The Walter Maule papers on the mushroom industry includes newsletters, press clippings, and papers detailing the expanding mushroom industry around Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, and its ascension as the major player in the national mushroom industry under the guidance of the farmer-owned cooperative, the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association.

Several agricultural congressional bills from 1961 to 1962 are included, which detail increased government spending on mushroom and agricultural research, one of the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association’s major lobbying interests. Context for these can be found in Maule’s correspondence which includes multitudes of letters written to Congressional representatives on behalf of the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association.

Press clippings about the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association, particularly numerous during Maule’s leadership of the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association, span from 1936 to 1981. Various articles from 1936 show the turmoil the mushroom industry struggled with as in-fighting among board members and farmers made headlines. Articles from the 1960s detail the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association and the industry at its peak with record crops, successful lobbying efforts, and improved canning and transportation methods, allowing the industry to expand nationally. Several clippings from 1981 include images and descriptions of a destructive fire at the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association building in Kennett Square. A “Mushroom News” newsletter from 1949 provides a comprehensive biography of Walter Maule’s life and career up until that point, ten years before his retirement.

Lastly, mushroom industry reports provide a comprehensive look at the changes the Mushroom Growers Cooperative Association effected on various facets of the industry, from canning to agricultural research to best mushroom farming practices.