A Moment in our History: A Dream Turns into Reality

After a letter from “A Working Woman” urging for the creation of YWCA in Honolulu appeared in the Advertiser on April 23, 1900, our founders did not waste any time. They set the date for a meeting and immediately put out the word.

The article below is one of the announcements that appeared in the local papers the day after the letter was published. It shows the names of some women who were “willing and anxious to be of service in the matter.”

The Honolulu Advertiser April 24, 1900.

The meeting was scheduled for 7:45 p.m. on Monday, April 30, 1900, at “Woodlawn” – at the corner of Beretania and Punahou Streets.

The women met at the cottage home of Mrs. B.F. Dillingham. It later became the site of Atherton Chapel on the grounds of Central Union Church. According to the meeting minutes, about sixty women gathered on April 30 with the purpose of organizing a YWCA in Honolulu.

The cottage of Mrs. B.F. Dillingham in 1900, where a group of women met to discuss the first YWCA in Hawaii.

The site where Mrs. B.F. Dillingham’s cottage once stood later became home to Central Union Church’s Atherton Chapel.

After much discussion covering topics including the need for a physical space for working women and newcomers as well as a gymnasium, a motion was made that “we organize a YWCA here (Honolulu).” It was approved by a majority in the room (47 women). Those who did not vote for the motion were not necessarily opposed to the idea of starting a YWCA – they “were in hearty sympathy but were too busy to feel they could take an active part.” 

 “No Men To Be In This: New Movement For Fair Sex Only”

This newspaper headline describes the sentiment of the meeting and the determination of our founding members. The article, published the day after the meeting, said, “The need of a pleasant place where ladies could take luncheon was also vigorously and almost unanimously expressed, and different speakers urged the desire for classes in Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese and domestic science.” Those present also expressed the needs for “swimming baths.”

The Honolulu Advertiser, May 1, 1900.

The formal business meeting to organize our YWCA took place on May 17 in the same year but it was that meeting on April 30 which started our long history. We remember and salute those 128 women who became our charter members and started the movement in our state.

Below are photos of our original board minutes from 1900 and the list of the charter members included in the minutes.

-Noriko Namiki, YWCA O‘ahu CEO

Happy 120th Birthday, YWCA O'ahu!

A multicultural celebration photo found in YWCA Oahu’s archives.

As many of you know, the year 2020 brings the 120th anniversary of our YWCA O'ahu.

I started at this organization in 2012 as Chief Communications Officer, I have learned a great deal about our history, including how we started and how we have grown in our community – by talking story with individuals whose lives have been touched by our work, reading some old board meeting minutes dating back to the early 1900’s and through other people’s writings about us.

I feel close to our history every time I read newspaper archives which mention YWCA or chronicle the events which took place in our history. To me, that was one way to validate what I heard or learned anecdotally.

Every time I saw YWCA’s name or the names of our founding members, I got chicken skin because each article I read took me back to those times when our founders came together to create a place of their own — YWCA O'ahu. Searching those newspaper archives sort of became my hobby.

April is our birthday month — when YWCA O'ahu was founded in 1900. Our history began with this letter that appeared in a local newspaper called The Pacific Commercial Advertiser on April 23rd, 1900.

Above is a clipping of that letter glued onto our board minutes. I will tell you what happened as a result of this letter in a separate post.

The writer identifies herself as “A Working Woman” and calls for the creation of a YWCA in Honolulu. Her letter is headlined She Urges A Young Women’s Christian Association Home.

The writer points out a lack of “a respectable house” for working women. She said, “Honolulu is sorely needing an attractive Young Women’s Christian Association building, where board and lodging, at as near cost as it may be had are given to those who are trying to make an honest living.”

The writer refers to what was happening on the mainland, citing Philadelphia as an example where 750 working women could access “board and washing for $3.50 to $4 a week.”

At the time this letter was written, YWCA was growing on the mainland, especially on the east coast. In 1858, the first association in the U.S., Ladies Christian Association, was formed in New York City. The first boarding house for female students, teachers, and factory workers opened in New York City in 1860. Boston and Philadelphia soon followed suit.

It amazes me how the women back then gathered to create YWCA as a place specifically for working women and for those who sought to obtain employment. We are part of this history and we are carrying on this tradition.

I would like to start this special month by thanking you for being part of our family. I know we are going through an extraordinary time, but let’s not forget we have a lot to cherish and celebrate. Our history gives us a moment to reflect on our role and place in our community. We have a lot to be proud of. We are rich.

Let the birthday month begin!

-Noriko Namiki, YWCA O‘ahu CEO