Member Biographies, 2009, undated

The Discussion Club of Dayton Collection documents the history of an important part of Dayton civic culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. By studying this collection, researchers may gain insight into Dayton society and world events, based on the monthly meeting topics.

Series I: Administrative

The administrative papers of the collection focus primarily on the meeting bulletins, which were issued to every member and served as a reminder of the time, date, and place that the next meeting of the Discussion Club would be held. The bulletins also gave a short biography of the meeting's scheduled speaker and a synopsis of his or her discussion topic. This series also includes minutes, reports, meeting letters, a preference vote on discussion topics, meeting notes, and miscellaneous program files.

Series II: Membership

The membership part of the collection is comprised mainly of applications to join the Discussion Club. There is also a list of members by occupation, two constitutions, a small collection of 75th Anniversary celebratory documents and photographs, and a folder for Irving Bieser's personal papers.

Series III: Correspondence

A large portion of the correspondence series is made up of letters between Discussion Club members and potential speakers for the meetings. There were also letters between members, both business in nature and regarding potential members. There were several miscellaneous letters that did not fall into any of the aforementioned categories. There is also a folder with correspondence concerning the dissolution of the club in 2011.

Series IV: Financial

The financial series is the smallest of the collection. Four books are records books, dating from 1931-1949, 1949-1988, 1989-1997, and 1998-2005. A ledger book of dues covers the years 1973-1974 and 1988.