YWCA; Chester, PA

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YWCA

ywca_7thsproul_c1917.jpg (17170 bytes)

Photo above courtesy of Terry Redden Peters, TP090448@aol.com
in memory of her grandparents, Frank and Bertha Packer.

YWCA of Chester; August 2004 photo courtesy of "Joker" Jack Chambers
August 2004 photo above courtesy of "Joker" Jack Chambers

7th & Sproul St.
Phone 610-876-8226 • Fax 610-876-8337

[Visit the YWCA of Chester's Official Web Site here]

Former Officers | History | Recollections

If you have any information and or pictures that you would like to contribute about the history of this organization, please forward it to john@oldchesterpa.com

Former Officers:	Executive Directors: Mildred Y. Corey (? - 1952) Margaret Woodbury (1952 - ?)

History:	The YWCA of Chester was founded in 1914.

Recollections:	"I was looking at my old scrapbook, and found a card advertising a 1953 Sears sponsored, Teen-O-Rama Jamboree, every Saturday Afternoon from 2 to 5 at the YWCA in Chester. Swing & Sway w/Jimmy Lynn of WPWA, Presented by Sears own, Helen Powers. I spent many Saturdays there, and saw different popular acts. Four Aces appeared there several times. It was $1.00 to get in, and it was dancing, and being entertained for 3 hours every Saturday. I don't know how long they had it, but I know it was a great place for kids who liked to dance." - Carole Gelnack Mullen CMullen528@aol.com "In 1953 I moved to the residence part of the YWCA. It was in a three story building attached to the Y. The first floor was a bakery and the second & third floors were the residence. I was seventeen at the time (just graduated from high school and would not turn eighteen for another eix months) and a friend of my deceased mother got them to make an exception to the minimum age of eighteen. I worked for Bell Tel. at the time. There were approximately 20 females in residence of assorted ages and occupations. That was almost fifty years ago and I can close my eyes and still see the residence and the girls. I am forever grateful for that being available as I don't know where I would have gone otherwise. The friends that I made, such as Dot, Sylvia, Dee and Esther, had a profound effect on me and helped me to grow as a person." - Ida M. Barber, TBOLIG@fast.net "Loved going to the summer dances in the late '30's and the early '40's on the roof garden. Lot's of fun looking down on the city at night. Also colored lights were strung around the roof." "I remembered the Y had a cafeteria in the basement. There was or is a pool where I took swimining lessons. Many organizations held meetings at the Y. I believe the Kiawanis club may have had meetings there. Dances were also held at the gym. My Mother had played basketball there in the 1917's and perhaps 1919." -Betty-Jane Bennett Smith, Smith9697@aol.com

This page last updated 10/18/05