Information Sheet

 

 

R         Frisco Travelers.

456                  Souvenir programs, 1915-1921.

                                    One folder.

 

 

 

These are illustrated souvenir programs of annual meetings of the Frisco Travel­ers, a busi­nessmen’s association, at Rolla, Union, and St. James, Missouri, in 1915, 1920, and 1921.  The programs in­clude ros­ters of members, photographs of officers, schedules of events, articles on the host towns, and advertisements.

 

The Frisco Travelers was an association of traveling salesmen based in St. Louis, and local merchants and businessmen in Jefferson City, Hermann, Lebanon, Pacific, Richland, Rolla, St. James, St. Louis, Salem, Union, and Washington, Missouri.  The organization was affiliated with the National Commercial Travelers League, which also included the Southeast Missouri Drum­mers’ Association, the Missouri Drummers’ Association, and the Egyptian Hustlers.  The rela­tion­ship of the Frisco Travelers with the St. Louis‑San Francisco (“Frisco”) Railway Company is not clear, but the souvenir programs bear a variation of the “coonskin” corporate logo of the rail­road, and five of the line’s freight and passenger agents are listed as honorary members of the as­socia­tion.  Frisco Travelers may have been analogous to present‑day “frequent fliers,” supported by the railroad through free rail passes and other considera­tions.  The members of the association repre­sented many prominent businesses in St. Louis such as the Anheuser and Lemp brewing compa­nies, the Shapleigh and Simmons hardware companies, and the Campbell and Sligo iron compa­nies.  Local grocery, dry goods, drug, and tobacco firms were also well‑represented, as were out-of-state busi­nesses such as the Na­tional Biscuit Company and the John Deere Company.

 

The annual meetings were primarily social events.  The festivities featured parades, ball games, track and field events, concerts, and dances.  The events of the final day also included a brief business meeting.  The souvenir programs of the meetings consist primarily of advertising and photographs of officers and members.

 

The program for the fourth annual meeting, held at Rolla on 18-19 June 1915, includes a list of officers and committee members, a program of events, photographs of previous officers, and an article on the Missouri School of Mines (now the University of Missouri-Rolla).  The program for the ninth annual meeting, held at Union on 17-19 June 1920, includes a complete roster of over 200 members and an article about the host city by historian Clark Brown.  The pro­gram for the tenth annual meeting, held in St. James on 9-11 June 1921, includes a membership roster listing one hundred eighty “active,” fifteen “associated,” and twenty‑seven “honorary” members, many whom had their portraits published in the souvenir program.  Also included is a story on the town of St. James writ­ten by H. E. Gorman, adjutant of the State Federal Soldiers’ Home of Missouri and secretary of the St. James Chamber of Commerce.  The story is illustrated with photo­graphs of St. James and its principal officials and businessmen including Mayor Mayme H. Ousley, Dr. Ed­ward W. Ousley, Sherman Bishop, H. B. Bishop, J. F. Burge, E. M. Pinto, and Frank Verkamp.

 

 

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