Fonds
The Junior
League was founded in New York in 1901. This charitable women's organization is
committed to promoting volunteerism and developing the potential of its members
through volunteer work. Members are encouraged to play a leading role in their
communities by participating in projects that are initiated by the Junior
League and then handed over to local community groups. The Junior League is
open to all women under the age of 40 (the age at which a woman will have
developed the expertise needed to assume a leadership role in her community).
The
Montreal branch of this American organization was established in 1912,
initially under the name the "Debutante League of Montreal," which
was soon replaced by the "Junior League of Montreal." Mrs. A. C.
Macdougall was the first president. Officially incorporated in 1940, the
organization was headquartered in the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Sherbrooke Street
until 1968, when it moved to 366 Victoria Street. Over the years, it
established various committees, including the Interview Committee, the
Admissions Committee, the Finance Committee, the Placement Committee, and even
the Garden Club.
In 1917,
the Junior League of Montreal began offering courses to inform its members
about major public health issues and how they could help address them. The
organization provided community assistance through a variety of projects, some
of which were organized in partnership with other groups working in the
community, hospitals or universities. In 1922, for example, the Junior League began
supplying books and staff to the Montreal General Hospital patients' library.
In addition, it played an active role in volunteer efforts during the Great
Depression and both world wars.
These are
some of the other projects carried out by the Junior League of Montreal over
the years: the founding of the Volunteer Bureau of Montreal (1937); the
creation of community preschools, in co-operation with the City of Montreal;
the creation of a slide library for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1960s);
the opening of the Villeneuve day care centre (1970s); the training of
volunteer guides for Montreal museums like the Château Ramezay, the Redpath
Museum and the McCord Museum; and support for the Chez Doris women's shelter
(1990s). One of the Junior League's most successful projects was its summer
camp. Founded in 1921, the camp welcomed over 300 girls from low-income
families in the early 1960s. In total, nearly 12,000 girls attended the camp;
today, Camp Amy Molson carries on its mission.
The Junior
League of Montreal became known for its fundraising activities, holding
large-scale events such as musical revues, vaudeville shows and dance
performances in major theatres like the Monument-National. However, the
organization's initial fundraising efforts were more modest, consisting of
luncheons and tea parties. It also raised money with its thrift stores. The
Bargain Box, which opened in 1927, was renamed the Turnabout Shop in 1972, and
then La Ligue in the 1980s. In 1980, the organization complied with Bill 101 and
officially adopted the French name of "La Jeune Ligue de Montréal.".
Membership
in the Junior League of Montreal and similar organizations began to decline in
the 1960s as the government gradually assumed responsibility for social
services and women's place in society evolved. In 2006, after 94 years of
training over 2700 members, it ceased operations. However, the Association of
Junior Leagues International (AJLI) continues to prosper and today includes 294
regional organizations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the United
Kingdom.
Scope and Content
This fonds
documents the nearly century-long existence of the Junior League of Montreal.
It covers the organization's history, administration and finances, the projects
it participated in over the years, membership, relations and interactions with
other Junior Leagues across North America, publications and media activities
and, finally, its dissolution.
The fonds
contains historical records, governing documents (charter and by-laws), annual
reports, minutes from meetings of the Board of Directors and Executive
Committee, as well as accounting and financial documents like cheque registers,
expenditure records, bank statements and financial statements. The fonds also
contains files on the numerous projects initiated or supported by the Junior
League of Montreal, membership lists and exams, various documents chronicling
its relations with the other Junior League branches in Canada and the United
States, correspondence, advertising flyers, and newsletters produced by the
Junior League of Montreal and the Association of Junior Leagues International.
Finally, there are several scrapbooks of the Montreal organization's various
activities. This collection of documents is completed by audio-visual
materials, a digital document, several objects, and photographs illustrating
projects, ceremonies, commemorations, shows, and the summer camp run by the Junior
League.
Classification Scheme
P685 Junior League of Montreal
P685/A History and By-Laws
P685/B Annual Reports
P685/C Minutes: Board of Directors and Executive Committee
P685/D Accounting and Financial Documents
P685/E Activities, Community Services and Special Projects
P685/E1 Community-based service projects
P685/E1,1
Dental clinic (1932-1947)
P685/E1,2
Housekeeper Service (1938-1940)
P685/E1,3
Officers Information Center (1942)
P685/E1,4
Deliquency Prevention (1944-1945)
P685/E1,5
St Andrews Youth Center (1944-1972)
P685/E1,6
New Canadaians Rendez-vous (1950-1961)
P685/E1,7
Museum Projects (1950-1988)
P685/E1,8
Public Speaking Contest (1951)
P685/E1,9
Toy Tune-up (1955)
P685/E1,10
Social Aid Course (1962-1964)
P685/E1,11
Junior Museums (1965-1967)
P685/E1,12
Centennial Projects (1965-1966)
P685/E1,13
Project for the Deaf Children (1966-1969)
P685/E1,14
Pre-School Enrichment Project (1967-1970)
P685/E1,15
Poison Prevention / Safety Label, Safety Closure (1969-1974)
P685/E1,16
Environmental Project - S.T.O.P. (1970-1974)
P685/E1,17
Garderie Villeneuve (1970-1978)
P685/E1,18
Diet Dispensary Project (1960-1976)
P685/E1,19
Battered Baby Project (1973-1975)
P685/E1,20
Château de Ramezay Project (1973-1975)
P685/E1,21
Seniors fair (1977-1978)
P685/E1,22
Learning Disabilities Task force (1977-1978)
P685/E1,23
Effective Grantsmanship (1980)
P685/E1,24
Renovations au Manoir MacDonald (1982)
P685/E1,25
"Attache-moi" Project (1983-1991)
P685/E1,26
Bonheur à la carte (1989-1992)
P685/E1,27
"Chez Doris" (1990-1994)
P685/E1,28
Corvée du Mont-Royal (1991)
P685/E1,29
NDG Anti-Poverty Group - Project Genesis (1993)
P685/E1,30
YMCA Literacy Center (1994-1995)
P685/E1,31
Helping Independant Parents Programme (1996)
P685/E1,32
Charity Windows (1996-2004)
P685/E1,33
Words for Women (1997)
P685/E1,34
Aurora Business Project (1997)
P685/E1,35
Shoe Box Project (1997-2003)
P685/E1,36
Draw me out - Silent Auction (2000)
P685/E1,37
Access Montreal
P685/E1,38
Discovery Room
P685/E1,39
Grant to AMCAL (2005)
P685/E1,40
Grant to Santropol Roulant (2005)
P685/E1,41
Bilingualism and Biculturalism Conference (1958-1964)
P685/E1,42
The Changing Community Conference (1966-1967)
P685/E1,43
Public speaking course (1962)
P685/E2 Plays, shows and revues
P685/E2,1 Cabaret of the Junior League
(1926)
P685/E2,2 Theater plays for children
(1929-1934)
P685/E2,3 Cabaret of the Junior League
(1936)
P685/E2,4 Revue of the Junior League (1948)
P685/E2,5 Fiesta Nocturna (1958)
P685/E2,6 Red Hot Mamas (1961-1962)
P685/E2,7 50th Anniversary Revue
(1960-1962)
P685/E2,8
Revue of the Junior League (1963)
P685/E2,9 Various programs, plays, shows
and revues ([1913-1956])
P685/E2,10 Sheet music from the Musical
Revue
P685/E2,11 Other sheet music
P685/E2,12 Strauss Evening
P685/E3 Other Junior League activities
P685/E3,1
Camps (1925-1969)
P685/E3,2
Money raising committee [1965]
P685/E3,3
Auxilary Committee [1946]
P685/E3,4
Sewing Committee [1954]
P685/E3,5
Superfluity Shop [1961]
P685/E3,6
Garden Club (1970-1975)
P685/E3,7
Re-assessment Committe:
-
Rehabilitation & Occupational therapy Project
-
Haemophelia Society (1958)
P685/E3,8
YMCA Library and Adult
P685/E3,9
Observation Nursery School Project (1963-1970)
P685/E3,10
Hospitality Corner Montreal General Hospital (1964)
P685/E3,11
Child's theater project (1964)
P685/E3,12
Discretionary Fund Grant Review (1997)
P685/E3,13
Turnabout Shop; evaluation (1970)
P685/E3,14
75th Anniversary
P685/E3,15
Luncheon Princess Alexandra (1954)
P685/F Membership
P685/G Relations with Charities
P685/H Various Documents and Correspondence
P685/I Communications and Marketing
P685/J Newsletters
P685/J,1 News Sheet / Entre nous (Junior
League of Montreal) (1928-2006)
P685/J,2
Junior League Magazine (AJLI) (1930-1934, 1966)
P685/K Scrapbooks
P685/K,1
Scrapbook: Publicity (1956-1957)
P685/K,2
Scrapbook: Seniors' Fair (1972-1981)
P685/K,3
Scrapbook: 75th Anniversary (1987)
P685/K,4
Other scrapbooks and press clippings [1944-2004]
P685/L Audio-Visual Materials
P685/M Objects
P685/N Photographs
Source
of title proper: Title
based on the contents of the fonds.
Physical
description: Contains
approximately 850 photographs, 12 audio-visual documents, 1 floppy disk and 9
objects: president's gavel, metal sign with the initials "J. L.",
commemorative plaque presented by the Association of Junior Leagues
International, a metal nameplate inscribed with "The Junior League of
Montreal Inc," a seal, a badge, an apron and two silver spoons.
Physical
condition: Several
newspaper articles have come unglued from the scrapbook pages. Some of the
older printed documents are very brittle. Some photographs are still in albums
with self-adhesive pages.
Immediate
source of acquisition: The fonds was donated to the McCord Museum by the Junior League of
Montreal via Mrs. Norma Morgan, in November 2005. Additional records were
donated in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016.
Language: The documents are primarily in
English, but several texts are in French.
Restrictions
on access: Access
to some of the documents in the series "P685/F Membership" is limited
due to the personal information contained therein.
Associated
material:
City of
Vancouver Archives: Junior League of Greater Vancouver Fonds (AM1439)
Glenbow
Museum: Junior League of Calgary Fonds
BAnQ (Old
Montreal): Fonds Conrad Poirier (P048)
LAC
includes several fonds whose contents document the Junior League of Montreal,
for example: Maurice Sauvé Fonds (R6339-0-8-F), Montreal Young Women's
Christian Association Fonds (R2866-06E), Brooke Claxton Fonds (R3306-0-1-E).
General
note: The
Notman Photographic Archives collection contains a number of photographs
depicting members of the Junior League at various activities.
Last update: October 12, 2017
Information about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.