It appears as if a humane society began in Black Hawk County as early as 1901.

The first society – organized as the “Blackhawk Humane Society” -- came into being on February 15, 1901 at a meeting held at the local Y.M.C.A. building (Waterloo Courier, 12 Feb 1901, p.5).  R.J. O’Hanlon, an organizer for the American Humane Society visited town especially to help start the local chapter (Waterloo Courier, 14 Feb 1901, page 5). The stated objective of the organization, according to its proposed constitution, was “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to children and dumb animals in the city of Waterloo, and Blackhawk county to enforce all laws which are now or may hereafter be enacted for the prevention of cruelty in any form and to secure by lawful means, the arrest, conviction and punishment of any person or person violating such laws.”

According to reports in the Feb. 16, 1901 edition of the Courier, F.E. Cutler was chosen the first president of the society, Mrs. L.C. (Ida A.) Burkitt was chosen secretary, and J.N. Sweitzer was chosen treasurer. Life membership in the society could be had for dues of $5.00, and a yearly membership cost $1.00.

At a subsequent meeting, the following officers and directors were chosen (Waterloo Times, 21 Feb. 1901, page 1):

Vice Presidents: J.C. Hartman and A.M. Welch

Veterinarian: Dr. McKellar

Council: J.F. Burns

Directors (some were chosen from each community:

                Waterloo: A.J. Cole, A.C. Speicher, George Leland, Mrs. L.F. Foulk, Joseph Schiel, A.B. Hallowell, Mrs. C.S. Chase, T.F. McHogan, Dr. W.B. Graham, O.H. Sours.

                Cedar Falls: Fitzroy Sessions, Roger Leavitt and Mrs. W.H. Hurd

                La Porte City: F.E. Wettstein

                Washburn: T.B. Doxey

                Gilbertville: Father Nemmers

                Eagle Center: T.J. Humphrey

                Hudson: Robert J. McNally

                Mt. Vernon: J.E. Rundles

                Dunkerton: Ira Lenox

Sometime in May of 1905, Mrs. Burkitt was sworn in by Mayor Rector as an officer of the law, giving her power to “make arrests or to call to her assistance any individual that might be needed.”

Mrs.  Burkitt continued as the city’s humane officer for thirteen years, until she resigned the post in 1914. She continued as secretary of the Humane Society, however.

Records after immediately after 1914 are a bit sketchy. The next information we found on the society was an appeal for members, published in the October 20, 1920 Evening Courier and Reporter. I reproduce that entry here because it mentions a couple of names that are important for sorting out the seeming plethora of humane society names that appear in records of the 1930s and 40s.

“For the first time in the history of the organization, the Black Hawk County Humane society has been forced to make an appeal for funds. The forty-fourth annual meeting of the American Humane society will be held in Omaha next week and the county society would like to be represented at the meeting with a delegate, if friends of the organization will donate enough funds to let them surmount the obstacle. Membership may be had in the society of $1 for a year or $5 for a life membership. R.E. Newell, 608 ½ Commercial street, is president of the Black Hawk county society.”

This article gives us an indication that the entity known as the Black Hawk County Humane society was, perhaps, affiliated with the American Humane Society, and that R.E. Newell was connected with this group.

By  1927, a newspaper account in the Courier (Jan. 8) indicated that at that time the society had a membership of 150 and was again seeking to expand.

The first mention we have of the organization of the entity known as the “Waterloo Humane Society” appears in a Courier article on January 3, 1932 (although a later article indicates their official start date was Nov. 21, 1931. One of the very first acts of that society (in cooperation with the city) was to abolish the city dog pound and set up a temporary animal shelter at 44 Waterloo Ave., Cedar Heights.

The officers of the society at that time were Dr. W.H. Bickley, president; Frank Marquis, first vice president; Mrs. P.L. Bryant, second vice president; Mrs. Harry W. Hoffman, secretary, and Mrs. Duke Naven, treasurer.

The organization soon moved its shelter from the Cedar Heights address to a farm at 600 La Porte Road. (Courier, April 6, 1932.)

By November, of that year, however, the society had to return ownership of the shelter to the city due to lack of funds. The city’s shelter relocated to 431 La Porte Road.

Also in 1932, we have further confirmation that the Black Hawk Humane Society, which was also still in existence, was affiliated with the American Humane association.

So far as we have been able to determine, based on brief mentions in the newspaper, and entries in the Waterloo City Directory, both the Waterloo Humane Society and the Black Hawk Humane society continued through the 1930s.

Fortunately for us, a kind woman named Mrs. Grace Page, who died in 1940, left a bequest to the “Waterloo Humane Society” which caused quite a lot of legal trouble in that both organizations claimed to be the organization intended to receive the bequest. (We noticed that the Black Hawk County Humane society was occasionally called the Waterloo Humane society in some newspaper articles prior to the organization of the other society by that name in 1931, so we surmise that it may have been based primarily in Waterloo).

It would appear from the following quote in a Courier article dated Feb. 4, 1942, that the Waterloo Humane Society was not terribly active as an organization:

“Rival claimant to the bequest is the “Humane Society of Waterloo,” which George D.  Harris, Lawyer for that group, said Wednesday had been formed in 1931, operated a dog shelter and city pound for a time with the city paying $50 a month, and since then has been active to the extent of having a bank account and maintaining affiliation by paying dues to the American Humane association.”

According to a Courier article published on Oct.3, 1943:

“In August of 1942 Judge Thomas Boynton of Osage signed a decree awarding the fund held in trust to the Waterloo Humane Society, which represented an amalgamation of the two Waterloo contesting groups.”

From this we surmise that the Black Hawk County Humane Society and the Waterloo Humane Society had finally merged into one organization that continues to this day.

 Compiled by Teresa Dahlgren and Susan Harnois, Waterloo Public Library, May 2008.

The Cedar Bend Humane Society's web site can be viewed here.

Addendum, 10/22/2013: One of our patrons showed us a letter from the Black Hawk County Humane Society, dated 1903. We are reproducing the letterhead here because it lists the officers and directors of the organization at that time: