Summary Information
Lizzie Black Kander Papers
1875-1960
Milwaukee Mss DN; Micro 548; PH 4179
1.0 c.f. (3 archives boxes), 2 reels of microfilm (35 mm), and 20 photographs
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Lizzie Black Kander, whose social work among Russian Jewish immigrants in Milwaukee earned her the sobriquet “the Jane Addams of Milwaukee.” Relating to her founding and operation of the settlement house that ultimately became the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee are reports, correspondence, promotional brochures, clippings, materials used in publishing a cookbook used for fund-raising purposes, and minutes. Also present is correspondence of her niece, Irma Greenthal, dealing mainly with the 1948 dedication of the Kander Auditorium and with biographical information on her aunt. Photographs include portraits of Kander, images of her family, group meetings, and the exterior of the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.
English, Yiddish
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil000dn
Biography/History
Lizzie Black was born in Milwaukee in 1858, the daughter of John and Mary Black, who were Jewish pioneer farmers from near Green Bay. She was educated in the Milwaukee public schools and in 1878 graduated from East Side High as valedictorian. In 1881 she married Simon Kander, a real estate and insurance salesman, who later served in the 1907 Assembly of the Wisconsin State Legislature.
Lizzie Black Kander was one of the first women in Milwaukee to undertake social work activities with the Russian Jewish immigrants who had been arriving in the city since the 1880s; in fact, she became known as the Jane Addams of Milwaukee. She first established the Milwaukee Jewish Mission in 1896 in borrowed quarters in Temple B'ne Jeshurun and Temple Emanu-El. Her organization changed its name and location several times before moving circa 1951 to its present Prospect Avenue location where it became known as the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.
One of the first activities that Kander started at the Mission was cooking classes. The demand for recipes resulted in the publication in 1901 of a 200 page pamphlet, The Way to a Man's Heart. This pamphlet evolved into the popular Settlement Cook Book, the profits from which helped fund her various settlement houses and center buildings.
She was also involved in Milwaukee community activities. From 1907-circa 1927 she was a member of the city's School Board. She was also a founder of the Girls' Trade and Technical High School and the Milwaukee nursery school system.
In 1938 Kander was the first person chosen for the Milwaukee Jewish Center Honor Lecture, a lecture series that honored a prominent member of the Jewish Community. At the 1939 New York World's Fair she was designated one of Wisconsin's outstanding women. She died in 1940, and in 1948 Kander Auditorium at the Girls' Trade and Technical High School was named in her honor.
Scope and Content Note
The Lizzie Black Kander Papers, 1875-1960, consist of correspondence, settlement house materials, news clippings, diaries, recipes, and other records. The correspondence, 1881-1960, is mainly that of Lizzie Kander pertaining to her various activities but there are also a few letters from relatives and exchanges with her husband. The correspondence after her death in 1940 is that of her niece, Irma (Mrs. Alex P.) Greenthal, and deals mainly with the 1948 dedication of the Kander Auditorium and with biographical information about Lizzie Kander.
The Settlement House materials, 1899-1941, include handwritten president's reports prepared by Kander, brochures about activities at the settlement house, and various legal and financial papers. also included are reports of an earlier organization, the Ladies Relief Sewing society.
The newspaper clippings, 1879-1955, from Milwaukee newspapers, are in both English and Yiddish. Included are articles about Jewish community settlement houses and centers in Milwaukee and about Kander's many activities, as well as her obituaries.
The folders containing writings of Lizzie Kander, 1878-1939, include her 1878 graduation address, poems and speeches written for the Wednesday Club (later Milwaukee Social Science Club), and other reports and speeches. There is also a folder containing writings, 1919-1928, by her husband, Simon Kander, or other people who are writing about Lizzie Kander.
The collection includes volumes of recipes taught in the settlement house cooking classes, minutes of the Abraham Lincoln Settlement House (which she ran from circa 1911-1930), and trip diaries.
Also in the collection are a 1928 recreational survey of Milwaukee, poems by unknown authors in honor of various friends and relatives of Lizzie Kander, and unsigned reports of the Milwaukee School Board Visitation Committee. Most of these are undated.
