetically by host city and organization, and rough drafts and final copies of speeches, arranged chronologically. Topics include the need for less government, the benefits of the capitalist system, the importance of individualism, and the danger of communism.
SOUND RECORDINGS supplement the speech material and subject files of the collection. One section of this series consists of Edison Voicewriter disc recordings of telephone conversations and short speeches. Other tape recordings include talks to employees and speeches on behalf of the John Birch Society.
The NEWS CLIPPINGS have been microfilmed. They document Grade's activities on the Carroll College Board of Trustees and with the Freedom School, Grede Publishing Corporation, and especially his involvement in the J.I. Case Company, the John Birch Society, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the YMCA.
