Guide to the University of Chicago Service League Records 1897-2007


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Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Descriptive Summary
• Information on Use
• Access
• Citation
• Historical Note
• Scope Note
• Related Resources
• Subject Headings
• INVENTORY
• Series I: Constitution and By-Laws
• Series II: Reports of the League President
• Series III: Correspondence
• Series IV: Financial Records
• Series V: Minutes and Reports
• Series VI: Activities
  • Subseries 1: Announcements and Calendars
  • Subseries 2: Benefits and Philanthropy
  • Subseries 3: Special Interest Groups
• Series VII: Publications
• Series VIII: Memorabilia and Histories
• Series IX: Oversized Materials

Acknowledgments

Preservation of this collection was supported with a generous gift from the University of Chicago Service League.

Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Access

Series VI: Subseries 2 contains two computer disks that are restricted due to the need for computer equipment and reformatting. Copies of the documents contained on the disks are printed and filed with the collection.

The remainder of the collection is open for research, with no restrictions.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: University of Chicago Service League. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

The University of Chicago Service League was founded in 1895 as the University of Chicago Settlement League, a social and philanthropic organization of University women interested in supporting the work of the University of Chicago Settlement. Established in 1894 by the University's Christian Union, the University Settlement was located near the Chicago stockyards in the congested working-class immigrant neighborhood known as the Back of the Yards of Packingtown. Like Hull House, Chicago Commons, and other settlements in the city, the University Settlement sought to improve unhealthy conditions in its neighborhood while promoting reform in working conditions and education and assisting immigrants in their adjustment to American life.

The Settlement League was formed at the suggestion of Mary McDowell, Head Resident of the Settlement, and Mrs. Frank L. Miller, wife of the University's Dean of Affiliated Work. Those at the first formal meeting of the League in October, 1895 included Mrs. William Rainey Harper, Mrs. William D. MacClintock, Mrs. Charles Zueblin, and Mrs. Harry Pratt Judson, who was elected the first president of the group. The League's objectives were three-fold: to generate interest and financial support for the University Settlement, to study sociological questions, and to promote social intercourse. Membership was open to women on the University faculty and to wives of faculty, fellows, students, and alumni, with non-University women admitted at a higher annual membership fee.

The League's fund-raising efforts began with a benefit lecture in 1896 and a successful vaudeville show presented in the spring of 1897. Two years later, the League staged "The Deceitful Dean," a musical satire on campus life which was so popular that a second comedy, "The Academic Alchemist," was produced in 1900. Other League events included a revival of "The Deceitful Dean" in 1906, a dance festival in 1910, and an elaborate Florentine Carnival in Ida Noyes Hall in 1913. Funds raised from these and other activities were used to support clubs, classes, and improved facilities at the University Settlement, and to provide summer outings in the countryside for Packingtown children. League members also worked as volunteers at the Settlement, supported legislation for compulsory school attendance and other reforms, established a committee to investigate the operation of the Juvenile Court, and backed Mary McDowell's efforts to clean up garbage dumps and build public bathhouses and playgrounds in the Back of the Yards. During World War I, while continuing their support for the Settlement, League members rolled bandages for the Red Cross and held summer dances for servicemen at Ida Noyes Hall.

By 1923, when the League's membership had reached 600, the influx of younger members began to raise questions about the nature of the League's program. While the distinction between University and non-University women had been dropped in 1921, many of the newer members were uncomfortable with the large size of the group and felt that the League should respond more fully to specific personal interests. Accordingly, in 1929 the by-laws were amended to permit the creation of special interest groups in music, drama, French, travel, and other fields so that members with similar interests could get acquainted outside the context of regular monthly meetings.

The University Settlement remained the central focus of League activities, however. By 1923, the League was providing 28 per cent of the operating funds of the Settlement and had also accepted full responsibility for the girls program and kindergarten, while contributing $3,000 for a vocational scholarship. In the same year, League member Shirley Farr contributed $3,000 for the purchase of land on which to build a summer camp for Settlement children. Established in Chesterton, Indiana in 1930 after several years in another location, Camp Farr was steadily developed under the direction of the League's Camp Committee. League funds also permitted the construction of the Settlement gymnasium in 1932 and the swimming pool at Camp Farr in 1935. In addition to Settlement projects, the League supported general relief work during the Depression and World War II, and in 1948 joined the regular Tag Day solicitation for the United Charities of Chicago.

