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Austin Junior Forum Records
An Inventory of the Collection
Overview of the Collection
Creator: Austin Junior Forum
Title: Austin Junior Forum Records
Inclusive Dates: 1969-2011
Quantity: 4.5 linear feet
Abstract: The Austin Junior Forum is a womans volunteer and fundraising organization that
was founded in 1969 to promote civic, educational and philanthropic interests in Austin,
Texas. The Records include minutes, reports, financial records, event programs, publicity
materials, newsletters, yearbooks, membership information, news clippings, photographs,
legal documents, correspondence and printed materials.
Identification: AR 2013.028
Location: Archives Stacks, Outer Vault
Language: The records are in English.
Repository: Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe, PO Box 2287,
Austin, Texas, 78701.
Administrative History
The Austin Junior Forum (AJF) is a non-profit womens organization founded by 18 women
on March 28, 1969 to promote civic, educational and philanthropic interests in Austin, Texas.
The goals of the Austin Junior Forum include supporting women, children, and the elderly
through service and fundraising. The AJF is a chapter of Junior Forum, Inc. which to date has
9 chapters in other Texas cities, including Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. Junior Forum,
Inc. was founded in Houston in 1946. Each chapter of JFI is a private, non-profit service
organization.
Beginning in 1971 the AJF began two of their main endeavors: supporting the Texas Youth
Ranch and the Follies musical program. The Texas Youth Ranch is described by the AJF on
their website as a home for dependent and neglected boys. Between 1971 and 1978, the AJF
supported the Texas Youth Ranch through the contribution of funds amounting to more than
$125,000, and through mentorship programs and numerous service hours. The Follies
musical revue was also organized in order to raise funds for the Texas Youth Ranch. The AJF
began organizing the first Follies production in 1971 and the production premiered in 1972.
In 1977 the AJF began the annual Forum Fling, a western-themed buffet and dance with door
prizes, in order to raise additional funds. The Texas Youth Ranch was closed in 1978 as a
result of the changing climate in the courts, welfare agencies and state funding policies.
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
In 1978 the AJF purchased the historic Daniel H. Caswell House located at 1404 West
Avenue in downtown Austin. This Victorian-style home built in 1900 is on the National
Register of Historic Places and is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The house was
purchased from the City of Austin as part of a competitive bid. Details of the bidding can be
found in the minutes of the City Council, City of Austin, Texas, dated November 30, 1978,
found here: http://www.cityofaustin.org/edims/document.cfm?id=32464. The Minutes reflect
discussion by the Council of competing bids, a consideration of the AJFs use of the Caswell
House for the public benefit, and descriptions of statements made by AJF members and
supporters in support of the AJFs bid. While the city council awarded the home to AJF, the
women had to obtain the signatures of their husbands in order to secure a loan. AJF members
restored the house through many hours of labor, enlisting the help of their friends and family
as well as restoration professionals. The Caswell House has been used as the Austin Junior
Forums headquarters, the site for many of its fundraising and community activities, and a
venue for outside events. An image of the house appears on many of the AJFs printed
materials, serving as a kind of logo for the organization.
After the purchase of the Daniel H. Caswell House, the AJF turned to fundraising in order to
pay the mortgage and interior restoration fees. They settled on a plan to create a cookbook
from their own recipes. The development of this cookbook entailed three years of gathering
recipes, taste-testing the results, and producing the cookbooks themselves. The final product
was entitled, Lone Star Legacy, Bluebonnet Edition. Since the initial printing in 1981, over
200,000 copies of Lone Star Legacy have been sold. After only three years of cookbook sales
and marketing, the mortgage of the Caswell House had been paid in full. The AJF has
subsequently published two successor cookbooks, entitled The Lone Star Legacy II Indian
Paint Brush Edition, published in 1985, and Changing Thymes published in 1996.
The AJF began hosting a Christmas at the Caswell House event beginning in 1983. The event
is an annual holiday-themed merchant fair, featuring holiday dcor, ornaments, and foods.
Funds raised by Christmas at the Caswell House are used to provide grants to various
community groups focused on benefitting children and the elderly. Grant recipients since
2008 can be viewed at: https://www.austinjuniorforum.org/?nd=history_grants.
Much of the AJFs time and funds have been devoted to the support of other Austin charitable
and philanthropic organizations such as Kids on the Block, Volunteers for Vision, Reading is
Fundamental, Parents Anonymous, the Battered Womens Center, Capital Area Easter Seal
Rehabilitation, and Travis County Shelter of Infants and Children.
The service project Kids on the Block has been one of the AJFs longest-running service
commitments. This project was established in the mid 1980s as mainstreaming was adopted
in public schools. Kids on the Block was organized to inform and educate school age
children regarding disabilities and individual differences. The program eventually expanded
to cover topics such as drug and alcohol abuse, gang activity, and violence. This project is
currently active and continues to serve elementary children across Austin.
