| Dates: | 1898-1980, Bulk dates: 1924-1950 |
| Size: | 9.5 linear feet in 19 boxes, including 7 photographs |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe-nhrc-jwa |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | Donated by the Juvenile Welfare Association in 1990. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Juvenile Welfare Association Records [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library. |
| Finding Aid Author: | Galen R. Wilson, February 1993. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2022 |
Abstract
The collection includes the records of the Juvenile Welfare Association and materials on founder Bertha Lyons’ Self-Development Course, including lessons, sheet music, recitations, or dramatic exercises. Documents also include scripts from the Adult Education Program created by Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1938-1939.
Biographical/Historical
In 1921, Bertha G. Lyons founded the Juvenile Welfare Association (JWA). She remained its director for over half a century. It was incorporated in 1923 as a non-profit agency through the efforts of Victor Arnold, a judge of Chicago's Juvenile Court. The Association maintained that its mission was educational, not charitable. It sought to provide to orphans, homeless children or wards of the state free classes in self-development: music, dancing, dramatics, deportment, manners, speech, etiquette and social skills important in making a person successful. These classes were generally offered through institutions where the children were gathered, including the Chicago Home for the Friendless, the Morgan Park Home for Dependent Children, Marcy Center, St. Hedwig's Orphanage, Union Avenue Parish House and DePaul Settlement. The Association maintained an independent and non-sectarian status, offering its services to Protestant, Catholic and Jewish organizations. Financial support came from private donations of members.
The Association was investigated and audited by the Public Welfare Department of Illinois in 1922 and 1930, and periodically since then, and was always found to be accomplishing its stated purposes satisfactorily. The Association maintained offices at 77 W. Washington Street, Chicago, for many years and more recently moved to a suite at 220 S. State Street.
Biographical
Bertha Gloria Lyons (1896-1982) was born February 20, 1896, in New York City. At the age of two and a half, she was taken from the New York Foundling Hospital and placed in the home of William and Alice Lyons McCartney. The McCartneys later had six children of their own; Bertha was their only foster child. During her childhood, the McCartneys moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where William owned a wholesale candy and paper warehouse.
At the age of seventeen, Miss Lyons enrolled in the Waterloo [Iowa] Conservatory of Music, from which she graduated in 1914 with a certificate in Theory in Dramatic Art. She then attended Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she took courses in educational theory and teacher education. After leaving Cedar Falls, she returned to Waterloo where she performed in local theatrical productions, gave private drama lessons, and edited a small entertainment newspaper, Amusement News. She also worked as a sales manager for an advertising firm in Waterloo, but left it to study with actor and director Elias Day. Later, during her study with actor Donald Robertson, she began to compile and develop a repertoire focusing on monologue and stage gesture technique.
In the late 1910s, Miss Lyons traveled with the Western Lyceum Bureau as a performer doing monologues and behind the scenes as a booking agent in Indiana, Michigan and Iowa. In 1919, at age 23, Lyons settled in Chicago and opened a studio to teach elocution, drama, and social and business deportment to both adults and children. Two years later, she founded the Juvenile Welfare Association and extended the services of her studio to children in custodial care. To support the work of the Association, she founded a magazine, The Children’s Educator, in 1924. Its lifespan was short (only nine issues were produced in three years), but it earned its publisher a “Citizenship of the Year” award. When the Juvenile Welfare Association was incorporated in 1923, Lyons closed her studio and committed herself full-time to the Association.
Bertha Lyons retired from the Juvenile Welfare Association in the 1970s. She died in 1982.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the Juvenile Welfare Association’s correspondence with several Chicago institutions for orphaned or otherwise needy children and the materials that comprise the Lyon’s educational activities such as lessons, sheet music, recitations, or dramatic exercises. Other materials include several radio scripts produced by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the later 1930s.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in four series:
- Series 1: Juvenile Welfare Association Records, circa 1910-1980, undated
- Series 2: Bertha Lyons’ Self-Development Course, 1894-1954
- Series 3: Self-Development Course Recitations, undated
- Series 4: Bertha Lyons’ Personal Papers and Photographs, 1898-circa 1940, undated
Subject Headings
- Applied theater -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Children's literature--Moral and ethical aspects
- Personality development
- Social group work -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Social service -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Social skills in children--study and teaching
- Women in charitable work -- Illinois -- Chicago
- United States. Works Progress Administration (Ill.)
Related Collections
- Gads Hill Collection
- Marion C. Young Hull House Collection
Separations
The collection included one title: The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Cambridge ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin; [1908?]. This volume was awarded to Bertha G. Lyons for “First Honors in Recitation” at an oral interpretation contest in Grand Rapids, Michigan about 1912. Special Collections call number: PS2251.238 1908
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Juvenile Welfare Association Records, circa 1910-1980, undated
Scope and Contents
Series 1 includes correspondence with a wide variety of Chicago charitable organizations, records of the JWA’s fundraising activities and programs from performances at various institutions under JWA auspices. Additional contents include twenty-four radio scripts used in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Adult Education Program, 1938-1939 (Box 4, Folder 12 to Box 5, Folder 11). Their relation of the radio scripts to the association is unclear. The WPA “Those Adventurous Years” series was designed “to break down prejudices against adult education” by looking at the lives of those who achieved great learning after they became adults.
Copies of all nine issues of The Children's Educator are in this collection (Box 1, Folders 3-12). While the magazine purports to be a monthly publication, and each masthead states a copyright date of 1924, the later issues bear advertisements with dates of 1925, 1926 and 1927. In the absence of a printed date, 1924 is used.
Arrangement
Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by title or topic.
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Blank stationery, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Chicago Laboratory Theatre, brochure, circa 1920s |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 1, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 2, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 3, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 4, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 5, [1925] |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 6, [1926] |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 7, [1927] |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 8, [1927] |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Children’s Educator, vol. 1, no. 9, [1927?] |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Children’s Educator, manuscripts, circa 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Christmas cards, 1974, 1980 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Clayton F. Summy Company, catalog of readings with music and melodrama, circa 1918 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Correspondence, Ada S. McKinley Community House, 1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | Correspondence, Angel Guardian Orphanage, 1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | Correspondence, Beacon Neighborhood House, 1954-1958 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | Correspondence, Benton House, 1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | Correspondence, Berger, Ernest M., 1941 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | Correspondence, Bohemian Old Peoples’ Home and Orphan Asylum, 1935-1942, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 | Correspondence, Catholic Social Center, 1932-1944 |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 | Correspondence, Central Charity Bureau (Catholic), 1925-1926 |
| Box 1 | Folder 23 | Correspondence, Chase House, 1946-1948 |
| Box 1 | Folder 24 | Correspondence, Chicago Boys Clubs, 1958-1978 |
| Box 1 | Folder 25 | Correspondence, Chicago Home for the Friendless, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 26 | Correspondence, Chicago Orphan Asylum, 1924 |
| Box 1 | Folder 27 | Correspondence, Chicago Printing Ink Manufacturers Association, 1974 |
| Box 1 | Folder 28 | Correspondence, Daggett Studio Publications, 1929 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Correspondence, DePaul Settlement and Day Nursery, 1942-1949 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Correspondence, DePaul Settlement House, 1963-1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30a | Correspondence, DuSable Community Center |
| Box 1 | Folder 31 | Correspondence, Erie Neighborhood House, 1965-1967 |
| Box 1 | Folder 32 | Correspondence, excerpts compiled in praise of the Juvenile Welfare Association, 1963 |
| Box 1 | Folder 33 | Correspondence, Firman House, 1956-1965 |
| Box 1 | Folder 34 | Correspondence, Fourth Presbyterian Church, 1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Correspondence, Henry Booth House, 1963 |
| Box 1 | Folder 36 | Correspondence, Hoover, Herbert (form letter), 1948 |
| Box 1 | Folder 37 | Correspondence, House of the Good Shepherd, 1953 |
| Box 1 | Folder 38 | Correspondence, Illinois Protestant Children’s Home, 1930-1956, 1961 |
| Box 1 | Folder 39 | Correspondence, Interracial Organization for the Destruction of Race Hatred, 1946 |
| Box 1 | Folder 40 | Correspondence, Juvenile Welfare Association (outgoing), 1929-1986, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 41 | Correspondence, Keller, Helen, 1960 |
| Box 1 | Folder 42 | Correspondence, Laird Community House, 1952-1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 43 | Correspondence, Marcy Center, 1948-1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 44 | Correspondence, Marks Nathan Jewish Orphans Home, 1924-1947 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Correspondence, Marillac House, 1964-1980 |