By the 1950's, the deterioration of housing and rising crime rates in Hyde Park caused many League members to feel that the University neighborhood should be a more immediate concern of the organization. Furthermore, the University, which had never had a formal affiliation with the Settlement, requested in 1956 that its name no longer be used in association with the institution. The Settlement was therefore renamed the Mary McDowell Settlement in honor of its first Head Resident. During this same period, the League was caught up in an intense reassessment of its own goals, since its support was urgently needed by both the Settlement, which still played an important role on the Southwest Side, and the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, which was proving itself an effective agency for combating gang activity in the local area. In 1957, after lengthy debate, the League changed its name to the University of Chicago Service League and became incorporated as a non-profit organization. Henceforth, all money raised by the League was to benefit the Mary McDowell Settlement and a "second philanthropy," the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club.

Following its reorganization, the Service League supported a variety of programs at the Settlement, including clubs and special interest groups, the summer day camp, citizenship classes, a halfway house, and individual counseling. At the Neighborhood Club, the League helped fund the activities of more than 70 organized youth groups and a number of recreation programs. The Mary McDowell Settlement was merged with the Chicago Commons Association in 1967, and the Settlement buildings themselves were demolished several years later, but the League maintained its interest in the old stockyards neighborhood through its support of the Association's South Side Services Area and annual summer camp, now known as Camp Brueckner-Farr. The League remains an active social and philanthropic organization to the present, its activities representing a long tradition of service to Chicago's immigrant population, to the Hyde Park community, and to the University.

Scope Note

Series I contains copies of the constitution and by-laws of the Settlement League and Service League from 1899 to 1997. This series also contains the notes and reports of special committees suggesting changes in the by-laws, as well as information concerning the incorporation of the League as a non-profit organization in 1957. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series II, Reports of the League President, is also organized alphabetically. The preparation of an annual report to the members was an early tradition established by League presidents. This series, which contains reports from 1907 to 2003, includes information on the operation of the University of Chicago Settlement, League fund-raising events, committee and special interest group activities, and League finances.

Series III, Correspondence contains general correspondence as well as correspondence relating to the recruitment of new members and the Patronesses, arranged alphabetically. The general correspondence folders contain a variety of writings between League officers from 1921 to 2005.

Series IV is arranged alphabetically and contains materials related to the finances of the Service League. This series includes annual reports of the League treasurer from 1907 to 1995 and cash ledgers from 1903 to 2002. Related budgets, correspondence, invoices, and reports are also filed here.

Series V, Minutes and Reports, documents general League meetings and meetings of its Board of Directors, reports of officers and standing committees, and membership reports. Before 1919 and after 1955, minutes of Board and general meetings were kept together; between 1919 and 1954, however, minutes for the two groups were kept separately and are so arranged in this series. Annual reports from various officers and standing committees are arranged alphabetically. The series also contains membership information for 1945-2000.

Series VI, Activities, is broken down into three sub-series: Announcements and Calendars, Benefits and Philanthropy, and Special Interest Groups. Subseries 1 is arranged chronologically. The League's announcements, which cover the period 1902-1940, are mounted in two scrapbooks, while the calendars consist of loose sheets issued on a monthly basis from 1940 to 2007. Subseries 2, Benefits and Philanthropy, is organized alphabetically by topic. Information about the Annual Homecoming Benefit and Bazaar as well as other philanthropies such as the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club and Tag Day can be found in this subseries. Lastly, subseries 3 is also organized alphabetically by topic and includes the notes and reports from the League's numerous special interest groups which supplement the general activities of the organization.

Series VII: Publications includes three League publications - Inside Information, The Insider, and the Year Book. Inside Information (monthly) and The Insider (quarterly) were newsletters presenting information on forthcoming League activities. The Year Book contains the names and addresses of officers, committee members, and the general membership. Each publication is organized chronologically.

Series VIII consists of publicity clippings, general memorabilia and various histories of the League and associated organizations. This series is organized alphabetically.

Series IX contains oversize materials transferred from Series IV, VI and VIII. The location from which the material was originally transferred is indicated in series description.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Chicago Civil Service League. Records

Subject Headings

• Rosenwald, Lessing J. (Lessing Julius), 1891-1979
• Hutchins, Maude Phelps McVeigh
• Beadle, George Wells, 1903-
• McDowell, Mary E., 1854-
• University of Chicago. Settlement
• University of Chicago. Settlement League
• University of Chicago. Service League
• Hyde Park Neighborhood Club (Chicago, Ill.)
• Benefit performances
• Social settlements
• Women in charitable work
• Community organization
• Hyde Park (Chicago, Ill.)

INVENTORY

Series I: Constitution and By-Laws, contains copies of the constitution and by-laws of the Settlement League and Service League from 1899 to 1997. Included are reports of special committees suggesting changes in the by-laws, the certificate of incorporation secured by the League when it became a non-profit organization in 1957, and correspondence with legal counsel concerning details of the incorporation.

