She was an influential woman from Illinois who dedicated her life educating women about their rights and to helping children live in health environments. Louise was born to a wealthy Chicago family in 1859. She was committed to helping those less fortunate. She authored and published two books and several pamphlets along with other educational material. She was a suffragette for women's rights, author, children's activist, philanthropist, feminist, wife and mother of four.
Louise Bowen became that activist who called thousands of women to "put their shoulders to the wheel and their whole hearts into the work" of obtaining many better things for the underprivileged. She fought for better education, protection for workers, clean drinkable water and air to breathe. She and her activists fought for building safety and the availability of health care. She was instrumental in the fight for women to obtain voting rights (Flanagan, M., (2002).
Louise de Koven Bowen was raised as a child in Chicago. She was born to wealth and all the privileges that come along with being wealthy (Koven, L., (2002)). Even though her financial comfort was assured, from an early age she had an extraordinary sense of social responsibility and awareness on how she could improve the circumstances and lives of those around her. She was very smart, savvy, and spoke her mind (Koven, L. 2002). In one of her books, Growing Up with a City, she portrays Chicago with all of its growing pains viewed how woman perceived it back then. "When I took a walk," Bowen says, "I liked to go into the poorer parts of the town and see what was going on, especially in my own ward" (Koven, L.). She dedicated her life to social reform in Chicago. She was an activist for women, children and minorities.
Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889 founded the Hull House which was located on the west side of Chicago. Located in a crowded, poverty - stricken Greek and Italian neighborhood the Hull House became the center of social reform and cultural activity for women and children. They held classes in sewing, music, drama, weaving and more for the women and children who participated there. The Hull House turned into a 13 building complex by 1911. There was a dining room where any child could come and get a hot meal, and a gym where the children participated in organized athletics (Unknown, Tribute: Markers of Distinction, Chicago Tribune). Jane Addams wish was for these children to have a summer retreat and a winter weekend getaway in the country; this is where Louise deKoven Bowen steps in to fulfill this dream (Bowen Country Club).
Louise deKoven Bowen involvement in Hull-House enlarged both her concerns for children's welfare as well as her strong sense of social responsibility (Alter, Sharon, Z., 2001). The separate court system for juveniles and adults in Cook County, IL can be credited to Bowen and her group of woman. Bowen was the president of the Juvenile Protective Association for 35 years. It was during this time that her association pressured the courts to clean up the places where children hung out. One of the biggest things they lobbied for was to get rid of prostitution (Unknown, Chicago Tribune).
In 1898, a group of county judges from the Chicago Bar Association, in conjunction with women who were campaigning for reform were able to successfully lobby for a new juvenile court in Chicago. For the United States this was the first court that was specifically for juveniles. This court handled delinquent children separately from adult criminals. One glitch was that there was no way to pay for probation officers. The women reformers developed a committee called the Juvenile Court Committee (JCC) and this committee's responsibility was to be sure that the Juvenile Court did indeed do the job that it was created to do. The JCC major job was to raise the funds needed to pay for probation officers' salaries. Bowen was the first vice-chair and then by1904 became the chairman of the committee.
The JCC extended its purpose to find homes that were appropriate for delinquent and dependent children who needed them. Bowen was the leader in trying to create a Juvenile Court Building and Detention Home. She solicited and received commitments for Chicago to donate the land and got the Cook County Board to provide the funding to construct the project.
When this project was finished in 1907, the JCC disbanded but at the same time started up a smaller organization called the Juvenile Protective Association (JPA). Bowen also became the president of the JPA. Bowen authored many studies and demonstrated for both local and state governments what the negative consequences were for children who ran unsupervised and therefore unprotected in the streets of Chicago. Most of these children had family situations that forced them to live in the streets. These studies showed a need for intervention on government's part in order to prevent juvenile delinquency.
Many children were at risk peddling near dance halls and theaters. Bowen led the campaign to create laws that prohibited the sale of liquor in the dance halls and laws that made street peddling a crime. Louise Bowen who as one of the national women reformers became aware that the African American community in Chicago needed to have "an equal chance for work, for living accommodations, and for recreation" (Annual Report, 1912=13, 48 JPA Records). In 1913 she authored The Colored People of Chicago. This book investigated the conditions, both socially and economically, that the Black people in Chicago were living. The conclusion was that the lives of African American children in Chicago were "circumscribed on every hand by race limitations". The JPA published a pamphlet that showed a study that detailed the racial prejudice and discrimination of blacks. This discrimination included areas of employment, education, housing, how they were treated by law enforcement and entertainment. Bowen invested significant sums of her own money to finance the JPA. In addition to this, because no one else would do it, she became the lifelong chairperson for the organization (Alter).
