ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

In September 1963, Mrs. George (Beth) Kilgore attended a meeting at her church and heard Dr. Frank Laubach speak of the literacy method he was developing called "Each One Teach One." Deeply moved by his presentation, she sought aid from other local literacy associations and organized a training workshop for Montgomery County tutors. On December 10, 1963, the first meeting of the Montgomery Literacy Council was held, with representatives of community action groups and other interested citizens present. Mrs. Kilgore was elected president, and the association was organized on a plan she adapted from the Texas Literacy Council.

The Executive Board of the Council consisted of the elected officers, area chairmen, and teacher trainers, and met monthly to plan programs and conduct business. Advisory Board members came from other County agencies and organizations, both governmental and civic, and helped to promote Montgomery County Literacy Council programs and recruit students and teachers. The area chairmen, who were responsible for their own geographical region, assigned students to teachers and channeled reports to the Executive Board. After much experimentation, Mrs. Kilgore established a sophisticated office system for routine administrative tasks, for tracking students through reports, and for compiling statistics. Newsletters were regularly produced, and a Writer's Group put together another newsletter in simple English for the students. The Speakers' Bureau provided speakers to other organizations. The organization changed its name to the Literacy Council of Montgomery County (LCMC) in 1965 and was incorporated in 1967.

The LCMC grew steadily. It first operated out of Mrs. Kilgore's home and relied on volunteers, donations, and a patchwork of donated and in-kind services. By 1988, the Council had its own full-time office and staff. From the first, the LCMC had organized workshops and conducted wide-ranging publicity campaigns in order to reach the illiterate citizens of Montgomery County. Believing that "the basic tools of reading and writing are vital not only to employment opportunities, but also to an expanding life of mind and spirit, and...[that] basic education is the foundation for an informed adult citizenry upon which our Republic rests," the LCMC not only sought out and taught basic literacy skills to the functionally illiterate but also aided them in finding the social services they needed to pull themselves out of poverty. The Laubach Literacy organization provided materials and workshops to train new teachers, and the LCMC used donations to provide reading material for their students. The members developed guidelines, a booklet, brochures, and a play to aid their volunteers and recruit students, and shared them generously with newly-organized literacy groups. The LCMC conducted several publicity campaigns, utilizing newspapers, television, radio, speakers, discussion panels, flyers, cards, slide presentations, as well as a parade float and a booth at the Montgomery County Fair.

The LCMC made several proposals to the Montgomery County Council for funding for programs devised to reduce illiteracy and poverty, and in 1968 it began to receive some financial support from Montgomery County for its efforts. The LCMC also worked closely with the Montgomery County Board of Education program for Basic Adult Education, which began in 1965. LCMC tutors were hired as teachers and also served as volunteer teacher aides in adjacent classrooms to work with students who needed individual help. The LCMC developed programs for children, prisoners, and the handicapped, and coordinated recommended reading lists with the Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries. Probably its most successful and popular program began in 1965. Eventually named the Program of Teaching Conversational English to the Foreign Born, its students were the easiest to recruit and the most eager and persevering.

Mrs. Kilgore was also active at the state and national levels. She urged Congress, Maryland governors, and the Montgomery County Council to proclaim a National Literacy Week in September. She corresponded with literacy volunteers in other countries, and tried to organize a state-wide coordinating committee for literacy groups. The LCMC trained two VISTA workers and developed a post-Laubach program for more advanced students. Along with Laubach Literacy, Inc., the LCMC was also instrumental in the establishment of a national organization, the National Affiliation for Literacy Advance, which held its first national conference in 1969. In 1972, the LCMC, with the advice and guidance of vice-president Harry Miller and funding from the Montgomery County Board of Education, produced a film for potential teachers who could not attend the training workshops.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES

General processing procedures consisted of discarding duplicates, unnecessary binders, and routine transmittals. Oversized documents and photographs were removed from the original location in their assigned series and placed in separate containers. Separation sheets were inserted in the original location within the folder to indicate the new location of any records placed elsewhere.

Preservation copying of newspaper clippings was performed whenever feasible. Items contaminated by mold were photocopied onto acid-free paper and destroyed.

