Collection Overview
American Council of Railroad Women
American Council of Railroad Women Records1944-1977
MS 345
18 boxes
(10 linear ft.)
Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College
Northampton, MA
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.
English.
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."
Fall Meeting of the American Council of Railroad
Women in their silver anniversary year, 1968
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.
Organization of the Collection
This collection is organized into ten series:
-
[I. Constitution and Bylaws](list-ser1)
-
[II. Codebooks](list-ser2)
-
[III. Minutes](list-ser3)
-
[IV. Meeting Files](list-ser4)
-
[V. Officers' Correspondence](list-ser5)
-
[VI. Membership Applications and Correspondence](list-ser6)
-
[VII. Committees](list-ser7)
-
[VIII. Publications](list-ser8)
-
[IX. Photographs](list-ser9)
-
[X. History](list-ser10)
Information on Use
Terms of Access and Use
The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with no additional restrictions.
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."
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.
Additions to the Collection
Periodic additions to collection are expected.
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.
Processed by Amy Hague, 1990.
Recent additions to this collection are unprocessed and are not reflected in the finding aid.
Search Terms
American Council of Railroad Women--History--Sources
Railroads--Employees--History--Sources
Women railroad employees--History--Sources
Women in the professions--History--20th century--Sources
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.
Series I. CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS, 1945, 1948, 1956, 1971
1
1
Bylaws and roster, 1945
1
2
Constitution and amended bylaws, 1948
1
3
Bylaws amendments, 1956, 1971
Series II. CODEBOOKS, 1955-73
Codebook, October 4, 1955
1
4
Revised 1961, pt. 1
1
5
Revised 1961, pt. 2
1
6
Revised 1968, pt. 1
1
7
Revised 1968, pt. 2
1
8
Revisions 1970-73, pt. 1
1
9
Revisions 1970-73, pt. 2
Series III. MINUTES, 1945-76
Governing Committee Minutes
2
1
1947/48-1955/56
2
2
1956/57-1960/61
2
3
1961/62-1964/65
2
4
1965/66-1969/70
2
5
1970/71-1974/75
2
6
1976/77
2
7
Miscellaneous minutes, agendas, and memoranda, 1956-59
General Minutes
3
1
First meeting, March 15, 1945
3
2
Second meeting, October 10-11, 1945
3
3
Eighth annual meeting, 1951
3
4
Regional and ninth annual meeting, 1952
3
5
Tenth annual meeting, 1953
3
6
Eleventh annual meeting, 1954
3
7
Twelfth annual meeting, 1955
3
8
Thirteenth annual meeting, 1956
3
9
Fourteenth annual meeting, 1957
4
1
Spring and fifteenth annual meetings, 1958
4
2
Sixteenth annual meeting, 1959
4
3
Seventeenth annual meeting, 1960
4
4
Spring and eighteenth annual meetings, 1961
4
5
Spring and nineteenth annual meetings, 1962
4
6
Twentieth annual meeting, 1963
4
7
Twenty-first annual meeting, 1964
4
8
Twenty-second annual meeting, 1965
4
9
Twenty-third annual meeting, 1966
4
10
Spring and twenty-fourth annual meetings, 1967
4
11
Spring and twenty-fifth annual meetings, 1968
5
1
Spring and twenty-sixth annual meetings, 1969
5
2
Spring and twenty-seventh annual meetings, 1970
5
3
Spring and twenty-eighth annual meetings, 1971
5
4
Spring and twenty-ninth annual meetings, 1972
5
5
Spring and thirtieth annual meetings, 1973
5
6
Spring and thirty-first annual meetings, 1974
5
7
Thirty-second annual meeting, 1975
5
8
Thirty-third annual meeting committee reports, 1976
Series IV: MEETING FILES, 1947-77
6
1
Programs and menus, 1947-55
6
2
Programs and menus, 1956-58
6
3
Spring meeting, 1959
6
4
Annual meeting, 1959
6
5
Programs and menus, 1960-67
6
6
Silver anniversary meeting, 1968
6
7
Spring meeting, 1969
6
8
Annual meeting, 1969
6
9
Spring meeting, 1970
6
10
Annual meeting, 1970
6
11
Spring meeting, 1971
6
12
Annual meeting, 1971
7
1
Spring meeting, 1972
7
2
Annual meeting, 1972
7
3
Spring meeting, 1973
7
4
Annual meeting, 1973
7
5
Annual meeting, 1974
7
6
Annual meeting, 1977, n.d.
