Title: Milwaukee Public Schools, Department of Municipal Recreation and Community Education Scrapbooks
Inclusive Dates: 1923-1989

Creator:

• Milwaukee Public Schools. Department of Municipal Recreation and Community Education

Call Number: UWM Manuscript Collection 151

Quantity: 28.9 cubic ft. (37 boxes)
Repository:

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives Department

Archival Location:

UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

The collection consists mainly of newspaper clippings, promotional materials, and photographs documenting the history of the Milwaukee Public Schools, Department of Municipal Recreation and Community Education. The clippings provide information on athletic events and social activities conducted by the department. Clippings concerning the early history of the department's recreational programs, which were primarily intended to counteract juvenile delinquency and as a means of cultural assimilation, are also included. Promotional materials and photographs relate primarily to events held at more than twenty social centers operating in Milwaukee under the auspices of the department. A handful of scrapbooks fall outside these subjects and deal with the Gold Medal Award, the Milwaukee Players, New Day, and Wilderness Encounter. The collection also contains a few additional items, including booklets, photographs, and lectures and articles written by Donald B. Dyer, Superintendent of the School Board Extension Department.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-mil-uwmmss0151

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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

The three oldest scrapbooks (circa 1920s and 1930s) contain newspaper articles on the early history and politics of municipal recreation and adult education in Milwaukee, the playground movement of the mid-1930s, Dorothy Caroline Enderis, and the twentieth-fifth anniversary of the social centers in 1937. Like the other scrapbooks, these also contain information on activities such as drama and music (e.g., the Young People's Theatre, Children's Theatre, the Fall Drama Festival), arts and crafts (e.g., woodworking, hatmaking, holiday decorations), athletics and games (e.g., table tennis, softball, horsehoes) offered at the social centers and on the city playgrounds.

Scrapbooks from 1940 to 1988 contain few articles on the history or politics of municipal recreation and adult education and consist almost entirely of articles about events and activities. This suggests that by 1940, the concept of municipal recreation and adult education was firmly established in Milwaukee and that its existence was taken for granted.

The Gold Medal Award scrapbook showcases the facilities, programs, and activities of the Milwaukee Public School System. It was submitted for the National Gold Medal Awards Program.

The Milwaukee Players scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, posters, photos, tickets, and programs relating to this group. They document activities and events such as the Summer Drama Institute, the Fall Drama Festival, the Shakespeare Festival, the Young People's Theatre, and the Children's Theatre. The Milwaukee Players was a drama group formed under the auspices of the Department. It existed from 1931 to 1996.

New Day was the official newspaper of the Milwaukee Model Cities Program, which was created in the late 1960s to develop and stimulate minority businesses.

The Wilderness Encounter scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and other materials relating to Wilderness Encounter, a pilot program organized under the Outdoor Education Department that used the outdoors as a means of bringing together young people of divergent backgrounds.

Scrapbooks are listed alphabetically under the title given on the spine or front cover. Scrapbooks without a titled are listed under "Untitled," although effort was made to describe the contents of these items in an abstract note.

Items within the scrapbooks are not arranged in strict chronological order. Articles appear out of sequence and are duplicated within and among the scrapbooks. Many articles are undated. Pages in some scrapbooks were incorrectly assembled, either when the book was originally compiled or at a later date. Some effort has been made to restore the original order, but the fact that articles were not arranged on the page in strict chronological order made this difficult. Several of the scrapbooks are in very poor condition. Some are missing front and/or back covers, and some are completely unbound.

Each box contains 1 scrapbook.

Citation Guide for Primary Sources

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

Milwaukee Public Schools, Division of Community Recreation donated the collection to the Archives in 1999 (accession 1998-053). MPS donated additional materials in fiscal year 1999 (accession 1999-053).

Processing Information

Michael Doylen processed the collection at the Archives in 1999. Julie Hatfield (supervised by Christel Maass) processed accession 1999-053 (boxes 36-37) in May 2012.

