Part 1 (Mss 422, Micro 575, Micro 580, Micro 598, Micro 680, Tape 688A): Original Collection, 1853-1975
Physical Description: 14.2 c.f. (31 archives boxes, 1 flat box, and 2 volumes), 4 reels of microfilm (35mm), and 64 tape recordings 
Scope and Content Note

The WEAC records span the years 1853-1975. Included are Convention Records, Executive Committee Minutes, Treasurer's Records, Professional Rights and Responsibility Commission Files, papers of two of the Association's departments, files of some standing committees, general office files, and tape recorded oral history interviews produced by a State Historical Society staff member. Except for the tape recordings, nearly all the records pre-date the WEAC's 1972 reorganization.

The CONVENTION RECORDS, 1853-1971 (1918, 1919, and 1945 are missing), are organized chronologically. Records of proceedings generally include agenda, minutes or transcripts of discussion and debate, reports of officers and committees, and miscellaneous materials. Beginning in 1923 separate sets of proceedings were kept for the general sessions and the meetings of the Representative Assembly. General sessions proceedings consist almost exclusively of stenographic reports of major addresses delivered to the convention, presentations of awards, and the like. The Representative Assembly proceedings reflect the real business of the organization for they include committee reports, resolutions, and records of debate on resolutions and other issues.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES include one volume, 1902-1907, and three reels of microfilm, 1923-1972. Originals of the microfilmed records have been retained by the WEAC. Arrangement of the minutes is chronological.

TREASURER'S RECORDS include a treasurer's book, 1877-1892, three volumes of journals, 1923-1958, and a 1956 financial report. The treasurer's book and the journals are chronologically arranged and list credits and debits, usually with some explanation. The 1877-1892 volume also includes lists of dues-paying members.

The PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (PR&R) COMMISSION was established in 1965 to help protect the autonomy of WEAC members. The Commission was empowered to investigate and report on “matters of ethics, grievances, and public responsibility related to the teaching profession....” In practice the PR&R Commission investigated numerous teacher grievances, many concerning non-renewal of contracts, and acted as advocate for members involved in disputes. Records here date from 1963 to 1972 and include minutes of the Commission and its predecessor, the Committee on Professional Practices; a general file of background information on such matters as rules and procedures; and case files. Minutes and the general files are arranged chronologically; case files are alphabetical by the name of the individual or district involved.

In its early years the Association included a number of DEPARTMENTS formed around membership groups, subjects, or other areas of interest. Preserved here are records of two departments: the City Superintendents and Supervising Principals Department and the Exhibitionary Department. Records of the former include minutes, reports, membership lists, and some correspondence covering the years 1893-1919. The Exhibitionary Department record book describes educational projects and exhibits which were shown around the state in 1879. It also lists the schools where they were shown and names of sponsoring administrators and teachers.

COMMITTEE RECORDS include correspondence, minutes, reports, and miscellaneous items. The materials for each committee are organized chronologically and bound into separate volumes. Included are records of the legislative, constitution, public relations, resolutions, and thirteen other standing committees (see container list for complete listing). Records for most committees begin in the 1950's and run through 1972.

The OFFICE FILES consist of a general subject file, 1935-1975, and a volume listing names and addresses of members, 1875-1893. The general subject file is arranged alphabetically and contains bulletins, reports, a small amount of correspondence, and publications of the WEAC, NEA, and various other organizations concerned with education. Particularly significant are the “constitution” file which contains 1954 and 1972 editions of the WEAC constitution, a file on the 1974 “Hortonville strike” which contains leaflets, reports, and a chronology of important events in the strike, and several files concerning teachers' salaries.

The sixty-four TAPE RECORDINGS were recorded in August and September 1974 by State Historical Society Field Representative Francis Feeley as a part of a Society sponsored oral history project. Most of the tapes deal at least in part with the teachers' strike in Hortonville, Outagamie County, which gained national attention and ultimately resulted in the firing of all the district's striking teachers.

