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Schmidt (Walter E., S.J.) & the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village Collection
MSS.1989.03.08
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Archives & Special Collections, Santa Clara University Library
Title: Walter E. Schmidt, S.J. & the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village Collection
creator:
Santa Clara University (Calif.)
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.1989.03.08
Physical Description:
15 linear feet
(25 boxes, 5 items)
Date (inclusive): 1944-2009 (bulk 1944-1974)
Abstract: The Walter E. Schmidt, S.J. & the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village Collection, 1944-2009 (bulk 1944-1974), documents the activities
of Father Schmidt and the participants of the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village. Started by a handful of youth in 1944, the
Santa Clara Valley Youth Village was created as a response to what city officials deemed a rise in juvenile delinquency during
wartime. After two brief stints by others in leadership roles, Father Schmidt was appointed director in December 1944, a position
he held until the organization was dismantled forty-one years later. The records consist of founding documents, meeting minutes,
membership lists and correspondence; fundraising and publicity materials; scrapbooks with photographs and ephemera from Youth
Village events and celebrity visits; and writings about Youth Village, Father Schmidt and juvenile delinquency. Documentation
of various athletic programs affiliated with Youth Village is also included, with more extensive coverage of the world renowned
track and field and gymnastics clubs. There are also materials documenting Father Schmidt’s life and the honors bestowed upon
him. This collection is arranged into three series: Series I: Youth Village, 1944-1988, & undated; Series II: Walter Schmidt,
S.J. Life & Honors, 1947-2009, & undated; and Series III: Audiovisual Materials, 1953-1974, & undated.
Physical Location: This collection is located in Santa Clara University Library's Archives & Special Collections.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Audiovisual materials are not available for playback at this time. Access to fragile materials may be subject to review by
the University Archivist.
Materials in Archives & Special Collections may be subject to copyright. All requests for permission to publish from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the University Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Archives & Special
Collections as the owner of the physical materials, and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder,
which must also be obtained. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials.
Walter E. Schmidt, S.J. & the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village Collection, 1944-2009 (bulk 1944-1974), MSS.1989.03.08, Santa
Clara University Library, Archives & Special Collections.
Collection processed and encoded by Shannon Hartman in 2015. Reviewed by Erin Louthen. Additional descriptive information
added by Mia Hope in 2018.
Born in San Francisco in 1911, Walter Schmidt, S.J. was the only child of Swiss immigrant parents. After graduating from St.
Ignatius High School, he worked at the Bank of Italy and attended the University of San Francisco at night. Schmidt joined
the Society of Jesus in 1929 and was ordained in 1941. He earned his A.B. and M.A. in psychology from Gonzaga University and
spent two years at St. Ignatius High School, where he taught Latin and algebra, organized the band and glee club and coached
baseball and swimming.
Upon receiving his S.T.L. from Santa Clara University in 1942, Father Schmidt joined the faculty and taught theology. He assumed
a succession of key administrative posts at Santa Clara University including Dean of Men, Director of Community Relations,
Vice President for University Relations, Assistant to the President and Senior Vice President. As a member of the university’s
Board of Trustees for 15 years, he was active in the founding and development of the Board of Regents and the Board of Fellows.
He was the co-founder and coordinator of the Golden Circle Theatre Party, an annual fundraising event which brought numerous
Hollywood actors to Santa Clara.
Father Schmidt is best known for his work with the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village, or the Wutzit Club as it was originally
named. Started by a handful of youth in 1944, the Wutzit Club was a response to what city officials deemed a rise in juvenile
delinquency during wartime. Father Schmidt spoke often on this topic, an epidemic he believed was due to shifting family dynamics
during the war that led women to the workplace and left many homes without a patriarch as head of household.
When he took charge of the Wutzit Club in 1944, Father Schmidt established an assortment of youth recreational programs. Youth
Village programming included a glee club, weekly radio broadcasts, a dramatic society, a sports program and a club newspaper.
The club offered classes in art, dance, photography, sculpture, woodwork and radio repair. It also sponsored three dances
a week and a variety of civic projects. By 1947, the club had 1,000 members. By 1956, when the new Santa Clara Valley Youth
Village facilities opened, membership had climbed to 4,000. As a result, Father Schmidt won acclaim for sharply reducing juvenile
delinquency in Santa Clara. The Youth Village was well known for producing world class athletes. From track and field to boxing,
swimming to gymnastics, the programs set many world and U.S. records. Between 1956 and 1968, 16 Youth Village athletes made
U.S. Olympic teams, garnering five medals. Father Schmidt himself served as chaplain for the U.S. team twice.
In the late 1960s, the Youth Village redirected its activities. It dropped some programs, such as track and field, and added
others. It built a Little League baseball field and a gymnasium for the Santa Clara Valley Gymnastics Club. It also began
to service different age groups, including seniors. In 1985, the Santa Clara Youth Village facility was sold, and the proceeds
were used to establish a Santa Clara University scholarship in Father Schmidt’s name. Father Schmidt died April 10, 1988.
In 2005, Wutzit Club alumni succeeded in their lobbying efforts to name a newly created youth center in his honor, the Walter
E. Schmidt Youth Activity Center in Santa Clara, California.
Bibliography
Paluzzi, Suzy. “The Wutzit Club Alumni Reunion.”
The Santa Clara Weekly, November 25, 2009. Web. (Accessed Nov. 2, 2015)
Father Schmidt and the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village: 50 Years a Jesuit, circa 1989. Print.
Note: This biographical note consists of excerpts taken verbatim or paraphrased from the
Father Schmidt and the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village: 50 Years a Jesuit, pamphlet.
Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating
institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original
21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank
until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law
were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and
Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty
tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence
halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the
undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for
generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.
Bibliography
Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)
McKevitt, Gerald, S.J.
The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I: Youth Village, 1944-1988, & undated; Series II: Walter Schmidt, S.J.
Life & Honors, 1947-2009, & undated; and Series III: Audiovisual Materials, 1953-1974, & undated.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Walter E. Schmidt, S.J. & the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village Collection, 1944-2009 (bulk 1944-1974), documents the activities
of Father Schmidt and participants of the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village from its inception in 1944 to its closure in 1985.
The records consist of founding documents, meeting minutes, membership lists and correspondence; fundraising and publicity
materials; scrapbooks with photographs and ephemera from Youth Village events and celebrity visits; and writings about Youth
Village, Father Schmidt and juvenile delinquency. Documentation of various athletic programs affiliated with Youth Village
is also included, with more extensive coverage of the world renowned track and field and gymnastics clubs. There are also
materials documenting Father Schmidt’s life and the honors bestowed upon him.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Youth centers -- 20th century
Youth -- Recreation -- 20th century
Santa Clara College (Calif.)
University of Santa Clara (Calif.)
Santa Clara Valley Youth Village
Schmidt, Walter E.