University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Kander, Simon, Mrs.

Papers, 1875-1960.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection DN

1.0 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes, and 1 small archives box)

ABSTRACT: Papers of Lizzie Black Kander, a woman whose social work among immigrant Russian Jews in Milwaukee earned her the sobriquet "the Jane Addams of Milwaukee." Contains reports, correspondence, promotional brochures, clippings, materials used in publishing a cookbook used for fund raising purposes, and minutes relating to her founding and operation of the settlement house which ultimately became the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee. The correspondence after her death is that of her niece, Irma Greenthal, and deals mainly with the 1948 dedication of the Kander Auditorium and biographical information about Kander.

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 NOTE: The Lizzie Black Kander Papers, 1875-1960, have been arranged alphabetically, and thereunder chronologically. The correspondence, 1881-1960, is mainly that of Lizzie Kander pertaining to her various activities but there are also a few letters from relatives and with her husband. The correspondence after her death in 1940 is that of her niece, Irma (Mrs. Alex P.) Greenthal, and deals mainly with the 1948 dedication of the Kander Auditorium and with biographical information about Lizzie Kander.

The Settlement House materials, 1899-1941, include handwritten president's reports prepared by Kander, brochures about activities at the settlement house, and various legal and financial papers. also included are reports of an earlier organization, the Ladies Relief Sewing society.

The newspaper clippings, 1879-1955, from Milwaukee newspapers are in both English and Yiddish. Included are articles about Jewish community settlement houses and centers in Milwaukee and about Kander's many activities, as well as her obituaries.

The folders containing writings of Lizzie Kander, 1878-1939, include her 1878 graduation address, poems and speeches written for the Wednesday Club (later Milwaukee Social Science Club), and other reports and speeches. There is also a folder containing writings, 1919-1928, by her husband, Simon Kander, or other people who are writing about Lizzie Kander.

The collection includes volumes of recipes taught in the settlement house cooking classes, minutes of the Abraham Lincoln Settlement House (which she ran from c. 1911-1930), and trip diaries.

The rest of the collection contains a 1928 recreational survey of Milwaukee, poems by unknown authors in honor of various friends and relatives of Lizzie Kander, and unsigned reports of the Milwaukee School Board Visitation Committee. Most of these are undated.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Lizzie Black was born in Milwaukee in 1858, the daughter of John and Mary Black, who were Jewish pioneer farmers from near Green Bay. She was educated in the Milwaukee public schools and in 1878 graduated from East Side High as valedictorian. In 1881 she married Simon Kander, a real estate and insurance salesman, who later served in the 1907 Assembly of the Wisconsin State Legislature.

Lizzie Black Kander was one of the first women in Milwaukee to undertake social work activities with the Russian Jewish immigrants who had been arriving in the city since the 1880's; in fact, she became known as the Jane Addams of Milwaukee. She first established the Milwaukee Jewish Mission in 1896 in borrowed quarters in Temple B'ne Jeshurun and Temple Emanu-El. Her organization changed its name and location several times before moving c. 1951 to its present Prospect Avenue location where it became known as the Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.

One of the first activities that Kander started at the Mission was cooking classes. The demand for recipes resulted in the publication in 1901 of a 200 page pamphlet, "The Way to a Man's Heart." This pamphlet evolved into the popular Settlement Cook Book, the profits from which helped fund her various settlement houses and center buildings.

She was also involved in Milwaukee community activities. From 1907-c. 1927 she was a member of the city's School Board. She was also a founder of the Girls' Trade and Technical High School and the Milwaukee nursery school system.

In 1938 Kander was the first person chosen for the Milwaukee Jewish Center Honor Lecture, a lecture series that honored a prominent member of the Jewish Community. At the 1939 New York World's Fair she was designated one of Wisconsin's outstanding women. She died in 1940, and in 1948 Kander Auditorium at the Girls' Trade and Technical High School was named in her honor.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Kander, Simon, Mrs. Papers, 1875-1960. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection DN. State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Greenthal, Alex. Alex and Irma Greenthal papers, 1894-1978. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 144)

Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee. Records, 1929-1977. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection DG and Milwaukee Micro Collection 18)

ACQUISITION: Presented by Mr. and Mrs. Alex Greenthal in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in November, 1958.

PROCESSING: L. Nauen-E. McKay, 31 May, 1974. The Milwaukee Urban Archives reprocessed the collection and modified the finding aid in December 1998.

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

Abraham Lincoln Settlement House (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Community organization--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee.
Jews--Wisconsin--Milwaukee--History.
Jews, Russian.
Ladies Relief Sewing Society (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Milwaukee Jewish Mission.
Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
Russians--Wisconsin--Milwaukee--History.
Social Service--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Social settlements--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION DN	BOX	FOLDER
Abraham Lincoln House, Board of Directors, Minutes, 1921-1929.	1	1
Abraham Lincoln House, Board of Directors, Minutes, 1930-1931	1	2
Abraham Lincoln House, Menus, Scrapbook, 1931	1	3
Abraham Lincoln House, Papers, 1922-1931, undated	1	4
Abraham Lincoln House, Photograph, undated	1	5
Clippings, 1879-1929	1	6
Clippings, 1930-1955	1	7
Clippings, undated	1	8
Contracts, 1907-1928, undated	1	9
Cooking Lesson Book, 1898	1	10
Cooking Lesson Book, 1901	1	11
Cor Intellectusque Society, Treasurer Book, 1875-1876	1	12
Correspondence, 1881-1919	2	1
Correspondence, 1922-1939	2	2
Correspondence, 1940-1948	2	3
Correspondence, undated	2	4
Financial Information, 1904, undated	2	5
Interview about Lizzie Black Kander, 1959	2	6
Jewish Center of Milwaukee, By-Laws, 1931	2	7
Ladies Relief Society, Papers, 1918, 1928	2	8
Lizzie Black Kander, Photographs, undated	2	9
Lizzie Black Kander's Wash List, 1881-1885	1	12
Menus and recipes, Scrapbook, 1924	2	10
Milwaukee Jewish Mission, Annual Reports, 1899-1900	2	11
Milwaukee Jewish Mission, Constitution, undated	2	12
Mother's Club, Abraham Lincoln House, Minutes, 1919-1920	2	13
Personal Journal, 1940	2	14
Programs and Menus, 1892-1930	2	15
Questionaire regarding Lizzie Black Kander, 1960	2	16
Settlement House, Papers, 1900-1915	2	17
Settlement House, Papers, 1930-1948, undated	2	18
Simon Kander, Expense Account, 1881-1883	1	12
Travel Diary, 1877	3	1
Travel Diary, Mammoth Cave, 1884	3	2
Travel Diary, Southern United States, 1895	3	3
Writings, 1919-1928, undated	3	4
Writings by Lizzie Black Kander, 1878-1939	3	5
Writings by Lizzie Black Kander, undated	3	6