Research


Scope and Content Note

This series consists of the files of Fred Smith, the Empire State Games' last director. Much of the material was housed in binders, and some may be duplicated. Records formerly kept in binders were rehoused in folders according to labels used in the original binders wherever possible, are in their original order, and are identified on the folder tab as having come from a binder initially. Each summer and winter games tended to have planning binders that contained much of the director's information regarding the logistics of organizing events for that year. Certain categories of information, such as housing and media relations, are nearly always found in the planning binder folders. Other categories, such as materials pertaining to specific events, are less consistent both in terms of which sports are included and how much is available for each one.

The series includes a vast quantity of correspondence, much of it in the form of printed e-mails. Some correspondence can be found with planning binder records, but much more is contained in separate correspondence folders. Where possible, those records are identified by subject material, but in many cases, letters and e-mails were kept in large bundles and cover many topics. Those are identified as "general correspondence."

There are also ephemera such as ID lanyards and media passes, as well as programs and brochures for the games each year. There are sporadic event results, volunteer registration forms, and information packets relating to geographic regions and institutions where the games where held.

This series is organized primarily chronologically, with general topics appearing first within each year, then winter games materials, and lastly summer games materials. Not every year will have records for both summer and winter games.