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Encino Woman's Club Collection
URB.EWC
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Encino Woman's Club Collection
Creator:
Encino Woman's Club
Identifier/Call Number: URB.EWC
Extent:
15.98 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1927-2003
Abstract: The
Encino
Woman's Club Collection
documents club administration, activities, philanthropic
endeavors, and the acquisition and management of their clubhouse. 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.
Language of Material: English
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
Encino Woman's Club Collection contains records
documenting the business and charitable activities of the club from its beginnings in 1927
until the early 2000s. The collection is divided into five series:
Administrative Records (1934-1997),
Board and Committee
Records
(1936-2002),
Club Historian Records (1927-2002),
Financial Records (1947-2002), and
Publications (1931-2003).
Series I,
Administrative Records, contains membership
correspondence and lists, legal records, property records, and the organization's
foundational documents that record club administrative decisions. 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 photographs,
newspaper clippings, 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 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.
Series I: Administrative Records, 1934-1997
Series II: Board and Committee Records, 1936-2002
Series III: Club Historian Records, 1927-2002
Series IV: Financial Records, 1947-2002
Series V: Publications, 1931-2003
The collection is open for research use.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Beatrice Moffatt and Bernice Johnson. 06/03/2004.
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Robert G. Marshall and April Feldman, 2006
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ephemera
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks