American Council of Railroad Women Records, 1944-1977

18 boxes (10 linear ft.)

Collection number: MS 345

Abstract:

An organization of women holding supervisory positions in railroad personnel and service. The records provide insight into the attitudes and motivations of a group of professional women organized for their mutual benefit at a time when most women had "jobs" rather than "careers." Material includes correspondence, minutes, reports, publications, photographs, scrapbooks, and other material which document its history and activities from its founding until 1977.

Terms of Access and Use:

Restrictions on access:

The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with no additional restrictions.

Restrictions on use:

The Sophia Smith Collection owns copyright to the records of the American Council of Railroad Women. Copyright to materials created by others may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission must be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use."

Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Historical Note

In 1944, a small group of women holding supervisory positions in railroad personnel and service held informal meetings in Chicago to discuss their changing roles in the railroad industry during wartime. Over the course of several meetings, they decided that they needed a permanent organization, and in September 1944 twenty-eight women voted to form the National Association of Railroad Women. (The name was changed to American Association of Railroad Women in 1952.) Unprepared by the railroads for promotions to management positions previously held by men, the women organized themselves "to provide a medium of exchange of ideas and experiences relative to our work; to discuss improvements in service and to plan for the better utilization of womanpower in railroading".

Membership eligibility was originally limited to women holding personnel or passenger service positions. Later, it was extended to include women employed in the United States and Canada as corporate officers, assistants and secretaries to presidents, lawyers, magazine editors, engineers, traffic representatives, personnel supervisors, public relations staffs, special representatives, and special investigators.

The council's annual spring and fall meetings include the transaction of business, educational sessions, and entertainment. Throughout its history, the council consistently sought the approval of, and received support from, railroad management, which has contributed senior executives to the sessions as speakers and seminar leaders. Early reports and discussions covered such topics as "education of the travelling public" and "new and improved methods and equipment for cleaning both the exteriors and interiors of trains." Later meetings reflected the evolving membership interests, emphasizing legislative lobbying (including support for the Equal Rights Amendment), and such professional development topics as corporate decision making.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records of the ACRW consist of ten linear feet of correspondence, minutes, reports, publications, photographs, scrapbooks, and other material documenting its history and activities from its founding until 1977. The records provide some insight into the attitudes and motivations of a group of professional women organized for their mutual benefit at a time when most women had "jobs" rather than "careers."

The bulk of the material consists of meeting minutes (including speeches and miscellaneous material distributed at meetings); and membership applications and correspondence. The codebooks, assembled by the Governing Committee as an easily-accessed information source, partially duplicate the minutes, as they are compilations of similar types of material. The officers' correspondence, which largely concerns meeting arrangements and membership eligibility and recruitment, is most complete for the 1950s and 1970s, fragmentary in the 1960s, and non-existent for the earliest years. The membership files reflect the involvement in membership matters of both the Governing Committee and Membership Committee. They include individuals considered for membership, as well as those who actually joined the ACRW.

The committee files are far from complete; apparently only scattered documentation of the Legislative, Publicity, and Public Relations committees has been retained. Other committees, including Archives, Service, Housing and Transportation, and Nominating, are represented only by their reports in the minutes.

This collection is organized into ten series:

I. Constitution and Bylaws
II. Codebooks
III. Minutes
IV. Meeting Files
V. Officers' Correspondence
VI. Membership Applications and Correspondence
VII. Committees
VIII. Publications
IX. Photographs
X. History

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with no additional restrictions.

Restrictions on use:

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

American Council of Railroad Women Records, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

History of the Collection

Betty Royon, ACRW member, arranged for the organization's donation of its records in 1972. Additional shipments arrived in 1973 and 1980. Prior to their donation, the records were in the custody of various ACRW historians and other officers.

Accruals:

Periodic additions to collection are expected.

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Hague, 1990.

Recent additions to this collection are unprocessed and are not reflected in the finding aid.

