Athenaeum Turners Records

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of papers, photographs, and publications accumulated by the Atheneum Turner Society and related organizations. To the greatest degree possible, these materials are now organized according to the generating body within the society, usually at the committee level. Materials dating to before the First World War are mostly in German, often written in handwritten fraktur script or printed in German Gothic type. There are numerous gaps in the records, though the activities of the Athenaeum Turners since 1904 are fairly well documented.

The 27 series are: Constitutions and By-laws, Board of Directors, Presidents and senior officer papers, the Standing Committee, the Athenaeum Turners Investment Club (A.T.T.I.C.), Athletic, Budget, Chorus, Culture, Donnerstagkranz, Finance, General Education, History, House/Building and Grounds, Library, Long Range Goals, Membership, Orchestra, Program, Publicity and Public Relations, School, Solicitation, and Theater Committees, the Turn Zoegling Verein, Publications, Related Organizations, and Photographs. Photographs are listed both in the appropriate series and in a photograph inventory at the end of the series list.

Constitutions and Bylaws Records, 1897-1983, contain printed copies of the constitutions of the society detailing the structure and organization of the Turnverein. Includes several annotated revisions and public record copies.

Board of Directors Records, 1871-1995, documents the activities of the main administrative body for the Athenaeum Turners. This series contains includes the record copy of the minutes of the Annual Meeting of this society from 1931 until 1986, with 1934, 1935, 1937, 1946, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1977, and 1982 missing. To supplement this run are minutes from the regular meetings of the Board of Directors from 1894-1904 and 1931-1995. Thus there is a significant gap for the period 1904-1931. There are legal documents from 1871-1902 and 1974-1991, short runs of formal correspondence from 1917-1919 and from 1932-1992, American Turners correspondence from 1941-1990, and mass mailing letters from the board to the membership with information on upcoming events, administrative decisions, and finances for 1950-1995.

President and Senior Officers= Records, 1910-1993, contain the papers and correspondence of the Chairmen and Presidents of the Athenaeum Turners, and assorted correspondence relating to various members of the Vonnegut family. Most significant in this series are reports to the membership for Annual Meetings in 1910, 1911, 1917, 1934, 1939-40, 1944-1968, 1974-1992 and varied correspondence and informative letters to the membership 1939-1992.

Standing Committees Records, 1944-1988, contain lists of committee members for most of the permanent and a few of the temporary committees answering to the Board of Directors from 1944-1977 and lists of committee member responsibilities from 1969-1971.

Athenaeum Turners Investment Club (A.T.T.I.C.) Records, 1980-1983, contain minutes and valuation statements for an investment club formed in 1979. The club limited its membership to people who were members of the Athenaeum Turners. Club members met monthly to discuss the club=s investments and to vote on the purchase or sale of individual stocks. Profits and losses were divided among the club=s membership based on the amount of money they had invested in the club.

Athletic Committee Records, 1903-1991, contain annual reports and monthly reports from the Turnlehrer (athletic instructor) and Turnwarte (athletic director) to the board of directors from 1903-1904 and 1909-1912, and annual reports from the committee in 1910, 1944-1968, 1973, 1975-1976, and 1980-1984. The athletic activities reflected in these reports are distinct from the activities of the American Turners and the Normal College, with some overlap when it comes to classes in physical education.

A related organization included in this series is the School of Physical Education and the Performing Arts. The School of Physical Education and the Performing Arts (1979-1990) was largely a brainchild of Robert Swan, President of the Athenaeum Turners. It was intended to serve as a community continuing education program tied to the Athenaeum, however it eventually spun off other organizations such as the Lockerbie Players theater group and the Free University, which became quite distinct. The newsletters, minutes, and correspondence generated by these groups also provide important insight into the personalities involved and the broader changes taking place in the Athenaeum community.

There are a few photographs and event advertisements included in this collection, and the Athenaeum Newsletter usually contains information about the activities of this group as well.

Budget Committee Records, 1945-1993, contain annual reports with a few proposed budgets from individual committees until 1957. Included in this run is an itemized budget for 1956 and a fouteen-year summary of the theater, gym, chorus, and orchestra budgets done in 1957. There are also a few committee member lists, and proposed budgets for most of the period 1975-1993.

Chorus Committee Records, 1909-1970s, contain reports from the Indianapolis Maennerchor, which was affiliated with the Athenaeum Turners from 1938 to 1973. There are also lyrics and some music from Turnfests around 1909, Turner songs from the 1940s, and German cultural sing-along lyric sheets from the 1970s.

Culture Committee Records, 1895-1993, contain the 1910 and 1912 annual reports of the Mental Culture Committee, annual reports and meeting minutes of the Culture Committee from the 1980s and 1990s, and records and photographs from cultural and miscellaneous events from 1895-1988.

Donnerstagkranz Records, 1973-1985, contain the minutes and programs of a Thursday Luncheon Club lecture series. Originally referred to as the Aad hoc committee this group provided a forum for lectures on general local interest topics. Includes some member lists.

Finance Committee Records, 1869-1995, contain an incomplete run of annual financial reports to the membership and directors from 1904 to 1992, Trustees reports from the 1940s, and annual audits from 1949-1981 (missing 1963, 1972-1978), and profit loss records from 1869 until after the First World War. Some of the gaps in the formal record are supplemented by an additional run of profit loss statements starting in September 1938 and ending with December 1965, and for 1975. There are also debt papers from the 1970s when the Athenaeum flirted with bankruptcy, some income tax returns, and correspondence dealing with tax exempt status from the 1940 through the 1970s - a topic which first appeared during the Second World War as part of a government effort to repress societies deemed to be Nazi sympathizers. A few records regarding employee wages and Christmas bonuses during the 1950s and 1960s also include lists of employees names.

