Title: Business and Professional Women's Club of Madison (Wis.) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1919-1980

Creator:

• Business and Professional Women's Club of Madison (Wis.)

Call Number: Wis Mss SL; PH 6481

Quantity: 5.2 cubic feet (2 records center cartons, 3 archives boxes, 2 flat boxes, and 1 oversize volume) and 0.2 cubic feet (1 folder and 1 oversize folder) of photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of the Business and Professional Women's Club of Madison, the Madison membership organization affiliated with the Wisconsin Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. The Madison group was organized in 1919 and dedicated to peace and the economic interests of business and professional women. The group adopts yearly themes advancing the status of local women in economic, political, and social aspects. The collection consists of the constitution and by-laws, citations, committee materials including annual reports, financial records, executive board and monthly meeting minutes, a history, membership lists, loan and scholarship material for the Leora Westlake Memorial Loan Fund and Trees for Tomorrow, a complete run of the monthly newsletter Commentator, activity programs, yearbooks, and scrapbooks. Also included are scattered programs from the North Central Regional Conference conventions and donation records for the National Building Fund.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-wis000sl

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The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., is the largest organization dedicated to the economic interests of business and professional women and was begun during World War I. Members of the Young Women's Christian Association took the initiative and called representative women to a conference in New York in May, 1918. Later in July, 1919, at St. Louis, Missouri, a permanent organization was formed.

Shortly thereafter, on November 12, 1919, the first official dinner meeting of the Madison club was held with approximately 200 members present. The group called itself the Business and Professional Women's League and established committees to facilitate action and economic progress for business and professional women. Through these committees, activities were carried out, such as card parties to raise funds and the selection of local vocational and high school girls for loans and scholarships. In 1925, the club hosted the state convention for the first time. During this same period of the organization, Leora Westlake was elected president and subsequently became the first state president from the Madison club.

The establishment of local club social activities such as the annual State Night, Halloween, and Christmas parties in the 1920s continued well into the 1930s, a continued prosperous decade for the club. In October 1930, the name of the club was changed from the “Business and Professional Women's League” to the “Madison Business and Professional Women's Club.” The mid-1930s brought about a cooperation with the League of Women Voters in urging the abolition of the spoils system in civil service in the state. 1938 saw the hosting of the state convention again as well as in 1940 along with the hosting of the North Central Regional Conference convention.

The 1940s marked continued achievement for the club. In 1944, the 25th anniversary of the club was celebrated. The meeting was held in the same room in the Women's Building and the same guest speaker, Mrs. Marvin B. Rosenberry, was present as on the night of the first meeting in December 1919. Speakers at the monthly meetings were and are the main method of education and promotion of the established yearly themes promoting the welfare of women. Speakers range from officers of national consumer affairs groups to Frank Lloyd Wright, a featured speaker in 1945. The first trip to the Trees for Tomorrow conservation camp, a scholarship award for a young person, was made in 1949. This trip started the statewide use of this conservation camp.

The club's achievements continued in the 1950s. From 1952 to approximately 1956, teams of two sat atop the Belmont Hotel to search the skies for unfriendly aircraft. Citations were given to the club for their contribution to the civil defense of the country.

Legislative efforts took a stronger hold after 1950s awareness campaigns and in 1961, the club strongly supported an amendment to add the word “sex” to Wisconsin's anti-discrimination statutes. The 50th anniversary of the club was held in 1969 with social activities planned to celebrate the occasion.

Membership dropped off in the 1960s and 1970s and this may be attributed to more women entering the work force. Although membership did drop, committee activities continued. Legislative work for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s demonstrated the group's ongoing pursuit of better conditions for women.

The records of the BPW Club of Madison reflect the group's yearly themes and activities which have helped to advance the status of local women in economic, political, and social areas. The records expand and document the activities mentioned above in the history of the club. The records have been arranged in roughly alphabetical order by activity and topic, reflecting the original order of the files. Included in the collection are the constitution and by-laws; an early version of the club history along with a more current version; financial records including monthly and annual treasurer's reports; executive board and monthly meeting minutes, and other material considered at each meeting; and all issues of the club newsletter Commentator, dating from 1941 to May 1979. The collection also includes committee files consisting of annual reports by the various committees and the president, 1934-1980, annual assignment lists of changing committee members, and materials concerning the Foundation, legislation, membership, music, program, public relations, research, special survey, State Night, and Young Career Woman committees. The program committee coordinated all activities throughout the club year. Lesser amounts of material concern the United Nations, donations to the National Building Fund, and the North Central Regional Conference of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. Annual state convention programs and related materials; loans and scholarship files for the Leora Westlake Memorial Loan Fund, Madison Area Technical College, and Trees for Tomorrow; membership statements and records of “drop-outs”; programs for State Night and other celebrations; scrapbook chronicling the club's activities and members from 1919 to 1962; and yearbooks containing purposes and officer and membership lists comprise the remaining bulk of the collection.

Photographs, circa 1937-1976, depict conventions and other activities, including regional and state convention photographs, 1940, 1946; some identifications are included.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the Business and Professional Women's Club of Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, via Ralph O. Nafziger, Laura Hendrickson, Engrad Jacobson, Vera Hub, Gwen Stream, and Winifred Statz, 1957-1986. Accession Number: M63-130, M63-201, M65-285, M67-069, M67-153, M68-159, M70-178, M71-123, M71-321, M72-204, M72-342, M76-420, M82-160, M86-268

Processing Information

Processed by Archives Division staff members, 19--; additions processed by Patricia Foley and Joanne Hohler, 1973; reprocessed with additions by Bill Beaudreau, 1987.