| Box 1 | Folder 46 | Correspondence, Marillac Seminary, 1936 |
| Box 1 | Folder 47 | Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1924-1964, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 48 | Correspondence, Mission of Our Lady of Mercy, 1924-1926 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Correspondence, Parkway Community House, 1951-1963 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | Correspondence, Protestant Child Haven Association, 1933-1936, 1957-1959 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | Correspondence, Protestant Children’s Aid, 1929-1931 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | Correspondence, St. Chrysostom’s Church, 1944-1958 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | Correspondence, St. Elizabeth High School, 1949-1956 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | Correspondence, St. Hedwig Industrial School, 1948 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | Correspondence, St. Michael Grade School, 1956-1958 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | Correspondence, St. Patrick High School, 1930-1970 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | Correspondence, St. Vincent’s Infant Hospital, 1967-1969 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | Correspondence, Sisters of Divine Charity, 1924-1926 |
| Box 2 | Folder 11 | Correspondence, South Chicago Neighborhood House, 1956-1969 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Correspondence, Southside Community Committee, 1956 |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Correspondence, Uhlich Orphan Home (Uhlich Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Asylum), 1925-1944 |
| Box 2 | Folder 14 | Correspondence, unidentified, 175, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 15 | Correspondence, Union Avenue Parish House, 1948 |
| Box 2 | Folder 16 | Correspondence, United States Treasury Department, 1933 |
| Box 2 | Folder 17 | Extracts from Musical Monologues, Lyon & Healy booklet, circa 1910 |
| Box 2 | Folder 18 | Financial papers, miscellaneous, 1948, 1958 |
| Box 2 | Folder 19 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1929-1930 |
| Box 2 | Folder 20 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1931 |
| Box 2 | Folder 21 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1932 |
| Box 2 | Folder 22 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1933 |
| Box 2 | Folder 23 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1934 |
| Box 2 | Folder 24 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1935 |
| Box 2 | Folder 25 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1936-1939 |
| Box 2 | Folder 26 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1940-1944 |
| Box 2 | Folder 27 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1947 |
| Box 2 | Folder 28 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1949 |
| Box 2 | Folder 29 | Fundraising, correspondence, 1950-1959, 1962 |
| Box 2 | Folder 30 | Fundraising, correspondence, outgoing, 1929, 1940-1950 |
| Box 2 | Folder 31 | Fundraising, correspondence, outgoing, 1951-1953, 1960 |
| Box 2 | Folder 32 | Fundraising, detail work, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 33 | Fundraising, form letters, 1946-1955, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 34 | Fundraising, running accounts of select donors, circa 1943-1966 |
| Box 2 | Folder 35 | Fundraising, telephone solicitation scripts, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | George, Anna E. (Composer, piano teacher), stationery and recital programs, [1929-1931] |
| Box 3 | Folder 2 | Grace Hickox Studios, summer course brochure, circa 1920s |
| Box 3 | Folder 3 | Graphics, original artwork, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 | History and purpose of Juvenile Welfare Association, 1945, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 | Ideas for talks, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 6 | Juvenile Welfare Association Junior Member, information sheets |
| Box 3 | Folder 7 | Knowles, Almon B., “Some Thoughts on the Use of Radio in the Classroom,” 1939 |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 | L’ Hiver, Eleanore, publicity brochure, [1920s] |
| Box 3 | Folder 9 | Marks Nathan Jewish Home, annual reports, 1923, 1925, 1929 |
| Box 3 | Folder 10 | Marks Nathan Jewish Home, dance program (conducted by JWA), 1933 May |
| Box 3 | Folder 11 | Marks Nathan Jewish Home, Marks Nathan Times, 1937 September |
| Box 3 | Folder 12 | Marks Nathan Jewish Home, Testimonial Dinner for President Charles T. Herron, 1938 October 2 |
| Box 3 | Folder 13 | Miscellaneous notes, 1972, 1983, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 14 | Miscellaneous printed and typed materials, 1925-1938, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 15 | O’Sullivan, Frank Dalton, “How to Make Sales by Telephone,” typescript, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 16 | Other charities, notes, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 17 | Performance programs, DePaul Settlement Players, 1944-1948 |
| Box 3 | Folder 18 | Performance programs, Kinsolving Musical Mornings (Blackstone Hotel), 1922-1923 |
| Box 3 | Folder 19 | Performance programs, Marcy Center, 1948 |
| Box 3 | Folder 20 | Performance programs, Marion Vincent’s School of Dancing, undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 21 | Performance programs, Mildred Schooler students’ musicale, 1924, 1926 |
| Box 3 | Folder 22 | Performance programs, Morgan Park Home [orphanage?], undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 23 | Performance programs, Ruth Draper (Harris Theatre), undated |
| Box 3 | Folder 24 | Performance programs, St. Elizabeth High School, 1950 |
| Box 3 | Folder 25 | Performance programs, St. Jadwiga’s Orphanage, 1948 |
| Box 3 | Folder 26 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1930-1942 |
| Box 3 | Folder 27 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1943-1946 |
| Box 3 | Folder 28 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1947-1950 |
| Box 3 | Folder 29 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1951-1953 |
| Box 4 | Folder 1 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1954-1957 |
| Box 4 | Folder 2 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1959-1962 |
| Box 4 | Folder 3 | Performance programs, St. Patrick Girls’ High School/St. Patrick Academy, 1963, 1965-1968, undated |
| Box 4 | Folder 4 | Performance programs, The Theatre Club (5 programs), undated |
| Box 4 | Folder 5 | Report to Better Business Bureau, 1945 January |
| Box 4 | Folder 6 | Royden, Maude, flyer, Orchestra Hall address, circa 1920 |
| Box 4 | Folder 7 | Saffir, Milton A. (b.1910), resume, circa 1943 |
| Box 4 | Folder 8 | Supplies, correspondence, lists, ordering, 1941-1945 |
| Box 4 | Folder 9 | Thanksgiving letter, undated |
| Box 4 | Folder 10 | Twenty-fifth anniversary, card, 1948 |
| Box 4 | Folder 11 | Uhlich Orphan Home, programs and publicity, 1933-1935, undated |
| Box 4 | Folder 12 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Across the River” Series, script no. 1:“1832 ‒ The Ferry,” 1939 March 22 |
| Box 4 | Folder 13 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Across the River” Series, script no. 2: “1833 ‒ Sauganash Tavern,” 1939 March 29 |
| Box 4 | Folder 14 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Across the River” Series, script no. 3:“1849 ‒ The Desplaines Flood,” 1939 April 5 |
| Box 4 | Folder 15 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Across the River” Series, script no. 4: The Rush Street Bridge,” 1939 April 12 |
| Box 4 | Folder 16 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Better Americans” Series, script no. 1: “A Business Letter,” 1939 January 12 |
| Box 4 | Folder 17 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Better Americans” Series, script no. 4: “Pa Drives a Car,” 1939 February 9 |
| Box 4 | Folder 18 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 1: “Steve Kowalsky,” undated |
| Box 4 | Folder 19 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 2:“Eddie Gordon,” 13 December 1938 |
| Box 4 | Folder 20 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 4 [no. 3]: “Lawrence Grey,” [1938] December 12 |
| Box 4 | Folder 21 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 4: “Sir Fowler,” 1939 January 3 |
| Box 4 | Folder 22 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 5: “George Novak and his Chicago Madonna,” 1939 January 3 |
| Box 4 | Folder 23 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 6: “Saved by a Handkerchief,” 1939 January 10 |
| Box 4 | Folder 24 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 7: “Abroad at Home,” 1939 January 17 |
| Box 5 | Folder 1 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 14: “Margery’s Room,” 1939 March 8 |
| Box 5 | Folder 2 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 18: “Decorating by the Secretary Inc.,” 1939 April 5 |
| Box 5 | Folder 3 | WPA Adult Education Program, “It Pays to Learn” Series, script no. 19: “Art for Paul’s Sake,” 1939 April 12 |
| Box 5 | Folder 4 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script #1: [Colonel John Stevens], undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 5 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script no. 3: “Minna Moscherosch Schmidt,” 1939 February 21 |
| Box 5 | Folder 6 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script no. 7: “Edmund Cartwright,” 1939 March 21 |
| Box 5 | Folder 7 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script no. 8: “Mary Schroeder,” 1939 March 28 |
| Box 5 | Folder 8 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script no. 9: “George Stephenson,” 1939 April 4 |
| Box 5 | Folder 9 | WPA Adult Education Program, “Those Adventurous Year” Series, script no. 10: “John James Audubon,” 1939 April 11 |
| Box 5 | Folder 10 | WPA Adult Education Program, miscellaneous, Radio Workshop script, “West Point and Benedict Arnold,” undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 11 | WPA Adult Education Program, miscellaneous, “The Story of Santa Claus,” undated |
Series 2: Bertha G. Lyons’s Self-Development Course, 1894-1954
Scope and Contents
Series 2 contains the lessons offered by the Juvenile Welfare Association. The entire curricular package was referred as the Self-Development Course, and the curriculum outline is in Box 5, Folder 12. The lessons are arranged in alphabetical order, (Box 5, Folder 22 to Box 7, Folder 59). The lesson titles reference positive personality traits (e.g. accuracy, carefulness, cheerfulness, punctuality and reliability); difficulties to be surmounted (e.g. arguing, doubt, fear, pessimism); and information these creator(s) presumed an educated person should know such as lists of well-known books or operas. A major component of the Self-Development Course was “Charm” lessons. A number of the self-development lessons were grouped together by Miss Lyons under the heading “Lessons on Character.” This heading has not been maintained in the cataloging as nearly all the lessons seem to refer to some aspect of character and it was unclear what Lyons' criteria were for separating some lessons by this distinction. All lessons are therefore interfiled.
