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Delaware County Tuberculosis Association records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-141

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of files relating to the operation of the D.C.T.A. from 1919 to 1991. This includes annual reports, short histories, scrapbooks, statistical reports on tuberculosis in Delaware County, photographs, articles of incorporation, Christmas Seals sales, relations with other Delaware County organizations, policy, employment practices, and various programs. Oversize material consists of the 1922 Certificate of Incorporation and a 1987 Proclamation of “TB Awareness Week.”

Dates

  • 1919-1991

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Biographical Note / Historical Note / Administrative History

The Delaware County Tuberculosis Association (D.C.T.A.) Began in 1919 largely through the efforts of Mrs. Elem Whiteley and the State Tuberculosis Association. Three years later, the Association incorporated because it was decided that the efforts of association members could no longer be sustained on a purely voluntary basis. Many of the wives of the Ball brothers sat on the first board and E.B. Ball became president of the D.C.T.A. in 1923. Thereafter, its resources and efforts doubled in the community with broad educational, preventative, and treatment programs. Relationships with organizations like the Visiting Nurses Association with even more resources.

Over the years, the D.C.T.A. has expanded its scope to include not only the causes of tuberculosis but also other chest diseases, humanitarian visits to crippled children, and general improvement of health practices within Delaware County. They instituted mass testing, x-raying, and treatment in Delaware County for tuberculosis and were granted a small cottage on 1922 by Delaware County to act as a local sanatorium. However, the cottage was not adequate to take care of Delaware County's tuberculosis cases and so a long relationship with the Irene Byron Sanatorium in Fort Wayne began. In 1958, The United Fund, a major supporter of the association, wanted to change it into a purely educational organization. After investigating the idea it was decided to reduce the number of nurses employed by the D.C.T.A. but to let it continue to function as it had. The number of tuberculosis cases fell sharply during the period from the D.C.T.A.’s inception to 1962 when most of the sanatoriums on the U.S. closed. The Delaware County Tuberculosis association continues its efforts today helping with testing and education but also treatment when needed. It played an integral part in reducing the number of tuberculosis cases as well as elevating the general level of education about infectious diseases in Delaware County.

Extent

6.5 Cubic Feet (8 boxes, 1 box photographs, 1 oversize folder, 1 70mm film)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series:

Series 1: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association annual reports, 1925-1987

Series 2: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association meeting minutes and other related materials, 1919-1984

Series 3: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association correspondence and other written documents, 1925-1984

Series 4: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association financial reports, 1953-1984

Series 5: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association other reports, 1921-1984

Series 6: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association subject files, 1919-1991

Series 7: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association scrapbooks, 1938-1991

Series 8: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association photographs, 1919-1934

Series 9: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association oversize materials, 1922, 1987

Series 10: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association film, circa 1950s-1960s

Series 11: Delaware County Tuberculosis Association website archive, 2019-

Custodial History

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Existence and Location of Copies

Select materials from this collection have been digitized and are available online in the Ball State University Libraries Digital Media Repository:

http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/DlCnTbclsAs

Processing Information

Collection reprocessed 2013/10/06 by Leslie Nellis. EAD finding aid created 2009/03/26 by Maren Read. EAD finding aid revised 2012/10/09 by Julie Hausknecht. EAD finding aid revised 2013/10/06 by Leslie Nellis.

Title
Delaware County Tuberculosis Association records
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository

Contact:
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA