Finding Aid for the All Nations Church and Foundation records
0403
Finding aid prepared by Jane Adler, Clay Stalls
USC Libraries Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
28 March 2000
Title: All Nations Church and Foundation records
Collection number: 0403
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3.13 linear ft.
8 boxes
Date: 1925-1978 (bulk 1930s)
Abstract: The records contain correspondence; program plans and proposals; medical records and statistics; budgets and other financial
records; staff rosters; miscellaneous religious publications; newspaper clippings; brochures, and other publications describing
the work of All Nations; annual reports; committee reports, agendas, and minutes; and staff reports on activities. This collection
encompasses the years 1925-1978, with the bulk of the material dating frmo the decade of the 1930s.
creator:
All Nations Foundation (Los Angeles, Calif.).
creator:
Church of All Nations (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Historical note
All Nations, in its heyday the largest and most effective social welfare organization in Los Angeles, was begun in 1918 in
an east-central section of the city known as "Eastside." Immigration from Europe, Latin America, and Asia into Eastside, coupled
with the incursion of wholesale businesses there, led to the departure of the middle class residents of this formerly comfortable
community. Local churches, deprived of their original congregations, were dismayed at the prospect of serving this new, needy
immigrant population, but the City Missionary Society of the Methodist Church had been looking for just such a settlement
opportunity. It sent in a young pastor, Bromley Oxnam, fired with the church's social gospel doctrine to establish a church
settlement house in an abandoned church. The collection records the practical energy of Oxnam--later a Methodist bishop--as
he gathered donations, organized volunteers, bought land and buildings, equipped gymnasiums, playgrounds, libraries, and clinics
for a community where three-fourths of the families were on public assistance. His crowning work in developing the physical
facilities of All Nations was the acquisition of a complex of buildings at 810-816-824 E. Sixth Street, in 1927, just before
his resignation from All Nations on 1 July 1927 (Oxnam preached his farewell sermon at All Nations on 19 June 1927). Oxnam's
successor was the Reverend Robert A. McKibben, whose superior gifts as administrator, social worker, fund raiser, and collaborator
with other social welfare agencies, including the Federal and Los Angeles Relief Administrations, and the National Youth Administration,
ensured the continued success of All Nations.
Character building activities for the children, a vacation bible school, the library, and medical programs were critical services
in the work of All Nations. The last program consisted of a cadre of approximately fifty volunteer doctors, optometrists,
and dentists who served the destitute clients of All Nations. Especially noteworthy was All Nations' extraordinarily successful
Boys Club. In 1927, when acquiring its new facilities, the department working with boys became a Boys Club of America, with
some 950 members from thirty nationalities and fifteen religions. The Eastside had had the highest delinquency rate in the
city, but within the next three years this would drop by 65%. Deeply impressed by this aspect of All Nation's service to the
Eastside, an unknown donor funded a children's medical clinic at All Nations, even though the Depression battered the United
States. (This donor's name in his or her contacts with All Nations was "A. Donor"; see for example box 5, folder 4.) All Nations
also operated two other community centers: the Sunset Community Center at 1001-1005 Sunset Boulevard, and the Hollenbeck Heights
Social Center at 200 North St. Louis Street. These branches of All Nations concentrated on work with youths.
Reverend McKibben left All Nations in 1952, and was succeeded by James Mixon. The character of the Eastside had begun to change,
and by the 1960s new industrial development in the area and slum clearance had reduced the area's population. Such changes
led to questions about the usefulness of traditional settlement programs in this area; at the same time All Nations' principal
support began to come from the United Way and not the Methodist Church. All Nations, a monument to successful social work,
no longer exists.
All information in this history comes from material in the collection or from Robert McKibben, With The Master into the Heart
of the City: First Forty Years of All Nations Foundations ([S.l.] [s.n.], 1977?); the founding date of 1918 is provided by
Mark H. Wild in Street Meeting: Multiethnic Neighborhoods in Early Twentieth-Century Los Angeles (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2005).
Conditions Governing Use
The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archives
to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archives, and the researcher is instructed
to obtain permission to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections from the copyright holder.
Related Archival Materials
Robert A. McKibben Papers (McKibben's papers not related to All Nations); All Nations Church and Foundation photographs
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], All Nations Church and Foundation records, Collection no. 0403, California Social Welfare Archives,
Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for access.
