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Northwestern University Settlement Junior Board, Publicity Scrapbook (Evanston and North Shore), 1939 - 1950

 Item — Box: 11, Item: 1
Identifier: Item 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The scrapbooks in this series, compiled by different groups associated with the Northwestern University Settlement, typically contain newspaper clippings, programs, photographs, and other printed materials. Additional material related to many of these scrapbooks can be found in series 41/1, the Northwestern University Settlement Association General Files.

Addition 1, Boxes 17-19 The fifteen scrapbooks in this addition are arranged by format, and span the years 1910-1950. With the exception of the three scrapbooks relating to the Charles Evans Hughes presidential campaign (described below), the scrapbooks contain black-and-white photographs, some taken by commercial photographers (mostly 8x10) and some candids ranging in size from 2x3 to 5x7. Subjects include individual and group photos of Settlement personnel and participants in Settlement programs; activities such as banquets, picnics, dances, and parades; and sites including the Settlement house and its west-side neighborhood, and rural retreats at Camp Channing and the House in the Woods. Many photographs are not identified, some photos have been removed, and some pages are mislabeled. The older scrapbooks are in poor condition, with crumbling pages and a number of glue-damaged photographs.

The scrapbooks in Box 17 provide a unique and personalized record of the 1916 presidential campaign of Charles Evans Hughes. The scrapbooks belonged to Harriet Vittum, longtime Head Resident at the Northwestern University Settlement, who headed the Chicago Republican Woman's Campaign for Hughes. Vittum was involved in the Woman's Campaign Train which crossed the country between October 2 and November 4, 1916, with prominent women stumping for Hughes at stops along the way. The three large scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and ephemera from across the United States. One scrapbook focuses on women's issues in relation to Hughes' campaign (including Vittum's work on the Woman's Campaign). The second contains materials relating to the Woman's Campaign train. In contrast to the other two, the clippings and other items in the third scrapbook illustrate the role of women's issues in the Woodrow Wilson presidential campaign.

Materials in Box 18 include three large, fragile albums filled with photographs dating from 1910 to 1919. One of these scrapbooks includes snapshots of army inductees from the neighborhood, circa 1916 to 1918, many with the recruit's name written beneath the photograph; more such snapshots are contained in folders 1 and 2, which were removed from a deteriorated scrapbook. A smaller scrapbook, with items dating from 1928 to 1930 and inscribed with a dedication to Miss Vittum, was compiled by a young man named Maloski, and is filled with photographs of his family's farm, Settlement activities, and the city of Chicago. A small scrapbook, probably from the 1940s, contains photographs of Settlement children, with a few newspaper clippings. Another small scrapbook holds eight pages of photographs of the Chicago apartment to which Harriet Vittum retired after forty years as Head Resident (Miss Vittum appears in two of the photographs). Several loose, undated scrapbook pages have pages from a book of nature poetry glued to them. One page shows a drawing of the Settlement House and a copy of its theme, song, and motto.

Box 19 holds four scrapbooks with photographs spanning the early years of Michael Rachwalski's Head Residency, 1947-1950 (some date to 1946). There are many 8x10 photographs of Settlement clubs, programs, and events. There are also a number of 3-1/2x5 and 5x7 photographs. Many of the pages are labeled, but photographs have been moved around and some placed on incorrect pages.

Addition 2, Box 20 This series consists of five scrapbooks and one plaque. The oldest scrapbook, labeled “Settlement Clippings, Book I” dates from shortly after the founding of the Settlement. Over fifty pages of newspaper clippings describe the Settlement and its goals and activities between 1892 and 1905. Clippings were taken from ten or fifteen different newspapers (mostly from Chicago, Evanston, and suburbs). Also included are a few announcement cards and a program, with dates as late as 1907.

A black scrapbook, embossed with red and gold Santa Clauses, is not labeled. It contains about twenty pages of Christmas, Valentine's Day, and other holiday cards, along with various postcards, advertising cards, and other mementos. Some are loose, some are pasted in; one or tow loose postcards are addressed to Harriet Vittum, but only one date – 1908 – is visible.

An untitled scrapbook documents the involvement of Northwestern University student volunteers at the Settlement between 1929 and 1934. The scrapbook is divided into categories, beginning with reports by students from various organizations. These are followed by a copy of a speech by Gordon McNicol, the student volunteer coordinator, recommending volunteer work to sociology students. There are lists of student club-leaders, several pages of typed “Settlement Stories,” reports by sociology student volunteers, and clippings about student volunteer work from the Daily Northwestern. The last twenty pages contain correspondence, mostly between McNicol and students. A loose photograph in the front of the scrapbook is identified as the Northwestern University Student Fellowship Board, 1919-20.

A scrapbook embossed “NUS” and “1937” contains the statement of purpose and membership signature pages for what is described on the title page as “The Order of Upsilon Sigma of Northwestern University Settlement.” This organization was connected with the Department of Boys' Work of the Settlement. Michael Rachwalski's name, along with fourteen others, appears on the first signature page, with the date May 11, 1937. New members totaled eleven over the next three years, and none signed on for 1942, the last typed page.

The scrapbook labeled “North Shore Junior Board of the Northwestern University Settlement, Publicity,” belonged to Mrs. James Loring (Marion Field) Peirce. The North Shore Junior Board was founded in 1936 to arrange fundraising events to finance the Settlement's House-in-the-Wood camping facility, as well as to volunteer at the Settlement itself. Mrs. Peirce, a long-time board member, was president from 1942 to 1944. The scrapbook, however, covers a much longer time period, including newspaper clippings, programs, directories, and correspondence chronicling the activities of the Board between 1939 and 1957.

On November 1, 1958, Parent's Magazine awarded the Youth Group Achievement Award for Outstanding Service to the Community to the Junior Service League (Oak Park, IL) of the Northwestern University Settlement. The award is mounted on a 10″ x 13″ wooden plaque.

Dates

  • 1939 - 1950

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored at a remote campus location and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

From the Collection: 16.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Library Details

Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635