Subject Listing:
Community Organizations


Avenues West Association (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1983-1996.
UWM Manuscript Collection 98
Collection contains records of an organization, established in 1982, to improve the quality of life and stability of the neighborhood, insure the quality and security of neighborhood housing, foster business growth and development, and build an educational environment that serves the needs of adults and children in the area. Included are files on committee meetings, projects and meeting minutes. The files "Avenues West" contain all committee reports, meeting minutes and material for the particular year. The collection also contains a video, The Avenues West Story, originally created in 1987 by WISN-TV. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Business Improvement District No. 2 (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1984-1997.
UWM Manuscript Collection 102
Records of the Business Improvement District (BID) which worked to promote and manage development by means of special tax assessments within the Historic Third Ward area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The collection documents the BID's close relationship with the Historic Third Ward Association, which developed the overall planning and development of the area. The collection includes operating plans, which provide details on the goals and activities of the District, and minutes and background materials of the Board of Directors. The records of the Parking Structure contain extensive documentation of the design, planning, and construction of the parking and retail structure sponsored by the BID. The BID's Streetscape Project (sometimes called "Streetscaping") was an effort to improve the physical appearance of the District. The Project began in April 1989 and was completed in 1992. The collection contains extensive documentation concerning the Project, including correspondence with city of Milwaukee officials, especially the Department of Public Works, Renner Architects, and others about the streetscape plan and implementation. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Council of South Side Advancement Associations (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1972-1980.
Milwaukee Small Collection 139
Programs of the 1972, 1977, 1979, and 1980 annual Lincoln Banquets held by the Council, a group of approximately 20 community organizations dedicated to promoting the welfare of the South Side of Milwaukee as well as preservation of rights and freedoms.
Eastside Housing Action Committee (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1972-1978.
Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 11
Records of a tenant union organizing committee focusing on the problem of an ethnically mixed, deteriorating neighborhood plagued with a high rate of absentee landlordism. Contains records on funding; sponsorship; and activities including organization of tenant unions, initiation of legal actions on behalf of tenants, lobbying for legislative reform, and support for local cooperative businesses. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Economy Savings & Loan Associates (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Annual reports, 1927-1968.
Milwaukee Small Collection 204
Annual financial statements and a prospectus (ca. 1930) of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin neighborhood building and loan association formed in 1927. Economy provided savings and investment opportunities to persons of low or median income and financed first home mortgages for its members. Members were primarily families of German descent who lived near Economy's office on North Teutonia Avenue. The association was dissolved in 1968 and its assets sold to Hopkins Savings and Loan.
Historic Milwaukee, Inc.
Records, 1973-[ongoing].
UWM Manuscript Collection 133
Records of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin organization that encourages public awareness and preservation of the historical and architectural heritage of the Greater Milwaukee area. Most of the records date from the 1970s and early 1980s, when the organization was named Historic Walker's Point, Inc (HWP). The collection documents HWP's early history, especially its efforts to involve Spanish-speaking residents, obtain funding sources, create arts festivals and walking tours, and receive a designation as a National Historic District. Also included are pamphlets published by Historic Milwaukee, Inc. for walking tours in historic Milwaukee neighborhoods. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Historic Third Ward Association (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1976-1997.
UWM Manuscript Collection 101
Records of a non-profit community association which coordinated the redevelopment of the Historic Third Ward area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The records date largely from the late 1980s through the 1990s; few records exist from the Association's early years. The collection provides remarkably detailed information on the Association's activities, especially its award-winning Streetscape Project. The Project redesigned streets, lighting, and the overall appearance of the Ward. Design and planning studies document the economic potential and architectural history of the Ward. The records of the Association's Architectural Review Board (ARB) contain details on how local property owners complied with design standards. The collection also includes numerous blueprints of the Streetscape Project and the Association-sponsored parking structure (a retail and parking facility). No blueprints exist for individual buildings except for those submitted to the ARB, which are usually details of exteriors. Photographs of building exteriors are available for many of the structures. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee.
Records, 1975-1996.
UWM Manuscript Collection 99
Collection consists mainly of minutes, correspondence, memos, annual and research reports, newsclippings and press releases which document the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee's (HTFM) mission to prevent hunger and malnutrition by providing food to people in need and by promoting social policies to achieve the permanent end of hunger. The Task Force's work with local, state, and national groups, such as the Milwaukee Food Stamp Coalition and USDA/Americorps' Anti-Hunger Project, is documented within the records. Information on HTFM's coordination of the Emergency Food Pantry Network and the Hunger Action Network and its program developments, such as the Infant Nutrition Project and the School Breakfast Expansion Project are also in the records. Other materials include videos produced by HTFM,
