GANNETT, ALICE (1876-23 May 1962), prominent settlement-house worker and reformer, was born in Bath, Maine to Henry and Mary Chase Gannett. She attended schools in Washington, D.C., and earned a degree from Bryn Mawr College. She taught school 3 years before traveling to New York City in 1906, where she took a room in a tenement among poor social conditions, there becoming devoted to the settlement-house idea and the promotion of social welfare. She served briefly at Welcome Hall in Buffalo, N.Y., before returning to New York City, where she headed Lenox Hill House for 6 years. She also served as associate director of the Henry St. Settlement in New York for many years. Gannett came to Cleveland in 1917, heading Goodrich House (see GOODRICH-GANNETT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER) at 1420 E. 31st St. for 30 years. During her tenure, the settlement established a tradition of free thought and speech, commitment to neighborhood, and improved working conditions. Gannett was president of the Cleveland Fed. of Settlements for 5 years, of the Natl. Fed. of Settlements for 2 years, and headed the CONSUMERS LEAGUE OF OHIO for 8 years. She was also a trustee of the Welfare Fed. of Cleveland. In the 1950s she founded the Neighborhood Group, a senior citizens' organization for civic improvement. Gannett died in Harrisburg, Pa., and is buried in Washington, D.C.
Last Modified: 16 Jul 1997 11:03:16 AM- Related Article(s)