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A resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history.
Mrs. Matzke, Miss Olson, and Miss Nelson present yellow carnations to initiates Luverne Sorenson, Deborah Hanson, Eloise Espe, and Clara Kelly at an initiation meeting for new BPWC members, 1966.
Crookston’s Business and Professional Women’s club (BPWC), started in 1921, was more politically active in the 1960s and 1970s than in its early years. BPWC members made sure to cast their votes for causes important to women, including equal pay for equal work and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
At each BPWC meeting during this period, speakers gave talks to fit a designated monthly program. In April 1962, three local doctors answered questions about the King-Anderson bill— national legislation intended to provide medical services to the elderly through Social Security. The club went on record opposing it and urged members to write to their congressional representatives. Soon afterward, legislators voted down the bill in committee by a narrow margin.
In October 1964, the Crookston BPWC’s Civic Participation Committee reminded members that November was a critical time to vote for state and national club officers. In April 1965, members were encouraged to lend their support to U.S. Senator (and Minnesotan) Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy had introduced a “Be-Kind-To-Spinsters Bill” designed to ensure tax equality for single people thirty-five years and older and for widows and widowers. Like the King-Anderson bill, the measure failed; if it had passed, it would have benefited members of the Crookston BPWC.
Club members regularly added items about pending legislation related to equal pay to their newsletter, called Beep Chatter, and brought them up during meetings. Over time, the issue deepened a rift between the club’s single and married members. Married women maintained that employers discriminated against them when making new hires. Single members like June Shaver, however, pointed out that unmarried working women also faced disadvantages. In the October 2, 1967, edition of Beep Chatter, Shaver noted the “quixotic side effects” of tax relief laws that rewarded marriage. “A working single girl pays a higher tax than if she were married,” she wrote, with the result that “she is fined for remaining single.”
In March 1969, Crookston BPWC leaders asked members to encourage their state senators to vote “yes” on an equal pay bill and to lobby the U.S. Senate Labor Committee in support of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). One of the amendment’s provisions stated that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account sex.” The approval of eight more states, however, was needed for national ratification. If the Equal Pay Bill failed to pass, supporters feared that the ERA would fail along with it.
On May 28, 1970, the Equal Pay Bill became law. A little more than three years later, on February 9, 1973, Minnesota ratified the ERA. It was the twenty-sixth state to do so.
The BPWC faced a setback on March 6, 1975, when a Western Union telegram sent from the club’s state headquarters notified Crookston members of a resolution intended to rescind the ERA in Minnesota. The BPWC president directed members to urge Minnesota legislators to vote against it. BPWC leadership reminded members that more than the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972 was in place to protect women’s rights as full and equal citizens of the U.S. On June 5, 1975, the resolution failed to pass.
An entry in the edition of Beep Chatter published on December 4, 1975, expressed members’ continuing support for the ERA. Its author offered credit to “Libbers” (feminist activists) for drawing public attention to women’s issues. She also pointed out, however, that CBPW members “enjoy[ed] wearing pink long dresses” and shared a desire for legal equality rather than any specific set of personal choices or social codes. The statement revealed the club’s effort—made throughout the 1960s and 1970s—to distance itself from the second-wave feminist movement while keeping itself aligned with many of its priorities.
Altepeter, Twylla. “BPW Honors Young Career Women.” Crookston Daily Times, March 10, 1980.
“Annual Spring-o-rama Draws Capacity Crowd.” Crookston Daily Times, March 3, 1969.
“‘Assertiveness Training’ Is the Theme of BPW Program.” Crookston Daily Times, February 13, 1976.
“Benedictine Nuns Guest Speakers at BPW Club Meeting Monday.” Crookston Daily Times, March 9, 1964.
“Betty Brecto ‘Woman of the Year.’” Crookston Daily Times, October 23, 1980.
“Bill to Assure Women ‘Equal Pay’ Alarms Employers’ Lobbyists.” Wall Street Journal, August 10, 1962.
“Bishop Povish Speaks at BPW Club Dinner.” Crookston Daily Times, January 11, 1971.
“BPW Club Observes National Week, the Theme ‘More Women at Work.’” Crookston Daily Times, October 3, 1960.
“BPW Club Presents Skit on ‘Woman and Her Thing.’” Crookston Daily Times, April 13, 1970.
“BPW Club’s An Active One Here: Dates Back to 1921.” Crookston Daily Times, October 23, 1980.
“BPW Club Stresses Civic Participation.” Crookston Daily Times, October 23, 1969.
“BPW Club to Discuss ‘Working Women.’” Crookston Daily Times, May 7, 1976.
“BPW Clubs Are Active Here: Dates Back to 1921.” Crookston Daily Times, October 23, 1980.
“BPW to Examine Status of Women in Crookston.” Crookston Daily Times, May 3, 1972.
“BPWC Given: Program on Women’s Liberation.” Crookston Daily Times, May 10, 1971.
“BPWC Installs Officers, Fetes Members, Hears Guest Speaker.” Crookston Daily Times, May 17, 1967.
“BPWC Members Model for Club Style Show.” Crookston Daily Times, March 20, 1967.
“BPWC Observes 45th Anniversary.” Crookston Daily Times, June 16, 1966.
“Brecto Elected State BPW Secretary.” Crookston Daily Times, June 6, 1978.
“‘Civic Participation’ Slogan at BPW Club.” Crookston Daily Times, September 11, 1967.
“Civil Defense Program Is Presented at BPW Meeting.” Crookston Daily Times, November 14, 1960.
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 Well Represented at State BPW Convention.” Crookston Daily Times, May 19, 1977.
“ERA Is Priority Project for BPW.” Crookston Daily Times, March 9, 1981.
“JFK Signs Equal Pay Bill for Women.” Minneapolis Tribune, June 11, 1963.
“International Relations Is Theme at BPWC Meeting.” Crookston Daily Times, September 10, 1974.
“Local Doctor Reviews Population Control at BPWC Meeting.” Crookston Daily Times, March 9, 1970.
“Mae Rideout Speaks at Matron’s Club Meeting.” Crookston Daily Times, January 8, 1960.
“Marian S. Olson, City, to Become State BPW Head.” Crookston Daily Times, May 24, 1968.
“Mrs. McGrath Speaks to City Women on ‘Human Encounter.’” Crookston Daily Times, February 22, 1977.
“Mrs. Vattendahl Named BPWC Heat at 500th Meeting Here.” Crookston Daily Times, April 11, 1968.
Monahan, Terry. “She’s Overworked, Underappreciated; She’s a Secretary.” Crookston Daily Times, April 25, 1977.
“New Members Welcomed by Crookston BPW Club.” Crookston Daily Times, January 16, 1969.
“Polk Officials Speak on ‘Know Your Government.’” Crookston Daily Times, October 21, 1968.
Ramey, Richard. “She’ll Have Christmas Eve Off, After 45 Years on Phone Jobs.” Crookston Daily Times, December 14, 1960.
“Samantha ‘Rastles’ the Woman Question.” Crookston Daily Times, April 15, 1985.
“State President Here; Equal Rights Amendment Reviewed at BPW Club Dinner Meeting.” Crookston Daily Times, April 10, 1972.
Vick, Judy. “Club Federation Head Says: Lower Pay for Women Hurts All.” Minneapolis Tribune, March 31, 1963.
“What BPW Means.” Crookston Daily Times, October 22, 1968.
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In 1975, BPW clubs in Crookston and throughout the state urge their legislators to vote against a resolution to rescind the Equal Rights Amendment in Minnesota.
The BPWC begins a campaign to scan for obscene literature on Crookston newsstands. During November, members check stands twice a month and list the objectionable magazines they find.
After astronaut John Glenn’s orbital flights, Crookston BPWC members watch “A Voice for Mercury,” a film about aerospace technology produced by NASA. They also watch “Seconds for Survival”—a U.S. Department of Defense production about disaster preparednes
President John F. Kennedy signs the Equal Pay Act into law. The legislation forbids employers from paying different wages to men and women who perform the same work on the basis of sex.
The BPWC has eleven committees: parliamentarian, membership, programs, civic participation, world affairs, personal development, finance, legislation, public relations, emblem, and bylaws.
Crookston BPWC member Marian Olson is installed as President of the Minnesota Federation of BPW during the state organization’s forty-seventh annual convention in St. Cloud.
The Crookston BPWC holds its 505th meeting at the Elks Club. President Vattendahl leads the BPW Collect (a creed written by Mary Stewart) and the pledge of allegiance.
To advocate for the cause of equal pay for equal work, BPWC members write to legislators in their districts expressing support for the equal rights amendment (ERA).
The Crookston BPWC has eighty-two members. Annual dues are raised from $12.50 to $15.00.
Minnesota ratifies the ERA.
A resolution to rescind the ERA in Minnesota comes close to passing after it is attached to a bill on women’s athletics. Crookston BPWC members send telegrams to their legislators, urging them to vote against the resolution.
The Crookston BPWC has 118 members, making it the third largest in Minnesota. Duluth is first with 164 members; St. Paul has 137. Minnesota’s total member count is 2,843.
Made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Administered by the Minnesota Historical Society.
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