photographs of people and events, education and advocacy efforts, and various brochures and fact sheets. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Johannsen, Marilyn R. and Walter J.
Papers, 1967-1986.
UWM Manuscript Collection 86
Papers of Marilyn R. and Walter J. Johannsen, neighborhood activists and leaders of Milwaukee's Sherman Park Community Association dating from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. The collection contains correspondence to and from newspapers and local businesses, Housing and Education Committee records, Association newsletters, early general meeting minutes, materials documenting opposition from hate groups, and other materials relating to their involvement with the organization. Some of these documents are annotated. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Library Council of Metropolitan Milwaukee.
Records, 1972-2000.
UWM Manuscript Collection 48
Records of an organization founded to foster cooperation between Milwaukee area libraries. The collection includes reports, correspondence, memos, newsletters, financial records, meeting minutes, publications, library directories, and union lists. The records concern a wide range of library services and issues, including archives, collection development, interlibrary loan, interlibrary cooperation, automation, continuing education, legislation and public services. LCOMM organizational functions, including fund-raising, long-range planning and membership and public relations, are documented as well. Other materials of note include copies of the constitution, by-laws, organizational guidelines, and articles of incorporation. The collection contains some non-print media, including slides, films, and video and audio tapes. These are largely of an educational nature and subjects include local labor and ethnic history, histories of Milwaukee neighborhoods and continuing education for librarians. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1987-1996.
UWM Manuscript Collection 95
Records of the Lincoln Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation, a non-profit community development corporation, mostly dating from the 1990s. The collection documents neighborhood improvements, renovation projects, and assistance provided to area residents and businesses. Included are files concerning the establishment of a business improvement district, community development block grants, community reinvestment act matters, including performance evaluations and activity reports, and financial information. Also included in the collection are files documenting the St. Josaphat Basilica square capital improvement project and the Kosciusko Park Lagoon restoration project, as well as photographs documenting renovation projects and the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Mid-Town Neighborhood Association (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1961-1980.
Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 13
Records of a group of Milwaukee residents and businessmen interested in rehabilitation and preservation of older neighborhoods, together with incomplete papers on several organizations with which MTNA cooperated. Administrative records include articles of incorporation and by-laws; minutes of the general membership meetings; and lists of members. Extensive correspondence, primarily of MTNA official Father John Baumgartner, is present, but committee files and financial records are fragmentary. An interrupted run of MTNA's two newsletters is also included. Records of other organizations and programs include the Midtown Conservation Project, a controversial urban renewal program; Milwaukee Alliance of Concerned Citizens; Westside Action Coalition; and the Midtown Clergy. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Milwaukee Citizens For Equal Opportunity.
Records, 1960-1966.
Milwaukee Micro Collection 16
Records of a community organization formed to promote civil rights, school integration, and fair housing. Includes correspondence, minutes of meetings, newsletters, and miscellaneous materials pertaining to MCEO activities. Includes several letters from Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier and James Farmer of CORE. Also present are materials relating to local civil rights organizations, including the Citizens Committee for Fair Housing Practices, the Milwaukee Area Joint Committee for Equal Opportunity in Housing, Milwaukee Urban League, Wisconsin Citizens for Fair Housing, and the Milwaukee Commission on Community Relations. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Milwaukee Urban League.
Records, 1919-1979.
Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EZ, Milwaukee Micro Collection 20, and Milwaukee Tape 6
Administrative files, primarily from the tenure of executive director Wesley L. Scott (1959-1981), including minutes of the board of directors and executive committee; annual reports; newsletters; membership files; committee records; and correspondence with related local and state organizations. General reference material deals with Milwaukee minority opportunities, civil rights, and other topics. Records of the various League departments illustrate the different projects undertaken in the League's major program areas. Also contains files on the National Urban League, and copies of reports sent to the national office. On microfilm are minutes of the board of directors meetings, newsclippings, and photographs illustrating community events (1957-1958). Finding aid available in the Archives.
New Hope Project.
Records, 1985-1999.
UWM Manuscript Collection 158
Records of the development and implementation of a welfare-alternative research project in Milwaukee. Includes meeting minutes, correspondence, evaluation reports, news clippings, staff and committee reports, and participant and control member files. This collection portrays the evolution of the New Hope Project from its developmental roots within the Congress for a Working America to its independent pre-pilot experimental stage, and finally, to its full-scale 3-year implementation in two Milwaukee neighborhoods. The New Hope Project was designed to replace the welfare system with four work incentives: assistance in attaining jobs, wage supplements, health care assistance, and childcare assistance. The underlying premise of the New Hope Project is based upon the idea that with proper incentives people will work rather than seek welfare. Finding aid available in the Archives.

Northwest Side Community Development Corporation.
Records, 1979-2000.
UWM Manuscript Collection 248
The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation (NWSCDC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Milwaukee's Northwest side. The bulk of the collection documents the NWSCDC’s economic development strategies. The collection contains meeting minutes and correspondence which date to the NWSCDC's founding in 1983. Many of the organization's development programs have their own meeting minutes and correspondence. Also included are photographs, newsletters, grant proposals, reports, and news clippings that document the NWSCDC's achievements. Major accomplishments include the Villard Avenue Revitalization Project, renovating an old fire house into a community center, real estate developments, and business recruitment and retention. Community development projects include the building of an alternative high school, youth services, neighborhood safety, and job creation and placement. Finding aid available in the Archives.

Park West Redevelopment Task Force.
Records, 1963-1983.
UWM Manuscript Collection 47
Contains the records of a non-profit organization created for urban redevelopment of the Park West Freeway corridor in Milwaukee. Includes committee meeting minutes, correspondence, maps, news clippings, photographs, project proposals, reports, and research studies. Most of the records are those of PWRTF Executive Director David C. Hoeh and the Assistant Director, Brigid Sullivan-Flynn. The records, especially the monthly reports filed to the Milwaukee Department of City Development and the Director's correspondence, document the PWRTF's effort to redevelop the Park West area, to gain funding for the Task Force, and its dealings with government offices and officials. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Paulson, Belden H., 1927-.
Papers, 1974-1988.
UWM Manuscript Collection 230
This collection contains the papers of Belden H. Paulson, a local leader in citizen action, economic improvement and sustainable living in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. These papers document his career with two organizations during the years 1974-1988: Goals for Greater Milwaukee 2000 and the Center for Urban Community Development, affiliated with the University of Wisconsin--Extension and later the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.  Records include conference planning files, correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, and reports. There is very little documentation of Paulson’s other professional or avocation activities, or of his personal life.  Finding aid available in the Archives.
 
