Rodeo Association of America, 1940s

This collection contains administrative and organizational records pertaining to Deadwood’s annual Days of ’76 celebration and dating from 1904 to 2012. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, contracts, event programs, promotional materials, analog and digital photographs, photographic negatives, and video recordings. Since the Days of ’76 celebration was administered for many years by the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce minutes, annual reports, correspondence, and related administrative records are included in the collection. Nell Perrigoue, Chamber of Commerce executive secretary, figures prominently in the correspondence. The collection is arranged in three series: Administrative and Subject Files, Research Files, and Audiovisual Materials.

The Administrative and Subject Files form the bulk of the collection and document the planning for and operations of the Days of ’76 celebration from 1924 to 2011. The series is arranged chronologically by decade, then alphabetically. Records include primarily correspondence, financial documents, contracts, and Chamber of Commerce records. Of particular note are files relating to the booking of rodeo competitors, specialty acts, and officials, as well as documentation on the Days of ’76 Museum. A group of files from the 1990s documents a legal case following a stagecoach accident during the 1990 celebration.

The Research Files are predominantly photocopies and notes compiled by Suzanne Julin in the early 2000s in preparation for histories of the Days of ’76 celebration, local Native American communities, Days of ’76 vehicles, and the Don Clowser collection. The series also includes research notes of other Days of ’76 volunteers and staff and a small number of books. The series is minimally processed. Many photocopies include notations that link them to Julin’s histories. Most of the original documents copied by Julin are included in the Administrative and Subject Files series, but some are from other collections and archives. A memorandum explaining Julin’s research is included in the series and provides a good access point. One of Julin’s histories of the Days of ’76 is included in this series and others can be viewed in the Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center’s vertical research files.

The Audiovisual Materials series consists of analog and digital photographs, photographic negatives, slides, and video recordings dating from the 1920s to 2011. The series is arranged in subseries by medium. Each subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.