Finding aid for the East End Neighborhood House Records


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: East End Neighborhood House
Title: East End Neighborhood House Records
Dates: 1911-1966
Extent: 11.70 linear feet (30 containers and 1 oversize folder)
Abstract: East End Neighborhood House was founded in the Cleveland, Ohio, in 1907 by Hedwig Kosbob, as a sewing school in the predominantly Hungarian and Slovak neighborhood of Buckeye-Woodland. It was incorporated in 1910. By 1914 it began cultural and recreational programs, and by the Great Depression it grew into a full service community center, adding such services as day care nurseries, Americanization classes, and aid to Japanese Americans relocated to Cleveland during World War II. The collection consists of organizational proceedings, membership records, correspondence, program reports, group worker reports, announcements, scrapbooks, and printed materials.
MS Number MS 3568
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of East End Neighborhood House

The East end Neighborhood House, officially incorporated in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1910, was established by Miss Hedwig Kosbob on the front porch of her mother's home in 1907. Groups of neighborhood girls gathered there and were taught to sew; the size of these groups increased to the point that Miss Kosbob saw the necessity for a more formal neighborhood center. she solicited money from friends and rented a store room at 89th Street and Quincy Avenue.

As the center's services were expanded to include lessons in canning and jell making for adults, the store room became unsatisfactory. In 1911, the center was moved again, this time to a vacated saloon at the intersection of Alpine and Holton streets. This location was chosen because of its proximity to the growing Hungarian and Slavic immigrant community there. At the same time, the East End Neighborhood House formed a close affiliation with Emmanuel Episcopal Church in order to secure strong organizational backing.

The need for such support faded, and the affiliation began to be restrictive in light of the large proportion of Catholic immigrants served at the East End Neighborhood House. A reorganization in 1914 resulted in a new Board of Trustees and an independent organization. During these years, cultural and recreational aspects of the settlement's program were developed and expanded to more effectively meet the needs of the people being served. In 1916, the Van Sweringen estate offered the use of the former summer home of the Van Sweringens at 2749 Woodhill Road in Cleveland. In addition, permission was granted to use the adjacent lots for playground facilities. This allowed and encouraged a great expansion of the scope of the House's programs. Title to the building was obtained in 1942, and in 1946 the lots on Shaker Boulevard were purchased down to East 103rd Street.

From 1940 to 1949, an additional residence at 2697 Woodhill Road was used for the adult programs and as living quarters for resident workers. The uncertainty of the continued availability of this second house and its much needed space provided the impetus for a building campaign in 1947 and 1948, which resulted in a modern, functional building that provided both space and facilities.

The East End Neighborhood House programs were at first geared to a very personal level, stressing individual case work. However, the Great Depression forced reconsideration of the purpose of all social work, and in 1931 emphasis was shifted to more widespread community work. The programs conducted at the House grew in size and emphasis to meet the needs of a changing neighborhood. These programs attempted to reach all age groups at various educational and social levels. Some examples of the activities included a nursery school, pre-school day care, youth canteens, summer camps, handicraft workshops, Golden Age clubs, Americanization classes, and sports programs. All work was carefully coordinated and the House worked in cooperation with various city, county, and national organizations.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for East End Neighborhood House


Scope and Content

The East End Neighborhood House Records, 1911-1966 and undated, consist of organizational proceedings, membership records, correspondence, reports on program activities, group worker reports, announcements, scrapbooks, and printed material from a variety of sources. The organizational proceedings include minutes and files of the Board of Trustees, minutes of annual meetings, legal and financial papers, correspondence, and material pertaining to employment policy.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of Cleveland, Ohio, and the Buckeye-Woodland neighborhood on its east side. Those studying the history of the Hungarian and Slovak immigrant communities in Cleveland will find this collection useful, as will those studying the history of the African American community in Cleveland. The collection documents the history of settlement houses in Cleveland, particularly the East End Neighborhood House.

The continual efforts in self-evaluation and a desire to carefully record the development of the East End Neighborhood House provide the researcher with a number of excellent historical summaries and very detailed examination of the people served and the programs used to reach them. The group worker reports, largely for young people's programs, provide insights into the problems of group interaction encountered in providing enjoyable, socially constructive activities for large numbers of people.

Throughout the collection there is material pertaining to the organizational affiliations of the House. This allows one to investigate the settlement's relation to larger groups, such as the Welfare Federation of Cleveland and the National Federation of Settlements, and documents attempts to work in cooperation with the city's recreational authorities.

Although the area served by the East End Neighborhood House changed drastically over the years, there are only scattered hints concerning the problem of friction between the neighborhood's growing African American community and the ethnic groups established there earlier. The existence of division between the groups is clearly evidenced in the Program Survey of 1958 and in scattered reports from youth groups.

The chronological files of the House also provide important information about the problems faced during the Great Depression and World War II. Of particular interest in the file on Japanese relocation which includes a complete listing of Japanese-Americans relocated to the Cleveland area as of August 1943.

Finally, in light of contemporary community needs, the records pertaining to the nursery and day care programs provide insight into the problems of such programs and an opportunity to examine closely various methods of conducting day care centers. They also provide the opportunity to study the problems faced by children of preschool age, both social and emotional, and techniques used to address these crises.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in seven series.
Series I: Administrative Records is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series II: Program Files is arranged in three sub-series.
Sub-Series A: General Programs is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series B: Youth Programs is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Sub-series C: Nursery Programs is arranged by document type and then chronologically.
Series III: Subject Files (1) is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series IV: Subject Files (2) is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by subject.
Series V: Buckeye-Woodhill-Woodland Association Files is arranged chronologically.
Series VI: Elementary School Program is arranged chronologically.
Series VII: Scrapbooks and Press Clippings is arranged by document type and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4252 East End Neighborhood House Records, Series II; PG 60 East End Neighborhood House Photographs; and PG 153 East End Neighborhood House Photographs, Series II.

Separated Material

Phonograph records have been removed to the WRHS Audio Collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social conditions.
Community centers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Day care centers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
East End Neighborhood House (Cleveland, Ohio)
Hungarian Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.
Slovak Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Social settlements -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3568 East End Neighborhood House Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of the East End Neighborhood House in 1971.

Processing Information

Processed by Mark R. Shanahan in 1973.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Administrative Records 1911-1964 undated

