Dayton Liederkranz-Turner Collection (MS-480)

The Dayton Turner club was founded in 1853 and the Dayton Liederkranz club was founded in 1890. This collection includes a variety of subjects that encompass the organizations' over 100 year old history. These include early German immigration information, World War I and II publications, German relief efforts after World War II, and German cultural topics. Any researcher interested in German-American immigration in the Midwest would be able to track its development for over a century with this collection.

Prior to 1953 these organizations were two separate groups. Due to the new interstate system coming through Dayton both organizations lost their meeting locations and decided to merge groups to become Dayton Liederkranz-Turner. Due to this, materials before 1953, like the event programs and flyers may be mixed together.

This collection consists largely of correspondence, publications, and performance programs. There are also bound ledger books, binders, newspapers, brochures/advertisements, and very few photographs. A significant portion of the collection contains the papers of a previous President of the organization, Fred Olt. He also was a local business-owner at the Olt's Bros. Brewing Company in the early 1900s; he also worked for the Dayton Fixture Company. The records are organized into eleven series.

Series I, Organization History, contains year-by-year information on the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner's organizational history, including constitutions, descriptions of the club since its inception, photographs of founding members, and information on board members. Also included are records on the Liederkranz's German Relief efforts after World War II. All records are organized by year.

Series II, Women's Auxiliary, includes meeting minutes from 1934 - 1970, correspondence (1914-1972 - gap between 1938 - 1950), membership and dues record in a variety of formats (1915-1975 - gap between 1923 - 1938), financial records, newsletters, and historical records. A significant portion of the correspondence are condolence letters to families of deceased Women's Auxiliary members. Some correspondence is in German. Meeting minutes also record deaths of members, include financial records, and discuss updates and activities within the organization. Records are organized by topic and by year. This series includes a mix of materials for both organizations, the Dayton Turner's Women's Auxiliary and Dayton Liederkranz Ladies' Auxiliary.

Series III, Meeting Minutes, contains notes and information from the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner's weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly meetings. These records are organized by year, some in bound volumes.

Series IV, Financial Records, contains financial information from the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner from its inception in 1890 to the 1950s. Included are insurance statements, liquor license information from the 1940s, gymnasium expenditures, event expenditures, and building plans and upgrades. The records are organized by year.

Series V, Correspondence, contains letters and cards from Dayton Liederkranz-Turner members and from other German organizations around the country. Topics include event planning, gymnasium activities, financial information, and membership information. Correspondence is organized by year.

Series VI, Membership Records, contains documentation on membership for the Dayton Liederkranz, American Turner-Bund, Dayton Turners, and Dayton Liederkranz-Turners. Includes ballots, registration, and due payment information. Organized by year.

Series VII, Publications and Advertisements, contains Dayton Liederkranz newsletters (1989-2008). Newspaper clippings and newsletters from other local, regional, and national German-American organizations (1919-1997). These are organized indiscriminately by year, whereas the newsletters that are more strongly represented housed together in chronological order [Dayton Turner newsletter (1915-1921) and American Turner Topics (1945-1967)]. Topics range from organization updates, activities, events, competitions, achievements, German-American opinions, and histories.

Series VIII, Events and Performances, is one of the largest of the collection. It includes programs and flyers from several decades of the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner's history (1890 to 2004). These programs and flyers are from singing competitions, local concerts, concerts of other German organizations, and events. Also included is sheet music from concerts. Researchers should note that oversize posters are stored separately.

Series IX, National Programs, includes programs from the District and National Saengerfest Competitions. These competitions took place across the United States and in Germany. These are organized by city and by year.

Series X, Fred Olt Papers, includes Fred Olt's business correspondence of the Olt Brothers Brewing Company and the Dayton Fixture Company. Topics include the general day to day, prohibition, and wartime aid. There is also correspondence between him and his wife (active in the Women's Auxiliary) and children. Included are newspaper clippings and memorabilia for the company. Correspondence is organized by year. Selections from this series related to prohibition are available online in CORE Scholar.

Series XI, Memorabilia, includes brewing memorabilia from local breweries except the Olt Brothers Brewing Company. Advertisements and flyers from Ohio businesses and souvenirs from the Dayton Liederkranz-Turner trips and events. Selections from this series related to prohibition are available online in CORE Scholar.