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A Guide to the

Fulks Run Ruritan Club Records, 1958-2008

SC# 5020

Compiled by: Tiffany W. Cole, February 2010

Revised by: Angela L. Walthall, November 2011

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

Title: Fulks Run Ruritan Club Records, 1958-2008

Collection No.: SC# 5020

Creator: Fulks Run Ruritan Club (Fulks Run, Va.)

Extent: Two record center boxes; 2.02 linear feet

Language: English

Abstract: 

The Fulks Run Ruritan Club Records, 1958-2008, consist of two record center boxes (2.02 linear feet) of meeting minutes, rosters, community service reports, treasurer notes, receipts, correspondence, and handbooks documenting this Fulks Run, Va. organization.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions:

None.

Use Restrictions:

None.

Preferred Citation: 

Fulks Run Ruritan Club Records, 1958-2008, SC# 5020, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Acquisition Information:

The collection was donated by Fulks Run Ruritan Club member Chris Bolgiano in March 2009.

In August 2011, Chris Bolgiano donated a number of handbooks, meeting calendars, and convention programs.

Accruals:

May receive accruals; the organization retains recent records.

In August 2011, a small number of handbooks, convention programs, meeting calendars, receipts, and other administrative documents were added to the collection.

Historical Note

Founded in 1958, the Fulks Run Chapter of the Ruritan National organization is a community service group in which members work together to improve their neighborhoods through fundraisers, social events, blood drives, pet vaccinations, trash pick-ups, essay contests, guest speakers, and other efforts to aid needy community members.  The club has also strived to support students in the area by sponsoring school-related trips and providing scholarships to graduating high school seniors.

After attracting thirty-eight members, Fulks Run natives and charter members Garnett Turner and Andrew Thomas orchestrated the first Ruritan club meeting in March 1958.  The Ruritan club developed a close working relationship with Fulks Run Elementary School aiding in its construction in 1961 and providing funds and supplies to support the school's Weekly Religious Education program.  The club continues to hold its monthly meetings at the elementary school.  On behalf of the local community, the Ruritans presented a vocal oppostition against the proposed Brocks Gap Dam during the mid-1960s and 1970s and wrote various letters to government officials and attended hearings.  The club's annual Fulks Run Lawn Party has become a profitable event held every summer in late July with musical acts, games, carnival rides, and a beauty pageant attracting large crowds from surrounding communities.  After thirty-five years as a male-only organization, the Fulks Run Ruritan Club membership grew to include women in 1993.

For more on the history of the Fulks Run Ruritan Club, see Chris Bolgiano's The Fulks Run Ruritan Club, 1958-2008:  A Documentary History.  Fulks Run, Va.:  Fulks Run Ruritan Club, 2008.

Scope and Content

The Fulks Run Ruritan Club Records, 1958-2008, consists of meeting minutes, rosters, community service reports, treasurer notes, receipts, correspondence, and handbooks documenting this Fulks Run, VA. organization and is arranged in two series, Administrative Files and Printed Material.

Series I, Administrative Files, 1958-2003, consists primarily of monthly mintues from Ruritan club meetings and is arranged chronologically.  Records of members' meeting attendance are documented as well as guest speakers, community service efforts, fundraisers, and financial records.  Correspondence between Ruritan club members and local schools (particularly Fulks Run Elementary), organizations, businesses, and community members is also present, as well as records pertaining to the annual Fulks Run Lawn Party and July 4th festivities.  Loose receipts document local businesses such as Fulks Run Grocery, Neff Lumber Mills, Rhodes Candy Company, Valley Bowling Center, and Mac's Superette for many years prior to 1980 when the club began utilizing a formal treasurer's handbook.  The folder containing the year 1960 includes only a single roll sheet with a list of members' names.  Two oversize documents, one dated 1966 and one dated 1977, have been pulled from their original folders and placed in an oversize folder in Box 1.

Series II, Printed Material, 1961-2008, includes convention and banquet programs and club handbooks, though not every year is represented.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series:

I. Administrative Files, 1958-2003

II. Printed Material, 1961-2008

Bibliography

Bolgiano, Chris.  The Fulks Run Ruritan Club, 1958-2008:  A Documentary History.  Fulks Run Va.:  Fulks Run Ruritan Club, 2008.

Related Material

For further information regarding the 1985 flood and its impact on the Fulks Run Ruritan Park see Ron Turner's videorecording 1985 Flood:  Fulks Run and Bergton, Va.  Ron Turner Video Productions, 1985.

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