The records date from 1948 to 2011 and are comprised primarily of meeting minutes, reports, handbooks, and various items such programs, photographs, and newspaper clippings related to events sponsored by the St. Louis chapter of the Links, Inc. The collection is arranged into two series: Minutes/Records and Events. The Minutes/Records series dated from 1948 to 2010 and is arranged alphabetically by topic/type of records. The Events series dates from 1950 to 2011 and is arranged chronologically. Meeting minutes comprise the largest portion of the chapter’s records. Other assorted records include the chapter’s 1948 bylaws, a 1970 national directory, and chapter handbooks from 1964 to 1970. There are a few reports and pieces of correspondence dating from meeting minutes that are missing. There are multiple date gaps in the minutes throughout the series, sometimes up to six months. The largest gaps include September 1970 to January 1976, most of 1984, and June 1991 to March 2001. The Links held at least ten meetings per year, often taking a summer recess in July and/or August. The chapter’s election year ran from September to June. The first meeting recorded in the Minutes/Records series is dated February 20, 1948 and the last meeting November 5, 2010. The minutes reveal the myriad of activities, programs, scholarships, and organizations with whom the St. Louis chapter of the Links worked and established cooperative ventures. Special committee and national/area meeting delegate reports are filed with meeting minutes. Correspondence received, acted upon, and sent is often listed in the minutes, and a small number of letters are filed with the minutes. Among the earliest fund-raising activities were an annual rummage sale and bridge whist benefit parties. In 1949, the St. Louis chapter purchased a television for the Ferrier Harris Home for the aged. Later fundraisers included book review events, plays and musical events, and a champagne sip. Many local groups benefitted from the St. Louis Links service projects, including but not limited to the Urban League, the NAACP legal defense fund, the Wheatley YWCA, the SouthSide Day Nursery, the St. Louis Public Schools gifted student program (a national Links focus), the St. Louis CORE fair employment campaign (B1/f.16), the St. Louis Committee for Freedom of Residence (B1/f.17), and Harris Stowe Teachers College. In 1959, the Links had a Pruitt Committee which worked with the Urban League to identify children’s needs at the Pruitt housing complex (B1/f.12). The chapter also supported various organizations such as the St. Louis Council of Black People in the early 1970s by purchasing memberships and through volunteerism. The minutes also reveal the chapter’s relationship to the national organization to which each chapter paid dues. Chapters’ constitutions, bylaws, and membership guidelines/requirements were set at the national level where approval for new members and resignations were also sent. In 1953, the Links, Inc. declared that its chapters should each make a $500 donation to the NAACP. The St. Louis Chapter met its commitment in June 1954 (B1/f.9). The national organization is divided into regions. St. Louis is in the Central Area Conference and hosted the 1989 conference meeting. From February 1983 to May 1986, the St. Louis chapter discussed the topic of new chapter formation and corresponded with national officers. The Gateway chapter, chartered in May 1986, did not work with the St. Louis chapter as it sought membership with the Links. The nature of the relationship between the St. Louis and Gateway chapters is unclear. By 1990, guidelines for new chapters had been refined at the national level and St. Louis was deemed large enough to support another chapter. The St. Louis chapter chose the members to create the Archway Club in 1990, which upon being officially chartered was known as the Archway Chapter in August 1993. Due to the large gap in minutes beginning in June 1991, there are few details about the 248th Links chapter (B1/f.1, B2/f.2). The Events series is arranged chronologically and demonstrates the growth and breadth of the chapter’s activities. It is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings and brochures/programs. Some photographs are scattered throughout the series. There are also certificates presented to the chapter by either the organizations benefitting from its generosity or by the national Links, Inc. and the Central Area Conference. In the 1950s, the St. Louis chapter began producing fashion shows and plays for example, The Women in 1956. It also sponsored book discussions, art exhibitions, and music concerts. The most recent activity includes thank you letters from students in the Links mentoring program, “My Sister’s Keeper,” at the Imagine College Prep High School, a charter school at 706 N. Jefferson (closed in 2013).