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| OHS Girl Reserve Passes On Values |
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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Grady Atwater | |||
| Wednesday, 15 July 2009 08:00 | |||
The Osawatomie High School Girl Reserve was the high school branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association, and the 1926 Osawatomie High School annual, “The Excursion,” reported that the organization’s mission was to teach young women “to face the daily tests, which come at home, in school, at work, at play, to be a friend to all and strive to show Christ’s love in every little deed; to give the best of self in service to God and in fellowship with girls everywhere, are golden threads woven through the fabric of which a girl reserve fashions her thoughts and actions.” Officers and the faculty advisor of the organization who worked to achieve these spiritual and social goals were Inez Belle Kelsey, president; Nadine Demastus, treasurer; Velma Weber, secretary, and Miss McLeod, advisor and Mae Mount, membership chairman. Thelma Fee was the conference chairman; Nadine Rohrer, publicity; Evelyn Scott, social service; Blessing Casto, program; and Bernice Dietz, social. The Girl Reserves had 65 members in 1926, and sent 16 delegates to the midwinter district conference held in Ottawa that year. The Excursion reported that, “The Girl Reserves have tried to live up to the symbols of the blue triangle, the base of which is spirit, and the sides knowledge and health. In doing this the social side played a part. A kid party was held by the losers of the contest for membership between the Yankees and the Giants, the permanent board members gave a Christmas and a Valentine party.” The 1920s is nicknamed the “The Roaring Twenties” with the image that the decade was an era of nonstop partying and excess. The reality of the 1920s for most Americans and Osawatomie citizens was quite different. True, technology surged forward and the automobile had begun to replace the horse and wagon on Osawatomie’s streets. Radios also began to fill Osawatomie’s homes with broadcasts from Kansas City and points beyond, and a host of other technological advancements were improving the lives of Osawatomie’s citizens. However, the strong Christian faith that Osawatomie’s pioneers brought to Osawatomie remained. Sixty-five girls joined the Girls Reserve of the Young Women’s Christian Association and worked to build their spiritual, educational and social lives in the light of the Christian faith, which was the norm for most Americans and Osawatomie citizens during the 1920s. One of the primary foundations of Osawatomie’s pioneers and their descendents was their faith. Osawatomie’s founders passed their deep Christian faith onto the generation that continued to build up the community in the 1920s, and the girls of the Osawatomie High School Girl Reserve of the Young Women’s Christian Association taught their families their Christian faith, helping the spiritual life of Osawatomie to grow during the 1920s. Osawatomie’s current citizens are the inheritors of their devotion to spiritual values, and the town’s churches and citizens benefit spiritually from their devotion to God in the 1920s.
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