Oliver Max Gardner Papers (#3613)

Southern Historical Collection, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Collection Information

Collection Overview

Administrative Information

Contact Information:: Manuscripts Department; CB#3926, Wilson Library; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890; Phone: 919/962-1345; Fax: 919/962-3594; Email: mss@email.unc.edu; URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
Processed by: Jill D. Snider
Date Completed: April 2000
Encoded by: Jill D. Snider
Revisions:: Finding aid updated in July 2000 by John Foster.

Collection Overview

Title: Oliver Max Gardner Papers (#3613) 1892-1966

Creator: Gardner, Oliver Max, 1882-1947.

Extent: About 32,000 items (47.0 linear feet)

Repository: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.

Abstract

Oliver Max Gardner (1882-1947), lawyer of Shelby, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; state senator, 1910-1915, lieutenant governor, 1916-1920, and governor, 1929-1933, of North Carolina. He married Fay Webb (1885-1969), who was active in the Democratic Party and in women's organizations. The collection includes corrrespondence, legal documents, financial records, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, photographs, college notebooks, and scrapbooks of O. Max Gardner, 1892-1947; of Gardner family members, 1905-1966; of Shelby lawyer, businessman, and politician Odus M. Mull, 1930-1942; and of Shelby educator Isaac C. Griffin, 1917-1918. Included are items relating to Fay Webb Gardner and other family members. Legal papers give insight into adoption, child custody cases, land sales, and estate and debt settlements in Cleveland County, N.C.; into corporate litigation, 1920s-1930s; into the establishment of the Ackland Art Museum; and into legal affairs of the textile, soft drink, and aviation industries. Political papers describe the state State Democratic Executive Committee's organizing efforts, 1908-1915, 1930-1936; state and national political campaigns, 1900s-1950s; and the offices of North Carolina lieutenant governor, 1916-1921, and governor, 1929-1933. Letters comment the New Deal; Democratic Party patronage; the Supreme Court packing controversy of 1937; and economic policy, taxation, and industrial policy. Business papers document Shelby Public Schools during World War I and the operation of family businesses. Personal correspondence, photographs, notebooks, and scrapbooks document the Gardners' courtship; family activities during World War II; the endowment of Gardner-Webb College; administration of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina; the role of the political wife; and the activities of women's organizations. Significant correspondents include Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Cale K. Burgess, Josephus Daniels, Victor Emanuel, William C. Friday, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Russell Leonard, A. J. Maxwell, Angus McLean, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Cameron Morrison, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, John Parker, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Rogers, W. Kerr Scott, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Bess Truman, Harry S Truman, William B. Umstead, Lindsay Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Y. Webb, James E. Webb, J. Wallace Winborne, and Robert Woodruff. Additions include deeds and other documents relating to real estate transactions in and around Shelby, N.C.; items relating to the death of O. Max Gardner; and family correspondence, particularly of Gardner's sisters, one of whom lived in Alberta, Canada, and his niece, who lived in rural Washington state.

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access: No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice: Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Provenance: Received from Fay Webb Gardner of Shelby, N.C., in 1962, 1964, and 1966; Sterling A. Stoudemire (one item) of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1977 (Acc. 79037); William Geer of Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1962 and March 1998 (Acc. 98059); and Anne Geer of Chapel Hill, N.C., in November 1999 (Acc. 98518) and November 2000 (Acc. 98789).

Subject Headings

Ackland Art Museum--History.

Adoption--North Carolina.

Aircraft industry--United States--History.

Anthony, Graham Hudson.

Bailey, Josiah William, 1873-1946.

Bost, William Thomas, 1878-1951.

Broughton, J. Melville (Joseph Melville), 1888-1949.

Burgess, Cale Kight, 1891-

Child custody--North Carolina.

Cleveland Cloth Mills (Shelby, N.C.).

Cleveland County ( N.C.)--History.

Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948.

Democratic Party (N.C.)--History--20th century.

Democratic Party (U.S.)--History--20th century.

Family--North Carolina--Social life and customs.

Friday, William C. (William Clyde)

Gardner family.

Gardner, Fay Webb, 1885-1969.

Gardner, Oliver Max, 1882-1947.

Gardner-Webb College.

George, Walter F. (Walter Franklin), 1878-1957.

Gill, Edwin M. (Edwin Maurice), 1899-1978.

Gossett, Benjamin B. (Benjamin Brown), 1884-1951.

Governors' spouses--North Carolina.

Governors--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Graham, Frank Porter, 1886- .

Griffin, Isaac Cebern, 1873- .

Hanes, John Wesley, 1892-1987.

Hanes, Robert March, 1890-1959.

Hoey, Clyde Roark, 1877-1954.

Kendall, Henry Wiseman, 1897-1968.

Lawyers--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Lawyers--Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.

Legislators--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Leonard, Russell, 1906-

Love letters--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Maxwell, A. J. (Allen Jay), b. 1873.

McLean, Angus Wilton, 1870-1935.

McPherson, Holt, 1906-

Miller, Julian Sidney, 1886-1946.

Morrison, Cameron, 1869-1953.

Morrison, Fred W. (Fred Wilson), 1890-

Mull, Odus M.

New Deal, 1933-1939.

North Carolina State University--History.

North Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950.

Parker, John Johnston, 1885-1958.

Patronage, Political--United States.

Political campaigns--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Public schools--North Carolina--Shelby.

Ramsey, D. Hiden (Darley Hiden), 1891-1966.

Real estate business--North Carolina--Shelby.

Riemer, Harry.

Rogers, George.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.

Scott, William Kerr, 1896-1958.

Shelby (N.C.)--History.

Soft drink industry--United States--History.

Stevens, Robert.

Taylor, Vernon.

Textile industry--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Truman, Bess Wallace.

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.

Umstead, William Bradley, 1895-1954.

United States--Politics and government--1933-1953.

United States. Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion.

United States. Supreme Court--History--20th century.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--History.

Warren, Lindsay C. (Lindsay Carter), 1889-1976.

Weathers, Lee Beam, 1886-

Webb family.

Webb, E. Y.(Edwin Yates), 1872-1955.

Webb, James E. (James Edwin), 1906-

Winborne, John Wallace, 1884-1966.

Women in politics--North Carolina--History--20th century.

Women--Alberta--Social life and customs.

Women--Societies and clubs.

Women--Washington (State)--Social life and customs.

Woodruff, Robert Winship.

Related Collections

Edwin Yates Webb Papers (#3482);
Edwin M. Gill Papers (#4011).
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Biographical Note

Oliver Max Gardner (1882-1947) was a politician, businessman, and lawyer of Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C. A 1903 graduate of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Gardner studied law, 1905-1906, at the University of North Carolina, and, in 1907, opened a law practice in Shelby, N.C., where he also founded the Shelby Cloth Mills (later renamed the Cleveland Cloth Mills), the Gardner Land Company, and other businesses; he also operated a farm.

Active in the Democratic Party, he was elected a North Carolina state senator in 1910 and 1915, lieutenant governor in 1916, and governor in 1929. In 1934, Gardner moved to Washington, D.C., and established Gardner, Morrison & Rogers, a law firm representing the interests of the textile, soft-drink, and aviation industries, among others. He later served as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion's Advisory Board, 1945-1946; as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946; and as ambassador-elect to England, December 1946-February 1947. He was also a director of the Sperry Corporation and a member of the board of trustees of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina. With his wife, Fay Gardner, he helped build an endowment for Boiling Springs Junior College (renamed Gardner-Webb College) in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Fay Webb Gardner (1885-1969), civic leader and first lady of North Carolina, married Gardner in 1907. She was active in women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C., and in the state and national Democratic Party, representing the state twice as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She also served on the North Carolina State Advisory Board of Paroles, as president of the Gardner Foundation, Inc. (which helped support Gardner-Webb College), and as a trustee of the school.

The Gardners had four children: Margaret Love Gardner Burgess (b. 1908), who married N. E. Burgess; James Webb Gardner (1910-1946), who married Iris Rollins; Ralph Webb Gardner (b. 1912); and O. Max Gardner, Jr. (1922-1961), who married Sara Mull. Ralph Webb Gardner graduated from Yale University Law School and practiced law in Shelby, N.C. Elected a state senator in 1939, he enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. James Webb Gardner was executive vice-president of Cleveland Cloth Mills, 1941-1946. O. Max Gardner, Jr., a graduate of North Carolina State College, was commissioned a lieutenant in the United States Army. After World War II, he helped manage the Cleveland Cloth Mills and was treasurer of Gardner-Webb College.

Odus McCoy Mull (1880-1962), farmer, lawyer, businessman, and politician, was born in Cleveland County, N.C. Holding undergraduate and law degrees from Wake Forest College, Mull practiced law in Shelby, N.C., and became active in Democratic Party politics. He served two terms as state chair of the Party. Elected to the General Assembly, he served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1941.

Isaac Cebern Griffin (d. 1940), of Shelby, N.C., was chair of the State Fuel Administration's Local Fuel Committee for Cleveland County, N.C., and superintendentof the Shelby Public Schools during World War I.

Scope and Content

More than three-quarters of the collection consists of papers of O. Max Gardner, including political, legal, business, and limited personal papers. The remaining third of the papers are primarily political, business, and personal papers of Fay Webb Gardner and James Webb Gardner, with additional papers belonging to Odus M. Mull, Isaac C. Griffin, and various family members of Shelby, N.C.

The papers are organized into eleven series: Series 1, O. Max Gardner Chronological File; Series 2, O. Max Gardner Political File; Series 3, O. Max Gardner Law Office Files; Series 4, O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers; Series 5, Gardner Family Papers; Series 6, Gardner-Webb College Papers; Series 7, Odus M. Mull Papers; Series 8, Isaac C. Griffin Papers; Series 9, Pictures; and Series 10, Notebooks and Scrapbooks. Because of the way this collection was accessioned and processed over the years, there is considerable redundancy across these series. Researchers are therefore advised to become familiar with the types of materials filed in the various series and to be prepared to search several of them for materials on topics of interest.

By far the largest series is Series 1, a chronological file, 1906-1947 (bulk 1933-1947) of legal, business, political, and some personal papers belonging to O. Max Gardner. Many of the early legal papers were kept by Gardner's law partner, Charles A. Burrus. The file comprises mostly correspondence, but also contains legal documents, political campaign materials, and other items. Upon receipt of the papers at the Southern Historical Collection in the early 1960s, they were placed in chronological order, and many items originally attached to each other were separated. For this reason, researchers are encouraged to search all years thought relevant to a particular topic. Items in this chronological file are similar in nature to those found in the other series (Series 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 10) that contain papers of O. Max Gardner. Items in Series 2, 3, 4, and 6 reflect the original order in which Gardner kept them.

Series 5, Gardner Family Papers, contains many of the papers belonging to Fay Gardner and her sons. However, additional papers for individual family members can be found elsewhere. Fay Gardner's papers are in Series 5, 6, 9, and 10. Papers of Ralph Webb Gardner are in Series 5, 9, and 10; those for James Webb Gardner are in Series 4 and 5; and those for O. Max Gardner, Jr., are in Series 5, 6, and 9.

Legal papers (Series 1 and 3) give insight into adoption, child custody cases, land sales, estate settlements, and debt settlements in Cleveland County, N.C.; into corporate litigation, 1920s-1930s, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia; into the William Hayes Ackland estate case, 1940s; and into the legal affairs of industries, especially the textile industry, soft-drink industry, and aviation industry, during the New Deal and World War II. Firms and associations for which there is significant legal correspondence include Kimbrough-Veazy Corporation, Coca-Cola Company, the Cotton Textile Institute, Inc., the Rayon Manufacturers of America, the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, and the Aviation Corporation.

Political items (Series 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, and 10) describe the North Carolina State Democratic Executive Committee's organizing efforts, 1908-1915, 1930-1936; state and national political campaigns, 1900s-1950s, of O. Max Gardner, Josiah W. Bailey, Clyde R. Hoey, Walter George, and others; and the offices of lieutenant governor, 1916-1921, and governor, 1929-1933, of North Carolina. Many letters comment on Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal; Democratic Party political patronage, including the Supreme Court packing controversy of 1937; and economic policy, taxation, and industrial policy during World War II and in the postwar period.

Business papers (Series 1, 4, 5, 9, and 10) document Cleveland County, N.C., fuel policy, and the Shelby Public Schools during World War I; operations, 1920s-1947 (bulk 1935-1947) and labor strikes, 1930s, at the Cleveland Cloth Mills; and activities of the Gardner Land Company, the Cleveland Realty Company, and the Sperry Corporation.

Personal correspondence (Series 1 and 5), photographs (Series 9), and notebooks and scrapbooks (Series 10) document the Gardners' courtship (including love letters); student life at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, 1900-1904, the University of North Carolina, 1905-1906, and Yale University Law School, 1937-1939; North Carolina politics and political campaigns; life in the executive mansion in Raleigh, N.C., 1929-1933; summer camp in Asheville, N.C., 1937-1938; United States Army training in World War II (includes soldiers' letters); the endowment of Gardner-Webb College; Gardner family businesses and personal finances; administration of North Carolina State College and the University of North Carolina; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina system; the role of the political wife; the activities of women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; the Men's Bible Class of the First Baptist Church of Shelby; and O. Max Gardner's death and tributes to him.

Frequent correspondents in O. Max Gardner's papers are Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Josephus Daniels, Victor Emanuel, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Russell Leonard, Angus McLean, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, Judge John Parker, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Rogers, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Lindsay C. Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Y. Webb, James E. Webb, and Robert Woodruff. Correspondents of note in Fay Gardner's papers are Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman, Edwin M. Gill, William C. Friday, and W. Kerr Scott. Family members for whom there are significant letters are Mary Ivey Gardner Beck, James Webb Gardner, O. Max Gardner, Jr., Ralph Webb Gardner, Reca Gardner, Bess Gardner Hoey, and Addie Gardner Farthing. Other correspondents of note in the collection are Cameron Morrison, William B. Umstead, Cale K. Burgess, and A. J. Maxwell.

Organization of Collection

1. O. Max Gardner Chronological File
2. O. Max Gardner Political Files
2.1. Speeches
2.2. Publicity Materials
2.3. Political Correspondence
2.3.1. Wartime File
2.3.2. Postwar File
2.4. Political Subject Files
2.4.1. United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Files
2.4.2. Undersecretary of the United States Treasury Files
2.4.3. Ambassador-Elect Files
2.4.4. Miscellaneous Files
3. O. Max Gardner Law Office Files
3.1. Shelby Law Firm Records
3.2. Washington, D.C., Firm Records
4. O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers
4.1. Cleveland Cloth Mills
4.1.1. Owner's Records
4.1.2. Executive Vice President's Records
4.2. Business and Personal Subject Files
4.3. Business and Personal Correspondence File
5. Gardner Family Papers
5.1. Fay Webb Gardner Papers
5.1.1. Family, Personal, and Political Correspondence
5.1.2. Invitations and Visiting Cards
5.1.3. Sumpathy Letter Files
5.2. Ralph Webb Gardner Papers
5.3. James Webb Gardner Papers
5.4. O. Max Gardner, Jr., Papers
6. Gardner-Webb College Files
7. Odum M. Mull Papers
8. Isaac C. Griffin Papers
9. Pictures
10. Notebooks and Scrapbooks
Additions
Addition of November 1999
Addition of November 2000
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Items Separated

Items separated include photograph albums (PA-3613/1-2); pictures (P-3613/folders 1-18; OP-P-3613/folders 1-4); oversize papers (OP-3613/folder 1); and oversize volumes (V-3613/S-8 - S-24, S-26 - S-32).

Series Descriptions

1. O. Max Gardner Chronological File, 1906-1946 and undated.

About 18,000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Papers (bulk dates 1915-1917, 1920, 1933-1946) of O. Max Gardner, primarily documenting his law practice and political career in Washington, D.C. Materials also pertain to Gardner's early practice in Shelby, N.C., and to his business and farm affairs there. The papers comprise mostly political and legal correspondence, with considerable business and very limited personal correspondence; legal documents; financial records; and political campaign materials. Topics include the state and national Democratic Party and government in North Carolina, 1901-1947; Gardner's campaigns for and terms as lieutenant governor and governor of North Carolina; New Deal politics in Washington, D.C.; responses to the National Recovery Act (especially the Wagner Act) and tax legislation by the textile industry, soft-drink industry, aviation industry, and other industries; strikes at the Cleveland Cloth Mills in the 1930s; the 1937 Supreme Court controversy; consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the outbreak of World War II; and United States economic policy.

Researchers, especially those interested in legal cases, should search all years in which relevant documents dated prior to litigation may occur. For additional political papers of O. Max Gardner, see Series 2; for additional legal papers, see Series 3.

Papers, 1906-1911, are letters, legal documents, and miscellaneous items relating to Gardner's law practice in Shelby, N.C.; his work for the State Democratic Executive Committee; and land he and others purchased in Cleveland County, N.C.

Materials, 1915-1917 and 1919-1928, concern Gardner's early political career; his law practice in Shelby, N.C.; and his farming and business interests. Political papers include correspondence, 1916, with administrators at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts concerning hiring decisions at the school; correspondence, 1916-1917 and 1919-1920, with supporters during his runs for lieutenant governor and governor; correspondence, 1917 and 1919-1920, as lieutenant governor concerning legislation, public works, and political affairs; correspondence, 1917, relating to the Selective Service Legal Advisory Board; office records of Gardner's 1920 campaign headquarters in Shelby, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C.; and scattered letters, 1921-1928, concerning the 1924 gubernatorial race, the National Democratic Convention, the North Carolina State Fair Association, the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture, and Gardner's nomination for governor in 1928. Legal papers include correspondence with clients and colleagues (including law partners J. A. Anthony and Charles A. Burrus), and deeds, depositions, petitions, and other documents. Business papers are mostly receipts and correspondence with suppliers and buyers for Gardner's lumber, textile, real estate, investment, and farming activities in Shelby, N.C. Correspondents of note are S. B. Alexander, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, W. T. Chambliss, Hugh Chatham, Josephus Daniels, John W. Hanes, Claude Kitchin, Angus McLean, Odus M. Mull, and Robert Reynolds. There are family letters from Gardner's niece, Mary Ivey Gardner Beck of Morton, Wash., mostly discussing her financial difficulties. Of interest is a letter, 19 July 1927, from O. Max Gardner to his father-in-law, James L. Webb, describing a trip to England and Holland.

Papers, 1929-January 1932, are principally Gardner's correspondence as governor. They discuss legislation, political campaigns and political organizing in North Carolina, and as well as Gardner's future plans. A handful of personal letters are from Fay Gardner, Ralph Gardner, and Bess Gardner Hoey, who wrote giving news of family members. Bess Hoey's letters often discuss the financial difficulties of Mary Ivey Gardner Beck. Much of the correspondence in 1932 is that of Edwin M. Gill on behalf of Gardner (see Series 2.4.4 for similar correspondence). Of note among Gardner's correspondents are Josiah W. Bailey, Charles A. Burrus, Josephus Daniels, John W. Hanes, Angus McLean, Cameron Morrison, and Curtis B. Johnson. Filed with the undated material are a few biographical sketches and brochures.

