Guide to the Canoga Park Women's Club Collection

Special Collections & Archives

University Library

California State University, Northridge

18111 Nordhoff Street

Northridge, CA 91330-8326

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Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives

Title: Canoga Park Women's Club Collection

Creator: Canoga Park Women's Club (Canoga Park, Los Angeles, Calif.)

Identifier/Call Number: URB.CPWC

Extent: 3.75 linear feet

Date (inclusive): 1914-1980

Abstract: The Canoga Park Women's Club works "to promote interest in intellectual pursuits; to become a center for broader social life and to work unitedly for the general advancement of both club and community." The collection consists of notebooks and scrapbooks which contain photographs, invitations, correspondence, newsletters and ephemera related to the organization's history and activities.

Language of Material: English

Historical Note:

The first meeting of the Owensmouth Women's Club was held on October 30, 1914 at the home of Mrs. Fred Balster. Officers were elected and a committee was established to draw up the new organization's Constitution and By-Laws. In 1915, the Owensmouth Women's Club became the youngest organization to be admitted to the California Federation of Women's Clubs and later became incorporated in 1916. The 1916 Constitution and By-laws of the Owensmouth Women's Club states, "The purpose of this club is to promote interest in intellectual pursuits; to become a center for broader social life and to work unitedly for the general advancement of both club and community." When the town of Owensmouth adopted "Canoga Park" as its new name, the club followed suit, and became the Canoga Park Women's Club.

One of the first issues to come before the Canoga Park Women's Club was the establishment of the Owensmouth Free Public Library. Women's clubs participated in the establishment and the hourly work for these libraries. Canoga Park Women's Club volunteers manned the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 2 – 5:00 PM. The 150 original books at the new library were soon augmented by donations made by club members. Beautification of Canoga Park also became a theme for the clubwomen who planted trees and held horticulture-related events at Orcutt Rancho on Roscoe Boulevard. Canoga Park clubwomen also participated in Pennies for Pines, and worked tirelessly to reforest national areas, in and around San Francisco.

Canoga park Women's Club meetings were a combination of business and a variety of educational programs, such police talks, gardening in the Valley, 'women's work,' Los Angeles Philharmonic music speakers, fashion style films, Los Angeles relief, wildflowers and native plants, holiday fetes, as well as arts and crafts demonstrations. The Canoga Park Women's Club supported a variety of philanthropic endeavors and during WWII, they "did their bit" for the troops overseas by hosting tables of ten at numerous bridge parties, the proceeds going to the war effort. A watermelon party was held in July of 1942 at the United Services Organization (USO) where a pool table was presented to the Soldiers with money that had been raised by clubwomen. The annual White Breakfast signified the beginning of each holiday season where toys, gifts, food and donations were collected for local Canoga Park charities. A charitable component at each event helped support the community libraries, health organizations, and the Guadalupe Youth Center, which was a favorite of the Canoga Park clubwomen.

In the 1970's the Canoga Park Women's Club affiliated with women's clubs nationwide to "declare war on rape. As the numbers rapes continued to increase in every major city in the United States, each state federation of women's clubs set about to change their own state laws. The Canoga Park Women's Club worked to increase awareness and trained their club members in rape counseling so they could attend local court sessions to be a comfort to victims.

Scope and Contents

The Canoga Park Women's Club Collection consists of notebooks and scrapbooks which document the Club's activities. Photographs, invitations, correspondence, newsletters and ephemera are contained within each scrapbook. The material contained in notebooks and scrapbooks has been left in original order. The collection has been organized in three series: Minute Books of the Executive Board (1916-1979), Minute Books of the Club Secretary (1914-1980), and Records of the Club Historian (1914-1980).

Series I, Minute Books of the Executive Board, contains correspondence, bound and loose minutes, financial statements, committee reports and related items compiled at the monthly meetings of the Club's executive board. Bound minute books cover the period 1916-1965. Beginning in 1966, the minutes were originally filed in three-ring binders. The files are arranged in chronological order.

Series II, Minute Books of the Club Secretary, contains biographical information of club leadership, correspondence, bound and loose minutes, committee reports, financial statements and related items compiled by the Club Secretary during the regular monthly meetings of the Canoga Park Women's Club. The files are arranged in chronological order.

Series III, Records of the Club Historian, includes annual yearbooks, awards, certificates of achievement, some correspondence, newspaper clippings from the local paper, newsletters, photographs and related memorabilia. The records were originally filed in three-ring notebooks. The original chronological order of the files has been maintained.

Arrangement of Materials:

Series I: Minute Books of the Executive Board, 1916-1979

Series II: Minute Books of the Club Secretary, 1914-1980

Series III: Records of the Club Historian, 1914-1975

Electronic Format:

Digital reproductions of selected items in this collection are available electronically as a part of the San Fernando Valley History Digital Library .

Conditions Governing Access:

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing 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

Beth Shirley. 06/19/1989.