Box Folder
1 1-2 Minutes and reports of annual meetings 1932-1958
1 3 Board of Trustees manual and material used in its compilation 1951
1 4-5 Minutes of the Board of Trustees 1911-1939
Box Folder
2 1 Minutes of the Board of Trustees, including a 1941 report of a Board of Direcotrs Members' Clinic conducted by the neighborhood Club of Grosse Pointe, Michgan (minutes from 1944-1947 are missing) 1940-1943
2 2 Minutes of the Board of Trustees, including budget presentations for 1949 and 1950 and a copy of the 1950 "Personnel Practices" 1948-1950
2 3-5 Board of trustees files 1951-1955
2 6 Bulletins and mimeographed letters 1949-1950
Box Folder
3 1 Material pertaining to maintenance and parking; a letter from Samuel Livingston Mather (with diagrams) on construction of a dam at East End Neighborhood House camp site, 1921; alteration work on old house (1946) with blueprint; a contract for an addition to East End including specifications, 1949; and material concerning fences and fire escapes 1921-1949
3 2 Property surveys dates vary
3 3 Service reports 1951
3 3 Census tract reports 1953
Box Folder
4 1 Material pertaining to the Cleveland Federation of Settlements, including the 1946 "General Report of the Cleveland Settlement Study" and the East End Neighborhood House report 1942-1960
4 2 Audits 1919-1933
4 2 Material pertaining to insurance coverage and liability report 1934-1954
4 2 Material pertaining to the Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Association 1963-1964
4 3 Group reports, including those of worker Rama Sampath on the "Susie Q's" 1959-1960
4 3 Correspondence and notes on the Rosehill Civic Association, Rama Sampath, adviser undated
4 3 Material concerning the Hungarian Golden Agers Club dates vary
4 3 Miscellaneous group reports dates vary
4 4 Headworker reports, including material on the death of headworker Lillian Amiraux (1934) 1930-1945
4 5 Headworker reports 1946-1948
Box Folder
5 1 Material relating to the Mrs. Rollin H. White Memorial Fund, including a list of contributors and letters of acknowledgement and correspondence from contributors dates vary
5 2 Material relating to the Mrs. W. A. Harshaw Memorial Fund and the Ethel B. McGraw Memorial Fund, including lists of contributors and letters of contribution and acknowledgement dates vary
5 3 Solicitation lists and worker sheets of the Special Gifts Division dates vary
Box Folder
6 1 Material from the National Federation of Settlements, including a 1956 fact sheet on East End dates vary
6 2 Program survey, including the final report, outline guides, raw data, neighborhood analysis interviews, and miscellaneous data used in the report's compilation 1958
6 3 Summer 1962 Program, originally a booklet, left in original form; material pertaining to the United Neighborhood Centers Report, a joint effort of East End Neighborhood House and Goodrich Settlement House 1962
6 4-5 Manuals for members of the Volunteer Association, volunteer registration forms, and correspondence concerning volunteers 1959-1963
6 6 John L. Yaple file, including a cover letter turning the file over to the East End Neighborhood House and copies of the articles of incorporation for the settlement but consisting largely of correspondence pertaining to financial and legal affairs 1937-1939
Box Folder
7 1 John L. Yaple file, including a cover letter turning the file over to the East End Neighborhood House and copies of the articles of incorporation for the settlement but consisting largely of correspondence pertaining to financial and legal affairs 1940-1942
7 2-3 Membership cards, adults dates vary
7 4-5 Membership cards, teenage youth, set 1 dates vary
Box Folder
8 1-2 Membership cards, teenage youth, set 2 dates vary
8 3-5 Membership cards, children dates vary
Box Folder
9 1-5 Membership cards, children dates vary
9 5 Membership cards for day camp 1964
9 5 Duplicate and miscellaneous papers dates vary

Series II: Program Files 1954-1966 undated

Sub-Series A: General Programs 1956-1964

Box Folder
10 1 Bus and station wagon key sign out 1963
10 1 Careers in Social Work, sponsored by the Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1961-1963
10 1 Club leaders (volunteer registration forms) 1962-1964
10 1 Current mailing list and attendance sheet 1961-1962
10 1 Firecrackers incident 1957
10 1 Italian Golden Ager records 1957-1959
10 2 Meals on Wheels dates vary
10 2 Musicians' Union dates vary
10 2 Personnel Practices Committee 1963-1964
10 2 Publicity contact lists 1961-1962
10 3 Schools: Harvey Rice and Woodland - material concerning rumors of activities at East End Neighborhood House dates vary
10 3 Staff Development Committee, Cleveland Federation of Settlements dates vary
10 3 Staff meetings 1963-1964
10 3 Summer 1959 1963
10 3 United Nations pamphlets and charts dates vary
10 3 Volunteer Association 1956-1957

Sub-series B: Youth Programs 1954-1966 undated

Box Folder
11 1 Annual Mid-year Evaluation, Teen program 1960-1961
11 1 Adelos Hetaireia 1955
11 1 Andantes 1962
11 1 Betty Crockers 1961-1962
11 1 Busy Beavers 1955
11 1 Busy Bees 1955-1956
11 2 Cindales 1965-1966
11 2 Crystals Junior High Club 1962
11 2 Delfinos 1961-1962
11 2 DiAngelas 1961-1962
11 2 Dimonioes dates vary
11 2 DiVatos Senior High Club (includes material pertaining to vocations) 1958-1961
11 2 English Walkers 1959
11 3 Esquires 1961-1962
11 3 Harvey Rice School Group 1960-1963
11 3 Harvey Rice School Cooking Group 1960-1961
11 3 Harvey Rice School Third Grade Girls 1960-1961
11 3 Hornets Choral Club 1955-1956
11 4 Jack and Jills 1960
11 4 Monday Night Gym 1954-1955
11 4 Moonshiners (Mystic Knights) 1961
11 4 Oranadoes 1960-1961
11 4 Ravens 1965-1966
11 4 Rebels 1956
11 4 Royalettes dates vary
11 4 Sindicatoes 1959
11 4 Susie Q's 1959-1960
11 4 Tuesday Night Game Room and Canteen 1954-1955
11 4 Ventoros 1961-1962
11 4 Groupworker time sheets: Rama Sampath and Laurie Smith dates vary
11 4 Group material: miscellaneous dates vary
Box Folder
12 1 Inter-Agency Teen Council dates vary
12 1 Teen Job Opportunities Day 1961-1962
12 1 Unaffiliated Teenage Youth 1958-1960
12 1 Youth Work Programs dates vary

Sub-series C: Nursery Programs 1956-1964

Box Folder
12 2 General information, including history, bylaws, parents' guides, suggested daily schedules, necessary forms, etc dates vary
12 3 Pamphlets and brochures pertaining to various aspects to the pre-school program dates vary
12 4-5 General files 1956-1960
Box Folder
13 1-4 General files 1959-1964
13 5 Scrapbook dates vary

Series III: Subject Files (1) 1930-1946 undated

Box Folder
14 1 Advisory Council 1932-1934
14 1 Lillian Amiraux dates vary
14 1 Annual Reports 1938-1941
14 1 Board of Trustees, membership 1911-1946
14 1 Board of Trustees, correspondence and miscellaneous material 1940-1945
14 2 Boys' Clubs dates vary
14 2 Buckeye-Woodhill Community Council 1932-1942
14 2 Budget 1936-1945
14 2 Cleveland Pin Boy Welfare Commission 1943
14 2 Cleveland Settlement Union 1937-1938
14 2 Club lists 1943-1944
14 3 Community Cooperation, including 1943 "Report of the Recreation Committee of the Cuyahoga County Council for Civil Defense" dates vary
14 3 Community Fund 1943-1945
14 3 Consumers' League and Consumers' Union dates vary
14 3 Day Camp 1945
14 4 Day Care Program, correspondence and publications 1939-1945
14 4 Day Nursery Food, including menus 1942
Box Folder
15 1 Division of Relief 1940-1941
15 1 Federation of Settlements dates vary
15 1 Federation of Woman's Clubs - 50 Year Review 1940
15 1 Financial Report, monthly reports 1944-1945
