A World of Difference

Portland Women of the YWCA 1901-2000

An Exhibit at the Aubrey Watzek Library Lewis & Clark College September 1-December 31, 2003

The Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA) has its roots in Anglo-American evangelicalism and in the growth of the middle class in the nineteenth century. Women in the United States played a range of roles in the consolidation of this organization. Much of the YWCAs leadership came from educated and leisured women whose roots were in mainline Protestant church networks and who were interested in spreading the Gospel and doing Christian good works. Constituents and staff came from working women and college students seeking fellowship as well as from new professional social workers, teachers, and reformers with visions of social change. Women in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio built Association boarding houses, training schools, and day nurseries in the decades before the YWCA incorporated into a national organization in 1907, with its new headquarters in New York City. Portland, Oregons YWCA was founded in 1901. The founding Board was made up of women from some of the most economically and politically prominent white families in the city: Corbett, Failing, Ladd, and Honeyman. Like most city associations, as they were called before national incorporation, protective outreach to working women in the downtown area was a priority. The Portland YWCA ran its early programs out of rented rooms, and included a dormitory, a visiting parlor, meeting rooms, and classroom space available to members or to paying customers. The YWCA built its first permanent building downtown in 1908. The rich materials behind A World of Difference: Portland Women of the YWCA, 1901-2000 are contained in the archives of the YWCA of Greater Portland. Through a community partnership between the YWCA and Portland State University, undergraduate students studied these archives over a six-year period. Students amplified their archival research by doing oral history interivews with community women and by seeking out materials in the Oregon Historical Society. The National YWCA archives supplied further documentation via inter-library loans of microfilm. The Portland YWCA archive is now held by Lewis & Clark College. This exhibit is organized around the following subjects: founders/administration, buildings, religion, social services, diversity/civil rights, camping, changing roles for women in the workplace, exercise/sport, and dance/drama/music. The photographs from the Portland State University exhibit provided the inspiration for these topics. Materials from the Portland YWCA archives were then selected for their relevance to the subjects, as well as to emphasize the range of the collection.

EXHIBIT ITEMS Case 1 Buildings 1. Green and white annual report (1957-8); 2. Copy of pledge list (June 27, 1958); 3. Corporate note; 4. Corporation mortgage, 1946; 5. 10th and Main building promotional pamphlet Religion 6. Orange volunteer flyer, 1950 7. Hosanna hymnal; 8. Veleda Club pamphlet, 1961; 9. Girl Reserve flyer, 1927-8; 10. Annual report, religious education department, 1936 Founders/Administration 11. White program for Essie L. Maguires memorial (Executive Director of Portland YWCA, 1949-60); 12. List of charter members, 1900; 13. Job description for Executive Director, 1976; 14. Board minutes, 1900-05; 15. Membership roster book/ledger Case 2a Camping 16. Green spiral-bound book, Beautiful Westwind, by Uncle Bliss Clark (caretaker at Camp Westwind from 1940-55); 17. Blue autograph book; 18. 1953 b&w Westwind flyer; 19. Rock Creek brochure Diversity/Civil Rights 20. Blue and white YWCA news flyerThe imperativeEliminate racism; 21. Page from scrapbook (Ruth Nomura); 22. A call to women who care housing flyer; 23. Transcript of interview Social Services 24. Reddish brown brochure, All Committee Day (April 30, 1940); 25. Pink brochure,Happenings; 26. Facts You Should Know, 1923; 27. Blue felt banner, Y-Teens Case 2b Changing Roles for Women/Work 28. 5:30then Blue Triange Club flyer; 29. Flyer for Blue Triangle Club; 30. Eight Women of the YWCA; 31. Industrial department program, 1924 Dance/Drama/Music 32. Mrs. Mordens scrapbook, vol. 1; 33. Sociability songbook; 34. Sing It songbook; 35. Ys Owl songbook; 36. YW TV show Exercise/Sport 37. Free Swim pass; 38. Report for Physical Education, March 1918; 39. Engraving of young woman/ YWCA letters; 40. A Symposium on Health and Recreation by 10 YWCA leaders, 1936

Credits

*Curated by Tasha Caswell, with the Watzek Library Special Collections staff *Introductory text taken from How Did the Portland YWCA Enhance the Lives of Women, 19012000? by Patricia Schechter, at http://womhist. binghamton.edu/portywca/intro.htm *Exhibit based on materials from Patricia Schechters show at PSU *Chronology taken from brochure for A World of Difference: Portland Women of the YWCA, 1901-2000 *Thanks to the Portland YWCA for the archive *Thanks to Portland General Electric for providing financial support

Chronology of the Portland YWCA 1900-10 Incorporation as city association Operate from rooms in MacClay Building Open lunchroom at Wortman, Olds & King as outreach to female clerks and to raise funds Headquarters at Lewis & Clark Explosition Building constructed at SW Taylor and Broadway 1911-1920 Suffrage attained for women in Oregon Supports war work through War Camp Community Service Summer camp begins in Gearhart, Oregon Institute Girl Reserves, a program for school-aged girls, organized by race and ethnicity African American women organize programs in NE Kamm Apartments open as downtown residence for white working women Nineteenth Amendment ratified 1921-1940 African American women instrumental in opening Williams Avenue Branch on NE Tillamook Expands summer camping to Rock Creek St. Johns YWCA Branch opens in N Portland Purchases Camp Westwind on Oregon coast 1941-50 Joins United Service Organization (USO) Williams Avenue YWCA rent building to USO for African American soldiers Programs for African American women and girls move downtown and to members houses in NE YWCA submits letter of protest over internment of Japanese Americans but does not resist order Williams Avenue YWCA becomes an interracial branch Japanese American women organize Veleda Club Girl Reserves changed to Y-Teens Capitol campaign for new downtown building Programs for working women replaced with ones aimed at married suburban women 1951-70 New building opens at SW Tenth and Main Williams Avenue center closed and sold despite protests of African American community Japanese American women on Board of Directors Young Women Committed to Action make themselves heard in national and local YWCA Womens Resource Center and a job bank begun TOPS program helps women transition from prison back to the community 1971-2001 Programs resume in NE at Mallory Avenue Christian Church NE Center opens on MLK Boulevard Health and Fitness programs flourish for seniors National and local join anti-homophobia campaign