| Dates: | 1929-1996 (bulk dates 1952-1996) |
| Size: | 4 linear feet, in 5 boxes, includes 48 photographs |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe-nhrc-coal |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | The Chicago Public Library acquired the collection in 1999 or 2000 when the organization disbanded. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Chicago Outdoor Art League Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library |
| Finding Aid Author: | Original author unknown, 2007 September. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2023. |
Abstract
The Chicago Outdoor Art League (COAL), founded in 1900, sponsored gardening programs; donated trees to local organizations, hospitals and schools; and offered art and music scholarships. The League worked frequently with schools in Chicago. It was affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs.
Biographical/Historical
The American Park and Outdoor Art Association was founded in 1897 and the Women’s Auxiliary formed in 1900. The Chicago Branch of this group became the Chicago Outdoor Art League (COAL) founded in 1900. They adopted the motto, “Leave the World More Beautiful Than You Found It,” and for almost a century sponsored gardening, beautification, and artistic programs in Chicago, the state of Illinois, and eventually nationwide.
The Chicago Outdoor Art League was a member of the Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs and received honors from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) for their charitable work with Chicago school children. From 1904 to 1960 COAL distributed flower and vegetable seeds to children for a nominal fee and sponsored school gardening shows with prizes. The group also promoted annual Arbor Day programs, donating many trees to Chicago schools.
The Chicago Outdoor Art League donated plants and made charitable contributions to many local organizations, hospitals and schools. These included the Chicago Public Schools, Jane Addams Hull House, Lighthouse for the Blind, Lincoln Park Zoo, Museum of Science and Industry, Shriners Crippled Children’s Hospital, and the West Town Community Art Center, among others. The league also regularly awarded art and music scholarships and paid for murals on the railroad embankment along Hubbard Street. These activities are documented in correspondence, news clippings, and COAL yearbooks.
In 1935, COAL voted to support the Garden Clubs of Illinois in building the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden in Springfield, designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen. Three years later COAL built a council ring with flagstones and a central fireplace: council rings are a characteristic element in Jensen landscapes. Both Jensen and sculptor Lorado Taft served on COAL advisory committees. Between 1954 and 1981 COAL sponsored the planting of tens of thousands of trees in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois.
The League’s charity extended nationwide in their contributions to gardens in Alaska, Redwoods preservation, and the restoration of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
The Chicago Outdoor Art League disbanded in 1999 or 2000.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains seven scrapbooks, six of which are disassembled and one that remains intact, some loose lying papers which had been glued [possibly into a scrapbook] at one time, yearbooks, and 48 individual photographs.
Scrapbooks A to F contain papers of the Chicago Outdoor Art League including correspondence, announcements, reports, histories, order forms, prize ribbons, photographs and news clippings. Date ranges for these scrapbooks are as follows:
- Scrapbook A, 1951-1956
- Scrapbook B, 1952
- Scrapbook C, 1935-1958
- Scrapbook D, 1952-1966
- Scrapbook E, 1955-1970
- Scrapbook F, 1966-1972
- Bound Scrapbook, 1943-1949
Bound Scrapbook, 1943-1949 contains no material related to the activities of COAL. The Flossmoor League of Women Voters presented it to longtime COAL member, Rose R. Murfrey, in 1943 and it contains material related to that organization along with family items added until 1949. The loose lying papers range from 1972 to 1995 and include the same types of materials in the scrapbooks. The COAL yearbooks span 1929 to 1996 but are not inclusive of all years. The photographs document COAL members and functions, such as school garden shows, and range from 1950 to 1966.
Histories of COAL can be found in Box 1, Folder 33; Box 1, Folder 55; Box 1, Folder 61; and Box 2, Folder 3.
Arrangement
The Chicago Outdoor Art League collection is arranged into three series:
- Series 1: Scrapbooks and Loose Lying Items, 1951-1996, undated
- Series 2: Yearbooks, 1929-1996
- Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1966, undated
Related Materials
- Associated Clubs of Woodlawn
- Northwest Federation of Improvement Clubs
- Ravenswood Manor Improvement Association Records
- Faith Rich Papers
Subject Headings
- American Park and Outdoor Art Association
- Chicago Outdoor Art League -- Archives
- Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs
- Jensen, Jens, 1860-1951
- Lincoln Memorial Garden (Ill.)
- Societies and clubs -- Illinois -- Chicago -- History
- Urban beautification -- Illinois -- Chicago -- History -- Sources
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Scrapbooks and Loose Lying Items, 1951-1996, undated
Scope and Contents
Series 1 contains six scrapbooks, a bound scrapbook and loose lying materials that were likely once part of scrapbooks related to Chicago Outdoor Art League activities. Scrapbook contents include announcements, correspondence, news clippings, newsletters, order forms, photographs and programs. With the exception of Scrapbook B, the other scrapbooks span a range of years and are roughly in chronological order beginning with Scrapbook A. All the scrapbooks, except for Scrapbook B, were taken apart and materials placed into folders that retained the original order. The loose lying materials were retained in the same roughly subject and chronological filing system that the materials arrived in. The Bound Scrapbook was dedicated to Rose R. Murfrey from the Flossmoor League of Women Voters and it includes Murfrey family items.
Arrangement
Series 1 is arranged alphabetically by the material type groupings of Scrapbooks, Bound Scrapbook and Loose Lying Items. The contents of each scrapbook are listed in the order of appearance and the loose lying material has been retained in its original order. The scrapbook designations of A-F are mostly chronological.
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Scrapbook A - leather cover, photocopy, circa 1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Scrapbook A - notes on activities and leaders, typescript, circa 1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Scrapbook A - news clippings on the organization and its activities, 1951-1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Scrapbook A - Chicago Public Schools, seed program order forms, 1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Scrapbook A - Chicago Public Schools, seed program, bulletin announcement, 1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Scrapbook A - letter of commendation from Governor Adlai Stevenson, 1952 March 28 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Scrapbook A - meetings and events, postcard announcements, 1951-1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Scrapbook A - map of the northern California coastline, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | Scrapbook B - typed report, program, news clippings, ribbons, photographs, 1952 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Scrapbook C - youth conservation programs, typescript, circa 1952-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Scrapbook C - “Outdoor Art League Gardening Program Wins National Award,” Chicago Daily Tribune, news clipping, 1954 July 23 |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Scrapbook C - prize ribbon awards, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Scrapbook C - Myra Bradwell School’s Parent Teachers Association floral show contest, news clippings, 1952, 1954-1955, 1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Scrapbook C - “Operation Green Thumb,” letters regarding Chicago schools, typescript, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Scrapbook C - seeds and seedlings, order forms, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | Scrapbook C - “Operation Green Thumb” correspondence with Chicago Board of Education, Archdiocese of Chicago School Board, Poe Elementary School, 1955-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | Scrapbook C - Mayfair Parent Teachers Association, Annual Garden & Hobby Show, information sheets, thank you card, 1954-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | Scrapbook C - Mayfair Parent Teachers Association, Annual Garden & Hobby Show, news clippings, 1954-1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | Scrapbook C - Flower and Garden Shows, entry forms and programs from William J. Onahan School, Gage Park, Joseph E. Gary School and James G. Blaine Elementary School, 1955-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | Scrapbook C - Frank W. Reilly Elementary School, announcement, program and thank you letter related to gift of trees, 1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 | Scrapbook C - Advisory Board service, letter from Thaddeus Lubera, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, 1954 August 16 |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 | Scrapbook C - seed packets [empty], undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 23 | Scrapbook C - General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), correspondence regarding seed program, 1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 24 | Scrapbook C - student artists and art scholarships sponsored by COAL, news clippings, 1953-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 25 | Scrapbook C - Christmas card designed by student artist winner, Conrad Fialkowski of Chicago Vocational High School, 1954 |
