Collection is open for research.
Permission to publish material from Elizabeth Stanford Scrapbooks, Galax Retail Merchants Association must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Elizabeth Stanford Scrapbooks, Galax Retail Merchants Association, Ms2013-082, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Elizabeth Stanford Scrapbooks, Galax Retail Merchants Association were acquired by Special Collections prior to 2009.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Elizabeth Stanford Scrapbooks, Galax Retail Merchants Association was completed in October 2013.
Mary Elizabeth "Lib" Stanford was born on July 9, 1919 in Grayson County, Virginia to John Walter Stanford and Mamie Rose Porter Stanford. She attended the University of North Carolina Management Institute and graduated on August 17, 1946 with a degree in Merchants Association and Credit Bureau Management. Stanford worked for the Galax Retail Merchants Association as an office manager and secretary. She lived in Galax, Virginia until her death in January 2007.
Elizabeth Stanford was a member of the First Methodist Church as well as the Business and Professional Women's Club of Galax where she served as second vice-president, program chairman, assistant treasurer, and on a variety of committees. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, serving as president and secretary-treasurer.
Sources:
The collection consists of two scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and photographs from 1946-1962 related to Galax Retail Merchants Association compiled by Elizabeth Stanford, office manager and secretary for the RMA. Clippings include information about Christmas celebrations, parades and discount days, Galax "Dollar Days", "Farmers Day", "Potato Creek Day", and the Annual Banquet hosted by the Retail Merchants Association as well as a variety of awards and their recipients. This first scrapbook, ranging from 1946 to February 1962 also includes Elizabeth Stanford's Certificate of Completion for an 18-month Merchants Association and Credit Bureau Management course through the University of North Carolina in 1946 and a handwritten copy of The Star Spangled Banner. The second scrapbook, dating from May 1962 to 1964, contains memorabilia and pamphlets about the annual banquets, including the 25th anniversary of the Galax Retail Merchants Association in 1962.
The collection is arranged chronologically within the scrapbooks. The first scrapbook (brown) contains clippings and pictures from 1946-1962 and the second (green) from 1962-1964.