Almost half of the papers, 1933-1943, are pleas received by Gardner for political patronage or favors. The remaining materials comprise correspondence, legal briefs, clippings, and other items relating to Gardner's work as counsel for the Rayon Manufacturers of America, the Cotton Textile Institute, Inc., the Coca-Cola Company, the Aeronautics Chamber of Commerce of America, the Aviation Corporation, and other clients; correspondence with the managers (including James Gardner) of the Cleveland Cloth Mills; and correspondence with politicians, educators, and others concerning North Carolina politics, national politics, consolidation of the University of North Carolina, the endowment and operation of Gardner-Webb College, and World War II economic policy. Frequent correspondents are Graham Anthony, Josiah W. Bailey, William T. Bost, N. E. Burgess, Harry Byrd, W. J. Carter, Norman Cocke, Josephus Daniels, J. C. B. Ehringhaus, Victor Emanuel, James A. Farley, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Frank P. Graham, John W. Hanes, Robert M. Hanes, Clyde R. Hoey, Baxter Jackson, H. Wiseman Kendall, Thurman Kitchin, Russell Leonard, Harold McGuire, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Fred W. Morrison, Odus M. Mull, Drew Pearson, W. S. Pepperell, Harry Reimer, Robert Reynolds, George Rogers, Seymour Sheriff, Robert Stevens, Vernon Taylor, Zeno Wall, Lindsay Warren, Lee Weathers, Edwin Yates Webb, James E. Webb, and Robert Woodruff. Occasional family letters were exchanged with Ralph Gardner, Fay Gardner, Bess Gardner Hoey, James Gardner, and Gardner's niece, Mary Ivey Gardner Beck, who wrote concerning financial woes and poor state of the lumber industry in Morton, Wash.

Papers, 1944-1946, are mostly correspondence and other papers relating to the business of the Advisory Board of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, Gardner's work as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, and cases handled by Gardner, Morrison & Rogers. Other correspondence is similar to that for 1933-1943 and includes many of the same correspondents. Letters also discuss many of the same topics, including Gardner-Webb College, consolidation of the University of North Carolina, the William Hayes Ackland estate case, North Carolina politics and national politics, operations at the Cleveland Cloth Mills, and Gardner's other business interests in Shelby, N.C. There are scattered family letters from Ralph Gardner, James Gardner, O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Madge Webb Riley that concern family news, finances, and politics.

Folder 1

1906-1909

Folder 2

1910-1911

Folder 3-26

1915

Folder 27-35

1916

Folder 36-60

1917

Folder 61-70

1919

Folder 71-99

1920

Folder 100

1921-1923

Folder 101

1924

Folder 102

1925

Folder 103-104

1926

Folder 105

1927

Folder 106-107

1928

Folder 108-111

1929

Folder 112-113

1930

Folder 114

1931

Folder 115-117

1931

Folder 118-157

1933

Folder 158-187

1934

Folder 188-217

1935

Folder 218-243

1936

Folder 244-287

1937

Folder 288-330

1938

Folder 331-348

1939

Folder 349-365

1940

Folder 366-396

1941

Folder 397-426

1942

Folder 427-474

1943

Folder 475-526

1944

Folder 527-615

1945

Folder 616-697

1946

Folder 698-703

1947

2. O. Max Gardner Political Files, 1905-1947.

About 2,200 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Speeches, 1905-1947; publicity items, 1929-1947; correspondence, 1942-1947; and subject files, 1920-1947, pertaining to the political career of O. Max Gardner. Items document most fully Gardner's term as governor of North Carolina and his decision whether or not to run for the United States Senate in 1944. The papers also provide glimpses into his work for the State Democratic Executive Committee, 1908-1915 (Series 2.1); Gardner's thoughts on World War I domestic policies; his term as lieutenant governor, 1916-1920 (Series 2.1); his gubernatorial campaigns, 1920 and 1928 (Series 2.1 and 2.4.4); his work as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., 1933-1942 (Series 2.1, 2.3.1, and 2.4.4); his service as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion's Advisory Board, 1945-1946 (Series 2.3.1 and 2.4.1); his term as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946 (Series 2.3.2 and 2.4.2); and his brief time as ambassador to England, 1946-1947 (Series 2.3.2 and 2.4.3). Other topics include state and national political races; Gardner-Webb College; consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; Gardner's business and civic affairs in Shelby, N.C.; and United States economic policy. Important correspondents are William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Don Elias, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Ben Gossett, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, Odus M. Mull, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Lee Weathers, and R. E. Williams.

2.1. Speeches, 1905-1947 and undated.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

O. Max Gardner's speeches, draft and final, 1905-1947; research materials used in their preparation; and related correspondence, event programs, and clippings. The speeches (campaign and political speeches, commencement and radio addresses, talks to social, business, and professional organizations, and addresses to the North Carolina General Assembly) best document Gardner's term as governor, 1929-1933. They also provide insight into his time as a political organizer for the State Democratic Executive Committee, 1908-1915; as lieutenant governor, 1916-1920; as a gubernatorial candidate, 1920, 1928; as a Washington, D.C., lawyer, 1934-1942; as chair of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Advisory Board, 1942-1946; and as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946.

Speeches, 1929-1933, were often prepared by Edwin M. Gill or Fred W. Morrison. Early topics are state and national politics; World War I; immigration restriction; prohibition ; highway construction; farm, labor, and education policy; and the United States Federal Reserve. Gubernatorial speeches address Gardner's "Live-at-Home" program, state finances, taxation, state prisons and schools, juvenile delinquency, agriculture and industry, labor strife, highways, and government reform. Post-1934 illuminate Gardner's role as a legal representative of the textile industry, with scattered items pertaining to federal banking and economic policy and the construction of an airport in Shelby, N.C. in 1944. There are commencement addresses for Shelby High School, North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina College for Women, Gardner-Webb College, and High Point College, among others.

Of interest in the background materials are items, June 1930, saved from a writing contest in support of Gardner's "Live-at-Home" program. Included is a copy of the winning essay by an African American student from Windsor Colored High School, Windsor, N.C. (see also 4/P-3613 for photograph of winners). For additional speeches, see Series 2.4.2.

Folder 704

1905

Folder 705

1908

Folder 706

1916-1921

Folder 707

ca. 1905-1922

Folder 708

1926-1927

Folder 709

1928

Folder 710-721

1929

Folder 722-733

1930

Folder 734-751

1931

Folder 752-762

1932

Folder 763-764

ca. 1930-1932

Folder 765-766

1933

Folder 767

1934

Folder 768-769

1935

Folder 770

1936

Folder 771-776

1937

Folder 777

1938

Folder 778-779

1939

Folder 780

Undated 1930s

Folder 781

1940

Folder 782

1941

Folder 783

1942

Folder 784-788

1943

Folder 789

1944

Folder 790

1945

Folder 791-796

1946

Folder 797

1947

Folder 798-799

Undated fragments and speech material

2.2. Publicity Materials, 1929-1945 and undated.

About 150 items.

Press releases, 1929-1932, 1937, 1943, 1945, and undated, prepared by Fred W. Morrison; newspaper and magazine articles, 1930, 1932, by O. Max Gardner; transcripts of newspaper and radio interviews with Gardner, 1942-1943, 1946; and drafts of various governor's proclamations, 1931. Most of the press releases summarize Gardner's speeches. Articles are Gardner's "1929 Review of North Carolina" (Virginian Pilot), "One State Cleans House " (Saturday Evening Post), and "Economy in State Government" (The Wharton News). Topics in the interviews are Gardner's gift of scholarships to Boiling Springs Junior College, North Carolina politics, and the United States postwar economy.

Folder 800

1928

Folder 801-803

1929

Folder 804-814

1930

Folder 815-818

1931

Folder 819-822

1932

Folder 823

1937, 1943, 1945 and undated

Folder 824

Article: "1929 Review of North Carolina," 1930

Folder 825

Article: "One State Cleans House," 1932

Folder 826

Article: "Economy in State Government," 1932

Folder 827

Interview: Scholarships, 4 June 1942

Folder 828

Interview: North Carolina politics, October 1943

Folder 829

Interview: Radio, June 1946

Folder 830

Proclamations, 1931

2.3. Political Correspondence, 1942-1947.

About 1,150 items.

Extensive correspondence, 1942-1945, that O. Max Gardner maintained on North Carolina and national politics, and limited correspondence, 1946-1947 (file incomplete), relating to his service as undersecretary of the United States Treasury and ambassador-elect to England. The principal topic in the wartime file is the possibility of Gardner's running for the United States Senate in 1944. Also discussed are political strategies and assessments of candidates in other state and national political races; Gardner-Webb College; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the North Carolina textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; and United States economic policy.

Journalists who were frequent correspondents include William T. Bost, H. Wiseman Kendall, Holt McPherson, Lee Weathers, Don Elias, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Julian S. Miller, R. E. Williams, and Jonathan Daniels. Political correspondents include Clyde R. Hoey, J. Melville Broughton, Edwin M. Gill, and Walter F. George. The postwar correspondence, comprising a small section (the letters G, M, and S) of an alphabetical file, is mostly routine office mail.

2.3.1. Wartime File, 1942-1945.

About 1,100 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Extensive correspondence, 1942-1945, that O. Max Gardner maintained on state and national politics. The principal topic in letters with prominent North Carolina journalists and politicians is the possibility of Gardner's running for the United States Senate in 1944. Also discussed are Josiah Bailey's 1942 United States Senate re-election bid; the 1944 North Carolina governor's race; the 1944 presidential race; the endowment and administration of Gardner-Webb College; the consolidation of the University of North Carolina; the North Carolina textile industry; the William Hayes Ackland estate case; and United States economic policy. Correspondents of note include William T. Bost, J. Melville Broughton, Jonathan Daniels, Don Elias, Walter F. George, Edwin M. Gill, Clyde R. Hoey, H. Wiseman Kendall, R. C. Lawrence, Holt McPherson, Julian S. Miller, D. Hiden Ramsey, Harry Riemer, Lee Weathers, and R. E. Williams. The letters speak freely and in great detail concerning political strategies and personal opinions of candidates and issues. Enclosed with many of the letters are speeches and clippings.

Folder 831

Folder 832-833

Folder 834-835

Bailey, Josiah W.

Folder 836

Bost, W. T.

Folder 837-838

Broughton, J. Melville

Folder 839

Folder 840

Folder 841-842

Democratic National Convention

Folder 843

Doughton, R. L.

Folder 844

Folder 845

Elias, Don S.

Folder 846

Folder 847

Folder 848

George, Walter F.

Folder 849

Gill, Edwin

Folder 850

Folder 851

Hoey, Clyde

Folder 852

Folder 853-854

Folder 855

Folder 856-857

Kendall, H. Wiseman

Folder 858

Folder 859

Lawrence, R. C.

Folder 860

Leonard, Russell

Folder 861-862

Folder 863-865

McPherson, Holt

Folder 866

Miller, Julian S.

