History of the YWCA of Regina
A written history of the YWCA of Regina, as compiled by Mrs.
R. J. Rowe, Mrs. W. B. Clipsham, Mrs. R. B. LeDrew, Mrs. G.
H. Pope and published in Building Fellowship, circa 1955.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Time Marches On
History
The Early Years
1914 - 1930
1930 - 1939
World War II - 1945
Post War (1945 - 1955)
Foreword
Time Marches On
An idea takes form and is developed to meet the need of the
people and the times. But as time goes on, if there is to
be growth, the form must change and develop, so that the idea
or truth embodied can be expressed to meet the needs of the
present day.
In the history of the Y.W.C.A's of the World we see this
demonstrated. Our purpose, because it answers a basic need
of life, remains the same but as our vision has expanded and
we responded to it, there have been changes in form. History
tells the story.
The Saskatchewan story is told by each local association
- the starting place or grass roots of the whole Y.W.C.A.
movement. As we study our purpose, reaching up to God, the
source of our being, we go out to include all people of whatever
color, race or creed. Thus grew the idea and form of the National
and World Y.W.C.A.
In Saskatchewan we have had visits from the World Y.W.C.A.
leaders that have been highlights in Y.W.C.A. life. Miss Marianne
Mills of the World Office at Geneva; Miss Sosa Mathews of
India and Miss Marguerite Pichaud of Ceylon, who came to Canada
to attend the World Council Meeting and to observe Western
World methods. Miss Estelle Amaron, a Canadian who spent years
in Burma and is now in West Africa; Miss Ethel Law who came
to the Canadian National Office from New Zealand to take charge
of a program department. On one of her visits here she helped
with the first planned Saskatchewan Y.W.C.A. Conference. Mlle
Suzanne de Dietrich of France, the Spiritual leader who, after
visiting associations in Canada and the United States, wrote
her impressions pointing out and understanding the problems
in a new country with a scattered population. Miss Van Ash
Van Wyck of Holland, World President, came just before the
Second World War. Her visit followed that historic meeting
of the Y.W.C.A. World Council at Elgin House, Muskoka, Ontario
in 1938. Other visitors were Miss Ruth Rouse of England, World
President, who succeeded Miss Van Ash Van Wyck. Miss Julia
Matouskova of Czech-Slovakia, a World Council Member who joined
the National Staff in 1939. And who, of those who took part
in them, will ever forget the institutes for volunteers in
1941 conducted by Miss Julia Capen of the National Y.W.C.A.
staff of the U.S.A. Plans had been made for her to visit Egypt
in 1939 but due to unsettled World conditions the visit was
cancelled. All Canada, province by province, had the benefit
of her time and talents. A few years later came Miss Winnifred
Wygal of the National U.S.A. staff who gave a course on Christian
Leadership in the Community.
From our own National Headquarters we have had a visit in
1948 from Mrs. Walter Rean, the First National President officially
to visit the West during her term of office. Mrs Harvey Agnew
had been here previously but it was during the period when
she was loaned by the Y.W.C.A. to the Federal Government to
do a special piece of volunteer war work. Mrs. J. L. Savage
came during her term of office as president. Before this time
we had come to know her through visits as Chairman of the
National Council Y.W.C.A. War Services Committee. Of the National
general secretaries, now called executive directors, there
was Miss Hedwig Hobrecker who did pioneer work in visiting
all the associations and at times was practically the only
outside contact. She died in Prince Albert in 1938 while on
a northern cross-country Y.W.C.A. visit. During the Second
World War years there was Miss Louise Gates, now Mrs. Sherwood
Eddy, who helped to make possible the great growth and expansion
of the Y. work during that period. Shortly after taking office
Miss Lillian Thompson visited the West, getting and giving
an overall picture of changing needs from war to peace times.
Miss Agnes Roy, the present executive director, because of
visits made while holding other National offices, brings to
the Canadian Association an intimate knowledge of Saskatchewan.
Visits of departmental secretaries are now more or less regular
and with the recent policy of all presidents of local associations
and provincial representatives attending the National Annual
Meeting, by the sharing of a travel pool, a much closer contact
can be maintained and the resolution of problems worked out.
In 1937 Mrs. I. Z. Conboy, President of Saskatoon Y.W.C.A.
and I had the privilege of attending the North America Area
Conference held in Toronto. This came about because National
was concerned that members from the far afield should be present
and share experiences. Funds were at a low ebb. An anonymous
person offered to pay half of the train fare of the delegates.
The Y.W.C.A. offered hospitality while in Toronto. We were
the two Saskatchewan delegates invited to attend. It was a
revelation and an experience to us to share with Eastern Canada,
Newfoundland, United States, Mexico and Jamaica problems and
growths and to find that basically they were the same. We
had overcome some of the problems that they were struggling
with and vice versa, with all seeing new fields and areas
of work.
A local association takes its form from past history, vision
and present needs of the community. Let us be watchful that
we do not keep the form when the specific need changes or
is fulfilled. If we keep a forward look, there is always pioneer
work to be done in the realms of body, mind and spirit.
As we review our history, let us take the best from the past
and build the future on it.
- Frances Croome
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History of the Young Women's Christian Association, Regina,
Saskatchewan
In Retrospect: The Early Years
"It is a blessed privilege to have a part in the beginning
of things, and we of the great west are specially favored
in that regard." Those were the opening words of the report
presented by Mrs. George Young at the laying of the corner
stone of the Y.W.C.A. building in Regina.
On that afternoon of October 10, 1911 the skies were sunnier
than they had been for days in Regina. Crowds gathered inside
and in front of the Y.W.C.A. to witness the ceremony of the
laying of the corner stone; the men working on the building
stopped to watch and listen attentively from their places
on the steel beam of the second story. After Mr. W. E. Mason
had opened the ceremony, the Baptist male Quartette led in
the rousing singing of "How Firm a Foundation". Addresses
were given by His Honor Lieutenant-Governor Brown, Mayor McAra,
Mr. Bake, a member of the British House of Commons, the Rev.
Murdoch McKinnon, and Mr. James Balfour, President of the
YMCA.
Among the guests were Miss Stevenson, World Secretary, and
Miss Little, Dominion Secretary of the Y.W.C.A.. The moment
when Mrs. McKay Omand tested the corner stone and declared
it to be well and truly laid was a deeply significant one
to those two women who saw the Regina Association as part
of a fast growing national and international movement. Four
years before Miss Little had come to the prairies in answer
to persistent letters from Brandon, Saskatoon, Calgary and
Edmonton "emphasizing the need of inaugurating a work for
young women." At that time meetings had been held in Regina
and committees had been appointed but the work had not gone
ahead as a suitable house had not been available. Now, within
the short space of eighteen months, the Association had been
organized, and a fine new building, complete with residence
and cafeteria, club rooms and gymnasium, was on its way.
That building was in part the fulfillment of the dreams,
the work and prayers of a group of women who laid the foundation,
not only of the Y.W.C.A. in Regina but of other community
services. They were women of vision who saw a building as
just one means of helping to meet the needs of the girls and
women of their day, and of the years to come. They were women
of vision who saw a building as just one means of helping
to meet the needs of the girls and women of their day, and
of the years to come. They were aware above all that creative
Christian leadership was essential. Early in the course of
their community work they had demonstrated their own great
capacity for leadership, and for sharing together the responsibilities
of a pioneer association.
In those days, women were just beginning to find their place
in business and industry. It was estimated in 1910 that 800
girls were at work in the City of Regina. They were arriving
daily from the eastern provinces and from the British Isles,
some as members of families, many alone - all seeking a new
way of life. Regina could not begin to accommodate the influx
of people; hotel accommodation was limited, eating places
a few. For a woman in particular, problems were doubly difficult.
If she wished to be considered respectable, she dared not
appear in a hotel dining room or in a café without an escort
or chaperon. The Young Men's Christian Association had been
established in Regina in 1890. Was there not just as great
a need, if not greater, among young women? Did the answer
to that need not lie in the Y.W.C.A. movement that had begun
in England in 1855, a movement that had spread to the cities
of Eastern Canada and the West Coast?
Regina's Council of Women took action. Letters were exchanged
with the Y.W.C.A. Dominion Council staff at Toronto. Finally
in March 14, 1910, the Local Council of Women held a meeting
under the chairmanship of Mrs. Rothwell, in the Y.M.C.A. auditorium
for the purpose "of considering the advisability of organizing
a Young Women's Christian Association in Regina."
The gathering was a large and enthusiastic one. Mrs. McKay
Omand was named provisional chairman, and the Local Council
Executive, Miss Lane and Mrs. Omand were instructed to appoint
the provisional executive. That night this group met at the
home of Mrs. Rothwell to set up committees.
On April 5, 1910, another public meeting was held in the
Y.M.C.A. to receive the reports of the provisional committees.
The Membership Committee had received by that date, the promise
of 199 members; the House Committee had found that space would
be available in the old Leader Block; the Finance committee
had estimated operating costs in the neighborhood of $2,234.00
and funds available at $375.00; the Constitution Committee
had drafted a proposed constitution based on recommendations
from the Dominion Council, providing for a Board of management
of forty-two ladies, and Advisory Board of Management of forty-two
ladies who were immediately elected.
The next day the Board of Directors of the Y.W.C.A. met for
their first meeting and elected the following officers:
Honorary President -Mrs. Walter Scott
President -Mrs. McKay Omand
1st Vice-President -Mrs. J. W. Smith
2nd Vice-President -Mrs. D. S. McCannel
3rd Vice-President -Mrs. G.C. Hill
4th Vice-President -Mrs. J. F. Bryant
Recording Secretary -Mrs. G. H. Young
Corresponding Secretary -Mrs. Hector lang
Treasurer -Mrs. L. J. Palmetier
In addition, it was decided that the provisional House Committee
made up of
Mesdames W. Rothwell, Adam Ross, J.H. Lamont, G. W. Henry,
L. J. Palmetier and Neil McCannel be re-appointed as permanent
House Committee with the additions of Mesdames Alex Ross,
D. S. McCannel, B. Carter and W. E. Moore.
Committees were then appointed:
Finance -Mesdames W. A. Thomson, J. A. Allan, F. J.
Reynolds, W. Scott, G. W. Brown, J. W. Smith, F. R. Sebolt,
A. D. Wright and G. Forsyth.
Educational -Miss E. D. Cathro, Mesdames J. A. Reid,
J. H. Oliver, J. F. Bryant, T. D. Brown, A. H. Tasker and
J. H. Lamont.
Social - Mesdames J. R. Peverett, G. C. Hill, G. F.
Wilson, W. H. Gee, P. Gordon, A.C. Hunt, D. H. Gillespie,
JH. A. Wright and W. P. Wells.
Religious -Mesdames J. H. Oliver, W. McKay Omand,
Henry, Ayre, G. Miller, S. B. Sanders and G. H. Young.
Membership -Mesdames Cresswell, Munroe, Franks, Kerr,
W. P. Wells and Misses Cameron, Henderson, McFarlane, Webster
and Hamilton.
Messrs. H. D. Stevens, W. E. Mason, F. N. Darke, J. A. Allan,
W. T. Mollard, J. H. H. Young and Chief Justice Wetmore were
named to the Advisory Board.
Plans were made to lease the old Leader Block for two years
on the terms which the owners had made with the provisional
House committee--the owners to do all outside repairs, to
give the building rent free for five months, and for $100
a month for the balance of the time.
