Historically Important Archive of Four Secretary Record Books of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.), Clovis Post No. 3225, Documenting Post-WWII Female Civic Activity in Rural California. Ca. 1946-1965.

Four logbooks. All Oblong Quartos ca. 24,6x19,5 cm (9 ½ x 7 ¾ in). In all ca. 614 pp. of text. Ink on yellowish paper; with one period newspaper clipping ca. 6,9x4,8 cm (2 ¾ x 2 in); official stamped envelope ca. 10,5x24 cm (4 x 9 ½ in); and five pages of tipped-in period manuscript notes from ca. 21,5x28 cm (8 ½ x 11 in) to ca. 15,2x8,9 cm (6 x 3 ½ in). Period half-cloth bindings, with gilt-lettered title “Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States” on the front covers. Bindings slightly worn at the edges, one notebook with white ink marks on the verso, one page detached, but otherwise a very good archive.  

Historically significant archive of the original handwritten meeting minute ledgers of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.), Clovis Post No. 3225, documenting women's civic engagement in the small California city of Clovis and its surrounding rural settlements from the post-World War II era through the mid-1960s.

The Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (now the VFW Auxiliary) is one of America's oldest veterans' service organizations. It was founded in 1914 by a small group of women determined to support veterans and their families, gradually growing into a nationwide network of volunteer auxiliaries. Clovis V.F.W. Post No. 3225 was established in 1935, and, as follows from the contemporary newspapers, its Ladies Auxiliary was organized the same year, when the city's population was fewer than 1,300. Membership was open to wives, widows, mothers, stepmothers, daughters, and other eligible relatives of Veterans of Foreign Wars members. Meetings were apparently held irregularly (sometimes several times a month and sometimes only once a month) at such locations as Veterans Hall, the Music Room of Clovis High School, and the Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis. The organization operated through specialized committees devoted to hospital work, rehabilitation and service, home funds, and other charitable initiatives in support of war veterans.

The archive features four record books (including one membership ledger) with original meeting minute logs kept by the Auxiliary’s elected secretaries from 22 April 1946 to 7 February 1964. The records were maintained by successive secretaries, including Elizabeth Minshall, Isabelle Rowan, Elizabeth Miller, Barbara Letour, and Goldie Harris, all residents of Clovis or nearby communities, and all connected through family ties to veterans of foreign wars.

The record books outline member lists, meeting proceedings, treasurer’s reports, new memberships, resignations, and fundraising activities. Every set of minutes thoroughly describes the Auxiliary’s volunteer work, including sewing and assembling hundreds of “hospital quotas” (disposable bed pads, bibs, sewing kits, and other supplies) for patients at the Livermore Veterans Hospital, the Oakland Naval Hospital, and other facilities. As recorded in the entries, members also personally “adopted” individual veterans of the First and Second World Wars, sending them convalescent pillows, cigarettes, clothing, and other necessities. One interesting note mentions a request to write to a colored veteran from Texas and send him "loud" pajamas to replace his gray hospital attire. Among the initiatives introduced to support the Auxiliary’s members, especially important is the initiative of hiring nursery attendants and babysitters so that mothers with young children could attend meetings. This was apparently a common challenge of early female activists, as meetings were sometimes postponed due to family obligations. In the rest, the records mostly trace the organization’s internal governance (officer elections, member initiations, transfers to and from neighboring posts), memorial and social activities (Christmas celebrations with tipped-in menus, etc.), as well as lists of new officers, committee members, and duties of secretaries.

The archive also includes a manuscript volume with official membership and dues ledger featuring an alphabetical, tabbed index that links each member to her account page. These individual record sheets double as a directory, tracking names, initiation dates, and Fresno County home addresses. Importantly, the ledger utilizes multi-year grids to meticulously log monthly dues alongside annotations detailing member transfers, reinstatements, recommendations, and service milestones.

The archive is supplemented by an official stamped envelope, postmarked December 2, 1965, sent from the Ladies Auxiliary VFW Department of California headquarters in San Francisco to Goldie Harris, the then-president of the Clovis Post No. 3225 Ladies VFW; one newspaper clipping regarding a sale of buddy poppies organized by the VFW; treasurer’s report for November 1952; a hospital report; expenses & disbursements.

Overall, historically significant archive of the original secretary record books of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.), Clovis Post No. 3225, documenting women's civic engagement in the small California city of Clovis and its surrounding rural settlements from the post-World War II era through the mid-1960s.