Like Moose Lodges, Mooseheart was originally only open to Caucasians.[3] The facility was created to be a home for the widows and the children of members of the Loyal Order of Moose. Later, any child who had a family member who was a member of the Moose could be admitted. In 1994, admission policies were changed to allow any child in need to apply for admission, regardless of the family's affiliation or lack thereof with the Moose.[4]
In the 1950s, a pediatrician conducting a longitudinal study of children's growth at Mooseheart recalled there was tension since he felt that the board of directors was conducting the study to prove the superiority of the white race.[5] By the 1990s, Mooseheart was open to children of all races and predominantly enrolled minority children.[3]
^Stern, Alexandra Minna; Markel, Howard, eds. (2002). Formative years: children's health in the United States, 1880-2000. University of Michigan Press. p. 171. ISBN978-0472112685.
Beito, David T. (2000). From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890–1967 (1st ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN978-0-8078-4841-8.