The tapes are divided into three groups. Tapes 1-25 are interviews with WEAC staff and officers including executive secretary Morris Andrews and president Lauri Wynn. Although these recordings deal primarily with the history of, changes in, and problems facing the organization, they also frequently refer to Hortonville. Numbers 26-49 were recorded at a WEAC Leadership Conference held in De Pere, Wisconsin. About half of these are recordings of conference workshops on teacher's rights and women in leadership positions. The others are interviews concerning the Hortonville situation with conference participants (including two Hortonville teachers). Except for the Hortonville teachers, all these interview subjects apparently chose to remain anonymous. Tapes 50-64 were made in Hortonville. Included are interviews with striking teachers, members of a “vigilante” group which opposed the strikers, students at the struck schools and community residents, as well as recordings of speeches at a Labor Day rally in Hortonville. Most of those interviewed in Hortonville also chose to remain anonymous. The contents list includes brief descriptions of each tape.

Series: Convention Records

1853-1889
Note: Also appears on Micro 680, Reel 1.

1890-1899

1900-1906

1907-1913

1914-1920

1921-1926

1927-1929

1930

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1931-1932

1933-1935

1936-1938

1939

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1940-1942

1943-1944, 1946

1947-1949

1950

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1951-1952

1953

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1954-1956

1957-1959

1960

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1961-1963

1964

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1965-1966

1967

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1968

1969

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1970

General Assembly

Representative Assembly

1971

Series: Executive Committee Minutes

1902-1907

1923-1954

1955-1967

1967-1972

Series: Treasurer's Records

Treasurer's Book, 1877-1892

Journals

1923-1927

1928-1945

1946-1958

Report, 1956

Series: Professional Rights and Responsibilities Commission

Minutes, 1963-1972

General, 1963-1968

Case Files, 1963-1972

Fenton N. Abrams

Milton Abramson

Theresa Acker

Ruth Sue Allen

Margaret Anderson

Dale Arsnow

Baraboo

Virginia Belke

Walter Berge

B.L. Bernhardt

Irene Bird

Frank Blau

Thomas Block

Bloomington

Dale Bogner

Mildred Brandon

R. Braun

Sylvia Brockhaus

Robert W. Budz

Eunice Buettner

Richard Burke

Don Carlenius

Iva Carpenter

Clyde Castleberry

Ardell Christianson

Jill Clumpner

Roselynn A. Cobb

Lillian Cofell

Charles Connolly

Eugene Cooper

Robert Collins

George Cummins

Jerome Cushman

Dorothy M. Cycmanick

Danti

Marie Darnieder

Penelope Davis

Roger W. Dodge

Eagle River

Elmbrook

Bernice Ferguson

Florence Fortney

Mrs. Enid Frank

Donna Frazier

Stanley Fugita

Everett Gardner

Glen T. Gates

Paul Gelhaus

Freda Goldman

James Guckenburg

Marie R. Guhl

I. Gustafson

Amy Hall

Betty Hansen

Robert S. Hansen

Mark J. Hemesath

Virginia Henning

William T. Hentz

Richard Hoeben

Theda Holder

John Holmberg

Investigation Panel

Emily B. Jenson

Frances Kelly

Ray Koci

Blanche L. Kohl

Daniel F. Koleske

Robert Koski

Jerome Kozel

Leonard Krapp

John Krause

Edwin Kroening

Richard Kuykendall

Jerry LaFleur

Henry Lagerwall

Robert Lane

Lyn Lawrenz

Doris Leidheisl

Elaine Leland

Pauline Lipman

Loyal

Franklin A. Maas

James Malcheski

Ruby Mallum

Mrs. Howard Matthews

Otis Mehlberg

Thomas R. Meites

Rex Merriman

Mrs. Arnold Miller

Milwaukee Investigation

Helene Mittelsteadt

Lew Mittness

Mondovi

Arcella Muenchow

Robert Muenchow

Ken Musial

Thomas A. Nelson

Warren Nelson

Elisabeth Neumeyer

Archie J. Nicholette

Robert E. Nordlander

Rosemary O'Connor

Robert J. Omernik

Brooks C. Ott

Leslie Paffrath

George Pautz

Marcella S. Pendall

Robert D. Phelps

Vernon Pinkowski