Prince, John B.
John B. and Martha Prince Fairy Chasm collection, 1892-1995.
UWM Manuscript Collection 116
Miscellaneous records of the Fish Creek Park Company and the neighborhood of Fairy Chasm, Wisconsin, compiled by long-time residents Jack and Martha Prince. The collection contains numerous photographs of area homes and public events; oral history interviews with other residents; and minutes of the Fish Creek Park Company's Board of Directors. The Company, founded in 1892 and dissolved in 1971, bought and sold real estate in the private resort community of Fairy Chasm. The community evolved into two sections (North and South Fairy Chasm), and incorporated into the cities of Mequon (1957) and Bayside (1955). The collection documents the growth of the community, changes in home ownership, and local pride in the environmental beauty of the area. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Rotary Club of Milwaukee.
Records, 1912-2003.
UWM Manuscript Collection 215
Records of the Milwaukee branch of Rotary International, an organization formed with the purpose to improve the community, promote high ethical standards in business and professional life, and advance the cause of world peace by building bridges of knowledge and understanding among peoples of different nations.  The collection contains weekly bulletins distributed to members, minutes from club meetings, club directories, member files, audio and visual recordings from club events, photographs, artifacts, and miscellaneous other materials involving the club, its members, or its projects. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Senior Action Coalition (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 1960-1980.
UWM Manuscript Collection 23
Records of a volunteer organization which promoted the health and well-being of older adults and encouraged them to be politically and socially active. The collection includes committee meeting minutes, correspondence, news clippings, photographs, grant proposals, reports, film and videotape. Most of the records are those of its presidents, William Kesselman and Anne Sery. Especially well-documented are the identification cards program, tax reform meetings, and work with the Milwaukee County Commission on Aging. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Sherman Park Community Association 1992 Oral History Project.
Records, 1991-2000.
UWM Manuscript Collection 111
Transcripts and audio records of interviews conducted as a class oral history project at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Sherman Park Community Association formed in 1967 to address concerns about conditions in the neighborhood. The interviews, conducted as part of the Association's 25th anniversary, deal with member's recollections of neighborhood activities and projects, race relations, redlining and real estate companies, home ownership, politics, and school desegregation. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Sherman Park Community Association (Milwaukee, Wis.). Office of the Executive Director.
Records, 1971-2000.
UWM Manuscript Collection 72
Records of Milwaukee's oldest and largest neighborhood group which document its involvement in economic and business development, residential improvement and diversification, bringing the arts to Sherman Park, and the effort to prevent the Park West Freeway from being built. The collection contains extensive information about the SPCA's attempts to end practices such as "red lining" (refusal to insure homes in certain neighborhoods) and blockbusting (scaring home owners into selling their homes) which were designed to prevent people of different color, beliefs, or sexual orientation from moving into an area. The records include numerous photographs of the Goblin Parade, a Halloween event for children; protest marches; Kwanzaa celebrations and many more activities. The collection also contains information about City West Arts (a committee of the SPCA dedicated to bringing the arts to the neighborhood), the Sherman Park News, and considerable information about surveys of Sherman Park, including actual surveys, data collection reports, documentation concerning the surveys, and final results. Finding aid available in the Archives.
University of Wisconsin--Extension. Center for Community Economic Development.
Records, 1965-1992.
UWM Archival Collection 154
Records of the Center, which had a mission of serving educational needs of low and moderate income people, racial and ethnic minorities, and non-traditional students. The records document the Center's participation in a variety of programs, including Goals 2000, Harambee Development Corporation, Small is Beautiful Inc., Globescope 2000, and the Sherman Park Community Association. The files provide details on methods of instruction, housing and solar research, extended education, and community service. Center directors Dan Folkman and Belden Paulson created most of the records, and interfiled their personal research and teaching records with official Center records. The collection also contains extensive documentation of the research and teaching by Center faculty members Claire Halverson, Reuben Harpole and Eugene Thuot. Finding aid available in the Archives.

Walnut Way Conservation Corp. (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Records, 2001-[ongoing].
UWM Manuscript Collection 190
Records of the Walnut Way Conservation Corp., a Milwaukee neighborhood association, documenting neighborhood revitalization and community development. The collection mainly consists of newsletters which informed residents of development opportunities and neighborhood events and activities, including community garden projects. Finding aid available in the Archives.

Woman's Club of Wisconsin.
Records, 1870-[ongoing].
UWM Manuscript Collection 221
This collection contains records from the Woman's Club of Wisconsin and the affiliated organizations of the Athenaeum Stock Company, the Guardian Realty Stock Company, the League of Patriotic Women, and the Woman's Club of Wisconsin Foundation, Inc.  The records mainly consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, committee files, legal papers, architectural drawings, programs, newspaper clippings, newsletters, yearbooks, and photographs of the Club and its members. Finding aid available in the Archives.
Zoological Society of Milwaukee County (Wis.).
Records, 1910-2000.
Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204 and PH Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204
Records of the nonprofit organization established in 1910 to support the Washington Park Zoo and, after its establishment in 1953, its successor, the Milwaukee County Zoo. The records document the zoological society, not the zoo itself,  which is an agency of Milwaukee County government. The collection includes complete minutes of the board of directors as well as less complete files of constitutions and by-laws, committee minutes, general correspondence of society officers and directors, financial records, subject files, reports, publications, and newsclippings.

Coverage of the administrative correspondence is spotty and best on the tenure of George Spaulding as zoo director. Additional correspondence and blueprints document building projects and exhibits constructed during the 1970s and fundraising efforts for the new Milwaukee County Zoo during the 1950s. In general, the records focus on policy, membership, fundraising, public outreach, and development of the animal collection. 

Photographs (PH Milwaukee Mss 204) housed in this collection include images of zoo activities, views of both the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Washington Park Zoo, personnel, and animals and their zoo habitats. Several photographs of the television personality Marlin Perkins are also included in the collection. Finding aid available in the Archives.

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Last edited on May 16, 2007.
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