Waterman's Floor Covering records
Scope and Contents
The records of Waterman's Floor Covering span the years 1950 to 1976, while the small collection of personal papers of Clyde and Vi Waterman span the years 1947-1983.
The papers include 11 cubic feet of records of jobs completed between 1951 and 1975, various types of financial records, inventories, business correspondence, legal documents and photographs. Among the personal papers are some financial records, Coast Guard boating information, correspondence, photographs, and bowling memorabilia.
Ledgers from the years 1954 to 1961 are missing from the collection, in fact, there are gaps in several types of financial records.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-1976
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
Clyde Mahlon Waterman was born in DesLacs, North Dakota on August 28, 1913. Following his graduation from Nampa (Idaho) High School in 1932 he worked at Standard Furniture in Nampa. When World War II began he moved to Hanford, Washington where he was employed at the Atomic Energy Plant as an asbestos worker. Following completion of the plant he opened a floor covering store in Kennewick, Washington, in partnership with Douglas Jensen. That partnership was dissolved on July 1, 1950, and on August 11 of the same year Clyde, in partnership with his wife, Violet Marie, whom he had married in Nampa in May 1938, opened Waterman's Floor covering at 125 West Third in Moscow, Idaho. The store remained at that location until 1961 when it moved to 125 East Third.
Prior to his retirement in 1976 Clyde was a Cub Master in Boy Scouts, was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and on the board of the United Way Fund. He enjoyed bowling and was a member of the Lions Club.
Since retirement the Watermans have spent winters in Arizona where he is active in lapidary and silver smithing. He also enjoys bicycling and swimming. Summers are spent in Moscow and their cabin on Lake Coeur d'Alene.
The Watermans have two children, Clyde Eugene, who took over the floor covering business from his father, and Linda Rae.
Extent
17 cubic feet
Abstract
Financial records, business correspondence, and, primarily, job files, of this Moscow, Idaho, floor covering store. Also included are some personal papers of Clyde and Violet Waterman.
Arrangement
The material in this manuscript group was originally stored in transfer drawers by year. During the preliminary inventory it was decided to sort the material by record type, then arrange each type chronologically.
The major part of this collection consists of records of jobs completed between 1951 and 1975. These are arranged first chronologically by year, then by first letter of the last name of the person for whom the work was done. Included for each job are estimate sheets, plans and drawings, and cost sheets which indicate the wholesale and retail costs of the material used, and frequently include the Waterman's profit on the job.
The financial records include check registers, bank deposit books, general ledgers, accounts payable ledgers, daily cash reports, payroll records, records of contributions to the Painters Trust (a union), sales and property tax records, and inventories of merchandise.
Other business records include correspondence, mainly with suppliers, legal documents including the dissolution of the Kennewick partnership, and a few photographs of the store interior.
Also included in this group are some personal papers of Clyde and Vi Waterman. These include undated check registers, bowling memorabilia such as chevrons and merit certificates, programs from two Nampa High School reunions, Coast Guard boating information, insurance policies, medical receipts, unidentified photographic negatives, interest and dividend statements, state and federal income tax records, and property tax records from Latah and Benewah Counties in Idaho and Maricopa County, Arizona.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records of the Waterman's Floor Covering store were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Clyde M. Waterman in May 1988.
Processing Information
Types of material discarded include bank statements and cancelled checks, bank deposit slips, employee time cards, sales slips, and invoices. In all the records were reduced by 40 cubic feet.
- Title
- Waterman's Floor Covering Records 1950-1976
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
- Date
- ©1989
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository