Finding aid to the Highland Park Ebell Club Records Ebell.001

Finding aid prepared by Marc LaRocque
Occidental College Library
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA, 90041-3314
(323) 259-2852
2013


Title: Ebell Club of Highland Park Records
Identifier/Call Number: Ebell.001
Contributing Institution: Occidental College Library
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 15.0 Linear feet 21 cartons (2) 15 x 19 flat boxes (1) 11.5 X 13.5 flat box (1) 5 x 30 x 5 rolled material box 1 rolled material box - 5 x30x5 2 oversize folders
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1904-1999
Date (inclusive): 1870-2011
Abstract: These records document the activities of the Ebell Club of Highland Park from its founding in 1903 to the present. Included are constitution(s) and by-laws, meeting minutes, event programs, yearbooks, club histories, financial records, scrapbooks, rental agreements, material from affiliated confederations of women’s clubs, photographs, and other records documenting the club’s social and community service functions.
creator: Ebell Club of Highland Park.

Scope and content

The collection consists of organizational records, publications, and photographs generated by, as well as material donated to, the Ebell Club of Highland Park, 1904-2002.
The collection is divided into 4 series:
1. Organizational records;
2. Affiliated Confederations;
3. Scrapbooks, Photographs, and Graphic material;
4. Ebell Club of Highland Park Clubhouse.
The records include meeting minutes, committee reports, procedural manuals, accounting ledgers, tax reports, event programs, yearbooks, architectural blueprints, scrapbooks, clippings, books, serial publications, award certificates, by-laws, member applications, correspondence, rental agreements, guest registers, photographic prints, memorabilia and other material.

Arrangement

The collection is aranged into the following series:
Series 1. Organizational records, 1904-2002, documents the meetings, finances, scheduled events, membership, and history of the Highland Park Ebell Club.
Series 2. Affiliated confederations, 1967-2002, documents aspects of the Highland Park Ebell Club’s relations with confederated women’s clubs at three levels: national (General Confederation of Women’s Clubs); state (California Confederation of Women’s Clubs); and district (Verdugo/Northeast Los Angeles).
Series 3. Scrapbooks, photographs, and graphic materials, 1914-1994. The series consists primarily of scrapbooks documenting activities of the HP Ebell Club through chronologically organized newspaper clippings, photographs, and other enclosed material ; it also includes un-aggregated/loose photographs of club officers and events; 3 oversize cardboard panels framing a photographic depiction of Highland Park Ave. storefronts, circa 1981; oversize award certificates presented to the Ebell Club of HP, 1960-2003; and a black and white photograph of a Club luncheon, 1928.
Series 4. Highland Park Ebell Clubhouse, 1938-2009, has four elements: first, records of clubhouse rentals; second, textual material pertaining to the physical structure and maintenance of the Ebell Clubhouse; three, guest registers; and four, architectural drawings pertaining to The Ebell Clubhouse.
Loose materials have been sorted by category (meeting minutes, correspondence, etc.) and arranged chronologically. Where a range of organizational materials were found grouped together under a given rubric and date range (i.e., Procedure Book, 1977-'79), the groupings were maintained and files titled as found.

Conditions Governing Access Note

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use note

All requests for permission to publish or quote from holdings must be submitted in writing to the Ebell Club of Highland Park. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Ebell Club as the owners of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained.

Preferred Citation note

[item], Ebell Club of Highland Park Records, Ebell Club of Highland Park

Related Archival Materials note

"Guide to the California Federation of Womens Clubs Records, 1900-", University of California Santa Cruz Special Collections and Archives, box 27

Separated materials note

Separated materials note.
The following materials have been separated from the collection:
Duplicate yearbooks and event programs
2 photo scrapbooks labeled “LACE – Ladies Assisting Cops Enthusiastically”
Duplicate copies of donated books
Duplicate procedural and other material, CFWC, CFWC/Verdugo District

