| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR2402 | | TITLE: | Canadian Women's Press Club, Edmonton Branch fonds | | CREATOR: | Canadian Women's Press Club, Edmonton Branch | | DATE RANGE: | 1904-1972, 1975 | | EXTENT: | 1.20 m of textual records. -- 6 photographs | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The Canadian Women's Press Club was a national association of professional women writers for all media, broadcasters and illustrators. It was designed to help promote its members in their profession, to encourage high standards, and to foster good will between all women writers and women in allied professions. The Canadian Women's Press Club was formed in June 1904 by a group of women reporters returning by rail from a complimentary trip to the St. Louis Exposition. They traveled as guests of the C.P.R., the first time in Canada that this privilege, often enjoyed by male reporters, had been extended to women reporters. The formal organization of the national association took place in Winnipeg in 1906. In 1935 the national club set up annual Memorial Awards for which any woman writer in Canada may compete. These are the oldest newspaper awards given in Canada. The national club became in 1958 the first nationally incorporated press association in Canada
Gertrude Balmer-Watt, a prominent Edmonton journalist and one of the original founding members, helped to organize the Edmonton Branch in February 1908. In 1971 the members of the Canadian Women's Press Club voted to admit male applicants to its membership and, shortly afterwards, the name of the association was changed to the name of the Media Club of Canada.
The Edmonton Branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club included in its membership Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung. Emily Murphy, the Edmonton Branch's most outstanding member, was national President in 1913. Nellie McClung became President of the Edmonton Branch in 1918.
The Edmonton Branch awarded scholarships to aspiring women writers, conducted seminars for students, provided supplies and equipment to schools. In 1967 the Branch donated encyclopedia to schools and in 1969 offered them audiotapes and tape recorders. Revenues came from various sources, including book fairs.
| | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | The fonds consists of records maintained, collected, and created by the Canadian Women's Press Club, Edmonton Branch including by-laws, minutes, correspondence, financial records, reports, membership information, speeches, newsletters, booklets, press releases and news clippings. | | LANGUAGE NOTE: | The material is in English. | | RELATED RECORDS: | Microfilm M7717 reproducing selected material from PR1974.0056 is available from the National Archives of Canada under the title Media Club of Canada. | | GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history was taken from the Canadian Encyclopedia and from the records. |
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