Organizing Clarenbach papers
I have spent the afternoon going over what we found in Kathryn “Kay” Clarenbach papers at the University of Wisconsin. She saved everything – including many cartoons. The above (uncited) cartoon was one of my favorites. Much of Clarenbach’s advocacy was about women’s employment issues.
We made hundreds of copies – so valuable that we had to carry them on the plane. I am beginning to divide the papers into possible articles. The first I am working on will trace the 15-years of the Wisconsin Commission on the Status of Women – Clarenbach was the long-term head of the group.
The organization is important because it was used as a model for other state commissions. It is also an interesting narrative. After many successful years, Gov. Dreyfus decided to eliminate the Commission. Clarenbach battled publically with the governor. Newspaper editorials supported the Commission – not what I had expected to find. The governor did decide to end the Commission’s run.
Part of this study will include examining her work with women’s page editors in Milwaukee and Madison.
