University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

Bender, Walter Henry, 1879-1966.

Papers, 1913-1966.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EA

5.0 cubic ft. (12 archives boxes, and 1 small archives box)


ABSTRACT: Papers of a Milwaukee County civic leader. Most of the collection relates to the Milwaukee County Park Commission, of which Bender was president from 1948-1965; including files on the building of expressways on county park lands, the development of park programs, the reorganization of the commission in the 1950s, and contracts with the Milwaukee Braves baseball team.

Collection also contains Bender family biographical material; files pertaining to his role on the Metropolitan Study Commission; various records of the Marquette University School of Medicine's board of directors, and the board of trustees of Milwaukee-Downer College, of which he was a member; materials on the development of Metropolitan War Memorial, Inc.; some records of the Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice (1914-1922) and several World War II relief agencies; and Bender's files on professional organizations.

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 collection contains Bender's personal files on his various civic and professional activities, including committee reports and correspondence as well as some biographical information. The collection is divided into nine main series: Biographical Materials; City/County Government (Milwaukee); Marquette University School of Medicine; Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc.; Milwaukee County Park Commission; Milwaukee-Downer College; Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice; Professional Material; and War and Community Funds and Chests.
The Biographical Materials series consists of two folders containing newsclippings, excerpts from other printed material, and correspondence relating to the personal life of Bender from 1916 to 1966 and their lives of his parents, William and Nellie Bender, from 1931 to 1943.

The City/County Government (Milwaukee) series contains files of the various committees and civic organizations with which Bender was involved. The series is divided into five parts, each representing a specific organization, and includes correspondence, committee reports, bulletins, speeches, minutes, city ordinances, and articles of incorporation and by-laws. By far the most extensive holdings in this segment are the files of the Metropolitan Study Commission.

The Marquette University School of Medicine series covers Bender's activities and concerns as a member of the Board of Directors. The files are divided into ten subcategories by subject. Included are correspondence; financial materials including budget studies and proposals; reports of the treasurer and accountant; reports of the Dean, faculty, and extensions to the Board of Directors; articles of association and by-laws; minutes and agenda of the Board, the Corporation, and various committees; near-print and miscellaneous material including general correspondence and circulars.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc. was organized in 1945 by a group of Milwaukee citizens to promote the construction of a memorial in the city. Walter Bender played a crucial role in the development of the corporation and the memorial. The Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc. series contains his records for the organization. The series is divided into seven parts. Included are Legal Documents consisting of briefs and decisions on two related legal cases; an Organization file containing organizational charts; a section on the Planning and Construction of the Memorial which includes building programs, site selection reports, correspondence, and leaflets and correspondence, contracts, and committee and corporation reports.

The largest segment of the collection relates to the Milwaukee County Park Commission, whose operations are chronicled during the years Bender was its president. The Budget section of this series contains correspondence, proposed budgets, annual summaries of capital improvement programs, and priority proposals for "Improvement and Major Maintenance Accounts." "Civil Service Matters" contains any material dealing with park employees. It includes correspondence, employee and evaluation reports, job descriptions, and a separate file on Leonard Pampel, the inventor of the water system used for the Milwaukee County Zoo aquarium. The Pampel file also includes correspondence, the agreement between Pampel and the Park Commission, and Pampel's patent. The Concessions and Vending Machines subseries includes specific material on concessions activities such as concessions reports, studies, and correspondence to the Commission.

In the mid-1950s an extended expressway system was proposed for the Milwaukee area, and its anticipated effect on County Park lands is recorded in the "Expressway System" files. These consist of correspondence, reports and studies, and minutes of conferences on the subject. Lakefront development, a major concern of the Park Commission, is covered in the "Lakefront Committee file which includes a 1940 study of the lakefront, a 1962 progress report and correspondence, legal documents, proposals, and minutes. The Land Acquisition file includes correspondence, memoranda, near-print, agreements, and maps concerning Park Commission land acquisition from 1956 to 1964. Material concerning the Park Commission's association with various planning agencies is found in the correspondence, planning reports, and minutes of meetings of joint planning agencies filed under the heading Planning Agencies.

The Programs subseries is made up of programs undertaken during Bender's tenure, and is divided into nine sections, eight containing the correspondence, reports, and memoranda of separate specific programs and one miscellaneous file. The subseries Recreation contains the correspondence, pamphlets, reports, and clippings of the Recreation department of the Park Commission on subjects including playgrounds, camping facilities, stadium parking, and planned recreational activities. The Reorganization file deals with the Commission's association with the Public Administration Service, which in 1955 published a report regarding the Milwaukee administration of its parks and recreation. This prompted a reorganization, and included here are related materials such as organizational charts, correspondence, conference minutes, and reports. "Senate Bill 463, S." refers to a proposal in 1958 by the County Board of Supervisors giving themselves veto power over the Park Commission. The files consist of correspondence and newsclippings regarding the bill and arguments against it. Filed in the Sewerage, Water Pollution, and Flood Control section is material relating to water quality and control in Milwaukee, including correspondence, memoranda, near-print, and city ordinances. The correspondence, near-print, city ordinances, and Commission minutes filed under "zoning" relate to Milwaukee zoning procedures and jurisdiction. Miscellaneous consists of three folders of general correspondence including complaints; newsclippings, articles, reports; and minutes of a general nature and not directly related to other subseries.

The Milwaukee-Downer College series consists of material Bender accumulated as a member of the Board of Trustees. It is divided into five subseries and primarily consists of correspondence and memoranda, minutes and agenda, reports, and budgetary material.

The Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice series contains some of the financial records, budgetary correspondence, and account books for this organization, which replaced the Milwaukee Vigilance League around 1915 and survived until 1922. Bender received these records in 1928.

The series Professional Material deals with Bender's legal career, and is divided into six subseries. The Bar Associations file contains his correspondence, minutes and reports from the American Bar Association, the Milwaukee Bar Association, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. Five specific case files involve clients represented by Bender. They are: The Town of Greenfield in a 1956 law suit; Public School Teachers Annuity and Retirement Fund in a retirement fund dispute that reached the State Supreme Court in 1956; The city of Wauwatosa in matters of water utility regulation in 1954-1955; Wisconsin Council of Agriculture in labor legislation matters including the draft of the Wisconsin Employment Peace Act in 1939; and the YMCA in a case concerning distribution of residual legatees of the Elmer L. Arnold estate in 1956-1957. In general these files consist of correspondence, near-print, legal documents, and legislative materials.

The ninth series, War and Community Funds and Chests, contains Bender's records of various organizations involved in World War II relief. The subseries, Miscellaneous Chests and Funds, contains material from organizations with which Bender had only limited contact. The series is composed primarily of correspondence, with some near-print, minutes, financial records, and reports.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Walter Henry Bender was born on 22 July 1879 in Milwaukee County, the son of William Harrison Bender and Nellie Bender and the grandson of Peter Bender, an early Wisconsin pioneer. Walter Bender attended Milwaukee public schools, graduating from the old East Side High School 1896. He then enrolled in the Milwaukee Normal School, completing his course there in 1898, and subsequently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, from which he received an LL. B. degree in 1901.

After graduation Bender opened law offices in Milwaukee. In 1906 he as elected assistant city attorney and served until 1910, when he resigned in order to form the law firm later known as Hoyt, Bender, and McIntyre. Also in 1910, Bender married Catherine Dalgleish, daughter of one of the early Scottish settlers of Milwaukee. He interrupted his private law practice for one year in 1918 to accept an appointment as deputy attorney general of Wisconsin, after which he returned to Hoyt, Bender, and McIntyre. He continued as a member of this firm until his retirement in 1969.

A leading civic figure, Bender was elected president of the Milwaukee County Park Commission in 1948 and held the post for a record seventeen years. While president, Bender helped plan such facilities as the new Milwaukee County Zoo, the Mitchell Park Conservatory, the Marina, and the County Stadium. When he retired in July 1965, his fellow commissioners created the office of president emeritus for him in recognition of his service.