Historical note

The Ebell Club of Highland Park was founded in December of 1903 at the Highland Park home of Ella G. Lunt, a co-founder in 1896 of the Ebell Club of Long Beach. Women’s clubs that adopted the name “Ebell” were modeled on a prototype established in Oakland, California (1876) following a visit by Dr. Adrian Ebell, a scholar whose plan to improve women’s education and active role in society involved organizing “circles or chapters for the study of arts and science.” The Ebell Club of Highland Park (HP) reflected this serious orientation in its stated object, “advancement in all lines of general culture, and promotion of the well-being of the community in which we live.”
Consistent with general practice among turn-of-the-century women’s clubs, the Ebell Club of Highland Park drew up a constitution and by-laws, elected officers yearly and followed parliamentary procedure at general and executive board meetings. Standing committees such as membership, philanthropy, and child welfare oversaw administrative or ongoing charitable commitments; study sections reflecting facets of the Club’s interest in general culture and community wellbeing were designated on a yearly basis. Sections discussed and sponsored presentations in areas such as literature, drama, travel, conservation, current events, history and landmarks, art, music, American citizenship, and gardens. Club activities, officer lists, programs, by-laws, membership rolls and so on were recorded in an annual yearbook, beginning in 1907.
During its first years the HP Ebell Club met in member’s homes and in rented space before acquiring a lot and financing the construction of a clubhouse on Avenue 57, completed in 1912. The majority of shares in this undertaking (the club incorporated for the purpose in 1909) were held by club members; additional money was raised through public events (sales, dinners, entertainments) and a portion of membership dues. The Clubhouse, featuring a large hall with stage, provided a home for club activities as well as rental revenues that have financed the club’s philanthropic activities to the present day. By the late 1920s expanding membership (over 300 at the time) necessitated the construction of an adjacent clubhouse addition with dining room and full kitchen, completed in 1938.
The Ebell Club of HP joined the California Federation of Women’s Clubs (CFWC) in 1905 and the (national) General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1912 (renewed in 1923 after a lapse). Federation related activities included attending conventions and arranging social events (“reciprocity days”) that brought representatives of local and regional women’s clubs to Highland Park. An organizational re-arrangement in 1956 made the Ebell Club of HP a part of the CFWC Verdugo District representing northeast Los Angeles.
Sources: Symonds, Maude. A History of the Ebell Club of Highland Park, 1903-1945. Ebell Club of Highland Park Records, box 19:2.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Ebell Club of Long Beach.
California Federation of Womens Clubs
Highland Park -- California -- History
Women -- Societies and Clubs -- History
Womens Clubs

Box 1-15

Organizational records Bulk, 1904-1999 1900-2011

Physical Description: 5.5 linear ft. 1 flat box, 15 x 19 3 legal-size cartons 11 letter-size cartons

Scope and content

Series 1, Organizational records, comprises meeting minutes, by-laws, committee reports, membership rosters and application materials, treasurer's reports and other financial documents, Club histories, event programs, yearbooks, award certificates, sheet music, clippings, and donated books.
Box 1-4, 25

Meeting minutes, by-laws, committee reports 1904-1998

Physical Description: 1.6 Linear feet 5 letter-size cartons

scope and content

Box 1: Minutes, 1904-'29; Box 2: minutes, 1933-'66; Box 3, minutes, 1966-'98 (note: minutes for 1967-1977, 1989-1996 are missing). Box 4: Constitution, by-laws, 4:1-3; "Procedure Book", 1977-'79 (includes committee reports, programs), 4:4-9 ; History committee reports, 1965-'83, 4:10,11; assorted committee reports, 1970-'82, 4:12, 13; aggregated [financial, minutes, etc.] records by year, 1995-'98, 4:14; and Box 25, minutes, 1993-2001.
Box 5

Membership 1906-1997

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. 1 letter-size carton

Scope and content

Box 5, Membership: the subseries consists of member lists, applications, sponsor letters, and dues statements. It also includes records of the Correspondence Secretary, largely concerned with membership issues, 1957-'59 [5:1]; and miscellaneous Club correspondence [5:2],1950-1999.
Box 6-8

Financial records 1906-1999

Physical Description: 2.0 Linear feet 2 legal size cartons (1) 15 x 19 flat box

Scope and content

Treasurer's accounts and reports, 1906-1994, box 6; assorted financial records and tax documents, 1925-1995, box 7; oversize account ledger records, 1940-1994, box 8.
Box 9

Club history 1903-2003

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. 1 letter-sized carton

Scope and content

The Club history subseries consists primarily of handwritten drafts or typed copies of Club history organized as bi-annual summaries of Club activities, along with lists of Club office holders. Also included are notes and materials from the Club's 75th and 100th aniversary celebrations. Bi-yearly Club history reports created by the History Committee may also be found in Series 1, 4:10-11.
Boxes 10-13

Event programs, yearbooks, and other material 1906-2002

Physical Description: 1.8 Linear feet 4 letter-size cartons

Scope and content

The subseries includes Ebell Club event programs, yearbooks, and other material. Box 10, Event Programs, documents the Ebell Club of HP's scheduled itineraries (lectures, social and cultural events, outings), 1906-'99. Boxes 11 and 12 contain Ebell Club of HP Yearbooks, 1907-1989; these include summaries of Club activities, member and officer lists, illustrations, etc., 1907-2002. Box 13 contains yearbooks for 1990-2002, 13:1,2 ; assorted yearbooks with enclosed materials (notes, clippings, event programs), 13:3,4 ; the Ebell Club Song and other sheet music, circa 1912, 13:5 ; Award certificates, 1950-1995, 13:6 ; newpaper clippings, 1930s-1980s, 13:7,8 ; and miscellaneous materials, 13:9,10.
Box 14

