Collections

The collection documents the organizational history and activities of the MCSA and consists of White House Conference materials, correspondence, reports, programs, syllabi, scrapbooks, newsletters, directories, histories, maps, booklets, photographs, and other materials.

The collection documents all aspects of the history and activities of MCSA, both at the state and local level, from 1920 through 2003. Correspondence, reports, programs, syllabi, scrapbooks, materials of disbanded clubs, newsletters, directories, histories, maps, booklets, and materials of conference, convention, and planning program meetings, as well as White House Conference materials, and miscellaneous items compose the collection. A few earlier items, 1913 and 1917, from MCSA’s parent organization, the Child Conservation League of America, are also included.

Materials are organized alphabetically by type or title and then chronologically within each series. Materials of the Child Conservation League and the MI Federation Child Conservation League precede that of the MCSA.

The larger series within the collection include: Correspondence; Materials of Disbanded Clubs; Executive Committee Materials; History Materials; Programs of Local MCSA Clubs, and Scrapbooks.

Various types of Correspondence, approximately.5 cubic foot, are found in the collection. General correspondence, which was distributed to members and club presidents, 1920-1938, 1952-1992, and 1997; Correspondence before and after the Nov. 1983 Spring Planning Meeting, 1983 (Examples); Correspondence with an Executive Board Members, 1964-1969 (Example); and Correspondence of MCSA Presidents, 1967-1968, 1973-1980, 1982-1989 complete this series.

Materials of Disbanded Clubs, approximately .5 cubic foot, consists mainly of initial letters of inquiry and application to join MCSA, constitutions, lists of charter members, official club charters, and correspondence noting that the club disbanded.

The materials of the Executive Committee, approximately one cubic foot, include meeting agendas, minutes, and reports by officers, including the President, 1st-4th vice presidents, treasurer, secretary, historian, program chairs, etc., 1949-1951 and 1953-1998.

History Materials, approximately .5 cubic foot, include volumes documenting the early history of the MCSA in notes and meeting minutes, with attached programs, clippings, reports, a constitution, and some newsletters, 1928-1962. Two printed anniversary histories of the MCSA, 1920-1970 and 1920-1990, are also included in this series.

The Programs of Local MCSA Clubs is the largest series in the collection, approximately 2 cubic feet, which documents the histories and activities of the local clubs, 1944-1979 and 1986-2003. Prizes were awarded for the most unique and beautiful programs. Some of the programs are quite lovely and unique.

Scrapbooks, 1970-1998, 1.25 cubic feet, include photographs, clippings, notes, publications, and miscellaneous items. Most of the scrapbooks are letter-sized, except for one oversized volume, 1990-1991.

The Syllabi, once a main component of MCSA as both as a work project and educational resource, were used to educate mothers about children and various issues involved with child rearing, education, and development. Different themes or topics were selected for each year’s new syllabus. Clubs and individuals researched and wrote different parts, or units, of each syllabus. Copies of the completed syllabus were mailed to each club. Syllabi in the collection, approximately .5 cubic foot, date from 1945 through 1998.

Two other particularly interesting, although small, series are found in the collection. One of these series documents MCSA’s predecessor organizations. The Child Conservation League of America is documented by its constitution, 1913, two annual programs, 1922 and 1924, and two publications, 1913 and undated. The MI Federation Child Conservation League is documented by Bulletins, 1923-1924; a program, 1922; and two historical volumes of annual convention reports and lists of delegates, 1924-1929; and the Executive Council Meeting Minutes, Reports, Programs, and Clippings, 1921/1922-1928.

The other series of note consists mostly of published materials documenting MCSA’s interests and participation in the White House Conference on Children and Youth. Mrs. Lyle Price of MCSA was officially invited to attend the 1950 conference and created a scrapbook documenting her experience. Related publications, 1950-1951, 1960, and undated, are also included.

Processing Notes: During processing approximately 10 cubic feet of materials was withdrawn from the collection. The majority of these materials were duplicates, particularly of newsletters, officer and annual reports, and Executive Board or other meeting minutes, and massive amounts of generic correspondence, miscellaneous notes, cancelled checks, receipts, and FYI and reading materials from other organizations. A large number of brochures of Michigan hotels and resorts were added to the MI vertical file collection. Also, a 10 volume set of books, Foundation stones of success, was cataloged separately from the collection.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

An unnamed parent or caregiver kept notes about children in a partially used Teachers' Institute Note Book, 1886. The volume was printed in Chicago and Maquoketa, Iowa, by Donohue & Henneberry and W. M. Welch, respectively, and includes advertisements on the inside covers for educational texts and forms. Two pages of manuscript notes define musical intervals. An additional nine pages of text sporadically document the words and actions of at least two children, Harry and Inez, between the ages of 1.5 and 5.5 years old. The writer notes the ages at which children were singing, the type of art they created, the humorous questions, observations, and comments they made, and religious thoughts they vocalized.

The childhood observations about death, spirits, and God reflect a religious upbringing and household, including one entry about how Harry "was drawing a picture of a deathbed scene where angels were coming to carry the man's spirit to God in accordance with what he had been told on the subject. He said 'Mama I guess one angel holds the man's mouth open while the other takes his spirit out of him.' " Comments about dogs, toys, and imaginative games speak to youthful entertainment and play, and others are more suggestive about the conditions in the children's environment that caught their attention. Questions like "what color is the moon on the other side," or observations that a dead mouse "is kind of wilted isn't it," provide insights into what the children were seeing and wondering about.

One entry at the back of the volume reads, "J. D. McAuliff (Heals by rubbing) St. Louis, Mo."