My name is Sharyl Harrison, and I am a junior at Portland State University studying for my degree im History. I have always found history to be exciting and I love searching through stacks in archives, finding new eveidence or just browsing. Our class has combined a love of history with learning how to build a web site so everyone has access to our findings.
My Mission Statement is to portray the young people in the Portland area in the 1940's. Particularly the African-American, the Japanese-American and the Caucasian-American. They will tell you about World War II, and the years before and after. How the years affected them amid the turmoil and confusion of those years. This is their story.
In 1928, a group of black women organized their own branch of the YWCA. It was named the Williams Avenue YWCA. These women were striving to be part of the "white" YWCA, but they found little interaction between races and felt less included in plans the YWCA may have had.
After the beginning of World War II, hundreds of thousands of people migrated to the West Coast, looking for jobs in the wartime plants and shipyards. It was estimated that over the next three years, 1 million African-American people migrated to the West Coast, 100,000 in Portland alone. But, Portland was not ready for such a huge increase in people. Housing, school space and recreational facilities were taxed beyond their limit. At this time the Williams Avenue branch of the YWCA provided most of the social and athletic events for black youth in the area. It was during the early years of the war that the Central YWCA decided to "free-up" the Williams Avenue branch and use it for an USO club and a barracks for the African-American soldiers. The Williams Avenue club was asked to move into the downtown Central YWCA. But, in war-time it was almost impossible for the women to go to the Central branch and even harder for the young people that used the branch for physical activities and social events. Did the caucasian members of the Central YWCA not know what this would mean to the black youth of the Williams Avenue branch? In a conciliatory gesture, the Williams Avenue branch became a "needed recreational center for African-American soldiers." Where could the black youth go to play sports and socialize?
Certainly the black youth questioned the YWCA. The YWCA was trying to integrate its members, but not knowing or understanding how to deal with the black culture, as they saw it, decided to hand over the job of integration to a group of black YWCA women.
Not long after the Williams Avenue branch was closed another drama surfaced. The girls from the now closed Williams Avenue branch, formed a club along the lines of the YWCA Girl Reserves. The club was called The Trianon Club. The club was a service club as well as a social club and was attended by many girls in the area. But, in the early spring of 1945, the Central YWCA voted to dissolve the Trianon Club. The girls were never given a proper meeting to inform them of the decision. On the contrary, it was only discovered when a meeting that had been planned for, was cancelled.
In 1946, the Williams Avenue branch was restored to the black community, and it was these women that began the process of integration. They included all races in their meetings. In this way, they learned not only differences in cultures, bur also the "sameness" of people.
Return To Table Of ContentsFrom the time the first Japanese settlers arrived in the Portland area in 1880, the Japanese wanted to be a part of the Caucasian community. And, in the years 1924-1941, they were accomplishing their goal. This seemed particularly important to the youth of Japanese-American ancestry. By 1941, there were many second and third generations living in the Portland area. As with their African-American sisters, they were asked to participate in YWCA activities, but were not asked to be a part of the YWCA Caucasian community. Their club for girls, the Japanese-American Girl Reserves were just that. Japanese, not the American Girl Reserves Club.
Beginning in 1936, there was a surge of Japanese-American women joining the YWCA. The thinking at the time was that for every three men there were five women. What to do with the other two? The elders thought, since the YWCA had co-ed activities, perhaps a marriage or two might be had.
As of 1941, there were four YWCA Japanese-American clubs. They were the Japanese-American Girl Reserves and Alumnae, the Japanese-American Girl Guild and the Japanese-American Women's Guild. Unlike their African-American sisters, the Japanese-Americans did not meet in a separate building. They could also attend the summer outdoor camps, such as Camp Westwind, with the white members.
But, on December 7, 1941, things changed dramatically for the Japanese community. In the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, most Japanese-Americans were hustled off to relocation camps. Most lost their homes and businesses. Of the 3,554 persons interned, there were reportedly about 100 Portland YWCA members in internment camps.
The YWCA established programs in all ten relocation centers, but visibly refrained from coming forward to defend their "members." Understandably, many Japanese-American young people were frightened and humiliated. They had only tried to "belong". Was it all for nothing?
But, in the end, after the war ended Japanese-American young women began to return to the "Y", their mission of assimilation unbowed by the war years and internment.
In 1947, Frances Maeda, a former member of the Japanese-American YMCA, and one of those interned, proposed the idea to raise money to share with the Art Museum for the Harmon Foundation art exhibit of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin. It was sponsored by the Portland YWCA and the Portland Chapter of the NAACP. It was this combined work effort that provided the beginnings of a period in history when the Caucasian-American, African-American and Japanes-American members of the YWCA organized and socialized together.