Mrs. Arthur Pond

Questionnaire

Judith Reynolds

Rio

Darlene Roberts

Helen Roberts

Marion Robinson

Nick Rosandick

Leon B. Sanville

James Saxton

Harvey Schaub

Schofield-Rothschild

Roger G. Schulter

Gaylen Severson

Herbert Simon

James R. Skorlinski

Everett L. Slattery

Beatrice Small

Evelyn Smith

Leah Solsrud

Frank W. Statz

Gavin M. Strand

Merlin C. Streim

Sun Prairie

Virginia Swanson

Katherine Swingle

Marshall Taylor

Betty M. Thomas

Tony, Wisconsin

Sue Topping

Tim Trowbridge

Frank Vaitkus

Raymond Van Camp

Eulalia Van Horne

Jerome A. White

White Lake

Anthony Wilger

Claudia Wilson

Majorie Witt

George Wood

Evelyn S. Worby

William Wurster

Charles R. Wynn

Gail Young

Series: Department Records

City Superintendents and Supervising Principals Department, 1893-1919
Note: Also appears on Micro 680, Reel 1.

Exhibitionary Department, 1879

Series: Committee Records

Ad Hoc Committee on Unification, 1971-1972

Committee to Study Longer School Day and Year, 1966-1972

Constitution Committee, 1945-1972

Council on Education Committee, 1929-1972

Curriculum and Instruction Committee, 1968-1972

Human Relations Committee, 1969-1972

International Relations Committee, 1946-1972

Legislative Committee, 1967-1972

Locals Committee, 1947-1972

Principals Committee, 1970-1972

Public Relations, 1953-1972

Resolutions Committee, 1963-1972

Retirement Committee, 1952-1972

Task Force on Performance Contracting, 1971-1972

Urban Education Committee, 1969-1972

Welfare Committee, 1952-1972

Wisconsin Council of Urban Education Associations, 1968-1972

Series: Office Files

General Subject File

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1956-1958

American Vocational Association, 1953-1955

Business Conditions and the Teacher, 1941

Candidates - President and Vice President, 1951, 1956

Committee Members, 1957

Constitution, 1954, 1972

Council on Education, 1951-1958, 1965-1967

The Development of Public Education in Wisconsin, 1935
Note: These are volumes.

Expenditure Per Pupil in City Schools, 1950-1956, 1963-1965

Expenditure Per Pupil in Village Schools, 1949-1956, 1963-1964

Free Public Education and Free Textbooks, 1942

Hortonville Strike, 1973-1974

Iowa State Teachers College Survey on Academic Salaries, 1955-1956

Leave Practices in Wisconsin Schools, 1963-1964

Library Section, WEAC Convention

Middleton, Mass Meeting, 1974

Miscellaneous

Mt. Horeb, School Board-Bargaining Agent Agreement, 1973-1975

NEA “Legislative News Flash,” 1947-1949

“News About Our Schools,” 1938-1951

Per Capita Wealth and Tax Rates, 1950-1955, 1963-1965

O.H. Plenzke, WEAC Executive Secretary

“Public Relations,” 1968

Retirement Information, 1950-1958, 1966-undated

Salaries - General

Salaries and Economic Trends, 1950-1959, 1964-1966

Salary Letters, 1951-1966

Salary Schedule Practices in Wisconsin Schools, 1951-1953, 1955, 1965-1966

Teacher Movement in Wisconsin, 1954-1955

Teachers Rights Workshop, DePere, Wisconsin, 1974

Waterloo Public Meeting, 1974

WEAC Committee Reports, 1951, 1956, 1965

WEAC Legislative Bulletins

1937, 1939, 1941, 1947, 1949

1951, 1953

1955, 1957, 1959

1964-1966

WEAC “Negotiations Notebook,” undated

Membership Record, 1875-1893
Note: Also appears on Micro 680, Reel 1.

Series: Tape Recordings
Note: Unless otherwise noted, the description pertains to both sides of the tape. Running times are approximate.

Subseries: WEAC Staff and Officers

Conversation, August 20, 1974, with Charles Frailey, Research Director of the WEAC, at the WEAC office in Madison
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Frailey discusses the changes which have occurred in the WEAC since he joined and the impetus for these changes. He also talks about the differences between the WEAC and an industrial union. He states that the Association could accomplish much more if it analyzed activities before taking action and that there will always be a basic conflict of interest between administrators and educators on economic grounds.

