Series 1129

Battleship Utah Silver Service Committee Administrative records

Dates: 1909-1911, ca. 1969-1972, 1975.

0.35 cubic foot and 1 microfilm reel

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Scope and Content

This series contains a variety of records from "the Special Committee appointed ... to select and purchase a suitable Silver Service for presentation to the Battleship Utah." Utah had been asked to provide the silver service for the new battleship and the committee oversaw raising funds for the silver as well as selecting the silver, and presenting it to the Navy. The committee was also involved in discussions of flags to be provided for the ship.

These committee records include descriptions of the silver service, a guest list and sample invitation to the christening of the ship, correspondence and newspaper clippings documenting the business of the committee, a photo of the U.S.S Utah, and a bound report of the committee's work.

The report includes a summary of the work of the committee, along with a variety of "exhibits" documenting the business of the committee. As part of its work the committee sought to raise funds for the silver service from school children throughout the state. The committee was also responsible for selecting the service along with the inscriptions and decoration that would adorn the pieces. Among the most difficult issues the committee dealt with was the anti-Mormon objection to the placement of an image of the Pioneer Monument on one of the silver service trays.

The exhibits in the report include a receipt for the total donation from school children, a copy of the letter sent to school administrators to enlist their participation in raising money, an example of the certificate given to each child who donated money, a list of inscriptions to be placed on selected pieces of the silver service, and a lengthy list of children in the various school districts who donated money. The report includes the published minutes of the House of Representatives Committee on Naval Affairs dealing with the objections to the depiction of the Pioneer Monument on the service, a copy of an apparent letter from the Governor to the Committee on Naval Affairs explaining the Silver Service Committee's work and defending the use of the Pioneer Monument image, and a variety of other correspondence and documentation relating to the Governor's letter. The report finishes with a list of all the schools that contributed and the amount raised by each one, along with written descriptions and inventories of the silver service.

In addition to the records of the Committee, this series includes a number of items that relate to the dedication of the U.S.S Utah Memorial at Pearl Harbor in 1972 and to the theft of part of the silver service from the Utah State Historical Society in 1975. These items were apparently filed with the committee records at some point by State Archives staff because of their association with the U.S.S. Utah.

Arrangement

Chronological.

At some point Archives staff stamped sequential numbers on the each page or item in this series. The numbering corresponds fairly closely with the chronological order of the records. During processing the records were kept in the stamp number sequence, except for a few documents that did not seem to belong in that order.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Processing Note

This series was archivally process by Alan Barnett in January 2012.

Finding Aids

Indexes: An electronic index to the list of student donors can be searched by school and community name. View index.

Indexing Terms

Container List

REEL	BOX	FOLDER	DESCRIPTION
pending	1	1	Misc. administrative records (#s 283-322, 336, 339)
pending	1	2	Correspondence, June 1909-Dec 1909 (#s 323-341)
pending	1	3	Correspondence, Jan 1910-Apr 1910 (#s 342-369)
pending	1	4	Correspondence, May 1910-Aug 1910 (#s 370-411)
pending	1	5	Correspondence, Sept 1910-Dec 1910 (#s 412-429, 282)
pending	1	6	Correspondence, Jan 1911-Apr 1911 (#s 430-476)
pending	1	7	Correspondence, May 1911-Oct 1911 (#s 477-520)
pending	1	8	U.S.S. Utah images
pending	1	9	Newspaper clippings (#s 266-279)
pending	1	10	Report of the Special Committee (#s 0-265)
pending	1	11	U.S.S. Utah Memorial
pending	1	12	Silver service theft, 1975