Mrs. Omand, Mrs. Young and Mrs. Palmetier were delegated
to interview the city authorities regarding a site for the
Y.W.C.A.
Steps were taken to look for a General Secretary, and Mrs.
Omand, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Lang authorized to interview persons
available as cook and matron.
With despatch equaling that with which their first meeting
was conducted, Board members set about preparing for the opening
of a cafeteria and restroom in the Leader Block on May 25,
1910. Furnishings and repair committees were formed. Members
took their turns in washing windows and walls, scrubbing floors,
painting and struggling with the stains of printer's ink.
In between times, funds were raised by sponsoring an entertainment
and canvassing for memberships amongst women of fifteen and
over, of good moral character. Honorary memberships at $5
and $25 were available for gentlemen.
Miss Moffat was engaged for a period of three months as matron
at a salary of $50 a month. In June 1910, Miss Marjorie A.
Morton came from the Winnipeg Association to Regina as General
Secretary, in which capacity she remained until 1922. Throughout
these years, Miss Morton, with her astute business sense,
her administrative ability, and leadership, was to be a tower
of strength.
The cafeteria at 1769 Hamilton Street became a haven for
the young employed woman in Regina. After lunch she could
spend the balance of her noon hour sitting primly in the restroom
doing fancy work for her hope chest under the observing but
kindly eye of the General Secretary, or if the block she lived
in did not have a bath, she could get one at the Y.W.C.A.
for $.10 provided that there was enough hot water left after
the supper dishes were done.
Programme grew apace. A young women's auxiliary was organized;
rooms were rented in Dr. Smith's Block at $35 per month for
carrying on the educational work. Classes were opened in literature,
physical science, domestic science, dressmaking, bible study,
first aid, current events, modern languages, and in October
an institute was held for volunteer workers, under the direction
of the visiting Y.W.C.A. secretaries, Miss Stevenson and Miss
Little. Mr. Burton of the Y.M.C.A. was the first physical
instructor. Meantime, two meals a day were served in the cafeteria,
lunch and supper. Volunteers from the Board put up fruit for
the cafeteria and tied comforters for the beds of overnight
guests. A Y.W.C.A. sign was hung in the railway depot to acquaint
women travelers with the services available.
Special Board meetings became the order of the day as programme
outgrew the space provided, and building plans progressed.
Miss Morton secured the plans of several eastern Y. W. C.
A. 's and at the request of the Board, spoke with the girls
in activities as to their ideas on the location of the new
building. Mesdames Omand, J. W. Smith and Hannon were appointed
trustees of the real property of the Association.
Sites were looked at with an eye to the future development
of the community. None seemed to be the answer. Prayers were
offered for help in making the right decision. Then the site
next to the Metropolitan Church became available and the decision
was made to erect a building costing not less than $50,000.
The community rallied behind the campaign for funds. Sermons
were preached from pulpits on Sunday, March 12th, on the work
and support of the YWCA. The general canvass started on Monday,
March 13th and closed Saturday, March 18th. The citizens of
Regina backed the project wholeheartedly by voting in favor
of a city grant of $15,000 to the YWCA building fund.
The services of Mr. James H. Puntin as architect were secured
and the tender of Messrs. Smith Brothers and Wilson accepted.
Meeting upon meeting followed and consultations with the architect
and Advisory board on specifications and plans. Mrs. Pollock
was engaged as housekeeper for the new building and board
members were absorbed in the purchase of sheets, blankets,
bedroom and dining room furniture. A newspaper item at this
time read--"Intending contributors kindly donate money and
not articles so uniformity of furnishings may be secured."
The secretary's office was furnished by Mrs. Aleck Clarke;
the library by Mrs. T. B. Patton; the private parlor by Mrs.
F. N. Darke; the resident parlot largely by the International
Harvester Company; pictures by the Bible Study Club; a clock
by the Sunshine Club, a group of girls who had come from the
old land; and silverware for the cafeteria by A. L. Wheatley.
The building was ready for occupancy by March 1912, with a
term of six months for the residence girls.
In November 1910, the question of employing a Travelers Secretary
had come to the fore. Mesdames Wright, McCannell, Forsyth
and Peverett were appointed to represent the churches and
arrange for financial support of the "agent". On March 1,
1912 Miss E. Henry was placed in charge of Travelers' Aid
work at the station and made assistant to Miss Morton. Women
and children were brought from the station to wait for their
train, or to stay overnight at the Y.W.C.A. An old report
written at this time reads, "the necessity of this work at
the work at the station can only be realized after hearing
the many pathetic stories of those who have failed to meet
their friends---and sometimes of the one who has been saved
from a reckless downward step."
On June 30, 1912, the cyclone struck Regina, leaving in its
wake a stunned city, death and destruction. The roof of the
new building was ripped off and the south wall and north walls
partially demolished but no lives were lost. Mr. and Mrs.
James McAra and Mrs. McAra, always deeply sympathetic toward
the work of the Y.W.C.A. opened their home in this emergency
to the young women of the Association.
A cyclone loan of $8,000.00 was borrowed from the city and
the building rebuilt at a cost of $10,000.00. The building
had opened with an outstanding debt of $18,000.00 and the
ladies had been able to secure a mortgage for that amount.
In October an addition was completed to the building at a
cost of $10,000.00, making a total indebtedness of $38,000.00
which by 1916, had been reduced to $22,000,00 and $20.00 per
month.
The decision was reached by September 1912 in view "of the
important calisthenic work to be undertaken this winter" to
build lockers and dressers in a room near the gymnasium, and
to engage Miss Magwood as a Physical Director at a salary
of $500.00 a year and board.