The AJF hosted the first Teddy Bear Picnic at the Caswell House in September 1986. This
program provides stuffed bears and Dalmatians to local public safety agencies to give to
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
children involved in traumatic events. Teddy Bear Program fundraising events have included
picnics, carnivals, outdoor concerts, 5K fun runs, celebrity bear silent auctions, and in 2013,
the Bikerz Bearz & Dogz Benefit Ride. The annual Bikerz Bearz & Dogz Benefit Ride is
held in the spring to fund the purchase of teddy bears for the Austin Police Department,
Travis County Sheriff's Office, and Austin-Travis County EMS, and stuffed Dalmatians for
the Austin Fire Department.
The AJF is an active organization as of the date of the report. Their website may be found at
https://www.austinjuniorforum.org. The website for the Caswell House may be found at
http://www.caswellhouse.org/.
Scope and Contents of the Records
The materials document the activities of the AJFs Board and officers during the period 1969-
2011, and include organizational documents, minutes of Board meetings, budgets, financial
reports, publicity planning materials, member books, event program guides, news clippings,
publicity materials, photographs, negatives, correspondence and other types of items related
to the fundraising, charitable, and organizational activities of the AJF.
The first series is Administrative Records (1971-2011). The Administrative Records are
include minutes and reports, event programs, legal materials, news clippings, member books,
and general administrative materials. Some of these records are organized by type, such as
event programs, minutes and reports, and member books, and then chronologically within
each type of record. The minutes and reports include Board and Board Committee minutes
and reports for many of the years spanned by the collection. The event programs include
Forum Follies Programs and Forum Fling Programs, the programs printed for the AJFs
annual gala fund raising dinners. The member books span the years 1969-2012. The member
books contain the AJF bylaws, event dates, names of Board and Committee members, and
other information of general interest to the membership. The member book records also
includes some general correspondence and member applications for one of the membership
year 2008-2009. The member book were published in small spiral bound booklets until
1969-1970, then in a larger year book format. General administrative materials in this series
are organized chronologically. The general administrative materials include correspondence
such as letters, party invitations and RSVPS, financial records, membership applications and
related forms and materials, publicity materials such as press releases and brochures, news
clippings, production notes for events, budgets, and a guest book. The general
administrative materials include two folders comprised exclusively of news clippings, but
news clippings are also found throughout the general administrative materials. The general
administrative materials include materials related the AJFs annual fundraiser held at the
Caswell house, such as invitations, publicity, news clippings, programs and other
administrative materials.
The second series is Cookbook Materials (1981-1999). These materials relate to the AJFs
publication of the cookbooks Lone Star Legacy, Lone Star Legacy II, and Changing Thymes.
This series includes publication notes, budgets, photographs included in the books, and other
administrative materials related to the publication and sale of the cookbooks.
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
The third series is Photographs (2008-2011). This series includes photographs of some AJF
members and various AJF events that were found on compact discs. The photographs have
not been printed but can be viewed in digital from by the public on a computer located in the
Austin History Centers reading room. Most of the event photographs can be identified with
a specific event, but the individuals in the photographs are generally not identified. This
series also includes photographs that were used in the published cookbooks and one
photograph of an entertainer who performed at an event.
The fourth series is Junior Forum International (1963-1996) and is comprised of documents
relating to the AJFs parent organization. This series includes records related to other
chapters of the Junior Forum International, such as the Baytown and Nacogdoches chapter.
Some of the records of the Austin Junior Forum that appear in this series are duplicates of
records appearing in General Administrative Records and Christmas at Caswell House series.
Arrangement of the Records
The collection is divided into four series:
Series I: Administrative Records
Series II: Cookbook
Series III: Junior Forum International
Series IV: Photographs
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Open to all Users
Restrictions on Use
The Austin History Center (AHC) is the owner of the physical materials in the AHC
collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses.
Written permission must be obtained from the AHC before any publication use. The AHC
does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases,
permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Consult repository for more details.
Related Material
Austin Files
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
AF Women-Societies and Clubs - Austin Junior Forum
AF House/Building; 1404 West Avenue/Caswell House Owned and operated by the
Austin Junior Forum
General Collection
A 367.976431 CH Christmas at Caswell House
A 367.976431 AU Austin Junior Forum
A 367.976431 FO Forum Fling, Austin Junior Forum (Tex.)
A 641.5 CH Changing Thymes: new traditions in Texas cooking
A 641.59764 LO Lone Star Legacy: a Texas cookbook
A 641.59764 LO AP Lone Star Legacy II: a Texas cookbook
A 728.0976431 PR A preservation master plan for the D.H. Caswell House, Bell,
Klein & Hoffman
A 7280976431 WU Feasibility study of restoring the Daniel H. Caswell House,
Wukasch and Associates
A 97640074 OWCA Dedication ceremonies for an historical marker for the Caswell
House, Friday afternoon, May 3
rd
, 1985, at 6:00 oclock, 1404 West Avenue, Austin
Texas, Owens, James Mulkey
A 976.431 NA The National register of historic places, Greenberg, Ronald N.
