Appendix: The Fugitive History of the Richmond First Club

Relatively little is known about the earliest years of the Club's history, since most of the official papers (minutes of the meetings of the Board, newsletters, correspondence and reports) for the period from 1919 to the early 1970s have disappeared. Occasionally Club records reveal some tidbits contained in the papers that an individual contributed to the archives. The papers of Raymond Pinchbeck, presently housed in the Virginia Baptist Historical Society affiliated with the University of Richmond, include First Club files. The so-called Pinchbeck collection includes rosters, a few reports, some minutes and correspondence, and other materials added to the file after his death. This reflects the RFC's decision in October, 1968 to designate the Urban Center of the Institute for Business and Community Development at the University of Richmond the repository for the Club's records. Apparently the Historical Society decided to add newly received records to the Pinchbeck file in lieu of creating a Richmond-First Club collection. Perhaps to ensure the longevity of the agreement, the Club voted to become an associate member of the Institute, but the arrangement lasted only one year. In 1969 the Richmond Public Library agreed to house the Club's records.

Despite the Club's concern for maintaining the record of its history, over the years, materials have disappeared. An undated and unsigned letter in the files reports on the state of the archives.

In 1940 our Club went to some expense and considerable work in establishing two files of club records. One file is still in possession of the Club. The other, containing a card index record of members and former members cannot be found. The lost file was a steel filing cabinet of a size to hold cards about 5 inches wide by 3 inches deep. The front section listed all Active and Associate members, with addresses. The rear section listed former members from 1940 back to the founding of the club in 1919 for whom records could be found. The file was originally placed in custody of the Club Secretary with instructions to keep it up to date and pass it along to the new Secretary. Sometime after 1940---specific year not known-- the file disappeared.
As late as 1954, it appears that RFC records existed, albeit in a disorganized and partial state. After noting the poor condition of the records stored in the Builders' Exchange Building, the president called on the members to locate Club records. The minutes of November 9, 1954 state that "Dudley had volunteered to head a committee to organize and rehabilitate the Club's old records." The president appointed an Archives Committee consisting of Dudley and Pierce Lumpkin. By that time many valuable records already had disappeared.

The Bulletin for 1958 announced the formation of yet another archives committee and a renewed effort to find and save Club records. Nothing seems to have come of it, and in 1960 the Club set out anew to save its records when President Robert Buford established an archives committee and appointed Morton Marks as its chair. In his letter to Marks, Buford notes that,

over the years the Club has accumulated a fairly substantial collection of reports, minutes, bulletins and other records. These have been passed from Secretary to Secretary and are now spread around several locations. Hugh Rudd has indicated his willingness to permit the Club to store these records in the basement of his office. And what I would like for you to do is secure a sturdy used filing cabinet and then collect, sort and file as many of the Club papers as you can locate.
Soon after the formation of the Archives Committee, former President Ben R. Johns sent a letter to Robert Buford stating "I am delivering to you separately the RFC files, historical newspaper clippings and three scotch brand magnetic tapes, which I have had in my custody." Buford learned that records, even when saved, sometimes were incomplete. During that period the Secretary's minutes included both Board meetings and general membership meetings. In a letter dated October 2, 1961, Edward Parker, then serving as secretary, notes gaps in the minutes. "In the year 1959-1960 formal minutes were not kept of the board meetings and regular meetings." Over the next few months, Parker delivered to Marks the RFC records in his possession.

In 1979 Stuart White wrote to Grace Duncan, a Board member assigned the task of gathering RFC documents and writing a history of the Club.

In 1929 I began as a reporter for the News Leader and was assigned to cover Club meetings and did so until 1936, when I took a job in state government. I was soon invited to join RFC and did. I served as president 1939-40 and we had a 20th year history. During my presidency we tried to gather all materials on the Club and put them into some filing cabinets. The filing cabinets were to be the responsibility of each incoming president.
When White wanted to use the files for writing his history of the Club, ("A Fifty-Year Participation in Local Government," issued in 1969) in celebration of the Club's fiftieth anniversary, he found that they had disappeared. In his letter to Ms. Duncan, White says that he believed that "they had been discarded inadvertently by Roy Dudley." In 1965 Dudley wrote that "some valuable early records were left with Walter Bishop for safe keeping." The Bulletin dated September 14, 1967 reported that two filing cabinets of information (reports, studies, etc.) maintained by Stuart White since 1939 were missing. Lacking RFC documents, White "read all the newspaper clippings and reports that I could find." He also asked all past presidents to provide information. He reported little cooperation there.

After learning the extent of the loss, the Fiftieth Anniversary Committee announced that the Richmond Public Library had agreed to keep Club records. Despite the periodic efforts to capture and save the Club's files, in 1979 Grace Duncan found little to help her, although she did report that in August, 1978 she had received some Dudley materials from his daughter, Mrs. Patteson. She also reported that the "City Library found two file drawers with file folders by year." She wrote to all former presidents asking if they might have some Club records.

One who responded to her call for help was Jim Doherty, President of the Richmond First Club, 1973-74. He wrote to her that "I have a good deal of material in the trunk of my car, and I would be glad to deposit that at the library..." Finding little other help forthcoming, in June, 1980, Duncan wrote to Doherty that she was "returning the material from your files in connection with the Richmond-First Club. I explained to Lee Frazier that it was impossible for me to continue with the history of the Club."

In 1984 the Club tried again to save its history and appointed Jonathan MacDonald to head up an effort to locate the missing records. Responding to MacDonald's request for old records, former President Jim Edge noted that Bill Slaughter had compiled some tapes as an oral history of the Club. Those tapes have disappeared.

Building on MacDonald's work in locating the records, in 1985 the Club established another committee to find a home for the archives. In 1986, the committee chaired by Barbara Fuhrmann announced that it had examined and organized two file boxes of materials surveyed in 1984-85 by Jonathan MacDonald. It recommended that the Club get a filing cabinet and deliver the files to the Richmond Public Library; that the Club be responsible for organizing and cataloging the materials; that once accomplished, this would be the annual responsibility of the Secretary. Unfortunately, in August, 1986 the newly appointed director of the Richmond Public Library decided that the Club should remove its records.

In the Spring of 1987 the Special Collections and Archives Department at James Branch Cabell Library offered to act as the official repository for the Club's records. All existing files, including a copy of the material held in the Pinchbeck Collection housed at the Virginia Baptist Historical Association, are now available at the library at Virginia Commonwealth University. To ensure that records are complete and current, the Club secretary sends a copy of the Board's minutes to the Library shortly after each meeting. The Library also receives a copy of the Bulletin.

about the author
john H. Whaley, Jr., ph.d.

In April, 1987 J. Whaley addressed the Club on the importance of saving its archives and offered to place them in the Special Collections and Archives Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. Shortly thereafter he received an invitation to join the Club and has been an enthusiastic member since. In addition to serving on various committees, he took responsibility for collecting and preserving the Club archives. His interest in the Club's records and history stems from his background as both a historian (a Ph.D. in history from Indiana University) and as a librarian (MLS from Indiana University). Since 1985 he has worked at Virginia Commonwealth University, for most of that time directing the work of the Special Collections and Archives Department of University Library Services.