Title: Edith S. Frank Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1918-1988

Creator:

• Frank, Edith S., 1902-1991

Call Number: Mss 940; Micro 754; PH Mss 940

Quantity: 1.8 c.f. (1 record center carton, 1 archives box, 2 card boxes, and 1 oversize folder), 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), 92 photographs, and 13 negatives

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Edith Sinaiko Frank, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, mainly relating to her adult life, marriage to David S. Frank, and volunteer involvement with many charitable, civic, and cultural organizations in Madison, Chicago, Toledo, and Charleston, West Virginia, as well as her deep interest in art and music. Included are biographical clippings (portions available only on microfilm), photographs, travel diaries, writings and class papers, correspondence with friends and associates such as Minsa Craig, Clarence Eidam, Dame Myra Hess, Aurora Natola-Ginastera and Alberto Ginastera, and Wolfgang Stresemann. Newsletters, membership materials, clippings, publicity, and correspondence document the organizations with which she was associated such as the Toledo United Nations Association, the Madison Art Center, the Wisconsin Jewish Archives, and various chapters of the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters. Also included are fragmentary papers of her husband, a president of Pure Oil Company; her mother, Sarah Goldberg Sinaiko of Madison, also an active civic volunteer; and other Sinaiko Family relatives. The Sarah Sinaiko files concern the Neighborhood House and include some correspondence with Marie C. Kohler.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00940

Edith Sinaiko Frank was born in Madison, Wisconsin on July 16, 1902, the daughter of Isaac (1870-1939) and Sarah Goldberg Sinaiko (1884-1946). The Sinaikos were a prominent Madison Jewish family that emigrated from Russia in the late nineteenth century. Edith grew up in Madison, and graduated from the Wheeler School of Music and Dramatic Arts, Madison, in 1922. In 1924 she received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, married David S. Frank (1901-1962), and moved to Chicago, Illinois. During her residence in Chicago, she studied at the Cosmopolitan School of Music and Dramatic Art, gave birth to daughter Suzanne, and was involved with several civic activities, mainly associated with World War II, such as the Defense Savings Program. Influenced by her mother, who was an active civic worker in Madison, Edith became involved in social organizations such as the League of Women Voters. In addition to her activities as a journalist and civic leader, she was also a pianist, and throughout her life, she enthusiastically supported music, art, and cultural organizations.

In 1942 the Franks moved to Charleston, West Virginia. Though they resided there for only three years, Edith actively participated in many local activities, including founding the League of Women Voters (LWV) in that state. She was also active the Charleston branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Charleston Women's Civic Council, and some war-related activities. After moving to Toledo, Ohio, in 1945, she continued her civic involvements and became a prominent figure in local civic organizations, including the Toledo LWV, the AAUW, Toledo United Nations Association, and the Woman's Auxiliary to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1951 she was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award of the local Newspaper Guild. In that same year the Franks moved back to Chicago, Illinois, and she resumed activities with the LWV and AAUW and served on the board of the Metropolitan Housing and Planning Council and Women's Council for City Renewal.

After her husband's death in 1962, Edith Frank returned to Madison and commenced working for the Madison community in the fields of journalism, art and music, religion, and senior citizens welfare. She enrolled at the UW-Madison again, and received an M.A. in journalism in 1968, completing a research paper entitled, “Public Relations of State Departments of Public Health - 20 Years Later (1948-1968).” Edith Frank served as a president of the Women's Auxiliary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and a member of the Archives Committee of the Wisconsin Society for Jewish Learning, whose collections are held by the SHSW. She was recognized with a “Know Your Madisonian” award by the Wisconsin State Journal in 1973 and a “Page One” award of the Madison Newspaper Guild in 1976. She was the first woman to be honored by the Rotary Club of Madison. In 1987 Edith Frank moved to Sarasota, Florida, where her daughter Suzanne Frank Freund lived. She died on December 16, 1991.

This small collection documents the adult life of Edith Sinaiko Frank. It includes materials related to her education, civic and cultural activities, and the lives of several members of her family. Papers related to her social activities and correspondence comprise the major portion of the collection. Documentation of each organization is limited and fragmentary, seldom providing a great deal of information about the organization itself. However, taken as a whole the collection documents rather well the life of a well educated, socially active Jewish woman in the post-World War II era. Nevertheless, there are some striking omissions in the collection. There is very little documentation here about her religious heritage or her role in the Jewish community in any of the cities where she lived.

The papers are arranged as BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, SUBJECT FILES, and CORRESPONDENCE.

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS contains general information about her life and family. Included are materials related to various Who's Who volumes; photocopied clippings from a scrapbook covering the years 1948-1954; microfilmed loose clippings (the originals of which were destroyed after filming); family photographs; travel diaries; and ephemera. The travel diaries document her trips to Europe and the Soviet Union. Several relate to visits to San Salvador where she visited her daughter almost every year after her marriage in 1950. The photographs are primarily formal portraits of the Sinaiko and Goldberg families. There are many pictures of unidentified individuals, but they are likely also members of these families. There are also a few snapshots of David and Edith Frank and some photographs related to Edith's activities. The ephemera, which includes 1923 dance programs for the Council of Jewish Juniors and the Palestine Builders and a performance by Cantor Josef Rosenblatt, provides the only early documentation in the collection of her religious heritage. Also arranged as part of this series is a landscape plan for her Madison home designed by Marshall Erdman and Associates and a greeting card with sketches of the house.

The SUBJECT FILES are arranged alphabetically by place of residence and thereunder alphabetically by the name of the organization. These files document her associations with many civic, music, and art organizations and with educational institutions. Most of the files are small, consisting of only a few items. The documentation on cultural and musical organizations has been consolidated into the category “miscellaneous organizations” that is listed for each residence. The contents of the organizational files variously include correspondence, publicity materials, and membership lists. The most important concern the AAUW and the LWV, since her involvement with these organizations continued in several residences; and the Toledo United Nations Association, the Madison Art Center, and the Women's Auxiliary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Also interesting is the file relating to her patriotic work during World War II. The files on the University of Wisconsin contain course work, including class papers from her study during the 1920s and research material for her master's degree research project, “Public Relations of State Departments of Public Health-20 Years Later (1948-1968).” The latter file includes questionnaires, survey correspondence, working papers, and manuscripts. Unfortunately, there is little information about her study at either the Wheeler School of Music and Dramatic Arts in Madison or the Cosmopolitan School of Music and Dramatic Art in Chicago.

The CORRESPONDENCE primarily consists of incoming correspondence arranged into the subseries: family, friends, and general correspondence. In addition, there is one folder of letters from publishers. The majority of the letters are handwritten and personal in nature. The family and friends files are each arranged alphabetically by surname. Most important here are the World War II letters of her brother Russell, an army doctor in North Africa, and the file on her mother Sarah Goldberg Sinaiko. Here the correspondence is not between Edith and her mother, but rather consists of Sarah's correspondence as a leader of the Woman's Club and Madison Neighborhood House during the 1930s. This folder includes several contacts with Marie circa Kohler of Sheboygan. Edith's husband, David Frank, was a president of Pure Oil Company. His files contain materials related to his business and career as an engineer, as well as papers regarding his patent for a fuel burner.

Of special note among the correspondence with friends are letters from noted pianist Dame Myra Hess and her niece, Beryl Davis; composer Alberto Ginastera and his wife, the cellist Aurora Natora-Ginastera; creative dancer Minsa Craig; and conductor Wolfgang Stresemann and his wife Jean. These files also contain some biographical information, newspaper clippings, and performance brochures. The folder on Myra Hess includes a draft for a chapter of Myra Hess by Her Friends. The general correspondence is arranged chronologically, with the largest group of letters dating from 1973, the year in which Edith received the “Know Your Madisonian” citation. This file includes a 1969 letter from advice columnist Ann Landers.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Edith Sinaiko Frank, Madison, Wisconsin, and Sarasota, Florida, 1973-1989. (No deed of gift on file.) Accession Number: M74-043, M73-462, M73-462, M89-430, M74-044, M88-264

Processing Information

Processed by Izumi Takasaki (Intern) and Carolyn J. Mattern, 1999.

Mss 940	Series: Biographical Materials
Box   1 Folder   1-2	General biographical information and Who's Who, 1962-1980
Box   1 Folder   3	Clipping scrapbook, circa 1948-1954
Box   1 Folder   3	Loose clippings, 1921-1985, undated
Micro 754	Diaries and notebooks
Reel   1 Segment   1	1924-1926, April
Reel   1 Segment   2	1954, Central America
Reel   1 Segment   3	1966, Central America
Reel   1 Segment   4	1968, Poland and Hungary
Reel   1 Segment   5	1971, Central America
Reel   1 Segment   6	1974, France
Mss 940 Box   1 Folder   4	Ephemera
Oversize Folder	Landscape plan
PH Mss 940	Photographs
	Sarah Eskin
	Edith Frank and her art activities
	David Frank
	Suzanne Frank Freund
	Goldbergs
	Barbara Mackie
	Hazel Sinaiko Maryan
	Isaac Sinaiko
	Jerome Sinaiko
	Russell Sinaiko
	Sarah Goldberg Sinaiko
	Sinaikos
	Unknown
Mss 940	Series: Subject Files	⇧
	Charleston, West Virginia
Box   1 Folder   5	American Association of University Women, 1942-1945
Box   4 Folder   1	American Association of University Women, continued
Box   1 Folder   6	Checkbook
Box   1 Folder   7	League of Women Voters, 1942-1969
Box   1 Folder   8	St. Marks Methodist Church, 1945
Box   1 Folder   9	Symphony Orchestra, 1944-1945
Box   1 Folder   10	Women's Civic Council, 1944-1945
Box   4 Folder   2	Women's Civic Council, continued
Box   1 Folder   11	Women's Club, 1944-1945
Box   4 Folder   3	Women's Club, continued
Box   1 Folder   12	Miscellaneous activities
	Chicago, Illinois
Box   1 Folder   13	American Association of University Women, 1960-1962
Box   4 Folder   4	American Association of University Women, continued
Box   4 Folder   14	American Symphony Orchestra League, 1951-1966
Box   4 Folder   15	Bardwell School Parent Teacher Association, 1937-1943
Box   4 Folder   5	Bardwell School Parent Teacher Association, continued
Box   1 Folder   16	Cosmopolitan School of Music and Dramatic Art, 1938-1939
Box   1 Folder   17	Defense Savings Program, 1940-1942
Box   4 Folder   6	East Chicago Women's Club, 1924-1925
Box   1 Folder   18	League of Women Voters of Illinois, 1951-1958
Box   1 Folder   19	Metropolitan Housing and Planning Council, 1954-1977
Box   4 Folder   7	South Shore League of Women Voters, 1935-1941
Box   1 Folder   20	Women's Club, 1952-1962
Box   4 Folder   8	Women's Club, continued
Box   1 Folder   21	Women's Council for City Renewal, 1954-1956
Box   1 Folder   22-23	Miscellaneous activities
	Madison, Wisconsin
Box   1 Folder   24	Art Center, 1966-1973
Box   1 Folder   25	Wine Art Show, 1979
Box   1 Folder   26	El Salvador photographs
Box   1 Folder   27	Press Club, 1968-1976
Box   1 Folder   28	State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1972-1976
Box   1 Folder   29	Taychopera Foundation, 1969-1972
Box   1 Folder   30	Theta Sigma Phi, 1966-1974
Box   1 Folder   31	University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1934-1984
Box   1 Folder   32	College papers, 1922-1923
Box   1 Folder   33-34	Research materials, 1968
Box   1 Folder   35	Wheeler School of Music and Dramatic Arts, 1918-1922
Box   1 Folder   36	Wisconsin Jewish Archives, 1970-1979
Box   1 Folder   37	Women's Auxiliary, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1973-1976
Box   1 Folder   38	Women's Club, 1940-1941
Box   1 Folder   39-40	Miscellaneous activities
Box   1 Folder   47	Women's Auxiliary to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1948-1973
Box   4 Folder   9	Women's Auxiliary to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, continued
	Toledo, Ohio
Box   1 Folder   41	American Association of University Women, 1946-1949
Box   4 Folder   10	American Association of University Women, continued
Box   1 Folder   42	Chamber of Commerce, 1949-1950
Box   1 Folder   43	Public Library, 1948-1963
Box   1 Folder   44	League of Women Voters, 1946-1950
Box   1 Folder   45	Regional Planning Association, 1948-1951
Box   1 Folder   46	United Nations Association, 1948-1950
Box   4 Folder   11	Welcome Wagon Newcomers Club, 1946-1948
Box   1 Folder   48-49	Miscellaneous activities
	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	Subseries: Family File
Box   2 Folder   1	Dennis, Barbara
	Frank, David
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Correspondence
Box   2 Folder   4	West Virginia Petroleum Association
Box   2 Folder   5	Patent
Box   2 Folder   6	Clippings
Box   2 Folder   7	Freed, Grace Sinaiko
Box   2 Folder   8	Freund, Suzanne Frank
Box   2 Folder   9	Maryan, Hazel Sinaiko (sister of ESF)
Box   2 Folder   10	Maryan, Irene
Box   2 Folder   11	Matouskova, Kamila
Box   2 Folder   12	Sinaiko, Isaac
Box   2 Folder   13	Sinaiko, Jerome (brother of ESF)
Box   2 Folder   14	Sinaiko, Joseph
Box   2 Folder   15	Sinaiko, Russel P. (brother of ESF), 1940-1969
Box   2 Folder   16	Sinaiko, Ruth Grebler
	Sinaiko, Sarah Goldberg
Box   2 Folder   17	Correspondence, 1933-1943
Box   2 Folder   18	Clippings, 1932-1946
	Subseries: Friends File	⇧
Box   1 Folder   50	Campbell, Kathleen, 1959-1984
Box   1 Folder   51	Craig, Minsa, 1948-1986
Box   1 Folder   52	Davis, Beryl, 1962-1970
Box   1 Folder   53	Eapen, K.E., 1973-1986
Box   1 Folder   54	Eidam, Clarence, 1942, 1948
Box   1 Folder   55	Findlay, Helen T., 1970-1974
Box   1 Folder   56	Gould, Jean, 1964-1977
Box   1 Folder   57	Gunn, Anita (Myra Hess' secretary), 1957-1970
Box   1 Folder   58	Hess, Dame Myra, 1950-1968
Box   1 Folder   59	Karr, Garp, 1971-1972
Box   1 Folder   60	Kohansky, Rolly, 1978-1982
Box   1 Folder   61	Korbel, Alfred, 1973-1974
Box   1 Folder   62	Merzyn, Ilse, 1970-1973
Box   1 Folder   63	Natora-Ginastera, Alberto and Aurora
Box   1 Folder   64	Stresemann, Wolfgang and Jean, 1951-1987
Box   1 Folder   65	Weaver, John C., 1977
Box   1 Folder   66	White, Helen C., 1961
Box   1 Folder   67	Young, Mrs. C. Hibie, 1948-1949
	Subseries: General	⇧
Box   1 Folder   68	With publishers, 1924-1981
Box   1 Folder   69-71	Chronological, 1921-1986