These records document the activities of the WCCN from its establishment in 1984 through 1990. However, many types of administrative records are missing and these documents are presumed to be in the possession of the organization. The files are most complete in their documentation of participation in the 1990 Nicaragua election and in the research work involved in publication of Friends in Deed. Incomplete documentation of day-to-day activities and relationships to other organizations may be found in the SUBJECT FILES and in the ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL RECORDS.
THE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES series is further subdivided into 1990 Election Observation, General Records, and Publications. The 1990 Election Observation subseries documents the organization of the sister city election observation groups and the election observation itself. The records consist of correspondence, a WCCN information packet, observer guidelines, and reports. These records are divided into materials arising from the activities of the Ad Hoc Sister Cities Coalition and materials pertaining to WCCN. The correspondence of the ad hoc coalition, with whom the WCCN worked, document the communications and coordination between Nicaraguan officials and the sister city groups in the U.S. It also includes lists of participants, meeting agendas, notes, press releases, team guidelines, and a final report. The observer reports compiled by individual Wisconsin participants document their experiences and observations. These files include the tour notes of WCCN executive director Liz Chilsen, a collection of poems by Gus Stelzer, and a report by Art and Sue Lloyd. Also included is a small amount of news clippings, press releases, and reports by other observer delegations.
The General Files offer documentation of some of WCCN's primary activities. Unfortunately the files are incomplete. The files on the U.S.-Nicaragua sister city conferences provide only lists of registrants for the 1986 and 1987 conferences, although the Leonard Cizewski Papers--also held by the Historical Society--contain more extensive material from the 1986 event. Of special interest is some correspondence of Doug LaFollette recalling a recent trip to Nicaragua as a representative of Wisconsin and his desire to further the sister state relationship with Nicaragua. An article from the New Republic discusses WCCN's foreign policy success with the visit of Sergio Ramirez to Wisconsin.
The Publications section consists of the files arising from the research for Friends in Deed: the Story of U.S.-Nicaragua Sister Cities and a media resources manual. The Friends in Deed files contain the most comprehensive documentation of sister city activities in the collection, documenting the activities and experiences of participants and the development of the sister city movement through the 1988 publication date. The files consist primarily of research and interview notes compiled in the course of writing the book. The research material consists of literature, newspaper articles, and interview notes of participants, including both Americans and Nicaraguan officials. The files are arranged by Nicaraguan political division into files on Regions I through VI and Special Zones I through III. Also, included are drafts and a small amount of correspondence and memoranda arising from preparation of the book. Photographs taken in Nicaragua by Liz Chilsen that were used to illustrate the book are still in organizational hands. The published version of Friends in Deed is available in the Historical Society Library. WCCN's media resources manual provides organizing tips and bibliographies of information on Nicaraguan and Central American issues.
The ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL FILES contain the best documentation in the collection about the overall work of WCCN. Included are grant proposals and a small number of files on granting agencies. The grant proposals contain some of the most comprehensive insight in the collection on WCCN from 1985 onward, providing statements of goals and objectives, information on accomplishments, financial information, brief internal notes, correspondence, and reports to foundations. Of special interest is a report to the Norman Foundation on the coverage WCCN had attracted in the national and international media. The April 1985 organizational proposal to establish WCCN is among the earliest documents concerning the organization in archival hands. A 1986 memo to the board discusses the establishment of a U.S.-Nicaragua Friendship Network, a national office and information clearinghouse.
The SUBJECT FILES contain documentation on numerous Wisconsin and national organizations and social action groups with which WCCN had contact. The files are arranged alphabetically by name or subject, and they typically consist of correspondence and literature. Of note are meetings minutes of the Wisconsin Interfaith Committee on Central America (WICOCA), which illustrate the interrelationship between numerous Wisconsin social action groups. Also included are some “NicaLine” PeaceNet downloads.