Organization
This collection has been divided into four series, some with subseries: Programs; Administrative/Organizational Papers; Correspondence;
and Outside Agencies. The series are subject-based and generally have not been physically grouped together in the same container;
thus, the physical size of each series has not been identified, only the number of folders.
Scope and Content
The All Nations collection consists of two parts; the textual holdings described in this finding aid, and the photographic
collection described in a separate finding aid. Both parts of the collection are rich. The All Nations Church and Foundation
records consists of correspondence, including that of Robert A. McKibben; program plans and proposals; medical records and
statistics; budgets and other financial records; staff rosters; miscellaneous religious publications; newspaper clippings;
brochures and other publications describing the work of All Nations; annual reports; committee reports, agendas, and minutes;
and staff reports on activities. This collection encompasses the years 1925-1978, with the bulk of the material dating from
the decade of the 1930s; much less material exists for the following three decades, and nothing for All Nations' immediate
history before its demise.
Acquisition
Gift of James Blaine, former Director, All Nations Boys Club.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
All Nations Foundation (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
Church of All Nations (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
McKibben, Robert A., (Robert Anderson), 1895-1984 -- Archives
Methodist Episcopal Church. -- Archives
Brochures
Clinics--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Clippings
Correspondence
Financial records
Los Angeles (Calif.)--History--Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Minutes
Printed ephemera
Social history--Societies and clubs--Social aspects--Archival resources
Social service--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Administrative/Organizational Records
1925-1978
Scope and Contents note
10 folders. This collection comprises the miscellaneous papers and publications generated by All Nations; this includes All
Nations publications such as informational booklets and publicity brochures; staff applications; miscellaneous religious publications,
newspaper clippings, etc.
Box 1, Folder 11
Records
1925-1965
Scope and Contents note
Brochure, staff applications, clipping re death of Methodist bishop, supplies list, twentieth anniversary dinner in honor
of Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, pledge sheet; Methodist Missionary and Church Extension Society budget.
Box 2, Folder 6
Records
1932-1967
Scope and Contents note
Publications, publicity brochures, program reports, staff applications, correspondence, employment guidelines, Central LA
Area Budget Committee statement on finances re All Nations.
Box 2, Folder 7
Records
1932, 1935
Scope and Contents note
Publications re church work and social work, eg, "The Filipino Youth"; clipping re work of All Nations; "Special Surveys and
Studies Progress Reports #3, 4, and 5", for State Relief Administration.
Box 2, Folder 9
Records
1935
Scope and Contents note
Typewritten manuscripts of history of All Nations; agency description
Box 3, Folder 8
Records
1945-1946
Scope and Contents note
Radio scripts for public service program "One Way Street," with Robert McKibben commenting on social problems.
Box 3, Folder 13
Records
1964
Scope and Contents note
Booklet on All Nations Church and its work; All Nations Foundation program projection study.
Box 4, Folder 7
Records
1933
Scope and Contents note
Corr., reports on giving publicity plan campaign re publicity efforts for All Nations by the firm Tamblyn and Brown. See All
Nations Church and Foundation photographs, Centers and Community series, Box 1, Folder 5.
Box 6, Folder 2
Records
1930-1978
Scope and Contents note
Camp announcements publicity brochures; staff roster; Look Magazine offprint re All Nations Boys Club; certificate of appreciation;
vacation bible school children's newsletter; stationary certificate of appreciation
Box 6, Folder 3
Clippings
1938-1955
Scope and Contents note
Newspaper clippings re work of All Nations
Box 8, Folder 4-5
Historical material
1927-1978
Scope and Content
Miscellaneous historical material for 60th anniversary.
Box 8
Robert A. McKibben, "With the Master into the Heart of the City: First Forty Years of All Nations Foundation"
circa 1977
Scope and Content
McKibben's memoirs.
Correspondence
1929-1960
Scope and Contents note
8 folders. This series was created for outgoing and incoming correspondence not related to specific All Nations activities
or services, eg, the medical programs. Reverend Robert McKibben authored much of this correspondence, especially the letters
of thanks to donors, and the bulk of both his hand and the other correspondence is copies made for the record files of All
Nations.
Box 1, Folder 2
Correspondence
1929-1948
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, mostly copies of outgoing letters from Robert McKibben acknowledging donors' gifts.
Box 1, Folder 10
Correspondence
1928-1958
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence re All Nations business, eg, subsidy from Methodist Board of Home Missions and Church Extension.
Box 2, Folder 2
Correspondence
1929-1941
Scope and Contents note
Incoming and outgoing correspondence, with accompanying material, re Dr. Robert McKibben and All Nations business; various
studies on social problems bear handwritten last name of McKibben, indicating his ownership.
Box 2, Folder 3
Correspondence
1930-1941
Scope and Contents note
Reports for Dr. McKibben; outgoing and incoming correspondence re Dr. Robert McKibben (includes letters on Japanese immigration
quota bill); papers re All Nations and related matters, eg, Council of Social Agencies.
Box 3, Folder 1
Correspondence
1932-1960
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence re thank you letters to donors; letter from children at camps to their donors; All Nations certificates of
appreciation.
Box 3, Folder 2
Correspondence
1936-1940
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence between Robert McKibben and Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam, and between R. McKibben and Ruth Oxnam (the Bishop's wife);
copies of 1916 letters from Edwin Ryland to Oxnam, with article in "Methodist Mission Witness" re All Nations.
Box 3, Folder 3
Correspondence
1929-1942
Scope and Contents note
Incoming correspondence to Robert McKibben re All Nation matters, eg, property taxes; and re social causes, eg, child labor
law.
Box 3, Folder 6
Correspondence
undated
Scope and Contents note
Incoming correspondence to Robert McKibbben, especially re speaking engagements.
Box 8, Folder 1
Correspondence
1933-1976
Scope and Content
Correspondence between Bromley Oxnam and Robert McKibben regarding Founders' Dinner; general correspondence; programs for
Alpha Phi Delta banquet; clipping; Civitan Club of Los Angeles mailings; typescript photocopied histories of Methodist Hospital
and Goodwill Industries.
Outside Agencies
1929-1964
Scope and Contents note
14 folders. Subseries: Religious, Public, Private. All Nations' material from its extensive contacts with social welfare agencies,
public and private, secular and religious, is identified in the series "Outside Agencies", with the subseries "Religious",
"Public", and "Private" indicating the nature of these agencies. The subseries "Religious" includes the Los Angeles Missionary
and Church Extension Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist agency responsible for funding All Nations.
Material regarding All Nations' contacts with government agencies is found under the subseries "Public". Of special interest
is how this subseries documents the development of the Welfare State in the Depression, through such materials as correspondence
and federal forms from the National Youth Administration. the subseries "Private" identifies material concerning secular,
non-governmental social agencies, such as the Los Angeles Welfare Council.
Box 3, Folder 7
Records
1929-1936
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, reports, forms, minutes, agendas re committees: Study Committee of Methodist Agencies at All Nations; Committee
on Correlation [of Methodist Church]; Docket Committee... of Southern California Council of Religious Education.
Box 4, Folder 4
Records
1937-1939
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, testimonials of past members, report re Civitan Club (boys' club)
Box 2, Folder 5
Private agencies records
1945-1950
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, bulletins, memoranda from Los Angeles Welfare Council; All Nations statistical sheets re program budgets and
attendance; All Nations staff roster; All Nations budget analysis re financial requests to Welfare Council (some materials
mimeographed)
Box 2, Folder 8
Private agencies records
1960, 1964
Box 4, Folder 12
Private agencies records
1932-1939
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, brochures and booklets, dinner seating list, list of donor contributions re Boys Club of America; All Nations
Boys Club sale proposal, dinner program, correspondence; other boys clubs materials.
Box 2, Folder 1
Public agencies records
1935-1938
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, lists of dental appointments and needs for children, health reports and surveys re All Nations and work with
LA County Relief.
Box 2, Folder 4
Public agencies records
1936-1940
Scope and Contents note
Reports, correspondence, rosters of National Youth Administration workers, NYA forms and guidelines, personnel evaluation
re work and activities of NYA personnel with All Nations; NYA brochure and Q&A sheet; LA County NYA work project application
Box 4, Folder 1
Public agencies records
1945
Scope and Contents note
Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles memoranda re All Nations
Box 8
Margret Hirschfeld, "Neighborhood Centers: A Self-Study by 13 Community Chest Supported Settlement Houses in the Los Angeles
Area" (Program Division, Welfare Federation of Los Angeles Area)
1961 December
Box 8
"Los Angeles Communtiy Welfare Federation: Job Classification and Pay Plan"
1946 November 26
Box 3, Folder 4
Religious agencies records
1929-1940
Scope and Contents note
Los Angeles Missionary and Church Extension Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church correspondence and papers, mostly re
finances and budget of All Nations
Box 3, Folder 5
Religious agencies records
1946-1953
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, bulletin, planning committee minutes, proceedings re "Church Conference of Social Work"; Church Social Work
questionnaire; photocopies of articles in "The Methodist" re All Nations
Box 3, Folder 9
Religious agencies records
1938-1953
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, newsletter, conference schedules and information, constitution and by-laws, flyers, annual report re Association
of Church Social Workers.
Box 3, Folder 10
Religious agencies records
1952-1953
Scope and Contents note
Meeting minutes, correspondence, information sheet, statistical profile of case work, budget, flyer re Church Welfare Bureau
Box 3, Folder 11
Religious agencies records
1952
Scope and Contents note
Reports, papers, minutes of meetings re Department of Welfare, National Council of Churches.
Box 3, Folder 12
Religious agencies records
1953
Scope and Contents note
Flyer, program invitation (mimeographed) and invitation letter re Religious Education Association, Southern California Chapter.
Programs
1925-1961
Scope and Contents note
31 folders. Subseries: Neighborhood Centers, Clinics, Boys' Camp. The records of a number of All Nations programs for its
clientele of Los Angeles' Eastside are preserved in this collection. Hence, this series made up of program proposals, budgets
and financial statements, newspaper clippings, staff rosters, correspondence, committee reports, agendas, and minutes. The
All Nations Sunset and Hollenbeck youth centers play prominent roles in this series, and are accounted for in the subseries
"Neighborhood Center". The run of material on all Nations' dental, medical, and apotometrical clinics is identified by the
subseries "Clinics".
Box 1, Folder 1
Programs
1925-1931
Scope and Contents note
All Nations Library: book lists' lists of book fines and receipts for book fines, and list of books missing; list of books
borrowed and received by Library; correspondence with Los Angeles Public Library re payment of book fines.
Box 1, Folder 4
Programs
1925-1926
Scope and Contents note
Reports and strategic guidelines by Charles Thompson, Director of Boys Work re Boys Work program; paper for university class
by Charles Thompson.
Box 1, Folder 7
Programs
1927-1931
Scope and Contents note
Lesson plans, evaluation of students, itenary of trips, list of names and addresses, approaches to teaching for vacation bible
school (in notebook); loose instructional materials. Condition: pages brittle
Box 8, Folder 3
Programs
1927-1928
Scope and Content
Brochure, pamphlet on Boys' Club building.
Box 1, Folder 9
Programs
1928, 1932
Scope and Contents note
Announcements and registration, letter of support, financial report, general report re All Nations Vacation Bible School
Box 4, Folder 11
Programs
1927-1959
Scope and Contents note
Clipping and Rotary Club newsletter article, promotional booklets, correspondence, ephemera, list of cost of benefactions,
Christmas program re All Nations Boys Club; All Nations Boys Club 25th Anniversary speeches; other boys clubs materials.
Box 6, Folder 1
Programs
1927
Scope and Contents note
Ledger with schedules and All Nations leaders of activities for boys and girl clubs, gym, nursery, game room, etc.; includes
medical clinics' schedules, supervising doctors, and illnesses treated
Box 4, Folder 2
Clinics
1932-1933, 1939
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, roster of optometrics, reports from LA County Association of Optometrics on establishment and closure re All
Nations Optometry Department
Box 4, Folder 3
Clinics
1940
Scope and Contents note
Review of gynecology department of All Nations Clinic
Box 4, Folder 5
Clinics
1937-1939
Scope and Contents note
Statistical reports on dental case and patients; Los Angeles Record article on All Nations.
Box 4, Folder 6
Clinics
1934-1942
Scope and Contents note
Rosters of staff, department heads, committees, patient statistics re All Nations Clinics
Box 4, Folder 8
Clinics
1948-1957
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, agendas and accompanying annual reports re All Nations Clinic staff meetings; report on Adult Clinic by Welfare
Council of Los Angeles
Box 5, Folder 4
Clinics
1934
Scope and Contents note
Requisitions with reports and correspondence, audits, financial reports re Clinic funding; employee salaries report for LA
Community Welfare Federation; student application for work and Clinic
Box 5, Folder 5
Clinics
1934-1936
Scope and Contents note
Requisitions with reports and correspondence re Clinic funding; correspondence acknowledging receipt of requisition money;
correspondence re Clinic matters
Box 5, Folder 6
Clinics
1932-1936
Scope and Contents note
Budgets, requisitions with reports and correspondence re Clinic funding; correspondence and annual reports re work of Child
Welfare Clinic; correspondence with American Youth Commission re sponsorship; minutes of Child Clinic Board
Box 5, Folder 7
Clinics
1931-1932
Scope and Contents note
Disbursements account, monthly financial report, requisitions with budget and correspondence re Child Clinic; correspondence,
proposal re Falk Foundation funding; outgoing and incoming correspondence, report re Clinic; salary of student workers; minutes
of Child Clinic Board
Box 6, Folder 4
Clinics
1941-1944
Scope and Contents note
Certificates of appreciation awarded by Board of Trustees of All Nation Foundation to doctors and medical staff to Clinics;
dates of awards not contemporaneous with times of service
Box 4, Folder 9
Clinics
1934-1960
Scope and Contents note
Staff applications, staff roster, bulleting, newspaper clippings, annual reports re All Nations Clinic; survey of Clinic by
W.B. Brandt & Co.
