Finding aid for the Dales Family Collection, 1895-1972

Biography of The Dales Family

The Dales family had its roots in Akron before 1876 when George S. Dales Sr. opened the George S. Dales Company on the corner of Howard and Mill Street. For the next twenty years, the company built its fortune on the sale of jewelry and musical instruments. It was in 1896 that George S. Dales Sr. purchased the lease for the northern room of the Wilcox building at 128 S. Main St. and moved the company to that location. Soon after, the company sold the first talking machines in Akron. George S. Dales Jr. took over the company in the early 1900's, and over the course of the next twenty years slowly expanded to encompassing all of the Wilcox building. The store was divided amongst the different businesses (jewelry, instruments, Victrola's) and the Victrola lounge was renowned for its exotic themes and decor.

By 1943 George's son, Gerald L. Dales, had taken over the business (with George remaining as treasurer), and by 1946 had moved out of the Wilcox building to 217 S. Main St. Additional moves in the upcoming years followed, first to 271 S. Main St. in 50-51 and then to 70 S. Main St. ten years later. The company never got to celebrate its centennial, however, as it disappeared after Gerald Dales died of a heart attack following a hold up on September 23rd, 1969.

George S. Dales Jr.'s second son, George Franklin Dales, was a pilot in World War II. Returning home, he founded the George Franklin Dales Company in 1946 selling thermostats. Through contacts with Mechanical Industries Production Company (1946-1970), George F. Dales invented and sold the Mighty Mite thermostat, later used in the space program. He ran his company until suffering a stroke in 1984. He later passed away in 1990.

Scope and Content

The collection ranges from 1895-1972. This small, but diverse collection contains 39 glass plate negatives as well as one, small positive plate. In addition, there are a number of personal and business financial records covering the George S. Dales Company, Mechanical Industries Production Company (MIPC), and George S. Dales jr. himself. Additional documents include legal documents for the family and business, advertising, correspondences, business records, as well as George Franklin Dales' original drawings. As such, the collection is divided into glass plates, George S Dales Jr's papers, MIPC's papers, and George Franklin Dales' papers.

The scope of the plates ranges from a number of personal photos of the family to that of Akron. There are eight photos depicting the 8th (?) Ohio Infantry marching out of Akron to serve in the Spanish-American War. These plates depict Akron as it was in 1898 including many of the churches near the site of the parade on Main Street. Also shown are City Building and Columbia Hall, the two structures destroyed during the riots of August 1900. Further, there are five photos showing the destroyed remains of said buildings after said riots. These photos were never published and thus offer a new, unseen perspective on both monumental occasions. The remaining photos cover the family themselves, with a number of group and personal portraits. This images provide great examples of fashion and suburban life in the early 1900's.

George S Dales Jr's papers include a number of personal and business financial records. On the business side, there are a few inventories, sales reports, balance sheets, and receipts all with sporadic dates. Unfortunately, there are too few of these documents to accurately report on the health of the company. His personal financial records include a sizable number of loans during the 30's, checks used for rent and mortgage payments, and a large number of rent payment receipts. While this too is too small to accurately judge the fortunes of Mr. Dales, these, with the business records, provide several good examples of financial records from 1907-1937.

There are also a large number of legal documents including the complete collection of leases for the Wilcox building (note the last one was for a period of 10 years). These also include the leases Dales purchased from the other tenets during the company's expansion in the 1910's. A number of will's from both George and his wife, Lotta Dales, show personal assets for the family. The last of the legal documents are certificates, articles of incorporation, and bonds of indemnity. All of these legal documents provide excellent examples of their respective functions from 1896-1952.

Lastly, there are a small number of correspondences, external and personal notes, examples of advertising including a history of the company from the 20's and several copies of booklets that would have been sold in the store from 1925. The latter provide several pictures of the company building, including the Victrola rooms.

The George Franklin Papers include a stock certificate for the Fairlawn Gold Club from 1924, legal documents including mortgage documents and papers relating to his divorce in 1930. Most importantly, there are a sizeable number of drawings in the collection of his various inventions. The former documents, again, provide good examples of their kind, while the latter drawings are important for their significance to the development of the Mighty Mite thermostat.

The last section includes all of the documents relating to Mechanical Industries Production Company. It is not clear how these documents ended up in the collection, but they include financial papers such as balance sheets, invoices, expense reports, and quality insurance reports. As with the George S. Dales Company, these are too sporadic to accurately judge the health of the company.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

No use restrictions.

Restrictions on Access

No access restrictions.

Seven oversized or damaged documents have been separated from the collection. Photocopies have been placed in the collection as replacements.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Places:

Custodial History

The papers were secured by Mr. Norman, Plant Manager of Bel-Air Products, who tented from the Dales family the factory space on Lincoln or College St. where the papers were found.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Dales Family Collection, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

The records were donated to the University of Akron by Mr. Robert Norman

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Daniel Ciofani in 2019.

Detailed Description of The Collection