Following the lessons themselves are materials apparently used by Lyons in constructing these lessons (Box 8, Folder 1 to Box 10, Folder 12). The Series also includes play scripts and short stories along with twenty-five pieces of popular sheet music and curricula from purveyors of self-help systems. Alma Archer’s course, “The Secrets of Smartness” (Box 8, Folders 1-9), may be the basis for Lyons’ course on “Chic.” Lessons 3 and 4 of the Margery Wilson Institute’s curriculum reappear very little modified in Lyons’ Self-Development lessons.
Arrangement
Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by topic.
| Box 5 | Folder 16 | Character aspects, pack of 52 cards, 1919 |
| Box 5 | Folder 12 | Curriculum (incomplete) [See also Folder 15], undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 13 | Introductory lecture, “What Self-development Will Do for You”, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 15 | Lesson index and outline [See also Folder 12], undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 14 | Lesson 1, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 22 | Lessons - Accuracy, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 23 | Lessons - Acting, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 24 | Lessons - Action, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 25 | Lessons - Adaptation, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 26 | Lessons - Ambition, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 27 | Lessons - Appearance, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 28 | Lessons - Arguing, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 29 | Lessons - Attention, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 30 | Lessons - Belief and Faith in Self, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 31 | Lessons - Best-known Opera List, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 32 | Lessons - Bragging, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 33 | Lessons - Bridge Lessons, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 34 | Lessons - Business (see also Work), undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 1 | Lessons - Cabbages or Gold?, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 2 | Lessons - Carefulness, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 3 | Lessons - Character Molding, ideas, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 4 | Lessons - Character Molding (curriculum list), undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 5 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 1, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 6 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 2, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 7 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 3, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 8 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 4, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 9 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 5, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 10 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 6, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 11 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 7, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 12 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 8, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 13 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 9, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 14 | Lessons - Charm, lesson 10, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 15 | Lessons - Charm, parts, I, II, and III, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 16 | Lessons - Charm questionnaire for students, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 17 | Lessons - Cheerfulness, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 18 | Lessons - Chic, introduction and lesson 1: Grooming the Body, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 19 | Lessons - Chic, lesson 2: First Impressions, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 20 | Lessons - Clearness of Thought and Expression, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 21 | Lessons - Compromise, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 22 | Lessons - Concentration, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 23 | Lessons - Confidence, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 24 | Lessons - Consideration of Others, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 25 | Lessons - Constructive Thought, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 26 | Lessons - Contentment, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 27 | Lessons - Contradictions and Interruptions, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 28 | Lessons - Conversation, lessons 1-4 and miscellaneous, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 29 | Lessons - Cooperation, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 30 | Lessons - Cosmic Consciousness, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 31 | Lessons - Courage, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 32 | Lessons - Courtesy, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 33 | Lessons - Criticism, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 34 | Lessons - Culture, lessons 1-5, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 35 | Lessons - Decision, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 36 | Lessons - Details, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 37 | Lessons - Diligence, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 38 | Lessons - Doing as Essential as Feeling, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 39 | Lessons - Doubt and Fear, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 40 | Lessons - Dramatic Art and Technique, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 41 | Lessons - Dress, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 42 | Lessons - Duty, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 43 | Lessons - Enthusiasm, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 44 | Lessons - Ethics, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 45 | Lessons - Etiquette for personal calling cards, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 46 | Lessons - Famous Painters List, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 47 | Lessons - Fifteen Minute Memory Course, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 48 | Lessons - Fifty of the World’s Famous Painters, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 49 | Lessons - Friendship, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 50 | Lessons - Gossip, undated |
