Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the Defiance Business and Professional Women date from 1931-1982. The collection consists of meeting and board minutes, committee reports, financial documents, scrapbooks, yearbooks, and newsletters.

The records were donated and transferred to the Center for Archival Collections in July 1982 with the cooperation of Mrs. Hilda Figley and Jill Gates Smith, Field Specialist for the Women's Studies Archives Project (WSAP) of the Center for Archival Collections. There are no restrictions on the research use of this collection and duplication is permitted for purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The collection was processed and finding aid completed by Ann Subic in April 1983.

Agency History

The Defiance Business and Professional Women's Club is a member of the Ohio Federation and National Federation of BPW Clubs. The National Federation was founded in 1919 and the first Ohio Federation convention was held the following year. In 1929, the Toledo chapter sponsored the organization of the Defiance BPW.

The local clubs are the smallest units of the Ohio and National Federation of BPW Clubs. Membership is open to business and professional women and the local clubs are self-governing, non-profit, non-partisan, and non-sectarian. The organization is designed to offer programs on political, economic, and social topics that will prepare members for leadership roles in the community and elsewhere.

The objectives of the National Federation as stated in the handbook are: "To elevate the standards of women in business and the professions; to promote the interest of business and professional women; to bring about a spirit of cooperation among business and professional women; and to extend opportunities to business and professional women through education along lines of industrial, scientific, and vocational activities."

The Defiance BPW holds fund-raising activities which supply it with project money. Some past projects include a scholarship fund for a Defiance High School girl graduate, donations to local hospitals, the County Home, and Children's Home. Other programs involving the BPW are the Women Responsible for Accident Prevention (1968), the Defiance Car Safety Check, Heart Fund Drives, and immunization campaigns.

Scope and Content

The Defiance Business and Professional Women's collection contains records form 1931 to 1982. The records include minutes, bylaws, district and committee reports, history of the organization, financial documents, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, printed materials, and newsletters.

The regular meeting and board minutes (1966-1977) contain the most specific information about the club's activities, projects, and policies. This source is limited by its incompleteness, the earlier minutes not being available. Another valuable source of information is the Fort Defiance News-Bee, the monthly newsletter, which includes a calendar of events, a review of the preceding meeting, a look at the upcoming meeting, and news items concerning members. Issues are fairly complete from 1956 when it was first published to 1978. Clippings from various local newspapers from 1954 to 1979 reflect the organization's active role in community affairs as do the scrapbooks and printed materials.

The Defiance BPW has been involved in many community activities and one in particular, Women Responsible for Accident Prevention (1968-1969) is well documented in this collection with organizational plans, news clippings, correspondence, and pamphlets. The committee reports (1955-1981) have many gaps, but still give an indication of the function and general activities of each committee.

General information on the local, state, and national BPW can be found in the directories (1939-1944, 1970s, 1981-1982), yearbooks (1937-1982), programs (1931-1942, 1957), and miscellaneous printed materials (1940-1981). This group of documents, although incomplete, includes club objectives, rules, organization of leadership, programs, lists of officers, and local members' occupations.

Also included in the collection are bylaws of the organization, which are amended annually, and financial records dating from 1959 to 1982 with some gaps. The budgets offer an indication of the assistance the club has given to the community.

The Defiance Business and Professional Women's collection contains information on the careers and interests of its members, the social benefits of the organization to the members, and the club's impact on the community.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

REGULAR MEETING AND BOARD MINUTES
August 1966-June 1977.
Arranged chronologically
Includes location and date of meeting, some attendance records, motions, and agreements, upcoming projects, and records of committee reports given.

BYLAWS
1953-1978 (scattered), n.d.
Includes club objectives, policy on membership, dues, elections, and meetings, duties of officers, representation to the conventions of the Ohio Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, amendments, and resolutions.

SUBJECT FILES

ST. LOUIS NATIONAL BIENNIAL CONVENTION
1954.
Includes newspaper clippings, National BPW budget (1953-1954), National BPW annual reports (1953, 1954), and convention programs.

WOMEN RESPONSIBLE FOR ACCIDENT PREVENTION
March 1968-February 1969, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes defensive driving pamphlets, driving course organizational information, organizational meeting plans, correspondence, public relations, and newspaper clippings.

DEFIANCE BICENTENNIAL.
1976.
Includes membership certificate, charter, and instruction sheet for the Defiance Bicentennial Belles, a cast information sheet for "Indians to Industry", and a pamphlet "Bicentennial Perspective for Women."

REPORTS

ANNUAL DISTRICT REPORTS
1969-1980 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Includes club president's annual reports to BPW district director and district directors' evaluation of the Defiance BPW.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
1963-1964, 1968-1969.
Arranged chronologically
Lists committee chairmen and members.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
1955-1981 (scattered), n.d.
Arranged alphabetically.
Includes nineteen committee annual and mid-year reports. For further information see folders 4-23 in Box 2 in the box-folder inventory.

LITERARY DOCUMENTS

BPW HISTORY
1968, 1973, 1978-1979, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes a calendar of important events in the National BPW history, a history of the Ohio Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, and histories of the Defiance BPW written by its members.

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

AUDIT REPORTS
1972-1981 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Includes statement of cash receipts, disbursements, and bank account balances.

