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Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University records

 Record Group
Identifier: RG-15-130

Scope and Contents

The collection spans 1939-2010. The records consist primarily of minutes of the group's meetings from 1939 to 1980. There were no minutes kept from 1930 (when the Club was founded) to 1939, only notes kept by Mary Berry which were retained by her husband after her death. There are also directories of club members and by-laws dating from 1967 to 1981.

Dates

  • Creation: 1939-2010

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Before 1930, there was no organized social group for the wives of The Johns Hopkins University faculty members. At that time, due to a shortage of inexpensive housing near the University, younger married members of the faculty were often forced to live outside the vicinity of the Homewood Campus. In order to facilitate social relationships between faculty members, President Joseph S. Ames asked Mrs. Mary Willard Berry, wife of Dean Edward Berry, to find a solution to this problem. In 1930, Mary Berry presided over the first organizational meeting of the "Women's Faculty Club," founded to "promote social contacts among the members." The club promoted various interests: music, drama, gardening, languages, theater, bridge, etc. At some point between 1930 and 1939, the name of the club was changed to "The Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University" and Mrs. David Moore Robinson succeeded Mary Berry as the president of the club.

Following Mary Berry's death in 1939, members voted to change the name of the Club to "The Mary Willard Berry Club of The Johns Hopkins University." At the first annual meeting of the Club in 1941, by-laws were officially adopted. In January 1942, a Red Cross group was formed to help with the war effort and this group met once a week until December 1945, by which time ninety-four members had served. Also during this period, members of the Club served as air raid wardens, hospital laboratory technicians, nurses aides and grey ladies. In 1944, minor changes were made to the by-laws, and Dean Berry gave the Club a silver coffee urn that had belonged to Mary Berry, beginning the Club's silver collection.

Membership in the Club was extended to include the wives of Medical School faculty in 1948. When President Isaiah Bowman retired in 1948, and the Club gave Mrs. Bowman a Revere silver bowl to honor her contributions to the Club. At the annual meeting in April 1951, the name of the Club was changed again, this time to "The Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University," and new by-laws were adopted. Also in 1951, a Club seal was designed, bearing the insignia of the University and the words, "The Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University Founded by Mary Willard Berry." Upon President Detlev W. Bronk's resignation, the Club gave Mrs. Bronk a silver bowl. In 1964, the Club helped organize "The Graduate Student Wives Association." The Club celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1980 with a party honoring all past and current members of the Club.

Extent

3.12 Cubic Feet (2 record center cartons, 1 letter size document box, 1 legal half-size document box, 1 legal full-size document box)

Language of Materials

Undetermined

Abstract

The collection spans 1950-2010. In 1930, Mrs. Mary Willard Berry, wife of Dean Edward Berry presided over the first organizational meeting of the "Women's Faculty Club," founded by request of President Joseph S. Ames to "promote social contacts among the members." Although the records of the Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University span the years 1939 to 1985, they consist primarily of minutes of the group's meetings from 1939 to 1980. There are also directories of club members and by-laws dating from 1967 to 1981.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These records were transferred to the Archives by Madelyn Daniels and Beth Sykes, members of the Woman's Club. See information at the series level for acquisition information about future accruals.

Accruals

Accession Numbers: 83.14, 86.55, 90.44, 2013-14.UA.022, 2017-18.UA.033

Processing Information

Original donation processed by Charlene Mendoza. Latter accruals processed by Jordon Steele.

Title
Woman's Club of The Johns Hopkins University records, 1939-2010
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA