YMCA and YWCA Records, 1863-1971, n.d.
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
From their prayer meeting beginnings, the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Organizations at Oberlin College directed a wide range of social and religious activity on and off campus, the core purpose of which was the development of Christian character in students. The organizations were non-denominational, voluntary associations of students, linked to both their national and international representative bodies through their Executive Secretaries. The Oberlin YMCA and YWCA were separately administered, each with its own membership, elected officers, Executive Secretary, Executive Committee, Cabinet, and an Advisory Board. The associations frequently cooperated in presenting activities on campus.
The YMCA established itself at Oberlin College in 1881, hiring its first full-time Secretary, James E. Sprunger (d. 1918), in 1904. In 1893, Oberlin senior Lucy Lamb Wilson (1862-1925) began to lobby for replacing the Dean of Women's weekly prayer meetings with an organization run by the women themselves. In February 1894, the Woman's Board of Managers approved the organization of Oberlin's first Young Women's Christian Association. Three years later, YWCA President Florence Mary Fitch (1875-1959), Professor of Biblical Literature at the Oberlin Theological Seminary, successfully appealed to the Board for affiliation with the national body. The YWCA's first full-time Secretary was Georgia Mathilda Carrothers (A.B. '02), who served from 1903 to 1905.
In 1903, the work of the YMCA was enlarged by the addition of fifteen group Bible classes and the training class for class leaders which was led by President Henry Churchill King (1858-1934). Dean of the Seminary, Edward Increase Bosworth (1861-1927), served on the YMCA Advisory Board and conducted religious meetings, Mission Study classes, and encouraged the YM/YWCA-sponsored work of the Oberlin Band of Student Volunteers for Foreign Missions, founded in 1881. Religious work extended to the communities surrounding Oberlin and included Sunday School teaching and assistance at nearby schools, juvenile courts, workhouses, orphanages, and the settlement houses in Lorain.
The YWCA's constitution from 1933 until 1957 stated the purpose of the group to be "a full and creative life through a growing knowledge of God." In 1956, with cooperation increasing between the YM and YWCA and the Y program of greater importance on campus (25% of the student body were members), a Publicity Council was added to the four standing program commissions of Religious Emphasis, Campus Service, Community Service, and Public Affairs. In 1962, in order to preserve its broad appeal, the YWCA amended entirely its purpose clause in Article II of its constitution. The YWCA declared itself an association based "on Christian motivation," but took its larger purpose to be the stimulation of "a free exchange of ideas" and "an examination of and encounter with Christianity." Activities were often undertaken in the service of broadly humanitarian--rather than specifically "Christian"--ideals, as, for example, the student protests which the YM and YWCAs organized in Cleveland following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.
Relations between the Ys and the College were monitored by the faculty-composed Religious Interests Committee and its sub-committees. The College provided on-campus quarters for both the YM and YWCA, and their professional leaders were members of the College staff whose salaries were paid by an annual grant from the College. During the presidency of William E. Stevenson (1946-59), budget deficits provoked a debate over how much of the College's monies should be allocated to the support of the Ys. In order to reduce expenditures, President Stevenson advocated hiring one Y Executive Secretary for both YM and YWCA. His suggestion was deemed unworkable by both Advisory Boards. Stevenson did approve a new personnel policy for the Ys, developed in 1946 and amended in 1953. It limited the term of service for the Y Executive Secretaries to an initial two years, with renewal contingent upon an annual performance review. The purpose of the revised policy was to ensure that the college would not be required to shoulder the financial burdens associated with the employ of aging Y personnel. Subsequently, both Y secretaries resigned, George Ball in 1955 after four years of service, and Elizabeth Blakesley in 1957 after thirteen years of service.In 1956, the Y secretaries became officers of the college, and their names were published in the college catalogues.
Following the closing of the Graduate School of Theology in 1966, President Robert Kenneth Carr asked that the General Faculty Committee on Religious Interests and Chapel Service undertake a study of the religious life of the campus. In its 1967 report, the committee concluded that the YMCA and YWCA were "not great enough in scope to fill the need for religious leadership, particularly the need which we sharply sensed on campus for mature, experienced, long term leadership." Perhaps it was not inevitable that the appointment of college chaplains should have entailed the demise of the Ys. Former Y secretaries had advocated a chaplaincy that would have enhanced the effectiveness of their own work. In 1970, David Byers was named Campus Minister, and two Danforth Religious Interns were hired in 1971. Academic year 1972/73 was the last year in which the YMCA and YWCA enjoyed representation at Oberlin College.
EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES OF THE YM AND YWCAS
YMCA Secretaries
1902-04 W. Moreton Owen
1904-05 James Eliphalet Sprunger (I semester)
Robert Legan Ewing (II semester)
1905-07 Robb Ozro Bartholomew
1907-09 John Griffith Olmstead
1909-12 Daniel W. Jones
1912-13 Hugh Wells Hubbard
1913-14 Samuel Marks Kinney
1914-15 James Treat Carter
1915-16 William Treat Martin
1916-17 Carlton Cisne Compton
1917-18 James M. Groves
1918-19 Bruce R. Baxter
1920-21 William R. Catton
1921-22 Robert Nathaniel Montgomery
1922-24 Harold N. Skidmore
1924-27 Charles Gideon Stewart
1927-28 Ralph Ewing Albright
1934-38 Daniel Chapin Kinsey (part-time)
1939-49 (Information unavailable)
1949-51 W. Robert Rankin (Director of Religious Activities)
1951-55 George Ball (Director of Religious Activities)
1955-58 Harvey G. Cox (YMCA Exec. Sec., Director of Religious Activities)
1958-60 Richard L. Gelwick
1960-65 Paul W. Rahmeier
1965-69 Robert Carroll Williams
1969-71 M. Michael Morse
1970 David Byers, Campus Minister
1971-72 R. Butler, J. Foust, Danforth Religious Interns
YWCA Secretaries
1905-06 Georgia M. Carrothers
1906-07 Jean James
Lucy Hopkins
1908-09 Lucy Hopkins
1909-12 Helen Fitts
1912-13 Mary M. Lindsay
1913-14 Margaret E. Bennett
Mary M. Lindsay
1914-16 Margaret E. Bennett
1916-18 Helen Hutchcraft
1918-21 Marion Colcord
1921-22 Genevieve Morrow
1922-36 Althea Woodruff
1936-41 Ann M. Graybill
1941-43 Mary Lou Keller
1944-57 Elizabeth Blakesley
1958-60 Gladyce A. Ohrt
1960-64 Marjorie S. Schreiber
1964-70 Beverly L. Moffet
1970-72 Nancy D. Richardson
1972-73 Elizabeth H. Olstad, Director of YM/YWCA
Author: Valerie S. Komor Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative Information
The records of the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations of Oberlin College consist of annual reports, minutes, correspondence, scrapbooks, cloth maps, and printed materials documenting the organizations' governance and programs. The cloth maps (1863-96), which predate the 1881 formation of the YMCA, were given to the YMCA by an unknown donor. The earliest textual records are printed pamphlets (1885).
The collection has been divided into the following subgroups: I. YMCA Records; II. YWCA Records; and III. YM/YWCA Records. Within subgroups, records are arranged into the following series: Subgroup I: Series 1. Annual Reports, Series 2. Miscellaneous Administrative Files; Series 3. Scrapbooks; Series 4. YMCA Cloth Maps. Subgroup II: Series 1. Annual Report; Series 2. Miscellaneous Administrative Files; Series 3. Scrapbooks; Series 4. YWCA-Sponsored Programs. Subgroup III: Series 1. Administrative Files; Series 2. YM/YWCA Programs; Series 3. YM/YWCA Publications. Within subgroups, series are arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically.
YMCA administrative records are thin. No annual reports exist for the first two decades of the organization's history(1881-1902). The annual reports of the YMCA's General Secretary begin in 1902/03 with gaps from 1912-13 and 1917-40; reports resume in 1941/42 and continue through 1959/60. Reports for the years 1915-40 are available in the records of the Office of the Secretary (RG 5). Annual reports discuss staffing, the activities of the secretaries, and plans for the coming year. Other administrative documents include the minutes (1944, 1949-61) of the YMCA Advisory Board. There are no records for the other YMCA governing bodies, the Cabinet and the Executive Committee. Also lacking is complete correspondence from YMCA executive secretaries. What correspondence remains relates mainly to personnel searches (1945-61); correspondents include Elbridge P. Vance, Secretary of the Advisory Board; W. Robert Rankin, YMCA Executive Secretary (1945-51); Robert C. Johnson of the National Council of the YMCA; Provost Thurston E. Manning, Chairman of the YMCA Faculty Advisory Board; and Harvey Cox, Executive Secretary of the YMCA (1955-58). Information about the activities of the YMCA in 1924-27 and 1937-49 can be gleaned from the YMCA scrapbooks for these years.
YWCA administrative records are more complete than those of the YMCA. Files include annual reports (1894-1941) which include membership lists and committee reports. In addition this subgroup contains annual reports of YWCA officers including the General Secretary (1923/24-1928/29, 1933/34-1961/62), President (1941/42-1956/57) and the First Vice-President (1942/43-1951/52). (Missing annual reports after 1905 are available in the Records of the Office of the Secretary.) Of particular interest to researchers studying the organization and activities of the YWCA is a Historical Survey of the YWCA of Oberlin written by Barbara Shattuck in 1927/28. This survey describes the formation of the YWCA at Oberlin, the work of its committees and departments, and the reorganization that took place in 1916/17. Advisory Board Minutes exist for the period 1928/29-1943/44. Additional records document the functions of the governing Cabinet, Executive Committee, and Personnel Committee. Correspondence includes four letters (1904-06) from Florence Mary Fitch (1875-1959) attending YWCA conferences in Columbus, Ohio. Other correspondents include Y secretaries Elizabeth Blakesley (1944-55) and Marjorie Schreiber (1960-64). Scrapbooks from 1904 to 1949 illustrate the YWCA's activities through newspaper clippings, programs, other printed materials, and photographs. Later scrapbooks include material on joint YM/YWCA activities.
