Processed by
Wilma L. Gibbs
13 September 2002
Updated 9 March 2004
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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1 folder |
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COLLECTION |
1937 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Eardie Harwell, 5265 Broadway St., Indianapolis, IN 46220 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
Flanner House Collection (M 0513); Walter Maddux Papers (M 0510). |
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ACCESSION |
2002.0313 |
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NOTES: |
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The Flanner Guild (later Flanner House) was founded in Indianapolis in 1898. It was established to help alleviate the stress of a black, rural, and migrant population moving to the urban North from Kentucky, Tennessee, and other southern states. The institution developed various self-help programs to respond to the health, social, and educational needs of its clients.
By the late 1930s, with the coming of Cleo Blackburn as superintendent, Flanner House honed the work of many of its departments. In addition to Educational, Social Services, and Employment departments, the agency boasted a Children’s Division that operated a daycare center. Vocational training became an important part of the Education Department. Many of the classes trained potential house maids and domestics how to use electric stoves and refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners. The training program offered several classes in cooking, maid craft, homemaking, sewing, laundering, and woodwork.
The Flanner House Laundry School started in 1923. The following quote from Flanner House literature described the school: “this school, realizing that the day of the washboard laundress in urban centers is past, trains women with modern equipment, materials and methods required for high class work. Nominal pay encourages them to acquire a skill facilitating employment.”
Sources:
Materials in the collection.
Cleo Blackburn, The Indianapolis Study: Flanner House, 1939, in the Walter Maddux Papers, M 0510, Box 2, Folder 9.
Black History Program vertical files: Flanner House folder.
The collection consists of one folder. It contains instructions prepared by Maybelle King of the Flanner House Laundry School.. The seven sheets instruct students on the correct method for washing silk stockings and corsets. There is background information on the use of hard and soft water for laundering purposes, and a detailed description of the groups of stains (animal, vegetable, and mineral) and methods for removing them. The instructions also include a discussion of caring for various fabrics—cotton, linen, wool, and rayon.
One sheet prepared by L. Ray Baldersten provides directions for ironing shirts and specific hints for washing woolens.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Flanner House Laundry School Instructions |
Folder 1 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 2692).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.