Summary Information
Walter Henry Bender Papers
1913-1966
- Bender, Walter Henry, 1879-1966
Milwaukee Mss EA
5.0 c.f. (13 archives boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Papers of Bender, a Milwaukee lawyer and civic leader, dating primarily 1942-1964. Most relates to the Milwaukee County Park Commission, of which Bender was president (1948-1965). Included are files on the building of expressways on county park lands, the development of park programs, the reorganization of the commission in the 1950s, and contracts with the Milwaukee Braves baseball team. Other files pertain to the Metropolitan Study Commission; the Marquette University School of Medicine's board of directors and the board of trustees of Milwaukee-Downer College, of which he was a member; the development of Metropolitan War Memorial; the Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice (1914-1922); several World War II relief agencies; and Bender's legal career and his family.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil000ea ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Walter Henry Bender was born on July 22, 1879 in Milwaukee County, the son of William Harrison Bender and Nellie Bender and the grandson of Peter Bender, an early Wisconsin pioneer. Walter Bender attended Milwaukee public schools, graduating from the old East Side High School in 1896. He then enrolled in the Milwaukee Normal School, completing his course there in 1898, and subsequently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, from which he received an LL. B. degree in 1901.
After graduation Bender opened law offices in Milwaukee. In 1906 he was elected assistant city attorney and served until 1910, when he resigned in order to form the law firm later known as Hoyt, Bender, and McIntyre. Also in 1910, Bender married Catherine Dalgleish, daughter of one of the early Scottish settlers of Milwaukee. He interrupted his private law practice for one year in 1918 to accept an appointment as deputy attorney general of Wisconsin, after which he returned to Hoyt, Bender, and McIntyre. He continued as a member of this firm until his retirement.
A leading civic figure, Bender was elected president of the Milwaukee County Park Commission in 1948 and held the post for a record seventeen years. While president, Bender helped plan such facilities as the new Milwaukee County Zoo, the Mitchell Park Conservatory, the Marina, and the County Stadium. When he retired in July 1965, his fellow commissioners created the office of president emeritus for him in recognition of his service.
In addition, Bender was secretary of the Milwaukee YMCA from 1907 to 1925 and later a director and president of its board of trustees. He was president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1930, a member of the Wisconsin and American Bar Associations, president of the City Club in 1925-1926, president of the Citizens' Governmental Research Bureau from 1937 to 1942, and on its board of trustees for over thirty years. Bender was also a trustee of the Allis-Chalmers Foundation, Inc., Marquette University School of Medicine, Milwaukee-Downer College, the Kearney Welfare Foundation, and the League of Women Voters Foundation. He was active in the Community Welfare Council, the United Community and War Fund, the Metropolitan War Memorial, Inc., and the Joint Committee on Consolidation in Milwaukee County. Also involved in religious organizations, Bender was co-chairman of the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, an elder of Calvary Presbyterian Church, vice president and trustee of the Presbyterian Student Headquarters Foundation at Madison, and a trustee of the Milwaukee Presbytery. For his civic activities, Bender received many awards, including the Caroline Bigelow McGeoch award of the Milwaukee League of Women Voters in 1949, the Cosmopolitan Club service award in 1957, and the community service award of the Milwaukee Foundation in 1957.
In 1958, Catherine Dalgleish Bender died. Bender then married Mrs. Edna Wickwerth the next year. She died in October 1965. Walter Henry Bender died of cancer in Mount Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee, on May 29, 1966.
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains Bender's personal files on his various civic and professional activities, including committee reports and correspondence as well as some biographical information. The collection is divided into nine main series: Biographical Material; City/County Government (Milwaukee); Marquette University School of Medicine; Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc.; Milwaukee County Park Commission; Milwaukee-Downer College; Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice; Professional Material; and War and Community Funds and Chests.
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL series consists of two folders containing newsclippings, excerpts from other printed material, and correspondence relating to the personal life of Bender from 1916 to 1966 and their lives of his parents, William and Nellie Bender, from 1931 to 1943.
The CITY/COUNTY GOVERNMENT (MILWAUKEE) series contains files of the various committees and civic organizations with which Bender was involved. The series is divided into five parts, each representing a specific organization, and includes correspondence, committee reports, bulletins, speeches, minutes, city ordinances, and articles of incorporation and by-laws. By far the most extensive holdings in this segment are the files of the Metropolitan Study Commission.
The MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE series covers Bender's activities and concerns as a member of the Board of Directors. The files are divided into ten sub-categories by subject. Included are correspondence; financial materials including budget studies and proposals; reports of the treasurer and accountant; reports of the Dean, faculty, and extensions to the Board of Directors; articles of association and by-laws; minutes and agenda of the Board, the Corporation, and various committees; near-print and miscellaneous material including general correspondence and circulars.
The Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc. was organized in 1945 by a group of Milwaukee citizens to promote the construction of a memorial in the city. Walter Bender played a crucial role in the development of the corporation and the memorial. The METROPOLITAN MILWAUKEE WAR MEMORIAL, INC. series contains his records for the organization. The series is divided into seven parts. Included are Legal Documents consisting of briefs and decisions on two related legal cases; an Organization file containing organizational charts; a section on the Planning and Construction of the Memorial which includes building programs, site selection reports, correspondence, and leaflets and correspondence, contracts, and committee and corporation reports.
The largest segment of the collection relates to the MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARK COMMISSION, whose operations are chronicled during the years Bender was its president. The Budget section of this series contains correspondence, proposed budgets, annual summaries of capital improvement programs, and priority proposals for “Improvement and Major Maintenance Accounts.” “Civil Service Matters” contains any material dealing with park employees. It includes correspondence, employee and evaluation reports, job descriptions, and a separate file on Leonard Pampel, the inventor of the water system used for the Milwaukee County Zoo aquarium. The Pampel file also includes correspondence, the agreement between Pampel and the Park Commission, and Pampel's patent. The Concessions and Vending Machines subseries includes specific material on concessions activities such as concessions reports, studies, and correspondence to the Commission.
In the mid-1950s an extended expressway system was proposed for the Milwaukee area, and its anticipated effect on County Park lands is recorded in the “Expressway System” files. These consist of correspondence, reports and studies, and minutes of conferences on the subject. Lakefront development, a major concern of the Park Commission, is covered in the “Lakefront Committee” file which includes a 1940 study of the lakefront, a 1962 progress report and correspondence, legal documents, proposals, and minutes. The Land Acquisition file includes correspondence, memoranda, near-print, agreements, and maps concerning Park Commission land acquisition from 1956 to 1964. Material concerning the Park Commission's association with various planning agencies is found in the correspondence, planning reports, and minutes of meetings of joint planning agencies filed under the heading Planning Agencies.
The Programs subseries is made up of programs undertaken during Bender's tenure, and is divided into nine sections, eight containing the correspondence, reports, and memoranda of separate specific programs and one miscellaneous file. The subseries Recreation contains the correspondence, pamphlets, reports, and clippings of the Recreation department of the Park Commission on subjects including playgrounds, camping facilities, stadium parking, and planned recreational activities. The Reorganization file deals with the Commission's association with the Public Administration Service, which in 1955 published a report regarding the Milwaukee administration of its parks and recreation. This prompted a reorganization, and included here are related materials such as organizational charts, correspondence, conference minutes, and reports. “Senate Bill 463, S.” refers to a proposal in 1958 by the County Board of Supervisors giving themselves veto power over the Park Commission. The files consist of correspondence and newsclippings regarding the bill and arguments against it. Filed in the Sewerage, Water Pollution, and Flood Control section is material relating to water quality and control in Milwaukee, including correspondence, memoranda, near-print, and city ordinances. The correspondence, near-print, city ordinances, and Commission minutes filed under “zoning” relate to Milwaukee zoning procedures and jurisdiction. Miscellaneous consists of three folders of general correspondence including complaints; newsclippings, articles, reports; and minutes of a general nature and not directly related to other subseries.
The MILWAUKEE-DOWNER COLLEGE series consists of material Bender accumulated as a member of the Board of Trustees. It is divided into five subseries and primarily consists of correspondence and memoranda, minutes and agenda, reports, and budgetary material.
The MILWAUKEE SOCIETY FOR SUPPRESSION OF COMMERCIAL VICE series contains some of the financial records, budgetary correspondence, and account books for this organization, which replaced the Milwaukee Vigilance League around 1915 and survived until 1922. Bender received these records in 1928.
The series PROFESSIONAL MATERIAL deals with Bender's legal career, and is divided into six subseries. The Bar Associations file contains his correspondence, minutes and reports from the American Bar Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. Five specific case files involve clients represented by Bender. They are: The Town of Greenfield in a 1956 law suit; Public School Teachers Annuity and Retirement Fund in a retirement fund dispute that reached the State Supreme Court in 1956; The city of Wauwatosa in matters of water utility regulation in 1954-1955; Wisconsin Council of Agriculture in labor legislation matters including the draft of the Wisconsin Employment Peace Act in 1939; and the YMCA in a case concerning distribution of residual legatees of the Elmer L. Arnold estate in 1956-1957. In general these files consist of correspondence, near-print, legal documents, and legislative materials.
The ninth series, WAR AND COMMUNITY FUNDS AND CHESTS, contains Bender's records of various organizations involved in World War II relief. The subseries, Miscellaneous Chests and Funds, contains material from organizations with which Bender had only limited contact. The series is composed primarily of correspondence, with some near-print, minutes, financial records, and reports.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Walter Henry Bender, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1966. Accession Number: M66-440
Processed by Carolyn Dellenbach, 1975; and by Robert F. Burk and Joanne Hohler, July 1979.
Contents List
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Series: Biographical Material
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Walter Henry Bender, 1916-1966
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Box
1
Folder
2
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William Harrison and Nellie Bender, 1931-1943
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Series: City/County Government (Milwaukee)
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Citizens' Governmental Research Bureau, 1946 February-1964 January
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Box
1
Folder
4
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City Club Governmental Studies Foundation, Inc., 1960 November-1962 November
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Box
1
Folder
5
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Committee on Basic Changes in the Substantive Law, 1952 August-November
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Metropolitan Study Commission, 1958 October-1961 July
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Box
1
Folder
6
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Committee for Organizing Milwaukee Metro Citizens Conference on Government, Executive Committee and Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee
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Box
1
Folder
7-8
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Land Use and Zoning Committee
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Box
1
Folder
9
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Legal Committee
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Box
1
Folder
10
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Police Protection Committee
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Box
1
Folder
11
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Public Information and Education Committee, Refuse and Garbage Disposal Committee, Research Committee
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Box
1
Folder
12
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Revenue Sources and Distribution Committee
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Minutes of Monthly Meeting and Commission Bulletin, 1959 February-1961 June
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Reports, 1959 October-1961 June
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Subdivision Ordinance, 1952 June-1953 February
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Series: Marquette University School Of Medicine
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Allen Bradley Science Laboratory, 1961 June, 1963 June
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Board of Directors
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Box
2
Folder
5
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Articles of Association and Bylaws, 1942, 1955
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Box
2
Folder
6
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Minutes and Agenda, 1960 June-1964 March
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Box
2
Folder
7
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Corporation and Board Meeting Minutes, Agenda, 1960 October-1963 September
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Dean and Faculty Annual Reports, 1957-1963
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Executive Committee Minutes and Agenda, 1957 June-1963 December
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Box
2
Folder
10
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Membership List, 1961; and Memoranda, 1950 December-1963 September
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Box
2
Folder
11
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Policy and Development Committee Minutes, 1960 November-1964 March
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Budget
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Box
2
Folder
12
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“Annual Valuation of Investments,” 1959-1962
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Box
2
Folder
13
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“Comparative Budget Study,” 1947-1963; “Cost-Finding Study,” , 1961
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Box
2
Folder
14
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Grants, Gifts, and Fellowships, 1957 June-1964 March; Copies of Wills, , 1937
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Box
3
Folder
1-2
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“Proposed Operating Budgets,” 1957/58-1963/64
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Box
3
Folder
3-4
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“Reports of Examinations,” 1958-1963
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Box
2
Folder
5
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“Treasurer's Reports,” 1957 September-1964 February
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Box
3
Folder
6
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Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital Reports, 1951-1963
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Box
3
Folder
7
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Hirschboeck, John S., 1948-1961
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Box
3
Folder
8
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Milwaukee Hospitals and Medical Units, 1959-1963, undated
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Box
3
Folder
9
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Organization Analysis, undated and Status Survey of Corporation, 1958-1959
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Box
3
Folder
10
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Proposals and Future Plans, 1960 September-1964 March, undated
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Box
3
Folder
11
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Miscellany, 1958 March-1964 April
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Series: Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc.