Conversation, August 20, 1974, with Ed Gollnick, WEAC Human Relations Director in his WEAC office
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Gollnick talks about changes in the Association since he came in 1963, and changes occurring in the professional position of teachers over the years. He also talks about how teachers view themselves and their professional responsibilities, and how the public views them.

Ed Gollnick (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He discusses the problems which result from school curriculum. He states that school boards are not representative of minorities and that parents often blame teachers when they are not at fault. Gollnick says that lack of communication between teachers and the public is a major problem, and gives Hortonville as an example.

Ed Gollnick (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Talks about Hortonville. He says that school boards are not necessarily representative of the people, and that people let boards represent them until they do something totally contrary to their wishes. He believes that people should be shown what is in their best interest. He states that the WEAC did not choose Hortonville to set an example for the rest of the country and talks about the problems with striking there. He also talks about the state-wide teachers' sympathy strike and its failure.

Conversation, August 19, 1974, with Don Krahn, Director of Field Services, in the WEAC Office in Madison.
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He talks about the state-wide sympathy strike and other measures taken to help the striking Hortonville teachers. He discusses problems in the profession such as unemployment and teaching standards and states that teachers should decide what the standards for the profession should be. He also says that many problems occur as a result of poor communication between teachers and the community, and that the PTA is not effective enough to solve this.

Don Krahn (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of censorship and sex discrimination. Mr. Krahn talks about some of the difficulties he encounters when trying to settle problems which involve interactions with other agencies. He states that often the Department of Public Instruction will either water down rules until they are ineffective or will put cases off. Also discussed are teachers organizing for self-interest and for potential social improvements, and the Hortonville situation.

Don Krahn (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the importance of the WEAC as an instrument of social change. Krahn states that the private sector workers could learn from the public workers, and gives examples of how both groups could effectively bring about social improvements. Discussion of unemployment, and other problems in the teaching profession, also of social questions such as private ownership and welfare. Krahn talks about his background, the changes in the WEAC and in the attitudes of its members since 1963.

Conversation, August 22, 1974, with Morris Andrews, Executive Secretary of the WEAC, in his Madison office
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of Hortonville and the problems the WEAC faced in striking there, also of what was learned from the strike. Andrews denies the charge that the WEAC deliberately chose Hortonville to stage the strike, and gives reasons why he would have preferred not to strike there. Discussion of teachers' training in which Andrews states that educational schools are not providing adequate training, and that teachers themselves should control the requirements for teaching.

Morris Andrews (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He states that teachers are basically idealists and that this is reflected in their teaching. He claims that conflicts result when teachers try to decide what they are going to teach, and that some people want the schools to be used as a means of propaganda. Discussion of the advantages which teachers have over other organized groups and their political potential as the second largest group of voters. Also, discussion of Andrews' background.

Morris Andrews (continued)
Physical Description: 35 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He states that the WEAC should be run by the teachers who are its members. Discussion of why the WEAC hired him, and of Hortonville, in which he explains the WEAC's reasons for employing the tactics it did. Also, discussion of the principles of leadership and democracy in which he states that internal dissent keeps an organization moving, and brief talk on the U.S. system of government. Continuation of discussion of teachers leading themselves in which he gives the failure of the state-wide sympathy strike as an indication that teachers want to lead themselves.
Note: Background noise.

Conversation, August 30, 1974, with Lauri Wynn, President of the WEAC, in her office
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Wynn tells how and why she became involved with the WEAC and talks briefly about her education. Discussion of life in the ghetto and of how the black community feels about her position within the WEAC.

Lauri Wynn (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Continuation of discussion of the black community. Discussion of how she handles her role as leader and how she deals with other people. Examples of how she has dealt with specific problems in the past. Discussion of changes within the WEAC, specifically, unionism in which she states that the WEAC had to make a shift when it began to engage in political action. She states that political involvement and social change are the most significant areas that the WEAC has made changes in within the last three years.

Lauri Wynn (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 20 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Talks about the importance of personal contact with members of the WEAC. Discussion of social issues and mention of some of the issues the WEAC has become involved in and of teachers' reasons for joining the WEAC.