Problems arose in residence. Girls brought in friends who
visited with them, often for several days without reporting
this or paying for accommodation. A deputation from the young
women of the Association was received. Their spokesman asked
that they be allowed the privilege of dancing at their December
"At Home" and that they be permitted more freedom in that
respect at other times. Old minutes read at that time "After
sympathetic and serious consideration of the request present,
we feel unable to undertake the responsibility of initiating
any such step as has been proposed, feeling that it would
be unwise now and would involve difficulties and perplexities
which we do not see our way to meet--We wish to express our
appreciation of the assurance received from the young ladies
that our decision would te taken in good part and look to
the leaders among the girls to help in finding solutions for
the problems which arise."
Gentlemen were permitted the use of the gymnasium on Saturday
nights. As the work grew, so also did plans for extension,
to include the needs of both women and men. Lots were purchased
for $5.00 from the city on the north side across the tracks,
with the expectation that a new building would be erected.
This was to contain a cafeteria, club and reading rooms, a
sewing room and possibly baths. By 1915 the city pressed for
action but nothing was done as work had become heavier at
Lorne Street and demanded the full attention of Board and
staff.
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1914 - 1930
The early years of the Regina Association had set the pattern
for this period and the years to come. There would be variations
in this pattern; there would be changing philosophies, new
techniques in working with people, but in broad outline the
basis and structure would remain the same.
World War I brought a new awareness of sharpening conflicts
and tensions in the world at large. In mid August 1914 the
Legion of Frontiersmen left for the war, to be followed shortly
afterward by the 26th Saskatchewan Rifles and Regina's Second
contingent. The Regina Association settled down to "only the
most practical work" - work with the families of soldiers
and the Canadian Red Cross.
The Board was criticized in the community for employing foreign
girls but nothing would keep them from pursuing the Y.W.C.A.
policy of "no discrimination". Interest in public affairs
increased; concern was expressed over immigration laws and
the low wages of girls in stores and laundries. A survey was
made of the wages of employed girls which revealed salaries
in stores of $6.00 - $20.00 a week, for stenographers of $60.00
- $100.00 a month.
There was an upsurge of interest during this period in the
needs of teen age girls. A great deal of organizing was being
done in schools., Sunday Schools, in Girl Guides and Camp
Fire Girls' work. Miss Una Saunders, General Secretary of
the Dominion council, referred particularly to the needs of
the teenage girls in her visit to Regina in March 1915. In
November of that same year at a special meeting of the Executive
committee and the Advisory board, it was decided that the
need was important enough to justify the Board's going to
the public for the required $900.00 to pay the Girls' Work
Secretary's salary. The following September Miss Davison of
Winnipeg came to the Regina Association as the first Girls'
Work Secretary.
Girls' work expanded rapidly under Miss Davison's direction
and aimed at meeting the girls' (1) intellectual needs (2)
physical needs, (3) religious needs, (4) and training for
practical experience, Simpson's offered to pay half the fee
for employees of three months' standing. The Association co-operated
in giving equipment and the leadership of the Girls' Work
Secretary to the newly organized teen age movement, the C.G.I.T.
and sponsored the first girls' camp at Lumsden. Later, in
1919, the churches were to take over entirely the programme
of the C.G.I.T
Summerholme, the cottage near Ft. Qu'Appelle where young
women might vacation, which was a dream of the Board of Directors,
became a reality in 1917. Well treed lots were donated by
Major Secord and Dr. Hall to the Y.W.C.A. without any reservations;
Mr. Gordon Baker gave his property to the Association for
so long as it was used for a site. In July, Board meeting
Mrs. Forsyth reported that the cottage was completed and ready
for the girls for the summer and that 48 girls had registered.
For the summers thereafter, under the sale of Summerholme
in 1937, the cottage at B-Say-Tah Point was kept open for
tired city dwellers and groups of C.G.I.T. girls.
During those war yeas, women were taking the place of men
in jobs which paid much more than the Y.W.C.A. could pay.
Often the people whom the Y.W.C.A. could find to carry on
its maintenance work had no idea of schedules. Many times
the Association was without a janitor. There are stories on
record of one janitor who had to be wakened on cold mornings
so that fire could be made in the range to prepare breakfast.
In 1918 the 'flu epidemic struck. A resident in the house
at that time wrote thus, "It really was almost beyond words.
The people who lived out on the prairies could not get a doctor
from the city for days. I am sure that many a person died
before help could come. We had our troubles in the house too.
All the maids were ill at one time or other. I remember one
Sunday afternoon Miss Morton, the General, and I, sat in the
basement and peeled potatoes by hand as she said that at least
we could serve a boiled potato. Many of our guests were ill,
too."
The year 1919 brought post war problems. Inflation had reared
its ugly head. The cost of clothing was out of all proportion
to salaries; butter went to $0.80 a pound and higher. Margarine
was mentioned in Board minutes as an accessory not a substitute
for butter. In the midst of this dislocation, girls came from
prairie farms and villages, from the British Isles and Continent
in search of employment. Jobs were found through the Y.W.C.A.
for many of them; federal and provincial governments were
approached in an attempt to find adequate housing.
For the lonely the Y.W.C.A. came to be the place to meet.
There were Sunday afternoon classes on the problems of reconstruction,
vespers each evening, and firesides on Sundays after church
for young men and women, held alternately in the Y.M.C.A.
and the Y.W.C.A.
Gymnastics became increasingly popular, the girls attired
in great yardage of serge bloomers, long black stockings and
white middies with blue ties. The 20's ushered in the flapper
era, economic recessions and peaks. A new interest in swimming
was sparked.
Late in November 1920 a petition for a swimming pool in the
Y.W.C.A. had come from the girls to the Local Council of Women.
The Council was anxious to support the movement. A small committee
of the Y.W.C.A. met with the girls and Mr. Puntin, the architect.
It was estimated that a pool 21 by 35 feet could be put up
for about $5,000.00. Approval was given by the Board to the
placing of a swimming pool in the Y.W.C.A., the Board to work
in conjunction with girls and to take the initiative in calling
a meeting to arouse the public interest. However, the girls
were determined to call the public meeting and to raise The
$5,000.00 on their own. By April 1923 the girls had raised
$5,500.00 but the costs of building a pool had increased to
well over $8,000.00
One Board member expressed the opinion that the Board always
in the past had the faith and the will to go forward in any
enterprise which they believed to be for the good of the institution
and of the girls whom it served and had been blessed in their
undertakings. It was she who made the motion, carried unanimously,
to proceed immediately with the tile finished pool upon receipt
of the $5,500.00 for the swimming pool committee.
Contractors, it was found, required payment in full three
months after the completion of the pool, and therefore postponement
of plans became necessary. 168 girls petitioned the Board
in May 1924 with the result that a special meeting was called
with Mr. Puntin, representation from the Board, two members
of the Advisory Board and thirty-two girls present. The whole
problem was aired thoroughly. Cement instead of tiling was
ruled out as unsatisfactory. The girls agreed to raise another
$1,600.00 with the hope that business men would donate the
rest but dissatisfaction with the delay precipitated a number
of special meetings with members of the Board. The necessary
amount was raised by the end of 1924 and the pool formally
opened April 6, 1925, with something of the color that had
characterized the laying of the corner stone. Mayor Mason
presided, church dignitaries, and the presidents of the Y.M.C.A.,
Kiwanis, Rotary and Gyro Club were invited. Representatives
of the girls received the guests, together with Miss Newlands,
Mrs. Dunning and members of the Y.W.C.A. Executive Committee.
To dance or not to dance? That question became once more
an issue. This time permission for holding dances was to be
given at the discretion of the General Secretary but it was
stipulated that two Board members and the General Secretary
must chaperon.
The demand for overnight accommodation increased by leaps
and bounds. In 1926 the Metropolitan Parsonage at 1951 Smith
Street was purchased for $8,000.00 and used as an annex to
the main building. In no time consideration had to be given
to enlarging either the Y.W.C.A. to the annex but the drastic
curtailment of the '30's made it necessary to close the Annex
instead.
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1930 - 1939
The desolation of those years with crop failure upon crop
failure had far reaching effects upon the people of Saskatchewan.
It was a period of exodus - - exodus from the province to
Ontario and British Columbia, from the southern plains to
the northlands; from the farms and villages to the cities.
In the cities almost entire blocks of families in certain
sections were on relief; people lined up day after day in
queues at clothing debts and employment offices; men clung
like flies to box cars, begged bread from homes near the railway
yards and in 1935 rioted in the streets of Regina.
Girls arrived daily at the Y.W.C.A. penniless and without
jobs. There were those who were shabbily dressed, their few
belongings tied in paper bundles. Some had worked as hired
girls for $5.00 a month; others were fresh out of high school
and business college. A dogged determination to remain independent,
discouragement, apathy, dependency - - they were all there.
In this setting the Y.W.C.A. found itself with increasing
demands placed upon its services and with rapidly decreasing
financial resources. Throughout the years the wear and tear
on the building had been heavy. Now in the '30's no ready
money was available for necessary major repairs. There were
retrenchments in salaries, drastic cuts in expenditures but
it was imperative that programme services be maintained at
a high level. In her report to the Board in the early '30's
the General Secretary said, "There never has been a time when
the Y.W.C.A. has had a greater opportunity to advance the
physical, social, intellectual, moral and spiritual interests
of young women, or a clearer call."
The growth in girl's work was phenomenal. Evening clubs for
business girls, Thursday groups for household employees flourished.
Badminton, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, archery were carried
on, with many of the participants unable to pay even the smallest
fee. Delegates, thirty-five in number and representing the
various groups within the Association, attended the Saskatchewan
Y.W.C.A. Conference in Saskatoon in 1938.
In 1937 the old Annex which was in a state of great disrepair
was razed and a tennis court built on its site, funds for
this being taken from the proceeds of the sale of Summerholme.
Picnics and outings were organized by the groups in the summer
time and a stay at home camp for children initiated, with
swimming, outdoor games, cook-outs, Weiner roasts and other
recreational activities. In 1933 a Y.M.C.A. - cut down the
expenses of the swimmers of both Associations.
The Y.W.C.A. co-operated with the Youth Training Plan. Classes
were held in the building in home craft, dressmaking, hairdressing
and salesmanship with special lessons given by the Y.W.C.A.
afterward for the students in gymnastics and swimming.
"The Y's Place in the Community" was the topic which Miss
Hobrecker, General Secretary of the National Council chose
for a speech during her April visit in 1936. She spoke of
the need to develop standards of employment and of health
programs requiring annual medical certificates. Social case
workers she felt were necessary with the Y.W.C.A. setting,
in order to help young women with their problems. Of the residence
Miss Hobrecker said, "The main concern of the Y.W.C.A. residence
should be to promote a high standard of health and appreciation
of spiritual values, to provide opportunities for group living
which make it possible for the girl or woman to express and
develop her own personality and also to contribute to the
life of the group - - to afford ways of securing additional
advice, vocational assistance an economic training and to
create as far as possible the atmosphere of home."
Meanwhile the Y.W.C.A. was operating its own employment service
in the placement of girls in household jobs. Limited staff
made it impossible to give a service that was in any way adequate.
In October 1936, the decision was made by the Board to discontinue
placing girls and to refer all looking for work to government
and city employment offices.
Programed services had grown so rapidly in the previous decade
that building expansion plans were formulated and a building
fund accumulated. The Y.W.C.A. had come by 1934 to the point
that it would have to close its doors if substantial financial
support did not come to its rescue. Creditors were lenient
taken therefore to direct funds from the building fund to
the current account and in order to keep faith, donors were
approached for their permission. The funds so secured were
used to pay outstanding debts, the Legislature and the fund
dissolved.