Folder 867

Myers, A. G.

Folder 868

Folder 869

Folder 870

Politics

Folder 871

Folder 872

Folder 873

Folder 874

Ramsey, D. Hiden

Folder 875

Reynolds, Robert R.

Folder 876

Riener, Harry

Folder 877

Roosevelt, Franklin D.

Folder 878

Folder 879

Folder 880

Folder 881

Folder 882

Folder 883

Weathers, Lee B.

Folder 884

Williams, R. E. (Fleet)

2.3.2. Postwar File, 1946-1947.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

A small section (G, M, S) of an alphabetical office file, 1946-1947, that O. Max Gardner maintained as undersecretary of the United States Treasury and as ambassador-elect to England. The letters are mostly routine requests for information or for help expediting business with various governmental agencies. Several letters, especially those with Odus M. Mull and Edwin M. Gill, address politics and civic affairs in Shelby, N.C.; political and economic issues facing North Carolina and the nation; and Gardner's business ventures in Shelby, N.C. Of note is a letter, 16 March 1946, to Odus Mull, in which Gardner describes his job at the United States Treasury.

Folder 885

Gill, Edwin

Folder 886

Mull, Odus

Folder 887-888

2.4. Political Subject Files, 1920-1947 and undated.

About 500 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Subject files maintained by O. Max Gardner as chair of the Advisory Board of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, 1945-1946; as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, 1946; and as ambassador-elect to England, 1946-1947. There are also miscellaneous political subject files, 1920-1944. Included are meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, memoranda, reports, clippings and other press items, campaign materials and other political items, and event programs.

2.4.1. United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Files, 1945-1946.

About 50 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by type.

Primarily minutes, April 1945-March 1946, of United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Advisory Board meetings, with scattered agendas, resolutions, correspondence, memoranda, and reports concerning wages, prices, labor, employment, farm production, industry, and taxes.

Folder 889-909

Advisory Board Minutes, 1945-1946

Folder 910

Advisory Board Meetings: Agendas, 1944-1946

Folder 911-912

Advisory Board Meetings: Miscellaneous, 1945

Folder 913-914

Advisory Board Meetings: Resolutions

Folder 915

Advisory Board Meetings: Wage-Price Policy

Folder 916

Reconversion Section

Folder 917

State Department of Labor: Harry Wolfe

2.4.2. Undersecretary of the United States Treasury Files, 1946.

About 150 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by type.

Mostly letters received in response to Gardner's request for comments on the applicability to the country's economic situation of his ideas, contained in a 1933 speech, on cutting governmental expenditures, and other correspondence and press items relating to Gardner's work as undersecretary of the United States Treasury. Of interest in the press materials are a copy of Gardner's statement upon taking office, two brief biographical sketches of him, and two draft speeches by him.

Folder 918-919

Comments: 1933 Speeches

Folder 920

Miscellaneous

Folder 921

Press materials

2.4.3. Ambassador-Elect Files, 1946-1947.

About 150 items.

Mostly correspondence, press releases, clippings from United States and London newspapers, and miscellaneous files relating to Gardner's assumption of the position of ambassador to England and to the staffing and operation of the American Embassy in London. There are a few political files on topics such as Palestine and the United Nations. Of note in the correspondence is a letter, 7 December 1946, from Gardner to Henry R. Luce, describing his economic policy and sharing his thoughts on his new position.

Folder 922

Anglo-American Cooperation: Draft

Folder 923

Applications: Embassy positions

Folder 924-925

Clippings

Folder 926

Correspondence

Folder 927

Credentials: Presentation to the King

Folder 928

Embassy at London

Folder 929

Embassy: Furnishings

Folder 930

Embassy: Households supplies (including food and liquor)

Folder 931

Embassy: Personnel and employees

Folder 932

International laws

Folder 933

International trade

Folder 934

Medical service for O. Max Gardner

Folder 935

Palestine

Folder 936

Party government in America

Folder 937

Press representatives

Folder 938

Public Law 724: Foreign Service

Folder 939

Public statements: O. Max and Fay Webb Gardner

Folder 940

Stationery

Folder 941

Transportation, shipping facilities, arrangements

Folder 942

Treatment of expenses

Folder 943

United Nations

Folder 944

British universities

2.4.4. Miscellaneous Files, 1920-1944.

About 100 items.

Miscellaneous political subject files, 1920, 1928-1944 (mostly 1929-1933). The files contain correspondence, reports, memoranda, campaign and other political materials, event programs, and scattered clippings. Of particular interest is a small amount of constituent mail Gardner received in 1932 (answered by Edwin M. Gill) and materials from Gardner's 1920 gubernatorial campaign, Walter F. George's 1938 United States Senate campaign, and the North Carolina governor's race and United States Senate race of 1944. A few items also pertain to the United States air mail and to North Carolina prisons and agriculture.

Folder 945

Agriculture

Folder 946

Ashurst: Farewell to the Senate

Folder 947

Conference of Governors, 1931

Folder 948

Constituent mail: Edwin Gill, 1932

Folder 949-950

Event programs, 1931-1938

Folder 951

Farley, James

Folder 952

Florida Purity League

Folder 953

Foreign Air Mail Service

Folder 954

Gill, Edwin, 1933-1938

Folder 955

Gill, Edwin: "The Gardner Administration"

Folder 956

Gossett, B. B., 1942-1944

Folder 957

Governor's race: Gardner, 1920

Folder 958

Hanes, John W., 1939-1940

Folder 959

Hohe, H. G., 1937

Folder 960

Miscellaneous

Folder 961

Morrison, Fred, 1938

Folder 962

Photo requests, 1941

Folder 963-966

Politics, 1929-1942

Folder 967

Gill, Edwin: "The Return of the Native"

Folder 968

Reynolds, Bob, 1937

Folder 969

Senate and governor's races, 1944

Folder 970

Walter, George: Senate campaign, 1938

Folder 971

Tobacco, 1930

3. O. Max Gardner Law Office Files, 1901, 1911, 1916-1934, 1941-1946.

About 2,100 items.

Arrangement: by firm.

Files (bulk 1919-1930) from O. Max Gardner's Shelby, N.C., law firm, and files, 1937, 1941-1946, from his Washington, D.C., practice, Gardner, Morrison & Rogers. The Shelby files are principally those of Gardner's partner, Charles A. Burrus. They document family law, debt collection, and estate settlements in Cleveland County, N.C., and surrounding counties, and litigation of corporate cases in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. The papers include correspondence; research materials; legal documents; and scattered financial records for the firm and for O. Max Gardner, Fay Gardner, and James Gardner (Burrus was a financial representative of the Gardner family). Items relating to Gardner, Morrison & Rogers are primarily billing records and files on the settlement of the William Hayes Ackland estate case. Additional files document litigation relating to the textile industry, railroad industry, utilities industry, and other industries.

Researchers are advised to search all years thought germane to a particular case or individual. Related legal papers are also scattered throughout the chronological files in Series 1.

3.1. Shelby Law Firm Records, 1901, 1911, 1916-1934, and undated.

About 1,550 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Papers (bulk 1919-1930) of Charles A. Burrus, Gardner's law partner in Shelby, N.C., with scattered business and financial papers that Burrus kept for the Gardner family. Gardner items, 1923-1928, are found only infrequently and comprise mostly stock reports, 1920s, for Gardner & Suttle; papers, 1923-1924, relating to Gardner's construction of an automotive garage in Shelby, N.C.; miscellaneous stock reports for Fay Gardner; and Charles Burrus's correspondence, 1929-1933, with O. Max Gardner and James Gardner documenting the Gardners' financial affairs. Also included, 1927-early 1930s, are items relating to Burrus's work as city attorney for the town of Shelby, N.C.

Legal papers include correspondence, loan agreements, contracts, deeds, adoption papers, divorce and child custody petitions, wills and other estate papers, mortgage and insurance papers, summonses, affidavits, and sales receipts. Items dated 1901, 1911, and 1916-1917, actually pertain to later cases. The firm's client base drew primarily from the Cleveland County, N.C., area. Its reach, however, extended significantly into South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Corporate clients included the Southern Railway Company; Kimbrough Veazey Company, Appalachee, Ga.; Gaffney Livestock Company, Gaffney, S.C. ; Chero-Cola Bottling Company, Shelby, N.C.; Joseph Ness Art and Advertising, Atlanta, Ga.; and Southern Wood Preserving Company, Atlanta, Ga. Individual clients are mostly military pension petitioners, litigants in child custody and adoption cases, those seeking payment of delinquent accounts, and estate administrators. Miscellaneous papers pertain to problems Charles Burrus experienced with tenants of properties owned by his family and correspondence concerning improvements to his home. Correspondence, 1929-1933, between Gardner and Burrus documents Gardner's financial affairs.

Folder 972

1901, 1911, 1916-1919

Folder 973-974

1920

Folder 975-978

1921

Folder 979-981

1922

Folder 982-985

1923

Folder 986-994

1924

Folder 995-998

1925

Folder 999-1003

1926

Folder 1004-1011

1927

Folder 1012-1018

1928

Folder 1019

1929

Folder 1026-1027

1930

Folder 1028

1931-1934

Folder 1029

Undated

3.2. Washington, D.C., Firm Records, 1937-1946.

About 500 items.

Papers, 1937, 1941-1946, including financial records, of Gardner, Morrison & Rogers, and correspondence, legal documents, and research materials relating to cases handled by the firm. Best documented is the William Hayes Ackland estate case, which gave the University of North Carolina claim to funds provided by Ackland's will to build the present-day Ackland Art Museum. Included are scattered items relating to the Cannon Mills Company, Cone Export and Commission Company, Southern Railway Company , Peerless Oil & Gas Company, and North American Rayon Corporation. Files relating to North Carolina include one on the Boiling Springs Water Works and one on the Cleveland Foundation, Inc. (later the Gardner Foundation).

Folder 1030-1036

William Hayes Ackland estate case, 1937-1945

Folder 1037

Boiling Springs Water Works Board

Folder 1038

Breyer estate case

Folder 1039

Cannon Mills case, 1940-1942

Folder 1040

Cleveland Foundation, Inc., 1943

Folder 1041

Cone Export and Commission Company

Folder 1042-1046

Client bills and other papers, 1942

Folder 1047

Correspondence, 1938-1940, 1946

Folder 1048

Fees collected, 1942

Folder 1049

Financial statements, 1942

Folder 1050

Independent Aid, Inc.

Folder 1051

Miscellaneous

Folder 1052

North American Rayon Corporation

Folder 1053

Office

Folder 1054

Peerless Oil & Gas, 1939-1942

Folder 1055

Pennsylvania Railroad Company

Folder 1056

Mrs. R. J. Reynolds vs. R. J. Reynolds: 1946

Folder 1057

Sheriff, Seymour, 1942-1943

Folder 1058

Southern Railway, 1946

Folder 1059

Stonecutter Mills Company

Folder 1060

Symington, Stuart, 1946

4. O. Max Gardner Business and Personal Papers, 1931-1947 and undated.

About 6,000 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Records, 1935-1947, of the Cleveland Cloth Mills, and a subject file, 1931-1947, and correspondence file, 1945-1947, relating to the business and personal affairs of O. Max Gardner. Mill records, maintained separately by O. Max Gardner and James Gardner, document the mill's financing, operations, management, sales, litigation, and eventual sale in 1946, as well as the activities of its New York sales office and of a possible subsidiary, Carter Fabrics Corporation of Greensboro, N.C. Subject and correspondence files document the personal finances of the Gardner family and the operation of the Gardner Foundation, Inc., the Gardner Land Company, and the Sperry Corporation. There is also some information on the World War II service of O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Ralph Gardner; on Ralph Gardner's political career; on James Gardner's death in 1946; and on O. Max Gardner's appointment as ambassador to England.

4.1. Cleveland Cloth Mills Records, 1935-1947 and undated.

About 4,500 items.

Arrangement: by recordkeeper.

Business records, 1935-1948, of the Cleveland Cloth Mills in Shelby, N.C., documenting the mill's financing, daily operations, management, sales, litigation, and eventual sale in 1946, as well the activities of its New York sales office and of a possible subsidiary, Carter Fabrics Corporation of Greensboro, N.C.

4.1.1. Owner's Records,1935-1946.

About 1,500 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Business records, 1935-1947, and undated, of the Cleveland Cloth Mills in Shelby, N.C., kept by O. Max Gardner, the mill's owner. The records document the operation and management of the mill; sales by the firm's New York sales office, and the relationship of the mill to a possible subsidiary, Carter Fabrics Corporation of Greensboro, N.C. Almost all correspondence for 1935 and 1936 is with Odus M. Mull, treasurer of the mill. Later correspondence is primarily with James Gardner, N. E. Burgess, Irving Lewin, W. J. Carter, and other mill managers. Additional correspondence comprises interoffice memoranda, letters to stockholders and financiers, and correspondence with colleagues in the textile industry. There are also scattered financial statements and legal papers. Records, 1946 and 1947, pertain mostly to the sale of the mill.

Folder 1061-1063

1935

Folder 1064

1936

Folder 1065-1068

1937

Folder 1069

1937-1938

Folder 1070

1938

Folder 1071-1076

1939

Folder 1077-1081

1940

Folder 1082-1084

1941

Folder 1085-1089

1942

Folder 1090-1093

1943

Folder 1094-1095

1945

Folder 1096-1098

1946

4.1.2. Executive Vice President's Records, 1941-1946.

About 3,000 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Business records, 1941-January 1946, of Cleveland Cloth Mills in Shelby, N.C., kept by the mill's executive vice president, James Gardner. Included are records of the firm's New York sales office and of a possible subsidiary, Carter Fabrics Corporation of Greensboro, N.C. Papers are primarily interoffice memoranda between James Gardner, N. E. Burgess, Aaron B. Quinn, J. E. Bell, Irving Lewin, James Lybrand, W. S. Pepperell, W. J. Carter, and others. There is also correspondence with suppliers and scattered correspondence with stockholders and financiers. A number of letters are addressed to W. J. Carter as president of Carter Fabrics Corporation. Other records are financial statements and legal documents. The records describe mill operations, finances, and management; the procurement of machinery and materials; sales and marketing strategies; and law suits in which Cleveland Cloth Mills was involved.

Folder 1099-1140

1941

Folder 1141-1163

1942

Folder 1164-1189

1943

Folder 1190-1205

1944

Folder 1206-1220

1945

4.2. Business and Personal Subject Files, 1931-1947 and undated.

About 1,200 items.

Subject files, 1931, 1933-1947, maintained by O. Max Gardner, on the personal finances and business affairs of the Gardner family. Included are letters, stock lists, bank and tax records, and legal documents of O. Max Gardner, Fay Gardner, Madge Webb Riley , Margaret Love Gardner Burgess, Ralph Gardner, and O. Max Gardner, Jr. Files also document the Gardner Foundation, Inc., the Gardner Land Company, and the Sperry Corporation. A small amount of correspondence discusses O. Max Gardner, Jr.'s, World War II experiences at Fort Benning, Ga., 1943; Ralph Gardner's World War II service at Fort Bragg, N.C., 1943; and Ralph Gardner's political career, 1939-1940. Items of interest are wills for O. Max Gardner and Fay Gardner; a copy of a deed, 25 March 1942, granting land for an African American cemetery in Shelby, N.C.; and correspondence with Odus M. Mull (see Gardner Land Company).

Folder 1221

Biographical sketches: O. Max Gardner

Folder 1222

Burgess, Margaret Love

Folder 1223

Christmas cards, 1938

Folder 1224-1235

Financial, 1935-1947

Folder 1236

Gardner, Fay Webb

Folder 1237

Gardner Foundation

Folder 1238

Gardner, James Webb, 1940, 1945

Folder 1239-1240

Gardner Land Company, 1939-1946

Folder 1241-1243

Gardner, O. Max, Jr., 1943-1947

Folder 1244-1245

Gardner, O. Max: Last Will and Testament

Folder 1246-1253

Gardner, O. Max: Personal, 1936-1945

Folder 1254-1256

Gardner, Ralph Webb, 1939-1943

Folder 1257

Insurance

Folder 1258

Personal: Miscellaneous, Undated

Folder 1259-1267

Sperry Corporation, 1936-1946

Folder 1268

University of North Carolina, 1931, 1941, 1945-1946

Folder 1269

Webb-Gardner property, 1946

4.3. Business and Personal Correspondence File, 1945-1947.

About 200 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical.

Personal correspondence, almost all 1946-1947, of O. Max Gardner, received at the law offices of Gardner, Morrison & Rogers and forwarded to his office at the United States Treasury. Correspondence is primarily with friends, including many long-time political colleagues and journalists. Topics include Gardner's business affairs, the death of James Gardner, Gardner's appointment as ambassador to England, help needed in expediting political matters, O. Max Gardner, Jr.'s World War II military career, and Gardner's views on economics. There are also a few personal requests for legal opinions. Although letters with H. Wiseman Kendall discuss John Snyder's appointment as secretary of the United States Treasury, few others discuss politics in any detail. Of note is the text for an article, "The Challenge of Peacetime Abundance," that Gardner prepared for Look magazine. One letter, filed under A, has an attached biographical sketch of O. Max Gardner.

Folder 1270

Folder 1271

Folder 1272

Folder 1273

Folder 1274

Folder 1275

Folder 1276

Folder 1277

Folder 1278

Invitations

Folder 1279

Folder 1280

Folder 1281

Folder 1282

Folder 1283

Folder 1284

Folder 1285

Folder 1286

Folder 1287

Folder 1288

Folder 1289

Folder 1290

5. Gardner Family Papers, 1905-1966 and undated.

About 2,400 items.

Arrangement: by individual.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers (event programs, clippings, etc.), 1905-1959, of Fay Webb Gardner, with scattered correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1923-1948, of her sons Ralph Gardner, James Webb Gardner, and O. Max Gardner, Jr. Fay Gardner's papers, mostly correspondence, document her role as a political wife; her work with women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; her relationships with friends and Gardner and Webb family members in Shelby, N.C., and across North Carolina and in Lousana, Alberta, Canada; O. Max Gardner's political career; tributes to O. Max Gardner; and Fay Gardner's political and civic activities after his death. Other topics in the letters are courtship and marriage; student life at the University of North Carolina and at Yale University Law School; the State Democratic Executive Committee; life in the executive mansion in Raleigh, N.C.; summer camp in Asheville, N.C.; Washington, D.C., politics; the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; and Ralph Gardner's election to the North Carolina General Assembly, 1939.

A few letters are addressed to Fay's mother, Kansas Webb (Mrs. James L. Webb) and to her aunt, Madge Webb Riley, in Shelby, N.C., from friends and relatives. The papers of Ralph Gardner, James Gardner, and O. Max Gardner, Jr., describe Gardner family events; United States Army training in World War II; North Carolina politics; Gardner-Webb College; the Cleveland Cloth Mills; the Gardner Land Company; and the Cleveland Realty Company.

5.1. Fay Webb Gardner Papers, 1905-1966 and undated.

About 2,100 items.

Arrangement: by type.

Mostly family personal, and political correspondence, 1905-1961; invitations and visiting cards, ca. 1929-1938; and sympathy letter files, 1947, of Fay Gardner, primarily documenting her role as a political wife, her participation in women's organizations, and her political and civic activities. There is also information also on her courtship and marriage, events in her children's lives and careers, her relationships with friends and relatives, O. Max Gardner's career, and responses to his death.

5.1.1. Family, Personal, and Political Correspondence, 1905-1966 and undated.

About 800 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence, 1905-1947, documenting Fay Gardner's role as a political wife; her work with women's organizations in Shelby, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Washington, D.C.; her children's lives and careers; her relationships with friends and Webb and Gardner family members in Shelby, N.C., and across North Carolina and in Lousana, Alberta, Canada; O. Max Gardner's political career; correspondence and miscellaneous items, 1947-1966, documenting her political and civic activities; and tributes to O. Max Gardner. Letters from social and political acquaintances outnumber those with family and friends, but the latter are richer in detail. Most of the correspondence comprises letters received (only about 20 are written by Fay Gardner). A few letters are addressed to Kansas Webb (Mrs. James L. Webb) and to Madge Webb Riley in Shelby, N.C.