General Education Committee Records, 1922-1999, contain reports, correspondence, and announcements of activities, including, but not restricted to, the annual Pioneer Banquets for 50-year members of the Athenaeum. This group also assumed responsibility for organizing and presenting cultural events and formal evening dinners honoring prominent members such as Leo Rappaport (1922), Otto Lieber (1931), Carl B. Sputh (1952), Ferdinand Schaefer, the first director of the Indianapolis Symphony (1953), and Chancellor Herman B Wells of Indiana University (1971).

History Committee Records, 1887-1999, contain histories of the Turner association and the Athenaeum building, and obituaries and biographies of members. The subscription list for the building of a new turnhall in 1887, and the obituaries of prominent figures in the German and Turner communities such as Carl Lieber, Herman Lieber, and Otto Schissel, provide additional insights for the first 50 years of the Socialer Turnverein.

House/Building and Grounds Committees Records, 1897-1992, contain annual reports, committee meeting minutes, and correspondence relating to the Socialer Turnverein involvement in the operations of the Athenaeum building. This committee is distinct from the Socialer Turnverein Stock Association that technically owned the building, but reflects the confusion within the membership about this separation. The oldest records in this series are correspondence related to the hiring of a new house manager, Henry Wawra, in 1897. There are minutes and reports from 1901 to 1912, but this is followed by a substantial gap in the records. This period is documented to some degree by the personal and legal correspondence of Leo Rappaport between 1928 and 1951. The correspondence of the house managers is fragmentary between the 1950s and the 1980s, but does provide some material regarding the period when the Indianapolis Repertory Theater was located in the Athenaeum building. There are also floor plans, some repair receipts, and materials relating to the leasing of the restaurant, 1959-1985.

Library Committee Records, 1904-1987, contain a handwritten document apparently submitted as a report at the 1904 annual meeting and the minutes from a 1987 meeting.

Long Range Goals Committee Records, 1985-1991, contain a 1985 committee report and a 1991 letter to the Athenaeum members from President Hugh Enyart, announcing the reactivation of the committee.

Membership Committee Records, 1876-1990, contain an irregular run of annual reports between 1944 and 1985, weekly reports from 1960-1989, membership lists for various years from the 1870s through 1990, directories, minutes from 1968-87, membership applications and records from 1912-1990s, correspondence and membership literature. There are also summary reports of membership totals during the 1950s and 1960s that help document the substantial decline of the Athenaeum Turners.

Orchestra Committee Records, 1883-1995, contain an incomplete run of annual reports from 1943 to 1970, advertisements of performances, informative correspondence sent to members, and photographs of the orchestra.

Program Committees Records, 1886-2001, contain reports, a small set of correspondence, and advertisements for events associated with the Athenaeum in general. The regular annual events are arranged chronologically through the year, beginning with the January Mask Ball of 1903 and concluding with New Years Eve/ Sylvester parties on Dec. 31. Each regular event is also divided into folders reflecting the pre- First World War period, 1920-1950, and the period since 1950. In this way it is possible to compare events from the more German pre-war period, the years of acculturation and decline, and the period of somewhat romantic revival by second and third generation German-Americans (Oktoberfest, for example, was never celebrated by the native Germans in Indianapolis, but is now the most widely recognized German festival.)

Publicity Committee Records, 1944-1987, contain annual reports from 1944, 1967-1969, and 1972, minutes, news releases from the 1970s and 1980s, and slides used for a 1981 lecture.

School Committee Report, 1911, is a single handwritten document apparently submitted as a report at the annual meeting.

Solicitation Committee Records, 1969-1976, contain minutes, correspondence, organization plans, and reports from the period when the Athenaeum society was under greatest financial and membership pressure. In an effort to save and preserve ownership of the building and increase membership, calling teams were formed to contact all members and former members for support.

Theater Committee Records, 1940-1987, contain 1949 constitution and by-laws for the theater group, annual reports and membership lists for the dramatic club, and correspondence, advertisements, newsletters, and programs for a series of theater groups associated with the Athenaeum Turners (the IRT is not included since it only leased space in the building and had almost no direct connection to the Turner society.) Of special note are the Dramatic Club newsletters from 1942-1944, and the Athenaeum Players Spotlight and Newsletter from 1971 and 1981-1982.

Turn Zoegling Verein Records, 1872-1886, contain meeting minutes, membership lists, financial records, and records for cultural meetings of the Turn Zoegling Verein. This youth organization for teenagers was started on September 4, 1870.

Publications, 1919-2005, include newsletters published by the Athenaeum Turners for their members. While there are gaps in the runs of these newsletters, the holdings of the Athenaeum Gym News (1919-1922), Athenaeum News (1958-1985), and Turner Nachrichten (1986-1993) are substantial enough to provide a good overview of the society=s activities during these years.

Related Organization, 1981-2001, contain records from organizations with which the Athenaeum Turners have been actively associated. Most notable of these is the Athenaeum Foundation, the not-for-profit organization established in 1991 that purchased the Athenaeum from the Socialer Turnverein Stock Association and now manages the building and raises funds to restore and maintain it.

Photographs, circa 1880-2000, contain photographs of individual members, groups, activities of the organization, and views of the exterior and interior of the Athenaeum.