The Wisconsin Council on Human Concerns Records are organized in two main parts. Part I, the Original Collection, dates 1919-1982 and consists of 17 reels of microfilm. Part II consists of materials received later and designated as the “1987 Additions.” These materials date 1919-1980 and consist of 14 boxes and 5 tape recordings.
Part I, Original Collection, 1919-1982
The Original Collection consists of correspondence and related materials, minutes and reports, financial records, and miscellaneous items. The series are arranged in alphabetical order with correspondence filed chronologically. All of the correspondence was created or received by the WWC's board of directors, and much is routine in nature. A few newspaper clippings are also scattered throughout the collection. Most of the records date from 1950 to 1956, with scattered material from earlier periods.
Materials pertaining strictly to the Board of Directors comprise the first subseries. Correspondence and related materials are arranged alphabetically by subject and organization, and chronologically thereunder. The file regarding Fund-Raising Legislation consists of memoranda and correspondence with various state charity organizations concerning proposed legislation requiring non-profit groups to register with the Wisconsin Secretary of State. Included in the Legislation File is correspondence with welfare agencies, committee members, and state legislators regarding proposed bills and amendments. Also present are “in-house” reports circulated among board members. Minutes of Annual and Board of Directors' Meetings include scattered, unbound minutes, and often, reports of the secretary and treasurer. Seven volumes of bound minutes and related documents, 1919-1944, were separated to the Historical Society's Library. In Confidential Records, materials are amendments to bills and correspondence with state welfare and labor organizations and with legislators, concerning legislation designed to open relief rolls to public inspection.
The subseries of Committee Records is the largest in the collection, and includes correspondence, printed form letters, minutes and reports, and printed copies of speeches. Several of the committee files are very fragmentary. Records of the Children's Code Committee consist of proposed legislation, amendments and objections to legislation, “in-house” reports, correspondence, an incomplete run of minutes, and typewritten speeches. The speeches were delivered before state conferences and various committee meetings. The State Migrant Committee file contains correspondence regarding migrant worker legislation, health problems, creation of subcommittees to study related problems, production of a film about migrant labor camps, and a curriculum studies project. Also located in this file are minutes and reports, committee membership lists, a copy of the curriculum study project report, and a CBS radio script for the program The Wetbacks (1954). The Committee Proceedings, 1938-1944, are fragmentary, containing the WWC's articles of incorporation, by-laws, and a report of the executive secretary. Four bound volumes of committee minutes, reports, some correspondence, copies of legislation, newsletters, and other material, have been separated to the Historical Library. (Some of the committee proceedings are contained within the volumes of minutes described above).
Records of Community Chests include correspondence and printed memoranda from the Community Chests and Councils of America to member councils, and cover such subjects as: tax deduction legislation, conferences, general news, and national welfare legislation. Papers of the Wisconsin Community Chest and Councils contain records of the board of directors and routine correspondence with local Community Chests.
Two subseries of records of Conferences include State Conference of Social Work programs, and speeches and papers. The speeches and papers for the 1924-1926 and 1931-1933 conferences almost exclusively dealt with the problems of the Depression and the need for a new public relief law. Later conferences were primarily concerned with social security, juvenile delinquency, social work training, public relief, medical care and housing for the poor, the new State Department of Mental Hygiene, and correctional programs. Records of the State Welfare Conferences include correspondence, speeches and reports, newspaper clippings, and membership lists. Topics of the speeches and reports were mental health, public welfare in the United States, public assistance problems, and juvenile delinquency. The District Conferences series consists of incomplete files of agenda, letters of invitation, reports and minutes, clippings, and membership lists. Records of the Welfare Forums and Institutes are also very incomplete.
The Field Consultants File is composed of the correspondence of Thomas E. Moses prior to his appointment as WWC executive secretary.
Filed with Other Records are the Council's Membership and Mailing Lists, which are incomplete. There are no lists enumerating the entire membership of the WWC or its committees. Records of the Merger of the WWC and the WCC&C include the articles and certification of merger, and resolutions approving the plan. Radio Scripts were produced by the Wisconsin Conference of Social Work in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin Extension Division, Extension Faculty Forum of the Wisconsin College of the Air. Talks were broadcast on WHA, and occasionally, on WTMJ. The Sexual Deviates Legislation Materials consist of bills, correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, and studies regarding changes in state legislation. The file on the Tschudy Adoption Case contains legal papers, clippings, and Council press releases regarding Mrs. Dorothy Tschudy's landmark attempt to legally adopt as a single parent.