Records relating to the joint meetings and programs of the YM and YWCA include minutes of joint cabinet meetings (1953, 1955), joint program committee reports by the YM and YW secretaries (1956, 1959-62, n.d.), and reports of the Religious Interests Committee on YM and YWCA activities. These activities are documented in the files by brochures, programs, clippings, calendars of events, a photographs, and a scrapbook. Events recorded include the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the founding of the YWCA; the YM/YWCA-sponsored student protests in Cleveland over the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, and various Y student conferences. A few items (1918-20), one in Chinese, relate to YMCA support for Oberlin's work in China's Shansi province. Also included are photographs relating to both organizations.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Subgroup I. YMCA Records, 1863-1969, n.d. (5.30 l.f.)
Series 1. Annual Reports, 1902-16, 1941-61 (0.2 l.f.)
Consists of incomplete sets of annual reports of the General Secretary (1902-1910, 1914-1916, 1941/42, and 1946-60) and of the Director of Religious Activities (1958-61).
Series 2. Miscellaneous Administrative Files, 1885-1969, n.d. (0.6 l.f.)
Includes an incomplete run of minutes of YMCA Advisory Board meetings; scant budgetary records; committee files; publications; and correspondence relating mainly to the Advisory Board's searches in 1945 and 1955 for an Executive Secretary. Files are arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Series 3. Scrapbooks, 1924-27, 1937-49 (6 scrapbooks)
Consists of scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, programs, and other printed material related to YMCA activities.
Series 4. YMCA Cloth Maps, 1863-96, n.d. (2.50 l.f.)
Contains eighteen cloth maps of varying sizes of countries and regions in which Christian missions were established. Most were made for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Their original order was maintained.
Subgroup II. YWCA Records, 1894-1967, n.d. (7.0 l.f.)
Series 1. Annual Reports, 1894-1962 (2.4 l.f.)
Consists of handwritten and typed annual reports (1894-1941), including membership and committee reports. Also contains annual reports of the General Secretary (1923/24-1961/62), President (1941/42-1956/57), and First Vice President (1942/43-1951/52).
Series 2. Miscellaneous Administrative Files, 1894-1964 (1.2 l.f.)
Includes minutes of Advisory Board, Cabinet, Executive Committee, and other committee meetings; YWCA constitutions (1927-61); and correspondence, including four letters (1904-06) from Professor Florence M. Fitch (1875-1959), the Oberlin YWCA's first President (1896-97). Financial records include budget statements (1936-57), papers relating to the Geneva Conference fund (1938), and treasurer's reports (1940-43). Also found here is a Historical Survey of the YWCA of Oberlin from 1927/28. Files are arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Series 3. Scrapbooks, 1904-49 (18 scrapbooks)
Consists of scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, programs, and photographs of YWCA activities.
Series 4. YWCA-Sponsored Programs, 1896, 1905-67, n.d. (0.4 l.f.)
Includes printed materials, clippings, programs, and brochures relating to YWCA retreats, conferences, social events, and anniversary celebrations. Records are arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Subgroup III. Joint YM/YWCA Records, 1927-71 (1.0 l.f.)
Series 1. Administrative Files, 1952-63 (0.2 l.f.)
Consists of procedural handbooks for the YM/YW Cabinet, YM/YW personnel policies, evaluations by students of the joint YM/YW publication, Archways, joint program reports issued by the YW and YM Executive Secretaries, and minutes of joint cabinet and executive meetings. Records are arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Series 2. YM/YWCA Programs, 1941-71, n.d. (0.4 l.f.)
Includes chapel talks, clippings, worship bulletins, and instructional materials relating to the tutorial program sponsored by the Y organizations. Also filed here are memoranda, publicity, and newspaper accounts of the protests in Cleveland arranged by the Y in response to the Soviet invasion of Hungary (1956). Records are arranged alphabetically by type of materials.
Series 3. YM/YWCA Publications, 1920-64 (0.4 l.f.)
Filed here are samples of the publications issued jointly by the YM and YWCA of Oberlin. Publications are alphabetically arranged by title.
Series 4. Photographs, 1908-09, n.d. (0.2 l.f.)
Photographs of both organizations. Photos chronicle retreats, activities and cabinet members of both organizations.