The scrapbooks contain many clippings and other items relating to Flint and Genesee County and areas beyond. Some of them come from the state of Michigan. The scrapbooks are being retained due to containing content regarding the history of the county, including several articles on schools throughout the county.

Loose contents were previously placed into plastic bags. They were removed from these bags and transferred to acid-free folders for better preservation. They retain the organization they were found having in the bags.

Weeding of the scrapbooks was an impossibility as it meant causing significant physical damage.

Correspondence composes the majority of the collection. It details lamps discussions concerning lamps from antiquity to the early modern period. Half of the correspondence details lamps that may or may not have been considered by Sloan Panorama of Transportation for exhibition and lamps that were given consideration for donation and exhibition. The remainder of the collection is an issue of The Reminder, a newsletter published by Genesee County Historical and Museum Society.

The collection represents aspects of the life of Fred Aldrich, though largely his service with the Genesee County Reemployment Committee for Selective Service of Michigan. Records reflect little of his personal life. Other work Aldrich participated in includes the Senior Council of the Michigan Children’s Aid Society, the Flint Defense Test Committee, the Genesee County War Board, and the Genesee County Historical and Museum Society. Records from these other organizations are scant and it is difficult to ascertain the extent of Aldrich’s involvement.

Other records in the collection unrelated to Aldrich include an abstract for land around Parkland No. 2 from 1819 to 1909. The abstract contains information pertaining to ownership and taxable value. Another record of interest are the specifications for a house owned by H.J. Bachtel.

The breadth of records in this collection is expansive, covering many aspects of the life of Frank D. Baker and family members. Represented are correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings and pages, class yearbooks, meeting minutes, expense ledgers, and poems. Some of these were collected and produced by Baker, others by family members. Records reveal Baker had a varied career and life. The expense ledgers detail purchases made by customers of good in his store, notably pharmaceuticals. The ledgers represent purchases made in the early 1880s. All writing in them is in cursive. Baker served a single-year term as Mayor of Flint in 1889 and was subsequently elected twice as Sheriff of Genesee County. An opponent, William A. Garner, in 1893 accused Baker in a letter of illegally occupying the office, despite Baker have won a majority in the election. Baker is reported to have resigned the office to avoid a confrontation. He returned to his business but later joined the board of the Flint Building Corporation in the 1920s, which oversaw capital development in Flint. He also served as a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention in New York City. He also served as postmaster of Flint between 1914 and 1922. He died in 1927.

Records relating to other family members largely represent those of a daughter, Mattie. Her school records compose most of what is present. These include yearbooks and composition books. She also undertook a long holiday in Europe in the early 1930s as evidenced from brochures and tickets.

The remaining records include minutes of the Genesee County Board of Supervisors from 1892 to 1893, handwritten poems by an unnamed author, and World War II-era ration cards. Another descending served as postmaster for the city in Flint in the late 1940s.

The collection was divided into multiple series due to its large size. Series I is composed of advertising materials, pamphlets, menus, bulletins, and voter ballots by Wolverine Citizens Printing between 1918 and 1923. What is arranged in Series I is what remains of what was accessioned in 1965. Extensive weeding removed empty envelops and letterhead that lacked prices and services offered. Government publications were retained, in particular those related to the Flint Board of Health when William DeKleine served as director. The Flint Board of Health contracted Wolverine Citizens to print many health notices related to the 1918 smallpox epidemic, the Spanish influenza, and proper handling of milk canisters. Other government bodies include the Flint Board of Education and the Flint Police Force. Materials retained from private organizations include business cards, coupons, and restaurant menus, bulletins issued by businesses, copies of bond tickets when the city of Flint raised money to pay for road improvements, and advertisements for social events. Numerous organizations contracted with Wolverine Citizens, including the Knights of Columbus, Flint Board of Education, Consumers Power Company, and Hardy Bakery.

Two scrapbooks compose the collection. Both reflect the activities of the Flint Junior Woman’s Club from the early to mid-1970s. These activities included meetings, philanthropic ventures, sales, raffles, and gardening among others.

Records contained in both scrapbooks reflect these activities. They were recorded or commemorated in photographs, minutes, newsletters, memorials, programs, and flyers.

The records largely reflect the constitution, by-laws, and regulations of Genesee County Freemasons. Others are the 1873 Flint ordinances and an issue of “The Michigan Teacher.”

Little was researched about them due to mold damage. Contents will be retained due to uniqueness of materials for digitization in the future.

Theatre programs and pamphlets compose a significant portion of the collection. A majority are from theatres found in Europe and the northeastern United States. A handful are from theatres in and around Detroit. Other records include recipes found on cards and in books. None of these appear related to Flint and Genesee County.

The records detailing history in Flint and Genesee County predominantly cover St. Paul’s Church and the Golden Jubilee of Flint (held in 1879). Other records detail the early history of Flint and correspondence from the 1840s and 1850s.

The collection consists to two paper currency bills. The older of the two is from the pre-World War I German Empire and is dated for 1908. The other bill comes from the Soviet Union and is dated for 1921. Cyrillic script represents information on this bill.

The collection consists of records reflecting the lives of Elmer Halsey, Edgar Haymond, and the W.A. Paterson Co. The records can be broadly split into three areas, each concerning the lives of Halsey, Haymond, and the business operations of the Paterson Co.

Records reflecting the lives and Halsey and Haymond concern both their personal lives and professional accomplishments. Both men were partners and dealers in carriages and carriage parts. They served as agents for the W.A. Paterson Co. (Flint, MI), H.A. Moyer Carriage Co. (Syracuse, NY), and Columbus Buggy Co. (Columbus, OH). Their operations were based in a shop located at the corner of Third and Harrison Streets in 1909. Correspondence and bills of lading largely compose the business records.

For Halsey, the records reflecting his life predominantly concern correspondence and receipts for work done on his house in 1910. These including hiring of contractors for construction and water and plumbing and lumber companies supplying building materials. Additional records include a 1911 membership for the Loyal Guard and tax rolls for property owned by a Retus or Ritus Halsey from Grand Blanc Township in 1911. Records concerning Haymond are less in volume, but show that he was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The W.A. Paterson Co. was established in 1869 by William A. Paterson. It may be better known for the motor buggies from the early 20th century, but was steeped in carriage construction, producing 30,000 yearly by 1900. The records in this collection reflect carriages produced by the company and cover the period between 1910 and 1912. Many receipts and official documents compose these records. Correspondence from a Mrs. Allen shows how she paid $5 per month for a carriage. Other documents mention requests for buggies and “driverless wagons.”

A handful of other records without apparent connection to Halsey, Haymond, and the W.A. Paterson Co. show political ads for Republican candidates for political office and a ration book from the Office of Price Administration.

Photographs accessioned with the documents were removed at some point and filed into subject folders in the photographic cabinets. They retain their object identification numbers.