The Milwaukee Area Research Center reprocessed the collection and modified the finding aid in December 1998. Below is the revised box list, followed by the list which reflects the order of the records as they appear on the microfilm.
Related Material
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mr. and Mrs. Alex Greenthal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1958 and 1976; and by Steenbock Memorial Library, 1981. Accession Number: M76-406, M81-600
Processed by Lindsay Nauen and Eleanor McKay, May 31, 1974. Re-processed by Milwaukee Area Research Center staff, December 1998.
Contents List for the Paper Collection
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Milwaukee Mss DN
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Abraham Lincoln House
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Board of Directors minutes
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Box
1
Folder
1
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1921-1930
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Box
1
Folder
2
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1930-1931
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Menus, Scrapbook, 1931
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|
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Papers, 1922-1931, undated
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Photograph, undated
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|
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Clippings
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|
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Box
1
Folder
6
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1879-1929
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|
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Box
1
Folder
7
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1930-1955
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Box
1
Folder
8
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undated
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Contracts, 1907-1928, undated
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Cooking Lesson Books
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Box
1
Folder
10
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1898
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|
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Box
1
Folder
11
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1901
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|
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Cor Intellectusque Society, Treasurer book, 1875-1876
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Correspondence
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Box
2
Folder
1
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1881-1919
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Box
2
Folder
2
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1922-1939
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Box
2
Folder
3
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1940-1948
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Box
2
Folder
4
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undated
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Financial Information, 1904, undated
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Interview about Lizzie Black Kander, 1959
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Jewish Center of Milwaukee by-laws, 1931
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Ladies Relief Society papers, 1918, 1928
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Lizzie Black Kander photographs, undated
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Lizzie Black Kander's wash list, 1881-1885
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Box
2
Folder
10
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Menus and recipes scrapbook, 1924
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Milwaukee Jewish Mission
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Box
2
Folder
11
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Annual Reports, 1899-1900
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Box
2
Folder
12
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Constitution, undated
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Box
2
Folder
13
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Mothers Club, Abraham Lincoln House, minutes, 1919-1920
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Box
2
Folder
14
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Personal journal, 1940
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Box
2
Folder
15
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Programs and menus, 1892-1930
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Box
2
Folder
16
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Questionaire regarding Lizzie Black Kander, 1960
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Settlement House papers
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Box
2
Folder
17
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1900-1915
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Box
2
Folder
18
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1930-1948, undated
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Simon Kander expense account, 1881-1883
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Travel diaries
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Box
3
Folder
1
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1877
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Mammoth Cave, 1884
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Box
3
Folder
3
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Southern United States, 1895
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Box
3
Folder
4
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Writings, 1919-1928, undated
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Writings by Lizzie Black Kander
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Box
3
Folder
5
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1878-1939
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Box
3
Folder
6
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undated
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PH 4179
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Original photographs
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Contents List for the Microfilm Version
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Micro 548
Reel
1
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Correspondence, 1881-1948, 1959-1960, undated
: A small number of letters were interfiled in the collection after the filming occurred.
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Reel
1
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Settlement House papers, 1899-1941, undated
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Reel
1
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Miscellaneous papers, 1928, undated
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Reel
1
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Clippings
: A small number of clippings were interfiled in the collection after the filming occurred.
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Reel
1
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1879-1929
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Reel
2
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undated
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Writings
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Reel
1
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1878-1940
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Reel
1
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undated
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Volumes
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Reel
2
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Financial records of Simon and Lizzie Kander, 1875-1883
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Travel diaries
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Reel
2
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1877
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Reel
2
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Mammoth Cave, 1884
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Reel
2
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Southern United States, 1895
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Cooking lesson books
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Reel
2
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1898
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Reel
2
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1901
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Abraham Lincoln House, Mothers Club, minutes, 1919-1920
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Abraham Lincoln House, Board of Directors, minutes
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Reel
2
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1921-1930
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Reel
2
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1930-1931
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Scrapbooks
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Reel
2
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Menus and recipes, 1924
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Reel
2
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Abraham Lincoln House menus, 1931
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Reel
2
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Diary, letter drafts, and officer list of Home Economics Association, 1940
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Photographs
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Microfilm copies of PH 4179
: A small number of additional photographs were interfiled in the collection after the filming occurred.
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