| Box 1 | Folder 26 | Scrapbook C - thank you letters regarding art scholarships from Hiroko Date, and James W. Crow, Director Chicago Vocational High School, 1955-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 27 | Scrapbook C - music scholarships sponsored by COAL, information, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 28 | Scrapbook C - COAL donations to non-profit organizations and hospitals, correspondence, 1954-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, booklet announcing plans for garden, Garden Club of Illinois, 1935 February 12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, newsletter, progress report with original planting plan drawn by Jens Jensen in 1936, circa 1951 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | · Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, “The Lincoln Memorial Garden,” by Mrs. Raymond Knotts, Garden Glories, 1957 January-February |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | · Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, “Lincoln Still Lives in Illinois,” Monsanto Magazine, 1958 February-March |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, “Jensen’s Vision,” [Garden Glories,] [1957 January-February] |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, notice, circa 1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, invitation to membership, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, news clippings, 1954 May 18, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Scrapbook C - Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden Foundation, “Garden Club Boosters Spread Native Trees,” The Christian Science Monitor, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 31 | Scrapbook C - Modern Living Exposition, Flower Show ticket, COAL entry form, 1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 32 | Scrapbook C - Modern Living Exposition, Flower Show ribbon, 1954-1955 |
| Box 1 | Folder 33 | Scrapbook C - COAL history extracted from annual yearbook, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 34 | Scrapbook C - COAL letterhead, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Scrapbook D - “Chicago Outdoor Art League Aids Youth,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1952 December |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | · Scrapbook D - “62nd Annual Convention,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1952 December |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Scrapbook D - “Second District Mrs. Griffith Bixby, President,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1952 December |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | · Scrapbook D - “Children Help Conservation in Illinois,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1953 May |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | · Scrapbook D - 62nd Annual General Federation of Women’s Clubs,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1953 May |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | · Scrapbook D - “Grant Park Lake Front, Chicago,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1953 May |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Scrapbook D - “How Does Your Garden Grow?,” General Federation Clubwoman, 1955 January |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Scrapbook D - “Leave the World More Beautiful Than You Found It,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1955 March |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | · Scrapbook D - “Lincoln Memorial Center Project Outlined by Mrs. Carl E. Woltmann, Conservation Chairman,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1955 March |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Scrapbook D - “The Chicago Outdoor Art League,” Illinois Clubwoman, 1958 March |
| Box 1 | Folder 36 | Scrapbook D - award certificate from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), 1952-1953 |
| Box 1 | Folder 37 | Scrapbook D - Chicago Park District Arbor Day Proclamation, April 2, 1957 [See also Box 4, Folder 1], correspondence, program, statement [speech?], student essay, news clippings, 1957, 1958 |
| Box 4 | Folder 1 | Scrapbook D - Chicago Park District Arbor Day Proclamation, April 2, 1957 correspondence, program, statement [speech?], student essay, news clippings, 1957-1958 |
| Box 1 | Folder 38 | Scrapbook D - seeds and seedlings, order forms and announcements, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 39 | Scrapbook D - seed sales program, Chicago Parent Teacher Associations form letters, 1957-1958 |
| Box 1 | Folder 40 | Scrapbook D - “Operation Green Thumb,” announcements, correspondence from Chicago Public Schools, 1956-1959 |
| Box 1 | Folder 41 | Scrapbook D - seed orders and donations, correspondence from the Chicago Metropolitan schools, 1956-1959 |
| Box 1 | Folder 42 | Scrapbook D - Veterans Administration Hines Hospital, Sarah Hackett Stevenson Memorial Home, donation correspondence, 1956-1957 |
| Box 1 | Folder 43 | Scrapbook D - Myra Bradwell School Garden Show, news clippings, 1957 |
| Box 4 | Folder 2 | Scrapbook D - Myra Bradwell School Garden Show, news clipping, [removed from Box 1, Folder 43], 1957 September |
| Box 1 | Folder 44 | Scrapbook D - Chicago Vocational High School, art scholarship letter, news clipping, 1957 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Scrapbook D - “Wild Flowers is Topic for Outdoor Art League,” Chicago Tribune, 1957 March 14 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | · Scrapbook D - “Dancer,” The Sunday Star, 1957 November 17 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Scrapbook D - “One of the Stars,” The Sunday Star, 1957 November 17 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | · Scrapbook D - “Art League Will Honor Ex-Teacher,” news clipping, 1963 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Scrapbook D - “They Help Alaska to Bloom,” Chicago Tribune, 1966 July 23 |
| Box 1 | Folder 46 | Scrapbook D - tree sales, announcements,1959 |
| Box 1 | Folder 47 | Scrapbook D - Wayfarer’s Chapel, Portuguese Bend, California, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, postcard, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 48 | Scrapbook E - Officers and Directors, roster extracted from yearbook, 1955-1956 |
| Box 1 | Folder 49 | Scrapbook E - “Art League Fights Litter”, news clipping, 1958 April 17 |
| Box 1 | Folder 50 | Scrapbook E - Invitations, includes Pink Lustre Tea,” “Gala Spring Luncheon,” “Conservation Day,” “Indian Friendship Day,” “Card Party” and other holiday parties and outdoor commemorations, 1960-1966 |