Conversation, August 13, 1974, with Donald Dickinson, WEAC Organizer, at WEAC Leadership Conference
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of his background, some of the changes which occurred since he joined four years earlier, and his work. Discussion of the Hortonville community and of the strike in which he accuses the board of having planned the firings and charges their lawyers with union-busting. Also talks about the actions the WEAC was taking against the board, how parents could become involved in the educational process, and Milwaukee's disaffiliation.
Note: Background noise.

Donald Dickinson (continued)
Physical Description: 48 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He talks about the NEA and the requirement that members belong to all levels of the organization, and of the need for a strike fund. Discussion of the NEA as a union and reasons why it would not affiliate with the AFL-CIO. Description of the Hortonville negotiations in which he accuses the board of failing to bargain in good faith.
Note: Background noise.

Conversation, August 18, 1974, with Bruce Oradei, WEA Organizer, Lobbyist, and Political Consultant, at his home
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of his background, how he became involved in the WEAC, and description of the nature of his various jobs with the organization since he became a staff member in 1969. Brief comparison of the WFT and the WEAC. Discussion of Oradei's negotiating experiences and of curriculums, in which he states that the power structure of a community will set up curriculums which suit their purposes.

Bruce Oradei (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion on the use of property tax to pay for education, of lobbying, and of some of the issues that the WEAC is lobbying for. Also, explanation of why the WEAC helps other groups to lobby for things that do not directly concern the WEAC. Discussion of the WEAC's involvement in social issues, and the problem of unemployment in the teaching field.

Bruce Oradei (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of Hortonville and of failure of the WEAC's strike strategy there. He charges the board with never having intended to negotiate. Discussion of the effects the strike had on the WEAC in which he claims that it did not damage the WEAC, since few districts would be willing to go through the expense that Hortonville did. Discussion of sex discrimination and also of organizing. Also, brief discussion of the changes in education.

Conversation, August 16, 1974, with Jermitt Krage, WEA Organizer, at a DePere bar
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Krage talks about the use of community pressure to solve problems and gives examples where such involvement has been effective. Discussion of the changes taking place under the direction of the new Executive Secretary, Morris Andrews, of problems in education, and what the teachers are doing about them. A brief comparison of the AFT and the NEA. Also, discussion of the problems of inner city schools and of the Milwaukee disaffiliation and brief exchange on how the courts are used in cases of discrimination.

Jermitt Krage (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Talks briefly about the NEA's movement towards political action. Discusses the Milwaukee disaffiliation, the educational goals which teachers and administrators hold, the importance of men's athletics in schools, and the WEAC's relations with the press.

Conversation, undated, with Veronica Sullivan, senior secretary in the WEAC office, at a Madison restaurant
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the negotiations between the WEAC staff and administrators and of the differences between the administrations of the present Executive Secretary, Morris Andrews, and his predecessor, H. C. Weinlick. Also, discussion of Lauri Wynn, President of the WEAC, and the Executive Board.

Veronica Sullivan (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of public employees, their buying power and prohibition from striking. Talks about the view of teachers as servants and second class servants, and why teachers choose the profession. Discussion of the Hortonville strike, the increasing militancy of the WEAC, and the changes she sees for the WEAC in the future.
Note: Difficult to hear.

Conversation, August 29, 1974, with Kay Scholl, WEAC secretary and negotiator for WEAC staff union, in a Madison restaurant
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Scholl talks about her relationships with and feelings toward other members of the staff and the administration. Discussion of the changes accompanying the new administration in which she says that the new administration is more liberal than the old one.
Note: Noise and music in background make it difficult to hear parts of the tape.

Kay Scholl (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the new administration continued. Scholl says that the administrators try to build up the confidence of the staff, and that they are always willing to answer any questions of the staff. She talks about the staff involvement with Hortonville, and claims that there was a boost in morale as a result of it.
Note: Background noise.

Kay Scholl (continued)
Note: Due to tape or machine malfunction this recording is largely inaudible.