Books donated to Ebell of HP 1909-1975

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. 1 letter-size carton

Scope and content

The subseries consists of books donated to the Highland Park Ebell Club. Authors and titles follow below.
14:1 - (1)Tubbs, Calla Dore. The Gnome of Niagra [poems], 1938; and (2) Ennis, Addie Lucas. A Way with Words [poems], 1975.
14:2 - (3) Strobridge, Idah Meacham. Land of the Purple Shadows [California travel] 1909; (4) Lummis, Charles F. The Gold Fish of the Grand Chimu [fiction], 1911.
14:3 - (5) Myers, Harriet Williams. The Birds Convention [fiction], 1912; and (6) Burnished Hillsides [poetry], 1946. (7) Williams, Edward Huntington. Pine Flats Campfire Tales [fiction], 1924.
14:4 - (8) Myers, Harriet Williams. We Three [memoir], 1945.
14:5 - (9) Shippy, Lee. Personal Glimpses [journalism], 1929; (10) Leigh, Randolph. The Citadel of Freedom [history], 1923.
Items 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 were donated by Club members. Items 4 and 9 were gifts to the Ebell Club from the authors. Item 3 was "awarded to the Highland Park Ebell Club . . as first prize in the Creative Booth." [unknown event, 1922]. Items 1 and 10 are of unknown significance.
Box 15

Confidential - Clarice Conley 1985-1995

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. 1 letter-sized carton

Scope and content

Five files comprising material concerned with Club treasurer Clarice Conley, 1985-1995.
Box 16-17

Affiliated confederations 1967-2002

Physical Description: 0.8 linear ft. 2 letter-size cartons

Scope and contents

Series 2, Affiliated Confederations, comprises material directed to the Ebell Club of Highland Park by the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC); its California affiate, the California Federation of Women's Clubs (CFWC); and CFWC/Verdugo District, the Northeast Los Angeles area division that included the Ebell Club of Highland Park among its members. Materials include manuals and guides related to all organizational aspects of club operations, from parliamentary procedures to educational program planning.
Box 17, Folder 1-8

General Confederation of Women's Clubs 1967-2002

Physical Description: 0.3 linear ft.

Scope and content

The General Confederation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) was a nationwide confederation founded in 1890. The subseries comprises material sent by the GFWC to the Ebell Club of Highland Park, which became a member in 1912 (renewed membership in 1923). Materials include a variety of GFWC publications, including guides and manuals on club procedure and program planning, the bulk from 1965 to 1990.
Box 18, Folder 1-3, Box 17, Folder 9-14

California Federation of Women's Clubs 1942-2002

Physical Description: 0.3 linear ft.

Scope and content

Founded in 1900, the California Federation of Women's Clubs was a member of the GFWC. The subseries comprises material sent by the California Federation of Women's Clubs (CFWC) to the Ebell Club of Highland Park, a member of the CFWC since 1905. Materials include a variety of CFWC publications, including guides and manuals on club procedure and program planning, the bulk from between 1965 and 1990.
Box 18, Folder 7-14

CFWC/Verdugo District and other material 1967-2002

Physical Description: 0.5 linear ft.

Scope and content

Los Angeles area women's clubs belonging to the California Federation of Women's Clubs were reorganized into two districts and a number of subdistricts in 1956. The Ebell Club of Highland Park was included within the Verdugo District, consisting of a number of towns or neighborhoods in the Northeast Los Angeles area. The subseries comprises material sent by the CFWC/Verdugo District to the Ebell Club of Highland Park, circa 1960-1990, 18:4-13. Several programs and yearbooks from Los Angeles area women's clubs found among the Ebell Club of HP materials may be found in 18:14.
Box 18-21

Photographs, scrapbooks, and other graphic material 1914-2002

Physical Description: 2.3 linear ft. 2 letter-size cartons 1 legal-size carton 1 Flat box, 15 x 19 1 map drawer [?]
Box 18, folders 1-5, oversize-folder 3

Photographs and photo-albums 1919-1994

Physical Description: 1.0 linear ft.

