Skip to main content
COLLECTION Identifier: MC 996: Vt-113: T-412

Records of Home Economists in Business, 1921-1995

Overview

Collection includes minutes, annual reports, proceedings, correspondence, directories, newsletters, financial records, audiotapes, and videotapes.

Dates

  • Creation: 1921-1995

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Home Economists in Business is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

10.22 linear feet ((24 + 1/2 file boxes) plus 1 oversize folder, 14 photograph folders, 4 audiotapes, and 3 videotapes.)

The Records of the Home Economists in Business contain history and administrative files, executive groups and board material, financial documents, photographs and audiovisual material.

Series I, HISTORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE, 1921-1995 (#1.1-15.7, 25.1-25.2, OD.1), includes constitutions, bylaws and handbooks; directories; organizational histories; membership lists; and reports. Administrative files include kits to assist local HEIB chapters with planning activities and programming. Annual programs are printed convention material distributed at annual meetings. Various versions of HEIB's constitution and bylaws are also included. Correspondence is mainly of administrative nature including inquiries about membership, reports for annual meetings, and other letters sent by executive secretaries. The majority of the series consists of directories of members from 1925 until 1995. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by format.

Series II, EXECUTIVE GROUPS AND BOARDS, 1922-1994 (#15.8-22.5), includes records of the governing boards of HEIB including meeting minutes, correspondence, financial statements, and budgets. Of particular note are the minutes for the first HEIB meeting in 1922 at the American Home Economics Association conference in Corvallis, Oregon. The series is arranged in chronological order.

Series III, FINANCES, 1948-1995 (#22.6-24.17), includes administrative files, correspondence, minutes, and budget reports. Paid bill statements, expense statements, and copies of deposited checks are the bulk of the series. Of particular note are proposal and program ideas presented to the finance committee including the "Dial-a-Job" hotline which notified members about job openings related to the field. The series is arranged in chronological order.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1984-1995 (#PD.1-PD.14sl), includes images captured from HEIB annual meetings in California, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, and Maryland. Of particular note are photographs of American home economist, Marye Dahnke, who was one of the first women employed by Krafts Food Corporation. Slide presentations regarding HEIB's history, careers in home economists, and strategic planning reports are also included. The series is arranged in chronological order.

Series V, AUDIOVISUAL, 1984-1992 (#Vt-113.1-3; T-412.1-4), includes audio and video cassettes documenting the history, objectives, and future of HEIB. Of particular interest is the "Affluent Future Exhibition" held in Tokyo about the Japanese chapter of HEIB. Audio recordings of slide presentations given during HEIB meetings are also included. The series is arranged in chronological order.

Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online.

HISTORY

A part of the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), the Home Economists in Business (HEIB) section had its beginnings in 1921 when a small group of women led by Mary E. Keown, Marie Sellers, and Bess Rowe presented a petition to the AHEA executive board announcing their desire to have a section of the organization devoted to business interests. In 1924, the AHEA Standards Committee created a proposal to amend the organization's constitution, thus creating the HEIB section. Employed by food and textile manufacturers, utility companies, and women's magazines, among other industries, these home economists facilitated communication between producers and women consumers-primarily homemakers-and thus were instrumental in shaping consumer society in 20th-century America. The HEIB also evaluated and made recommendations for home economics curricula at colleges and universities. In 1994, the American Home Economics Association became the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AFFCS), and in 1998, the HEIB left its parent organization and became Consumer Trends Forum International.

The records of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AFFCS) are available at Cornell University.

ARRANGEMENT

The collection is arranged in five series:

  1. Series I. History and Administrative, 1921-1995 (#1.1-15.7, 25.1-25.2, OD.1)
  2. Series II. Executive groups and boards, 1922-1994 (#15.8-22.5)
  3. Series III. Finances, 1948-1995 (#22.6-24.17)
  4. Series IV. Photographs, 1983-1995 (PD.1-14sl)
  5. Series V. Audiovisual, 1984-1992 (Vt-113.1-3; T-412.1-4)

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 2000-M139, 2000-M143

The records of Home Economists in Business were given to the Schlesinger Library by Connie S. Cahill in September 2000.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Cornell Library; see the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Records.

Processing Information

Processed: July 2019

By: Amber L. Moore and Ayoola White, with assistance from Ashley Thomas.

The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.  Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Home Economists in Business. Records of Home Economists in Business, 1921-1995: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch01663

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

Contact:
3 James St.
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
617-495-8540