With one exception, all 1905 and 1907-1908 letters are from O. Max Gardner. He addressed love letters to Fay in school at Athens, Ga., and visiting in Gaffney, S.C., while he studied law at the University of North Carolina, 1905, and later practiced law in Shelby, N.C., 1907. The 1908 letters to Fay in Shelby describe receptions given his speeches as he traveled as an organizer for the Democratic Party; included are two broadsides for his appearances. One letter, May 1907, is to Fay from Buck Harris in Raleigh congratulating her on her upcoming marriage. There are no letters dated 1906 or 1909-1914.

Letters, 1915-1928, to Fay in Shelby are from personal and political friends and family members. They describe her activities in social organizations, including the Woman's Club of Shelby, the Woman's Missionary Union, and the Daughters of the American Revolution (see especially letters from her aunt Willie Webb). Of note are letters, 1915-1916, from Max's doctor and one from Max discussing a train wreck that left him hospitalized. Letters in late 1928 are mostly congratulatory notes on Max's election as governor, including two intimate letters from his sister, Addie Gardner Farthing of Lousana, Alberta, Canada, expressing pride in his achievements.

Correspondence, 1929-January 1933 (some undated), chiefly relates to Fay's role as first lady of North Carolina and includes letters from politicians, educators, journalists, other political wives, and friends. Also included is Gardner family correspondence. Political letters pertain to Fay Gardner's engagements and discuss the activities of women's organizations, especially the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Family correspondence comprises letters, 1929, 1932 and undated, from O. Max Gardner; letters, 1929-1932, Fay exchanged with her mother, Kansas Webb; letters, 1929-1931, from Addie Farthing; letters, 1929-1933 and undated, from her sister-in-law, Bess Gardner Hoey; and letters, 1930-1933, from Gardner, Webb, and Hoey family members in Shelby, N.C., Gastonia, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Canton, N.C., and in Lousana, Alberta, Canada. These letters especially illuminate the life of a governor's wife. They also give family news and express sympathy over the death of Fay's father, James L. Webb in 1930. Of particular interest are several letters Fay wrote to her mother in 1929 describing in detail her family's life in the executive mansion and a July governor's conference, where she met Franklin D. Roosevelt. Addie Farthing's letters discuss the effects of the Great Depression in Alberta, Canada, and the response of Canadian farmers, including an African-American immigrant, to Gardner's farm policies A few letters, 1930-1933, addressed to Kansas Webb and Madge Riley, are from family members, including Edwin Yates Webb. They discuss family, finances, and politics.

Correspondence, April 1933-February 1947, received at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., comprises mostly notes and letters from friends and relatives in Shelby, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C. Family correspondence includes letters, 1942, 1945, from O. Max Gardner, concerning his sister Bess Hoey's death and Washington, D.C., politics after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; letters, 1936-1938, from O. Max Gardner, Jr., describing life in Shelby, N.C., and summer camp in Asheville, N.C.; letters Fay exchanged, 1937-1939, 1942, with Ralph Gardner, who was at Yale University Law School and at Fort Bragg, N.C., about family, exams, and his election to the North Carolina General Assembly; sympathy letters Fay received upon the deaths of her mother in 1934 and her son James in 1946; and many letters, December 1946-February 1947, congratulating her on Max's being named ambassador to England and sympathy notes upon his sudden death. Included is the funeral eulogy written by Zeno Wall.

Correspondence (mostly letters received) and miscellaneous items, March 1947-1966, relate to Fay Gardner's political career and civic activities and to the legacy of O. Max Gardner. They mention her service as a delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention, as chair of the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, and as a member of the North Carolina State Advisory Board of Paroles. Many also document her role as a benefactor to Gardner-Webb College, and a few mention the political activities of her sons, Ralph Gardner and O. Max Gardner, Jr. Items in 1961 are letters, programs, photographs, and a speech by Fay Gardner at the University of North Carolina. Letters in 1965 pertain to the writing of a history of the Young Democratic Clubs of America. Correspondents of note are Harry S. Truman, Bess Truman , William C. Friday, Edwin M. Gill, Clyde R. Hoey, J. Melville Broughton, R. Gregg Cherry, and W. Kerr Scott.

Folder 1291

1905, 1907-1908

Folder 1292

1915-1927

Folder 1293

1928

Folder 1294-1296

1929

Folder 1297-1299

1930

Folder 1300

1931

Folder 1301-1306

1932

Folder 1307-1311

Undated 1929-January 1933

Folder 1312-1313

1933-1935

Folder 1314

1936-1938

Folder 1315

1939-1942, 1945-1946

Folder 1316

Undated 1934-1946

Folder 1317

Bon Voyage, December 1946-6 February 1947

Folder 1318

February-August 1947

Folder 1319

1948

Folder 1320

1949

Folder 1321

1950

Folder 1322

1952-1954

Folder 1323

1955-1959

Folder 1324

1961

Folder 1325

1962

Folder 1326

1963

Folder 1327

1964

Folder 1328

1965

Folder 1329

1966

Folder 1330

Undated

5.1.2. Invitations and Visiting Cards, 1929-1938.

About 250 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Invitations and visiting cards, 1929-January 1933, received by Fay Gardner while first lady of North Carolina, and February 1933-1938, while she lived at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. The invitations give a picture of the political and social circles in which the Gardners traveled and of Fay Gardner's role in helping to build her husband's political career.

Folder 1331-1338

1929-1938

5.1.3. Sympathy Letter Files, 1947.

About 1,100 items.

Arrangement: alphabetical by file.

Sympathy letter files organized by Fay Gardner after O. Max Gardner's death in February 1947. File I, arranged alphabetically, contains letters from officials in the United States and Britain and from Washington, D.C., friends. File II, arranged alphabetically by city, contains letters from officials in North Carolina and from friends and relatives across the state. File III, arranged alphabetically by state, contains letters from friends and relatives outside North Carolina. This file also contains letters received by Ralph Gardner and O. Max Gardner, Jr. Of note are several letters to Fay from Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman.

Folder 1339-1367

File I

Folder 1368-1452

File II

Folder 1453-1488

File III

5.2. Ralph Webb Gardner Papers, 1923-1965 and undated.

47 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Mostly correspondence, articles, and tributes Ralph Gardner kept that relate to O. Max Gardner's death and legacy, with additional miscellaneous North Carolina campaign materials (1948 Broughton-Umstead Senate race, Charles Johnson's gubernatorial campaign, and Ralph Gardner's 1956 Senate campaign), and correspondence, 1965, with Stephany Joy concerning the history of the Young Democratic Clubs of America. Items of note are a eulogy of O. Max Gardner by James E. Webb; a fifth-grade speech by Ralph Gardner; and a letter, 18 April 1934, to Ralph Gardner from O. Max Gardner, congratulating him on his induction into Phi Beta Kappa. Other items include brochures on Cleveland Cloth Mills, Gardner-Webb College, politics, and education.

Folder 1489

1923-1934

Folder 1490

1946-1947

Folder 1491

1948

Folder 1492

1951, 1954, 1965 and undated

5.3. James Webb Gardner Papers,1941-1946.

49 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Letters, 1941-1946, nearly all exchanged by James Webb Gardner in Shelby, N.C., and his younger brother, O. Max Gardner, Jr., while the latter was a student at North Carolina State College and in the United States Army. Max wrote from Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Wolters, Tex.; the Army Specialized Training Program in Raleigh, N.C.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Ord, Calif.; and en route to Japan, describing United States Army training and camp life and discussing his marriage and career ambitions. James Gardner's letters discuss the operations and finances of the Cleveland Cloth Mills, Gardner-Webb College, and a Shelby, N.C., farm owned by O. Max Gardner, Jr.; offer brotherly advice; and give family news. Also included are a letter, 10 July 1956, from S. S. Royster, concerning management of the Cleveland Cloth Mills; letters, 29 October 1941 and 16 January 1946, from O. Max Gardner discussing overcrowding in Washington, D.C., and Gardner-Webb College; and a letter, 7 December 1945, from Ralph Gardner in New Delhi, India, detailing his homecoming plans. A letter, 20 June 1942, from James to Ralph, discusses Ralph's military career, Cleveland Cloth Mills, and their brother Max.

Folder 1493

1941-1944

Folder 1494

1945-1946

5.4. O. Max Gardner, Jr., Papers, 1943-1961.

About 130 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Letters, 1945-1946, that O. Max Gardner, Jr., of Shelby, N.C., exchanged with O. Max Gardner in Washington, D.C.; letters, October 1946, from Fay Gardner; scattered letters from others; and clippings and financial papers, 1943-1961. The letters and papers concern Cleveland Cloth Mills and other family businesses, Gardner-Webb College, politics, family news, and the death of and tributes to O. Max Gardner.

Letters Max wrote his father provide rich detail on Cleveland Cloth Mills and Gardner-Webb College and on his educational, family, and career plans and civic activities. They mention family businesses, such as the Cleveland Realty Company and the Gardner Land Company. O. Max Gardner's letters provide encouragement and advice. Of note is a letter from O. Max Gardner to Ralph (attached to a 25 April 1945 letter to O. Max Gardner, Jr.), giving his views on Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Fay Gardner's letters describe a workers' strike at the Mayflower Hotel and the Gardners' trips to football games and family visits. Items dated after 1946 include correspondence, programs, and clippings that pertain mostly to tributes and memorials to O. Max Gardner. A few items are connected to O. Max Gardner, Jr.'s, United States Senate campaign, 1950-1951; his service on the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees; and business that he transacted for his father and his father's estate. Of interest is a letter, 7 April 1947, from O. Max Gardner, Jr., to Odus M. Mull, concerning his candidacy for membership in the Gardner-Webb College Board of Trustees.

Folder 1495-1496

1943-1946

Folder 1497

1947

Folder 1498

1948

Folder 1499

1949-1950

Folder 1500

1952-1953

Folder 1501

1954-1961

6. Gardner-Webb College Files, 1940-1961 and undated.

About 700 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Papers, 1940-1947 and undated, maintained by O. Max Gardner in his capacity as a benefactor and trustee of Gardner-Webb College in Boiling Springs, N.C. (formerly Boiling Springs Junior College), and scattered papers, 1947-1961 and undated, of O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Fay Gardner concerning the school.

The bulk of the papers are O. Max Gardner's correspondence with school supporters and administrators discussing fundraising efforts and, to some extent, staffing decisions and construction and maintenance projects. Letters, along with scattered financial records, including audits and contributors' lists, shed light on the early endowment of Gardner-Webb and on O. Max Gardner's pivotal role in developing it. Additional items include a few legal papers documenting the beginnings of the school, clippings, school bulletins, committee reports, and programs from school events.

Post-1947 items include a few letters of O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Fay Gardner concerning financial support of the college; a handful of school event programs and clippings; and a few items pertaining to the dedication of the O. Max Gardner Memorial Student Building in 1948.

Folder 1502-1503

1940-1942

Folder 1504-1510

1943

Folder 1511-1517

1944

Folder 1518-1522

1945

Folder 1523-1525

1946

Folder 1526

1947-1961

Folder 1527

Undated 1940s-1960s

7. Odus M. Mull Papers, 1930-1942 and undated.

About 300 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Political and business correspondence and scattered financial records, 1930-1931, 1936-1938, 1940, 1942, and undated, of Odus M. Mull of Shelby, N.C. Most items, 1930-1936, pertain to Mull's work with the State Democratic Executive Committee, of which he twice served as chair. Letters after 1936, though having some political content, primarily relate to Mull's interests in the Cleveland Cloth Mills and the Cleveland Realty Company in Shelby, N.C.

Mull's political correspondents include members of the State Democratic Executive Committee, state and federal Democratic Party representatives, and other North Carolina political figures, including Cameron Morrison, Clyde R. Hoey, William B. Umstead, J. Wallace Winborne, W. Kerr Scott, Cale K. Burgess, Robert M. Hanes, O. Max Gardner, and A. J. Maxwell. Topics are State Democratic Executive Committee business and finances; State Democratic Executive Committee organizing efforts; political campaigns, especially that of Clyde R. Hoey for North Carolina governor in 1936; and road and highway improvements. Of particular interest is a series of letters, October 1930, from D. F. Batts, a field organizer, written to Committee Secretary W. P. Horton, reporting Batts's work on getting out the vote for the 1930 North Carolina Congressional elections. Scattered items (mostly bank books, purchase orders, and financial reports by Mull) pertain to the Committee's finances. Also of interest is a 1938 speech on the effect of the liquor question on the Democratic Party.

Mull's business correspondence, late 1936-1942, much of it with O. Max Gardner, discusses the operation of the Cleveland Cloth Mills and the Cleveland Realty Company in Shelby.

Folder 1528-1531

1930

Folder 1532

1931

Folder 1533-1535

1936

Folder 1536

1937

Folder 1537

1938

Folder 1538

Undated 1930s

Folder 1539

1940

Folder 1540

1942

8. Isaac C. Griffin Papers, 1917-1918.

About 400 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers of Isaac C. Griffin of Shelby, N.C., generated in his capacity as chair of the North Carolina State Fuel Administration's Local Fuel Committee for Cleveland County, N.C., and as superintendent of the Shelby Public Schools. Early papers, January 1917-May 1918, pertain to Griffin's wartime service as county fuel committee chair and include correspondence with businessmen and state and town officials, scattered circulars and pamphlets, fuel surveys, fuel supplier reports, and press releases. Papers, June-November 1918, document the operation, staffing, funding, and maintenance of the Shelby Public Schools and include limited correspondence with students and faculty members, textbook publishers, service providers, and state educational officials. A few letters and other items in 1918 relate to programs given by the Men's Bible Class of the First Baptist Church of Shelby.

Folder 1541-1542

1917

Folder 1543

1917-1918

Folder 1544-1550

1918

9. Pictures, 1892-1949 and undated.

173 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Two picture albums, 1927 and 1928-1933, compiled by Fay Webb Gardner; 168 photographs, 1892-1949 and undated, almost all black and white, including snapshots, portraits, and team, group, and individual photographs; one colored pencil sketch, 1931; and two undated color postcards. The albums document a trip to Germany and England taken by O. Max Gardner and Fay Gardner and Gardner's years as governor of North Carolina. The bulk of the photographs are from 1900-1906, 1929-1939, and 1946. Most of the early photographs are from O. Max Gardner's college years. They document his participation in football, dramatic arts, and academic pursuits at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the University of North Carolina. The remainder of the photographs pertain to his political and legal career as lieutenant governor and governor of North Carolina, as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Advisory Board of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion, as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, and as ambassador-elect to England. Gardner family items are scattered throughout.

Note that many other photographs may be found in scrapbooks compiled by Fay Gardner (Series 10).

PA-3613/1. Photograph album, 1927, compiled by Fay Gardner, containing snapshots taken on a summer trip by the Gardners to England and Germany.

PA-3613/2. Photograph album, 1928-1933, "Years as Governor," compiled by Fay Gardner, contains photographs taken at Gardner's inauguration as governor of North Carolina; of the Gardners at official state functions and social events; of the executive mansion, its grounds and staff; and of friends and political colleagues.

Folder 1/P-3613

Portrait of Bess Gardner, Addie Gardner, and Cleo Gardner, 1892, and portrait of June Gardner, 1898, in a Spanish-American War uniform.

Folder 2/P-3613.

O. Max Gardner college and law school photographs, 1900-1906. Included are portraits of Gardner; several group photographs of football teams at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the University of North Carolina; pictures of Gardner in his football uniform; a group portrait of the Agromack editorial staff; a group portrait, including Gardner, of several students in military-style uniform; cast photos from plays at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; and a group portait of an unidentified baseball team, in which Gardner appears in street clothes.

Folder 3/P-3613

Photographs, 1916-1919, 1921, 1927-1928. Included are a snapshot, 1916, of O. Max Gardner sitting in front of the passenger car in which he was injured during a train wreck in 1915; a photograph of Gardner standing with a girl selling Liberty Bonds; a photograph, 1921, of Gardner speaking on Armistice Day in Fayetteville, N.C.; a photograph, 1927, of Gardner's Men's Bible Class, First Baptist Church of Shelby, N.C.; and a photograph, 1928, of Gardner, Clyde R. Hoey, Edwin Yates Webb, and James L. Webb in Shelby, N.C.

Folder 4/P-3613

Portraits, photographs, and snapshots, 1929-1932, of O. Max Gardner as governor of North Carolina and one portrait of Fay Gardner. Individuals in the photographs with Gardner include Angus W. McLean, Cameron Morrison, and Fay Gardner. There are two photographs, 1930, taken with winners of a "Live-at-Home" essay contest, a photograph, 1931, of the North Carolina General Assembly and its employees; a sketch (colored pencil), 1931, of an unidentified individual; a photograph of a pencil drawing of O. Max Gardner by Eva Flowers Taylor; and a portrait, 1932, of John N. Garner.

Folder 5/P-3613

Portraits of O. Max Gardner and photographs and snapshots of Gardner with political and business associates, ca. 1933-1939. Individuals pictured include Fay Gardner, Clyde R. Hoey, Bess Hoey, Odus M. Mull, Edwin M. Gill, Edwin Gardner, Ed Johnson, James A. Farley, Robert L. Doughton, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jack Garner, Vernon Taylor, Walter F. George, and Robert Woodruff. Many of the photos are snapshots of Gardner with business and political associates at privately owned hunting lodges or group photos taken at political functions, such as the 1939 Jackson Day Dinner. One photograph, 1938, shows Gardner with friends in Ralph Gardner's campaign headquarters awaiting state Senate election results. Also included is a portrait of Robert R. Reynolds.

Folder 6/P-3613

Photographs, 1940-1941, of O. Max Gardner with political colleagues, including Raleigh, N.C., mayor Graham Andrew, J. C. B. Ehringhaus, Clyde R. Hoey, Cameron Morrison, and J. Melville Broughton; a photograph of a pencil drawing, 1941, of Gardner's nephew, Graham Anthony; and two snapshots of Fay Gardner, 1942.

Folder 7/P-3613

Photographs, 1943-1945, of O. Max Gardner with political colleagues and one snapshot, 1943, of Fay Gardner. Included are two photographs, 1943, of Gardner with Clyde R. Hoey and J. Melville Broughton at Gardner-Webb College; a photograph, 1944, of Gardner with J. Melville Broughton and J. C. B. Ehringhaus at the Democratic National Convention; a photograph, 1945, of Gardner with Clyde R. Hoey, in Washington, D.C.; four photographs, 1945, of Gardner and fellow members of the United States Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion Advisory Board (one visiting the White House); and two photographs of Gardner with an unidentified colleague.

Folder 8/P-3613

Portraits and snapshots, 1946, of O. Max Gardner while undersecretary of the United States Treasury, including several photographs taken at his swearing-in ceremony and in his office, and seven photographs, December 1946, of Gardner with his son, Ralph Gardner, at Gardner-Webb College and talking with residents in Cleveland County, N.C.

Folder 9/P-3613

Portraits, January-February 1947, of O. Max Gardner and a photograph of Gardner with Fay Gardner.

Folder 10/P-3613

Two photographs, 1949, of Fay Gardner, Ralph Gardner, Edwin M. Gill, and Hathaway Cross at the historical marker honoring O. Max Gardner in Shelby, N.C.

Folder 11/P-3613

Two photographs, undated, of O. Max Gardner, one fishing aboard a boat, the other shaking hands with an unidentified individual.

Folder 12/P-3613

Portraits and photographs, undated, of Gardner family members, including O. Max Gardner and Fay Gardner, O. Max Gardner, Jr., and Ralph Gardner.

Folder 13/P-3613

Portraits, undated, of political and business associates, including Robert Woodruff, Fred M. Vinson, Clyde R. Hoey, Josiah W. Bailey, Lindsay C. Warren, and J. Walter Lambeth; a snapshot, undated, of Eleanor Roosevelt; a snapshot of three unidentified colleagues, possibly from Pan American Airways; and two unidentified group portraits, one ca. 1910s.

