History

The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Greater Des Moines was founded in 1895 by Della Marquart (later Mrs. Harris Coggeshall) and Helen Ankeny (later Mrs. Mungery) to help young Protestant women find housing and employment. The Des Moines chapter was affiliated with the National YWCA in 1896. The primary purposes of the organization were "...to stimulate interest in evangelical religion among young women of the city and vicinity and to improve their social, intellectual, and physical conditions by means of an association of young women." (Constitution, Box 1, Administrative records, Histories).

Over the years the YWCA has provided numerous programs and activities which were not traditionally offered to women. For example, in 1898, the first women's basketball game ever played in Des Moines was held in the YWCA's gymnasium. Since 1901, the YWCA of Greater Des Moines has also offered a variety of courses to women, ranging from fencing to Shakespeare, foreign language, and sewing.

The YWCA has reached out to minorities and immigrants almost from the beginning. In the 1880s and 1890s, the National YWCA aided immigrants in rural communities. Starting in 1911, the YWCA of Greater Des Moines offered courses in English for foreign-speaking women. The creation of the National Institute for Immigrant Welfare in 1933 was largely due to the YWCA's work with immigrants. In 1903, Mrs. Booker T. Washington spoke at the YWCA of Greater Des Moines and in 1932 Langston Hughes read his poetry there, although he was refused service by the hotels and restaurants in Des Moines. An African-American woman was elected to the YWCA of Greater Des Moines Board of Directors for the first time in 1931.

The Blue Triangle branch of the YWCA was founded for the African-American community in 1919. This branch offered separate programs similar to those of the rest of the organization, as well as a few integrated programs. In 1924 the Blue Triangle Branch started the Book Lover's Club, a reading group for women. The Blue Triangle Branch was located in a separate building from the main branch. It obtained a new building in 1936 and remained there until 1947, when the Blue Triangle Branch was merged with the main branch as part of a nationwide integration program.

The YWCA has also offered a variety of other community-oriented programs. In 1917, for example, the YWCA of Greater Des Moines was used as a meeting place for soldiers and their families. The YWCA's Girl Reserves (changed to Y-Teens in 1946) offered aid to soldiers. Always interested in the welfare of families, in the 1960s and 1970s the YWCA initiated programs and support groups such as Big Sisters, Parents Anonymous (a program for parents of children who have problems with drugs), and a support group for single parents. With a special focus on women and children, the YWCA of Greater Des Moines designed the National Center for Youth Outreach Workers in 1972 to help low-income children and to offer child care; in 1976 it organized the Battered Women's Coalition.

Today the YWCA continues such programs, in an effort to attain "peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all people,” and works to eliminate “racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary." ( Box 1, Administrative records, Histories).

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Scope and Content Note

	The YWCA of Greater Des Moines records date from 1895 to 1995 and measure 12 linear feet. The records are arranged in seven series: Administrative records, Financial records, Publicity, Branches and clubs, Photographs, Artifacts, and 1998 Accession.
		I. Administrative records
		II Financial records
		III Publicity
		IV Branches and clubs
		V Photographs
		VI 1998 Accession
		VII Artifacts and Oversize

The Administrative records series (1895-1994) includes annual reports, secretary's reports, minutes, bylaws, a study of the YWCA as a women's movement, World Fellowship Committee information, training information, records from the 1969 summer program (including the children's evaluations of this program), and board materials.

The Histories: Greater Des Moines chapter folder contains various histories as well as the YWCA constitution, a copy of the Des Moines Branch's application for charter membership, and some correspondence. Included within these histories is information on the YWCA's work for women's suffrage and child labor laws, as well as some additional information on the Blue Triangle Branch. The General: Activities for children scrapbook contains a wide variety of clippings from newspapers and magazines which detail games and crafts in which the children were involved.

Tax audits, accountant's reports, building and capital campaign files, budgets, and information on the new buildings of the YWCA of Greater Des Moines can be found in the Financial records series (1895-1985).

