Title: Nelson Mink Farm Records
Inclusive Dates: 1937-1958

Creator:

• Nelson Mink Farm (Verona, Wis.)

Call Number: Mss 582

Quantity: 2.2 c.f. (6 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of the Nelson Mink Farm, Verona, Wisconsin (1936- ), a complete mink farming operation started by Ray W. Nelson (1893-1983) and now operated by his son Fred Nelson. The records document both the operation of the Nelson Mink Farm and also the workings of several mink farming associations to which the Nelsons belonged. Farm records include the land deed, original licenses, and incoming business correspondence, 1937-1958. Financial records are limited to sales data from 1938 to 1958 and expenditures from 1938 to 1958. There are informational files on the care of mink and their diseases and diet. The records of the mink farming associations include those of the Fur Food Cooperative, the Great Lakes Mink Association, the Mutation Mink Breeders Association, the National Board of Fur Farm Organization, the United Mink Producers Association, and the Wisconsin Mink Breeders Association. The files include correspondence, publications, and information on activities. The records of the United Mink Producers Association are especially detailed, including their constitution, by-laws, and financial statements as well as Ray Nelson's files and correspondence from the years when he was president and member of the board of directors of the association.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00582

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Ray W. Nelson (1893-1983) started the Nelson Mink Farm operation in Verona, Wisconsin in 1936. He was later joined in the business by his son, Fred Nelson (1942- ), who still operates the farm. From the start, the business was a complete mink operation combining the raising of mink for sale as pelts with sales of breeding stock.

The Nelsons were actively involved in the various mink farming (both marketing and breeding) associations. From their origin as organizations providing means for mink farmers to join together to strengthen and unify their industry, the associations grew into powerful marketing forces with worldwide organizations.

The Nelson Farm was especially active in the Mutation Mink Breeders Association and the United Mink Producers Association (UMPA). UMPA, which was founded in 1934 in Wisconsin was incorporated as a cooperative in 1938. Originally involved only in the marketing of pelts, it added a purchasing service in 1946. Ray Nelson served as a director of the association from 1941 to 1958 and as its president from 1954-1955.

In 1944, several of the mink farming associations joined together to form the National Board of Fur Farm Organizations. This organization, while not directly involved in marketing itself, functioned as a congress of local, regional, and national groups that formulated national policy, worked to improve the industry, and encouraged research in their field.

After Ray Nelson died in November, 1983, Fred and his wife Geri continued to operate the farm. A fire on December 11, 1986, with damages estimated at $250,000 crippled farm operations, destroying the two-story building used to process pelts and grind feed. While most of the mink were saved, some pelts and feed were destroyed and some of the breeding stock was mixed. At this writing (1987), the farm has continued operations and begun rebuilding.

The records of the Nelson Mink Farm include the records both of the farm and of several fur farm associations to which the Nelsons belonged. The Nelson farm records are organized into four series: Background Files, Correspondence, Financial Records, and Informational Files. The final series of Trade Association Records is composed of the records of the fur farm associations.

The BACKGROUND FILES are small, containing materials such as the farm's warranty deed, operating licenses, and wartime acreage allotments.

The CORRESPONDENCE FILES contain only incoming letters from 1937 to 1958. But since they are primarily from other mink breeders or buyers, they do provide details about mink breeding questions and mink farming operations.

The FINANCIAL RECORDS of the farm, while not comprehensive, do document both expenditures and sales of the Nelson farm. Expenditure information includes property tax bills, insurance premiums, and mink stock purchases. Sales files exist for the years 1946-1958 on sales made through two major New York auction houses. They consist primarily of price lists, contracts, and some sales-related correspondence. They provide detailed price information for various types of mink. Also, they indicate the volume of sales for the farm for different types of mink and how the sales changed over time. But they do not contain records such as ledgers, budgets, or annual statements that would give general, collated financial information.

The INFORMATIONAL FILES primarily consist of literature and materials collected by the Nelsons on the general subject of mink care, diseases, and diet. The files offer specific information on issues of major concern to mink farmers.

The RECORDS OF MINK FARMERS' TRADE ASSOCIATIONS make up the bulk of the collection. For organizations such as the Fur Food Cooperative, the Great Lakes Mink Association, and the Wisconsin Mink Breeders Association, the records are fragmentary collections of correspondence, newsletters, and publications. But for other associations, the records are quite comprehensive. The files of the Mutation Mink Breeders Association have substantial information on their cooperative operations from 1944 to 1948 including meeting minutes, correspondence, and sales information. The records of the National Board of Fur Farm Organizations extend from 1943 to 1958. The board's files include newsletters to their members detailing their legislative and lobbying efforts, reports on the status of the industry, analyses and histories of the fur industry in general, and minutes from their annual meetings. The board's emphasis on the operation of the industry as a whole illustrates both how the industry saw itself and how it tried to present itself to others. Finally, the United Mink Producers Association is the most thoroughly documented organization. Papers span the years from 1940 to 1958 largely because Ray Nelson served as a member of the Board of Directors for those years. While not the official papers of the association, they do contain official papers such as the constitution and by-laws. Ray Nelson's own personal files as director and president are especially detailed and include incoming correspondence and minutes of membership and director's meetings. Furthermore, we have the financial staements of the association from 1941 to 1954 and advertising plans and releases for 1943-1958. The membership mailings of the association from 1937 to 1958 provide extensive detail about all the operations of the association: sales, publications, prices, and membership activities. As a whole, the UMPA files offer quite complete documentation of most aspects of the association's operations.

An informative publication of the National Board of Fur Farm Organizations, published in 1981, provides additional information on the mink farming industry as well as their marketing associations. Its title is Nature's Jewels, A History of Mink Farming in the United States, by Bruce W. Smith.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Nelson Mink Farm, via Ray and Fred Nelson, 1978. Accession Number: M78-286

Processing Information

Processed by Lynn Lubkeman, 1987.

	Series: Background Files
Box   1 Folder   1	Warranty deed, licenses, farm allotments
Box   1 Folder   2-10	Series: Correspondence (incoming), 1937-1958	⇧
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
	Expenditures
Box   1 Folder   11	Property tax bills, 1938-1957
Box   1 Folder   12	Insurance premiums, 1940-1958
Box   1 Folder   13	Mink stock purchases, 1937-1958
	Sales--Auction Houses
Box   1 Folder   14-16	Lampson, Fraser & Huth, Inc., 1944-1947, 1952-1953
Box   1 Folder   17	Hudson's Bay Company, 1957-1958
	New York Auction Company, Inc.
Box   1 Folder   18-24	1938-1953
Box   2 Folder   1-4	1954-1958
Box   2 Folder   5	Other auction houses, 1946-1954
Box   2 Folder   6	Miscellaneous sales information
	Series: Informational Files	⇧
Box   2 Folder   7-9	Mink Diseases and Diet, 1937-1958
	Series: Records of Mink Farmers' Trade Associations	⇧
Box   2 Folder   10	Fur Food Cooperative, 1943-1951
Box   2 Folder   11	Great Lakes Mink Association
	Mutation Mink Breeders Association
Box   2 Folder   12-16	1944-1954
Box   3 Folder   1-4	1955-1958
Box   3 Folder   5-10	National Board of Fur Farm Organizations, 1943-1958
	United Mink Producers Association
Box   3 Folder   11	Constitution, By-laws, Incorporation, 1944-1958
Box   3 Folder   12-14	Board of Directors, 1940-1953
Box   4 Folder   1-2	President, 1954-1955
Box   4 Folder   3-5	Board of Directors, 1956-1958
Box   4 Folder   6-7	Financial Statements, 1941-1958
Box   4 Folder   8-9	Advertising, 1943-1958
	Membership Mailings
Box   4 Folder   10-12	1937-1945
Box   5 Folder   1-9	1946-1954
Box   6 Folder   1-4	1955-1958
Box   6 Folder   5	Great Lakes Ranch Service, 1946-1949
Box   6 Folder   6	Wisconsin Mink Breeders Association, 1943-1947
Box   6 Folder   7	Miscellaneous Mink Organizations, 1943-1956