The subseries concerning the United Defense Fund Campaign Drive includes correspondence and related material, and reference items compiled by field workers and regarding local clubs, leaders, and fund-raising drives. Also located in this series are local directories and mailing lists, campaign quotas and budgets, and an incomplete file on regional meetings.
Of further interest may be the Marvin B. Rosenberry Papers containing correspondence, 1926-1937, relating to the work and programs of the Wisconsin Conference of Social Work (Wis Mss TN).
Part II, 1987 Additions, 1919-1982
The 1987 Additions document WCHC's activities from 1919 to 1982 and contain a wide range of materials on the organization's internal structure and its changing role over a long period of time as a coordinator and promoter of social welfare causes in the state.
The records chiefly consist of correspondence, minutes, and reports. Of the seventeen feet of records accessioned by the Historical Society, a large quantity consisted of duplicates and printed material which was transferred to the Society Library. When it was possible in processing the new material, the organizational scheme of the original collection has been followed. The records have been arranged into the following subseries: Board of Directors Records, Committee Records, Studies and Activities, Records of Community Chests, Conference Records, Financial Records, and Other Records.
The 1987 Additions differ from the original collection in several important respects, although there is much overlaps both in terms of time coverage and subjects treated. Most importantly, in the Board of Directors Records the new material contains a run of minutes and related agenda material dating from 1919 to 1980, while the original collection contains only fragmentary minutes. Not only does this make available for research the single most important type of historical documentation, but it extends the time documented from the 1950's, which was the focus of the original collection, back to 1919 when the council was headed by John R. Commons. A virtually complete run of published minutes and proceedings on the council's very early years is available in the Society Library. Other information on the Board of Directors and on the council's many committees is supplemented and extended by the 1987 Additions. On the other hand, the original collection contains information on the council's relations with Wisconsin Community Chests and Councils, the United Defense Fund, and numerous local fund-raising agencies that is both more extensive and more detailed.
Board of Directors Records comprise the first and largest subseries. The general correspondence filed here was all created or received by the executive director; it is generally routine in nature, although it covers many of the activities and concerns of the council. Several gaps exist which are not covered by the earlier microfilmed material. The minutes, proceedings, and related agenda material of the Board of Directors are a nearly complete file. In addition to information on meetings, these files often contain important supplementary material related to other series in the collection such as annual reports, financial summaries, proposed work plans, and statements of relationship with the United Way. These diverse materials are most common in the more recent records. Also included here is a file of biographical information about board members.
Committee Records include correspondence, minutes and reports, form letters, and some membership lists. Information on several of the committees is fragmentary. Most extensive, however, is the documentation on the Legislative Committee and the Migrant Workers Committee, information on which is also included on microfilm. Information on these and several other committees can also be found with the Board of Directors Records.
The Studies and Activities subseries contains collected material, surveys and questionnaires, and summary reports of the council. Several additional reports which were published are available in the Society Library. The Social Work field placement file consists of correspondence with the University of Wisconsin School of Social Work concerning student interns with the council and evaluation reports of student work.
Records of Community Chests include correspondence, minutes, printed material, and reports. These concern the relation of WCHC with the national Community Chest organization, the Wisconsin Community Chest organization, and a few local agencies. On tape is an unidentified motivational speech probably dating from the late 1960's to a Wisconsin United Way workshop.
Conference Records include Planning Committee records, correspondence, some speeches, and minutes of section meetings. These records are quite incomplete, primarily covering the 1963 and 1964 Welfare Forums. On tape are speeches presented at the 1955 annual conference and a 1961 Dorothy Waite lecture presented by Mark McCloskey.
The subseries of Financial Records is somewhat fragmentary, consisting of monthly financial statements and loose budgets submitted for approval to local Community Chests. However, researchers will find statements summarizing financial matters throughout the minutes of the Board of Directors.
Other Records contain several histories of the organization such as a 1944 master's thesis and Lenore Coberly's centennial history written in 1982. Also included here is a publicity file containing miscellaneous promotional material and news releases.
