Biography/History

Milwaukee's Municipal Recreation and Community Education program was born in 1911, when H. L. Berg, head of Milwaukee School Board Extension Department, was appointed by Superintendent C. G. Pearse to open the social centers. The goal was to make recreation an integral part of the educational system instead of merely an afterthought. This was an innovative position for the time. One commentator likened it to adding a fourth R to the school board's programs: "No matter how clever and keen our young folks may grow up to be in the three 'R's,' if they have not wisdom and this fourth 'R'--RECREATION--their lives cannot reach a high standard." An early slogan of the Extension Department shows the importance attributed to recreational activities: "During Working Hours Man Makes a Living--During Hours of Leisure He Makes a Life."

The original social centers operated from Milwaukee schoolhouses and offered more than one hundred different activities: dramatic clubs, music organizations, athletics, games, club activities, and arts and crafts. In keeping with the sexual mores of the time, activities were offered along gender lines. Women took classes in beauty, dressmaking, and the preparation and serving of food, while men took classes in furniture-making, metal work, carpentry, and miniature aircraft work. For the "foreign-born," the centers offered courses in American citizenship and English. Most of the work of the Extension Department was on behalf of young people who did not come under the regular school system: young men and women between 17 and 23 years old who worked during the day and who had increasing amounts of leisure time at night. Newspaper articles consistently stress the role of the centers as an alternative to juvenile delinquency. For instance, an article from 1931 proclaims, "The old corner gang that used to meet for the smoking of cigarets and to tip over neighbor's ash cans is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. There's a new fashion in gangs," the reporter beams, "and not a style set by Chicago, either."

The social centers were enormously popular. In 1912, the first two were opened in the Fourth Street School and the Forest Home Avenue School, both located in underprivileged areas of the city. By 1948, forty social centers were in existence in all areas of Milwaukee and serving millions of people each year. An editorial in the Milwaukee Sentinel boasted that "the social centers have performed splendid service and Milwaukee's admirable system has undoubtedly contributed greatly to the building up of the sound, law-abiding citizenship for which the city is famous." This was no exaggeration: the Extension Department program received international attention and acclaim.

The success of the program was due to several factors. A state law, passed in 1912, recognized recreation as a part of education. Milwaukee's Board of Education administered the program, and the taxpayers supported it. In 1912, H. L. Berg, head of Milwaukee School Board Extension Department, made Dorothy Caroline Enderis his assistant, and she eventually succeeded him as head of the Extension Department. She served in this capacity until retiring in 1948. Under her direction, Milwaukee became known as "The City of the Lighted Schoolhouses," where the schools were open long after the school day was over. Her energy and enthusiasm were boundless, and she received many awards for her efforts.

Throughout its history, Milwaukee's program of municipal recreation has undergone numerous name changes. A chronology of these name changes follows:

Municipal Recreation Program Name Changes

1911	By action of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, the Division of Municipal Recreation and Community Education is started
1935	Name changed to Department of Municipal Recreation and Adult Education
1956	Name changed to Division of Municipal Recreation and Adult Education
1976	Name changed to Division of Municipal Recreation and Community Education
1989	Name changed to Department of Municipal Recreation and Community Education
1991	Name changed to Department of Community Recreation and Educational Services
1991	Department is reorganized into six Community Recreation Districts; henceforth known as Division of Community Recreation