Subseries: WEAC Leadership Conference, August 12-16, 1974

General meeting, August 15, 1974, for the Teachers Rights Workshop
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members and teachers discuss the legal rights of teachers and the extent to which the WEAC can protect them. Teachers and staff discuss problems, and staff answers questions of the teachers.
Note: Very difficult to hear.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members discuss and explain laws concerning teachers' rights. Discussion of a teacher's rights in cases of non-renewal, what to do when defending a teacher who has gotten a non-renewal notice, and how to confront the board in such a case.
Note: Difficult to hear.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of discrimination and examples of cases with which the WEAC has dealt. Different staff members discuss and answer questions about teacher certification, the importance of getting all the facts early when representing another teacher whose rights have been violated, layoffs, and just cause.
Note: Difficult to hear.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members instruct teachers on their legal protections against race, age, and sex discrimination. Discussion of discrimination against girls and coaches in sports and of suing an employer or the union for discrimination. Staff members talk about detecting racial discrimination, give examples of discrimination, and answer teachers' questions.
Note: Parts difficult to hear.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members give suggestions on how to deal with discrimination, how to write up charges, how to prepare to appear before the board, and also offer suggestions of what not to do. Also discussion of reverse discrimination.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 5 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members briefly discuss discrimination through use of a spoils system and contract language. Closing remarks.
Note: Very difficult to hear.

Teachers Rights Workshop, August 16, 1974.
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Staff members explain how teachers can determine which people in their communities control their schools and how to recognize what the board considers priorities. Discussion of the importance of men's athletics in schools and of gaining other teachers' and the community's support.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion and examples of discrimination against minorities and of how community support can be used effectively in negotiations. One woman coach talks about the problems she had because of sex discrimination in athletics.

Teachers Rights Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 3 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Closing remarks about social change through education and the importance of confronting issues.
Note: Difficult to hear.

Meeting of the Women's Leadership Workshop, August 15, 1974.
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of sex discrimination. A lawyer whose firm specializes in cases of sex discrimination talks about the legal remedies available to women who are being discriminated against. Staff member and lawyer discuss the ways to overcome the feeling of isolation often experienced after filing a complaint. Also discussed are the slowness of the legal process in discrimination cases and alternatives which are faster.

Women's Leadership Workshop (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 20 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Closing remarks. Also on the tape is a brief conversation between the lawyer and a teacher concerning the importance of personal presentation when applying for a job and on the necessity of motivation to do a job well.

Speeches at the general meeting of the WEAC Leadership Conference, August 14, 1974
Physical Description: 45 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Morris Andrews, WEAC Executive-Secretary, talks about criticism of leadership; Mike Wisnoski, President of the Hortonville Education Association, discusses the Hortonville strike; Dean Petitt, a Racine teacher, talks about negotiations going on in Racine; Lauri Wynn, WEAC President, speaks on leadership; Jerry Cooper, a Kenosha teacher, suggests the teachers group and determine what their priorities are.

Conversation, August 13, 1974, with two unidentified Greenfield teachers concerning the Hortonville strike and the teachers' involvement in it
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: They also discuss the violence they had witnessed, press bias, and the negotiations.

Conversation with Greenfield teachers (continued)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the state-wide teachers' strike. Also conversation with two unidentified Hudson teachers concerning the Hortonville strike. Discussion of the Hortonville Board, the repercussions the strike had on bargaining for public employees, the treatment that out of town teachers received, the police and the vigilantes. One of the teachers states that the strike could have been avoided if the administration had better leadership.

Conversation with Hudson teachers (continued)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of experimental teaching, the Hudson school system and administration.

Conversation with two Hortonville teachers, Jean Wall and Mike Wisnoski (President of the Hortonville Teachers' Association)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of teaching conditions, discipline within the school during the strike, events leading up to the strike, the vigilantes, and leadership in Hortonville. Also, they state what they see as the goals of the WEAC in the future.

Conversation, undated, with unidentified Green Bay teachers
Physical Description: 45 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of one of teacher's involvement in negotiating and of the advantages and dis-advantages of the WEAC becoming more bureaucratic. Also discussion about the certification of teachers and Hortonville.

Conversation, August 15, 1974, with unidentified Bloomer teacher
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of Hortonville. Discussion of the North Western United Educators. Talks about her participation in the Bloomer strike, and the causes of it. Discussion of non-renewal, just cause, and fair share.
Note: Background noise.

Bloomer teacher (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Continued discussion of Hortonville strike including the vigilantes, the Bloomer community's response to the Hortonville strike, her arrest in Hortonville, and press coverage of the strike.
Note: Background noise.

Conversation with unidentified Richland Center high school counselor
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the Hortonville Strike and also of a strike in which he had participated.

