R 891
Joplin Business College.
Booklets, ca. 1920-1939.
One folder.

These are booklets and other papers promoting the Joplin Business College (“The Joiner School”), a commercial trade school located at Joplin in Jasper County, Missouri.

The Joplin Business College was organized in 1891 by W. B. Joiner. It provided instruction in basic business and office skills, including shorthand, bookkeeping, and typewriting. Located in a “new building” at the corner of Fourth and Virginia in downtown Joplin, by about 1920 the school claimed an enrollment of over 500.

The earlier, 24-page booklet is undated, but inside was found a “complimentary scholarship” certificate made out to Dorotha Snack, to be used by 15 November 1921. Miss Snack had “received the highest average grade in the class of 1921” in Newton County School District No. 39. The booklet is illustrated with photographs of the school and its well-equipped classrooms, which included the latest office machines. There are also views of scenes in Joplin, including the Frisco Building, the Connor Hotel, Main Street, churches, the high school, the Carnegie library, and the mining district. There are also many portrait photographs of recent graduates, including their names and places of employment.

The later, 20-page booklet is also undated, but it was sent to Lula Martin of Independence, Kan., along with a cover letter dated 31 August 1939. The cover letter was signed by President W. N. Newland, and the booklet features a photographic portrait of Newland on its first page. Otherwise, this booklet is much more general than the earlier one, using stock photographs and generic descriptions of the advantages of a practical business education. Accompanying the booklet were brochures promoting secretarial training and stenotypy.

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