	Beulah Brinton
Box   23	1925-1955
Box   24	1925-1955 Physical Description: Oversize, matted photographs
Box   37	1930-1940
Box   36 Folder   1	Booklet, Drama and Social Recreation Institute, 1930s-1950s?
Box   36 Folder   2	Booklets, 1918
Box   25	Clark Street, 1926-1950
Box   36 Folder   3-4	Donald B. Dyer, Lectures and Articles, 1934-1962
Box   36 Folder   5	Essays and Presentations for Conferences, 1945-1960
Box   37	Forest Home, 1939-1940
Box   26	Forest Home, 1939-1950
	General
Box   3	1930-1938
Box   10	1950-1957 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on arts and crafts, clubs and organizations, classes and social activities, dancing, drama and music, games and sports, municipal sports, playgrounds, and women's athletics.
	General Division
Box   7	1935-1945
Box   13	1968-1970 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on adult classes, chess, drama and music, municipal sports, playgrounds, and recreational centers.
Box   14	1970-1975 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on adult classes, arts and crafts, chess, classes and social activities, clubs and organizations, dancing, drama and music, Golden Age Club and XYZ, handicapped, leisure and counselling, municipal sports, outdoor recreation, playgrounds, recreation centers, women's athletics, and youth.
Box   19	Gold Medal Award, 1974
	Milwaukee Players
Box   17	1932-1948 Physical Description: Pages 1-91
Box   18	1932-1948 Physical Description: Pages 92-
Box   20	New Day: Milwaukee's Model Cities Newspaper, 1971-1972 Physical Description: Vol. 1, no. 1 - Vol. 2, no. 1
	Photographs
Box   36 Folder   6	1916
Box   36 Folder   7	923 Market Street?, 1954
Box   36 Folder   8	"Enchanted Garden", 1925
Box   36 Folder   9	Forest Home Social Center, 1900-1930
Box   2	Playgrounds and Sports, 1929-1938
	Recreation Division
Box   1	1923-1935
Box   6	1938-1945
Box   8	1945-1950
Box   9	1949-1954 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on arts and crafts, classes and social activities, clubs and organizations, dancing, drama and music, games and sports, municipal sports, playgrounds, and women's athletics.
Box   15	1976-1981 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on arts and crafts, classes and social activities, clubs and organizations, dancing, drama and music, games and sports, municipal sports, playgrounds, and women's athletics.
	Social Centers
Box   21	1930-1938
Box   29	1955 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on the Cass Street Social Center, 1950-1957; the Dover Street Social Center, 1955; and the Humboldt Park Social Center, 1955; and Wisconsin Avenue Centers, 1947-1950.
Box   27	Special Events, 1951-1957
	Sports and Athletics
Box   30	1924-1931
Box   34	1941-1946
	[Untitled]
Box   31	1928-1935 Scope and Content Note: Includes content on sports and athletics.
Box   32	1930 Scope and Content Note: Includes content on sports and athletics.
Box   33	1930-1934 Scope and Content Note: Includes content on sports and athletics.
Box   4	1935-1940 Scope and Content Note: Although not divided into sections, this scrapbook contains information on many recreational programs.
Box   5	1935-1940 Scope and Content Note: Although not divided into sections, this scrapbook contains information on many recreational programs.
Box   11	1956-1962 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on arts and crafts, classes and social activities, clubs and organizations, dancing, drama and music, games and sports, municipal sports, outdoor education, playgrounds, special events, and women's athletics.
Box   12	1958-1969 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on arts and crafts, classes and social activities, clubs and organizations, dancing, drama and music, games and sports, municipal sports, outdoor education, playgrounds, special events, and women's athletics.
Box   16	1981-1988 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on the adult and community centers, performing arts, playgrounds, recreation centers, senior activities, summer programs, and volunteers.
Box   22	1989 Scope and Content Note: Includes sections on adult and community centers, miscellaneous, municipal athletics, outdoor education, performing arts, recreation centers, senior activities, summer programs, volunteers, and youth sports.
Box   28	Wilbur Wright, 1964-1965
Box   35	Wilderness Encounter, 1974