The Publicity series (1904-1969) contains newspaper clippings, pamphlets on YWCA activities (including some pertaining to the YWCA's work with working women), photographs, obituaries, a small amount of Blue Triangle information, and two YWCA newsletters, Inklings and Y's Winks. The bulk of this series is scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about YWCA activities. Included within this series are articles on gay, lesbian, and bisexual memberships (Newspaper clippings, 1982-1988), information on the YWCA's international work, the Youth Forum's discussion of sexuality and abortion, and an article on the problems of African-American students (Pamphlets, signs, newspaper clippings, 1903-1967). In the publicity folder (Publicity, Newspaper clippings and magazines, 1895-1983), is an article on the World Affairs Conference, including a photograph of racially diverse youth from around the world.

The Branches and clubs series (1935-1988) is comprised of two subseries: the Blue Triangle Branch and the Candlelight Club. The Blue Triangle Branch subseries includes scrapbooks, pamphlets and newspaper clippings, photographs, annual meeting materials, a history, and other materials. Nearly all of the material in this series pertains to African-Americans. There are other occasional references to the Blue Triangle scattered throughout the collection. The Candlelight Club subseries contains minutes and photographs of both African-American and Caucasian women. The club was apparently a social club that met weekly for dinner.

The Photographs series (1921-1988) consists of a variety of photographs from summer camps, Y-Teens, a 1988 calendar (original photographs before they were made into a calendar), and others.

Within the Artifacts series (1955 and undated) are two YWCA commemorative plates, one for the national YWCA centennial and the other stating the YWCA imperative to eliminate racism.

 

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SERIES I. ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS

Box 1

Histories

Greater Des Moines chapter, 1896, 1940-1995 and undated

National YWCA, 1968-1993 and undated

Award in the field of interracial relationships, 1952

Board materials and guidelines

Constitution, undated

Constitution, bylaws, articles, 1951-1952

Board materials, 1963-1967 (2 folders)

Leadership training packets, 1969

Agenda of the executive board career planning service, 1970-1971

Board materials, 1973-1978 (2 folders)

Box 2

Board materials, 1973-1978 (2 folders)

Guidelines for membership campaigns, 1976

Memoranda, minutes, policies, youth activities, 1976-1980 (2 folders)

Policies, 1978-1981

General

YWCA memberships, 1901-1904

Board members, 1936-1945 and undated

Correspondence, 1908, 1946-1954 and undated

Insurance reports, 1915-1920

Box 3

Activities for children, 1936 and undated [disbound and photocopied]

Membership ledger, 1895-1902 [oversize: box 39]

Membership questionnaires, 1936 and undated

National Traveler’s Aid Society certificate, 1917

Secretary's book, 1943-1944

Minutes

Invitation committee, 1895-1900

1895-1908 (removed from scrapbook)

1895-1908

Annual meetings, 1917-1927, 1940

Board minutes, 1921-1924, 1939

Membership meetings, 1938-1943

Executive committee minutes, 1947-1952

Box 4

Board minutes

1958-1961

1962

Organizational chart, 1936

Permits

Permit to run an employment bureau, 1913

Permit to solicit funds in Iowa, 1914

Programs and Committees

Committee descriptions, 1980

Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) program development, summer program, 1971

National board

YWCA learning center assembly sessions, 1980 (3 folders)

YWCA learning center material, 1981

YWCA learning center XII program development, 1981

Box 5

National Center for Youth Outreach Workers, 1977 (2 folders)

Program development, committee minutes, 1983

Program development, 1983

Program stories, 1946-1947

Stay-at-Home Convention, 1945

Summer program, 1969 (2 folders)

Women's Economic Development Group (WEDGE), 1986-1989

World Fellowship Committee, 1967-1973 (folder 1)

Box 6

World Fellowship Committee, 1967-1973 (folders 2-3)

YWCA Camp Council, undated

Y-Wives

Committee notes and meetings, 1965-1969

Decentralization, 1961-1966

Reports, 1967 and undated

Reports

Annual reports, 1899-1911

Annual reports, 1938-1964

Annual reports, 1991-1994

Christmas finances and programs, 1946-1953

General secretary, 1902-1909

General secretary, 1902-1916 (2 folders)

Box 7

General secretary, 1921-1926

General secretary, 1926-1931

Objectives for the program year, 1963/1964-1968/1969

Student secretary, 1906-1908

Evaluation of the 60th Anniversary Celebration, 1941

Executive secretary, bylaw vote, 1954-1956

"Study of the YWCA as a Women's Movement," 1964-1967

YMCA/YWCA study committee report, 1966

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SERIES II. FINANCIAL RECORDS

Box 7 (cont.)

