Houghton and Portage Township Recreation Report

Collection — sc_box: 6, Folder: 7

Identifier: MS-957

Staff Only

Collection Scope and Content Summary

Report and recommendations, 1949, regarding public recreation facilities in Portage Township and Houghton, Michigan. The report outlines such considerations as property and buildings owned by local schools, proposed programs to encourage fitness and self-fulfillment, and opinions of area students on their goals for such facilities. As a whole, the document illustrates citizen engagement in civic issues, youth recreational interests in the late 1940s, and the facilities available locally at that time.

Dates

1949

Language of Material

English

Access

Available for use in the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Various copying restrictions apply. Guidelines are available from Michigan Technological University Archives & Copper Country Historical Collections.

Historical Note

In early 1949, the Houghton Association of Commerce appointed a group of local citizens to a committee for the purpose of studying and improving recreation options available to youth in the City of Houghton and the outlying Portage Township. Committee members represented a range of interests and backgrounds: among those participating were faculty members of the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, wives of professors at that same institution, business leaders, and clergy. At their behest, William G. Robinson, Assistant in Community Organization at the Extension Service of the University of Michigan, conducted a survey of local facilities and student interests to prepare a report and recommendations for improvements; the report was completed in May 1949.