Return To Table Of Contents>The YWCA's Girl Reserves have been active in Portland since 1917, both as a social club as well as a service club. The Girl Reserves manual at that time stresses the four founding principles that required strict allegiance. They were, Health, Service, Knowledge and Spirit. Along the way, the YWCA provided young women a place to stay, training for job skills, sprituality and responsibility. One of the favorite past times was to attend a summer outdoor camp. One of the most popular was Camp Westwind on the Oregon Coast. These were unstructured camps that offered two weeks of "surf bathing, river swimming, boating, archery, modern dance, worship and salmon bakes." True to tradition, the older girls were counselors to the younger campers.
And, now we come to the year 1940. The decade of 1940 to 1950 was one of turmoil and confusion, but it was also a time for the YWCA to grow. Feeling the winds of change the YWCA stepped back for a look at Portland and brought themselves up to date, quickly.
With the outbreak of World WarII, the YWCA was faced with a whole new set of challenges. The shipyards were bringing in a huge influx of people, more than anyone could have imagined. Along with the huge increase in population, the YWCA faced the problem, long put on the "back burner", of race. Always a service club, the Girl Reserves jumped in to help where they could. They moved forward to take on new repsonibilities and projects with new fundamentals. The Girl Reserves in wartime were not the girls of a "social club" any longer. As hundreds of thousands of people rushed into the Portland area, looking for jobs in the war plants. The youth that came found that they had nowhere to direct their natural energies.>
In the Portland area there wasn't much in the way of housing, overcrowding was everywhere and a lack of recreation facilities. The young people didn't believe there was a place in the community for them. They weren't old enough to enlist, their parents were working and with little or non-parental guidance, going to school didn't always happen. They were left with too much time on their hands and nothing to do. The Child Labor laws were amended in 1942 so some young people went to work. But,then Portland had 14 year old kids out and about with money in their pockets. All these factors, including the high rate of truancy produced a sharp increase in Juvenile Delinquency.
It was time for the Girl Reserves and the Girl Reserves were ready. The clubs were already established in nine area high schools. And it was from these high schools that other youths became more involved, along with their parents and others. These young people wanted to help fight the war, but couldn't decide how. So, the YWCA began to help in war-related activities. There were fundraisers, making presents for the the interned Japanese-Americans, and filling Christmas stockings for children in war torn Europe. They also babysat for the workers when they were gone and selling war bonds, to name a few.
In late 1941 and early 1942, the YWCA noticed a drop in attendance. This was attributed to many things including travel problems, the need to work and teachers losing interest. Most young women of this age wanted more physical involvement in war effort. Many took training to become nurses.
As mentioned before, Juvenile Delinquency had become rampant. YWCA members saw the need to take these youths off the street. What could they do that the police, parents, etc, couldn't? The answer came from the Girl Reserves. Why not open up "Teen Canteens?" Teen Canteens were places "kids" could go to have parties, sing, dance , play games or just "hang-out." One of the most popular "canteens" was an inter-racial canteen called the Starlight Canteen. Opened in January, 1944, this was one of the first social places that was open to all races. By January of 1946, from 300-800 young people had attended the Starlight Canteen. As with other canteens, members elected their own officers and made their own plans and policies with the guidance of adult volunteer. Attendance at the Teen Canteens because very popular and made a noticeable impact on the delinquency rate.
After the war ended, the membership of the Girl Reserves slowly returned, and with it brought changes. Young women now had a sense of freedom and independence. The following quote is from a young woman after the end of the war:
"Whenever young vital people meet...a free and easy-in some ways, a slightly mad style of living took over. Wartime work was plentiful for us and men were there for the taking. No one would have thought of a date paying her own way befor the war. But we didn't feel obliged to allow favors, if we didn't fancy the escort in "that way."
Once again, the "Y" was confronted with change. And as they had done before, they re-created themselves. They followed a more independent road for its members and began to relate to international projects as well as local projects. In keeping with that, the YWCA changed the name of the Girl Reserves to a more all encompassing "Y-Teens." Along with the new name, the YWCA did away with the uniform style and returned to street clothes. Only the Y-Teen pin remained.
As a girl in high school, I belonged to a Y-teen club myself. We sponsored service to the community, but we also had a social side as well. Membership in a Y-Teen club in high school was considered "cool" and wearing your pin carried a lot of "status." I am not sure if there are any Y-clubs left, but it be interesting to find out.
Return To Table Of ContentsPortland in the 1940's was undergoing a tremendous amount of stress and confusion. With the declaration of war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the West Coast began to see hundreds and thousands of people migrating to Oregon for work in the shipyards and war plants. Whole families moved across the country and landed in Portland. Many of these families had both the mother and father working. Some men went off to war, leaving their wives and children behind. In the middle of all this confusion, one group was almost forgotten, the young people of Portland. They were often left alone to face the challenges and issues of wartime. Out of all this confusion, a new "city" was created.
Vanport City was built entirely with funds from the Federal Government. They built all of the apartments, furnished them. And the government built the schools There were 3 large community centers and 2 movie theatres. Not to mention laundramats and grocery stores. In time there would be over 60,000 people living in Vanport City, making this "city", the second largest city in the State of Oregon.
There have alway been questions about the integration of Vanport. Of the 60,000 people living in Vanport, approximately 12,000 were African-Americans. They worked side by side for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Did this integration carry over to home after work? Ed Washington,is a black man that lived in Vanport from 1944-1948. He has vivid memories of Vanport when he wa growing up. I think he answers the question best: "I mean you have to realize that Vanport was a place where people from all over the country were thrown into this huge housing project. Many of those people had never been around blacks. Many of those people had never been around other whites, other than just like them."
The YWCA stepped in to help where they could. There were four YWCA groups in Vanport City. The name of the groups was The Girl Reserves. The Girl Reserve Club was a service as well as a social club. The Girl Reserves were already present in the area high schools. This made it easier to reach the girls in Vanport. There was very little to do in Vanport, and the "club" helped releave the boredom. The "Y" was helping to find girls who had no place to sleep. The YWCA helped them find housing and taught them job skills.
The apartments in Vanport were very small. There were three rooms. One was the bathroom (shower and baths were down the hall), a bedroom. The last room was the sitting room with a couch, 1 chair, a bed and a light. This room also contained the kitchen.
Vanport City had an excellent school system. Because working in the plants was a 24 hour occupation, Vanport designed a "double shift" school and child care was available 24 hours a day. Vanport's schools were housed in two centers. There were five elementary schools, and could accomodate 5,000 students on a double shift basis. Each school contained 12 classrooms, a kindergarten, (almost unheard of in Portland), a library, office, gymnasium and and assembly hall across the street from the gym. The curriculum followed standard classes, but also added Morse Code, radio operation and repair, auto maintenance and repair and map reading. Superintendent of Schools, James T. Hamilton, also offered a homemaking class, because many Vanport parents would let their 10 and 11 year olds children to do the housework while they were away with their wartime jobs. High school students were bussed to either Roosevelt or Jefferson High Schools.
Mr. Hamilton was against the "double-shift" in the schools. He pointed out the fact that students were roaming the confines of Vanport in the morning and afternoons because of the lack of parental involvement and by the double employment, at one time showing 83.3% of truancy. Also, full use of the nursery schools never occured, possibly because there was a small fee. Instead the children were simply left and roamed the streets. Some walked the mile to the undesireable atmosphere of Jantzen Beach Amusement Center. But the combination of very small living quarters, the weather and parents working different or non-day shifts, moved the children outside and into Juvenile Delinquency.
As the war wound down, so did the amount of Federal dollars. No only did the Federal governnment build Vanport City, they paid for the schools, including books, teachers, food and childcare. By 1946, the Federal government withdrew its school support and discontinued its summer school program. With their scholastic program in shreds, the young people of Vanport City had even more free time. Time with nothing to do. The Juvenile Delinquency rate soared. At the end of the 1945-1946 school year and with no summer school, 6,000 unoccupied youth roamed the streets of Vanport City.
Into this vortex came the YWCA. Having already become established in the high schools with the Girl Reserves Club, they felt the time was right to provide some entertainment in Vanport for all the young people. Up to this point, parent involvement in schools, girl or boy scouts or any other form of entertainment, had been noticeably absent. In February, 1946, the first Teen Canteen opened in Vanport City. In a Vanport bulletin dated January 11, 1946, it was announced that the YWCA would "run the canteens with the guidance of professional leadership provided by our local YWCA." The new youth canteen was called the "HUBBA, HUBBA HUT". It was a huge success. And as more venues for entertainment opened up in Vanport, there was less and less juvenile delinquency.
In closing, I would leave you with this thought. It is a quote from Vanport's Superintendent of Schools, James T. Hamilton.
"There is entirely too much talk about Juvenile Delinquency. We should be. .....stressing Adult Delinquency. If you are confused by that revrsal of thought, how do you think young people feel when suddenly they find their whole world overturned? The ideals they've been taught since babyhood are tossed, overnight into the ashcan....young people prefer legitimate outlets for their energies...they seek them out wherever they are available. Therefore, young people's wholesome development depends entirely upon adult awareness and adult ability to anticipate and prepare for those needs. If adults continue to resist the issue, the resulting trouble is due.....not to Juvenile Delinquency, but to Adult Delinquency!"
Return To Table Of ContentsDuring the 1940's, Portland was faced with a difficult task. Trying to deal with unprecedented growth in population and a change in social patterns, the YWCA kept moving along. Trying to keep abreast of the new demands, they did make some mistakes, but they never stopped being involved with "their girls." Throughout all the changes from 1917 to the present, the "Y" has provided for its members. Faced with problems of race and the devlopment of new youth programs and the new found independence of it members, the YWCA has been a tremendous lifeline from its earliest days to the young women of Portland.
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