Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Departmental Records
Collection
Identifier: Series-0079
The majority of the collection consists of documents but also includes photographs and publications. The documents in this series consist of correspondence of the YMCA secretary and routine operations of the YMCA. The material in the collection covers the period 1911-1975, with most of the collection dating from 1937 through the 1950s. The documents and photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject.
The bulk of the correspondence is that of P.B. Holtzendorff, Jr., General Secretary of the YMCA, 1916-1959.
Primary subjects include programs and speakers for evening Vespers, picture shows in the auditorium, trips to the Blue Ridge Assembly, advisory board meetings, construction of the YMCA building, and enlargement of the auditorium.
There are no restrictions on use and access.
Preston Brooks Holtzendorff, Jr. was born near Rome, Georgia, in 1894, a son of the late Preston B. Holtzendorff, Sr. and Mrs. Agnes Drake Holtzendorff. He completed a Bachelor of Law degree from University of Georgia in 1916 and served in the Army Air Corps during World War I. Holtzendorff was employed by Clemson College in June 1916 and served until January 1918 when he was called to report for military duty in Austin, Texas on February 2, 1918. He returned to Clemson in June 1919 as YMCA General Secretary and led the organization's activities until his retirement in 1959. Holtzendorff, known as "Holtzy", also served as Clemson's freshman football coach in the early 1920s and later as the college swimming coach. He died January 28, 1971, and is buried in Cemetery Hill
The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) organization at Clemson began in 1894, a year after the school opened. In 1913, Clemson President Walter M. Riggs received permission from the Board of Trustees to seek aid from John D. Rockefeller for a YMCA building on campus as a center for the organization's religious, recreational and social functions. Architect Rudolph E. Lee designed the building to be in the Italian Renaissance style of architecture and it was completed by January 1916. Some of the facilities included a gym for basketball and wrestling, a pool for swimming, and an auditorium for showing picture shows. The YMCA also sponsored Sunday evening Vesper Services, Evening Watch prayer groups and Bible discussion in the barracks and later the dormitories. In 1971, the University Board of Trustees voted to name the YMCA building for Preston Brooks Holtzendorff, Jr. (1894-1971) who served as General Secretary for over forty years.
The YMCA building continued to be a center of student recreation and social activities until the Edgar Brown Union was completed in 1972. The YMCA was affiliated with the Union until 1992 when it separated from Clemson University to become a community-based organization. [Inside Clemson, Vol. 1, No. 17, March 13, 1992]
2.35 Cubic Feet (consisting mainly of folders, 198 photographs, and oversize material.)
English
This series contains some of the material/records produced by the Young Men's Christian Association.
The following files were received from:
Accession 86-48 Hazel Lewis/Joe Wooten
Accession 97-153 unknown
Accession 01-150 unknown
Accession 02-25 unknown
Accession 02-36 Clemson Facilities, Maintenance and Planning
Accession 02-92 George Bennett
Linda Ferry, Archivist III; Student Assistant Megan Stires Processing began March 2003 and the finding aid was completed in June 2003.
The conversion of this finding aid to Encoded Archival Description format was made possible with a grant from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board in 2009-2010. The finding aid was prepared for encoding by Kristi Roberts.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository