Guide to the Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records MSS-2004-02
Amytha Willard
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
© 2006
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records
Identifier/Call Number: MSS-2004-02
Physical Description:
11 boxes
(6.5 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1962-1999
Abstract: The Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records (1962-1999) documents the activities of a civic club whose
mission is to "preserve Chinese culture and traditions and serve [the] community where needed." The collection materials include
correspondence, meeting minutes, personal notes, awards and plaques, newsletters, news clippings, photographs, scrapbooks,
printed matter, event planning materials and donation records.
Language of Material: Languages represented in the collection: English
General
- Processed by:
- Amytha Willard, revised by Danelle Moon and Deb Sica
- Date Completed:
- 2005
- Encoded by:
- Bernard Yeh
Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections and Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections and Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Preferred Citation
Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records, MSS-2004-02, San Jose State University Library Special Collections
and Archives.
Processing History
Preliminary processing and guide prepared by Amytha Willard, 2004. Final processing completed by Deb Sica and Danelle Moon,
2005. EAD encoding by Bernard Yeh, 2006. Reprocessed, reorganized, and edited by Victor Rodriguez II, 2016.
Organizational History
The Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County (CAWC) was founded in 1962 by a group of women who were brought together
by the common thread of preserving Chinese culture through educating their children. While their children attended a weekly
Chinese school and learned Chinese languages, the mothers would meet and discuss different topics. The weekly meetings soon
became a discussion about starting a cultural club; a club that would support, educate and befriend the entire community.
CAWC's mission is to "preserve Chinese culture and traditions and serve [the] community where needed." The founders combined
cultural activities with fundraising to create opportunities to educate the community and generate revenue for future organizing
efforts. They formed and strengthened existing alliances by combining efforts with other Bay Area Chinese organizations.
In March 1978, CAWC learned of a new project to rebuild the Ng Shing Gung Temple, but the project was in need of financial
support. The Ng Shing Gung Temple, also known as the Joss House and the Temple of the Five Gods, was built in 1888. In 1941,
it was under threat of demolition by the city of San Jose and in 1949 the city finally demolished the dilapidated building.
Community organizations planned to raise enough money to build a replica in History Park at Kelley Park in San Jose. CAWC,
and other local organizations, raised the money to fund the project, and the temple is now open to the public.
The CAWC sponsored a number of cultural events, including the Autumn Moon Festival at the San Jose Historical Museum Site.
The first festival was held on Sunday, September 24, 1978. The event included arts, crafts, a food fair, a temple run (marathon),
an artifact exhibit and a performance by the Chung Ngai Dance Troupe. In 1979, the Autumn Moon Festival was held on Sunday,
October 7th and included a martial arts demonstration, a fine arts exhibit, fashion show, musical performance and dance recital.
In 1987, celebrating its 25th anniversary, the organization planned and hosted a large-scale fashion show luncheon called
"Lasting Legacy." This well-planned and executed event combined the efforts of many local organizations. The San Jose Historical
Museum prepared a slide show and contributed a historical exhibit of artifacts. The event was attended by Chief Assistant
Secretary of State, Jenece Long, Santa Clara County Supervisor, Tom Legan, San José Vice Mayor, Iola Williams, Councilwoman,
Blanca Alvarado, Los Altos Mayor, Roger Eng and various presidents and diplomats from leading Bay Area Asian organizations.
The organization continues to promote Chinese cultural heritage, and many of the members are now third and fourth generation
Chinese-Americans.
Scope and Content
The Chinese American Women's Club of Santa Clara County Records documents the organization from 1962 to 1999. The collection
materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, personal notes, awards and plaques, newsletters, news clippings, photographs,
scrapbooks, printed matter, event planning materials and donation records. The collection documents the organization's promotion
and preservation of Chinese culture and service to the larger Bay Area Chinese community. The collection is arranged in three
series: Series I, Administrative Records; Series II, Community Activities and Programs; Series III, Outreach and Publicity.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in three series: Series I. Administrative Records; Series II. Community Activities and Programs;
and Series III. Outreach and Publicity.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Chinese Americans -- California -- Santa Clara County -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Chinese Americans -- California -- Santa Clara County -- Social life and customs
Chinese American women -- California -- Santa Clara County -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
San José State University. Library. Special Collections & Archives
Series I. Administrative Records
1962-1992
Physical Description: 1 Box
Series Scope and Content Summary
The contents in this series represent the organizational, fiscal and administrative records of Chinese American Women's Club
of Santa Clara County (CAWC). This is the smallest series in the collection, but it contains important, targeted information
for researchers looking to obtain factual information about the constitution and by-laws, the organizational structure, the
framework for decision-making and documented accounts of planning and execution of administrative tasks. Papers include financial
records, the constitution and bylaws, membership rosters, meeting agendas and approved minutes, membership applications, memoranda
and other records that illustrate the daily management of the group.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically.
