Vall ...
I thinks it's great you got that response from the NorthWest. I had a very different experience here in Illinois.
Last year I bought a large composite photo of the Joliet Sharpshooters dated 1866. I contacted the Joliet Historical Society who had no idea such an organization existed. They didn't have a single document in their archives.
When I researched the Chicago Schuetzen Verein, Palos Historical Society was very polite but I had to pay them to scan their photos for articles, even though I gave them copies of photos they did not have.
Chicago Historical Society ignored any gun club related requests ... it's a shame.
