Records of the Cambridge Home Information Center, 1942-1975

The Cambridge Home Information Center was a small, local organization consisting largely of middle-class homemakers living in or near Cambridge, Massachusetts. The need for such an organization arose out of the changing role and increased duties of the housewife in the post World War I era. The original purpose of the group was educational, consisting of instruction and short courses in cooking and household management. They set up a small office on Brattle Street in Cambridge, where a home economist could be consulted one day a week; an ambitious scheme for training household assistants was part of the early program. During World War II members participated in home economy projects as part of the war effort.

By 1947 the goal of the Center was more modest: helping "its members adjust to the ever changing problems of managing a house and home...." The programs now included educational trips to museums, craft studios and local historical sites. In its later years the Center was primarily social, the main activities being luncheons at members' homes with guest speakers. A regular feature was the annual meeting at the Harvard Boat Club. The group dissolved in 1975 after 58 years of continuous activity.