In addition, Bender was secretary of the Milwaukee YMCA from 1907 to 1925 and later a director and president of its board of trustees. He was president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in 1930, a member of the Wisconsin and American Bar Associations, president of the City Club in 1925-1926, president of the Citizens' Governmental Research Bureau from 1937 to 1942, and on its board of trustees for over thirty years. Bender was also a trustee of the Allis-Chalmers Foundation, Inc., Marquette University School of Medicine, Milwaukee-Downer College, the Kearney Welfare Foundation, and the League of Women Voters Foundation. He was active in the Community Welfare Council, the United Community and War Fund, the Metropolitan War Memorial, Inc., and the Joint Committee on Consolidation in Milwaukee County. Also involved in religious organizations, Bender was co-chairman of the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, an elder of Calvary Presbyterian Church, vice president and trustee of the Presbyterian Student Headquarters Foundation at Madison, and a trustee of the Milwaukee Presbytery. For his civic activities, Bender received many awards, including the Caroline Bigelow McGeoch award of the Milwaukee League of Women Voters in 1949, the Cosmopolitan Club service award in 1957, and the community service award of the Milwaukee Foundation in 1957.

In 1958, Catherine Dalgleish Bender died. Bender then married Mrs. Edna Wickwerth the next year. She died in October 1965. Walter Henry Bender died of cancer in Mount Sinai Hospital, Milwaukee, on 29 May 1966.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Bender, Walter Henry, 1879-1966. Papers, 1913-1966. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EA. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Golda Meir Library. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Bender, Peter. Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CH)

City Club of Milwaukee. Records. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection AS and Milwaukee Micro Collection 69)

Zoological Society of Milwaukee County (Wis.). Records. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204 and PH Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204)


ACQUISITION: Gift of Walter Henry Bender of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1966.

PROCESSING: Processed by Carolyn Dellenbach in 1975; and by Robert F. Burk and Joanne Hohler in July 1979.

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

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION EA BOX FOLDER
Biographical Material, Walter Henry Bender, 1916-1966 1 1
Biographical Material, William Harrison and Nellie Bender, 1931-1943 1 2
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Citizens Governmental Research Bureau, 1946-1964 1 3
City/County Government (Milwaukee), City Club Governmental Studies Foundation, Inc., 1960-1962 1 4
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Committee on Basic Changes in the Substantive Law, 1952 1 5
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Committee for Organizing Milwaukee Metro Citizens Conference on Government, Executive Committee and Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, 1959-1961, undated 1 6
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Land Use and Zoning, 1959 1 7
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Land Use and Zoning, 1960 1 8
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Legal Committee, 1958-1960 1 9
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Minutes of Monthly Meeting and Commission Bulletin, 1959-1961 2 1
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Police Protection Committee, 1960-1961 1 10
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Public Information and Education Committee, Refuse and Garbage Disposal Committee, Research Committee, 1959-1961 1 11
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Reports, 1959-1961 2 2
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Metropolitan Study Commission, Revenue Sources and Distribution Committee, 1959, 1961 1 12
City/County Government (Milwaukee), Subdivision Ordinance, 1952-1953 2 3
Marquette University School of Medicine, Allen Bradley Science Laboratory, 1961-1963 2 4
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Articles of Association and By-Laws, 1942, 1955 2 5
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Corporation and Board Meeting Minutes, 1960-1963 2 7
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Dean and Faculty Annual Reports, 1957-1963 2 8
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Executive Committee Minutes, 1957-1963 2 9
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Membership List, 1961 2 10
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Minutes, 1960-1964 2 6
Marquette University School of Medicine, Board of Directors, Policy and Development Committee Minutes, 1960-1964 2 11
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, "Annual Valuation of Investments," 1959-1962 2 12
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, "Comparative Budget Study," 1947-1963 2 13
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, "Cost Finding Study," 1961 2 13
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, Grants, Gifts, and Fellowships, 1957-1964 2 14
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, Miscellaneous, 1958-1964 3 11
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, "Proposed Operating Budgets," 1957-1964 3 1-2
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, Reports of Examinations," 1958-1963 3 3-4
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, "Treasurer's Reports," 1957-1964 3 5
Marquette University School of Medicine, Budget, Wills, 1937 2 14
Marquette University School of Medicine, Froedert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Reports, 1951-1963 3 6
Marquette University School of Medicine, Hirschboeck, John S., 1948-1961 3 7
Marquette University School of Medicine, Memoranda, 1950-1963 2 10
Marquette University School of Medicine, Milwaukee Hospitals and Medical Units, 1959-1963, undated 3 8
Marquette University School of Medicine, Organization Analysis, undated and Status Survey of Corporation, 1958-1959 3 9
Marquette University School of Medicine, Proposals and Future Plans, 1960-1964, undated 3 10
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1945-1950 4 2
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Committee and Corporation Minutes and Reports, 1946-1950 4 3
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Correspondence, General, 1945-1948 4 1
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Legal Documents, Contract with County Board of Supervisors, 1946-1951 4 4
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Legal Documents, Schumm, et al. vs. Oliver Boyle and War Memorial, Inc., 1950 4 5
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Legal Documents, War Memorial, Inc. vs. Parkshore Tower, Inc., et al., 1952 4 6
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Organization, 1946-1950 4 7
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., Planning and Construction of Memorial, 1945-1948 4 8
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Board of Trustees, Committee Minutes, 1958-1963 10 3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Budget, "Capital Improvements Programs," 1958-1964 5 1
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Budget, Correspondence, Proposed Budgets, and Requests, 1952-1960 5 1
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Budget, Correspondence, Proposed Budgets, and Requests, 1960-1963 5 3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Budget, "Improvements and Major Maintenance Accounts, 1955 5 3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, "Civil Service Matters," Correspondence, Employee Evaluation Reports, and Job Descriptions, 1954-1964, undated 5 4
Milwaukee County Park Commission, "Civil Service Matters," Pampel, Leonard, 1960-1963 5 5
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Concessions and Vending Machines, Correspondence and Memoranda, 1959-1962 5 6
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Concessions and Vending Machines, Reports and Studies, 1956-1965 5 7
Milwaukee County Park Commission, "Expressway System," 1955-1959 5 8
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Lakefront Committee, General Study, 1940 6 1
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Lakefront Committee, Miscellaneous, 1945-1963 6 2
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Lakefront Committee, Progress Reports, 1962 6 2
