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Business and Professional Women’s Club (BPW), Crookston, 1921–1960

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Black and white photograph of Former Crookston BPW presidents, 1942.

Former presidents of the Crookston BPW gather for a group portrait, June 1942. Pictured, seated left to right, are Ida Tvedten, Mae Rideout, Pauline Rauenbuehler, Bergetta Loken, and Katherine Burns; standing (left to right) are Mrs. Ethel Stephens, Clara Berg, Mrs. Ruth Olson, Clara Crouette, Louise Rasmussen, Myrtle Hovland, and Agatha Krueger.

The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (BPW/USA) was started in 1919 to improve job conditions and raise pay rates for working women. At the first meeting of the foundation’s Crookston chapter in 1921, over 100 women gathered. In its early years, the club donated volunteer time and money to local causes, including the Camp Fire Girls, Crookston’s Drum and Bugle Corps, and milk and medical aid for needy school children.

The Crookston BPW club supported women at local, national, and international levels. Its initial goal, after World War I, was to encourage women in leadership roles to take on economic and political problems and to assure that they reached their full professional potential. Since it was a branch of the state-wide organization, the club sent annual member dues to the Minnesota BPW’s treasury.

The BPW Club Collect, a creed written by Mary Stewart, states what members hope to achieve and emphasizes their commitment to kindness, tolerance, service, and generosity. The five symbols of the BPW emblem, representing light, health, peace, achievement, and victory, reiterate the group’s primary charitable goals.

In the 1920s, the Crookston club extended its fundraising efforts to pay for war bonds, tuberculosis Christmas bonds, and the local chapter of the American Red Cross. In 1925, it organized a student loan fund to help women continue their educations as adults. Many members were elected to public offices at local and state levels.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Crookston BPW club provided entertainment for tuberculosis patients residing in Sunnyrest Sanatorium. In 1928 and 1929, the club also gave money to the victims of a devastating storm in Florida. They promoted plays such as Kathleen and Circus Solly (performed at Crookston’s Opera House) and contributed ticket sales to the student loan fund.

In the early 1930s, during the Great Depression, the Crookston BPW club lost the funds it had invested in failed banks. Its deposits were indefinitely unavailable, which made it impossible to pay annual dues to the BPW state treasury. Even in the midst of the crisis, in 1930 and 1931, club members sent an affidavit to the BPW/USA national office documenting their continued campaigns in local newspapers to promote club activities and attract more members.

In order to save money, the Crookston club voted in 1932 to send cards instead of flowers to ill BPW members and others in the community. The switch enabled them to save twelve dollars per month and use that money to provide milk for needy school children.

In 1934, the Crookston BPW reported spending $300 in local shops and businesses to promote the city’s economy. They also invited guest speakers to give lectures on relevant topics once a month. In 1935, a local doctor, Dr. O. E. Locken, spoke on “The Effect of the Depression on Government.” Meetings were held in different venues based on the season and rental price.

In 1936, Augusta Coss, a Crookston BPW member, donated her daughter’s subscription to Independent Woman magazine to the club’s library. This allowed it to cancel its group subscription and save the money for donating elsewhere. In 1937 and 1938, eighteen of the club’s sixty-eight members were original signers of the 1921 charter.

By 1939, the Crookston club’s members—many of whom recalled the trials of World War I—resolved that America should keep out of World War II. In February of 1941, one member presented a sketch symbolizing the International Federation of BPW. It depicted twenty candles, five of which were lit. The remaining fifteen unlit candles represented countries with BPW chapters that had been invaded or oppressed during wartime.

During World War II, the club sent clothes to war-torn nations via the BPW national office. In 1951, it honored ex-servicewomen for the roles they had played during the war. On November 6, 1956, the first Crookston BPW president, Ida Tvedten, gave a talk describing the first Armistice Day in France. The club’s second president, Mae Rideout, was honored in 1954 as “Woman of the Year.”

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Anderson, Maybelle. “Crookston BPW ‘Measures Up,’ Survey of Work Shows.” Crookston Daily Times, October 16, 1950.

“BPWC Endorses ‘Equal Pay’ Bill in State Legislature.” Crookston Daily Times, March 13, 1957.

“BPWC Members Again Will Assist in March on Polio.” Crookston Daily Times, January 13, 1953.

Burns, Katherine. “BPW Club Prominent in Assisting Local Projects.” Crookston Daily Times, February 29, 1952.