The preparation of an annual report to the members was an early tradition established by League presidents. This series, which contains holograph and typescript reports from 1907 to 2003, includes information on the operation of the University of Chicago Settlement, League fund-raising events, committee and special interest group activities, and League finances. Mrs. Albert A. Dahlberg's report of 1964 contains a brief account of the history of the League and Settlement. The series also includes the annual letter issued each September welcoming members to a new season of activities.

The "General Correspondence" folders of material in this series consist of the miscellaneous correspondence of League officers from 1921 to 2005. The correspondence includes reminiscences about the League by Mrs. George Goodspeed, Mrs. Frank J. Miller, and Marlene Stevens Reeve, and letters from Julia Lathrop and J. Edgar Hoover declining invitations to speak before the organization. Lessing Rosenwald, Maude Phelps Hutchins, George W. Beadle, and Gaylord Donnelley are among the other prominent correspondents. This series also contains correspondence concerning the recruitment of potential new members as well as Patroness letters looking for donations.

This series includes annual reports of the League treasurer from 1907 to 1995 and cash ledgers from 1903 to 2002. The series also contains budgets, invoices, financial reports and financial correspondence. One folder of correspondence concerns the special fund established in 1910 by Carl Kinsley, Associate Professor of Physics, in memory of his wife, Harriet Buchly Kinsley; money from the fund supported pure milk distribution, music classes, summer camp equipment, and other projects at the University Settlement. Information concerning other special funds, such as the Frances Hutchison and Zena Sutherland Memorial Funds, can also be found in this series.

Series V documents the League's general meetings and meetings of its Board of Directors, reports of officers and standing committees, and membership reports. Before 1919 and after 1955, minutes of Board and general meetings were kept together; between 1919 and 1954, however, minutes for the two groups were kept separately and are so arranged in this series. The Secretary's books, spanning 1968-2006, are comprehensive collections of League materials that include minutes, reports, publications, and benefit programs for that year. Annual reports are arranged alphabetically and are from various officers and standing committees such as the finance committee, visiting committee, and social committee. The series also contains membership information from 1945-2000 in the form of lists, card file boxes and membership reports.

This series has been divided into three sub-series: Announcements and Calendars, Benefits and Philanthropy, and Special Interest Groups. The League's announcements, which cover the period 1902-1940, are mounted in two scrapbooks, while the calendars consist of loose sheets issued on a monthly basis from 1940 to 2007. In addition to numerous activities and programs, the announcements and calendars document a variety of speakers who have appeared before the League, from Alice Hamilton, Jane Addams, and George Herbert Mead to Thornton Wilder, Frank O'Hara, and Lillian Gish. The announcement scrapbooks also contain a few issues of The League, a monthly newsletter which was issued in the 1920's.

Subseries 2 contains materials concerning various philanthropic endeavors of the Service League. Benefits have always been a key element in the League's fund-raising efforts. Building on the early success of its vaudeville shows and musical satires, the League soon broadened its offerings to include summer dances, an annual play festival, bridge matches, performances of the University's Acrotheater, and the publication of cookbooks and appointment calendars. The League has also staged fashion shows, one of which, "Designing Women", included a survey of the history of the League from 1895. In addition to their own benefits, the League was also involved in philanthropies that required cooperative work with other organizations around Chicago. Information on programs such as Tag Day, Bargains Unlimited, Camp Brueckner-Farr, and St Martin de Porres House of Hope can also be found in this subseries, as well as information concerning other philanthropic groups which were associated with the League, such as Chicago Commons and Hyde Park Neighborhood Club.

The League's special interest groups have supplemented the general activities of the organization with events of their own. Included in sub-series 3 are announcements and programs of the Drama Group, Newcomers Group, Music Section, as well as many other groups. The League has also cooperated with the Dames Club, the organization of University students' wives.

Series VII includes three League publications - Inside Information, The Insider, and the Year Book. Inside Information (monthly) and The Insider (quarterly) were newsletters presenting information on forthcoming League activities. The Year Book contains the names and addresses of officers, committee members, and the general membership; in some years, it has also included the constitution and by-laws and a list of programs scheduled for regular monthly meetings.

Series VIII consists of publicity clippings, general memorabilia (such as the centennial pins), and various histories of the League and associated organizations. Also included in this series are an account of the origin and history of the League by Mrs. George E. Vincent, Mrs. Rollo Lyman, and Mrs. George W. Beadle; an article on Chicago settlement houses by Louise C. Wade; and several histories of the University of Chicago Settlement, one of which was compiled by Mrs. John Dawson for the League's 60th anniversary in 1955.

Series IX contains oversize materials transferred from Series IV, VI and VIII. Box 61 contains materials transferred from Series IV while boxes 62 and 63 contain materials from Series VI Subseries 2. Box 64 contains materials pulled from Series VIII.