Series V: OFFICERS' CORRESPONDENCE, 1951-77
President
8
1
1951-57
8
2
Jan-Jul, 1958
8
3
Aug-Dec, 1958
8
4
1959
8
5
1960-76
8
6
n.d.
Juva Dennis
8
7
1969-75
8
8
1976-77
Secretary
9
1
1960, 1968-69
9
2
1970
9
3
1971-72
9
4
1973-74
9
5
1975
9
6
1976
9
7
Treasurer's reports and correspondence, 1957-59, 1972-77
Series VI: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE, 1947-77
10
1
A-E
10
2
Andrews, Iva
10
3
Arbuthnot, Gene
10
4
Arehart, Marjorie
10
5
Armistead, Anne
10
6
Beauchamp, Lily
10
7
Beckham, Ioan
10
8
Beebe, Jane
10
9
Bernhagen, Edna
10
10
Bock, Emma
10
11
Boeckman, Alison
10
12
Boehm, Berenece
10
13
Boyden, Laura
10
14
Brown, Lu
10
15
Brundick, Matilda
10
16
Burchard, Lauretta
10
17
Canavan, Betty
10
18
Caplinger, Norma Jean
10
19
Carroll, Kathleen
10
20
Churchill, Phyllis
10
21
Clarke, Grace
10
22
Cobb, Harriet
10
23
Cook, Ruth
10
24
Copper, Joyce
10
25
Cosentino, Mary
10
26
Creagan, Helen
10
27
Croy, Frances
10
28
Cullen, Mary Louise
10
29
Cummings, Lenora
10
30
Darney, Elizabeth
10
31
Dennis, Juva
10
32
Dennis, Olive
10
33
DeVille, Inez
10
34
Dobes, Minnie
10
35
Donahue, Alice
10
36
Dorsett, Mary
10
37
Drechsler, Mildred
10
38
Dugan, Marjorie
10
39
Elvert, Vera
10
40
Entringer, Rosemary
10
41
Evans, Freda
11
1
F-K
11
2
Ferguson, Elva
11
3
Fleming, Ruth
11
4
Forrest, Neoma
11
5
Forsythe, Cora
11
6
Fratesi, Louise
11
7
Frazier, Gwen
11
8
Gallagher, Catherine
11
9
Gannon, Eileen
11
10
Giles, Louise
11
11
Gilpatrick, Jean
11
12
Giroux, Alice
11
13
Glafcke, Leona
11
14
Glasper, Esther
11
15
Gleason, Margaret
11
16
Glover, Marjorie
11
17
Goetz, Cecilia
11
18
Gordon, Mary Louise
11
19
Gray, Eleanor
11
20
Griffin, Katherine
11
21
Gross, Kathy Ann
11
22
Haney, Elizabeth
11
23
Harker, Marjorie
11
24
Helm, Geraldine
11
25
Hickman, Anne
11
26
Hill, Ruby
11
27
Hirst, Margaret
11
28
Hoffman, Maralouise
11
29
Holden, Margaret
11
30
Holloway, Ethylene
11
31
Hotton, Marie
11
32
Howard, Dorothy
11
33
Huedepohl, Helen
11
34
Hughes, Beverly
11
35
Hurley, Mary Ann
11
36
Irwin, Margaret
11
37
Jakeway, Mildred
11
38
Kasiurak, Patricia
11
39
Kehoe, Margaret
11
40
Kelly, Anna
11
41
Kezerian, Jennifer
11
42
Ketchin, Ansley
11
43
Keyes, Doris
11
44
Kluckhohn, Irene
11
45
Koch, Anna
11
46
Kowalczyk, Marie
11
47
Krimmel, Frances
11
48
Kyle, Charlotte
12
1
L-P
12
2
Labahn, Mary
12
3
LaBoon, Catherine
12
4
LaChance, E.
