Maine Memory Network

The cover of the program for the Seventh Annual Convention of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs that was held in Portland July 12-18, 1925.

Thousands of women from around the country came to the convention that was hosted by the Portland Business and Professional Women's Club.

Delegates from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPW), also known as B.P.W. Club, visited Portland in July 1925 for the annual convention. Many guests arrived over the weekend by train at the Grand Trunk Station on India Street. The convention was held at Portland City Hall (Merrill Auditorium), and officially began on July 13, 1925.

This image appeared on the front page of the Portland Evening Express with the headline “Scene at Grand Trunk as Business Women Invade Portland.” The women at the front of the crowd were part of the Iowa delegation. They held corn-cob canes to celebrate their state. Many delegations carried signs or mascots representing their home states.

The Kansas delegation arrived in Portland’s Grand Trunk Station, where they posed for Portland Evening Express photographers. This image appeared in the Express on July 14, with the caption "You can tell by the hats that they're from the state of the cyclones...You never see a Kansas girl with her hat on straight. Over the left ear is the rule."

The Kansas delegation, one of the largest at the convention, was a newspaper favorite, appearing in many of the roughly 100 surviving photographs from the week-long event.

The Missouri delegation arrived in Portland carrying their state mascot, the mule. According to the newspaper, the mule caused quite the stir even before its arrival. On July 13, the paper reported:

"Deputy Sheriff Emerson H. Doughty, widely known as one of the most dependable prohibition officers in Cumberland County…having been advised that on the BPW special [train] coming in from Canada this morning there would be a quantity of White Mule. The deputy was early on hand at the station expecting to make a seizure. But when a coy young person from Missouri…sided up to the deputy…and said, “Please mister, won’t you let our White Mule get by?”, the officer was shaken in his purpose. He hesitated, reluctant to advance, resultant to retreat, and as he hesitated, the Missouri procession swept by him, each girl with her little orange and black mule, and raised high above…the delegation, one lone white felt mule!"

“White mule” was another name for moonshine during the Prohibition era. By 1925, national prohibition was in full swing (1920-1933), and Maine was especially fervent in its adherence to the law. The birth place of U.S. prohibition, Maine’s anti-drinking laws extend back to 1851, with Portland as the epicenter of Maine temperance.

Lucy R. Wallace of Sapulpa, Oklahoma and her son Thomas Wallace Jr., posed with Minnie Malloy, a fellow Oklahoma delegate. Miss Malloy worked as a stenographer for an Oklahoma oil company, while Lucy (Mauldin) Wallace was a regular on the women’s golf circuit, and twice state amateur champion. Professional golf for women was not formally established until around 1950, but women’s tournaments were widespread in the early 20th century.

It’s unclear how many women brought their children to the convention. Mothers working in the business and professional sector were not unheard-of by the mid-1920s, but this era saw a dramatic shift. Before the 1920s, the female working population was dominated by single women.

During WWI (1917-18), women filled fundamental gaps in the labor market. But even with such a demonstrated need, married women and women with young children were discouraged from working. In many cases, these groups were excluded due to employer hiring rules and social expectations. By the end of the war, rules relaxed – although working women still faced a stigma once the demand for labor decreased. By the 1920s, a considerable number of mothers entered the labor market, however mothers working outside of the home increased slowly until after WWII.

According to the newspaper, Virginia Louise Montgomery of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania led a motor caravan from Chester, Pennsylvania to Portland for the convention. The camel mascot and insignia on her clothes represented the “caravan.” After serving in the Navy Nurse Corps during WWI, Montgomery worked as a registered nurse. She received her formal training at Chester Hospital, near Philadelphia.

Montgomery authored two books, The Pest and the Decoy (1937), and The Pagan Princess (1953). The latter was a fictitious “story of the greatest career women of ancient times, the vestal virgins of Rome.”

Marie Chabo, a stenographer for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and Helen Carroll, a clerk for Kepp-Baertsch Co. (a women’s apparel store) posed for photographers on a taxi’s running board. Both women lived in Sheridan, Wyoming. Over 2,300 state delegates convened in Portland from July 11 through July 18. The Portland Evening Express closely tracked the activities with daily articles and photos. Throughout the week, delegates attended lectures, visited local sites, and met Maine’s Gov. Brewster.