Wis Mss SL Box   1 Folder   1	By-laws and constitution: original and amendments, 1919-1979
Box   1 Folder   2	Citations, 1945-1949, 1956-1959
Box   1 Folder   3	Clippings gathered by Leora Westlake, 1926-1934
Box   1 Folder   4	Club review: committee reports, opinions, and verse, 1935, 1936
	Committees
Box   1 Folder   5	Assignments, 1956-1980
Box   1 Folder   6	President's annual reports, 1940-1980
	Annual reports
Box   1 Folder   7	1934-1955
Box   1 Folder   8	1956-1968
Box   1 Folder   9	1969-1980
Box   1 Folder   10	Executive meetings, 1938-1975
Box   1 Folder   11	Foundation, 1974-1979
Box   1 Folder   12	Legislation, 1960-1963, 1973-1977
Box   1 Folder   13	Membership, 1949-1976
Box   1 Folder   14	Music: “Witchcraft” and club songs
Box   1 Folder   15	Program: Yearly Activity Planning, 1959, 1964, 1971, 1973-1979
Box   1 Folder   16	Public relations, 1974-1979
Box   1 Folder   17	Research (varied), 1930, 1935, 1947
Box   1 Folder   18	Special survey, 1954-1955
Box   1 Folder   19	State Night, 1969, 1971-1977
Box   1 Folder   20	Young Career Woman, 1973-1979
	Conventions
Box   1 Folder   21	Reports, correspondence, financial, 1923-1960
	Programs
Box   1 Folder   22	1919-1939
Box   1 Folder   23	1940-1948
Box   3 Folder   1	Dane County Home for the Aged: correspondence, meeting minutes regarding location
	Financial
	Budgets, monthly and annual Treasurer's reports
Box   1 Folder   24	1924 May-1947 May
Box   1 Folder   25	1947 September-1953 May
Box   1 Folder   26	1953 September-1962 August
Box   1 Folder   27	1962 September-1980 May
Box   1 Folder   28	Foster parents program, 1959-1960
Box   1 Folder   29	History of club, 1919-1936
Box   1 Folder   30	Initiation and emblem ceremony
	Loans and scholarships
	Leora Westlake Memorial Loan Fund
Box   1 Folder   31	Obituary and donations, 1947-48
Box   1 Folder   32	Correspondence, 1948-1963
Box   1 Folder   33	Madison Area Technical College, 1962-1965
	Reports and correspondence
Box   1 Folder   34	1943-1951
Box   1 Folder   35	1952-1964
Box   1 Folder   36	1971-1979
	Membership
	Statements of
Box   1 Folder   37	1919-1949 May
Box   2 Folder   1	1949 July-1980
Box   2 Folder   2	“Drop-Outs,” 1960-1965
Box   2 Folder   3	Memorials, 1933-1938
	Minutes: regular and Executive Board
Box   2 Folder   4	1919-1936 May
Box   2 Folder   5	1936 June-1942 May
Box   2 Folder   6	1942 August-1949 May
Box   2 Folder   7	1949 June-1954 June
Box   2 Folder   8	1954 July-1957 June
Box   2 Folder   9	1957 September-1959 May
Box   2 Folder   10	1959 June-1962 May
Box   2 Folder   11	1962 June-1966 May
Box   2 Folder   12	1966 July-1971 May
Box   2 Folder   13	1971 September-1978 May
Box   2 Folder   14	1978 September-1980 May
Box   2 Folder   15	National Building Fund donations, 1954-1955
	Newsletter, Commentator
Box   3 Folder   2	1940 February-1950 May
Box   3 Folder   3	1950 October-1964 May
Box   3 Folder   4	1964 October-1979 May
Box   2 Folder   16	North Central Regional Conference programs, 1930-1940
Box   2 Folder   17	Pamphlets
PH 6481	Photographs, circa 1937-1976
Wis Mss SL	Programs
Box   2 Folder   18	State Night, 1931-1975
	Miscellaneous
Box   2 Folder   19	Christmas, education, musicale, 1933-1969
Box   2 Folder   20	Kenosha, Milwaukee, California, 1931-1941
Box   2 Folder   21	Program book: “My Business and Yours” (national guidelines) and “Our Town's Business” (Madison edition), 1938, 1939
Box   2 Folder   22	Property owned by the Club
Box   2 Folder   23	State office nominations, Geraldine Hinkel, 1958, 1963-1966
Box   2 Folder   24	United Nations
Box   2 Folder   25	Yearbooks, 1927, 1932, 1963-1979
	Scrapbooks
Box   4 Volume   1	1925
Oversize Volume	Convention entry: publicity scrapbook, 1929-1931
Box   6 Volume   2	1929-1952
Box   4 Volume   3	1930-1939
Box   4 Volume   4	1932-1933
Box   4 Volume   5	1934-1935
Box   5 Volume   6	1936-1939
Box   5 Volume   7	Publicity for Wisconsin State Convention and 6th North Central Regional Conference, 1940
Box   6 Volume   8	1941 July
Box   5 Volume   9	1940-1941
Box   5 Volume   10	1941-1942
Box   6 Volume   11	Early 1940s, 1943
Box   6 Volume   12	1943-1946
Box   6 Volume   13	1948-1949
Box   6 Volume   14	1949-1950
Box   6 Volume   15	1952-1957
Box   5 Volume   16	1956-1957
Box   6 Volume   17	1959-1962
Box   5 Volume   18	Miscellany, 1919-1979