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Paperback Details
  • 12/2023
  • 9798864903285 B0CNPSD7PX
  • 220 pages
  • $14.99
Caroline Arnold
Author, Illustrator
Settlement House Girl: Growing up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota/ISBN 9798864903285

Adult; Memoir; (Market)

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. 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.
Reviews
Arnold tells the compelling story of a 1950s childhood spent in the North East Neighborhood House (NENH) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Offering vital services like “child care, job training, medical and dental care,” and classes in English and citizenship, settlement houses, Arnold notes, emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help recent immigrants transition to American life. Arnold’s social-worker family moved to the NENH in 1948 when her father became its director. Through vivid recollections and much clarifying historical context, the author paints a picture of life among a diverse community. Her memories range from being a flower girl at a neighbor’s wedding, taking her first train ride, making prank phone calls with friends, to first trying that “exotic foreign food,” pizza.

Arnold’s detailed descriptions of NENH life include charming anecdotes, such as going skating with friends in winter, only to later realize that the sweet liquid given to them by a friend’s grandmother to keep them warm was actually brandy. Arnold also pens a touching paean to her stamp collection, and she fondly recalls her summers at Camp Bovey—a northern Wisconsin escape for NENH children—where she progressed from camper to kitchen aide, crafts counselor, and finally cabin counselor. Moreover, her transition from living in a settlement house to moving to her family’s own house offers insight into how challenging it is for children to uproot themselves from a community and start again.

Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment.

Takeaway: Touching, informative account of life in a Minneapolis settlement house in the 1950s.

Comparable Titles: Ellen Snyder-Grenier’s The House on Henry Street, Jane Addams’s Twenty Years at Hull House.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

BlueInk Review

Pulled from her remarkable memory but supplemented by research, the book captures the unique settlement house lifestyle....

Part memoir and part time capsule, the author's recollections are supplemented by photographs, letters, journal entries, and newspaper clippings. Endnotes provide even more personal insight, all resulting in an enjoyable encapsulation of one family's experiences as the settlement facility transitioned into modernity.

Highly recommended for fans of Jennifer Worth's Call the Midwife trilogy

Formats
Paperback Details
  • 12/2023
  • 9798864903285 B0CNPSD7PX
  • 220 pages
  • $14.99
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