Accountant's reports, 1980-1982

Budget

1978-1979

1984-1985

Box 8

Endowment fund

Articles of Incorporation, 1978

Bylaws, 1978

Memorial plaque donors, 1967-1971

Promotional materials, 1974-1976

Secretary’s notebook, 1974-1982

Financial donor records

Donors, 1957-1962

Donors and other financial information, 1967-1969

Donors, 1971

Campaign workers, 1971

Donors, correspondence, 1971-1973

Box 9

Capital funds campaign

Ledger, 1979 (2 folders)

Ledger, 1980-1983

Donor cards, 1979-1980 (sample)

Financial reports, 1971-1982

Materials used to prepare 1978-1979 program budget

Memberships and finance, 1901 [folder missing]

Building information

General, 1906-1980

Building campaigns, 1905-1907

Building campaigns, 1945-1969

Architect bids, 1968 and undated

Budget recommendations to the board, 1969

Correspondence, general, 1966

Correspondence, architects, 1966

Box 10

Des Moines Urban Renewal Plan, 1965

Floor plans and site maps, undated [shelved in map case: drawer 8]

Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Appeals Review Board, 1966

Greater Des Moines Planning and Development Study, 1965-1966

Notes and minutes, 1966-1969

Planning and Development Study--Area Analysis, undated

Planning phase proposals, 1965 and undated

Projected use statistics, 1966

Proposed ideas for renovating the old building, 1945

Residence study questionnaire, 1965

“YMCA-YWCA Cooperation,” 1956

Land contracts, 1905-1907

Leases, 1921-1922

Photographs, 1903, 1971 [1909 photograph, in map case drawer 2]

Sales and rental agreements

1st Unitarian Church of Des Moines, 1956

St. Simon’s Episcopal Mission, 1933

Newspaper clippings, finance campaigns, 1918, 1921

Official papers, correspondence, receipts, permits, will, 1913-1947

Scrapbook, 1928

Scrapbook, 1929

Semi-annual report program to United Way, 1976-1979

Box 11

Statistical records

1895-1897

1897-1899

1900-1901

1979

Tax audits

1921-1929

1931-1938

1939-1942

1944-1947

Box 12

1949-1953

1954-1958

1959-1963

1964-1967

1968-1969

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SERIES III. PUBLICITY

Box 12 (cont.)

Diploma and photographs, 1901

Guest registers

1955-1957

1959

Box 13

1960-1963

"Inklings," 1905-1928 (2 folders)

Newsletters, correspondence, pamphlets on programs and events, 1980-1985, 20015

Newspaper clippings

YWCA Hostess House, 1918

Newspaper clippings and photograph, 1913, 1923-1926, undated (includes Blue Triangle materials)

1928-1939 and undated

1955

1982-1988

Newspaper clippings and magazines, 1895-1983 [shelved in map case]

Obituaries, 1986 and undated

Pamphlets and "Y-Winks," 1904-1924

Box 14

Pamphlets, signs, newspaper clippings, 1903-1967

Photographs, 1952

Tip Off (songbooks), 1938-1939

Working women and the YWCA, 1917, 1966

Scrapbooks

1895-1905

1905-1911

Box 15

1912-1916

1912-1919

1916-1919

Box 16

1919

1920-1924 (6 folders)

1922-1923

1924-1925

March-September, 1926 [photocopies]

September-December 1926 [photocopies]

Campaign publicity 1926 [photocopies]

1927 [photocopies]

Box 17

1928 [photocopies]

1928 [Introductory materials for Greater Des Moines Chapter]

1929-1930 [photocopies]

1931

1933

1934

Box 18

1935

1936

1937

1938

Box 19

1939

1940

1940-1941

1941

Box 20

1942

1943 [oversize: shelved in box 25]

1944-1945 [oversize: shelved in box 26]

1946-1947 [oversize: shelved in box 27]

1947-1948

1948-1949 [oversize: shelved in box 28]

1950-1957 [oversize: shelved in box 29]

1958-1969 [oversize: shelved in box 30]

1971-1972 [oversize: shelved in box 31]

1973-1975 [oversize: shelved in box 32]

YWCA Camp, 1971 [oversize: shelved in box 33]

YWCA Camp, undated [oversize: shelved in map case]

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SERIES IV. BRANCHES AND CLUBS

Box 20 (cont.)