Additional Information

Contact Information

Sophia Smith Collection

Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

Phone: (413) 585-2970
Fax: (413) 585-2886

Email Reference Form: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/emailform.html
URL: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/

Sponsor

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Language

English.

Series Descriptions

Series I. CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS,	1945, 1948, 1956, 1971
This series consists of booklets compiling bylaws and roster (1945); constitution and bylaws (1948); and several typescripts of later amendments. The records are arranged chronologically. Other versions (1955-1973) are included in the Codebooks (Series II).

Series II. CODEBOOKS,	1955-73
The codebooks were compiled by the Governing Committee members to serve as a "useful tool for future Governing Committees". They include the constitution and bylaws; lists of officers; members and their status; financial transactions; and records of decisions and actions on everything from membership eligibility to the cost of gummed labels. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series III. MINUTES,	1945-76
This series contains minutes of the Governing Committee, spring (or regional), and fall (or annual) meetings. Starting in 1973, the ACRW maintained related materials, such as programs, agendas, speeches, etc., in the minutes sequence. For pre-1973 materials of this sort, see the Meeting Files (series IV). The Governing Committee minutes also include agendas and memoranda; the general minutes include committee reports. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series IV: MEETING FILES,	1947-77
This series contains programs and menus; agendas; and correspondence about meeting arrangements and follow-up thank yous (1959, 1968-1977). From l973 on, materials of this sort are also maintained in the Minutes (Series III), resulting in some overlap between the series. The series is arranged chronologically.

Series V: OFFICERS' CORRESPONDENCE,	1951-77
This series contains little material from the organization's earliest years and is fragmentary for the 1960s. The bulk of correspondence dates from the 1950s and 1970s. Juva Dennis' file was received as a unit and has been maintained as such. It contains her correspondence from the time she joined the ACRW in l969 through her tenures as secretary (1970-72), second vice-president (1972-73), member-at-large (1974-75), and president (1976-77). Her file may partially duplicate the separate secretary's and president's correspondence for her years in those offices. The files are arranged chronologically under each office.

Series VI: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE,	1947-77
The files are arranged alphabetically by member or potential member name and include correspondence with or about that individual, applications, clippings, and a few photographs. It is unclear whether these files were maintained by various officers, the Governing Committee, the Membership Committee, or all of the above. This series also contains several folders of correspondence and miscellaneous items regarding membership in general. Membership matters are also addressed in the Officer's Correspondence (Series V).

Series VII: COMMITTEES,	1949-77
This series includes correspondence and related materials of the Legislative, Girl Scout Project, Public Relations, and Publicity committees, most of it from the 1970s. Many other ACRW committees, e.g., Service, Archives, and Finance, are represented only by their reports which appear in the minutes (Series III).

Series VIII: PUBLICATIONS,	1967-77
The Bulletin is the irregular ACRW newsletter. Some issues are missing from the series.

Series IX: PHOTOGRAPHS,	1968
This series contains color snapshots, some black and white glossies, and a few slides of the 1968 spring and fall meetings. Photographs of a few individual members are found in the Member Files (Series VI). The Scrapbooks (Series X) include pre-1968 photographs.

Series X: HISTORY,	1944-68
This series contains one long and several brief histories of the ACRW compiled between 1944 and 1956, as well as a short report of the first meeting in 1944, and five scrapbooks. Three were maintained by the Scrapbook Committee; two were compiled by individual members.

Contents List

Series I. CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS,	1945, 1948, 1956, 1971
Bylaws and roster,	1945	Box 1: folder 1
Constitution and amended bylaws,	1948	Box 1: folder 2
Bylaws amendments,	1956, 1971	Box 1: folder 3

Series II. CODEBOOKS,	1955-73
Codebook,	October 4, 1955
Revised pt. 1	1961,	Box 1: folder 4
Revised pt. 2	1961,	Box 1: folder 5
Revised pt. 1	1968,	Box 1: folder 6
Revised pt. 2	1968,	Box 1: folder 7
Revisions pt. 1	1970-73,	Box 1: folder 8
Revisions pt. 2	1970-73,	Box 1: folder 9

