University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Schlitz Audubon Center (Milwaukee, Wis.).

Records, 1942-1988.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 119 and Milwaukee Micro Collection 59

1.4 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes, and 3 small archives boxes) + 1 microfilm reel (35 mm)

ABSTRACT: Records, mainly 1971-1972, of a nature education center owned by the National Audubon Society in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and of the local citizens group, Citizens for the Nine Mile Farm Nature Center, which worked to establish the center in 1972. Included is extensive correspondence (some also available on microfilm) between members of the citizens group, the National Audubon Society, and members of the Uihlein family, which owned the property, and their lawyers; legal documents; notes; minutes; newspaper clippings and scrapbooks (only available on microfilm); planning documents; and photographs. More recent material consists of brochures, schedules, and advertising; an incomplete run of the Center's newsletter; and correspondence of Winifred Woodmansee and her files on the Education Committee of the Friends of the Schlitz Audubon Center.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The records are a small collection which primarily document the activities of the citizens group formed in 1969 to save the Nine Mile Farm and the subsequent legal maneuvering which took place during 1971 and 1972 between the Schlitz Foundation, the National Audubon Society, and various governmental agencies; information on the actual operation of the Center is fragmentary and incomplete.

The records consist of correspondence, minutes, legal documents, clipping scrapbooks, and other materials gathered by Mrs. Winifred Woodmansee, the unofficial archivist of the center. The first group of records consists of material collected by Mrs. Woodmansee in 1975. This file, sometimes referred to in the papers as the black notebook, was also microfilmed and negative copies of the film were distributed to several depositories including the Historical Society and the Library of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1975. A second group of material was donated in 1987. This accession consisted of the original copies of the documents in the black notebook filmed in 1975, together with additional files which duplicated in part the black notebook material, but which also contained more extensive documentation collected by Mrs. Woodmansee from several interested individuals and incorporated into one chronological file. Also included were several clipping scrapbooks, some of her own correspondence and notes, her copies of the Center Focus, and files on the Education Committee of the Friends of the Schlitz Audubon Center of which she was a member.

In the Archives the papers have been organized into two parts: the 1975 compilation and the 1987 compilation. Because of the general availability of the 1975 microfilm, the original material contained in the black binder has been filed in the order utilized in the film. Like the 1975 compilation, the 1987 accession contains correspondence of Dorothy Vallier about the nature center plans which predate the formation of the citizens committee in 1969; minutes (some are present as handwritten notes) of the foundation, the Audubon Society, the citizens committee, and various governmental agencies; and numerous exchanges between members of the Uihlein family, the National Audubon Society and its president Elvis J. Stahr, and the Schlitz Foundation attorneys. Arranged at the end of the chronological file, are several planning reports and documents; a distinct file of correspondence about the center of Edward Bingham, an officer of the National Audubon Society.

At the end of this section are papers which more specifically relate to Mrs. Woodmansee's involvement with the center. Included here are correspondence and notes; printed material distributed by the center concerning activities and fundraising; an incomplete file of Center Focus; and minutes and agenda material for the Education Committee of the Friends of the Schlitz Audubon.

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: The Schlitz Audubon Center is 185 acres of lakeshore land in the village of Bayside, north of Milwaukee, that has been set aside as a nature center and dedicated to the education of the public. The land on which the center is located was formerly three farms purchased by the Uihlein brothers of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. In 1885. On this farm, which was named Nine Mile Farm because it was nine miles ton Wisconsin Avenue, the family raised grain and quartered the horses used in their brewery. After horses were no longer used in the business the farm was allowed to lie fallow, with a caretaker in residence to care for the buildings.

During the early 1960s several local residents tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Schlitz board to allow the property to become a nature center. However, the land had become so valuable that several proposals for develop of the property were put forward. In 1964 a local petition drive was able to block zoning changes necessary for development, and the sale of the farm was blocked. Nevertheless, pressures for development continued. The Schlitz Foundation, which had held title to the farm since the 1950s, was divided over the future of the property. Some members of the family wanted to see it converted into a nature center operated by the school district of Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties; others preferred that it be sold to a developer and the proceeds used for other charitable purposes. In 1969 a number of local residents including Mrs. Charlotte Zieve, Mrs. Winifred Woodmansee, and Mrs. William C. Messinger organized as the Citizens for the Nine Mile Farm Nature Center to work to save the farm for conservation education. They sponsored meetings and polls to establish a favorable climate of public opinion for the establishment of a nature center. At the same time Mrs. Dorothy Vallier, a member of the Uihlein family, was working to persuade the foundation of the value of the nature center proposal.

On April 26, 1971 the Schlitz board voted to present the land to the National Audubon Society and, largely through the urging of Mrs. Vallier, the board also voted a 1.4 million dollar endowment for development and operating expenses. Negotiations then bogged down over the tax-exempt status of the property and controls the village board proposed to govern the center. Finally on February 29, 1972 the county board granted the center an exemption from property taxes. As a result the National Audubon Society and the village also came to an agreement. In May 1972 Don L. Danielson was appointed director of the center, and in 1974 the visitor center was opened to the public.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Schlitz Audubon Center (Milwaukee, Wis.). Records, 1942-1988. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 119 and Milwaukee Micro Collection 59. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Presented by Winifred Woodmansee of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1987 and 1988, and by the Center via Don L. Danielson on August 20, 1975 (accession numbers M75-631, M87-474, and M88-155).

PROCESSING: Processed by James Fogler in 1988.

The Milwaukee Urban Archives has only Reel 2 of the microfilm. Reel 1 is the negative and is located in Madison.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

Conservation of natural resources--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
National Audubon Society.
Nature centers--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Schlitz Foundation (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Uihlein family.

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION 119 MILWAUKEE MICRO COLLECTION 59	BOX	FOLDER
1975 Compilation, Information and Notes, 1975	1	1
1975 Compilation, Original Documents, 1960-1972	1	2-4
1987 Compilation, Chronological File, 1959-1972	2	1-8
1987 Compilation, Chronological File, 1972-1980	3	1-8
1987 Compilation, Chronological File, Edward Bingham Correspondence, 1970-1975	3	9
1987 Compilation, Design and Planning Materials, 1970-1971, undated	3	10
1987 Compilation, Miscellaneous and Unidentified Material, undated	3	11
1987 Compilation, Schlitz Foundation, Articles of Incorporation, 1942	1	5
1987 Compilation, Scrapbooks, Clippings, 1969-1970 [Milwaukee Micro Collection 59, reel 2, frame 1]
1987 Compilation, Scrapbooks, Clippings, 1969-1972 [Milwaukee Micro Collection 59, reel 2, frame 48]
1987 Compilation, Scrapbooks, Clippings, 1949, 1964-1978 [Milwaukee Micro Collection 59, reel 2, frame 86]
1987 Compilation, Scrapbooks, Clippings, 1978-1987 [Milwaukee Micro Collection 59, reel 2, frame 340]
1987 Compilation, Vallier Correspondence, Forestation Project, 1945	1	6
Woodmansee File, Center Focus, 1974-1987	5	2-4
Woodmansee File, Correspondence and Notes, 1970-1985, undated	3	11
Woodmansee File, Education Committee, Minutes and Agenda, 1981-1985	4	1
Woodmansee File, Friends of SAC, Fundraising Materials, 1981-1986	5	1
Woodmansee File, General Literature of SAC, undated	4	4
Woodmansee File, Living Lightly, Curriculum Materials, ca. 1983	4	2
Woodmansee File, Program Reports, 1981-1982	4	3
Woodmansee File, Schedule of Events, 1981-1986	4	5