BUDGETS
1959-1982 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Includes income, expenditures, and projected income and expenses.

SCRAPBOOKS AND SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS

SCRAPBOOKS
1946-1949, 1951-1955.
Arranged chronologically
Includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, pamphlets, programs, and directories. Due to the condition of much of the scrapbook material, it was photocopied onto permalife paper.

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
1954, 1956-1979 (scattered).
Arranged chronologically
Consists of newspaper clippings concerning club members, events, meetings, and community events. Some articles are not dated.

PRINTED MATERIALS

AWARDS
1946-1981, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes certificates of merit, achievement, and appreciation for club projects and growth.

DIRECTORIES
1939-1941, 1970-1972, 1977-1978, 1981-1982.
Arranged chronologically
The annual directories of the Ohio Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs list the board of directors, federation objectives, committee chairmen, district representatives, local club presidents' address, district, and club meeting day, and a calendar of events.

YEARBOOKS
1937-1982 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Includes club objectives, rules, and weekly program, officers, committee chairmen, state officers, and club members and their occupations.

PRINTED MATERIALS, MISCELLANEOUS
1940-1981 (scattered), n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Includes various publications of the national, state, and local BPW organizations, invitations, and guidelines.

PROGRAMS
1931-1942, 1957 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Includes programs of BPW state and local functions.

FORT DEFIANCE NEWS-BEE
1956-1978 (scattered)
Arranged chronologically
Consists of a club newsletter of the Defiance BPW including news about club members, activities, and events.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Minutes, August 1966-June 1967
2. Minutes, July 1967-May 1968
3. Minutes, August 1968-June 1969
4. Minutes, August 1969-June 1970
5. Minutes, July 1970-June 1971
6. Minutes, August 1971-June 1972
7. Minutes, July 1972-June 1973
8. Minutes, August 1973-June 1974
9. Minutes, August 1974-June 1975
10. Minutes, August 1975-June 1976
11. Minutes, August 1976-June 1977
12. Bylaws, 1953-1978 (scattered), n.d.
13. St. Louis National Biennial Convention, 1954
14. Women Responsible for Accident Prevention (WRAP), May 1968-February 1969, n.d.
15. WRAP public relations, March 1968-February 1969
16. WRAP pamphlets, booklets, 1960s

Box 2

Folders

1. Defiance Bicentennial, 1976
2. Annual District Reports, 1969-1980 (scattered)
3. Committee Assignments, 1963-1969 (scattered)
4. Bulletin Committee Reports, 1963-1981 (scattered)
5. Bylaws Committee Reports, 1969-1981 (scattered)
6. Christmas Cheer Committee Reports, 1967-1968, n.d.
7. Emblem Committee Reports, 1961-1981 (scattered)
8. Federation-Foundation Retirement Living Committee Report, 1961-1981 (scattered)
9. Finance Committee Reports, 1961-1979 (scattered)
10. Flower Committee Reports, 1961-1981 (scattered)
11. Health and Safety Committee Reports, 1955-1971 (scattered)
12. Individual Development Plan Committee Reports, 1963-1979 (scattered)
13. International Relations Committee Reports, 1961-1970 (scattered)
14. Legislative Committee Reports, 1961-1981 (scattered)
15. Membership Committee Reports, 1960-1981 (scattered)
16. National Security Committee Reports, 1960-1964 (scattered)
17. Parliamentary Committee Reports, 1977-1978, n.d.
18. Program Committee Reports, 1973-1979 (scattered)
19. Public Affairs Committee Reports, 1963, 1972
20. Public Relations Committee Reports, 1961-1981 (scattered)
21. Student Loans Committee Reports, 1961-1968 (scattered)
22. Telephone Committee Reports, 1963-1979 (scattered)
23. Young Careerist Committee Reports, 1961-1978 (scattered)
24. BPW History--local, state, and national, 1968, 1973, 1978-1979, n.d.
25. Audit Reports, 1972-1981 (scattered)
26. Budgets, 1959-1982 (scattered)
27. Scrapbook, 1946-1947
28. Scrapbook, 1947-1949
29. Scrapbook, 1951-1955
30. Newspaper clippings, 1954-1979 (scattered)
31. Awards (Certificates), 1946-1981, n.d.

Box 3

Folders

1. Directories, 1939-1941, 1970-1972, 1977-1978, 1981-1982
2. Yearbooks, 1937-1957 (missing: 1943-1945, 1947-1949, 1952-1953)
3. Yearbooks, 1957-1969 (missing: 1967-1968)
4. Yearbooks, 1970-1982 (missing: 1979-1980, 1980-1981)
5. Printed materials, miscellaneous, 1940-1981, n.d. (scattered)
6. Programs, 1931-1942, 1957 (scattered)
7. Fort Defiance News-Bee, September-December 1956
8. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1957
9. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1958
10. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1959

Box 4

Folders

1. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-November 1960
2. Fort Defiance News-Bee, March-December 1961
3. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1962
4. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1963
5. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1964
6. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1965
7. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1966
8. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-November 1967
9. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-November 1968
10. Fort Defiance News-Bee, September-December 1972
11. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1973
12. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-May 1974
13. Fort Defiance News-Bee, September-December 1976
14. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-December 1977
15. Fort Defiance News-Bee, January-June 1978

Manuscripts by Subject | Women's Studies Collections