The La Crosse, Wisconsin, branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.) first met at the home of Miss Lucy Hogan on March 31, 1903. Fifteen members were in attendance. Miss Anna Goodland was elected president; Lucy Hogan, vice president; Mrs. John M. Holley Sr., trustee; and Mrs. W.W. Withee, trustee. Twenty-one members served on the board of directors. The original committees established included devotional, financial, membership, [residence] rooms, educational, noon rest, social, extension, and physical training.
Classes with volunteer teachers were begun and covered such subjects as foreign language, mandolin, and Bible. Sunday vespers were also instituted as a way for women who worked on Sunday to participate in a religious, nondenominational worship service. The extension committee sponsored clubs for junior girls as well as women employed in La Crosse industries. The Pearl Button factory, for example, had special recreation rooms designed for exercise and relaxation.
The association rented two to three rooms above the Coren Dry Goods store at 420 Main Street. With the help of trustees L.C. Colman and Frank Hixon, the group purchased the former Mons Anderson property at 410 Cass Street in July 1905 with $5000 and a $2800 loan. At that time, classes were conducted in sewing, cooking and English as a second language. As the vocational and evening school movement gradually developed in La Crosse, the need for such instruction by the Y.W. was no longer in demand.
The barn on the property was remodeled into a gymnasium in the spring of 1906. Lunches were served to working women in the downtown area. This was very profitable and was a great source of revenue for the Y.W. until the outbreak of World War I. During the war years, food prices inflated and the program was dropped. In 1916 the library was remodeled to accommodate ten more dormitory spaces. The association also rented the Cameron home at 424 South 4th Street as a dormitory annex.
In September of 1906 the local group joined the national Y.W.C.A. Although men were not allowed to serve on the board of directors, they could continue to serve as trustees. The following year the state Y.W. convention was held in La Crosse, and in 1908-1909, the organization incorporated. By 1913, the local chapter had grown to 1000 members.
Due to the large number of members, the Y.W. used the former Mons Anderson home for 13 years and then moved back downtown to 420 Main Street in early 1919. The second and third floors of the building were rented this time. Both floors were extensively remodelled, and the third floor became a gymnasium. The cafeteria continued until more restaurants were established downtown. However, hot soup was still offered.
Four "secretaries" as they were called were employed by the Y.W. The general secretary (executive director) earned $115 per month; gym secretary (physical fitness coordinator) $110 per month; girls (youth programming) $100 per month; and office (clerical) $70 per month. In 1919 the Girl Reserves began a long association with the Y.W. Their purpose was to "train teenage girls for leadership through self-governing clubs." In 1947 they became known as Y-Teens. A "health center" was also popular. Two evenings a week young women were given free medical exams and corrective gymnastics. At this time, 447 women and girls were enrolled in gym classes. During World War I, activities included basketball, swimming, and military drill. Red Cross work also attracted many Y.W. members. $7000 for the War Fund Campaign was raised in one day in April 1917 by 60 women.
The Round Table Club was formed in 1923 and in 1926 memberships were changed from church memberships to a personal membership. The board was increased to 24 members. Card parties were allowed beginning in 1929, but mixed dancing parties were taboo until 1931.
In 1931, the Elsie Gile Scott mansion located at Main Street and West Avenue went on the real estate market, and the association decided to purchase the estate. Known as "Pasadena," the property was secured with $5000 down, the $15,000 balance due in $1000 annual payments. The first floor was used as club meeting rooms and offices. Rooms on the second and third floors were rented to young women. The home provided space for 30 women in residence. The barn on the property was redesigned to be a gym and was later used as the youth center or "Teen Arena."
In 1945 the mortgage was paid off and some improvements to the facility were made the following year. The Y.W.C.A. became a member of the reorganized Community Chest in 1949.
By 1960, program space for the Y.W. was at a premium. To accommodate all the women who wanted to use the facility for exercise and physical fitness programming, the board decided to build an addition on the premises. A plan was drawn up by Carl Schubert & Associates architectural firm. A separate gym, auditorium, and locker rooms would occupy the new building. The Y.W.C.A had been using the Y.M.C.A. facilities for aquatic programs.
Since the Y.M.C.A. was also anxious to launch a building fund campaign, the United Fund (now called the United Way) urged the two groups to combine efforts into a joint owned and operated building. This way, the United Fund directors thought, the La Crosse community would be asked for money only once rather than twice within two years by similar groups.