| Box 6 | Folder 51 | Lessons - Grammar and vocabulary lists, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 1 | Lessons - Health and Cleanliness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 2 | Lessons - Home, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 3 | Lessons - Honesty, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 4 | Lessons - Honesty/Perseverance/Neatness, student quiz, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 5 | Lessons - How to Fascinate Men, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 6 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 1, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 7 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 2, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 8 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 3, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 9 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 4, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 10 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 5, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 11 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 6, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 12 | Lessons - How to Talk With Charm, lesson 7, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 13 | Lessons - Imagination, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 14 | Lessons - Initiative, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 15 | Lessons - Introductions, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 16 | Lessons - Letter Writing, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 17 | Lessons - Mannerisms, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 18 | Lessons - Manners, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 19 | Lessons - Memory, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 20 | Lessons - Mental Alertness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 21 | Lessons - Moral maxims, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 22 | Lessons - Mythology, list of gods, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 23 | Lessons - Naturalness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 24 | Lessons - Obedience, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 25 | Lessons - Observation, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 26 | Lessons - One Hundred Best Books (Sir John Lubbock’s list), undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 27 | Lessons - Opportunity, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 28 | Lessons - Originality, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 29 | Lessons - Overcoming Obstacles, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 30 | Lessons - Perseverance, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 31 | Lessons - Personality and Common Sense, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 32 | Lessons - Pessimism and Optimism, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 33 | Lessons - Planning and Concentration of Effort, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 34 | Lessons - Poise, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 35 | Lessons - Posture, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 36 | Lessons - Pronunciation, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 37 | Lessons - Psychology, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 38 | Lessons - Public Speaking, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 39 | Lessons - Punctuality, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 40 | Lessons - Reason, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 41 | Lessons - Reliability, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 42 | Lessons - Self-confidence, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 43 | Lessons - Sensitiveness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 44 | Lessons - Silent Reminders, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 45 | Lessons - Social Advancement, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 46 | Lessons - Study, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 47 | Lessons - Success, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 48 | Lessons - Suggestions, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 49 | Lessons - Table Manners, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 50 | Lessons - Tact, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 51 | Lessons - Team Work, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 52 | Lessons - Telephone Calling, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 53 | Lessons - Thoroughness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 54 | Lessons - Thoughtfulness, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 55 | Lessons - Thrift, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 56 | Lessons - Types of Humanity, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 57 | Lessons - Vocational Guidance, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 58 | Lessons - Women Dealing with Men, undated |
| Box 7 | Folder 59 | Lessons - Work and Business, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 1 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 3 and 4, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 2 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 5 and 6, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 3 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 7 and 8, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 4 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 9 and 10, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 5 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 11 and 12, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 6 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 13 and 14, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 7 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 15 and 16, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 8 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 17 and 18, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 9 | Lessons, outside - Archer, Alma, The Secrets of Smartness (fashion and appearance), lessons 19 and 20, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 10 | Lessons, outside - List, Irma, Bible Lessons, nos. 7, 10-61 (incomplete), circa 1950s |