“Business Women Contribute to Red Cross Funds.” Crookston Daily Times, January 14, 1942.

“Business Women Hear of Food for Defense.” Crookston Daily Times, October 14, 1942.

“Business Women to Go ‘All Out’ for War.” Crookston Daily Times, September 15, 1942.

“BPWC Hears of G.I. Bill of Rights.” Crookston Daily Times, March 13, 1945.

“BPWC Members Learn Meaning of Emblem Symbols.” Crookston Daily Times, February 13, 1945.

“Change Women’s Status.” Bakersfield Californian, September 27, 1955.

“Clean Out Your Clothes Closet Week April 8–14.” Crookston Daily Times, April 7, 1945.

Crookston’s Business and Professional Women (BPW) club newsletters [untitled], 1930–1950s
Manuscript Collection, Polk County Historical Society, Crookston
Description: Copies of approximately twenty years of newsletters produced by Crookston’s Business and Professional Women (BPW) Club.

“Crookston Salutes Women Who Work.” Minnesota Bulletin 23, no. 4 (July 1958).

“Drive Brings in 14,783 Pounds of Used Clothing.” Crookston Daily Times, May 12, 1945.

“Equal Rights Amendment Gains, Clubwomen Told.” Crookston Daily Times, May 17, 1946.

“Ex-service Women Honored by Business Women Week.” Crookston Daily Times, September 25, 1951.

“Honor Miss Ida Tvedten as Local Woman of Year.” Crookston Daily Times, October 11, 1949.

“Ida Tvedten Describes First Armistice Day in France.” Crookston Daily Times, November 13, 1956.

“Local Business Men Pay Tribute to BPW Members.” Crookston Daily Times, September 26, 1955.

“Mae M. Rideout Named Honor Woman of Year.” Crookston Daily Times, March 9, 1954.

“Mae Rideout Awarded Well Deserved Honor.” Crookston Daily Times, March 8, 1954.

“Mae Rideout Winner of Golden Deeds Award.” Crookston Daily Times, April 12, 1954.

“Miss Mae Rideout Receives BPW Clubs Head Position.” Crookston Daily Times, April 13, 1948.

“1919 ‘Goings On of Women’ Depicted for BPW Week.” Crookston Daily Times, September 23, 1957.

“1929 Saw More Women Active in World Affairs.” Crookston Daily Times, September 24, 1957.

“$1000 for Equal Rights!” Minnesota Bulletin 19, no. 1 (September 1953).

“Prospects Bright for Equal Rights, Women are Told.” Crookston Daily Times, May 17, 1946.

Ramstad, Shirley M. “Crookston BPW Undertakes Public Affairs Projects.” Crookston Daily Times, September 27, 1956.

Rideout, Mae M. “Women in Business to Stay, Men Must Admit.” Crookston Daily Times, February 29, 1952.

