"God's Own Cornerstones: Our Daughters": The Saskatoon Young Women's Christian Association, 1910-1939
Date
1989-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
This study examines the activities of the Young Women's
Christian Association in Saskatoon from its organization in
1910 to the end of the Depression. The Association was
organized to further the Travellers' Aid work that had been
started in the city by Deaconess Millicent Simcox, but it
soon encompassed much more. within two years a residence
building was built, an Employment Bureau was in operation,
and an educational program including classes and clubs was
initiated.
The women of the YWCA believed that young women living
on their own in the city were vulnerable to the immoral
influences found in the city. In order to combat these
influences, the YWCA women believed that young women needed
to be built up physically, intellectually, morally, and
spiritually. This four-fold aim formed the purpose of the
Association. All the services and activities of the
Association were geared to draw young women to the
Association building. Once there, the process of characterbuilding
could be undertaken.
Young women in 1910 may have needed the protective
services offered by the YWCA, but their daughters should
have been in less need. Twenty years after the organization
of the Association, a greater number of young women were in
the work force and the experiences of travelling alone and
finding work in a city were no longer uncommon. Despite
these changes, the women of the YWCA were unwavering in
their belief in the purpose of the Association. Had it not
been for the problems of the Depression, the YWCA might have
found their protective services to be outdated.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
History
Program
Histoey