Seward Amusement Association [RG3571.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3571.AM:  Seward Amusement Association (Seward, Nebraska)

Records:  1919-1943

Seward, Seward County, Nebraska

Size:  1.0 cu.ft.; 2 boxes

BACKGROUND NOTE

The Seward Amusement Association of Seward, Nebraska, organized on February 19, 1919, was formed as a result of a general realization that the community lacked a variety of entertainment facilities.  The idea was given immediate impetus when, shortly prior to organization, several drownings occurred in the nearby Blue River.  One of the Association’s first efforts therefore was the construction of a swimming pool within the city.  John Martzy, the city engineer, was responsible for the construction.  At the same time a Dance Hall was included in the project with the total cost reaching approximately $32,000.  The facilities were opened to the public on July 4, 1919.

After 22 years of continued progress in the development and maintenance of recreational facilities the corporation was dissolved on January 2, 1943.  All the property of the Association was then transferred to the City of Seward.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection contains the records of the Seward Amusement Association, Seward, Nebraska, arranged in four series:  1) Correspondence, 1933-1942; 2) Business Records, 1919-1943; 3) Minutes of the Association, 1919-1943; and 4) Miscellany, undated.

The bulk of this collection consists of correspondence and business records relating to the activities of the Seward Amusement Association, 1919-1943.  The correspondence is divided into general correspondence and topical headings, such as “taxes” and “dance band booking arrangements.”  The business records consist primarily of financial records such as receipts and expenditures for both the swimming pool and the dance hall.  Additional data includes various property and income evaluations as well as a list of stockholders in 1938.  The minutes of the Association, 1919-1943, record the administrative affairs of the Association.

INVENTORY

Series 1 – Correspondence, 1933-1942

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. General correspondence, 1933-1941

1. 1. General correspondence, 1933-1941

1. 1. Correspondence relating to taxes (State and Federal), 1934-1942

1. 1. Correspondence relating to taxes (State and Federal), 1934-1942

1. 1. Correspondence relating to the bookings of Dance Bands, 1941

Series 2 – Business records, 1919-1943

1. 1. Dance Receipt Book, 1941

1. 1. Season Ticket Record Book, 1939-1941

Box 2

Folder

1. 3. General Financial Journal of the Association, 1934-1940

1. 4. List of Stockholders of the Association, 1939

1. 5. Personal Assessment Schedules, 1934-1941
      
      United States Corporation
      
      Income and Declared Value
      
      Excess-Profits Tax Return, 1930-1941
      
      Returns of Capital Stock Tax, 1935-1941
      
      Census of Business, 1939

1. 6. Annual Reports of the Association, 1934-1940

1. 7. Receipts from the Swimming Pool, 1941

1. 8. Corporation Permits, 1929-1942

1. 9. Miscellaneous data, i.e. Insurance Policies, 1941-1942

Series 3 – Minutes of Seward Amusement Association, 1919-1943 

1. 1. Minute Book of the Seward Amusement Association, 1919-1943

Series 4 – Miscellany, undated

1. 2. Brochures concerning swimming pool equipment, undated

Subject headings:

Amusements — Seward (Nebraska)

City planning — Seward (Nebraska)

Recreation — Seward (Nebraska)

Seward Amusement Association (Seward, Nebraska)

Seward (Nebraska) — History

JEP/kkn    06-09-1971