“Woman Called ‘Sleeping Giant’ of U.S. Politic.” Minneapolis Star, July 24, 1959.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of Former Crookston BPW presidents, 1942.
Black and white photograph of Former Crookston BPW presidents, 1942.
1919 Business and Professional Women (BPW) emblem.
1919 Business and Professional Women (BPW) emblem.
Black and white photograph of Members of Crookston’s BPW club walking with the American flag down Main Street in a parade, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of Members of Crookston’s BPW club walking with the American flag down Main Street in a parade, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Roger L. Dell presenting Crookston BPW member Mae Rideout with a “book of golden deeds” in St. Paul, April 12, 1954.
Black and white photograph of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Roger L. Dell presenting Crookston BPW member Mae Rideout with a “book of golden deeds” in St. Paul, April 12, 1954.
Black and white photograph of Mae Rideout being congratulated for being named “Woman of the Year,” 1954.
Black and white photograph of Mae Rideout being congratulated for being named “Woman of the Year,” 1954.
Black and white photograph of Crookston BPW members selling Artist Series tickets, 1954.
Black and white photograph of Crookston BPW members selling Artist Series tickets, 1954.
Black and white photograph of four Crookston BPW members collecting coins for the annual March of Dimes fundraising event, 1954.
Black and white photograph of four Crookston BPW members collecting coins for the annual March of Dimes fundraising event, 1954.
Black and white photograph of Doris Matzke being presented with a bouquet at a Crookston BPW club breakfast, September 22, 1957.
Black and white photograph of Doris Matzke being presented with a bouquet at a Crookston BPW club breakfast, September 22, 1957.
Black and white photograph of a BPW club breakfast, September 22, 1957. Picture (left to right) are Frances Engebretson, Peggy Running, and Sue Monroe.
Black and white photograph of a BPW club breakfast, September 22, 1957. Picture (left to right) are Frances Engebretson, Peggy Running, and Sue Monroe.
Crookston BPW brochure encouraging women to vote in primary elections on September 9, 1958, and in the general election on November 11, 1958.
Crookston BPW brochure encouraging women to vote in primary elections on September 9, 1958, and in the general election on November 11, 1958.
Black and white photograph of Mary Walker, a BPW charter member, lighting a kerosene lamp, 1958. With her are (left to right) Mary Walker, Mae Rohrer, Elizabeth Marsh, and Sylvia Johnson, all wearing historic costumes.
Black and white photograph of Mary Walker, a BPW charter member, lighting a kerosene lamp, 1958. With her are (left to right) Mary Walker, Mae Rohrer, Elizabeth Marsh, and Sylvia Johnson, all wearing historic costumes.
Black and white photograph of BPW members in historic costumes singing around a piano, 1958. Pictured (left to right) are Louise Rasmussen, Clara Berg, Ruth Rohrer (piano player), an unknown woman, and Maybelle Anderson.
Black and white photograph of BPW members in historic costumes singing around a piano, 1958. Pictured (left to right) are Louise Rasmussen, Clara Berg, Ruth Rohrer (piano player), an unknown woman, and Maybelle Anderson.
Black and white photograph of Eunice Morberg and Mae Rideout looking at Crookston BPW scrapbooks, 1959.
Black and white photograph of Eunice Morberg and Mae Rideout looking at Crookston BPW scrapbooks, 1959.
Black and white photograph of Crookston BPW club members at a table representing Denmark during an international breakfast event, 1958.
Black and white photograph of Crookston BPW club members at a table representing Denmark during an international breakfast event, 1958.

Turning Point

In 1931, the Crookston BPW celebrates its ten-year anniversary. In spite of the effects of the Great Depression, it supports about forty members and generates significant publicity in local newspapers.

Chronology

1919

As World War I draws to a close, three women members of the National War Work Council decide to continue their efforts to aid working women in peacetime. They found the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (BPW/USA) in July.

1920

BPW/USA members show their support for the Nineteenth Amendment, which guarantees women’s suffrage.

1921

Crookston starts a BPW chapter on September 21, with 116 women signing up for membership. Ida Tvedten is elected president.

1926

The Crookston BPW has sixty-two members who pay annual dues of eight dollars each.

1928

The Crookston BPW has eighty-seven members, all of whom are on record as voting in the year’s elections.

1930

Banks close during the Great Depression without returning deposits to customers, including the Crookston BPW. The club struggles to contribute its required dues to the Minnesota BPW treasury.

Spring 1931

The Minnesota Legislature prepares to vote on the “fifty-four-hour bill,” intended to limit working time for women to fifty-four hours per week. The Crookston BPW club goes on the record to oppose the bill and notifies legislators of its position.

September 1931

To celebrate the club’s tenth anniversary, members of Crookston’s BPW formally place an emblem plaque in their meeting hall. The club has about fifty members.

1932

The club votes to send cards to ill BPW members instead of flowers. The twelve dollars saved per month helps provide milk to needy children in Crookston.

1933

The club voices its opposition to the National Recovery Administration (N.R.A.) created by the U.S. government’s New Deal, claiming it discriminates against women.

1934

In January, Crookston BPW instructs the legislative committee to notify President Roosevelt and General Hugh Johnson of the club’s opposition to discrimination against women working night shifts.

1936

Crookston club membership is about fifty-five, with eighteen signers of the original charter still on the roster.

1939

Crookston BPW members sign and circulate a resolution to keep the United States out of war.

September 1948–May 1949

The Crookston BPW membership roster lists fifty-five women with their addresses, job titles, and places of employment. Only one is listed as a housewife.

1954

Mae M. Rideout, a BPW charter member, is chosen as Crookston’s “Woman of the Year” and celebrated by the Minnesota state BPW organization as “one of the twenty-eight outstanding women in Minnesota.”

1957

The Crookston BPW unanimously endorses the “Equal Pay for Equal Work” bill before a vote by both houses of the Minnesota Legislature.