Summary Information
Melvina E. Hostak Papers
1914-1974
Whitewater Mss BI; PH 3762
1.6 c.f. (4 archives boxes and 1 flat box) and 6 photographs
UW-Whitewater Library / Whitewater Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers, mainly 1928-1954, of a spiritualist minister concerning her activities in a number of spiritualist organizations in Wisconsin. Included are financial ledgers, correspondence, curriculum records, and other materials pertaining to her work from 1928 to 1932 as secretary-treasurer of the Morris Pratt Institute of Whitewater; and a minute book, financial records, annual program books, and photographs (1949) of the Western Wisconsin Camp Association, a summer retreat in Wonewoc for the study of spiritualism which Hostak served as president; and miscellaneous records of other organizations. Correspondence with Anna Wallace concerns the lyceum movement. Also included are correspondence, notes, and drafts of historian Paul Schmunk concerning his research on the Morris Pratt Institute; additional notes about MPI by Hugh W. Swofford III; and general personal correspondence of Hostak. Other photographs include snapshots of Hostak.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-whit00bi ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Complete biographical information about Melvina E. Hostak is not available. However, it is known that she was a leader among Wisconsin spiritualists during the first half of the twentieth century. Born Melvina E. Taylor, she married Frank Hostak in 1933 and Jerry Kraus in 1949.
Hostak became active in spiritualist organizations through her involvement with the Morris Pratt Institute of Spiritualism. Founded in 1903 in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the institute's purpose included the teaching, preaching, and promulgation of the doctrine of spiritualism. Its one brick building housed dormitories, class rooms, and a seance assembly hall. Diplomas were granted, and in 1921 the school had twenty-one students. During the Depression the school closed for a period of three years due to financial hardship, but it reopened in 1935. During the late 1940's the institute relocated in Milwaukee.
Hostak occupied various positions at Morris Pratt Institute. She was a teacher and a member of its board of trustees, and she served as secretary and treasurer from about 1928 to 1931. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Hostak was also active with the Spiritualists' Progressive Lyceum, and she worked closely with Anna Wallace, superintendent of the National Spiritualist Association's Bureau of Lyceums, in the editing and distribution of lyceum materials. Following the death of her husband Frank in 1946 she succeeded him as president of the Western Wisconsin Camp Association. This camp in Wonewoc, Wisconsin had been established in 1901 as a summer retreat for the study of spiritualism.
Hostak continued to expand her involvement in spiritualist organizations, and she became an ordained spiritualist minister. By 1948 she was noted as a teacher, mental medium, lecturer, and lyceum leader. She was also the pastor of the Kraft Memorial Spiritualist Center, Milwaukee, and served as vice president of the Wisconsin State Spiritualist Association, an affiliate of the National Spiritualist Association.
Scope and Content Note
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.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Jeanne Schmunk, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, October 13, 1986; with portions via Hugh W. Swofford III, Butler, Wisconsin, August 27, 1974. Accession Number: M86-575
Processed by Loralee J. Bloom and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1988.
Contents List
|
Whitewater Mss BI
|
Series: Morris Pratt Institute
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Administrative records and historical information, 1929-1931, undated
|
|
|
Financial records
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Treasurer's book of the Mutual Benefit Club of MPI, 1928-1930
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1-2
|
Secretary-treasurer's books, 1930-1932
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
Miscellaneous financial records, 1929-1934
|
|
|
Secretary's correspondence
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4-9
|
1927-1931, August
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1-2
|
1931, September-1932
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
3
|
Student applications, ca. 1931
|
|
|
Curriculum records
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
4-6
|
Course outlines, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7-9
|
Miscellaneous course material, class notes, and poetry fragments, undated
|
|
|
Series: Other Spiritualist Organizations
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
10
|
Associated Spiritualist Churches of Wisconsin, 1953
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
11
|
First Spiritualist Church, Madison, correspondence, 1947
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
12
|
First Spiritualist Church, Whitewater, financial records, 1930-1932
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
13
|
Spiritualists' Progressive Lyceum, notes and publications, undated
|
|
|
Western Wisconsin Camp Association
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1
|
Minute book, 1927-1952
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
2
|
Conference log book, 1919-1928; with financial data, , 1945-1946
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
3
|
Annual meeting program books, 1914, 1922-1942, 1950
|
|
|
Financial records
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
4
|
Dining hall expenditures/receipts book, 1939-1951
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
5
|
Check register and receipt books, 1922-1923
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
6
|
Bank statements, 1947-1954
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
7
|
Checks, 1947-1952
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
8
|
Warrants and warrant receipts, 1953-1954
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
9
|
Miscellaneous material, 1945-1954, undated
|
|
|
PH 3762
|
Photographs, 1949, undated
|
|
|
Whitewater Mss BI
Box
3
Folder
10
|
Wisconsin State Spiritualist Association, 1945-1947
|
|
|
Series: Miscellany
|
|
|
Melvina E. Hostak
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1
|
Correspondence, 1946-1959
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
2
|
Correspondence course material, 1936
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
3
|
Miscellaneous materials
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4
|
Dr. Paul Schmunk, correspondence and article drafts, 1962-1964
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
5
|
Hugh W. Swofford III, notes for paper and speech, ca. 1974
|
|
|
