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
|