Blanche Hill of Twin Falls, Idaho arrived at Grand Trunk Station carrying her “own identification.” A clerk for a mercantile company, Hill was featured in the July 13 edition of the Portland Evening Express.

Idaho was one of 42 (of the then 48) states to send delegations. While not officially a state until 1949, Hawaii also sent a delegation. States maintained their own affiliates to the national organization, with local club participation typically at the town level or by profession. For example, the Portland Business and Professional Women’s Club hosted the convention, although Maine’s B.P.W. state president and the National Vice President were from Bangor. Each state had a National Vice President, who served as a representative to the NFBPWC.

Women’s business and professional clubs, or clubs with membership open to both men and women, were eligible to join the national federation.

To display a sense of camaraderie, many delegates dressed in clothing representative of their home state, while others dressed in costume in a series of pageants throughout the convention. The delegates from Georgia highlighted their state by dressing in ‘peach blossom’ costumes.

The women pictured from left to right are:
Front row: Clara Pickron, Eole Reynolds, Lillie Hamilton, Dora S. Mendes, May Doyle (the national vice president of the NFBPWC for Georgia), Caroline Brown, Olive Morgan, Beulah Wakefield, Gretchen Bredenberg.

Back row: Annie May O'Connell, Mamie Klug, Aela Booth, Olin Pearson, Frances Stebbens (Georgia’s B.P.W. state president), Isabel Sparr, Beryl Bredenberg, Billie Nomell, Mary Bartlett.

On the final day of the NFBPWC convention, the members of Arizona’s delegation met with Maine's Gov. Ralph Owen Brewster and presented him with a pair of copper bookends.

Gov. Brewster and his wife, Dorothy, attended the convention’s opening reception at City Hall (Merrill Auditorium), where they participated in an elaborate receiving line. Gov. Brewster had taken office just weeks before the NFBPWC convention. Despite his controversial and negative political legacy (he was associated with the KKK, involved in corruption, and supported McCarthyism), Brewster supported Women’s Suffrage efforts in Maine while serving in the state senate.

This image appeared in the July 18 edition of the Portland Evening Express. From left to right are Mrs. Grace Porsaur, Mrs. Ellen Copper, Mrs. Allen Dickerman, and Gov. Ralph O. Brewster.

On July 15, a large clambake was held for the NFBPWC delegates on Peaks Island. More than 2,000 people attended the event. The guests enjoyed Maine seafood, and learned how to eat a lobster. Many delegates wore creative party hats. Several photographs of the event were featured in the newspaper, including this one on July 16, of Olive Wright and Josephine Forney.

Olive J. Wright of Cleveland, Ohio (left) worked as an insurance agent. Josephine H. Forney of Portland, Oregon (center) worked as a publicity agent for the Chamber of Commerce. Originally from Maine, Forney moved to Oregon, where she had a career in publicity and the entertainment industry.

Margaret McKinney (at left) and Mary E. Russell (at right) posed for a photograph representing the farthest east and farthest west B.P.W. delegations. McKinney was from Hoquiam, Washington, the farthest west – and rainiest – town in the continental U.S.; and Russell was from Orono, Maine.

Surprisingly few Maine delegates were photographed by the newspaper throughout the convention. Many Maine delegates, especially those from Portland (the host city) and Bangor (the Maine B.P.W. President’s city), were busy at work hosting the convention and may not have been available for photograph opportunities.

On July 18, the last day of the convention, the delegates attended an outing to Old Orchard Beach. The day at the seaside resort town was called "Prankfest," and consisted of dancing and local attractions, including the "Caterpillar" ride at Palace Playland.

The event was named “Prankfest” because the delegates performed “stunts,” including kidnapping each other’s mascots, performances, and pageant parades in costume. The event culminated in a dance at the Palace Ballroom which “was filled to overflowing with delegations, all of them in the distinctive and colorful apparel which has so marked them on the streets of Portland during the past seven days.”