| Box 8 | Folder 11 | Lessons, outside - List, Irma, God’s Message to You, circa 1950s |
| Box 8 | Folder 12 | Lessons, outside - Lyons, Bertha, notes taken at various lectures, undated |
| Box 8 | Folder 13 | Lessons, outside - Margery Wilson Institute, lesson 1: Cosmic Consciousness, 1933 |
| Box 8 | Folder 14 | Lessons, outside - Margery Wilson Institute, lesson 2: Enthusiasm, 1933 |
| Box 8 | Folder 15 | Lessons, outside - Margery Wilson Institute, lesson 3: Men, 1933 |
| Box 8 | Folder 16 | Lessons, outside - Margery Wilson Institute, lesson 4: The Unconscious Demand, 1933 |
| Box 8 | Folder 17 | Lessons, outside - Margery Wilson Institute, lesson 5: The Art of Compromise, 1933 |
| Box 8 | Folder 18 | Morris, Charles Dwight, correspondence, 1958-1962 |
| Box 8 | Folder 19 | Morris, Charles Dwight, Creative Thinking Through Concentration, books 1-3, 1945 |
| Box 9 | Folder 1 | Morris, Charles Dwight, Demonstration Through Mental Alchemy, 1942 |
| Box 9 | Folder 2 | Morris, Charles Dwight, Momentous Revelations, 1942 |
| Box 9 | Folder 3 | Morris, Charles Dwight, Success Attainment, 1942 |
| Box 9 | Folder 4 | Music Scores - The Chilcoot Maiden (Eleanor Freer), 1926 |
| Box 9 | Folder 5 | Music Scores - A China Tragedy (R. S. Hichens, Clayton Thomas), 1904 |
| Box 9 | Folder 6 | Music Scores - Com-pren-a-voo? (N. A. Jennings, John L. Golden), 1896 |
| Box 9 | Folder 7 | Music Scores - Dawning (Abner Silver, Maceo Pinkard), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 8 | Music Scores - Don’t Be What You Ain’t (Hobart, Royle and Hein), 1921 |
| Box 9 | Folder 9 | Music Scores - Hats (Lytton Cox), 1921 |
| Box 9 | Folder 10 | Music Scores - The Hours I Spent with You (Young and Lewis), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 11 | Music Scores - It All Depends on You (DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson), 1926 |
| Box 9 | Folder 12 | Music Scores - I’ve Got the Mumps (Irene Franklin, Burt Green), 1909 |
| Box 9 | Folder 13 | Music Scores - Japanese Love Song (Clayton Thomas), 1900 |
| Box 9 | Folder 14 | Music Scores - Laff It Off (Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby), 1924 |
| Box 9 | Folder 15 | Music Scores - A Lesson with the Fan (Guy d’Hardelot), 1898 |
| Box 9 | Folder 16 | Music Scores - The Legend of the Piper (Eleanor Freer, Josephine Peabody), 1922 |
| Box 9 | Folder 17 | Music Scores - Massimillian the Court Jester (Elia Peattie, Eleanor Freer), 1925 |
| Box 9 | Folder 18 | Music Scores - Mindin’ My Business (Gus Kahn, Walter Donaldson), 1923 |
| Box 9 | Folder 19 | Music Scores - Miss Annabelle Lee (Sidney Clare, Lew Pollack), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 20 | Music Scores - The Naughty Little Clock Song (Harry B. Smith, Reginald D Koven), 1899 |
| Box 9 | Folder 21 | Music Scores - The Song is Ended (Irving Berlin), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 22 | Music Scores - Speak Up, Ike, an’ ‘spress Yo’se’f (Paul L. Dunbar, Henry S. Sawyer), 1922 |
| Box 9 | Folder 23 | Music Scores - Star Dust (Lytton Cox), 1921 |
| Box 9 | Folder 24 | Music Scores - The Story Book Ball (Billie Montgomery, George Perry), 1917 |
| Box 9 | Folder 25 | Music Scores - There Must be Somebody Else (Archie Gottler), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 26 | Music Scores - The Tin Gee-gee (Fred Cape), 1894 |
| Box 9 | Folder 27 | Music Scores - To Victory (Just Rose), 1934 |
| Box 9 | Folder 28 | Music Scores - Together, We Two (Irving Berlin), 1927 |
| Box 9 | Folder 29 | Palmer Institute of Authorship, advertising brochures and mailings, 1946-1953, undated |
| Box 9 | Folder 30 | Palmer Institute of Authorship, correspondence, 1952-1953 |
| Box 9 | Folder 31 | Palmer Institute of Authorship, fiction course, lessons 1-5, 1951-1952 |
| Box 10 | Folder 1 | Play Scripts - “The Little Pink Lady,” undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 2 | Play Scripts - “The Magic Star,” undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 3 | Play Scripts - “Mary Cary” by Kate Langley Bosher (monologue), undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 4 | Play Scripts - “The Minuet,” undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 5 | Play Scripts - “My Maid on the Bamboo Screen” by Grace and William Boldenburg, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 6 | Play Scripts - “Our First Performance,” undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 7 | Play Scripts - unidentified, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 17 | Report of training, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 8 | Short story, “The Littlest Rebel” by Edward Peple, undated |
| Box 5 | Folder 18 | Student essays on charm, 1923 |
| Box 5 | Folder 19 | Student essays on self-development, 1924 |
| Box 5 | Folder 20 | Student essays on self-development, 1928 |
| Box 5 | Folder 21 | Student essays, 1954 May |
| Box 10 | Folder 9 | Whitaker, Claudine, Fundamentals of Divine Science, course, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 10 | Whitaker, Claudine, Laws of the Mind, course, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 11 | Whitaker, Claudine, lectures in Kimball Hall, Chicago, 1947-1950, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 12 | Whitaker, Claudine, Steps in Demonstration, course, undated |
Series 3: Self Development Course ‒ Recitations, undated
Scope and Contents
Bertha Lyons began her career as a monologist with the Western Lyceum Bureau. She never lost sight of the relationship between speaking well and being successful in life. Part of the Self-Development Course was learning how to speak, and the best way to learn anything is by practice. The recitations include not only large collections of “Children's,” “Dramatic” and “Humorous” readings, but also a host of ethnic dialects. The descriptions of the ethnic dialect recitations are as transcribed directly from the materials as used by Lyons.
