Affiliates in 1941
During this time, through the efforts of Ernest Burgess and a wide network of professionals, the state and regional conferences were proliferating. The New England Conference on Tomorrow’s Children held a 3-day conference at Harvard University. The Rocky Mountain Regional Conference was making plans for a series of meetings. The Southern Regional Conference on Family Relations held its second meeting at the University of Alabama. The Southern California Conference on Family Relations was held in Los Angeles. Other states—Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Virginia—all sponsored well-attended conferences.
Journals and Publications in 1941
The journal Living, which had up to this point been edited by Paul Sayre, changed names to Marriage and Family Living. Ernest W. Burgess became the new editor and held that position for 11 years. At this time the journal began to accept paid advertising. This was a paid advertisement for the new book written by Catherine Groves, daughter of Ernest Groves and Gladys Groves, who was also a family counselor. The book was entitled Get More Out of Life: How Troubled People Can Find Help and was published by Association Press.
Membership in 1941
By 1941, NCFR’s membership stood at 1,200 members. The Conference faced a $1,800 deficit, which was liquidated by the end of the year. Annual dues were raised to $2.50, which included a $1.50 subscription to the journal Marriage and Family Living and free admission to the annual meeting. Annual joint dues for national and state affiliated membership were $3.00. This marked the beginning of financial support from the national group to the affiliates and states. Read the 1941 NCFR progress report
Structure and Governance in 1941
Committees on Religion and the Family and on National Defense were added to NCFR, making a total of three education committees. Evelyn Millis Duvall, who was Executive Director of the Association for Family Living, was elected Secretary–Treasurer of the Board. At this point, there were 14 active NCFR state affiliates that had held conferences. In an unusual move, the new officers were elected for a calendar year starting January 1941.
1941 Conference: Family Preparedness
Three weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, NCFR held its conference in New York City, at the Park Central Hotel, from December 29 to 31, in conjunction with that of the New York State Conference on Marriage and the Family. More than 500 attended. The conference theme was “Family Preparedness.” Topics included legal aspects of the defense program as they affect marriage and the home; problems of American youth and national defense; economic aspects of national defense; economic aspects of national preparedness; and education for marriage and family life as a means of strengthening national security in the community, the high school, and […]
Leadership in 1941
During Ernest R. Groves’s tenure as NCFR President, membership increased, the deficit was liquidated, and dues were increased and, under Ernest Burgess’s editorship, the journal Living would receive a new name and thrust. The following biography of Ernest R. Groves is adapted from the archives of North Dakota State University: Ernest Rutherford Groves was born May 6, 1877 in Framingham, Massachusetts to Henry Hunt and Hannah Sweard Groves. He received his B.D. from Yale Divinity School in 1901 and his A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1903. Professor Groves later received honorary doctorate degrees from Florida Southern College in 1942 and from Boston University in […]
Recent Comments in this Document
June 7, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Sure, no problem
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June 7, 2016 at 2:45 pm
I wondered if I could use this for a project in my Chicano Studies class at ASU. The project will be put up in an exhibit display and possibly travel around to schools. Please let me know.
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November 12, 2013 at 10:20 am
Also worth a mention: John Gottman gave a Research Update for Practitioners on his marital research, which was well attended.
By the way, the name is “Celine Le Bourdais.”
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August 21, 2013 at 11:47 am
Dennis,
Enjoyed the story. And, what a lucky break for me that you did make this decision. Hope all is well.
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August 15, 2013 at 9:19 am
The 1980 Portland Conference was 12 days after Mt. St. Helen had erupted. There was lots of ash around all over, and I still have a bottle of that ash. That was the year we had an afternoon trip to near Mt. St. Helen’s planned, and still took the trip. On the way up the bus stopped at Crown Point which was typically one of the windiest spots around. The wind was so strong that it blew the name badges out of the plastic holders. It also blew Ruth Jewson, Helen Hartness, and me on top of each other (which was scary for us with Ruth, but she wasn’t hurt). The bus also stopped at Multnomah Falls which was stunning. That evening I played for Bert Adams to sing songs from some musicals. He did a magnificent job.
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August 13, 2013 at 1:24 pm
One of my first NCFR conferences was in Portland and I was still a doctoral student then, and a member of the Executive Committee of NCFR as the student rep. It was at that meeting that I was really thinking about my career and where I should go with it. I was a student in family sociology and my chair was Lee Axelson, then the President of NCFR. He wanted me to take a sociology position. But others suggested that my interests would be better served in Child and Family Development (then in Home Ec) where relationship issues would be easier to study. I did not know which way to go.
At that meeting we took a bus trip to the coast of Oregon for a “salmon bake” on the beach. I sat on the bus between Eleanor Luckey and Ruth Jewson. All the way over and back we talked about career directions and those two people who I respected so much listened to me, and gave me their counsel, experience, and wisdom. Eleanor noted that she had been trained in psychology but chose to go into child and family development since there were more peers there who could help her frame her ideas and help them mature. Ruth saw the emerging scholarship in CFD and the quality of research coming out. The result of that was my turning down sociology jobs and taking the CFD position at UNC-Greensboro, where John Scanzoni and others later joined me a a great department. And my first students there were Jay Mancini and Gary Bowen, who have become successful scholars in their own right.
So the memories of that NCFR in Portland so many years ago remind me of how important it is to continue to foster opportunities for young student scholars to meet with senior people who can give them other ideas, and perhaps bring perspectives that their own programs may not be able to offer. Keep mixing us all up, and recognize the key role you play in the stirring of the creative pots in this vital area of family research and practice.
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July 12, 2013 at 3:49 pm
These changes have been incorporated. Thanks for your feedback.
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July 11, 2013 at 8:52 am
Edits–
1. Please add that he was a professor for nearly 30 years
2. Also change “:marriage and family therapist” to “marriage and family researcher and therapist”
3. Prepare and Enrich should be all CAPS—PREPARE ENRICH
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July 8, 2013 at 4:16 pm
That terminology has been corrected. Thanks Marilyn.
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July 8, 2013 at 4:13 pm
In 1988-89, I was Association of Councils president-elect. In 1989-90, I was president. There was no vice president. Other officers were program chair, secretary/treasurer, and past president. Both the president elect and the president served on the NCFR Board.
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