ABOUT OUR LEAGUE
HIGHLIGHTING OUR HISTORIANS:
THE ARCHIVES COMMITTEE BRINGS JLW INTO THE DIGITAL AGE
T
hinking about archives conjures up images of dusty folders, forgotten boxes of photos, and stacks of aging documents. For the Junior League of Washington (JLW) Archives Committee, whose focus is to capture JLW history, managing documentation of our League’s history is anything but boring and neglected. Archives Committee members are the information gatherers of JLW and help maintain historic records of our activities and events, developing presentations, displays, and articles to portray JLW history, including preparation of an annual scrapbook. Last year was a time to rebuild for the JLW Archives Committee, submitting a proposal to Finance Council to increase the Committee’s budget for a project to digitize our archives. The committee was thrilled to receive $15,000 for the multiyear effort, beginning with a pilot program to digitize JLW’s most fragile items. The oldest physical archives, which date back to 1912, have been stored primarily in brittle, delicate scrapbooks. The first phase of this work will prioritize digitizing the oldest archived materials, from the 1910s through the 1960s. Archives members kicked off their digitization effort by performing an in-depth search of the physical archives around JLW Headquarters. Objects within the archives are located in several places throughout the Loughborough House, but are primarily organized in the two parlors. JLW archives also include framed materials, such as photographs of the JLW presidents.
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Fall 2019
By Jessica Sanchez
JLW Archives also include framed materials like the JLW Presidents’ photographs, which are presented along the walls on the first floor of JLW Headquarters. The Archives Committee has already made several exciting finds, including scrapbook pictures from the 1940’s when the JLW helped produce a television show that interviewed local dignitaries about their leisure time activities. The committee also unearthed a March 1925 letter from the first
JLW President, Elizabeth Hempstone. She discusses her idea for a “President’s Book,” which would have each outgoing president write a brief summary of her administration to include the main events, problems, and accomplishments to serve as a reference to other future leaders. By 1925, Hempstone