Series III. MINUTES,	1945-76
Governing Committee Minutes
	1947/48-1955/56	Box 2: folder 1
	1956/57-1960/61	Box 2: folder 2
	1961/62-1964/65	Box 2: folder 3
	1965/66-1969/70	Box 2: folder 4
	1970/71-1974/75	Box 2: folder 5
	1976/77	Box 2: folder 6
Miscellaneous minutes, agendas, and memoranda,	1956-59	Box 2: folder 7
General Minutes
First meeting,	March 15, 1945	Box 3: folder 1
Second meeting,	October 10-11, 1945	Box 3: folder 2
Eighth annual meeting,	1951	Box 3: folder 3
Regional and ninth annual meeting,	1952	Box 3: folder 4
Tenth annual meeting,	1953	Box 3: folder 5
Eleventh annual meeting,	1954	Box 3: folder 6
Twelfth annual meeting,	1955	Box 3: folder 7
Thirteenth annual meeting,	1956	Box 3: folder 8
Fourteenth annual meeting,	1957	Box 3: folder 9
Spring and fifteenth annual meetings,	1958	Box 4: folder 1
Sixteenth annual meeting,	1959	Box 4: folder 2
Seventeenth annual meeting,	1960	Box 4: folder 3
Spring and eighteenth annual meetings,	1961	Box 4: folder 4
Spring and nineteenth annual meetings,	1962	Box 4: folder 5
Twentieth annual meeting,	1963	Box 4: folder 6
Twenty-first annual meeting,	1964	Box 4: folder 7
Twenty-second annual meeting,	1965	Box 4: folder 8
Twenty-third annual meeting,	1966	Box 4: folder 9
Spring and twenty-fourth annual meetings,	1967	Box 4: folder 10
Spring and twenty-fifth annual meetings,	1968	Box 4: folder 11
Spring and twenty-sixth annual meetings,	1969	Box 5: folder 1
Spring and twenty-seventh annual meetings,	1970	Box 5: folder 2
Spring and twenty-eighth annual meetings,	1971	Box 5: folder 3
Spring and twenty-ninth annual meetings,	1972	Box 5: folder 4
Spring and thirtieth annual meetings,	1973	Box 5: folder 5
Spring and thirty-first annual meetings,	1974	Box 5: folder 6
Thirty-second annual meeting,	1975	Box 5: folder 7
Thirty-third annual meeting committee reports,	1976	Box 5: folder 8

Series IV: MEETING FILES,	1947-77
Programs and menus,	1947-55	Box 6: folder 1
Programs and menus,	1956-58	Box 6: folder 2
Spring meeting,	1959	Box 6: folder 3
Annual meeting,	1959	Box 6: folder 4
Programs and menus,	1960-67	Box 6: folder 5
Silver anniversary meeting,	1968	Box 6: folder 6
Spring meeting,	1969	Box 6: folder 7
Annual meeting,	1969	Box 6: folder 8
Spring meeting,	1970	Box 6: folder 9
Annual meeting,	1970	Box 6: folder 10
Spring meeting,	1971	Box 6: folder 11
Annual meeting,	1971	Box 6: folder 12
Spring meeting,	1972	Box 7: folder 1
Annual meeting,	1972	Box 7: folder 2
Spring meeting,	1973	Box 7: folder 3
Annual meeting,	1973	Box 7: folder 4
Annual meeting,	1974	Box 7: folder 5
Annual meeting,	1977, n.d.	Box 7: folder 6