Donations from service clubs were solicited and a canvass
made, yet the amount raised was far from enough. It was at
this precarious point in Association financing that the Regina
Community Chest was incorporated. The Y.W.C.A. became a member
of the Chest in 1935. The lessening of the administrative
load in campaigning made it possible thereafter to use Association
energy more constructively in meeting community needs.
The specter of war was always present. In 1937 the Sino-Japanese
conflict had broken out. In July 1938 the Board gave their
endorsement to the recommendation circulated by the Montreal
Y.W.C.A. "that we request the National Council to submit to
the Government a protest against the sale of raw materials
for munitions to warring countries and that the National Council
should find the consensus of opinion of other Y.W.C.A.'s on
this matter so that the protest will be representative of
the Dominion."
The shadow of Munich had brought gloom to Y.W.C.A. members
from all over the world who had attended the World Council
Meeting in 1938 at Elgin House, Muskoka. In October, Miss
Van Ash Van Wyck, immediate past president of the World's
Y.W.C.A. stopped off in Regina on her way to a Seattle conference.
The subject of her address to women of Regina was a timely
one, "A Christian Women's Movement in the World Today."
In November, the Y.W.C.A. pledged its support to the local
League of Nations Society in any work undertaken by that body
for the relief of Czecho-Slovakian refugees.
There was much excitement around the Royal visit in May 1939.
Extra beds were put up and the building decorated with shields
and flags. Less than a month after that visit Board members
attended a meeting of Chinese women and assisted with the
formation of an auxiliary to the Chinese Red Cross.
By September, 1939, Canada was at war - - a war that was
to revolutionize and touch deeply the lives of her womanhood.
Back to top
World War II - 1945
The mobilization of resources geared to wartime needs brought
about a wholesome migration of people - - of services personnel,
their wives, friends, families, evacuees, brides from overseas,
civilians, in essential service. Full employment, higher wages,
good prices for wheat, made for economic security but such
mass dislocation contributed to social problems, family breakdown,
delinquency. Always there was an under lying sense of urgency,
of fear and anxiety. Those years with there transitory human
relationships became the testing time for human values and
placed heavy pressure on the Y.W.C.A. and other community
organizations.
Almost overnight, women were holding priority jobs in business
and industry. Married women experienced satisfaction on the
job which they had not found within the home; older women
received recognition, often for the first time, of their skills;
teen aged girls drew salaries as large or larger than their
mothers. Women as volunteers made a remarkable contributions
to the total war effort, without losing sight of their responsibility
to their immediate community.
War was hardly declared when the Regina Y.W.C.A. Board of
Directors offered the services of the Association to the Canadian
Red Cross. The following spring, the Travelers' Aid committee
took up the question of suitable housing for soldiers, their
friends and relatives. Fortnightly dances were held at the
Y.W.C.A. for soldiers and airmen; courses were given on how
to be a good hostess; service wives and Mr. and Mrs. Clubs
were organized. There were weddings in the club room and cooking
lessons in the cafeteria for prospective brides. Y.W.C.A.
members worked in the canteen and sponsored dances at the
Hostess House; club girls knitted for the London Y.W.C.A.,put
on concerts and other special events in aid of the Milk for
Britain Fund and of Mrs. Churchill's Fund for British women
in uniform and visited patients in military hospitals. The
Association gave its wholehearted support of war savings stamps
and bonds, designating a Board member as their Miss Canada.
First orders were posted in early October 1941 for the Regina
platoon of the Canadian Women's' Army Corps. Girls were billeted
in rooms made available through the Y.W.C.A. and Sacred Heart
Academy. They were given the free use of the Y.W.C.A swimming
pool, gymnasium and club rooms. Firesides were open to both
men and women of the services.
Passenger traffic in 1941 was the heaviest in the history
of the Canadian railways. The milling crowds of people in
the Union Station brought problems in greater number to the
Traveller's Aid. The young wife could not locate her husband
at barracks; the country girl, bewildered by so much confusion,
was looking for a housework job; the tired woman with a new
baby in her arms and three other small children at her heels
needed housekeeping quarters. In the little while left before
her husband would go overseas, they hoped they could be together
again with their family.
The Y.W.C.A. building hummed with the activity. At all hours
the lobby was crowded with people looking for a place for
a night until they could find more permanent quarters. There
were times when not a single bed or chesterfield was available
in the house, when women were grateful to be able to sleep
in an easy chair or on a gymnasium mat.
The securing of rooms listings soon became too heavy a job
for a volunteers and finally in 1941 a room registry office
was set up in the Y.W.C.A. with staff on part time basis and
financed through the National War Finance Committee.
In 1943, Mrs. Harvey Agnew, President of the national Y.W.C.A.,
visited Regina. Mrs. Agnew had been asked by the Dominion
Government to supervise the housing programme of the consumer
branch of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. Her job as she
travelled across Canada visiting every city and large town,
was to organize a voluntary registration of Canadian homes
for the purpose of making the greatest use of all available
space. Her work was done in consultation with local groups
and individuals and with the hope that any existing agencies
interested in housing would co-ordinate their activities.
A housing committee was set up in Regina under the consumer
branch and a full time rooms registry office opened at the
Y.W.C.A. Advertisements in the paper of the Regina Area Housing
Registry read, "There is an urgent and desperate need for
spare rooms, attics, second floor flats - - anything which
can be converted into family dwelling units. Nothing is too
small or too large. Remember - the need is urgent!"
The housing situation became acute. There was a continual
stream of people at the registry office. The secretary in
one day interviewed fifty-five people. Families faced eviction
charges. Service wives with small children were living at
auto camps.