Box 4, Folder 10
Clinics
1938-1942
Scope and Contents note
Minutes, agenda re All Nations Clinic staff and executive staff meetings Clinic staff and executive staff rosters; correspondence,
annual reports, patient information
Box 5, Folder 1
Clinics
1933-1939
Scope and Contents note
Booklets, budget, report, informational sheet re Clinic; report on Clinic: "A Case History of the Child Welfare Clinic" (3
copies). Dissertation examination program re Clinic (dissertation by E. Du Vall, Clinic director)
Box 5, Folder 2
Clinics
1931-1932
Scope and Contents note
Memoranda & proposal on Child Welfare Clinic; reports on progress of Child Welfare Clinic; roster of students working at Clinic;
clipping re Clinic donation; announcement re contest for social service project (won by All Nations)
Box 5, Folder 3
Clinics
1931-1952
Scope and Contents note
Social Service Prize contest report (from which funding received for Child Welfare Clinic); report on Clinic's guidance service;
Clinic Board minutes & statement of purpose; J. Blaine thesis on Clinic; various reports re Clinic
Boys' Camp
1935-1941, undated
Box 7, Folder 1
Boys' Camp
1935-1939
Scope and Contents note
Construction. Financial Estimates. Bids and changing estimates for the cost of constructing the camp, with donor information
Box 7, Folder 2
Boys' Camp
1938-1940
Scope and Contents note
Construction. Invoices. Bills for goods and services rendered in the creation of Boys' Camp.
Box 7, Folder 3
Boys' Camp
1935-1940
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence. Collection of letters with persons and public agencies concerning construction of the Big Pines camp.
Box 7, Folder 4
Boys' Camp
1941-
Scope and Contents note
Operations. A selection of reports on camp activities.
Box 7, Folder 5
Boys' Camp
1938-1939
Scope and Contents note
Pool & Tank Construction. Design, funding, and construction documents concerning the pool at Boys' Camp.
Box 7, Folder 6
Boys' Camp
undated
Scope and Contents note
Swimming Pool. WPA Equipment. Documenting the loans of WPA equipment for the building of structures at Big pines camp.
Box 7, Folder 7
Boys' Camp
1940-
Scope and Contents note
Newspaper clipping. Concerning activities at Boys' Camp.
Neighborhood Centers
1932-1961
Box 1, Folder 5
Neighborhood Centers
1933
Scope and Contents note
Report, correspondence (outgoing and incoming), schedules, staffing requirements, organizational chart and prgrams and equipment
needs (2 copies), report of initial meeting re opening and open house of Sunset Center
Box 1, Folder 6
Neighborhood Centers
1934, 1936
Scope and Contents note
Inventory, correspondence, information sheet, organization chart, newspaper clipping re Sunset Center; minutes of executive
board of Sunset Center; correspondence re opening of directorship (given to Fred Dobric).
Box 1, Folder 8
Neighborhood Centers
1932-1959
Scope and Contents note
Minutes, committee report, report by USC sociology professor for Council of Social Agencies, budget, re Hollenbeck Heights
Social Center; promotional letters re summer camps. See All Nations Church and Foundation photographs, Centers and Community--Neighborhood
Centers and Organizations, Box 1, Folder 3, and Box 3, Section 3 for images featuring the Hollenbeck Heights Social Center.
Box 1, Folder 3
Neighborhood Centers
1958-1961
Scope and Contents note
Brochure, promotional letter, summary reports and handwritten suggestions for All Nations by Mike Schutz; letter of recommendation
for Mike Schutz by Jean Green, Eastside Center
