The collection documents the many activities of Mrs. Hostak in spiritualist organizations in Wisconsin, an involvement which spanned about thirty years. Records of each of the documented organizations concentrate around years in which Hostak served in official positions: the Morris Pratt Institute of Spiritualism (1928-1932), the Spiritualists' Progressive Lyceum (1930s), the Western Wisconsin Camp Association (1920s-1950s), and the Wisconsin State Spiritualist Association (1945-1947).
Although the records of each organization are rather fragmentary, there is good documentation in some areas. The financial records and secretary's correspondence of the Morris Pratt Institute during the late 1920s through the early 1930s are complete, and the school's curriculum is well documented. There are a few records documenting the school's administration, although little record of who attended the school.
The Western Wisconsin Camp Association and its women's auxiliary is well documented through a minute book, financial records, and program books. There are also fragmentary records of the Associated Spiritualist Churches of Wisconsin, the First Spiritualist Church of Madison, the First Spiritualist Church of Whitewater, the Spiritualists' Progressive Lyceum, and the Wisconsin State Spiritualist Association.
Although the documentation of the Morris Pratt Institute and Wisconsin spiritualism is incomplete in the collection, the papers do contain rare information about this little-known religious movement. The rarity of the documentation is confirmed by the correspondence of Paul Schmunk contained in the papers concerning the difficulty of his search for information about the Morris Pratt Institute. A conversation with the Morris Pratt Institute in Milwaukee in 1988 affirmed that no early records of the institution are known to exist. Although no internal evidence confirms the fact, it is likely that the Hostak papers were acquired by Schmunk in the course of his research. The fact that the collection presents a rather one-dimensional view of Hostak's life may be due to the fact that Schmunk was only interested in her involvement with the Morris Pratt Institute.
The majority of the records are arranged alphabetically in two categories: the MORRIS PRATT INSTITUTE and OTHER SPIRITUALIST ORGANIZATIONS. A group of MISCELLANY contains personal papers of Hostak and research material and writings of Dr. Paul Schmunk and Hugh W. Swofford III.
The administrative records of the MORRIS PRATT INSTITUTE include articles of incorporation, president's reports, and newspaper clippings on MPI. The treasurer's records include documentation on expenditures and receipts and lists of investments.
The correspondence is that of Hostak as secretary. It is primarily incoming requests for information about MPI, admission, and courses and requests for information on spiritualism, psychic experiences, and brochures on the school. There are some replies to these inquiries. Some of the correspondence is with other spiritualist institutions including the National Spiritual Church. A prominent correspondent is Anna Wallace, superintendent of the National Spiritualist Association's Bureau of Lyceums. This correspondence chiefly concerns the distribution of lyceum material. There are also many requests for lyceum material from individuals and institutions.
The applicants' questionnaires give information about the kind of people interested in spiritualism such their names and experiences in spiritualism. Curriculum records include course outlines, lesson plans for preliminary and advanced courses, and topics for discussion in spiritualism. The miscellaneous course material, class notes, and poetry fragments are predominantly unidentified; they are a mixture of hand and type script.
The OTHER SPIRITUALIST ORGANIZATIONS records include president's reports of the Associated Spiritualist Churches of Wisconsin; administrative correspondence of the First Spiritualist Church of Madison; and financial records of the First Spiritualist Church of Whitewater listing expenditures and receipts. Miscellaneous notes and a few lyceum publications are included in the Spiritualists' Progressive Lyceum material. The Wisconsin State Spiritualist Association records consist of revised bylaws.
The minute book of the Western Wisconsin Camp Association documents the activities of the camp's women's auxiliary. The financial records, which also appear to refer to the accounts of the auxiliary consist of checks and check registers, bank statements, receipt books, and miscellaneous ledgers. Although fragmentary, the records contain some important details about camp operations. Especially good in documenting camp activities are the annual programs, which list events and participants and which include printed photographs, and a conference log book, which lists the topics of study for each camp conference. The camp song and a few administrative documents are included in the miscellaneous material. Photographs stored in the Visual Materials Archive include pictures of Hostak and others at the camp in 1949; there are also undated photos of Hostak and of unidentified individuals.
MISCELLANY includes Hostak's general correspondence, which is predominantly personal. Some of the correspondence relates to her involvement in the National Spiritualist Association and to enrollment in a news writing course with the Newspaper Institute of America. The Dr. Paul Schmunk material contains correspondence with various historical societies and spiritualist institutions to locate records of MPI. There are also notes and drafts of his article on spiritualism in Wisconsin. The Swofford file, which was added to this collection at the Whitewater Area Research Center, consists of notes and drafts for a paper and speech on MPI.
