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Clam Chowder and Marching Society

 File

Scope and Contents

The folders for any given year may contain some or all of the following types of material: invitations, other correspondence, artwork, membership information (including, in some cases, hat, shirt and shoe sizes), menu and catering information, other expenses (such as rental of props and the purchase of clothing), photographs, initiation ritual, artifacts, and song lyrics.

Dates

  • 1847 - 2001

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored off-site and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Biographical / Historical

The Clam Chowder & Marching Society is a group of executives from the Tribune and major Tribune advertisers who meet once a year for a meal. Participants are "non-members" (or "non-marchers"); the head of the organization is the "non-president."

A list of meetings (box 313, folder 46) indicates that the Society was formed in the 1960s. It gives this summary of the annual sessions:

  • 1976: Jimmy Carter's election as President of the United States was celebrated with 50-pound bags of peanuts
  • 1977: The King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum inspired a sumptuous Egyptian feast in Tribune Tower
  • 1978: The competitive nature of a 'Great Bike Race' at Tribune Tower kept the members in shape
  • 1979: The Great Snow Storm was commemorated on the Tribune Tower roof with snow shoes, Hudson Bay coats and polar bear waiters
  • 1980: Remmingtons was the scene of a CCMS round-up, Stetsons and all all
  • 1981: An elegant Victorian dining room was created in the Chicago Tribune's new production and circulation facility, Freedom Center. Rolls of newsprint protected the room
  • 1982: 'Fix-it' was intended to recognize hard economic times when the group visited the Nutcracker set and lunched in the Airie Crown theatre
  • 1983: Dressed in official Cubs uniforms, batter-up was the call as snow covered Wrigley Field
  • 1984: A turn of the century gentlemen's life was recreated at Glessner House, a historic site in Chicago's Prairie Avenue District
  • 1985: Outer Space, created out of the old Tribune Tower pressroom, lifted spirits
  • 1986: Everyone was a star on the stage of the Chicago Theater as Santa Claus. Like real stars, everyone signed a wall
  • 1987: CCMS members were the first to tee off at the new Cantigny golf course. No one seemed to mind the foul December weather
  • 1988: The Great Clam welcomes all to his Hidden World home at the Shedd Aquarium

    • Extent

    From the Collection: 228 Boxes

    From the Collection: 59 Volumes

    Language of Materials

    From the Collection: English

    Additional Description

    Arrangement

    The materials are grouped, as found, by the date of each annual dinner. Folders often contain materials from early in the next year, referring to the previous meeting. Some years are represented, as found, by more than one folder. Some of the materials for the 1970s were originally in a single folder, and have been sorted by year; some of the materials for the 1980s were found loose, and have likewise been grouped by year.

    Processing Information

    These materials were originally assigned the identifier XI-389

    Library Details

    Library Details

    Part of the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections Repository

    https://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/mccormick-library/index.html
    Contact:
    Deering Library, Level 3
    1970 Campus Drive
    Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
    847-491-3635