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Women For: Orange County Records
MS.R.069  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing History
  • Historical Background
  • Collection Scope and Content Summary
  • Collection Arrangement
  • Related Collections

  • Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
    Title: Women For: Orange County records
    Creator: Women For: Orange County
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.069
    Physical Description: 2.3 Linear Feet (5 document boxes, 1 oversize folder)
    Date (inclusive): 1984-2003
    Date (bulk): 1984-1996
    Abstract: Women For: Orange County was founded in 1984 as a chapter of Women For:, the political activist organization based in Los Angeles, California. The collection is comprised of organizational records, photographs and other printed items which chronicle the group's activities from 1984 to 1998, including the Great American Write-In and the Suffrage Day Luncheon.
    Language of Material: English .

    Access

    The collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

    Preferred Citation

    Women For: Orange County Records. MS.R.069. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
    For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

    Acquisition Information

    Gift of Women For: Orange County in 1998. Additional gifts were made in: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008.

    Processing History

    Preliminary processing by Laura Clark Brown in 1998. Processing completed by Carole McEwan in 2010.

    Historical Background

    In 1984, ten liberal, public-spirited Orange County, California women came together to address the issue of how to be politically effective in conservative Orange County. In an election year these women were particularly interested in having an impact on the nuclear arms race, but issues of interest to them also included protection of the environment and equal rights for women among other concerns.
    The first gathering consisted of 10 women who had never before all met each other. They were Ruth Bellows, Grace Dunkley, Constance Haddad, Vivian Hall, Lynn Osen, Joyce Rothfeder, Joan Rowland, Mary Lou Sortais, Vivian Thorp and Paula Werner. Vivian Hall recommended affliating with a group from Los Angeles called Women For: which had been in existence for 20 years and was an established political action organization. These 10 women contributed $950 for the establishment of an Orange County group and set the date for their first meeting.
    The first official meeting of Women For: Orange County was held February 24, 1984 at a restaurant in Fullerton, California. The speakers were Marilyn Kizziah, coordinator of the Los Angeles Women For:, and Selma Seligman, chairman of their politics committee. They explained that Women For: is loosely organized and that its activities include lobbying, letter writing and supporting important issues and candidates. Women for: is non-partisan and independent with no political favors owed to either party, although the Democratic platform often reflects more of Women For:'s concerns. The first officers elected were: Vivian Hall, chair; Joan Rowland, treasurer; and Paula Werner, politics chair.
    In 1991, an incident occured at the Great American Write-In involving the unexpected participation of the Cousins Club of Orange County, representing American Jews and Palestinians for peace. Two factions emerged in Women For: Orange County, one for and one against the Cousins Club participating. There were meetings and correspondence in 1992 expressing strong feelings, which ended in seven members resigning, including President Beverly Jacobs.

    Collection Scope and Content Summary

    This collection comprises records from Women For: Orange County, a women's liberal political activist organization in Orange County, California.
    Organizational materials include: minutes, reports, correspondence, newsletters, press releases and announcements, brochures and newspaper clippings. Their mailed announcements and press releases record the speakers and topics from the twice monthly meetings. For the Great American Write-In, there are planning committee records, participant brochures and some political buttons,newspaper clippings, posters and a scrapbook of photographs. There are also programs and newspaper clipppings for the Suffrage Day Luncheons.

    Collection Arrangement

    This collection is arranged in 4 series:
    • Series 1. Organizational records, 1984-2003, 1.2 linear feet
    • Series 2. Great American Write-Ins, 1986-2000, 0.3 linear feet
    • Series 3. Suffrage Day Luncheons, 1984-1994, 0.1 linear feet
    • Series 4. Photographs,1986-1997, 0.4 linear feet

    Related Collections

    Related materials can be found in the following collections: Vivian Hall Papers, MS.R.008 and Health Care Council of Orange County Records, MS.R.096

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century.
    Activists -- California -- Orange County.
    Political participation -- Women -- California -- Orange County -- History -- Sources
    Posters -- 20th century.
    Women -- Political activity -- California -- Orange County -- Archives
    Scrapbooks -- California -- Orange County -- 20th century
    Buttons (Information artifacts)
    Women For: Orange County -- Archives