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Inventory of the Ellen T. Brinley Guild, Records, 1932-1984Pikes Peak Library District, Special Collections in the 1905 Carnegie LibraryEmail: http://library.ppld.org/SpecialCollections/SpecialCollectionsContact.aspURL: http://library.ppld.org/SpecialCollections/default.asp ©2005 Pikes Peak Library District
HistoryThe Ellen Brinley Guild was founded in 1932 by Rev. Paul Roberts and the women of Grace Church, and was named in honor of Ellen Terry Brinley, a local woman devoted to community service, who had passed away in April 1931. The original purpose of the Guild, as stated in the minutes of the first meeting, was "maintaining a clothing room at Grace Church to assist the needy families of the city and county." During the 1930s, the scope was gradually widened to include books, toys, and games for schoolchildren. The Guild's major projects through the 1930s were clothing drives; Christmas stockings, "entertainments" and parties for rural schoolchildren; and setting up a county circulating library. Other activities included aid to the blind and to poor families in Papeton, and supplementing school lunches in rural areas with apples, soup and the "orange fund"--in 1935, 173 children were being given one orange a day, courtesy of the Guild. During the war years, the Guild expanded its scope once again to aid in war relief efforts, helping in War Bond drives, and assisting the Red Cross. In October 1943, they voted to discontinue for one year, with the Christmas stockings as their only project. The last meeting was held on October 22, 1943, and meetings resumed in November 1944. When the Guild resumed, the members took steps to clarify their position regarding Grace Church, and they declared themselves non-sectarian and connected with no church. They also began discussions on a project that was to occupy them for several years: the setting up of a detention home for juveniles so they wouldn't have to be sent to an "adult" prison. The Guild appointed a committee of five to meet with county commissioners to "discuss ways and means." By 1946, the Guild also began another major project--the European clothing project, which collected, cleaned and shipped used clothing to impoverished families in Europe and Greece--while still maintaining the Christmas stockings in rural Colorado and taking over the furnishing of the Detention Home. Throughout the mid-1940s and early 1950s, these projects occupied most of the Guild's time and efforts. From the late 1950s up through the early 1980s, the Guild continued to offer assistance to needy people in Colorado and the southwest, with donations of money or goods, as well as funding several Girl Scout camperships and donating memorial books to the Penrose Library. The Ellen T. Brinley Guild was disbanded by its members in June of 1982. ArrangementThe collection divides itself naturally into four series, based on the organization's major activities over the years. These series are further divided into three subseries based on type of material included: subseries 1, correspondence; 2, business records; and 3, printed matter. Series I, Local Aid, covers the Brinley Guild's activities in Colorado and the western United States. A large part of this series relates to schoolchildren in rural Colorado and families in Papeton and covers the years 1935-1945, although correspondence continues into the 1980s. Series II, War Relief, focuses mostly on the years 1946-1953, with some additional correspondence continuing into the 1970s. The majority of the correspondence is from recipients of packages in Europe; most letters are in English or include translations. The correspondence is arranged by organization name or country of origin, and then by date. Printed matter includes newsletters and form letters from relief organizations such as Foster Parents Plan for War Children and Greek War Relief. There is also one folder of photographs, mostly of children who were injured or orphaned in the war. Series III is the Detention Center, and covers the Brinley Guild's efforts to create, furnish and help run a detention home for juveniles in Colorado Springs. It covers approximately 1946-1953 and includes inventories, financial statements and reports of the various committees formed to help with this project. There is also a scrapbook of news clippings, reports and correspondence relating primarily to the Detention Center that is included in subseries 3, Printed Matter. Series IV is Guild Business, which covers matters not specifically pertaining to any of the activities covered by the other series. This series includes business records and minutes of the Guild, its membership lists, and general scrapbooks and news clippings. Also included are unidentified lists and receipts, and material that relates to several series. Scope and ContentThe bulk of the Ellen Brinley Guild papers consists of correspondence, a large portion of it being "letters of appreciation" from recipients of Brinley Guild donations. There are also letters from various relief organizations requesting or acknowledging donations; business letters discussing financial matters or acknowledging services donated; and personal letters from members of the Guild and from past recipients who had maintained friendships with members of the Guild. The collection also includes files of business records, including receipts for the purchase and repair of goods; customs receipts for packages shipped overseas; and many lists, such as Guild membership lists; names and addresses of recipients in Colorado and overseas; contents of packages shipped; and names and ages of schoolchildren in rural Colorado to be given Christmas stockings. There are also three books of minutes of both Board and general meetings of the Guild, covering the years 1932 through 1979 (minutes for 1960-1967 are missing), and a record book that lists the Brinley Guild members for 1940-1941 and includes miscellaneous notes about Guild business. Printed matter in the collection includes newsletters and reports of various relief organizations, three scrapbooks of news clippings about the Brinley Guild and their activities, and the National Probate Association Report on Detention for the Juvenile Court from 1946. RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThe collection is open for research. Copy RestrictionsThe researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection. Preferred CitationEllen T. Brinley Guild, Records, Special Collections in the 1905 Carnegie Library, Pikes Peak Library District. Processing InformationThis collection was processed, and a finding aid written, by Nancy Thaler in 1987. Separated MaterialThere are no separated materials. Related Archival MaterialThere are no related materials. Box and Folder ListSeries I: Local AidSubseries 1: Correspondence
Subseries 2: Business Records
Subseries 3: Printed Matter
Series II: War ReliefSubseries 1: Correspondence
Subseries 2: Business Records
Subseries 3: Printed Matter
Series III: Detention HomeSubseries 1: Correspondence
Subseries 2: Business Records
Subseries 3: Printed Matter
Series IV: Guild BusinessSubseries 1: Correspondence
Subseries 2: Business Records
Subseries 3: Printed Matter
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