Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Blacksburg - Virginia Polytechnic Institute Civilian Defense Council Records, Ms1979-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to Special Collections in 1960.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Blacksburg - Virginia Polytechnic Institute Civilian Defense Council Records commenced and was completed in July, 2012.

Administrative History

The Blacksburg - Virginia Polytechnic Institute Civilian Defense Council was one of several thousand such local councils organized in the early months of World War II to administer and promote civilian defense efforts. Within the council's organization were committees devoted to salvage, transportation, war funds and campaigns, farm labor, victory gardens, consumer interests, nutrition, child welfare, library service, and health. The council's salvage committee was charged with organizing and promoting salvage campaigns; arranging the collection and disposal of salvage materials; and coordinating the salvage activities of local organizations engaged in salvage. In doing so, the committee worked with the Virginia Salvage Committee of the State Defense Council and the War Production Board's Bureau of Industrial Conservation. The committee was first chaired by H. P. C. Vandenberg, who was succeeded by Herbert W. Jackson in August 1942.

Scope and Content

This collection contains records of the Blacksburg - Virginia Polytechnic Institute Civilian Defense Council, organized to administer and promote local civilian defense efforts during World War II. The collection includes correspondence, reports, and printed materials.

A large majority of the collection relates to the activities of the council's salvage committee. Included are correspondence and reports documenting the committee's administration of local scrap drives for paper, metal, rubber, cooking fat, and silk. Also included are memoranda and circulars issued by the Blacksburg committee and other local salvage committees, as well as a commendation awarded to H. W. Jackson.

From the Virginia State Salvage Committee, the collection includes a number of bulletins as well as other communications issued both to local salvage committees and to the public, all with a view toward promoting the collection of scrap. The collection also contains printed materials issued by national agencies to assist local committees in promoting and conducting scrap campaigns. Included are booklets, flyers, and posters.

The collection holds only a few materials not relating to the activities of the salvage committee. Included is a civilian defense armband as well as items relating to gas- and sugar-rationing, air raid defense, and victory loans. From the council, the collection holds information on the organization's structure and the minutes of a 1944 council meeting.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by subject matter, then by document type.

Related Material

The Virginia Newspaper Collection, Ms2012-034, contains issues of The Blacksburg Citizen , published by the council's information committee.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Blacksburg (Va.)
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• World War, 1939-1945

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute Civilian Defense Council Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).