Arrangement
Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by topic.
| Box 10 | Folder 13 | Backwoods dialect, A-M, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 14 | Backwoods dialect, N-Z, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 15 | Children’s, list, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 16 | Children’s, A, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 17 | Children’s, B, undated |
| Box 10 | Folder 18 | Children’s, C, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 1 | Children’s, D, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 2 | Children’s, E, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 3 | Children’s, F, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 4 | Children’s, G, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 5 | Children’s, H, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 6 | Children’s, I, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 7 | Children’s, J, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 8 | Children’s, K, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 9 | Children’s, L, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 10 | Children’s, M, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 11 | Children’s, N, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 12 | Children’s, O, undated |
| Box 11 | Folder 13 | Children’s, P, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 1 | Children’s, R, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 2 | Children’s, S, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 3 | Children’s, T-V, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 4 | Children’s, W, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 5 | Christmas, A-G, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 6 | Christmas, H-Z, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 7 | Dramatic, lists, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 8 | Dramatic, A, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 9 | Dramatic, B, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 10 | Dramatic, C, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 11 | Dramatic, D, undated |
| Box 12 | Folder 12 | Dramatic, E, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 1 | Dramatic, F, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 2 | Dramatic, H, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 3 | Dramatic, I-J, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 4 | Dramatic, K, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 5 | Dramatic, L, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 6 | Dramatic, M, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 7 | Dramatic, N, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 8 | Dramatic, O, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 9 | Dramatic, P, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 10 | Dramatic, R, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 11 | Dramatic, S, undated |
| Box 13 | Folder 12 | Dramatic, T, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 1 | Dramatic, V, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 2 | Dramatic, W, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 3 | Dutch dialect, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 4 | Easter, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 5 | English dialect, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 6 | Excerpts, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 7 | French dialect, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 8 | German dialect, A-K, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 9 | German dialect, L-Z, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 10 | Greek dialect, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 11 | Humorous, lists, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 12 | Humorous, A, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 13 | Humorous, B, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 14 | Humorous, C, undated |
| Box 14 | Folder 15 | Humorous, D, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 1 | Humorous, E, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 2 | Humorous, F, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 3 | Humorous, G, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 4 | Humorous, H, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 5 | Humorous, I, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 6 | Humorous, J, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 7 | Humorous, K, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 8 | Humorous, Lv, undated |
| Box 15 | Folder 9 | Humorous, Ma-Mi, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 1 | Humorous, Mo-My, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 2 | Humorous, N, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 3 | Humorous, O, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 4 | Humorous, P, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 5 | Humorous, R, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 6 | Humorous, S, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 7 | Humorous, T, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 8 | Humorous, U-V, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 9 | Humorous, W, undated |
| Box 16 | Folder 10 | Humorous, Y, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 1 | Irish dialect, A-K, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 2 | Irish dialect, L-Z, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 3 | Italian dialect, A-H, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 4 | Italian dialect, I-Z, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 5 | Jewish dialect, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 6 | Lincoln’s birthday, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 7 | Lists by dialect, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 8 | Lists by holiday, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 9 | Miscellaneous dialogs, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 10 | Miscellaneous dialogs, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 11 | Miscellaneous monologues, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 12 | Miscellaneous monologues, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 13 | Miscellaneous short stories, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 14 | Musical readings, A-H, undated |
| Box 17 | Folder 15 | Musical readings, I-Z, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 1 | Negro dialect, A-H, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 2 | Negro dialect, I-M, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 3 | Negro dialect, N-Z, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 4 | Scottish dialect, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 5 | Swedish dialect, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 6 | Thanksgiving Day, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 7 | Toasts, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 8 | Voice readings, lists, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 9 | Voice readings, A-K, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 10 | Voice readings, L-Z, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 11 | Washington’s Birthday, undated |
| Box 18 | Folder 12 | Weddings, undated |
Series 4: Bertha Lyons’ Personal Papers and Photographs, 1898-circa 1940, undated
Series 4 consists Bertha Lyons’s diploma from the Ross Conservatory of Music at Waterloo, Iowa and a selection of photographs, including portraits of Lyons.
Arrangement
The photographs in Series 4 are arranged by chronologically following the document.
| Box 18 | Folder 13 | Diploma, Ross Conservatory of Music, Waterloo, Iowa, 1914 June 19 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.2 | Bertha G. Lyons, 1898 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.3 | Bertha G. Lyons, with five children, 1898 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.4 | Bertha G. Lyons, circa 1906 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.5 | Bertha G. Lyons, graduation from Ross Conservatory of Music, Waterloo, Iowa, 1916 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.6 | Bertha G. Lyons, Waterloo, Iowa, circa 1916 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.1 | Juvenile Welfare Association, program (Girl Scout Troop 91?) circa 1940 |
| Box 19 | Photograph 1.7 | Bertha G. Lyons, undated |
