Gertrude Hendricks used her education and expertise in family relations, child care and development, parent education, home management and consumer education to develop and implement an educational program to improve and enrich the lives of families.
The educational series in the family life program included studies and classes in child care and growth, child and adolescent psychology, sex education, family relations and activities, health and nutrition, health and safety, family finance, consumer education, marriage, and homemaking. The programs continually evolved over the years to address the changing and diverse needs of the families and of the community.
Gertrude Hendricks was able to establish a family life education and home management program as prescribed by professional and governmental studies and recommendations. The program benefited the entire community, yet there were many obstacles to getting the job done.
She was the sole employee of the family life education department from 1947 to 1962. She did not have clerical or secretarial help and had to attend to these duties in addition to developing, coordinating, and supervising a community-wide program. An average day found her attending a morning, noontime, afternoon and evening session. She was also responsible for all other operating study groups and workshops providing support, speakers, leaders, supplies, and literature. In addition to providing the materials and supplies for the meetings, some days found her driving teachers and participants to and from classes as well as ordering, purchasing and delivering supplies and materials.
In the summer she taught college classes; served on various state and national task forces; and made home visits. In addition to the regularly scheduled classes and meetings she spoke at groups across the community; held over 300 individual conferences a year; and continually found ways to promote participation (e.g. announcements, flyers, and media announcements). Gertrude Hendricks coordinated the highly successful, filled-to-capacity annual family life institutes and youth conferences.
FAMILY LIFE INSTITUTES AND YOUTH CONFERENCES
1947-1972
Note by Historian Dale Rene:
The Family Life Institute and the Youth Conference had become a popular Youngstown tradition. Parents, professionals, and various members of the community wishing to participate was limited by the capacity of the meeting facility, the Youngstown YMCA. Enrollment was doubled after 1953 when the adult institute and the youth conference became separate events. The youth conference and adult institute shared the same theme and speakers.
Extensive planning, preparation, and promotion of these conferences resulted in a varied assortment of documents for each institute. These papers were filed at the end of the annual reports for that year. Not all annual reports contain the same collection of papers for each institute. Papers for the institute included programs, pre-planning committee work (registration, preliminary workshop materials and program), post-institute materials (recorder’s reports and evaluators reports), workshop discussion questions/outlines and materials, booklists, and news articles covering the event. Papers not included in this selection are preparation materials (business records, receipts, registration) and preliminary planning programs. Program information in this selection is limited to theme, information on the speaker, workshops and leaders. The instruction materials for leaders, recorders, and evaluators have been included in this selection.
Gertrude Hendricks’ Description
“This Council has two big projects for the year. 1) Annual Family Life Institute for lay and professionals, and some youth who will act as leaders in their own conferences. 2) Annual Youth Conference, a follow-up of the larger, community-wide Institute.
The Council list gives you the ideas of the large representation on the Council … some 75 different groups … all interested in family.
The Youth groups are composed of all high schools, both public and parochial, and county … with youth serving agencies cooperating.
The Institute attracts some 700 to 800 persons … we’ve outgrown our present facilities and in fact the only large meeting place in town, thus we have cut back on the number of persons any one group can send.
The Youth Conference will attract around 200 representative youths, selected from their schools as leaders of tomorrow.
Some of the mechanical devises which we use have also been included in this report – such as instruction to leaders, recorders, host and hostess, etc. Because this is done annually, we found this method of instruction helpful.”
(Annual Report 1958-1959)
Index to Selection of Papers
- “Those 25 Years … Remember Them Well”
- Preparing for an Institute
- Mahoning Committee for “Little White House Conference” 1950
- White House Conference Recommendations for Ohio, 1960
Index to Annual Family Life Institutes and Youth Conferences
- 1948 The Individual In the Family – Dr. Evelyn M. Duvall, Author and Family Life Educator
- 1949 Is Your Child A Good Citizen – Dorothy Waldo Phillips, Psychiatrist
- 1949 The Challenge of Our Children and Youth – Sarah Harding Hunter, B.L.I., Lecturer and Author
- 1950 Living and Learning With Children, Mental Health – (Emotional Development of Children) – Dr. Clyde Simson, Psychiatrist, Director, Child Guidance Center, Dayton
- 1951 Little White House Conference on Children and Youth – Dr. Evelyn M. Duvall
- 1952 Being Realistic About Life – Dr. Ernest Osborne, Educator and Author, Head Department Family Life, New York University
- 1953 Living In A Time of Uncertainty – Dr. Ester McGinnis
(Began Separate Annual Youth Conferences) - 1954 Youth in Focus – Dr. Ester McGinnis, Department of Human Development and Family Relations, Ohio State University
- 1955 Operation Family – Dr. Ethel Alpenfels, Anthropology Department, New York University
- 1956 The Ideal Family (Joined by Ohio Council on Family Relations)-Dr. Evelyn M. Duvall, Executive Secretary, National Council on Family Relations, Ohio State University
- 1957 Your Family In a Changing Era – Dr. Phillip Hauser, Department of Sociology, Chicago University
- 1958 The Atomic Age Challenges Family Living – Dr. Peter T. Hountras, Psychologist and Educator, Professor, Pittsburgh University
- 1959 Our Changing Community – Dr. Herman Peters, Professor, Education, Ohio State University, Guidance
- 1960 Little White Conference on Children and Youth – Dr. Evelyn Duvall
- 1961 Living Realistically for Tomorrow – Dr. Ethel Alpenfels, New York University
- 1962 Values in American Culture – Dr. Ernest Melby, Educator and Author, Michigan State University
- 1963 People Are Important – Dr. James J. Cribben, Psychologist and Author
- 1964 Patterns for Growth – Dr. John Furbay, Anthropologist and Internationalist, T.W.A.
- 1965 The Family: Keystone of Society – Dr. John Ervin, Educator and Author, St. Louis University
- 1966 Today’s World Challenges Family Living – Dr. Sylvanus M. Duvall, Social Scientist and Religious Educator
- 1967 Revolution in Morality – Ray Montsalvatge, Psychologist and Lecturer
- 1968 Family’s Responsibility to Society (Committed to Serve) – Tennyson Guyser, Ohio State Senator and Lecturer
- 1969 Generation Gap – Bishop James W. Malone, Diocese of Youngstown
- 1970 Changing Patterns of Family Living in the ‘70’s – Dr. Ethel J. Alpenfels
- 1971 The Past Is Prologue – Dr. Sidney Berkowitz, Rabbi, Rodem Sholom and Bishop James W. Malone, Diocese of Youngstown