YWCA Blue Triangle Branch

Annual meetings, 1941-1942

Brochures, obituary, photographs, 1941, 1947, 1988 and undated

Camp Committee minutes, 1947

Coskery Fund Committee, 1946

History, 1942, 1975 and undated

Membership list, 1942

Race relations committee, 1927 and undated

Scrapbooks

1929-1932 and undated

1929-1932 and undated

1932-1934 [oversize: shelved in box 34, on conservation shelf]

1935-1937 [oversize: shelved in box 35, on conservation shelf]

1935-1939

Box 21

1938-1940

1941 [oversize: shelved in box 36]

YWCA Candlelight Club

Meetings, 1955-1956

Scrapbook, 1955-1957 [oversize: shelved in box 37]

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SERIES V. PHOTOGRAPHS
Box 21 (cont.)
	Photographs
		1921-1924
		Camp Boone , 1924-1926
		1920s-1960s
		Miscellaneous, 1946 and undated
		Centennial of the YWCA, 1955
		Y-Teen, 1949-1956 and undated
		Miss Y-Teen, 1958, 1969, 1972
		Aquamaids (YWCA swim team) with Dick Van Dyke, undated
		Newspaper article, YWCA calendar photos, 1983
		Miscellaneous photographs and correspondence, 1988 and undated
		Camp Mitigwa , undated
		Events, 1990-1992

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SERIES VI. 1998 ACCESSION

Box 22

Administrative records

Administration structure, 1966-1967

President-elect, 1974

President-elect, Margaret McCollum, 1976-1977

Association review, 1977-1978

Board meetings and materials, 1975-1978 (3 folders)

Personnel

General, 1973-1976

Affirmative Action Plan, 1974-1976

Staff development, 1977

Employment handbook, undated

Box 23

Programs and committees

Program for Action, 1970-1973

RSVP Advisory Committee, 1976-1977

Therapeutic Recreation Committee, 1973-1975

YMCA-YWCA Advisory Committee, 1973-1977

Miscellaneous committees and programs, 1976-1978

Reports

Annual committee reports, 1968-1975

Annual meeting reports, 1971-1976

Community Career Planning Center for Women Report, 1977

Imperative Report on Racism, 1973-1974

Policies, Bylaws and Progress Report, 1977

Progress Report – Review Committee, 1975

Box 24

Financial Records

Accountant’s reports, 1974-1975

Building campaign donations, 1971-1974 (2 folders)

Tax exemption, 1971-1974

Miscellaneous financial records, 1976-1977

Publicity

Gun control policy, 1973

Leader luncheon, 1975

Booklets and brochures, 1971-1978 (2 folders)

YWCA Interchange, 1974-1977

YWCA Action Audit for Change

Printed materials

“YWCA World Mutual Service,” 1973

“The Power and the Glory is in We,” Report, 1973

“Social Health and Recreation Needs and Services in Greater Des Moines,” Report, 1973

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SERIES VII. ARTIFACTS and OVERSIZE

Box 25

Oversize:

Scrapbooks, Publicity

1943

Box 26

1944-1945

Box 27

1946-1947

Box 28

1948-1949

Box 29

1951-1957

Box 30

1958-1969

Box 31

1971-1972

Box 32

1973-1975

Box 33

YWCA Camp, 1971

Box 34

Scrapbooks, YWCA Blue Triangle Branch

1932-1934 [on conservation shelf]

Box 35

1935-1937 [on conservation shelf]

Box 36

1941 [needs conservation]

Box 37

Scrapbooks, Candleight Club

1955-1957

Box 38

Artifacts

Commerative plates

National YWCA centennial 1955

"Our Imperative: the Elimination of Racism," undated

Box 39

Membership ledger, 1895-1902