The Woman’s Educational Society was founded in 1889 by Mary Slocum, wife of Colorado College president William Slocum. It funds scholarships to eligible CC students.
 
History of the records: the WES may have placed its records in the CC library from the very start (1889). Dorothy Bryson’s 1974 history of the WES, A Goodly Heritage, states that the records were in the library at the time of the book’s publication. Barbara Arnest’s A Quiet Work, published 1990, states that the WES archives were “recently” reorganized by Jean Armstrong Jones with the assistance of Marjory R. Abbott. In general, we have followed WES’s method of organization, often retaining original folders and labels. In 2023, Curator Jessy Randall transferred the collection from the CC Archives (formerly boxes 308-334) to Special Collections Manuscripts.

Inventory

Box 1: Pre-WES, 1870s: Colorado Centennial College Association minutes, cashbook, correspondence; framed portraits of Mrs. Douglas Ely and Eliza Tupper Wilkes.

Box 2: Minutes, Reports, and more, 1889-1980s
Minutes of the monthly board meetings with attached reports, annual reports of the president, reports of the treasurer, finance committee, membership committee, program committee, nominating committee, and special reports, annual lists of scholarship and student aid recipients. 1889-2004 are bound volumes; after 2004, pages are unbound.

Box 3: Minutes, Reports, and more, 1980s-2020
2013-2014 folder includes “Information about Former Scholars” and “discussion of male scholars.”

Box 4: Minutes, Reports, and more, 2020-ongoing (most recent addition 2022)

Box 5: Financial records: general (1890-ongoing)
Account books, Treasurer’s reports, scholarship information, Finance Committee minutes, undated “investment policy.”

Box 6: Financial records: trusts (1889-ongoing)
Incorporation and tax status (1889); WES revocable and irrevocable trusts (1963); Margaret H. Cook (1963), Sadie E. Hinch (1965), Rosemae Campbell (2010), Anne C. Cross (2014), Marianne Stoller (2016), Anne J. Stone (2017)

Box 7: Scholarships (1893-ongoing)
Loans, bequests, gifts, Scholars’ Tea, policies and procedures, scholars’ thank-you notes, lists of scholar names (includes alumni questionnaire), Scholarship Committee reports

Box 8:
Constitutions and By-Laws (1889-ongoing)
Correspondence (1897-ongoing)
Board of Managers manuals (1983, 1988, 2003)

Box 9: Publications (1890-ongoing)
Booklets and pamphlets: Mary Slocum addresses (1890, 1895-1897), short histories of WES, Dorothy Bryson’s Our Goodly Heritage (1974 and 1984 versions), Montgomery Hall Founding Project (1989, includes member and scholar lists), Centennial Year Directory (1989), Erin Bad Hand’s And Then Everyone Can Rest (poetry by WES scholar class of 2002), more.
Newsletter: Life on this CC Campus (1958-1959), Newsfocus (1972-2020) Inside Look (2021-ongoing)
Annual Report (2008-2021)

Box 10: Membership, Board, and Committee lists (1889-ongoing)
Note: the Centennial Year Directory 1889-1989 includes Past Presidents 1923-2008 and WES Scholars 1921-1992.

Box 11: Events (1889-ongoing)
Announcements, invitations, programs, menus for luncheons and teas

Box 12: Fundraising projects (general, 1889-ongoing)
Ticknor Hall (1889), Marie Sahm Memorial Art Lecture Fund (1926), Library (1960s-70s, led to formation of Friends of Tutt Library), Finance Forum (1964), Diamond Jubilee (1964), Centennial Celebration (1989), Shove Chapel lighting (1990s), Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival (2010s)  

Box 13: Fundraising project: Van Briggle tours (1990s-ongoing)
Brochures, fliers, background information, planning, clippings, 2016 documentary DVD

Box 14: Photos and objects
Photographs from WES teas, luncheons, picnics, etc., 1998-ongoing (some on CD)
William Jackson Palmer Founders Society, October 12, 2002
Sample stationery and envelopes, ca. 1990s?
Objects: images of WES plaques on the CC campus; seal; key to Colorado College; ribbon from Colorado Room dedication

Box 15: Barbara Arnest’s notebooks, research materials, photographs, and galleys for A Quiet Work: One Hundred Years of the WES (1990). Includes a file on Mary Slocum.

SCRAPBOOKS
Box 16: Loose scrapbook materials, 1942-1950, 1964 (75th Anniversary Tea), 1950s-2000
Box 17: Scrapbooks 1932-1957 and 1957-1962
Box 18: Scrapbooks 1959-1978 and 1979-1989
Box 19: Scrapbook, 2013-2014