Scope and content

Subseries 1, Photographs and photo-albums, comprises photographs associated with the Highland Park Ebell Club.
18:1 is a small (5 x 3.75 inch) photograph album containing portraits of Ebell club namesake Adrian Ebell, his wife, and eight others, five of them unmarried young women, possibly circa 1870 (1868 written in faint pencil on blank first page); the album may be a memento of one of the educational tours for young ladies Adrian Ebell was known for arranging.
18:2 contains color photographs taken in 1984 of past Ebell Club members' houses in Highland Park; a portrait and obituary of a deceased club member; and two images without a clear connection to the HP Ebell Club.
18:3 Group portraits, consists of 6 formal black and white photographic portraits of Ebell club members, circa 1950s.
18:4 Judson photographs album, 1914-1918, consists of over 200 black and white photographs primarily documenting outdoor excursions of Louise Judson/Judson family at a wide variety of sites around Southern California. While the photographs have no clear and definite connection to the Ebell Club, several surnames (and one complete name) of individuals identified (including the Judsons) in photographs appear in Club rosters during the period; as well, a number of photographs depict Highland Park locations such as the Arroyo Seco. The photographs have two notable emphases: outdoor recreation at scenic natural sites, and a focused interest in engineered features of landscape including dams, aquaducts, mountain roads, bridges, and so on. In all, the photographs offer a candid and wide-ranging window into auto-tourism and middle class family sociability in the period. Also included are photographs dated January 1918 depicting soldiers marching down a main street of what may be Highland Park; also, photographs of the Tournament of Roses Parade from 1915.
18:5 Member photographs album, 1908-1935, consists of 40 individual black and white portraits of Ebell Club officers, charter members, and others.
Oversize folder 3 Photo of members at 25th Birthday Anniversay Breakfast, October 2, 1928.
Box 19-21

Scrapbooks 1919-1994

Physical Description: 1.3 linear ft. 2 letter-size cartons 1 legal size carton

Scope and content

The Scrapbooks subseries contains a variety of scrapbooks documenting Ebell Club activities, 1919-1994.
19:1-5 comprises "pressbooks" of sequentially arranged newspaper clippings, probably assembled by club members as part of assigned committee tasks, 1919-1980;
20:1-8 consists of personal scrapbook pages of color photographs, Ebell Club event programs, clippings and other material, 1977-1985, donated by Club member Marie Stiebeling;
20:9 and 21:5 consist of unattributed color photographs of Ebell social events, circa 1990-1995;
21: 1-4 consists of scrapbooks of color photographs, clippings, and personal correspondence, 1961-1985, contributed to the Ebell Club by member Ina McCormick.
oversize-folder 1,2

Oversize graphic materials 1966-2003

Physical Description: 1.0 linear ft. Oversize graphic materials, 23 x 14; 30 x 11.

Scope and content

Oversize graphic materials consists of two sets of items:
1. Award certificates - honorary certificates presented to the Highland Park Ebell Club, 1966 to 2003; dimensions range from 14 x 11 to 23 x 14;
2. Highland Park Avenue circa 1981 - Three rectangular black cardboard panels framing trimmed, linear black and white photographs of Highland Park storefronts, with some added content in white ink or paint. 23 x 10 inches (1) and 30 x 11 inches (2).
 

Ebell Clubhouse 1938-2009

Physical Description: 1.8 Linear feet 1 legal-size carton 1 5 x 30 x 5 rolled material container 1 13.5 x 11.5 flat box

Scope and content

Series 4, Highland Park Ebell Clubhouse, 1938-2009, consists of records pertaining to Clubhouse rentals (22:1-8); textual records pertaining to the physical structure and maintenance of the Ebell Clubhouse, 22:9-19; Ebell Clubhouse guest registers, 23:1-3; and architectural diagrams pertaining to the Ebell Clubhouse, 24:1-4.
Box 22

Highland Park Ebell Clubhouse 1950-1998

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. 1 legal-size carton

Scope and content

Subseries 1, Ebell of Highland Park Clubhouse, 1950-2009, has a two-part focus: first, records of Clubhouse rentals, 1959-2009, 22:1-8; and second, textual material pertaining to the physical structure and maintenance of the Ebell Clubhouse,1950-1998, 22:9-18.
Box 23

Ebell Clubhouse guest registers 1938-1994

Physical Description: 1.0 linear ft. 1 flat box, 11.5 x 13.5

Scope and content

Subseries 2 consists of 3 guest registers from the Ebell Clubhouse:
23:1 - 6.5 x 8.5, 1990-1994;
23:2 - 10.5 x 12, 1938 - 1950;
23:3 - 9.5 x 12, 1965-1968.
Box 24

Ebell Clubhouse architectural diagrams 1938-2005

Physical Description: 0.4 linear ft. (1) 5 x 30 x 5 rolled material box.

Scope and content

Subseries 3, Clubhouse diagrams and blueprints, consists of 4 structural diagrams related to the Ebell Clubhouse.
24:1 Ebell Clubhouse addition, is a blueprint for the addition to the main Ebell Clubhouse built in 1938; Sydney Clifton, architect.
24:2,3: two architectural diagrams, undated; labeled "Archivision - Robert E.Leach, architect"; one with title "Hunchback Theatre" - they appear to involve additions to or adaptations of the Clubhouse addition;
24:4 Diagram for Highland Park Ebell Display Cabinet - designer unspecified, 2007.