Helen Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Iron Rail Vacation Home

The records of the Iron Rail Vacation Home (IRVH), 1909-1980 and undated, include correspondence, receipted bills, payrolls, annual reports, bank records, minutes, inventories, guest books, calendars, photographs, tax and insurance papers, and printed material documenting the administration, goals, personnel, and activities of the organization. These records also document activities of the True Blue Girls, a sister organization of former IRVH campers. Materials are organized in nine subseries, as follows:

Subseries I: New York City Office, 1912-1958, includes files created by Ellen R. Boyd, the first director of the camp in Wenham, as well as financial statements, meeting minutes, correspondence, annual reports, receipted bills, vouchers, and solicitations and receipts for contributions to charitable organizations. Materials in this subseries are arranged chronologically by file type.

Subseries II: Files of Ruth W. Larsen, 1923-1954, consists of files generated by Larsen during her tenure as camp director from 1940-1954, and by her secretaries Doris Kennedy (Mrs. W.P. Kennedy) and Hazel M. Steed. Materials are arranged in six sub-subseries: 1. Alphabetical Files, 1941-1952, undated; 2. Campers, 1941-1954; 3. Correspondence, 1940-1954; 4. Counselors, 1946-1954; 5. Maintenance and Upkeep, 1923-1954; and 6. Name Files, 1940-1954. This subseries provides the most insight into the activities and administration of the camp at IRVH. It contains information about housekeeping and maintenance, farm production at Wenham, staff recruitment and hiring decisions, campers (including lists of camp attendees), and about individuals to whom IRVH provided tuition and other financial assistance. Please note that selected files concerning campers and counselors are not available for research use. These files are noted in the container list below.

Subseries III: Pittsburgh Office, 1921-1972, pertains largely to financial and legal concerns of the IRVH, and is divided into seven sub-subseries: 1. Annual Meetings, 1921-1956; 2. Bank Accounts, 1921-1966; 3. Correspondence, 1921-1970; 4. Deeds, 1909-1956; 5. Insurance, 1941-1956; 6. Payrolls, 1931-1955; and 7. Annual Reports to the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Welfare, 1930-1948. Some payroll information in this subseries is not available for research use.

Subseries IV: Milliken & Bevin, Architects, 1939-1941 and undated, includes correspondence, bills, receipts, memoranda, and specifications documenting improvements to the camp as designed by Milliken & Bevin, and executed by local Wenham contractor Stephen D. Edwards. The number 364 appears on many of these papers, as that was the work number assigned by the architects to the Iron Rail project. Architectural drawings are housed separately from this subseries.

Subseries V: Contributions to Charitable Organizations, 1956-1972, contains files documenting charitable contributions from the Iron Rail Vacation Home during the years in which it operated primarily as a foundation. Contributions were largely made to organizations located in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Files may include correspondence, solicitation letters, and receipts, and are arranged alphabetically by organization.

Subseries VI: Girls Clubs of America, Inc., 1948-1972, contains audit reports, bank statements, correspondence, payrolls, reports to the state of Massachusetts, tax returns, and transfer records documenting the business and financial activities of IRVH after the donation of its camp in Wenham, Mass., to the Girls Clubs of America.

Subseries VII: True Blue Girls, 1912-1980 and undated, contains correspondence, notes, lists, pamphlets, meeting minutes, newsletters, and other printed material documenting activities of the True Blue Girls, who were former campers at the Iron Rail Vacation Home. Includes information regarding local clubs formed in Boston, Lawrence, and Lowell, Mass., and details regarding reunions organized in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1970s.

Subseries VIII: Photographs and Miscellanea, 1951-1954 and undated, includes photograph albums and loose photographs of the camp grounds and campers, an unidentified set of keys, and an embosser used at the Iron Rail Vacation Home.

Subseries IX: Calendars and Bound Volumes, 1909-1971 and undated, contains appointment books, desk calendars, guest books, meeting minutes, and financial records such as cash books and ledgers. It also contains a book possible recording prospective campers from the early years of the organization, and a ledger from the Canary Cottage Tea Room, founded for war relief in 1919.