Series V: OFFICERS' CORRESPONDENCE,	1951-77
President
	1951-57	Box 8: folder 1
	Jan-Jul, 1958	Box 8: folder 2
	Aug-Dec, 1958	Box 8: folder 3
	1959	Box 8: folder 4
	1960-76	Box 8: folder 5
	n.d.	Box 8: folder 6
Juva Dennis
	1969-75	Box 8: folder 7
	1976-77	Box 8: folder 8
Secretary
	1960, 1968-69	Box 9: folder 1
	1970	Box 9: folder 2
	1971-72	Box 9: folder 3
	1973-74	Box 9: folder 4
	1975	Box 9: folder 5
	1976	Box 9: folder 6
Treasurer's reports and correspondence,	1957-59, 1972-77	Box 9: folder 7

Series VI: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE,	1947-77
A-E		Box 10: folder 1
Andrews, Iva		Box 10: folder 2
Arbuthnot, Gene		Box 10: folder 3
Arehart, Marjorie		Box 10: folder 4
Armistead, Anne		Box 10: folder 5
Beauchamp, Lily		Box 10: folder 6
Beckham, Ioan		Box 10: folder 7
Beebe, Jane		Box 10: folder 8
Bernhagen, Edna		Box 10: folder 9
Bock, Emma		Box 10: folder 10
Boeckman, Alison		Box 10: folder 11
Boehm, Berenece		Box 10: folder 12
Boyden, Laura		Box 10: folder 13
Brown, Lu		Box 10: folder 14
Brundick, Matilda		Box 10: folder 15
Burchard, Lauretta		Box 10: folder 16
Canavan, Betty		Box 10: folder 17
Caplinger, Norma Jean		Box 10: folder 18
Carroll, Kathleen		Box 10: folder 19
Churchill, Phyllis		Box 10: folder 20
Clarke, Grace		Box 10: folder 21
Cobb, Harriet		Box 10: folder 22
Cook, Ruth		Box 10: folder 23
Copper, Joyce		Box 10: folder 24
Cosentino, Mary		Box 10: folder 25
Creagan, Helen		Box 10: folder 26
Croy, Frances		Box 10: folder 27
Cullen, Mary Louise		Box 10: folder 28
Cummings, Lenora		Box 10: folder 29
Darney, Elizabeth		Box 10: folder 30
Dennis, Juva		Box 10: folder 31
Dennis, Olive		Box 10: folder 32
DeVille, Inez		Box 10: folder 33
Dobes, Minnie		Box 10: folder 34
Donahue, Alice		Box 10: folder 35
Dorsett, Mary		Box 10: folder 36
Drechsler, Mildred		Box 10: folder 37
Dugan, Marjorie		Box 10: folder 38
Elvert, Vera		Box 10: folder 39
Entringer, Rosemary		Box 10: folder 40
Evans, Freda		Box 10: folder 41
F-K		Box 11: folder 1
Ferguson, Elva		Box 11: folder 2
Fleming, Ruth		Box 11: folder 3
Forrest, Neoma		Box 11: folder 4
Forsythe, Cora		Box 11: folder 5
Fratesi, Louise		Box 11: folder 6
Frazier, Gwen		Box 11: folder 7
Gallagher, Catherine		Box 11: folder 8
Gannon, Eileen		Box 11: folder 9
Giles, Louise		Box 11: folder 10
Gilpatrick, Jean		Box 11: folder 11
Giroux, Alice		Box 11: folder 12
Glafcke, Leona		Box 11: folder 13
Glasper, Esther		Box 11: folder 14
Gleason, Margaret		Box 11: folder 15
Glover, Marjorie		Box 11: folder 16
Goetz, Cecilia		Box 11: folder 17
Gordon, Mary Louise		Box 11: folder 18
Gray, Eleanor		Box 11: folder 19
Griffin, Katherine		Box 11: folder 20
Gross, Kathy Ann		Box 11: folder 21
Haney, Elizabeth		Box 11: folder 22
Harker, Marjorie		Box 11: folder 23
Helm, Geraldine		Box 11: folder 24
Hickman, Anne		Box 11: folder 25
Hill, Ruby		Box 11: folder 26
Hirst, Margaret		Box 11: folder 27
Hoffman, Maralouise		Box 11: folder 28
Holden, Margaret		Box 11: folder 29
Holloway, Ethylene		Box 11: folder 30
Hotton, Marie		Box 11: folder 31
Howard, Dorothy		Box 11: folder 32
Huedepohl, Helen		Box 11: folder 33
Hughes, Beverly		Box 11: folder 34
Hurley, Mary Ann		Box 11: folder 35
Irwin, Margaret		Box 11: folder 36
Jakeway, Mildred		Box 11: folder 37
Kasiurak, Patricia		Box 11: folder 38
Kehoe, Margaret		Box 11: folder 39
Kelly, Anna		Box 11: folder 40
Kezerian, Jennifer		Box 11: folder 41
Ketchin, Ansley		Box 11: folder 42
