Getrude Salzer Gordon Family Papers
Scope and Contents note
The Gertrude Salzer Gordon Family papers document the personal lives of the Salzer and Gordon families.
Among Gertrude Salzer Gordon’s papers are newspaper clippings including a ticket to the 1953 Rose Bowl football game, correspondence, calendar datebooks, and financial papers detailing her investments. Some Salzer Seed Company memorabilia such as samples of advertising and stationary is included, but the collection does not contain any landscaping information. Donald Gordon, Sr. was active in state Republican party politics and materials relating to his political involvement include two signed letters from 1940 Republican presidential candidate, Wendell Willkie. Papers from Donald “Sandy” Gordon, Jr., son of Gertrude Salzer Gordon and Donald Gordon, Sr., include mainly correspondence. Miscellaneous materials are also included for Gertrude Salzer Gordon’s mother, Clara Kremers Salzer, and Donald Gordon, Sr.’s parents, George H. Gordon and Stella Goddard Gordon.
Photographs from this collection include images of individuals in the Gordon and Salzer families, homes of the Salzer and Gordon families, and several photos pertaining to the Salzer Seed Company.
Dates
- 1900-1999
Creator
- Gordon, Gertrude Salzer (Person)
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Biographical Note
Gertrude Salzer, daughter of Henry and Clara (Kremers) Salzer, was born on January 26, 1906 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She was the granddaughter of John A. Salzer, the founder of the Salzer Seed Company in La Crosse in 1868. Gertrude graduated from Central High School in 1924 and went on to obtain a liberal arts degree from Connecticut College, New Lisbon, Connecticut. After returning to La Crosse, she married Donald Alexander Gordon, son of George H. and Stella (Goddard) Gordon, on November 22, 1930. George H. Gordon was an attorney and dean of the La Crosse County Bar Association. Gertrude and Donald's only child, Donald Alexander "Sandy" Gordon, Jr., was born on July 11, 1932.
Donald Gordon, Sr. was a stockbroker who became involved in politics in the 1920's by raising finances for the Republican Party's work in La Crosse County. He was elected treasurer of the state central committee of the Republican Party in 1934 and became actively involved with the Wisconsin State Republican Party. In 1936, Gordon was elected third congressional district chairman of the state Republican voluntary organization. Donald Gordon, Sr. passed away unexpectedly on April 6, 1943, leaving a widow and a young son. A number of prominent state Republicans attended his funeral.
Gertrude Salzer Gordon never remarried. While raising her son, Donald, Jr., also known as "Sandy," she was actively involved in the community. She served on the board of the Family Welfare Society for ten years, served seventeen years on the board of the La Crosse Home for Children, served on the original board of the Community Chest (a forerunner of the United Way), and was a member and president of the board of the YWCA. She also served on board of Elder Care and the Bethany Home board as a representative of the First Presbyterian Church.
Gertrude Salzer Gordon was a generous philanthropist. She made large financial contributions to a wide variety of local organizations including the Gertrude Salzer Gordon Children's Museum, the First Presbyterian Church, the North Presbyterian Church, Gundersen and Lutheran Hospital Foundations, the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium, the Boys and Girls Club, the Family and Children's Center, the La Crosse Public Library, and many others. Gertrude Salzer Gordon passed away on August 25, 1998.
Her son, Donald, Jr., graduated from Central High School in 1950, and attended Beloit College and what is now the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He developed a love of baseball early in his life, and in 1989, offered to donate $1.25 million to the city of La Crosse to be used toward the construction of a new baseball stadium at West Copeland Park which he requested be named after his father. His donation would have paid for half of the cost of the new stadium. La Crosse city voters turned down Gordon's offer in April 1989. Gordon, along with D. B. Reinhart and Norman L. Gillette, Sr., was later responsible for helping to bring the professional basketball team, the Catbirds, to La Crosse in 1985. Gordon also served on the boards of many charitable organizations, and he made many generous donations to local organizations including the La Crosse Area Boys and Girls Club, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and the La Crosse Foundation. Gordon, who never married, died on Nov. 9, 1995.
Extent
4.6 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Personal papers of La Crosse philanthropist Gertrude Salzer Gordon and her family. Gertrude Salzer, granddaughter of Salzer Seed Company founder, John A. Salzer, married Donald Gordon, Sr., son of prominent La Crosse lawyer, George Gordon. Among Gertrude Salzer Gordon's papers are newspaper clippings including a ticket to the 1953 Rose Bowl football game, correspondence, calendar datebooks, and financial papers detailing her investments. Some Salzer Seed Company memorabilia such as samples of advertising and stationary is included, but the collection does not contain any landscaping information. Donald Gordon, Sr. was active in state Republican party politics and materials relating to his political involvement include two signed letters from 1940 Republican presidential candidate, Wendell Willkie. Papers from Donald "Sandy" Gordon, Jr., son of Gertrude Salzer Gordon and Donald Gordon, Sr., include mainly correspondence. Miscellaneous materials are also included for Gertrude Salzer Gordon's mother, Clara Kremers Salzer, and Donald Gordon, Sr.'s parents, George H. Gordon and Stella Goddard Gordon.
Photographs from this collection include images of individuals in the Gordon and Salzer families, homes of the Salzer and Gordon families, and several photos pertaining to the Salzer Seed Company.
Arrangement
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1999.003) Donated from the Gertrude Salzer Gordon estate by Judy Bouffleur, Jan. 1999. Many portrait photographs were then donated by LPL to Murphy Library at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in exchange for copies. (Accession no. 2002.013) Donated by Judy Bouffleur, April 2002.
Physical Description
7 archives boxes, 2 large flat oversize boxes
Processing Information
Processed by Christine Stolz, July 2004.
Creator
- Gordon, Gertrude Salzer (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Gertrude Salzer Gordon Family Papers, 1900-1999
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Christine Stolz
- Date
- 2004 July
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the La Crosse Public Library Archives Repository