| Box 1 | Folder 51 | Scrapbook E - meeting announcements and news mailings, 1962-1966 |
| Box 1 | Folder 52 | Scrapbook E - Veterans Administration Hines Hospital, American Indian Center and Young Women’s Christian Association of Chicago, donation correspondence, 1961-1962 |
| Box 1 | Folder 52 | Scrapbook E - letter from newly appointed District President, Mrs. Cyril H. Brown, to Mrs. Henry C. Schorr outgoing District President, 1965 April 25 |
| Box 1 | Folder 53 | Scrapbook E - Honorary Board of Directors, list, 1963-1970 |
| Box 1 | Folder 54 | Scrapbook E - Japan Airlines, mountain illustration, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 55 | Scrapbook E - COAL history, typescript, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 56 | Scrapbook E - Chicago Park District, 13th Annual Grant Park Arbor Day Observance, program, 1968 April 26 |
| Box 1 | Folder 57 | Scrapbook F - scrapbook label [reads 1965-1972] and illustration clipping, 1965-1972 |
| Box 1 | Folder 58 | Scrapbook F - “Club Receives Gifts of Art,” Union League Men and Events, vol. XLII, no. 4, 1966 April |
| Box 1 | Folder 59 | Scrapbook F - meeting announcements and news mailings, 1966-1972 |
| Box 1 | Folder 60 | Scrapbook F - club meeting programs, including the “My Fair Ladies” luncheon, 1968 April |
| Box 1 | Folder 61 | Scrapbook F - “History of the Chicago Outdoor Art League,” by Helen Brown, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 62 | Scrapbook F - correspondence relating to club activities, 1968-1971 |
| Box 1 | Folder 63 | Scrapbook F - billboards issue, news clippings 1968 |
| Box 1 | Folder 64 | Scrapbook F - Clark, Mrs. Myrtle Dean, obituary and tribute by Helen Brown, 1967 July 7, 1972 February 15 |
| Box 4 | Folder 3 | Bound Scrapbook - scrapbook dedicated to COAL member, Rose R. Murfrey, presented by the Flossmoor League of Women Voters, May 4, 1943, includes Murfrey family items, 1943-1949 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Loose Lying Items - review of activities, 1972-1973 |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Loose Lying Items - funeral card, eulogy, card [place card?], notes from members, 1976-1986 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | Loose Lying Items - MacKinlay, Alice, 101st birthday, news clippings, 1974 October 3, circa 1985 |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | Loose Lying Items - Rainbow Division, circular letter, 1975 |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | Loose Lying Items - account ledgers, 1976-1977 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | Loose Lying Items - meetings, programs and activities, newsletters and mailings, 1976-1989 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | Loose Lying Items - meetings, programs and proposed program agendas, 1976-1995 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | Loose Lying Items - by-laws, drafts, 1977 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | Loose Lying Items - meeting minutes, 1980-1981 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | Loose Lying Items - Community Improvement Program, application and Citation of Achievement award, 1980-1982 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | Loose Lying Items - news clippings, potential recipients of COAL donations, 1989-1981, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 11 | Loose Lying Items - donation correspondence to schools, hospitals, churches and public television, 1980-1986 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Loose Lying Items - Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs, Past President’s Club, yearbook 1980-1982 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Loose Lying Items - Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs, dues notice, 1991 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Loose Lying Items - Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs, annual spring luncheon announcement, 1994 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Loose Lying Items - Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs, note from program chairman, Mrs. James R. Bryant, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Loose Lying Items - history of COAL: “Leave the World More Beautiful Than You Found It,” by Ellen Lanyon, published in Heresies, no.13 vol. 4, no.1, 1981 |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Loose Lying Items - history of COAL: “The Chicago Outdoor Art League - 80 Years of Ecology,” by Ellen Lanyon, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Loose Lying Items - history of COAL by Ellen Lanyon, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Loose Lying Items - history of COAL, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 14 | Loose Lying Items - President’s Annual Report, 1981-1982, meeting minutes, 1982-1984 |
| Box 2 | Folder 15 | Loose Lying Items - expenditure invoices, 1981, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 16 | Loose Lying Items - membership outings, catering menus, information, 1982 |
| Box 2 | Folder 17 | Loose Lying Items - news clippings on topics of interest to COAL, 1982, 1993, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 18 | Loose Lying Items - meetings, programs and activities, newsletters and mailings, 1990-1996 |
| Box 2 | Folder 19 | Loose Lying Items - donation correspondence to social agencies, charitable organizations and City of Chicago’s Department of the Environment, 1992-1995 |
| Box 2 | Folder 20 | Loose Lying Items - blank membership cards, undated |
Series 2: Yearbooks, 1929-1996
Scope and Contents
Series 2 contains the COAL’s annual yearbook publications that contain the organization’s by-laws, history, lists of directors and members and summaries of their programs.
