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by Caroline Scheaffer Arnold (Author)
Settlement House Girl chronicles author Caroline Arnold's childhood at North East Neighborhood House in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as she interacted and shared meals with other settlement house residents, participated in clubs, sports and community activities, and observed the roles of the staff and her social worker parents. It is an inside view of a working settlement house in the 1950s. The 38 chapters of the book range from her first days at the NENH nursery school, to after-school clubs and community holiday celebrations at the settlement, family and school life, and summers at Camp Bovey, the NENH camp in Wisconsin.
North East Neighborhood House, founded in 1915, was part of the settlement house movement that began in England in 1884 and was brought to the US by people like Jane Addams at Hull House in Chicago. Settlement houses, often called neighborhood houses, provided social services in immigrant and poor urban neighborhoods. Activities were led by volunteers who came from other parts of the city and by staff members who lived at the settlement house.
Caroline's father, Les Scheaffer, was the NENH director from 1948 to 1966. Few families lived in settlement houses as theirs did and they were one of the last. By the 1950s, the tradition of social workers living in settlement houses was coming to an end. When Caroline's family moved out, it was the end of an era.
The stories in this book will spark memories in adults who grew up in the same time period, whether in Minneapolis or elsewhere. Librarians and teachers who know Caroline Arnold's books for children will find clues to her future life as a writer and illustrator. This book will appeal to those interested in the role of settlement houses in urban neighborhoods at mid-century and in the history of social reform movements. This book is a window onto a time when settlement houses were in transition from their roots in immigrant communities at the turn of the 20th century to becoming today's modern social service agencies. What began as Northeast Neighborhood House more than 100 years ago, continues as East Side Neighborhood Services, and is still serving the needs of people in Northeast and East Minneapolis.
Caroline's childhood at North East Neighborhood House provides a unique perspective on the role settlement houses have played in our social history.
