Encino Woman's Club Collection, 1927-2023

Summary

Title:

Encino Woman's Club Collection

Dates:

1927-2023

Creators:

Encino Woman's Club

Abstract:

The Encino Woman's Club Collection documents club administration, activities, philanthropic endeavors, the acquisition and management of their clubhouse, and their dissolution in 2024. It details membership and committee work through business and executive meeting agendas, minutes, and attendance records. Fundraising events and local field trips are documented by press clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, club bulletins, yearbooks, and records assembled by the club Historian. These materials provide insight into San Fernando Valley cultural life through member events and charity fundraisers, as well as women's twentieth century social networks in the Los Angeles region.

Extent:

17.65 linear feet

Language:

English .

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materials guide.

Background

Scope and content:

The Encino Woman's Club Collection contains records documenting the business and charitable activities of the club from its beginnings in 1927 until its dissolution in 2024. The collection is divided into five series: Administrative Records (1934-2023), Board and Committee Records (1936-2020), Club Historian Records (1927-2002), Financial Records (1947-2020), and Publications (1931-2020).

Series I, Administrative Records, contains membership correspondence and lists, legal records, property records, the organization's foundational documents that record club administrative decisions, and dissolution documentation. These are organized alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Series II, Board and Committee Records, contains agendas, meeting minutes, and correspondence related to the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, Champagne Luncheon, Nominating, Planning, Student Sponsorship, Welfare and Philanthropy Committees. Records are organized alphabetically by originating board or committee, and then chronologically.

Series III, Club Historian Records, includes awards, photographs, newspaper clippings, recipe books, ephemera, and scrapbooks assembled by the club Historian to document Club history, activities, and field trips. These are arranged chronologically within boxes.

Series IV, Financial Records, contains general and trust fund reports, finance related correspondence and tax returns. These are arranged alphabetically by subject, and then chronologically.

Series V, Publications, contains self-published bulletins and yearbooks documenting membership, club leadership, and events. These are arranged by material type and then chronologically.

Biographical / historical:

The Encino Woman's Club was founded in 1927 by a small group of local women that met regularly for a monthly potluck and game of cards. The early years of the Club were spent on leisure activities, establishing their club room, and charitable activities that included sewing for the Pacific Home and the McKinley Home for Boys.

Though the Depression years were difficult, the Club continued their fundraising work with bake sales and card parties. It was also at this time that members began their long-standing tradition of providing scholarship funds to students beginning their college education or vocational training, with a particular focus on nursing education. Many scholarship recipients attended local colleges and universities in the San Fernando Valley, including Los Angeles Valley College, Pierce College and San Fernando Valley State University (now California State University, Northridge). The Club also became politically engaged at this time, serving 30 people at a dinner for Democratic congressional nominee John Steve McGroarty.

During World War II they lost the use of their clubhouse in Encino Park, as the space was needed for the fire department. As in the earliest traditions of the club, members held meetings in their own homes, with different members sharing hosting responsibilities each month. The war years saw the creation of a temporary Red Cross section that disbanded as the war came to a close. The Club also purchased war bonds and hosted U.S.O. parties for local enlisted men. One of their charity focuses at this time was Birmingham Hospital, a local Army hospital that served primarily as a rehabilitation center for wounded veterans.

From the earliest years members understood the need to have their own meeting place. The Club's Building Fund, which they called "The Bridge Builder," began with a contribution generated from their monthly bridge game. In the early 1940s they purchased land near Balboa and Ventura Blvd. and set up a committee to meet with architects. With their funds running low, the women chose instead to buy another building and have it moved to their new location. By the end of the decade they paid off their mortgage.

Throughout the years the Club fundraised by organizing themed and garden parties, fashion shows, boutique sales, and bridge parties. They also published and sold a cookbook containing member recipes. They held their first annual White Breakfast in 1945 and around this time also began supporting Futures Unlimited, a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping the physically handicapped. In addition to their work for Futures Unlimited, the Club also fundraised for the Valley Child Guidance Clinic, Red Cross, Community Chest (after 1963 the United Way of Los Angeles), and the Encino Community Center. The club was dissolved in 2024.

Acquisition information:

Beatrice Moffatt and Bernice Johnson, 2004; Sally Hazel, 2024; Dori Schiller, 2025.

Processing information:

Robert G. Marshall and April Feldman, 2006

Arrangement:

Series I: Administrative Records, 1934-2023

Series II: Board and Committee Records, 1936-2020

Series III: Club Historian Records, 1927-2002

Series IV: Financial Records, 1947-2020

Series V: Publications, 1931-2020

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Ephemera
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-30 11:59:59 -0700 .

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materials guide.

Location of this collection:

California State University, Northridge, Urban Archives

18111 Nordhoff Street

Northridge, CA 91330, US

Contact:

(818) 677-4594

Website