Box 1, Folder 1
Financial Records
1962-1974
Box 1, Folder 2
Administrative Records
1969
Box 1, Folder 3
Administrative Records
1970
Box 1, Folder 4
Administrative Records
1974
Box 1, Folder 5
Administrative Records
1975
Box 1, Folder 6
Administrative Records
1976
Box 1, Folder 7
Administrative Records
1977
Box 1, Folder 8
Administrative Records
1978
Box 1, Folder 9
Administrative Records
1979
Box 1, Folder 10
Administrative Records
1980
Box 1, Folder 11
Administrative Records
1981
Box 1, Folder 12
Administrative Records
1982
Box 1, Folder 13
Administrative Records
1983
Box 1, Folder 14
Administrative Records
1984
Box 1, Folder 15
Administrative Records
1985
Box 1, Folder 16
Administrative Records
1986
Box 1, Folder 17
Administrative Records
1987
Box 1, Folder 18
Administrative Records
1988
Box 1, Folder 19
Administrative Records
1989
Box 1, Folder 20
Administrative Records
1990
Box 1, Folder 21
Administrative Records
1991
Box 1, Folder 22
Administrative Records
1992
Series II. Community Activities and Programs
1969-1994
Physical Description: 4 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The contents in this series represent event planning and community participation. The main events represented in this series
are the Autumn Moon Festival, Agnew Community Awareness Day, the Pageant of the Great Mandarin, Lasting Legacy Luncheon and
various temple reconstruction fundraisers. Due to the original order, there are some administrative records interfiled into
the event planning records in this series. The scrapbooks, historian notebooks, clippings, photographs, flyers and other event
memorabilia contained in this series provide both textual and visual representations of community events.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically.
Box 2, Folder 1
Community Activities and Programs
1969-1970
Box 2, Folder 2
Community Activities and Programs
1976
Box 2, Folder 3
Community Activities and Programs
1977
Box 2, Folder 4
Community Activities and Programs
1978
Box 2, Folder 5
Community Activities and Programs
1979
Box 2, Folder 6
Community Activities and Programs
1981
Box 2, Folder 7
Community Activities and Programs
1982
Box 2, Folder 8
Community Activities and Programs
1983
Box 2, Folder 9
Community Activities and Programs
1984
Box 2, Folder 10
Community Activities and Programs
1985
Box 2, Folder 11
Community Activities and Programs
1986
Box 2, Folder 12
Community Activities and Programs (1 of 2)
1987
Box 2, Folder 13
Community Activities and Programs (2 of 2), 1987
Box 2, Folder 14
Community Activities and Programs
1988
Box 2, Folder 15
Community Activities and Programs
1990
Box 2, Folder 16
Community Activities and Programs
1991
Box 4
Historian Book (Binder), 1982
Box 4
Historian Book (Binder), 1983
Box 4
Historian Book (Binder), 1984
Box 4
Historian Book (Binder), 1985
Box 4
Historian Book (Binder) 1987-1988
Series III. Outreach and Publicity Series III:
1965-1999
Physical Description: 6 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The contents in this series represent Chinese American Women's Club's work in the larger Chinese community. The series contains
newsletters, correspondence, awards and certificates of appreciation, news clippings, directories, county resource guides,
photographic materials, a cookbook and cultural sound recordings geared towards children. A researcher looking to investigate
the influence of organizational outreach efforts would find the materials in this series of great importance.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically. For folders with multiple images from the same date, the original order has been
maintained. The remaining folders contain undated photographic materials and are arranged alphabetically according to the
description of the pictorial content.
Box 6, Folder 1
Outreach and Publicity
1970
Box 6, Folder 2
Outreach and Publicity
1971
Box 6, Folder 3
Outreach and Publicity
1976
Box 6, Folder 4
Outreach and Publicity
1977
Box 6, Folder 5
Outreach and Publicity
1978
Box 6, Folder 6
Outreach and Publicity
1979
Box 6, Folder 7
Outreach and Publicity
1980
Box 6, Folder 8
Outreach and Publicity
1981
Box 6, Folder 9
Outreach and Publicity
1982
Box 6, Folder 10
Outreach and Publicity
1983
Box 6, Folder 11
Outreach and Publicity
1984
Box 6, Folder 12
Outreach and Publicity
1985
Box 6, Folder 13
Outreach and Publicity
1986
Box 6, Folder 14
Outreach and Publicity
1987
Box 6, Folder 15
Outreach and Publicity
1988
Box 6, Folder 16
Outreach and Publicity
1989
Box 6, Folder 17
Outreach and Publicity
1990
Box 6, Folder 18
Outreach and Publicity
1991
Box 6, Folder 19
Outreach and Publicity
1992
Box 6, Folder 20
Miscellaneous Printed Matter
n.d.
Box 7, Folder 1
Photographic Material
1965-1979
Box 7, Folder 2
Photographic Material
1983
Box 7, Folder 3
Photographic Material
1986
Box 7, Folder 4
Photographic Material
1987
Box 7, Folder 5
Photographic Material
1988
Box 7, Folder 6
Photographic Material, No Dates (1 of 4)
n.d.
Box 7, Folder 7
Photographic Material, No Dates (2 of 4)
Box 7, Folder 8
Photographic Material, No Dates (3 of 4)
Box 7, Folder 9
Photographic Material, No Dates (4 of 4)
Box 8
Heritage Club Plaque
1988
Box 8
Chinese Historic and Cultural Project Plaque
1988
Box 8
Golden Legacy Plaque
1990
Box 8
Patron's Club Plaque
1990
Box 8
Benefactor's Club Plaque
1991
Box 9, Folder 1
State of California Award
1987
Box 9, Folder 2
City of San José Awards
1987-1988
Box 9, Folder 3
Chinese Summer Festival Award
1999
Box 9, Folder 4
Agnews State Hospital Badge
n.d.
Box 10, Folder 2
Cookbook Administrative Records
1982-1997
Box 10, Folder 3
Chinese Cooking Our Legacy
1998
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Item added to collection August 17, 2006.
Box 11, Folder 1
Marn-Ling Instrumental LP Record
1971
Box 11, Folder 2
Marn-Ling Lion Dance LP Record
1972
