Stanley F. Teele papers

A major component of the collection consists of records pertaining to Stanley F. Teele’s activities on the Board of Directors of S.H. Kress & Co., 1958-1961. Included are minutes of the board and Executive Committee, memos regarding company policy, statistics and surveys comparing performances of different outlets, excerpts from talks given by company executives to managers, and correspondence to and from Teele pertaining to the actions of the board and company policy in general. Of particular interest are letters, memos, and minutes discussing racial integration of Kress stores in the 1950s, including speculations about the effects proposed integration might have on the chain’s image and on sales figures.

Additional materials relate to Teele’s non-HBS activities from, 1930-1944. Of interest are several folders containing heavily annotated memos and reports compiled by Teele and used by him while participating in oil monopoly investigations by the federal government between 1937 and 1940. These documents discuss the effects of competition on the industry, the proposed Harrington Bill to bring about the divorcement of oil marketing facilities from oil refineries, and other related matters. Reports and correspondence regarding Teele’s role as an advisor to Schenley Distillers in a study of whisky buying habits and their relationship to advertising in the 1930s are also of interest. The series also includes Teele’s detailed 1944 letter to Congress commenting on a draft act pertaining to the disposal of surplus government property after the conclusion of World War II. His non-HBS teaching activities are reflected in folders containing correspondence with Simmons College, 1938.

The collection also includes Teele’s notes and reports prepared while a student at HBS in the MBA and DCS programs, 1928-1932. Some folders in the series contain notes taken in class, while others consist of an HBS assignment presenting a problematic business situation, Teele’s report and recommendations, and professor’s comments. The collection also includes speeches and writings for the years 1937-1963. Subjects include business education, the petroleum industry, war contracts, marketing, and religion. The collection does not contain information about Teele’s own HBS teaching activities and very little about his work for the government during World War II. Materials span the dates 1928 to 1961, but the bulk of the collection was created from 1928 to 1940 and 1958 to 1960.