12
5
Lane, Angela
12
6
Lane, Goldie
12
7
Lee, Charleen
12
8
Lewis, Gertrude
12
9
Liebman, Diane
12
10
Logue, Dorothy
12
11
Mahan, Mary
12
12
Mahoney, Ruth
12
13
Mathews, Annette
12
14
Mavis, Vera
12
15
McDonald, Vee
12
16
McFie, Amelia
12
17
McKinney, Marion
12
18
McLaughlin, Margaret
12
19
McMulkin, Kathryn
12
20
Meehan, Marjorie
12
21
Meilleur, Frances
12
22
Merrill, Grace
12
23
Merriman, Catherine
12
24
Milhelm, Carolyn
12
25
Miller, Stella
12
26
Mitchell, Amy
12
27
Moore, Martha
12
28
Morasco, Lois
12
29
Morecock, Thelma
12
30
Murdock, Ruth
12
31
Myers, Wanda
12
32
O'Mara, C.
12
33
Parker, Irene
12
34
Patton, Janet
12
35
Pechtel, Dorothy
12
36
Perkins, Elaine
12
37
Peterson, Helen
12
38
Peterson, Irene
12
39
Petterson, Elsie
12
40
Phelon, Marjorie
12
41
Phillips, Esther
12
42
Porter, Hazel
12
43
Power, Evelyn
12
44
Poynter, Wandaleen
12
45
Prall, Inez
12
46
Prond, Lillian
12
47
Pulaski, Marie
13
1
R-Z
13
2
Randall, Charlotte
13
3
Reitz, Joan
13
4
Richardson, Ellen
13
5
Rieder, Martha
13
6
Rieke, Irene
13
7
Reilly, Virginia
13
8
Reynolds, Grace
13
9
Robinson, Betsy
13
10
Rogers, Carolyn
13
11
Ross, Lillian
13
12
Royon, Betty
13
13
Sadler, Jean
13
14
Sargent, Liz
13
15
Sheahan, Madeleine
13
16
Silverman, Sheila
13
17
Smilie, Emily
13
18
Soltes, Cynthia
13
19
Stanley, Priscilla
13
20
Stevenson, Ann
13
21
Stivers, Margaret
13
22
Stone, Edith
13
23
Stone, Shirley
13
24
Streza, Martha
13
25
Sullivan, Catherine
13
26
Swallow, Geraldine
13
27
Tanner, Virginia
13
28
Tartas, Elizabeth
13
29
Tuczkus, Ann
13
30
Vaupotic, Virginia
13
31
Walker, Josephine
13
32
Walker, Mary
13
33
Warden, Louise
13
34
Wetterlin, Ruth
13
35
Whitney, Jane
13
36
Williams, Hazel
13
37
Williams, Marie
13
38
Wilson, Nora
13
39
Winslow, Isobel
13
40
Yarwood, Margaret
13
41
Zack, Lucille
General correspondence
14
1
1953-57
14
2
1967-1971
14
3
1975-1977
14
4
Rosters and other lists, 1957-77, n.d.
14
5
Survey, 1975
14
6
Forms and miscellaneous
Series VII: COMMITTEES, 1949-77
14
7
Committee chairs, 1968-69
Legislative Committee
14
8
America's Sound Transportation Review Organization (ASTRO), 1971-73, n.d.
14
9
ERA Resolution and International Women's Year Commission, 1975-76
14
10
Dam and Lock Resolution, 1976
14
11
Coal Slurry Resolution, 1976-77
14
12
Miscellaneous, 1952, n.d.
Public Relations Committee
14
13
Reports and correspondence, 1973, n.d.
14
14
Operation Lifesaver, 1976
Publicity Committee
14
15
Press releases and clippings, 1949-69
14
16
Press releases, clippings, and correspondence, 1972-77
14
17
Girl Scout Project Committee, n.d.
Series VIII: PUBLICATIONS, 1967-77
ACRW Bulletin
15
1
Nov 15, 1967-Dec 8, 1970
15
2
Jan 13, 1971-Dec 1973
15
3
Jan 1974-Dec 1975
15
4
Feb 13, 1976-Aug 1977
Series IX: PHOTOGRAPHS, 1968
16
1
Spring meeting, 1968
16
2
Fall meeting, reception and banquet, 1968
16
3
Fall meeting, 1968
Series X: HISTORY, 1944-68
16
4
"Docket Report" (first meeting of railroad industry women), 1944
16
5
Brief histories, 1949, n.d.
16
6
"History of the National Association of Railroad Women" (additions "history of ACRW," 1952 on), 1944-56
Scrapbooks
17
Volume I, 1949-59
17
Volume II, 1959-63
18
Volume III, 1963-68
18
1948-54 (kept by Virginia Vaupotic)
18
(kept by Marion McKinney)1948-53