Richland Center counselor (continued) and Ted Burns
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Continues his discussion of Hortonville. Also on side two is a conversation with Ted Burns, the Human Relations Chairperson for the Green Bay Education Association. Discussion of his background and experiences in teaching and of negotiations he was involved in at Shawano.

Conversation, August 15, 1974, with an anonymous Stevens Point teacher who is the President of the Stevens Point Education Association
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the first weeks of the Hortonville strike including the town atmosphere, arrests, the vigilantes, community response to the strike and to outside teachers, and some of the incidents which he had witnessed.

Stevens Point teacher (continued)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Continued discussion of the Hortonville Strike, the vigilantes, negotiations, press coverage, and the Stevens Point community's reaction to the strike.

Conversation undated with unidentified teachers from Chippewa Falls, Germantown, and Stanley
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: The teachers discuss the responses of their communities to the Hortonville strike, their views of the state-wide sympathy strike and how the strike in Hortonville helped them with their negotiating.

Conversation with unidentified Birchwood teacher
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the Hortonville strike and the effects it had on the Birchwood negotiations. He believes that the board had a stronger position to bargain from because of the strike. Discussion of the NEA and WEAC, and what he thinks they should do in the future.

Birchwood teacher (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 10 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the WEAC staff, who he feels are representative of teachers throughout the state and supportive of the locals. He states that the only change he would have made concerning Hortonville would have been to provide better information on the state-wide sympathy strike.

Conversation with an unidentified Wittenberg teacher who was in the first organized group of outside supporters to go to Hortonville
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: She tells about her experience of being hit by a car while picketing. Discussion of the outside police, the vigilantes, and the Wittenberg community's response to the strike. Talks about the statewide teachers' strike and why it failed and about the resentment against teachers because they only work 9 1/2 months a year.

Wittenberg teacher (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: She states that the Hortonville strike might have gone better if there had been more outside support. Discussion of the Wittenberg board and administration and of the goals of education. Also discussed are the consequences which the Hortonville strike had on Wittenberg's negotiations.

Subseries: Hortonville Interviews

Conversation, August 16, 1974 with Hortonville school children (grades 3-6) fishing from a bridge
Physical Description: 25 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Children were asked whether or not they supported the striking teachers, which teachers they preferred, which teachers taught them more, whether school was better before or after the strike, and how much disruption there was in the classrooms as a result of the strike. Answers to these questions varied.

Conversation, undated, with 5th, 10th, and 11th grade Hortonville students and their father at their home
Physical Description: 25 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the events of the first few days of the strike. The students disagreed with the striking teachers and all favored the new teachers over the old. The father claims that the community supported the striking teachers at first, but became angry when supporters came in from other places. He also said that if the striking teachers were rehired he would send his children to a different school.

Recount, undated, of conversation with two school board members
Physical Description: One side only. 10 minutes; 15 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Members were reluctant to be taped for fear that their conversation would be distorted. Discussion of specific actions on the part of the teachers which alienated the community. One board member believed that it was leadership manipulation which caused the strike. On the same side is a conversation with two students who were juniors in the Hortonville high school during the strike. Discussion of the mini-strike (an informational strike held prior to the actual strike), the new teachers, and the atmosphere in the school during the strike.
Note: Difficult to hear parts of the tape.

Conversation, August 21-22, 1974, with a Hortonville mill owner at his mill
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Brief discussion about possible sites for historical renovations and parks around Hortonville. Discussion of the public sector workers in which the mill owner states that they are becoming too powerful. Discussion of negotiations and brief talk about the tensions in the community during the strike. The mill owner admits that there is some community resentment towards teachers because they only work 9 months a year.
Note: Tape runs fast.

Conversation with mill owner (continued)
Note: Due to malfunction of tape or machine this recording is largely inaudible.

Conversation with mill owner (continued)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the 1972 presidential election. Discussion of the strike in which he claims that Hortonville is a labor town. Also discussed are the negotiations between the board and striking teachers and the use of innovative teaching techniques in school.

Conversation with mill owner and his family (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: The mill owner's wife says that community polarization began with the mini-strike, and talks about her experiences as a mothers' aid. Discussion of the financing of police protection and new teachers in which the mill owners states that the board saved money as a result of the strike.

Mill owner and his family (continued)
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: The sons express their attitudes towards the teachers and the strike, and discuss the events which took place inside the school during the strike. The family believes that the union chose Hortonville to strike because they wanted to prove to others that it could be done. They state that they became pro-school board when the teachers they had respected became “radical” under the union.

Conversation, August 21-22, 1974, with several members of the “vigilantes” in a bar which they used as their head-quarters
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of how and why the group was formed in which they state that they were organized to protect local merchants and the substitute teachers from harassment. Discussion of the strike itself in which they state that they are not against strikes, but were against people from outside the community becoming involved. Examples of the harassments are given and many of the incidents occurring during the strike are discussed.
Note: Tape is difficult to hear in parts, and speeds up toward the end of the second side.

“Vigilantes” (continued)
Physical Description: 55 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of the events leading up to the strike and of those occurring within the first weeks of the strike. Examples of harassment are given and many accusations are made.

Conversation, August 22, 1974 with an unidentified Hortonville teacher who was ordered by the court to go back to teach
Physical Description: 47 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion centers on disruption within the school during the strike. He claims that the board was manipulated by their lawyers, and the press was deceived by the administrators. He states that he did not originally want to go on strike, would have preferred to go back in after a few days to see if the board would bargain, and that the WEAC had performed well during the strike.

Conversation, August 21-22, 1974, with unidentified teacher on the picket line who had taught at Hortonville for eleven years
Physical Description: 40 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: He claims that the cause of the strike was not monetary, but that the board used the strike as an excuse to rid themselves of several unwanted teachers, and they feared the teachers were getting too much control. He discusses cooperation between teachers and the community and claims that the newspapers caused misconceptions and printed only what they thought the people wanted to hear.
Note: Tape is difficult to hear in parts, and speeds up toward the end of the second side.

Conversation, August 22, 1974, with two Hortonville teachers on the picket line
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: The teachers talk about the causes of the strike, and discuss the problems which existed between the teachers and the administration. They claim there was a lack of communication, and that the administration never evaluated the teachers. Discussion of the effectiveness of strike tactics and things which should have been done to make the strike more successful. Also discussed is the relationship between the community and the teachers.

Conversation with two striking teachers (continued)
Physical Description: One side only. 25 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Description of the tensions which built up in the school before the actual strike and of the conflict the teachers felt between their role as teachers and their role as strikers. One of the strikers states that the strike made her realize how much teaching meant to her and discusses why she would be a better teacher as a result of it. Also, discussion of changes which would have been made if the striking teachers would have been rehired.

A brief conversation, August 22, 1974, with two women working in a Hortonville canning factory and with teacher on picket line
Physical Description: 20 minutes; 10 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Both women in factory were opposed to the strike, felt that it was a demonstration by which the union hoped to prove they could win strikes and believed it was staged in Hortonville because it was a small town. One of the women felt that the strike had adverse effects on the children. Both women approved of the firing, although one objected that many good teachers were fired with the bad. Also on side one is a conversation with a teacher on the picket line. Discussion of what she remembers from the negotiations. She states that it was contract wording rather than money that was the main issue.
Note: Difficult to hear.

Conversation with teacher on picket line (continued)
Physical Description: 30 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Discussion of her relationships with the administration and the townspeople. Also discussed are reasons for the failure of negotiations. She believes that the board used the strike as a means of getting rid of teachers they did not want, and also that the taxpayers felt that the teachers were being overpaid, and that the town and board were conservative and did not want to be coerced. She also believes that the strike brought out the town's true feelings, and states that she has no regrets.

Hortonville Rally, September 2, 1974
Physical Description: 60 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: The striking teachers and their supporters rally in Hortonville for Labor Day. Guest speakers include: Mike Wisnoski, President of the Hortonville Education Association; George Carroll, organizer; Terry Rotsin, a supporter from a near-by town; Jerry Mann, a parent who sympathizes with the teachers; an unidentified teacher from West Allis; a minister from a neighboring school district; and a striking union member from the United Auto Workers plant in Oshkosh. Performance of a play, ATA and the Grapevine.

Hortonville Rally (continued)
Physical Description: 8 minutes 
Scope and Content Note: Conclusion of the play and final remarks.