Summary Information
County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin Records
1936-1996
- County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin
WVM Mss 70
1.2 linear ft. (3 archives boxes) of papers and 0.1 linear ft. (2 folders and 1 oversized folder) of photographs.
Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)
The records of the County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin, an organization made up of state-mandated veterans' advocates. The collection consists almost entirely of meeting minute scrapbooks from the group's biannual conferences. The minutes span nearly sixty years of organizational history and in addition to recording the topics covered and activities planned for the meetings, they convey the association's deep interests in the well-being of Wisconsin's veterans. Other materials include two organizational histories, a service manual used to orient new CVSOs to their posts, and ephemeral items from several conferences including the 50th anniversary. Photographs include unidentified snapshots from the 50th anniversary conference and an identified group shot from a 1995 conference.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00070 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
By statute, every Wisconsin county is required to maintain a County Veterans Service Office, headed by a County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO). The duties of the CVSO include counseling veterans about their benefits, publicizing benefit programs among local veterans, and acting as an advocate for veterans. The County Veterans Service Officer Association of Wisconsin is the CVSO's statewide organization, providing them with a pathway of communication and a common voice in state veterans' affairs.
The modern Wisconsin CVSO had two predecessors. First were the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Commissions (SSRC), established by state law in 1887. The SSRC was a county-level, three-person body appointed by a county judge which dispensed relief money to local indigent veterans. The second predecessor was the benefits counseling services offered by private veterans' organizations, most notably the American Legion. By the 1930's, Wisconsin's American Legion found itself unable to handle the volume of service work demanded of it, and began to lobby county governments to create their own service offices. The first CVSO in Wisconsin and the United States was authorized in Fond du Lac County in 1931. By 1935, twenty counties had created positions and the state legislature authorized all counties to employ CVSOs on a voluntary basis.
As county employees, the CVSOs had no links of communication between themselves. In response, officers from more than 20 counties formed the CVSO Association of Wisconsin at Green Bay in December 1936. Throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s the number of counties hiring CVSOs grew. During this period, the CVSO Association grew in stature and influence in Wisconsin's veterans' service community. In recognition of this, when Wisconsin reformed its veterans service system to meet the needs of veterans returning from World War II in 1945, lawmakers made the position of CVSO mandatory in every county.
In the years after World War II, the CVSO Association grew in power and influence in Wisconsin's veterans affairs. By the 1950s, for example, the association became a major advocacy group for veterans in state politics. The CVSO Association also grew and matured professionally, perhaps best exemplified by the development of annual training “institutes” held at the University of Wisconsin, and later at other locations.
The influxes of new veterans following the Korean and Vietnam wars proved that Wisconsin's service officer system was not only effective but durable as well. In the postwar era, the CVSO Association continued to grow in power, influence, and organizational maturity.
Scope and Content Note
The records of the County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin are divided into two series, Records and Photographs.
Records (1936-1995) consists almost entirely of meeting minute scrapbooks from the group's biannual conferences. The minutes span nearly sixty years (1936-1992) of history and convey the topics discussed and the activities planned for the meetings. As might be expected, veteran's benefits were the most frequent topic of discussion. The minute scrapbooks also contain ephemeral items such as programs, organizational rosters, and newspaper clippings. The scrapbooks provide a very solid picture of the association and its functions. Two organizational histories are located in this series; they summarize much of the information from the meeting minute scrapbooks. Also included is a service manual from 1990. The manual was given to new CVSOs and contained introductory information that would help them settle into the new position. This series also contains other materials from conferences, including programs from the 1950's and memorabilia from the 50th anniversary conference in 1985.
Photographs (1985-1995) contain ten unidentified snapshots from the 50th anniversary conference in 1985. The photos show men and women sitting at tables, talking, and presenting at a stage. There is also an identified group photograph from the 1995 conference.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by County Veterans Service Officers Association of Wisconsin, 1994-1997. Accession Number: TR0085, TR0213, TR0534, and TR0740. The collection was previously known as Record Group 6 and Record Group 70.
This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).
Preliminary inventory by Mark Van Ells, circa 1995. Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.
Contents List
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Series: Records
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Box
1
Folder
1
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Conferences, 1950-1956
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50th Anniversary
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Box
1
Folder
2
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Ephemera, 1985
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Box
1
Folder
3
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Greeting cards, 1985
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Box
1
Folder
4
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Guest book, 1985
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Subseries: Meeting Minutes
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Conferences
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Box
1
Folder
5-6
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1936-1963
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Box
2
Folder
1-3
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1963-1981
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Box
3
Folder
1
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1989-1992
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Executive Committee, 1982-1992
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Box
3
Folder
3-4
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Organizational histories, 1985, 1995
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Service Manual, 1990
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Series: Photographs
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Subseries: Conferences
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Color Ph
2
Folder
1
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[5] , 1985
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Color PhOv
1
Folder
1
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[1], 1995
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Paper Prints
2
Folder
1
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Paper prints [6]
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