Keyes, Doris		Box 11: folder 43
Kluckhohn, Irene		Box 11: folder 44
Koch, Anna		Box 11: folder 45
Kowalczyk, Marie		Box 11: folder 46
Krimmel, Frances		Box 11: folder 47
Kyle, Charlotte		Box 11: folder 48
L-P		Box 12: folder 1
Labahn, Mary		Box 12: folder 2
LaBoon, Catherine		Box 12: folder 3
LaChance, E.		Box 12: folder 4
Lane, Angela		Box 12: folder 5
Lane, Goldie		Box 12: folder 6
Lee, Charleen		Box 12: folder 7
Lewis, Gertrude		Box 12: folder 8
Liebman, Diane		Box 12: folder 9
Logue, Dorothy		Box 12: folder 10
Mahan, Mary		Box 12: folder 11
Mahoney, Ruth		Box 12: folder 12
Mathews, Annette		Box 12: folder 13
Mavis, Vera		Box 12: folder 14
McDonald, Vee		Box 12: folder 15
McFie, Amelia		Box 12: folder 16
McKinney, Marion		Box 12: folder 17
McLaughlin, Margaret		Box 12: folder 18
McMulkin, Kathryn		Box 12: folder 19
Meehan, Marjorie		Box 12: folder 20
Meilleur, Frances		Box 12: folder 21
Merrill, Grace		Box 12: folder 22
Merriman, Catherine		Box 12: folder 23
Milhelm, Carolyn		Box 12: folder 24
Miller, Stella		Box 12: folder 25
Mitchell, Amy		Box 12: folder 26
Moore, Martha		Box 12: folder 27
Morasco, Lois		Box 12: folder 28
Morecock, Thelma		Box 12: folder 29
Murdock, Ruth		Box 12: folder 30
Myers, Wanda		Box 12: folder 31
O'Mara, C.		Box 12: folder 32
Parker, Irene		Box 12: folder 33
Patton, Janet		Box 12: folder 34
Pechtel, Dorothy		Box 12: folder 35
Perkins, Elaine		Box 12: folder 36
Peterson, Helen		Box 12: folder 37
Peterson, Irene		Box 12: folder 38
Petterson, Elsie		Box 12: folder 39
Phelon, Marjorie		Box 12: folder 40
Phillips, Esther		Box 12: folder 41
Porter, Hazel		Box 12: folder 42
Power, Evelyn		Box 12: folder 43
Poynter, Wandaleen		Box 12: folder 44
Prall, Inez		Box 12: folder 45
Prond, Lillian		Box 12: folder 46
Pulaski, Marie		Box 12: folder 47
R-Z		Box 13: folder 1
Randall, Charlotte		Box 13: folder 2
Reitz, Joan		Box 13: folder 3
Richardson, Ellen		Box 13: folder 4
Rieder, Martha		Box 13: folder 5
Rieke, Irene		Box 13: folder 6
Reilly, Virginia		Box 13: folder 7
Reynolds, Grace		Box 13: folder 8
Robinson, Betsy		Box 13: folder 9
Rogers, Carolyn		Box 13: folder 10
Ross, Lillian		Box 13: folder 11
Royon, Betty		Box 13: folder 12
Sadler, Jean		Box 13: folder 13
Sargent, Liz		Box 13: folder 14
Sheahan, Madeleine		Box 13: folder 15
Silverman, Sheila		Box 13: folder 16
Smilie, Emily		Box 13: folder 17
Soltes, Cynthia		Box 13: folder 18
Stanley, Priscilla		Box 13: folder 19
Stevenson, Ann		Box 13: folder 20
Stivers, Margaret		Box 13: folder 21
Stone, Edith		Box 13: folder 22
Stone, Shirley		Box 13: folder 23
Streza, Martha		Box 13: folder 24
Sullivan, Catherine		Box 13: folder 25
Swallow, Geraldine		Box 13: folder 26
Tanner, Virginia		Box 13: folder 27
Tartas, Elizabeth		Box 13: folder 28
Tuczkus, Ann		Box 13: folder 29
Vaupotic, Virginia		Box 13: folder 30
Walker, Josephine		Box 13: folder 31
Walker, Mary		Box 13: folder 32
Warden, Louise		Box 13: folder 33
Wetterlin, Ruth		Box 13: folder 34
Whitney, Jane		Box 13: folder 35
Williams, Hazel		Box 13: folder 36
Williams, Marie		Box 13: folder 37
Wilson, Nora		Box 13: folder 38
Winslow, Isobel		Box 13: folder 39
Yarwood, Margaret		Box 13: folder 40
Zack, Lucille		Box 13: folder 41
General correspondence
	1953-57	Box 14: folder 1
	1967-1971	Box 14: folder 2
	1975-1977	Box 14: folder 3
Rosters and other lists,	1957-77, n.d.	Box 14: folder 4
Survey,	1975	Box 14: folder 5
Forms and miscellaneous		Box 14: folder 6

