Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 "Hide It under a Bush, Hell No!" Women's Volunteer Associations as Adult Education Initiatives Patricia Moran Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION “HIDE IT UNDER A BUSH, HELL NO!” WOMEN’S VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATIONS AS ADULT EDUCATION INITIATIVES By PATRICIA MORAN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Patricia Moran All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Patricia Moran defended on December 14, 2006. _________________________ Peter B. Easton Professor Directing Dissertation _________________________ Karen Laughlin Outside Committee Member _________________________ Emanuel Shargel Committee Member _________________________ Victoria-Maria MacDonald Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________ Gary Crow, Chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My first “thank you” goes to British amateur historian Margaret Rayner, who told me that I would not be at all interested in the Women’s Institutes, immediately piquing my interest. Linda Smith took me to the Women’s Relief Society of the Church of the Latter Day Saints at Huntingdon, England, forcing me to expand my vision. Susan Moran and Sharon Bateman sent materials from organizations in Utah and Georgia. Knox County extension club members, Neola and Dorothy Porter, and Marlene Stevens provided printed material and hours of valuable conversation. Robley Garrigan granted me an extended interview and thoughtful advice on the PEO Sisterhood. Donna Moran introduced me to Friends Making a Difference. Wilford Moran, Robbie Jean Luck, Renee Wilson and Lorie Nicole Blount provided proofreading and valuable commentary concerning the successive versions of individual chapters. Nora Whaley, a distant cousin, introduced me to Ontario Women’s Institute members—Margaret McIntosh, Irma Bennett, and Faith Nelms—who shared their WI experiences with me. Members of the Fort Walton Beach branch of AAUW were both emotionally supportive and receptive to questioning. The Ladies of Essence invited me to one of their meetings to share thoughts about their organizational rituals. Library staff in Strozier, Leon County, Mary Esther, Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field (Florida) were both professional about and supportive of my work. The Nevada, (Missouri) Bushwhacker Museum and Library staff were startled, but helpful. The Nebraska State Historical Society, and Nebraska courthouse personnel in Knox, Antelope, Holt, and Pierce counties were invaluable. I thank them all. My Florida State University professors and mentors brought my personal experience into focus. Dr. Peter Easton allowed me to tinker toward a coherent piece of discourse and inspired me to continue writing. Dr. Victoria-Maria MacDonald provided emotional and intellectual support, never doubting the value of my topic. Dr. Emanuel Shargel quieted my doubts about meeting academic guidelines. Dr. Karen Laughlin, Dr. Karen Monkman, Dr. Vandra Masemann, and Dr. Judy Etemadi criticized my efforts, prodded me toward a completed product, and always inspired further endeavor. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix ABSTRACT x 1. INTRODUCTION: HIDE IT UNDER A BUSH? HELL, NO! 1 Preliminary Definitions 3 Ways of Analyzing Club Life 4 Problem Statement 5 Purpose of the Study 5 Research Questions 6 Omissions and Prohibitions 6 Organization of the Study 6 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 14 Historiography, Feminist Theory and Women’s History 14 Worldview and Metaphor 30 Collaborative Learning 36 Volunteer Associations: Origins and Development 38 Adult Education 43 Adult Learning 51 Patriarchy and Hegemony 53 Conclusions for Chapter Two 57 iv 3. METHODOLOGY 58 Description of Data 58 Voice 60 Selection of Particular Groups and Subjects 61 Sampling Redux 64 Data Collection 67 Data Analysis 68 Issues of Bias and Access 70 Validity and Reliability 72 4. THE WOMEN’S INSTITUTES 75 British and Canadian Women’s Lives in the Victorian Era 76 Women’s Institutes: Foundations, Personalities and Growth 78 Exemplary 20th Century WI Members 89 Common Themes 92 Canadian and British Institutes: A Brief Comparison 115 Conclusions for Chapter Four 116 5. THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN 118 Founding, Structure and Growth 118 Common Themes 121 Personal Experience and AAUW 135 Comparing the Women’s Institutes and AAUW 138 Conclusions for Chapter Five 140 6. WOMEN OF COLOR AND CLUB LIFE 142 v African-American Leaders in Women’s Voluntarism 143 Traditional Organizations 157 Mixed Organizations 161 Newer Organizations of African-American Women 163 Common Themes 171 Conclusions for Chapter Six 184 7. THE KNOX COUNTY PAPERS 186 The State, the County and Women 186 The Data 193 Common Themes 199 Conclusions for Chapter Seven 219 8. EXTENSION CLUBS IN NEBRASKA 221 History 221 Ethics, Ritual and High Ideals 225 Service and Leaderships 227 Education 230 Networking, Friendship and Humor 239 The Knox County Papers and Golden Milestone: A Comparison 246 Conclusions for Chapter Eight 247 9. THE P.E.O. SISTERHOOD IN NEBRASKA 250 Early Growth 251 Secrecy 254 Humor 253 vi Leadership 255 Formal Education 256 Chronological History 258 Three Purposes of Volunteer Associations 264 Conclusions for Chapter Nine 269 10. DATA ANALYSIS 271 From Description to Understanding 272 What Have Women Gained 274 Constructing and Transmitting Knowledge 281 Common Denominators: Deconstruction, Patrimony and Hegemony 283 Importance for Adult Education 285 Lessons for Historians and for Historiography 287 11. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 290 BIBLIOGRAPHY 293 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 329 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Characterization of Groups Studied and Types of Data Gathered………………… 66 2. Counter-Hegemonic Behaviors Exhibited by Club or Institute Members………… 70 3. Efforts to Organize Voluntarism in Nebraska……….…………………………… 224 4. Approximate Numbers of PEO Chapters………………………………………… 254 viii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Manitoba Members and the Women’s Institute: A Diagram………………………. 93 2. Photograph of Mary McLeod Bethune and Her School………………………….. 147 3. Happy Hour Extension Club, Knox County……………………………………….192 4. Page from The Knox County Papers………………………………………………194 5. List of Articles in The Knox County Papers………………………………………196 ix ABSTRACT Economic and social changes in the status of European and North American women through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries provided opportunities for their educational and occupational advancement, but they suffered from a lack of formal education. Facing industrialization and geographical displacement, they turned to nonformal education. Through their volunteer organizations, they found ways to obtain necessary facts, build new knowledge, refine traditional skills, establish social networks, and increase their political awareness. They were and continue to be empowered by the planning of, participation in, and evaluation of their social events, reading circles, study groups, and community service activities. The purpose of this study was to contribute to better understanding of the dynamics within and between these groups, and to highlight links between nonformal and formal educational initiatives. The unanswerable “If women’s groups have done so much, why don’t we know about it” was partially answered by data from the Women’s Institute (WI), the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC), and the American Association of University Women (AAUW), etc. These organizations had not been compared with each other previously. Interviews with members of various women’s organizations in Ontario, Nebraska, North Carolina and Florida showed contemporary women still use their volunteer organizations to define problems, make friends, construct learning initiatives, and evaluate their achievements. These interviews and previous publications provided evidence about how women acquired and disseminated new knowledge, and how their efforts in the nonformal sector mirrored formal education. When data on the WI, NACWC, AAUW, and other women’s groups were used to answer the research questions, a common—but complex—pattern of behavior became apparent. Volunteer groups at every level of society provided a safe haven for members and socialized them into being more efficient and modern homemakers, better citizens, and more educated members of society. With no new younger members and an aging population, these valuable institutions of nonformal education are dying out. Older members take their skills and their institutional memory with them to the grave. Further research is needed to discover if the populations that were previously served by volunteer organizations are now gaining x their information, new friends, and opportunities for political action in other ways—or if hegemonic forces are shutting them down organizationally at the same time demographics are shutting them down individually. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: HIDE IT UNDER A BUSH? HELL, NO! The year I was five, the closing ceremonies of Bible School featured “This Little Light of Mine,” a traditional children’s