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Box
4
Folder
1
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Correspondence, General, 1945 June-1948 December
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Box
4
Folder
2
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Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1945-1950
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Box
4
Folder
3
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Committee and Corporation Minutes and Reports, 1946-1950
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Box
4
Folder
4
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Contract with County Board of Supervisors, 1946 March-1951 June
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Legal Documents
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Box
4
Folder
5
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Schumm, et al. vs. Oliver Boyle and War Memorial, Inc., 1950 March-December
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Box
4
Folder
6
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War Memorial, Inc. vs. Parkshore Tower, Inc., et al., 1952 June-August
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Box
4
Folder
7
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Organization, 1946-1950
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Box
4
Folder
8
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Planning and Construction of Memorial, 1945 May-1948 August
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Series: Milwaukee County Park Commission
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Budget
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Correspondence, Proposed Budgets, and Requests
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Box
5
Folder
1
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1952-1960 April
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Box
5
Folder
2
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1960 July-1963 October
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Box
5
Folder
1
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“Capital Improvements Programs,” circa 1958-1964
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Box
5
Folder
3
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“Improvements and Major Maintenance Accounts,” 1955
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“Civil Service Matters”
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Box
5
Folder
4
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Correspondence, Employee Evaluation Reports, and Job Descriptions, 1954 May-1964 April, undated
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Box
5
Folder
5
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Pampel, Leonard, 1960 February-1963 April
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Concessions and Vending Machines
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Box
5
Folder
6
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Correspondence and Memoranda, 1959 April-1962 February
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Box
5
Folder
7
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Reports and Studies, 1956-1965
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Box
5
Folder
8
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“Expressway System, 1955 February-1959 November
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Lakefront Committee
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Box
6
Folder
1
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General Study, 1940; and Progress Reports, , 1962
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Box
6
Folder
2
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Miscellany, 1945 July-1963 February
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Box
6
Folder
3
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Land Acquisition, 1956-1964
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Box
6
Folder
4
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Planning Agencies, 1953 May-1964 January
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Programs
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“Baseball Contract”
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Box
6
Folder
5
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Correspondence and Memoranda, 1953 March-1958 December
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Box
6
Folder
6-7
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Agreements Between Milwaukee Braves Baseball Club and Park Commission, 1952-1962
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Box
6
Folder
8
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Newsclippings, 1957
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Box
6
Folder
9
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Operating Expenses, 1955-1962
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Lincoln Memorial Drive
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Box
6
Folder
10
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1942-1957
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Box
7
Folder
1
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1950-1962
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Box
7
Folder
2
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Marina and Yacht Club, 1952-1964 February
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Box
7
Folder
3
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Mitchell Park Conservatory, 1957 January-1963 June
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“Music Under the Stars”
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Box
7
Folder
4
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Correspondence, Programs, and Reports, 1950 March-1963 June
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Box
7
Folder
5
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Conductors, Biographical Record of, and Related Correspondence, 1950, 1952
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Box
7
Folder
6
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Nike Site, 1954-1962 October
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Box
7
Folder
7
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Senior Citizens' Center, 1959 April-1964 August
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Zoo
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Box
7
Folder
8
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General Correspondence, 1954 February-1963 May
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Box
7
Folder
9
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Financial Aspects, 1956 August-1963 October
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Box
7
Folder
10
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Miniature Railroad, 1954 April-1963 June
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Box
8
Folder
1
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Miscellany, 1955 February-1962 October, undated
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Box
8
Folder
2-4
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Recreation, 1947 April-1964 March, undated
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Reorganization
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Box
8
Folder
5
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Public Administration Service, 1955 December-1959 June
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Box
8
Folder
6
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Miscellaneous, 1949 March-1959 February