Series VII: COMMITTEES,	1949-77
Committee chairs,	1968-69	Box 14: folder 7
Legislative Committee
America's Sound Transportation Review Organization (ASTRO),	1971-73, n.d.	Box 14: folder 8
ERA Resolution and International Women's Year Commission,	1975-76	Box 14: folder 9
Dam and Lock Resolution,	1976	Box 14: folder 10
Coal Slurry Resolution,	1976-77	Box 14: folder 11
Miscellaneous,	1952, n.d.	Box 14: folder 12
Public Relations Committee
Reports and correspondence,	1973, n.d.	Box 14: folder 13
Operation Lifesaver,	1976	Box 14: folder 14
Publicity Committee
Press releases and clippings,	1949-69	Box 14: folder 15
Press releases, clippings, and correspondence,	1972-77	Box 14: folder 16
Girl Scout Project Committee,	n.d.	Box 14: folder 17

Series VIII: PUBLICATIONS,	1967-77
ACRW Bulletin
	Nov 15, 1967-Dec 8, 1970	Box 15: folder 1
	Jan 13, 1971-Dec 1973	Box 15: folder 2
	Jan 1974-Dec 1975	Box 15: folder 3
	Feb 13, 1976-Aug 1977	Box 15: folder 4

Series IX: PHOTOGRAPHS,	1968
Spring meeting,	1968	Box 16: folder 1
Fall meeting, reception and banquet,	1968	Box 16: folder 2
Fall meeting,	1968	Box 16: folder 3

Series X: HISTORY,	1944-68
"Docket Report" (first meeting of railroad industry women),	1944	Box 16: folder 4
Brief histories,	1949, n.d.	Box 16: folder 5
"History of the National Association of Railroad Women" (additions "history of ACRW," 1952 on),	1944-56	Box 16: folder 6
Scrapbooks
Volume I,	1949-59	Box 17
Volume II,	1959-63	Box 17
Volume III,	1963-68	Box 18
(kept by Virginia Vaupotic)	1948-54	Box 18
(kept by Marion McKinney)	1948-53	Box 18

Search Terms

The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.

Subjects

American Council of Railroad Women--History--Sources
Railroads--Employees--History--Sources
Women in the professions--History--20th century--Sources
Women railroad employees--History--Sources

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