The Leader-Post of March 7, 1944, carried the notice of the
public hearings of the Saskatchewan Reconstruction Council
to receive submissions respecting: "Conditions and problems
that are likely to arise during or after the conclusion of
the war." - - and to assist them to, - "Consider, develop
and recommend plans, policies and activities for the purpose
of meeting such conditions and problems." On March 10, 1944,
Mrs. J. E. Cooper, then president of the Y.W.C.A. and Miss
M. Hessell, General Secretary, presented the Y.W.C.A.'s brief
on housing to the Reconstruction Council. Some twenty organizations
placed their findings on housing conditions before that Council.
According to a statement made to the press afterward by the
chairman of the Council "there seemed to be no very clear
idea as to where the initiative for righting housing conditions
should originate - - with the individual, municipal, provincial
or federal authorities."
In 1945, the rooms registry in the Y.W.C.A. was amalgamated
with the city's housing registry and Miss Jean Aitken in charge
of the Y.W.C.A. registry, joined the staff of the city registry.
Early in the year, 850 block captains of the Women's Voluntary
Services conducted a house to house survey in Regina to determine
the living space needed for families and individuals and what
available accommodation was not being utilized.
The united effort of volunteers was evident throughout the
period, - - in the appeal for the organizations doing important
war work on the home front and on the battle front, the Canadian
Red Cross, the Canadian Legion, Salvation Army, Y.W.C.A. and
Y.M.C.A., Knights of Columbus, I.O.D.E. and the Navy League
of Canada; in the work of the Women's Volunteer Services,
the Local Council of Women and of the consumer branch of the
Wartime Prices and Trade board in its fight against inflation.
Co-operative effort came too, into the development of community
recreational services. Juvenile delinquency made headlines
during the war years. Increased delinquency amongst young
girls was a particular concern to the Y.W.C.A. The recommendation
to appoint a policewoman was turned down by the police commission.
Organizations were questioning the supervision of public dance
halls. In 1944, the teen agers approached the mayor in an
urgent appeal for a "hostess club of their own." As a result,
supervised Saturday night dances were held in the city hall
auditorium, permission having been given by the Mayor. Dances
were promoted by the Children's Aid Society, Handicraft House,
The Regina Welfare Bureau, the Y.W.C.A. and the Y.M.C.A. Summer
programme for school children was co-ordinated by playground
staffs, the Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A. and Handicraft Centre. In this
programme, swimming lessons and meetings for the children
were held at the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A.
A few months before the end of the war, the Y.W.C.A. conducted
a two day course in leadership for thirty rural teachers and
representatives from places closest to Regina. Handicrafts,
drama, song leading, a visit to Lakeview School were included
in the course. The influence of the school in community cultural
development, leadership opportunities for rural school teachers,
modern trends in teacher education, the practical approach
to health education through the school room, physical education.
The Hon. Woodrow Lloyd, Minister of Education, opened the
conference and much of the leadership came from government
and departments.
In June, 1944, the Canadian Youth Commission sponsored a
conference in Regina. Miss Phyllis Purdy of the Y.W.C.A. was
conference secretary. About 120 young people met in study
groups with experienced leaders in the fields of religion,
education, recreation, family living, citizenship and national
life, religion and life philosophy. The group asked for increasing
of the school leaving age, further opportunities for vocational
training, equal pay for equal work, subsidies for heads of
families, increased grants to widows, old age pensioners,
disabled persons.
The health study group recommended improved health services,
more trained medical personnel, establishment of a public
health centre and a mental hygiene clinic in Regina.
Establishment of community recreational centres was also
recommended.
The young people believed that organizations committed to
build citizenship should be the church, home and school; that
the voting age should be lowered to 19 and that all Canadians
should learn both English and French.
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Post War: 1945 - 1955
There was a curious let down in the months immediately following
war-end - - as if the ordinary routine of everyday living
was in too sharp contrast to the high pitch of wartime activity.
One tried to begin again where she had left off before the
war; then realized that nothing could be the same again. So
it was with the Y.W.C.A., but in the period of transition
the Association found new challenge.
The housing situation, even with the return of veterans to
their homes in other areas, was still acute. The first concern
of the Association was for the welfare of the discharged service
women who were taking courses in Regina, and who needed living
quarters in the housing emergency. The Maple Leaf Hostel was
leased by the Anglican Church jointly to the Y.W.C.A. and
Citizens Rehabilitation Committee at $200.00 a month, the
lease to run from March 15, 1946 to May 31, 1947. The Y.W.C.A.
took complete responsibility for the administration of the
hostel. Accommodation with light housekeeping facilities was
provided for 62 girls at reasonable rates. In May of '47 the
Hostel or the Hostess House as it had become known, was taken
over by the Anglican W.A.
The city housing registry closed in 1948, but toward the
end of the same year a rooms registry was set up in the Y.W.C.A.
as part of the Travellers' Aid Department and was supported
by a grant from the City of Regina. By 1953 the number of
applications for rooms had increased from 3,518 to 6,028.
Housing development mushroomed but acute housing shortages
still existed. Rentals were inflated where they were not affected
by rental control measures. Families in middle salary brackets
and elderly people with fixed income bore the brunt of exorbitant
rentals.
The Housing Committee of the Local Council of Women submitted
a brief to the City Council in 1954 proposing subsidized housing
as a means of alleviating the situation. In the November civic
elections 1954, citizens voted by a small majority against
favoring a by-law under which the city, provincial and federal
governments would enter into a subsidized housing project.
The issue, however, was still kept alive.
The years following the war saw a great influx of people
from other countries - people from the caps of Europe, others
from the Netherlands, Germany, and the British Isles, some
from Italy, Greece, China. They brought with them vitality
and rich background of culture.
The Y.W.C.A. at first co-operated with the I.O.D.E. in providing
basic English classes. These were discontinued because of
Night School classes. In 1955 informal classes were developed
in the programme department of the Y.W.C.A for New Canadian
mothers unable to attend Night School.
