Images of the Progressive Era Political Participation

This year Archives Month in Wisconsin celebrates “100 Years of the Wisconsin Idea.”  The Wisconsin Idea, which advocates community involvement by universities to help create good public policy, has its roots in the Progressive Era of American politics at the beginning of the 20^th century.  In light of the political side of the Wisconsin Idea and the upcoming election, I wanted to share some images depicting the people of Wisconsin engaging in political activities during the Progressive Era.  The images, which can be found online in Wisconsin Historical Society's Historical Images Collection, show citizens engaged in activities as simple as voting or as courageous as standing up for women's suffrage.

A poster from 1914 in favor of using schools as polling places.

A political cartoon from Milwaukee showing Hercules chopping off the heads of a snake representing the Democratic and Republican parties with a sword representing the ballot.

A photograph showing the members of the Oshkosh Equal Suffrage League in their 4^th of July float in 1912.  In addition to the 100^th anniversary of the Wisconsin Idea, 2012 marks the 100^th anniversary of a failed attempt to gain voting rights for women through a statewide referendum. Despite this failure, Wisconsin went on to become the first state to ratify the 19^thAmendment granting women suffrage nationwide.

These images are close to 100 years old, but the people of Wisconsin have remain politically active, as shown by events like the 2011 protests in the Capitol Building and campaigns for and against the recall of Governor Scott Walker. As Wisconsin prepares to go to the polls in a couple weeks, and as someone who is not a native of Wisconsin, I found it interesting to learn more about the Wisconsin Idea as well as the state's long history of politically active citizens.

Thank you to the Wisconsin Historical Society for helping me find these images and allowing me to us them.

[Post Created by Gwen Sieja]

Milwaukee Neighborhoods Photos and Maps

Let's take a trip east to our neighbor Milwaukee. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, like all universities in the Wisconsin System, has their own archive. UW-Milwaukee's University Archives is situated within the library system on the campus, and so their site is accessed through the library site. They have several different collection areas, including university records and community records. Today I'll  be highlighting the Milwaukee Neighborhoods Photos and Maps digital collection.

 I think this collection perfectly captures the Wisconsin Idea in archives. Here you have a collection that is bringing together many images from Milwaukee's neighborhoods and acknowledging the best and worst Milwaukee has to offer. The article that accompanies this collection explains the fierce loyalties Milwaukee natives have to their neighborhood and the great flavor each neighborhood brings to the city. The article also acknowledges that these distinct neighborhoods have at times enabled poverty and segregation. The University Archives are doing a great job with this collection in not censoring the past, but trying to tell the whole story of the city of Milwaukee. Below is the map users click on the view images from specific neighborhoods. I had a great time clicking on different neighborhoods and perusing through the images.

Here's a photo of a wedding party circa 1940. As you can see below the archive has assigned metadata to the photo (more metadata than what appears in this screen shot). Metadata is literally data about data, and is used to help locate items in a search. All the terms assigned to these images are metadata that help archivists and users locate the images they're interested in. The metadata and descriptions are also vitally important  for creating context for the user. A lot of these images have specific addresses, it would be great to see them uploaded to Historypin.

Below is a better representation of the metadata assigned to the images. This site is a researcher's dream because the metadata is so rich.

 

A great benefit of this collection is you can follow the urban sprawl of Milwaukee as the city expanded. The further you get from the city center, more buildings and facilities are new construction.  This is a great collection and the University Archives are doing a service to Milwaukee and Wisconsin by making this collection accessible online. A researcher can easily access a wealth of knowledge remotely, making the reach of the archive so much greater than in the pre-digital era. 

Finally, the Milwaukee Neighborhoods site suggests to users that if they like what they're seeing, they might also like the American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection

and the "Greetings from Milwaukee" digitized postcard collection. Boy were their recommendations right, what fabulous resources to browse.

Check it out!

 [Post created by Laura Farley]

Alverno College Archives

Corona Hall Room B8
3335 S. 39th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53215

Mailing Address:
3400 S. 43rd St
P.O. Box 343922
Milwaukee, WI 53234-3922

Phone: (414) 382-6202
Fax: (414) 382-6354
E-Mail: archives[at]alverno.edu
Sara Shutkin, Archivist/Records Manager

In the summer of 1974, Sr. Joel Read, then Alverno College President and a historian by training, asked Sr. Joanne Barras (1916-1990), a retired business education instructor, to become the first Alverno College Archivist. Then Sr. Joanne went through extensive training. The Archives was officially established in January 1975 with a campus-wide memo from Sr. Joel and a Winter Institute presentation by Sr. Joanne both outlining the program in considerable detail. In October 1978, the Archives became a unit of the Alverno College Library. A records management program in conjunction with the college archives program was added in the spring of 1987. The Archives became the official repository of the SWITCH (Southeastern Wisconsin Information Technology Exchange) Consortium in 1997.

Throughout its history, the Alverno College Archives has had a reputation for quality service. The Archives is currently staffed by one full-time archivist/records manager, Sara Shutkin and a half-time archives assistant, Debra Butz.

Collections
The Alverno College Archives is a unit of the Alverno College Library. The Archives houses about 1627 linear feet of college records of enduring historical, administrative and legal value in a variety of formats including paper, photographs, microforms, audiotapes, and videotapes.

Collections of note include those documenting the Research Center on Women (RCW) and Alverno's unique ability-based curriculum.

The records of the SWITCH Consortium, of which Alverno is a member, are also housed in the Archives.



Happy Birthday, Alverno! Alverno celebrated its Centennial with 21 different events held throughout the year in 1987.


The cornerstone for the ‘New Alverno College’ was laid on Sunday October 19, 1952. It was a cold and blustery day.


Sr. Marian Shreiner in the Research Center on Women. It was established in April 1970.

Images courtesy of the Alverno College Archives. To view more images, check out their web page, in particular the “Timeline of Alverno College History": http://depts.alverno.edu/archives/archome/timeline.html

Entry compiled by Christina Johnson

Jewish Museum Milwaukee - Archives

1360 N. Prospect Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 390-5730
www.jewishmuseummilwaukee.org

The Milwaukee Jewish Archives began in 1986 out of the Roots Committee of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and became the Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society in 1998. In April 2008 the Jewish Museum Milwaukee opened. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Jewish people in southeastern Wisconsin and celebrating the continuum of Jewish heritage and culture.

The Jewish Museum Milwaukee developed over twenty years ago out of the Roots Committee of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, which began documenting the history of the Jews of Milwaukee. The Archives of the Museum include organizational, business, synagogue and personal artifacts, pictures and paper.



In 1972 Shorewood natives David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim
Abrahams crammed their belongings into a U-Haul and embarked on their
journey to Los Angeles. David Zucker Collection.


The Max Oxman family owned and operated the Plymouth Creamery
(later called Erwin Meat Co. and Oxmans' Meat Co.) on Teutonia Avenue
for over 60 years before it closed in 1987. Here, family members are
shown outside the creamery ca. 1920. Nathan Oxman Collection.

Images courtesy of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee - Archives.

Entry compiled by Simone Munson

Archives Department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries

University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee
P.O. Box 604
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0604
(414) 229-5402
http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/index.html

The Archives Department has the two-fold mission of documenting the history of UWM and providing access to primary sources, largely from the metropolitan Milwaukee area, that have long-term research and instructional value for UWM academic programs. We also respond to the information needs of researchers worldwide, provide instruction sessions for UWM courses, host an annual lecture on local history, and display our holdings on campus and in the community.

The Archives serves the university’s historical needs by preserving and making accessible the records of UWM and its predecessor institutions. We acquire records from all levels of the university, including administrative and governance units; schools, colleges, and academic departments; athletic programs; and student organizations. The Archives also has a rich photograph collection, blueprints for most campus buildings, student newspapers, a complete run of yearbooks from 1896 to 1968, athletic films, and taped interviews with campus administrators. To assist in the preservation of UWM’s history, we administer the campus records management program.

The Archives supports research and instruction at UWM by providing access to historically significant papers and records created or collected by individuals and organizations in the course of their activities. Collection strengths pertain to the following subject areas: social justice; racial, ethnic, and other underrepresented populations; Milwaukee's brewing industry; and the historical development of the archives profession in the United States.