Folder 14/P-3613

Snapshots, undated, of mill houses belonging to the Cleveland Cloth Mills, Shelby, N.C.

Folder 15/P-3613

Snapshots, undated, of several Shelby, N.C., locations, including the Graded School Building, the First Baptist Church of Shelby, and the Gardners' home, and two color postcards, undated, one of the First Baptist Church and one of the Cleveland County Courthouse.

Folder 16/P-3613

Photographs, undated, of unidentified political associates.

Folder 17-18/P-3613

Photographs, undated, of an unidentified office, a building (probably at Gardner-Webb College), a house (the birthplace either of O. Max Gardner or Fay Gardner), two political cartoons, and the five sisters of O. Max Gardner.

10. Notebooks and Scrapbooks, ca. 1900-1957.

32 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Notebooks, 1900-1924, kept by O. Max Gardner as an undergraduate, 1900-1903, at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; as a law student, 1905-1906, at the University of North Carolina; and during his early political career, 1907-1924. Also included are scrapbooks kept by Fay Gardner that chiefly document O. Max Gardner's political career, the Gardner family, O. Max Gardner's death, and tributes to him.

Folder 1551

Volume 1: ca. 1900-1917, 200 p. Notebook of O. Max Gardner with class notes taken by Gardner at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the University of North Carolina; drafts of later speeches; notes on legal cases; and collected axioms, aphorisms, anecdotes, jokes, and quotations to be used in political speeches.

Folder 1552

Volume 2: 1905-1917, 74 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings relating to O. Max Gardner's academic and athletic activities at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts and the University of North Carolina and to his work as an organizer for the State Democratic Executive Committee, as a North Carolina state senator, and as lieutenant governor.

Folder 1553

Volume 3: 1913, 1916-1919, 94 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings relating to O. Max Gardner's term as lieutenant governor and to his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1919. One item, 1913, is a printed address by Gardner.

Folder 1554

Volume 4: 1920, 124 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings relating to the contest for the 1920 Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Folder 1555

Volume 5: ca. 1900-1924, 64 p. Notebook of O. Max Gardner with Gardner's class notes from the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; political clippings, 1910s-1920s; and collected axioms, aphorisms, anecdotes, jokes, and quotations clipped from various sources.

Folder 1556

Volume 6: 1918, 1925-1926, and undated, 88 p. Notebook of O. Max Gardner with Gardner's thoughts on political issues and axioms, anecdotes, jokes, and quotations collected to be used in speeches.

Folder 1557

Volume 7: 1928, 117 p. Scrapbook of letters submitted to a Cleveland Star contest, "Why Every Voter in Cleveland County Should Vote for Hon. O. Max Gardner." The volume was presented to O. Max Gardner upon his inauguration as governor.

Folder 1558

Volume S-8: 1920, 1928-1929. 61 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings and miscellaneous items relating to O. Max Gardner's election, inauguration, and early activities as governor of North Carolina.

Volume S-9: 1925-1929, 76 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's political career, including his candidacy for governor of North Carolina.

Volume S-10: 1928-1929, 60 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's election and inauguration as governor of North Carolina and on his first year in office.

Volumes S-11 - S-20: 1929-1932. Scrapbooks compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's activities as governor of North Carolina.

Volume S-21: 1907, 1919-1933, 78 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's political career, including his candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, 1919-1920; his work within the Democratic Party, 1921-1928; and his term as governor, 1929-1933.

Volume S-22: 1932-1934. 88 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's activities as governor of North Carolina; on the inauguration of J. C. B. Ehringhaus as governor of North Carolina; on the political career of Clyde R. Hoey; on O. Max Gardner's political prospects in the mid-1930s; on Gardner's role in the Democratic National Committee; on strikes at the Cleveland Cloth Mills; and on consolidation of the University of North Carolina.

Volume S-23: 1929, 1932-1937. 105 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's law practice in Washington, D.C.; on the school activities of Ralph Gardner and O. Max Gardner, Jr.; on the consolidation of the University of North Carolina; and on Clyde R. Hoey's campaign for and term as governor of North Carolina, 1934-1937.

Volume S-24: 1938-1943. 117 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings, buttons, and broadsides from O. Max Gardner's political activities with the Democratic Party; Ralph Gardner's 1938 North Carolina Senate campaign; and various political and civic functions in which the Gardners were involved. There are several photographs, including Gardner family snapshots and photos from the Shelby, N.C., centennial celebration.

Folder 1559

Volume S-20: Enclosures

Folder 1560-1562

Volume S-23: Enclosures

Folder 1563-1565

Volume S-24: Enclosures

Folder 1566

Volume 25: 1931-1946. 30 p. Scrapbook compiled by O. Max Gardner with letters he received from Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Jonathan Daniels, Fred M. Vinson, and others.

Folder 1567

Volume S-26: 1942-1946. 105 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings, buttons, and miscellaneous materials from O. Max Gardner's possible United States Senate run in 1934 and his legal career, and clippings on Gardner-Webb College and O. Max Gardner, Jr.'s, marriage. Included are many Gardner family snapshots and a few political photographs.

Volume S-27: 1945-1946. About 90 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's appointment as undersecretary of the United States Treasury, and on Cleveland Cloth Mills, Gardner-Webb College, and the death of James Gardner. Also included are letters exchanged by O. Max Gardner and James Gardner, numerous snapshots of Gardner family members, photographs of Gardner with political associates, and event programs and other family and political ephemera.

Volumes S-28: 1942-1947. About 55 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's political activities within the Democratic Party and on her social activities in Washington, D.C. The volume also contains numerous Gardner family photographs; letters Fay Gardner considered particularly important, including a few sympathy letters upon O. Max Gardner's death; and other items. (Formerly bound with Volume S-29 as one unit.)

Volume S-29: 1942-1947. About 120 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about Fay Gardner's social activities, O. Max Gardner's selection as ambassador to England, and his death. The volume also contains numerous family and political photographs and other items. (Formerly bound with Volume S-28 as one unit.)

Volume S-30: 1946-1947. 160 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's selection as ambassador to England and on his death, funeral, and tributes to him. The volume also contains numerous family and political photographs and other items.

Volume S-31: 1920, 1929-1933, 1935-1939, 1941-1950. 94 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings, mostly 1940s, about O. Max Gardner's legal, business, and political career; the Cleveland Cloth Mills; Gardner-Webb College; the political career of James Webb; the death of O. Max Gardner and tributes to him; the death of many of his political associates; and the 1950 campaign of O. Max Gardner, Jr., for the North Carolina State Senate.

Volume S-32: 1931-1957. About 70 p. Scrapbook compiled by Fay Gardner with clippings about O. Max Gardner's selection as ambassador to England; his death and tributes to him; and on Gardner-Webb College, Cleveland Cloth Mills, and the political activities of Fay Gardner, Odus M. Mull, and other long-time political friends. The volume also contains portraits and photographs of O. Max Gardner with political associates.

Folder 1568

Volume S-26: Enclosures

Additions

Addition of November 1999 (Acc. 98518)

About 50 items.

1907-1953.

Deeds and other documents relating to several real estate transactions involving O. Max Gardner in and around Shelby, N.C. There is also correspondence, mostly between O. Max Gardner and his wife, Fay Webb Gardner. There are also letters from Clyde Hoey, as well as other members of the Gardner family. The letters primarily discuss day-to-day matters and family issues. In particular, there is a letter from Clyde Hoey to O. Max Gardner in which he affirms his intention not to remarry in the wake of the death of his wife, Bess Gardner Hoey (O. Max Gardner's sister). There are also letters sent to Fay Webb Gardner expressing condolences over death of her husband and thanking her for work she did for the Democratic Party in North Carolina, as well as several memorial items relating to O. Max Gardner, including a memorial folder from his funeral, a card detailing his military service during the Spanish-American War, and the text of a speech delivered by Howard Odum at a dinner in O. Max Gardner's honor held in Greensboro, N.C., in 1953.

Folder 1569

Deeds and Indentures, 1904-1906

Folder 1570

Deeds and Indentures, 1910-1911

Folder 1571

Deeds and Indentures, 1912-1914

Folder 1572

Deeds and Indentures, 1918

Folder 1573-1574

Deeds and Indentures, 1919

Folder 1575

Deeds and Indentures, 1921-1922

Folder 1576

Deeds and Indentures, 1923-1925

Folder 1577

Deeds and Indentures, 1926

Folder 1578

Deeds and Indentures, 1927-1928

Folder 1579

Deeds and Indentures, 1929-1930

Folder 1580

Deeds and Indentures, 1942 and undated

Folder 1581

Correspondence, 1907

Folder 1582

Correspondence, 1934-1939

Folder 1583

Correspondence, 1940

Folder 1584

Correspondence, 1941-1947

Folder 1585

Correspondence, 1948-1949

Folder 1586

Correspondence, 1950

Folder 1587

Correspondence, 1951-1953

Folder 1588

Correspondence, undated

Folder 1589

Memorial items, 1953 and undated

Addition of November 2000 (Acc. 98789)

About 200 items (0.5 linear feet).

1920-1949.

Mostly correspondence between various relatives of O. Max Gardner, especially Adelaide Gardner Farthing and Bess Gardner Hoey (his sisters) and Mary Ivey Gardner Beck (his niece). These letters discuss various aspects of everyday life in rural Washington state, where Mary Ivey Gardner Beck lived, and Alberta, Canada, where Adelaide Gardner Farthing then resided. Also included are a program from a banquet given by former students of Adelaide Gardner Farthing when she briefly returned from Canada in 1925 and a photograph of Oliver Max Gardner's five sisters.

Folder 1590

Correspondence and related items, 1920-1929

Folder 1591

Correspondence and related items, 1930

Folder 1592-1596

Correspondence and related items, 1931

Folder 1597

Correspondence and related items, 1932-1934

Folder 1598

Correspondence and related items, 1937-1938

Folder 1599

Correspondence and related items, 1941-1942

Folder 1600

Correspondence and related items, 1946-1948