Arrangement
Series 2 is arranged chronologically.
| Box 3 | Folder 1 | Yearbook, 1929-1930 |
| Box 3 | Folder 2 | Yearbook, 1951-1952 |
| Box 3 | Folder 3 | Yearbook, 1960-1961 |
| Box 3 | Folder 4 | Yearbook, 1969-1970 |
| Box 3 | Folder 5 | Yearbook (2 copies), 1970-1971 |
| Box 3 | Folder 6 | Yearbook (2 copies), 1971-1972 |
| Box 3 | Folder 7 | Yearbook, 1972-1973 |
| Box 3 | Folder 8 | Yearbook, 1973-1974 |
| Box 3 | Folder 9 | Yearbook, 1974-1975 |
| Box 3 | Folder 10 | Yearbook, 1975-1976 |
| Box 3 | Folder 11 | Yearbook, 1976-1977 |
| Box 3 | Folder 12 | Yearbook, 1977-1978 |
| Box 3 | Folder 13 | Yearbook, 1978-1979 |
| Box 3 | Folder 14 | Yearbook, 1980-1981 |
| Box 3 | Folder 15 | Yearbook, 1981-1982 |
| Box 3 | Folder 16 | Yearbook, 1982-1983 |
| Box 3 | Folder 17 | Yearbook, 1984 April 17- 1986 April 15 |
| Box 3 | Folder 18 | Yearbook (2 copies), 1986-1987 |
| Box 3 | Folder 19 | Yearbook (2 copies), 1987-1988 |
| Box 3 | Folder 20 | Yearbook, 1990-1991 |
| Box 3 | Folder 21 | Yearbook, 1991-1992 |
| Box 3 | Folder 22 | Yearbook, 1992-1993 |
| Box 3 | Folder 23 | Yearbook, 1993-1994 |
| Box 3 | Folder 24 | Yearbook, 1995-1996 |
Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1966, undated
Scope and Contents
The photographs in Series 3 were found lying loose and they were likely once stuck into a scrapbook. Most of the photographs show children working in gardens, or at flower and garden shows. COAL was involved with establishing Victory Gardens during the Second World War in various schools and at least one image (Photograph 1.30) is of that time. The other photographs, mostly undated, appear to be of Victory Gardens but could also be of later gardens, organized by COAL in the post war years.
Arrangement
Series 3 is arranged chronologically with undated items at the end. The number of images with the same description is indicated in parentheses. Additional photographs can be found in the scrapbooks.
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.1 | Unidentified school, exterior, 1950 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.2 | School children planting tree at unidentified school, exterior, 1950 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.3 | Dedication of tree, unidentified school, 1950 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.4 | Planted tree, exterior of unidentified school, 1950 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.5 | Michael M. Byrne School, students planting irises, 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.6 | Children tending unidentified garden, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photographs 1.7-1.8 | Flower and Garden Show, students at unidentified school, interior (2), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photographs 1.9-1.10 | Children tending unidentified garden (2), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.11 | Children harvesting vegetables, unidentified garden, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.12 | Flower and Garden Show, student receiving award at unidentified school, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photographs 1.13-1.15 | Flower and Garden Show, students at unidentified school (3), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.16 | Children tending unidentified garden, unidentified school, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.17, 1.20, 1.22, 1.24, 1.29 | Children tending unidentified garden (5), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.18 | Child with flowers in unidentified garden, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photographs 1.19, 1.21 | Child holding vegetables in unidentified garden (2), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.23, 1.26-1.28 | Child in unidentified garden (4), circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.25 | Adult and child tending unidentified garden, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.30 | Victory Garden display, Wadsworth School in Jackson Park, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.31 | Garden Show display, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.32 | Flower and Garden Show, display, circa 1952 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.33 | Flower and Garden Show, display in unidentified school, [with COAL members as judges?] 1953 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.34, 1.37-1.29 | Flower and Garden Show, students of Michael M. Byrne School [with COAL member as judge?] (4), 1953 |
| Box 5 | Postcard 1.35 | Illinois State Conservation Training Camp, Lake Villa, Illinois, postcard, circa 1955 |
| Box 5 | Postcard 1.36 | Illinois State Conservation Training Camp, Lake Villa, Illinois, postcard, circa 1955 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.40 | COAL President, Helen Brown and retiring President, Elena Schorr at Grant Park Arbor Day, 1963 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.41 | COAL President, Elena Schorr, Dr. Schorr, Mrs. Llewellyn, Mrs. Donahue, Mrs. Lanyon and unidentified guests at [50th anniversary?] tea, 1963 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.42 | COAL members and Allerton Park Art School winner (2 copies), 1963 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.43 | Presentation of Epperly painting to be given to General Franco of Spain, Sr. Villenuevos, Consul General of Spain, niece, and Sr. Lew, Consul of Panama, 1966 |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.44 | Woman tending unidentified garden, undated |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.45 | COAL members with Mayor Richard J. Daley, undated |
| Box 5 | Photographs 1.46, 1.48 | Flower and Garden Show, McKay School student (2), undated |
| Box 5 | Photograph 1.47 | Flower and Garden Show, COAL members at McKay School, undated |
