Kirksville Kiwanis Club Records

Collection

Identifier: MS K4

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Documents and publications from the Kirksville [Missouri] Kiwanis Club's founding in 1920 through 2012. It is composed of two collections, an early one compiled and donated by charter member Paul O. Selby and the Club's own accumulation of records.

Dates

Creation: 1920-2012

Creator

Kiwanis Club of Kirksville (Mo.) (Organization)
Selby, P. O. (Paul Owen), 1890-1982 (Person)

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Copyright

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Historical Note

The Kirksville Kiwanis Club was started on or about October 25, 1920, when a group of the city's business and professional men held an initial organizational meeting, elected temporary officers and made plans to meet again in a few days for formal organization. At the next meeting on November 9, the constitution of the international organization was adopted and the temporary officers were named to continue in their positions for the ensuing year.

The first weekly luncheon meeting was held the following Thursday, November 18, with over 50 in attendance. The program that day was an explanation of the proposed new city street lighting plan, which the membership voted to endorse. Other business included a decision to hold the weekly meeting on Thursdays and the election of a delegate to the District Convention to be held in St Louis the following week. They also agreed they were not yet sufficiently organized to accept an invitation to take charge of the up-coming county Red Cross drive. The Club received its Charter from A.C. Maher, Governor of the Missouri-Kansas District, at its "first annual" banquet on February 11, 1921.

Extent

2.5 linear feet

9 Volumes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is organized into 11 series.

K4/0: Administrative, 1920-2007
K4/1: Scrapbooks, 1920-1955
K4/2: Loose Documents and Publications, 1921-1995
K4/3: Newsletters, 1937-1996
K4/4: Kirksville Kiwanis Club Archives, 1960-1969
K4/5: Kirksville Kiwanis Club Archives, 1970-1979
K4/6: Kirksville Kiwanis Club Archives, 1980-1989
K4/7: Kirksville Kiwanis Club Archives, 1990-1999
K4/8: Kirksville Kiwanis Club Archives, 2000-2007
K4/9: General and Historical, undated.
Paul Owen Selby papers (Ms Collection S1) Kirksville Kiwanis Club Files, 1929-approximately 1982

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The earlier documents were a gift of Kiwanis charter member Paul Owen Selby (1890-1982), a Kirksville native and member of the Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (NMSTC) [Truman State University] faculty. He held the offices of secretary and president of the local club and was District Lt Governor in 1929. He also served as long-term editor of the Weekly Bulletin, usually writing under the name 'San Pablo'. Dr. Selby donated his extensive collection of Kiwanis documents and publications to Pickler Memorial Library's local history collection after his retirement in 1960 and continued to add to his initial gift in later years. Other Club members with University ties have contributed items since his death.

The later portion of the collection was added in 2005, when the Club decided it was time to find a permanent home for its records so they could be preserved, housed in one place (rather than with individuals), and made accessible to all members or historians. Pickler Memorial Library's Special Collections Department was selected as the repository and the first batch of files were delivered to the Library under a Deed of Gift on July 14. Additional files were received in 2007.

Accruals

Others files will be added to the Archive as they become inactive in future years.

Separated Materials

The Paul Owen Selby papers (MS Collection S1) held by Special Collections contain a few more Kiwanis documents. It is possible Dr. Selby intended to move these items over to the Club collection, but they were still with his papers at the time of his death.