Preferred Citation:

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

Processing Information:

Robert G. Marshall, Jim Azevedo, Robert Pflug; September 1989

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Documents

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Series I: Minute Books of the Executive Board, 1916-1979

Box 1, Folder 1

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1916 May 31-1924 June 14

Box 1, Folder 2

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1924 June 23-1930 June 2

Box 1, Folder 3

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1930 July 7-1936 June 1

Box 1, Folder 4

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1936 July 7-1947 June 2

Box 1, Folder 5

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1955 January 5-1958 December 9

Box 1, Folder 6

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1956 January 6-1961 August 7

Box 1, Folder 7

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1961 August 30-1965 May 19

Box 1, Folder 8

Executive Board: Minute Book, 1961 August 30-1965 May 19

Box 2, Folder 1

Executive Board: Minutes, 1965 June 1-1965 November 29

Box 2, Folder 2

Executive Board: Minutes, 1966 January 3-1966 April 30

Box 2, Folder 3

Executive Board: Minutes, 1968 July 10-1968 December 30

Box 2, Folder 4

Executive Board: Minutes, 1969 January 27-1969 December 16

Box 2, Folder 5

Executive Board: Minutes, 1970 January 7-1970 December 18

Box 2, Folder 6

Executive Board: Minutes, 1971 January 28-1971 December 29

Box 2, Folder 7

Executive Board: Minutes, 1972 January 31-1972 November 27

Box 2, Folder 8

Executive Board: Minutes, 1973 January 22-1973 December 18

Box 2, Folder 9

Executive Board: Minutes, 1974 January 28-1974 December 23

Box 2, Folder 10

Executive Board: Minutes, 1975 January 27-1975 December 22

Box 2, Folder 11

Executive Board: Minutes, 1976 January 26-1976 December 21

Box 2, Folder 12

Executive Board: Minutes, 1977 January 24-1977 December 22

Box 2, Folder 13

Executive Board: Minutes, 1978 January 23-1978 December 18

Box 2, Folder 14

Executive Board: Minutes, 1979 January 22-1979 December 17

Series II: Minute Books of the Club Secretary, 1914-1980

Box 3, Folder 1

Secretary: Minute Book, 1914 October 30-1916 June 30

Box 3, Folder 2

Secretary: Minute Book, 1916 October 4-1921 March 2

Box 3, Folder 3

Secretary: Minute Book, 1920 December 15-1924 June 18

Box 3, Folder 4

Secretary: Minute Book, 1924 October 1-1927 June 15

Box 3, Folder 5

Secretary: Minute Book, 1927 October 5-1929 June 19

Box 3, Folder 6

Secretary: Minute Book, 1934 June 20-1940 April 17

Box 4, Folder 1

Secretary: Minute Book, 1940 October 2-1948 June 16

Box 4, Folder 2

Secretary: Minute Book, 1953 March 4-1957 May 15

Box 4, Folder 3

Secretary: Minute Book, 1959 October 21-1961 April 5

Box 4, Folder 4

Secretary: Minute Book, 1961 April 19-1962 June 6

Box 4, Folder 5

Secretary: Minute Book, 1967 March 15-1972 November 30

Box 4, Folder 6

Secretary: Minute Book, 1967 March 15-1972 November 30

Box 4, Folder 7

Secretary: Minutes, 1973 January 3-1973 December 5

Box 4, Folder 8

Secretary: Minutes, 1974 January 2-1974 May 15

Box 4, Folder 9

Secretary: Minutes, 1974 May 31-1975 February 5

Box 5, Folder 1

Secretary: Minutes, 1975 May 21-1976 May 26

Box 5, Folder 2

Secretary: Minutes, 1976 June 2-1977 May 31

Box 5, Folder 3

Secretary: Minutes, 1977 June 1-1978 March 1

Box 5, Folder 4

Secretary: Minutes, 1978 April 4-1978 December 6

Box 5, Folder 5

Secretary: Minutes, 1979 January 3-1980 March 5

Series III: Records of the Club Historian, 1914-1975

Box 5, Folder 6

Historical Notebook, 1914-1923

Box 5, Folder 7

Historical Notebook, 1914-1923

Box 5, Folder 8

Historical Notebook, 1914-1923

Box 5, Folder 9

Historical Notebook, 1914-1923

Box 5, Folder 10

Historical Notebook, 1914-1923

Box 5, Folder 11

Historical Notebook, 1924-1927

Box 5, Folder 12

Historical Notebook, 1924-1927

Box 6, Folder 1

Historical Notebook, 1924-1927

Box 6, Folder 2

Historical Notebook, 1927-1929

Box 6, Folder 3

Historical Notebook, 1927-1929

Box 6, Folder 4

Historical Notebook, 1930-1934

Box 6, Folder 5

Historical Notebook, 1930-1934

Box 6, Folder 6

Historical Notebook, 1930-1934

Box 6, Folder 7

Historical Notebook, 1930-1934

Box 6, Folder 8

Historical Notebook, 1934-1945

Box 6, Folder 9

Historical Notebook, 1934-1945

Box 6, Folder 10

Historical Notebook, 1934-1945

Box 6, Folder 11

Historical Notebook, 1934-1945

Box 7, Folder 1

Historical Notebook, 1945-1948

Box 7, Folder 2

Historical Notebook, 1945-1948

Box 7, Folder 3

Historical Notebook, 1945-1948

Box 7, Folder 4

Historical Notebook, 1945-1948

Box 7, Folder 5

Historical Notebook, 1948-1954

Box 7, Folder 6

Historical Notebook, 1948-1954

Box 7, Folder 7

Historical Notebook, 1948-1954

Box 7, Folder 8

Historical Notebook, 1948-1954

Box 7, Folder 9

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 7, Folder 10

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 7, Folder 11

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 7, Folder 12

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 7, Folder 13

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 8, Folder 1

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 8, Folder 2

Historical Notebook, 1954-1959

Box 8, Folder 3

Historical Notebook, 1959-1962

Box 8, Folder 4

Historical Notebook, 1959-1962

Box 8, Folder 5

Historical Notebook, 1959-1962

Box 8, Folder 6

Historical Notebook, 1959-1962

Box 8, Folder 7

Historical Notebook, 1959-1962

Box 8, Folder 8