In 1893 L. Bowen joined the Hull -House Woman's Club at the request of her long time friend Jane Addams. From there on Bowen became a civic leader establishing the Joseph T. Bowen Country Club (after her late husband), a summer camp for underprivileged children of the Hull House near Waukegan, IL (Koven, L.).
Jane Addams and Louise Bowen looked at over 150 sites for a camp. In November 1911 the rode a train to Waukegan, IL and met with the mayor. He took them to a site that was hopeful land for a park but town leaders thought it was too far from town. There was 72 acres overlooking a ravine and the purchase price was $29,000. This was the start of Bowen Country Club. The ladies wanted a family atmosphere and the country club name was to encourage the children to be responsible for taking care of it and to really feel like it belonged to them. The country club still stands today and across from it in Waukegan is Bowen Park which hosts many culture and civic activities during the summer, including a day camp for children.
The children to go to the Bowen Country Club were chosen by the social workers and the staff of Hull House. The children chosen were those who were truly needy. They were allowed to go for two weeks. The fee was one dollar per week and then rose to twenty dollars for two weeks by 1912. The charge was there because no one wanted the children to feel like charity cases. If the child chosen had no money, they were not turned away. Four groups of children were able to go for two weeks at a time. Camp started at the end of June and continued on to the end of August. On an average there were about 550 campers used that grounds every summer.
The children had to have a physical examination before they were allowed to leave for the camp experience. Every child was examined for contagious diseases. Their heads were checked for lice and their feet for athlete's fungus. After exams were passed the children and their mothers loaded the train from Chicago to Waukegan. The fare was free because the Northwestern Railroad donated their fares (Bowen Country Club).
Every year as the children loaded off the trains the people of Waukegan would watch. The campers were so happy to be leaving the graffiti streets of Chicago for the 72 acres of grass and flowers. They would be singing and waving as they walked to the truck that would take them to the country club. This ritual continued for fifty years every summer (Bowen Country Club).
Women struggled to find their place in politics. It was a long hard road to figure out their role and their place. There were so many prominent women who led this way. Women such as Jane Addams, the friend of Louise Bowen, Frances Kellor and Mrs. Margaret Robins were activists. These women supported the Progressive party at the time of suffrage. This was the first national party to validate the woman's suffrage movement and promised that women would have a voice and it would be equal with men. They promised that this would be in every part of the Progressive party, including management. It appears that woman were not actually concerned with partisanship until around 1920. The history also reveals that woman even after this exampled how nonpartisanship was the way they approached politics (Gustafson, M., (1997).
Mrs. Bowen was a member and President of the Republican National Committee National Women's Campaign for Hughes in 1916 (Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1945-1946/Yale University Library). She believed strongly in women's right to vote and this march along with many of her writings helped them get that right (Unknown, Chicago Tribune). She also succeeded Addams as president until 1944 then became the treasurer for about sixty years (Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1945-1946/Yale University Library). She was the president of the Chicago Equal Suffrage Association when Illinois passes the legislation that gave women in Illinois the right to vote. The thought of running for mayor in 1923 crossed her mind. Bowen's memoir is a witty narrative of an enthusiastic, generous, and always the optimistic benefactor--with herself often the target of her own dry humor. Her story allows us see how women made a difference in Chicago (Unknown, Chicago Tribune).
Louise deKoven Bowen was left an estate valued at $750,000 when her father John deKoven passed away. She was also the executive of a $2,000,000 estate of Louisa Hadduck. After the death of Louise deKoven Bowen's husband she lived most of her life with Jane Addams who founded the Hull House. Miss Addams died at 75. Ms Bowen went on to live until she was 94 and left an estate of $2 million (Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1945-1946/Yale University Library).
In conclusion, Louise deKoven Bowen made lasting impressions on those she chose to help. The lives of countless children were changed. If you change one life you strengthen the link in a chain and the future lives are changed because of that link.
"There was a feeling of family, based on the acceptance of each person as an individual. Among the staff was a feeling of being part of a continuing tradition and commitment to values and attitudes, which could change lives long after we left B.C.C.
For many of us who have continued to be involved in working with people, as teachers, coaches, social workers, counselors, and volunteers in community service, it is very easy, when asked what we do, to smile a little and reply, "I do BCC". For Bowen Country Club and what it has meant to my life, I can only say, "Thank you, Jane Adams and Louise DeKoven Bowen for your vision and generosity, and thank you Mom and Pop Hicks for giving me the opportunity to have been a part of it."
-Margaret Carlton Misiak (Mac)
BCC 1948-1953
""Beauty of nature, warmth of lasting friendships, roots & values that I live by to this day, respect for all races & creeds, understanding the importance of every individual God created, peace in a confusing world." Bowen Country Club plus my family equals "love"."
-Charlene Caruso
