The collection consists of the diaries of Frank Jones from the years 1923 to 1992. Also included are the diaries of his wife, Majorie Hollabaugh Jones, for the years 1932 to 1936, and an oral history that was conducted by the Kraft General Foods archives in 1992. The diaries are of two types: originals and recopying of originals. The first type, diaries for 1923 to 1930, 1932 to 1933 and 1948 to 1952 are originals. The second type, diaries dating from 1923 to 1992, are either a handwritten recopying of the originals or the original volumes themselves. While the recopied volumes are more legible, they do not include the photographs, newspaper clippings and other scrapbook type of material found only in the older, original volumes. The only year that did not get copied into the larger recopied volumes was 1932. Within the diaries, there is a small volume labeled My Five Years. This volume contains the entries for Jones from 1932 to 1933. The remainder of this volume was taken over by Marjorie Hollabaugh Jones who made the entries for the years 1934 to 1936. Marjorie Hollabaugh Jones had her own diaries for the years 1932 and 1933.
All of the diaries contain more than just written entries. They were also used as a scrapbook and contain photographs, newspaper clippings, marriage announcements and obituaries. These items are found throughout the diaries, although the photographs are usually found on the inside of the front and back covers.
The diaries are arranged in chronological order with the larger volumes containing more than one year. The diaries were kept continually since 1923 and an entry was made for every day. They give a glimpse of a young man's life in the 1920's and 1930's and his impressions of his world. For the most part, the early entries are a brief recounting of the day's events. The entries from his later life become more reflective and detailed. The diaries provide good description of Jones' working life at the Postum Cereal Company and exactly what his job entailed and some of his reactions as he lived through changing management styles and techniques. The diaries provide a good insight into the working, social, and home life of Jones and his wife.
The diaries of Majorie Hallobaugh Jones consist of two separate volumes and entries in the volume labeled My Five Years for the years 193 to 1936. Her diaries provide good insight into her life as a schoolteacher in Indiana prior to her marriage and her life as a young housewife in Battle Creek from 1933 to 1936.
Frank Jones was born in 1905 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He grew up and went to school in Camp Hill, PA and after high school the family moved to Harrisburg where he worked in the steel mills for several years. In 1928 he moved to Battle Creek, Michigan with his father where he was hired by the Postum Cereal Company in 1929. He worked for many years in the warehouses, loading and moving boxes to be shipped all over the country. During this time, Jones also attended Battle Creek College and had an active social life.
Around 1931, Jones was transferred to a different department at Post where he did efficiency studies on routine processes at the plant. In 1935 the focus of these studies changed to productivity measurements. Jones worked in this area for many years, and in 1952 was put in charge of employee relations. He held this position until his retirement in 1969. As an employee relations person, Jones was responsible for dealing with problems that arose at work and at home with the employees. He would visit them in hospital when they were ill, personally distribute benefit checks and also be a company representative at employee funerals.
Jones had married Majorie Hollabaugh on Christmas Day in 1932. She was a school teacher from Indiana and they had met at Battle Creek College. She moved to Battle Creek after they were married and the two had a happy life together. They did not have any children, but both had active social lives and were very involved in the Battle Creek community. Jones had a love for the Civil War and collected materials dealing with this era, amassing quite a collection of Civil War books. He was an active member of the local chapter of the Civil War Roundtable, giving several talks on Civil War topics and traveling to numerous Civil War battle sites.
