Summary Information
Wisconsin Nurses Association. District 4 and 5: Records
1906-1964
- Wisconsin Nurses Association. District 4 and 5 (Milwaukee)
Milwaukee Mss ES
5.2 c.f. (13 archives boxes)
UW-Milwaukee Libraries, Archives / Milwaukee Area Research Ctr. (Map)
Records of an organization which kept a registry of professional nurses in the Milwaukee area, sponsored educational programs, promoted legislation of concern to nurses, and organized civic and social events for nurses. The group organized as the Milwaukee County Nurses Association in 1912 and affiliated with the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1915. In 1928, the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory (organized in 1919) merged with the Nurses Association. Records include general correspondence, minutes, some committee records, section records, financial records, newsletters and a subject file. Materials in the subject file document special problems facing the nursing profession, especially education and training of nurses, unemployment, and the mobilization of nurses for civilian and military during World War II. The subject file also contains some records from other professional and civic organizations with which the Association cooperated, most notably the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, 1919-1928, and the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education, 1923-1944.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mil000es ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Fourth and Fifth District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association was organized and incorporated in 1912 as the Milwaukee County Nurses Association. The original purpose of the association was to advance the educational and moral standing of the nursing profession in Milwaukee County by extending state registration of nurses, providing a forum for discussions among nurses, preparing nurses for the duties, and promoting standards and ethics. The Milwaukee County Nurses Association affiliated with the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1915, and in 1916, it established a headquarters office and club at 1028 Van Burn Street. Changes in the constitution and by-laws of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association in 1918 required reorganization pf the Milwaukee County Nurses Association in the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA (also known as he Milwaukee District Nurses Association).
The Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory was organized in 1919 and merged with the Milwaukee District Nurses Association in 1928. Some of the objectives of this organization were similar to those of the Nurses Association, but the Club's goals also included developing a directory of nurses in Milwaukee County and securing of a building to serve as a clubhouse and home for nurses. In 1923, Charles E. Ray, a pioneer Milwaukee banker and grain commission merchant, donated his home at 1410 North Prospect Avenue to the club in memory of his wife, Jane Merrill Ray. At that time the property was valued at 96,000 dollars. After extensive repairs and improvements, the Nurses Club and Directory moved their headquarters to the Ray mansion in early 1924. Following amalgamation of the Milwaukee Nurses Club and Directory and the Milwaukee District Nurses Association in March 1928, the Club's property was transferred to the Association, and a board of five trustees was established to administer it.
Shortly after the merger of the two nurses' associations, the Nurses Association received notice that their property had been on the tax assessment rolls from 1924 to 1928. In order to meet the indebtedness for accumulated taxes and interest, the Association raised a 20,000 dollar mortgage in 1929. By this time the expenses of operating and maintaining of the large headquarters began to cause financial burdens. Due to the severe financial depression, it became impractical by 1931 to operate the mansion, and the headquarters moved to remodeled stables on the back of the property. The property was sold in 1945 for 27,000 dollars and the headquarters of the Association moved to 622 North Street.
The Milwaukee District Nurses Association kept a registry of professional nurses in the Milwaukee area and served as a placement office. Nurses were divided in to sections based on the type of nursing in which they were involved, including general duty, industrial, institutional, private duty, and public health nursing. The Association also had a variety of committees that promoted the regular activities of the Association and organized special events and activities. The Association also took an active interest in promoting legislation of concern to nurses, organizing educational programs, and sponsoring social gatherings for nurses.
Scope and Content Note
The collection includes records of the Fourth and Fifth District of the Wisconsin State Nurses Association, the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, and some records from the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education. The collection is arranged in three series: General Correspondence, Corporate Records, and a Subject File. Materials in the General Correspondence and Corporate Records pertain to the Nurses Association. The Subject File contains records from the Nurses Club, the League of Nursing Education, and several other professional and community organizations.
The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE includes incoming and outgoing letters of the district headquarters from the organizations concerned with health care and medicine, other organizations of nurses and medical professionals, the State Board of Health, the Internal Revenue Service, other assorted state and federal agencies, some financial institutions, and several hospitals and civic organizations in the Milwaukee area. Most of the correspondence concerns organizing programs, conventions, and symposia; the financial status of the organization; civic affairs; legislation; and general problems confronting the nursing profession such as unemployment or shortages or trained personnel. Some communications between the district headquarters and the sections and committees of the Association are included in the correspondence.
In the CORPORATE RECORDS, the Minutes document the regular monthly meetings where such topics as finances, upcoming events, changes in the structure of the organization, and the activities of committees and sections were discussed. The minutes covering the period from November 1918 to September 1922 are missing. The Board of Directors Minutes concern more routine matters such as accepting new members, arranging speakers for meetings, the progress of committees, physical changes in the district headquarters, and financial matters.
The Committee Records include records from only a portion of the Association's many committees and generally contain many gaps. Most committee records include some correspondence, incomplete sets of minutes from meetings and information on special projects and programs undertaken by the committees. The most complete sets of committee records are from the Jane Merrill Ray Scholarship Committee and the Committee on the Nurses Professional Registry. The records pertaining to the registry contain some statistics on the number of calls for nurses, the types of service requested, the institutions receiving services, and the number of hours of duty.
The Section Records generally are more complete, especially those from the Industrial and Private Duty sections. Records of the Private Duty Section provide good documentation of attempts at professional self-regulation, the establishment of standard fees, and efforts to improve the working conditions and to reduce the hours of duty. The Financial Records are arranged chronologically and consist of treasurers' reports, monthly reports of income and expenditures, budgets, and occasional reports of special fund raising events.
Materials in the SUBJECT FILE cover a variety of topics of interest to the nursing profession. The most extensive coverage is that of the organizations with which the Association cooperated. This portion of the subject file includes records from the Milwaukee District of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education. Included in the Leagues records is an item inventory of historical materials about the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing. The section on organizations also contains the records of the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory prior to its merger with the Milwaukee District Nurses Association. The material son property document the legal and financial problems faced by the Association in conjunction with ownership of the Ray mansion. Efforts by the Association to recruit and train nurses for the military and civilian service during World War II are especially well documented. Materials in the subject file include correspondence, reports, some committee records, research papers, and survey results.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by the Wisconsin State Nurses Association - 4th and 5th District, Milwaukee, via Florence Phenix and Florence Charles, 1959 and 1964. Accession Number: M59-164, M64-161
Processed by Margaret Hedstrom, October 23, 1978.
Contents List
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Series: General Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
1-6
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1921, 1927-1939
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Box
2
Folder
1-6
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1940-1947
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Box
3
Folder
1-5
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1948-1955
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Series: Corporate Records
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Box
3
Folder
6
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Articles of Incorporation, Constitutions and By-laws, 1912-1953
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Box
4
Folder
1-4
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Minutes, 1912-1918, 1922-1953
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Box
4
Folder
5
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Annual Meeting Minutes and Reports, 1919-1921, 1929-1953
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Board of Directors Minutes
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Box
4
Folder
6
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1928-1940
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Box
5
Folder
1-2
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1941-1954
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Box
5
Folder
3
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Administration, 1930-1951
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Committee Records
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Box
5
Folder
4
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Advisory Policy Committee on Practical Nurse Service, 1946-1953
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Box
5
Folder
5
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American Journal of Nursing Committee, 1945-1953
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Box
5
Folder
6
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Committee for the 1930 ANA Convention, 1929-1930
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Box
5
Folder
7
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Committee on Nominations, 1942-1953
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Box
6
Folder
1-2
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Committee on the Nurses Professional Registry, 1906?, 1928-1954
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Box
6
Folder
3
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Program Committee, 1938-1954
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Box
6
Folder
4
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Public Relations Committee, 1947-1953
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(Jane Merrill Ray) Scholarship Committee
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Box
6
Folder
5
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Committee Records, 1923-1957
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Scholarship Applications
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Box
6
Folder
6
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1930-1938
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Box
7
Folder
1-2
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1940-1953
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Box
7
Folder
3
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Sociability Committee, 1940-1950
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Box
7
Folder
4
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Structure Study Committee, 1949-1953
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Section Records
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Box
7
Folder
5
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General Duty Nurses Section, 1948-1955
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Box
7
Folder
6-9
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Industrial Nurses Section, 1931-1958
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Box
7
Folder
10
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Institutional Nurses Section, 1946-1949
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Box
8
Folder
1-2
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Private Duty Nurses Section, 1922-1955
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Box
8
Folder
3
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Public Health Nurses Section, 1936-1943
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Box
8
Folder
4
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Historians' Notes, 1912-1949, 1956
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Box
8
Folder
5-7
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Financial Records, 1916-1951
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Newsletters
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Box
8
Folder
8
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Official Bulletin of the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA, 1928-1932
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Box
9
Folder
1-2
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Newsletter of the Fourth and Fifth District of the WSNA, 1926-1955
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Series: Subject File
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Box
9
Folder
3
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Biographical Materials on Nurses, undated
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Box
9
Folder
4
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Civil Defense, 1950-1955
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Box
9
Folder
5
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Counseling and Placement, 1935-1936, 1943-1950
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Education and Scholarships
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Box
9
Folder
6
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Clinical Nursing Reviews, 1932-1936, 1942
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Box
9
Folder
7
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Committee on the Grading of Nursing Schools, 1926-1932
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Box
9
Folder
8
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Committee on the Practical Nurse Program (Milwaukee Vocational School), 1947-1948
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Box
9
Folder
9
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Miscellaneous Scholarships, 1931-1956
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Box
9
Folder
10
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Mental Health, 1945, 1948-1951
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Box
9
Folder
11
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Merger of the 4th and 5th District with the Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory, 1927-1929, 1933
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Organizations
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Box
10
Folder
1
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American Nurses Association, Miscellaneous Reports, 1931, 1939, 1948, 1952
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Box
10
Folder
2
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Community Nursing Council of Milwaukee, 1950-1953
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Box
10
Folder
3
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Florence Nightingale International Foundation, 1928-1941
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Box
10
Folder
4
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Inter-Group Council for Women as Policy Makers, 1949-1953
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Box
10
Folder
5
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Nurses Relief Association of America, 1927-1929
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Wisconsin League of Nursing Education (Milwaukee District)
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Box
10
Folder
6
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Constitution and By-laws, 1924, 1937, 1947-1949
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Box
10
Folder
7
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Minutes and Reports, 1942-1952
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Box
10
Folder
8
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Board of Directors Minutes, 1943-1952
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Box
10
Folder
9
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Committee and Membership Lists, 1939-1941, 1945-1952
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Box
10
Folder
10
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Committee on Education, 1939-1941, 1951
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Box
10
Folder
11
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Financial Records, 1933-1949
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Box
10
Folder
12
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Memorabilia, 1932-1964
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Box
10
Folder
13
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Inventory of Historical Materials on the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing, circa 1964
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Wisconsin Nurses Club and Directory
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Box
11
Folder
1
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Articles of Incorporation, 1919, 1922, 1927
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Box
11
Folder
2
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Correspondence, 1919-1928, 1931
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Box
11
Folder
3
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Minutes, 1920-1928
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Box
11
Folder
4
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Financial and Legal Records, 1919-1934
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Box
11
Folder
5
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Guest Book, 1919-1923
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Box
11
Folder
6
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Wisconsin State Organization for Public Health Nursing, 1941-1952
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Box
11
Folder
7
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Wisconsin state organizations for nurses, 1920-1952
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Box
11
Folder
8
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Wisconsin State Practical Nurses Association, Milwaukee District, 1951-1955
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Box
11
Folder
9
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Wisconsin State Student Nurses Association, 1952
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Box
12
Folder
1
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Papers on the Nursing Profession, 1929-1948
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Box
12
Folder
2
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Personnel Policies, 1945-1947, 1952
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Property (1410 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee)
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Box
12
Folder
3
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Correspondence, 1922-1939
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Box
12
Folder
4
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Financial and Legal Records, 1910, 1919, 1923-1935, 1945
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Box
12
Folder
5
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Race Relations, 1944-1952
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Box
12
Folder
6
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Unemployment, 1932-1945
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World War II
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Box
12
Folder
7
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American Red Cross Participation, 1939-1946
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Box
12
Folder
8
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Civilian Defense and Volunteer Services, 1941-1943
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Contact with Nurse Veterans, 1945-1946
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Box
12
Folder
9
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A-K
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Box
13
Folder
1
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L-Z
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Box
13
Folder
2
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Education and Training of Nurses, 1941-1942, 1945
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Box
13
Folder
3
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Lists of Nurses in the Armed Forces, 1941-1945
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Box
13
Folder
4
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Lists of Discharged Nurses, 1942-1946
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Box
13
Folder
5
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Nursing Councils for War Service, 1942-1945
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Box
13
Folder
6
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Recruitment of Nurses, 1941-1945
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Box
13
Folder
7
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War Manpower Commission, Procurement and Assignment Services, 1940-1945
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