|
History
OFWC
Motto OFWC Emblem
OFWC Song
OFWC
Historical Highlights: On October 24, 1899,
the Portland Women’s Club called together the
women’s clubs of the state of Oregon. The urgent need in Oregon was for Public Libraries.
There were no public Libraries in the
state at that time.
Thirteen clubs attended that meeting.
The first convention was in Pendleton in
1900. The
newly organized Federation began a vigorous
campaign to secure the passage of a Library bill
in the Oregon Legislature.
Most local Libraries in Oregon owe their
founding to the untiring efforts of local
Women’s Clubs.
In
1901 OFWC was admitted to the General Federation
of Women’s Clubs.
Another early concern of the Federation
was child labor.
OFWC had a prominent part in obtaining
the passage of Oregon’s first child labor law.
They included efforts to ensure that the
law provided for the majority of the Labor Board
to be women.
The governor appointed three prominent
clubwomen to this first board.
In
1903 36 clubs belonged to the Federation.
In 1905, the Scholarship Loan and
Fellowship Fund was started with $23 remaining
from funds used to erect a statue of Sacajawea
which now stands in Portland’s Washington
Park.
In
1910 OFWC had 51 clubs and 2398 members.
Between 1915 - 1921,
OFWC raised $108,000 which was matched by
the Oregon Legislature for a women’s building
(Gerlinger Hall) at the University of Oregon.
From
1938-1941, Oregon’s Saidie Orr Dunbar served
as President of GFWC.
In 1941, under the sponsorship of OFWC,
legislation was introduced and passed by the
Oregon Legislature providing for blood testing
of prospective mothers in an effort to detect
and control syphilis.
In 1942 OFWC had 137 clubs and 5866
members.
From
1943-1946 the country was at war and OFWC raised
a total of $911,950 in the War Bond drive to
“Buy a Bomber”.
That was more than enough money to name
one bomber for the Federation.
In 1945 the work of OFWC to secure
passage of a new health and physical fitness law
for Oregon schools was recognized in newspapers
and Medical Journal editorials.
In
1946 the Penny Art Fund Scholarship was started
and the first scholarship given in 1948.
In 1948, GFWC held their 57th
convention in Portland.
In 1956 the Saidie Orr Dunbar Nursing
Fund was established and in 1961, the Virginia
Brown Music scholarship was established.
In
1953, after the devastating Tillamook burn, OFWC
created the “OFWC Memorial Forest”.
It is located 40 miles west of Portland
and consists of 152 acres that OFWC replanted.
In 1973, a roadside marker was placed at
the site.
In
1968 OFWC began a two-year project to build a
swimming pool at the Hillcrest School for Girls.
OFWC
Emblem 
In
1960, inspired by Mrs. Rachel M. Gifford of
Oswego Woman’s Club and the work of Oregon
artist Mrs. Theresa Truchot, an emblem was
adopted. The emblem was a modified heart shape. The settings and symbols were adapted from those used within
the shield of the Oregon State Seal.
The
motto “Growth Through Service” was adopted
May 20, 1965, at the 50th State
Convention held in Gearhart, Oregon.
OFWC
Official Song - Oregon My Oregon
|
