Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association USA, Toledo Chapter records

The records of the Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association (1961 – 2011) document the history of both PPSEAWA as an international organization and as a local Toledo Chapter. The collection consists of materials from the Toledo Chapter, USA Chapter, and International membership. This includes meeting minutes, membership records, correspondence, reports, newsletters, Toledo Chapter yearbooks, international conference books, photographs, artifacts, as well as a variety of subject folders containing information on presentations, workshops, related organizations, and events.

The Proceedings are most complete between the years of 1980 and 2008. Chapter minutes include primarily basic reports, election information, and financial records. The USA Board and Annual Meeting minutes are more complete and provide a broader look at the work of the PPSEAWA-USA (including the Toledo Chapter). Membership records within this series are fairly random, but do usefully outline the officers and board of directors for the given years.

The Chapter Correspondence is most complete between 1981 and 2008. The correspondence is primarily chapter business related including announcements and chapter updates. Some personal correspondence among chapter members is also included, such as holiday cards or thank-you cards.

Much of the collection is comprised of subject files, which range from various workshops or presentations sponsored by the Toledo Chapter to prominent chapter members such as Ella P. Stewart and Mani Chari. The Chapter events and workshops are well accounted for and often include planning documents, brochures, flyers, and in some cases financial documents as well. The files on Ella P. Stewart and Mani Chari consist primarily of news clippings, but both document the close relationship they had with the organization.

Additionally included in these subject files are the various organizations that the PPSEAWA Toledo Chapter worked alongside. In some cases, it is clearer what the relationship was, such as in the Dosti and UN files. Whereas in other instances, such as the American Friends Service Committee and Great Lakes Consortium a direct link is unclear, but overlapping visions and missions are understandable.

The Toledo Chapter’s annual reports were often comprised by the standing president and relayed a concise description of the year’s events. These reports provide a brief, but illustrative picture of the chapter’s accomplishment for that year.

The Literary Productions series and Financial Documents series are both less complete and more random within the collection. The Literary Productions include obituaries, resolutions, music, inspirational writings, and chapter/organization history, while the financial documents include random year’s budgets or financial reports. Most useful within these two series would be the history folder which includes some early history essays that provide a basic outline and timeline of both the PPSEAWA International history, but also the Toledo Chapter early history.

The Printed Materials are vast and complete and include USA and International newsletters, Toledo Chapter Yearbooks, and the International Conference books. Combine, this series provides the most detailed perspective of not only the local chapter’s activities, but also the happenings at the national and international level.

Many identified and some unidentified photographs as well as artifacts complete the collection and put a face and tangibility to the organization and its fifty year history in Northwest, Ohio.

This collection could be beneficial to a researcher interested in local, national, and international women’s organizations.