The Archives provides further access to primary sources by serving as an Area Research Center (ARC) of the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). The Milwaukee ARC Collection includes birth, death, marriage, naturalization, probate, and property records for Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha counties. By participating in this statewide network of ARCs, the Archives is able to provide local access to the holdings of the WHS and other ARCs via the ARC transfer system.



UWM Homecoming, 1957. UWM Photographic Services Records (UWM Archival Collection 6)


Plant of the Pabst Brewing Co., pre-1915. Thomas and Jean Ross Bliffert Postcard Collection (UWM Manuscript Collection 171)


Black Student Protest, 1969. UWM Photographic Services Records (UWM Archival Collection 6)

Images courtesy of the Archives Department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

Entry compiled by Casey Coleman

Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives

3501 S. Lake Drive
PO Box 070912
Milwaukee, WI 53207
http://www.archmil.org/aboutus/dept.asp?ID=469

Shelly Solberg
Associate Director of Archives
Tel: (414) 769-3407
Email: solbergs[at]archmil.org

In accordance with Canon 482 of the Code of Canon Law, the mission of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives is to collect, preserve, organize, and make available for research the appropriate records and artifacts that represent the history of the Catholic Church in southeastern Wisconsin. The Archives works to promote an understanding of the history of the Archdiocese through its records and artifacts and those of related entities. By preserving and managing the records that reflect the work of the Church, its people, and its institutions, the Archives participates in the strengthening of Catholic faith in Southeastern Wisconsin, the United States and throughout the Church Universal.

Collections
The Archives' collections date back to the 1820s when Catholics began settling in Southeastern Wisconsin. Their strongest collections document the various offices within the Archdiocese and St. Francis Seminary – the oldest seminary in the United States still in existence today. This includes the papers of the Archbishops and Auxiliary Bishops of Milwaukee, as well as papers of a few individual priests. The Archives also has historical information on all the parishes within the Archdiocese, including more substantial records from several churches that have merged or closed over the years. In addition there is a strong collection of photographs. Of particular interest to genealogists are pre-1921 sacramental records which include baptism, marriage and death records.


Diary of Fr. Martin Kundig, one of the first priests in Wisconsin, 1828.


Baptismal record from Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary parish, Franklin, 1862.


Sacred Heart parish, Milwaukee.


Sisters participating in a Civil Rights march.

Images courtesy of Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives.

Entry compiled by Katie Scanlan

Marquette University Libraries, Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Raynor Memorial Libraries
1355 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53201
(414) 288-5901
http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/

Founded in 1961, Marquette University Libraries' Department of Special Collections and Archives (SPARC) preserves and provides access to more than 17,500 cubic feet of manuscripts and university records and more than 7,500 volumes of rare books. Marquette's University Archives preserves the documentary heritage of Wisconsin's largest private university, with vast holdings about student life, intercollegiate athletics, and faculty teaching and research.

Collections
Marquette maintains several manuscript acquisition programs, including two that are national in scope. The Dorothy Day-Catholic Worker Collection and the records of the National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference are just a few of the cornerstone collections within Marquette's Catholic social action collecting program. Marquette University also preserves Catholic Church records of documenting Native America, including extensive school and mission records. The papers of several prominent Wisconsin politicians are available at Marquette, including Joseph R. McCarthy, Tommy Thompson, and Clement J. Zablocki. Finally, Marquette preserves the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection, containing the manuscripts of both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," plus nearly 1200 secondary titles that augment the manuscripts.

Links
Digital collections can be accessed here:
http://www.marquette.edu/library/MUDC/

General information about Marquette's collections can be found here:
http://www.marquette.edu/library/collections/archives/collpol.html#general


Students take to Wisconsin Avenue following Marquette's victory in the 1977 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament.


Detail of St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei (The City of God), a 1473 edition from the printing press of Gutenberg's successors in Mainz.

Top image: Peace activist Kathy Kelly delivering the records of Voices in the Wilderness to the Raynor Library, 2004.

Entry compiled by Becky Julson