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Land Acquisition, 1956-1964 6 3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Miscellaneous, 1948-1965, undated 9 5-7
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Planning Agencies, 1953-1964 6 4
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Baseball Contract," Agreements Between Milwaukee Braves Baseball Club and Park Commission, 1952-1962 6 6-7
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Baseball Contract," Correspondence and Memoranda, 1953-1958 6 5
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Baseball Contract," Newsclippings, 1957 6 8
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Baseball Contract," Operating Expenses, 1955-1962 6 9
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Music Under the Stars," Conductors, Biographical Record of, and Related Correspondence, 1950, 1952 7 5
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Lincoln Memorial Drive, 1942-1957 6 10
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Lincoln Memorial Drive, 1950-1962 7 1
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Marina and Yacht Club, 1952-1964 7 2
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Miscellaneous, 1955-1962, undated 8 1
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Mitchell Park Conservatory, 1957-1963 7 3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, "Music Under the Stars," Correspondence, Programs, and Reports, 1950-1963 7 4
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Nike Site, 1954-1962 7 6
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Senior Citizens' Center, 1959-1964 7 7
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Zoo, Financial Aspects, 1956-1963 7 9
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Zoo, General Correspondence, 1954-1963 7 8
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Programs, Zoo, Miniature Railroad, 1954-1963 7 10
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Recreation, 1947-1964, undated 8 2-4
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Reorganization, Miscellaneous, 1949-1959 8 6
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Reorganization, Public Administration Service, 1955-1959 8 5
Milwaukee County Park Commission, "Senate Bill 463, S.," 1958-1959 8 7
Milwaukee County Park Commission, Sewerage, Water Pollution, and Flood Control, 1952-1963 9 1-3
Milwaukee County Park Commission, "Zoning," 1946-1961 9 4
Milwaukee-Downer College, Board of Trustees, Membership Lists, 1958-1962 10 3
Milwaukee-Downer College, Board of Trustees, Minutes and Agenda, 1958-1963 10 2
Milwaukee-Downer College, Board of Trustees, President's Annual Reports, 1956-1962 10 4-5
Milwaukee-Downer College, Budget, Endowments, Funds, and Gifts, 1878-1963 10 6
Milwaukee-Downer College, Budget, Expenditure Lists, Financial Statements and Reports, 1958-1963 10 7
Milwaukee-Downer College, Budget, Salary Schedules, 1957-1964 10 8
Milwaukee-Downer College, Budget, "Suggestion on Accounting Policies," 1958 10 8
Milwaukee-Downer College, Correspondence and Memoranda, General, 1948-1963 10 1
Milwaukee-Downer College, Milwaukee-Downer Seminary, 1935-1958 10 9
Milwaukee-Downer College, Miscellaneous, 1958-1963 10 10
Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice, Account Book, Bank Books, and Check Stubs, 1913-1920 10 12
Milwaukee Society for Suppression of Commercial Vice, Correspondence and Budgetary Notes, 1914-1922 10 11
Professional Material, Bar Associations, American Bar Association, 1955-1961 11 1
Professional Material, Bar Associations, Milwaukee Bar Association, 1956-1959 11 2
Professional Material, Bar Associations, State Bar of Wisconsin, 1957-1961 11 3
Professional Material, Greenfield, Town of, 1956-1957 11 4
Professional Material, Public School Teachers' Annuity and Retirement Fund, Correspondence, 1953-1957 11 5
Professional Material, Public School Teachers' Annuity and Retirement Fund, Legal Documents, 1953-1956 11 6
Professional Material, Public School Teachers' Annuity and Retirement Fund, Near-Print and Newsclippings, 1953-1955 11 7
Professional Material, Wauwatosa, City of, 1954-1955 11 8
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Bill No. 154, A, "Employment Peace Act," Drafts, Near-Print, Questions and Answers, 1939 12 3
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Bill No. 154, A, "Employment Peace Act," Newsclippings, 1939 12 4
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Correspondence, 1938-1940 11 9
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Correspondence, 1941-1947 12 1
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Council Newsletters, Resolutions, Hearings, and Bulletins, Labor Legislation, 1938-1947 12 6
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Labor Legislation, 1943, 1945, 1947 12 5
Professional Material, Wisconsin Council of Agriculture, Labor Legislation, Excluding 154, A, 1937-1939 12 2
Professional Material, Y.M.C.A., 1955-1957 12 7
War and Community Funds and Chests, Miscellaneous Chests and Funds, 1942-1945 13 6
War and Community Funds and Chests, National War Fund, 1943-1945 12 8
War and Community Funds and Chests, State War Chest, 1943 12 9
War and Community Funds and Chests, United Community and War Funds Committee, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1942-1943 12 10
War and Community Funds and Chests, United Community and War Funds Committee, Correspondence, 1942 13 1-2
War and Community Funds and Chests, United Community and War Funds Committee, Financial Matters, 1942-1947 13 3
War and Community Funds and Chests, United Community and War Funds Committee, Minutes, Agenda, and Reports, 1942-1947 13 4
War and Community Funds and Chests, Wisconsin War Fund, 1943-1947 13 5

About the Archives | General Information | Subject Listings | Finding Aids
Genealogy | Upcoming Events | Exhibits | Teaching Resources
Records Management | Other Web Sites | Archives Home Page

©2005 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee -- All Rights Reserved.
URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/archives/findaids/mssea.htm
Last edited on Monday, January 24, 2005.
Ask an Archivist