Records in folders were arranged, unless otherwise indicated, in forward chronological order, with undated records appearing at the end of the folder.

PROVENANCE

Material in this collection was donated to the Archives by Marita L. Almquist, Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, in 1992.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records of the LCMC comprise 0.5 cubic feet of material dating from 1963 to 1992. They consist of correspondence, minutes, newsletters, handbooks, brochures, booklets, promotional literature, reports, histories, drafts, agendas, awards, proclamations, press releases, constitution and by-laws, articles of incorporation, notices, handouts, photographs, lists, an artifact, and a screenplay. They specifically document the years of Mrs. Kilgore's active involvement, from 1963 to the early 1970s, while the histories and newsletters continue the account from the mid-1970s to 1988. Significant topics include literacy and anti-poverty programs, the Laubach Literacy program, and the National Affiliation for Literacy Advance.

The records have been arranged into two series:

Series I: Alphabetical Files

Series II: Newsletters.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I: Alphabetical Files, 1963-1988 (0.25 cu. ft.)

The records in this series consist of correspondence, minutes, handbooks, promotional literature, reports, histories, drafts, agendas, awards, proclamations, constitution and by-laws, articles of incorporation, booklets, press releases, notices, lists, and a screenplay. Significant correspondents include Drs. Frank and Robert Laubach, members of the Laubach organization, and other literacy groups and volunteers. The group's outreach efforts are documented in both the History and Promotional Literature files. The latter contains brochures, notices, a list of recommended books, handouts, cards, flyers, and a screenplay called "Each One Teach One." The History folder also contains an account of the founding of the National Affiliation for Literacy Advance. It includes as well a detailed draft corrected by Beth Kilgore which recounts the early history and programs of LCMC, and brochures relating the history of the Council, which were written in 1978, 1983, and 1988. Details on the organization of LCMC can be found in the Correspondence and History folders. The General file contains the agenda for the first organizational meeting of LCMC, proclamations, directories, a treasurer's report from 1972, the constitution and by-laws, and a 1972 award from the Montgomery County Council. This series also contains samples of instructional materials, such as short stories and booklets, written by local members. Information relating to the production of a pilot film for training teachers can be found in the Correspondence and Minutes files. The latter includes an annual report on the Conversational English Program. The Guidelines and Procedures folders include another annual report from this program coordinator, handbooks and guidelines for teachers, and an office procedures manual. The National Affiliation for Literacy Advance (NALA) folder contains correspondence, notices, and promotional material relating to NALA conferences and to the Laubach Literacy Fund. This folder also includes some newsletters and other items from affiliated literacy groups across the country.

The photographs, some of them identified, show many of the active members and volunteers. They include color snapshots from meetings in 1977, 1978, and 1979, and the first five presidents; black and white photographs of such events as an Advisory Board meeting in 1964, the presentations of Literacy Week Proclamations, and the LCMC booth at the Montgomery County fair; and a color slide. These photographs can be found in Record Group 19, Audiovisual.

Pieces of fabric required to assemble a NALA tote bag were removed to Record Group 20, Artifacts. Instructions for assembly can be found in the NALA folder.

The folders are arranged in alphabetical order, and then chronologically within each folder.

Series II: Newsletters, 1964-1988, 1992 (0.25 cu. ft.)

This series contains a nearly complete run of the newsletters from the first issue in 1964 through March 1988. The newsletters document the month-by-month activities, plans, programs, and interests of the organization. There is one newsletter from 1992. The series also includes copies of many of the student newsletters.

The series is arranged in chronological order.

Box 1

Series I: Alphabetical Files

Clippings and Articles, 1964, 1971

Correspondence, 1964-1972, 1977

General, 1963-1981

Guidelines, Procedures, 1965-c.1972, n.d.

Guidelines, Office Procedure, 1966-1968

History, 1967-1988

Instructional Materials, 1967, n.d.

Minutes, 1964-1973

National Affiliation for Literacy Advance, 1965-1971, n.d.

Photographs, 1963-1978

Promotional Literature, 1964-1974, n.d.

Series II: Newsletters

1964-1967

1968-1970

Box 2

1971-1975

1976-1982

1983-1985

1986-1988, 1992