That same year the Y.W.C.A. affiliated with the newly incorporated
New Canadians and Citizenship Council, a society composed
of representatives of organizations, of individuals and, branches
of government interested in -
(a) promoting and understanding and appreciation of the privileges
of Canadian citizenship.
(b) the development and integration of such educational,
recreational, and other services as may be necessary for furthering
the welfare of New Canadians.
(c) providing liaison and co-ordination between private citizens,
welfare agencies, government services, churches and other
community groups - active in or interested in furthering the
welfare of New Canadians.
(d) presenting and interpreting to the community as a whole
the needs and problems of new Canadians and also their potential
contribution to the community as new citizens.
In all the periods of its history, the Y.W.C.A., in some
form or other, has been actively interested in public affairs.
A citizenship consultation was held May 20-24, 1955 in Toronto
at national headquarters when a group of activity, committee
and board members considered ways and means of making citizenship
and its responsibilities a more spontaneous and integral part
of Y.W.C.A. programme. Mrs. W. B. Clipsham, a Regina Board
member, and chairman of the Travellers' Aid and Rooms Registry
Committee, took part in this consultation.
The Needs of many Canadian Indian women moving in from the
reservations to urban areas had long been the concern of the
Travellers' Aid and Rooms Registry Committee of the Regina
Y.W.C.A. The impact of white culture, frequently far from
its best, upon the more primitive culture of the Indian had
often been demoralizing. In June 1954, four representative
of the Regina Y.W.C.A. attended a conference of chiefs and
councillors of the Qu'appelle Agency in which employment for
Indian girls of limited educations was an issue.
In October 1954, the Regina Association was requested by
the National Public Affairs Committee to gather data preparatory
to a conference on methods of combating discrimination and
prejudice. At a meeting of the United Nations Economic and
Social Council held in Geneva in the summer of 1954, the decision
was taken to convene a conference of non-governmental organizations
for an exchange of views concerning the most effective methods
of combating discrimination. The World Y.W.C.A. was urged
to participate because of its long tradition of effort on
behalf of minority groups. The World Office was particularly
interested in knowing what were the main aspects of this problem
in Canada, to what extent evidence of prejudice and discrimination
was found in relation to colour or race, and what steps the
Y.W.C.A.'s were taking in building of understanding between
people of different backgrounds in their communities
Mutual service has come to be a significant phase of Association
work. In 1954 the Regina Y.W.C.A. raised close to $1,000.00,
this amount to go toward Canada's World Service fund, used
chiefly of the development of indigenous leadership in India,
Ceylon, Burma, Surinam, Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast.
In giving, Canada has received also form these countries.
Gradually there has been built up a mutual understanding,
and an appreciation of differences and cultural backgrounds.
Mutual services was once "the foreign work of the Association",
deriving its financial support from drawing-room teas. What
has happened in the evolution of mutual service is typical
of what has happened in relationships within the Association
since its founding. There has been a moving away from the
idea of "doing for" to "doing with", and more recognition
of the fact that the vitality of the Association depends in
large degree upon the active participation of its members
in the processes of evaluation, planning, and developing their
own programme in all its phases. Something of that order happened
in what led up to the building of the swimming pool in 1925.
As a membership organization, the Association within recent
years has placed increasing emphasis upon purpose, and the
implications of purpose in personal and group relationships,
and in standards of work. "To build a fellowship of women
and girls.......devoted to the task of realising......ideals
of personal and social living to which we are committed by
our faith as Christians. In this endeavour we seek to understand
Jesus, to share His love for all people, and to grow in the
knowledge and love of God. "Throughout the years there has
been much falling short; there have been many failures and
successes - as there must be in any field of human endeavour;
and there have been differences in thinking and in methods.
Yet out of all this, there has emerged a sense of direction,
and of deepening purpose.
In the earlier part of the 1950's the trend was toward classes
and large group activities. Square dancing, beginning in the
Y.W.C.A., spread throughout the city; drama workshops for
children became an important programme feature. Long distance
bus tours were organized during the summer for women, a travel
club was formed. Early in 1951 the public cafeteria, which
had been operating at a deficit, was closed, but a food service
was retained for the young women living in residence and overnight
guests. The space, formerly occupied by the cafeteria, was
used for the development of much needed group activity. A
part time play school was opened in the fall of 1951, was
re-opened the next fall, and closed that same year as the
need at the time did not appear to be great enough to justify
its existence. Small groups grew out of the larger activities;
greater emphasis was placed on programmes with mothers, teen
agers, and young adults.
Just what were the needs of the girls and women in Regina?
What sort of programmes would appeal to them? How could Y.W.C.A.
resources - its facilities, its staff and volunteer skills
- be used most effectively in the community? Was the Y.W.C.A.
duplicating services offered by other organizations or governmental
departments in Regina? These were questions which the Y.W.C.A.
could not answer alone. Association leadership saw the wisdom
of greater consultation and co-operation on the part of the
Y.W.C.A. with other community organizations. In March 1995,
at a special meeting of members of the Board of Directors,
endorsation was given to the idea of establishing a community
welfare council in Regina. As the concept of community has
widened, the Y.W.C.A. has come to realize that it must assume
responsibility, together with other organizations, for working
toward constructive inter-group relationships, not only at
the local, but at the provincial, national and world levels.
Association members have come and gone - board, staff and
committee members have come and gone; so also activity participants
- but the Association remains. This has been achieved not
through one person or one group, but through the relationships
of many persons, and many groups.
Since that October day in 1911, the saplings in Victoria
Park have grown into trees, and the stone step at the entrance
to the Y.W.C.A building has become worn with the passage of
many feet. The words come back across the years with new Clarity
- "It is a blessed privilege to have a part in the beginning
of things."
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