15 1 Girls' Activities 1936-1939
15 1 Go-Getters 1937-1940
15 2 Group Record, reports on Wildcats and Chats by Betty Witzel 1944
15 2 Group Work Council, including the 1943 "Report of the Youth Victory Activities Committee" dates vary
15 2 Headworker's Report 1944
15 2 Home Defense Show - "It Makes a Difference to Your Country . . . " undated
15 2 House Publications 1941-1942
15 2 Housing - pamphlets and notes dates vary
15 3 Insurance, summary information, old policies, and related correspondence 1937-1946
15 3 Japanese-American Relocation, including lists of all Japanese relocated in the Cleveland area as of August 19, 1943 1943
15 3 Mrs. Kindlespire dates vary
15 4 Kinsman - East 79th Street Area Project 1945-1946
15 4 Kinsport Council 1936
15 5 Legislation, pamphlets, and correspondence dates vary
Box Folder
16 1 Lewellyns 1937-1939
16 1 Lists, mailing and invitation lists, volunteers, board members, committees, etc. dates vary
16 1 Manpower Committee, war stabilization plan dates vary
16 1 Manuscripts, various reports on the war effort and neighborhood recreation dates vary
16 1 Menus and recipes dates vary
16 2 Monthly reports and financial reports 1942-1943
16 2 Mothers' Federation, records of Intersettlement League of Mothers' Club 1938
16 2 National Conference of Social Work 1940-1943
16 3 National Federation of Settlements 1942-1945
16 4 Outlines for records, program reports 1938-1941
16 4 Occupational Planning Committee dates vary
16 4 Pre-School: history and purposes, lists dates vary
16 4 Publicity, press releases 1937
16 5 Publicity, press releases and correspondence 1930-1941
16 5 Rationing: poster and stamp book undated
16 5 Rawlings Area dates vary
16 6 Real Estate 1933-1937
Box Folder
17 1 Servicemen, correspondence and lists ca. 1941-1945
17 1 Dorothy Smith, lists and correspondence dates vary
17 1 Special Purpose Fund bank statements 1941-1944
17 2 Staff Meetings 1939-1945
17 2 Staff Reports 1937
17 3 Staff Reports, program reports, and reports on leaders' meetings 1930-1936
17 4 Statistical reports, meteorological reports, and Federation report dates vary
17 4 Summer Camp 1942-1943
17 4 Summer Playground Report 1943
17 4 Survey Material, list of volunteers, parts of welfare Federation report on East End Neighborhood house 1939
17 4 Volunteers' Institute dates vary
17 5 Welding dates vary
17 6 Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1943-1945
17 6 Welfare Federation health and Welfare Institute and Legislation Committee dates vary
17 6 Western Reserve Committee 1941-1943
17 6 Western Reserve University courses and evaluation dates vary
17 6 Wildcats 1943-1944
17 6 Youth Victory program and Youth Congress 1940-1943

