"Talking Betterment": The Structure and Goals of the Organization
The women of the WABPS met regularly to “talk betterment.” An Executive Committee was established for the State Association (based in Greensboro, NC) and the positions were filled as follows:
President
Mrs. Sue Hollowell
Vice President
Mrs. E. E. Moffitt
Treasurer
Mrs. L. E. Powell
Corresponding Secretary
Miss Mary T. Moore
Recording Secretary
Miss Mary K. Applewhite
Field Secretary
Lula Martin McIver (appointed later in 1908)
Field Workers (listed as follows):
Miss Leah Jones
Miss Viola Boddie
Miss Edith Royster
Mrs. Sue Hollowell
Miss Mary T. Moore
For the most part, the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary, and Recording Secretary all fulfilled their roles during Executive Committee meetings. At the first meeting of the Executive Committee, the women established their aim, their audience, their goals, and how they planned to accomplish them.
Their Aim:
The women of the WABPS generally sought to rally the community (“every man, woman, and child”) to support the cause of school reform and restoration. They centered their work around one word: “co-operation.”
Their Audience:
In order to meet their aim and accomplish their goals, they had to first “gain the sympathy and receive the endorsement” of school officials.
Their Goals:
It is only once they have this approval that they can move on to their goals of rallying the citizens and teachers, engaging the students, improving and furnishing the school houses, building the libraries, cleaning up the grounds, and providing for other “entertainments” (in that respective order).
Two women played particularly active roles in the WABPS and later donated their personal collections of letters, reports, documents, and more to UNC Greensboro. Lula Martin McIver served as the Field Secretary of the WABPS after the death of her husband, Dr. Charles McIver, from 1908 until 1914. Mary Taylor Moore served as the Corresponding Secretary of the WABPS from its inception in 1902 through 1909.
Mrs. McIver was one of the most active members of the WABPS. During her time as recording secretary, she attended nearly every meeting in the state that involved district superintendents and talked with them about Betterment work, even if she “had to decline twelve others for that date.” She met with dozens of teachers’ organizations and even met with Helen Taft, wife of President William Howard Taft, to talk about the work of the WABPS. Between traveling and meetings, Mrs. McIver still visited local schools, and encouraged the establishment of WABPS chapters where there weren’t any. She prepared reports for the organization and sent out letters across the state to share the work being done.
Mary Taylor Moore spent less time in the field working one on one with constituents and more time spreading the message of the organization as far and wide as possible. Moore sent letters out to teachers and school officials across the state to gauge interest in the organization and to better understand the needs of particular counties. To expedite this process, Moore prepared questionnaires to send out. These surveys included questions about what work had been done in the district, but they were later meant to streamline contact information for the leaders of county organizations and gauge what they still needed to accomplish.
In addition to these surveys, Moore also collected and compiled reports from the presidents of County Associations; these reports were similar to Mrs. McIver’s “Report of Work Done.”