The boards began efforts to cooperate, and a Joint Advisory Committee was formed consisting of Russell Aldrich, Mrs. Raymond Hutson, Allen Menke, Mrs. Burt Smith, David Nudd, Mrs. Carl Iverson, Ken Dahl, Mrs. John Custer, Ted Griffen and Elizabeth Simpson. Eventually an operating agreement was decided upon, and in 1963 a professional fund raising group was hired to help get a campaign fund underway.
Each group would maintain its own programming and staff but the building would be owned and operated jointly. The Board of Trustees of the Y.M.C.A. and the Board of Trustees of the Y.W.C.A. both owned the building equally. The Joint Executive Committee was set up to coordinate general building policies and establish the budget for shared expenses.
The Joint Fund Campaign kicked off fund raising efforts in April 1966. A total of 1,174 pledges worth $1,326,681 were gathered. The Y.M.C.A. building services consultants were contracted by the local Y.M.-Y.W. to work with Carl Schubert & Associates architects in establishing guidelines for space and furnishings, particularly in relation to the natatorium and gymnasium areas. The financial goal was accomplished with the help of 200 volunteers who contacted corporations and citizens.
An auction was held on July 24, 1967, to sell off furniture, stained glass windows, paneling, light fixtures, fireplaces and the like from the Scott Mansion. The auction brought in $6,000 which was put into the building fund. Out of building funds, a temporary quarters was purchased for the Y.W. "The White House" at 110 West Ave. South was home during the two years of construction. The new joint building opened officially November 24, 1969. More than 5,000 people attended the first open house.
The new 70,000-square-foot building included a double-court gym, an Olympic-size swimming pool, locker rooms, showers, three handball courts, workout rooms, "women's health club," "men's athletic club," game room, a multi-purpose room, four meeting rooms, a play-school, nursery, hobby room and offices.
In early 1971 officers of the United Fund recommended the operation of the Y.M. and Y.W. be under one executive director. At that time the Y.W. was searching for a new executive director. However, to retain national affiliation, the local organization was required to have a voting woman director and control over its own budget and programs.
The combined membership of the Y.W. and Y.M. in 1969 was approximately 2,000. By 1972, that figure had increased dramatically, so more land adjacent to the joint facility was purchased. One house was demolished and one home and two duplexes were retained as rental property.
Through a "Second Mile" fund campaign, an addition to the building completed in 1976 included a gymnastics gym and three handball courts. The cost was $362,000. Yet the dream of adding a women's fitness center went unfulfilled due to high construction costs and inflation. The center was to include lockers, exercise area, massage room, lounge, whirlpool, sauna, snooze room, showers, make-up areas and hair dryers.
In the fall of 1977 representatives of the La Crosse community met under the auspices of the Y.W. to address problems confronted by battered women. As a result, the New Horizons shelter opened in May 1978 to aid battered women. The shelter sponsors support groups and aids women through court proceedings in addition to providing temporary shelter for domestic abuse victims and families. On January 1, 1993, the program split completely from the umbrella support of the Y.W.C.A.
In 1980 a task force was created to serve as a long range planning committee for both groups. Members of both the Y.W. and Y.M. and others unaffiliated with either group made up the task force. The group recommended that one joint board of the Y.M. and Y.W. control all money and property of the two groups. Separate directors would continue to be responsible for their group but co-ed activities, fund raising and membership would be the responsibility of each.
In 1983 the idea of a "Family Y" was publicly discussed in newspaper articles between members of the Y.W. and Y.M. The Y.W.C.A. felt that a merger would result in a power struggle to control expansion plans and goals of the combined agency. The Y.M. board accepted the plan but the Y.W. rejected the idea.
A new joint operating agreement was reached in late 1984 to make better use of the crowded physical facilities. Some programs, such as Special Olympics, fitness programs and social dance classes, began to be offered jointly.
In early 1987 feuding between the two organizations again occupied local newspaper headlines. The Y.M.C.A. announced a name change on January 5, 1987, to the La Crosse Family Y. Membership was opened to women and girls as well as men and boys either as a family or as individuals. The Y.W.C.A. officials felt the name change was a "deliberate attempt to confuse the public," and voiced concern over competition for membership of women and girls. Before the change, both groups honored the others' members into their programs without charging non-member fees for classes. When the Y.M.C.A. shifted its focus to the family membership, this agreement changed.
On September 15, 1992, the Y.W.C.A. moved out of the joint facility, selling its half of the building and equipment to the Y.M.C.A. for $535,000. The Y.W. decided the costs of maintaining the building and equipment were too great, and that the group wanted to pursue other goals than just physical fitness. The headquarters is now located in rented office space in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