Series IV: Subject Files (2) 1939-1966

Box Folder
18 1 Lillian Amiraux Memorial Fund, correspondence and other material relating to her will 1939-1941
18 1 Block plan and civil defense plans 1942-1945
18 1 Cement apron: project to raise money for badminton court and dance floor 1945
18 1 Special Purpose Fund 1941-1945
18 1 Program data dating back to 1936 1946
18 1 Capital Accounts, request for fund raising campaign for new building and plans for the campaign 1947
18 1 Kinsman Area 1947
18 1 Parents' Council 1947
18 1 Woodworking shop equipment 1947
18 2 Auditor's reports 1944-1948
18 2 Material pertaining to the ownership of 2697 Woodhill Road residence 1937-1948
18 2 Building Plans 1947-1948
18 2 Berkowitz, Louis, correspondence 1949
18 3 Building campaign 1947-1949
18 4 Attendance, East End 1949-1950
18 4 Attendance, Woodland Extension 1949-1950
Box Folder
19 1 Board of Trustees 1946-1950
19 2 Bylaws of East End and agreement on joint administration of East End Neighborhood House and Goodrich House 1950
19 3 Budget comparatives; disbursements; and displaced person 1951
19 4 Paid bills 1951
Box Folder
20 1 Social Secruity 1950-1951
20 1 Volunteer Association 1951
20 1 Attendance at East End and Woodhill Extension 1952
20 1 Audit report and correspondence 1947-1952
20 2 Audit 1953
20 2 Backdrop for state 1953
20 2 Board of Trustees material 1951-1953
20 3 Directory of camps 1953
20 3 National Federation of Settlements, including pamphlet "The People Take the Lead, a Record of Progress in Civil Rights, 1947-1952" 1953
20 3 Paid bills and payrolls 1953
20 3 Special Purpose Account 1953
20 3 Treasurer 1942-1952
20 4 Audit 1954
20 4 Christmas, expenses and contributions 1954
20 4 Civil Defense 1951-1954
20 4 Farm workers 1951-1954
20 4 McGraw Memorial Fund 1954
20 4 Old Building Sewer 1954
20 4 Paid bills and payroll 1954
Box Folder
21 1 Special Purposes Account, summary book for 1952-1954, records for 1954 1954
21 1 Western Reserve University 1954
21 2 Attendance, budget comparatives, and carnival 1955
21 2 Christmas 1953-1955
21 2 Director of Internal Revenue 1953-1955
21 2 Fall program 1955
21 2 Five year Plan 1949-1955
21 3 General correspondence 1950-1955
21 3 Paid bills, payroll, Settlement Day, Special Purposes Account, Spring Program, staff evaluations, and summer program 1955
21 4 Unmet Needs Committee 1950-1955
21 4 Welfare Fleet policy 1953-1955
21 4 Audits, attendance, and budget comparatives 1956-1964
Box Folder
22 1 Christmas 1955-1956
22 1 Clubs Account, current operations, and disbursements 1956
22 2 Kiwanis Club 1951-1956
22 2 Model bookkeeping system 1956
22 3 Paid bills 1956
22 4 Payroll, petty cash, receipts, Rodenfel's correspondence, and treasurer's reports 1956
22 4 Unreached youth 1954-1956
22 4 Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1948-1956
22 5 Adult questionnaire, attendance, audit, and budget comparatives 1957
Box Folder
23 1 Camp Cleveland 1945-1957
23 2 Christmas, clubs account, current operations, and disbursements 1957
23 3 House 1956-1957
23 3 Huntington Endowment 1942-1957
23 3 Insurance 1958-1957
23 3 Maintenance 1950-1957
23 4 Milk, National Federation of Settlements, and paid bills 1957
Box Folder
24 1 Payroll 1957
24 2 Personnel, including letters to and from applicants for positions at te House 1950-1957
24 3 Petty cash and receipts 1957
24 3 Service statistics 1953-1957
24 4 Staff meeting minutes 1955-1957
24 5 Treasurer's reports and unpaid bills 1957
24 5 Workmen's Compensation 1954-1957
Box Folder
25 1 Attendance and audit 1958
25 1 Christmas 1957-1958
25 1 Current operations 1958
25 2 Directory of camps and disbursements 1958
25 2 East End study, correspondence 1957-1958
25 2 Fees and refunds, foundations, and inventory 1958
25 3-4 Journal statements 1958
25 5 Milk program 1958
Box Folder
26 1 Movie 1958
26 1 personnel practices and standards 1946-1958
26 1 Petty cash 1958
26 2 Policy book, Welfare Federation of Cleveland 1956-1958
26 2 Stationery 1956-1958
26 2 Students 1955-1958
26 3 Board of Trustees 1955-1959
26 3 Clubs accounts 1958-1959
26 4 East End Neighborhood House Association 1959
26 4 Membership lists 1944-1959
26 4 Payroll time book 1957-1959
26 5 Mimeofile 1952-1960
Box Folder
27 1 Mimeofile 1952-1960
27 2 Equipment 1943-1963
27 2 Unreached youth 1963-1964
27 2 Teenage Activities Guest List 1965-1966
27 3 East End Neighborhood House miscellaneous file dates vary

Series V: Buckeye-Woodhill-Woodland Association Files 1952-1959

Box Folder
27 4-6 General files 1952-1959

Series VI: Elementary School Program 1960-1964

Box Folder
28 1-2 General files 1960-1963
28 3 Worker reports 1962-1963
28 4 General files 1963-1964

Series VII: Scrapbooks and Press Clippings 1931-1964 undated

Box Folder
29 1 Scrapbook 1934
29 2 Scrapbook 1931-1939
29 3 Scrapbook 1935-1938
29 4 Scrapbook 1939-ca. 1945
Box Folder
30 1 Press clippings 1937-1957 undated
30 2 Press clippings 1960-1964
Volume
1 Oversize Volume 1: Scrapbook 1945-1953