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Box
8
Folder
7
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“Senate Bill 463, S.,” 1958 March-1959 June
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Box
9
Folder
1-3
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Sewerage, Water Pollution, and Flood Control, 1952 March-(1953-1954)-1963 August
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Box
9
Folder
4
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“Zoning,” 1946 September-1961 November
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Box
9
Folder
5-7
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Miscellany, 1948 February-1965 July, undated
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Series: Milwaukee-Downer College
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Box
10
Folder
1
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Correspondence and Memoranda, General, 1948 April-1963 July
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Board of Trustees
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Box
10
Folder
2
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Minutes and Agenda, 1958-1963
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Box
10
Folder
3
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Membership Lists, 1958/59-1961/62; and Committee Minutes, , 1958-1963
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Box
10
Folder
4-5
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President's Annual Reports, 1956/57-1961/62
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Budget
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Box
10
Folder
6
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Endowments, Funds, and Gifts, 1878-circa 1963
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Expenditure Lists, Financial Statements and Reports, 1958-1963
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Box
10
Folder
8
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Summary of Salary Schedules, 1957/58-11963/64; “Suggestion on Accounting Policies,” , 1958 September
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Box
10
Folder
9
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Milwaukee-Downer Seminary, 1935-1958
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Box
10
Folder
10
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Miscellany, 1958-1963
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Series: Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice
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Box
10
Folder
11
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Correspondence and Budgetary Notes, 1914-1922
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Box
10
Folder
12
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Account Book, Bank Books, and Check Stubs, 1913-1920
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Series: Professional Material
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Bar Associations
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Box
11
Folder
1
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American Bar Association; , 1955 December-1961 November
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Box
11
Folder
2
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Milwaukee Bar Association, 1956 May-1959 February
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Box
11
Folder
3
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State Bar of Wisconsin, 1957 January-1961 April
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Box
11
Folder
4
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Greenfield, Town of, 1956 November-1957 January
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Public School Teachers' Annuity and Retirement Fund
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Box
11
Folder
5
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Correspondence, 1953-1957
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Box
11
Folder
6
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Legal Documents, 1953 August-1956
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Box
11
Folder
7
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Near-Print and Newsclippings, 1953-1955
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Box
11
Folder
8
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Wauwatosa, City of, 1954 October-1955 November
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Wisconsin Council of Agriculture
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Correspondence
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Box
11
Folder
9
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1938 August-1940 January
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Box
12
Folder
1
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1941 February-1947 March
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Box
12
Folder
2
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Labor Legislation (excluding 154, A), 1937-1939 February
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Bill No. 154, A (“Employment Peace Act”)
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Box
12
Folder
3
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Drafts, Near-Print, Questions and Answers, 1939
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Box
12
Folder
4
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Newsclippings, 1939
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Box
12
Folder
5
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Labor Legislation, 1943, 1945, 1947
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Box
11
Folder
6
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Council Newsletters, Resolutions, Hearings, and Bulletins re Labor Legislation, 1938 August-1947 January
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Box
11
Folder
7
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Y.M.C.A., 1955-1957
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Series: War and Community Funds and Chests
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Box
12
Folder
8
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National War Fund, 1943 January-1945 May
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Box
12
Folder
9
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State War Chest, 1943 February-June
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United Community and War Funds Committee
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Box
12
Folder
10
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Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, 1942 March-1943 January
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Box
13
Folder
1-2
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Correspondence, 1942 February-April
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Box
13
Folder
3
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Financial Matters, 1942 May-1947 March
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Box
13
Folder
4
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Minutes, Agenda, and Reports, 1942 February-1947 November
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Box
13
Folder
5
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Wisconsin War Fund, 1943 March-circa 1947 February
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Box
13
Folder
6
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Miscellaneous Chests and Funds, 1942 May-1945 October
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