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This article is excerpted from Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat and Laura Serebin, History of Jobs for Workers on Relief in Milwaukee County, 1930-1994, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute, February 1995
One of the most
successful and highly publicized WPA projects in Milwaukee provided light manufacturing work
for unskilled workers who had not been selected for the city and county construction and "white
collar" projects. This project engaged workers in manufacture of dolls, toys, draperies,
furniture, book binding, weaving, and textile printing under the supervision of designer-
technicians drawn from among graduates of the Milwaukee State Teachers College art
department.
The project plan called for employment of women who had become bread winners for their families and who had not found work on other projects. Initiated by Harriet Clinton of the WPA Women's and Professional Division, the project was devised by Elsa Ulbricht, an art teacher at the Milwaukee State Teachers College, and organized by one of her fourth year students, Mary June Kellogg. Clinton urged Ulbricht to develop a handicraft project for women.
Ulbricht recounted, "One of her [Clinton] suggestions to me -- and I can remember this so well -- was that we could cut out some pictures from wallpaper and make scrapbooks. And knowing her very well, I said, `Well, I don't think that would be interesting enough for me, and if that's what we're going to do, I don't want this job.'"1 Ulbricht initially anticipated that she could employ women with sewing and other skills who could be easily trained for the handwork needed. However, when she reviewed the applications on file with the Milwaukee Public Employment Service she discovered that skilled workers on relief had already been culled for other projects, including the women's sewing project, and that workers available had few, if any, apparent skills. Ulbricht described the first day of the project in an article for Design magazine.
When the Milwaukee Handicraft Project opened its doors November 6, 1935, a motley, careworn and harassed group of women were greeted and received by a small number of eager and socially sensitive young women and men into whose hands they were to be entrusted. They had been assigned from the relief lists of the United State Employment Service, in groups of fifty and one hundred at a time. Those who reported that memorable morning and the following few mornings, were nervous and excited, many of them arriving long before eight o'clock, having walked long distances. . . . They manifested uneasiness, uncertainty and great apprehension of their ability to meet the needs of this job to which they had been indiscriminately assigned and of this project about which they knew nothing. Many of them had had no work or very meager work experiences; many had been out of employment for so many months that they had become disheartened and depressed. They were of all ages, all nationalities, (some speaking very broken English), some could neither read not write, Negro and white, of all degrees of intelligence and education. Many were poorly clothed, even unkempt, and some appeared physically weak from the lack of nourishment, medical attention and insecurity suffered for so long a time.2
When it became known that the Handicraft project, unlike many WPA projects in the community, accepted African American as well as white workers, the numbers employed swelled to 900 women and men within the first weeks.3
Staff had originally planned to rotate workers twice a day into different production units, but this proved unfeasible given the large numbers of employees, their limited skills and the supervisory time required. Efforts were made to locate workers in a production unit which suited their skills and interests, and very simple tasks (e.g. braiding carpet strings for pull toys) were identified for workers with learning deficiencies.
An elected Workers' Council was created, which set many of the administrative policies, handled most disciplinary problems, maintained a grievance committee, and organized social functions for the workers.4 Ulbricht also established a Citizens Committee of Milwaukee State Teachers College faculty and community leaders, mostly women, who reviewed educational aspects of the work and approved the products to insure that designs were of high quality.5 Mary June Kellogg, the project's Art Director, insisted that ""no matter how simple the article to be made or how inexpensive the materials to be used in the construction, the article would be well designed or it would not be made."6 In 1937 the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors took over sponsorship of the project, but the Milwaukee State Teachers College maintained its influence over development of product designs.
New toys were tested in local kindergartens and
nurseries before beginning mass production. Draperies made of percale ("easy to launder and
press") were provided to schools and hospitals. Female workers, some of whom spoke only
limited English, helped in making a collection of authentic doll costumes representing 50
countries for the state historical museum, and black and white dolls were prepared for nursery
schools and hospitals. (According to Ulbricht, "Wherever there was a white doll there was a
black doll too.")7 A number of older men who had been labeled "unemployable"
due to age or physical handicaps proved to be competent carpenters and constructed looms for
weaving and cabinets and cases needed by the project. The furniture unit built specially
designed pieces for public rooms, including lounges at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Memorial Union, law school and dormitories, and the browsing room of the Milwaukee Public
Library. 