Other
Austin History Center, Mrs. Wayman Adams inkwell collection from the Burleson
Collection 1969 2012 on permanent loan to Austin Junior Forum from the Heritage
Society
November 30, 1978 Minutes of the Austin City Council meeting p.15-18: bidding for
Daniel H. Caswell House by Austin Junior Forum and other bidders; found at
http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=32464 on April 25, 2014
November 30, 1978 Minutes of the Austin City Council meeting (Resolution); found
at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/edims/document.cfm?id=35946 on April 25, 2014
Separated Materials
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
Austin Junior Forum Newsletters, 1980 - 1998 removed to Periodicals Collection.
Index Terms
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Organizations:
Junior Forum, Inc.
Texas Federation of Womens Clubs.
Texas Youth Ranch
Subjects:
Women-Societies and Clubs.
Caswell (Daniel H.) House.
Historic Buildings in Texas Austin.
Historical Markers Texas Austin.
Fund raising Texas Austin.
Austin Junior Forum (Tex.) Christmas.
Historic buildings Texas Austin Conservation and restoration.
Architecture Texas Austin Conservation and restoration.
Places: Austin, (Tex.)
Document Types:
Minutes
Reports
Correspondence
Photographs
Legal Documents
Printed Material
Financial Records
Titles:
Lone Star Legacy: a Texas cookbook.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation: Austin Junior Forum Records (AR.2013.028) Austin History Center,
Austin Public Library, Texas.
Acquisition Information:
Donor #: Austin Junior Forum
Donation Date: August 25, 2013
Processing Information:
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
Final Processing and Finding Aid By/Date: Sarah Kainth, Alice King, Benjamin Philbrook,
April 30, 2014
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Administrative records, 1971-2011
Box # Folder #
1 1 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1983-1984
1 2 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1985-1986
1 3 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1987-1988
1 4 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1988-1989
1 5 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1989-1990
1 6 Christmas at Caswell House General
Administrative Materials
1997-2011
2 1 Forum Follies Programs 1972-1973
2 2 Forum Follies Programs 1974-1975
2 3 Forum Follies Program 1976
2 4 Forum Follies Program 1978
2 5 Forum Follies Program 1980
2 6 Forum Fling Program 1979
2 7 Forum Fling Program 1983
2 8 Forum Fling Program 1984
2 9 Forum Fling Program 1987
2 10 Forum Fling Program 1988
2 11 Forum Fling Program 1989
2 12 Forum Fling Program 1990
2 13 Forum Fling Program 1991
3 1 General Administrative Materials 1976-1977
3 2 General Administrative Materials 1977-1978
3 3 General Administrative Materials 1978-1979
3 4 General Administrative Materials 1979-1980
3 5 General Administrative Materials 1980-1981
3 6 General Administrative Materials 1981-1982
3 7 General Administrative Materials 1982-1983
3 8 General Administrative Materials 1983-1984
3 9 General Administrative Materials 1984-1985
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
Box # Folder #
3 10 General Administrative Materials 1985-1986 (1 of 2)
3 11 General Administrative Materials 1985-1986 (2 0f 2)
3 12 General Administrative Materials 1989-1990
13 General Administrative Materials 1994-1995
14 General Administrative Materials 1997-1998
15 General Administrative Materials 1998-1999
4 1 General Administrative Materials 2002
4 2 General Administrative Materials 2003-2004
4 3 General Administrative Materials 2005-2006
4 4 General Administrative Materials 2006-2007
4 5 General Administrative Materials 2009-2010
4 6 General Administrative Materials 2010-2011
4 7 Member Books (booklets) 1969-1975
4 8 Member Books (booklets) 1975-1985
5 1 Member Books (booklets) 1990-1993
5 2 Member Books (booklets) 1997-2000
5 3 Member Books (Yearbooks) 2006-2010
5 4 Member Books (Yearbooks) 2009-2011
5 5 Member Books (Yearbooks) 2011-2012
5 6 Member Books Correspondence and Member
Applications
2008-2009
6 1 Minutes 1987-1988
6 2 Minutes 1993-1994
6 3 Minutes 1994-1995
6 4 Minutes 1999-2000
6 5 Minutes 2004-2005, 2005-
2006
6 6 Minutes and Reports 1971-1972
6 7 Minutes and Reports 1972-1973
6 8 Minutes and Reports 1973-1974
6 9 Minutes and Reports 1974-1975
6 10 Minutes and Reports 1975-1976
6 11 Minutes and Reports 1983-1984
6 12 Minutes & Correspondence 1996-1997
6 13 Report of Jill Turlington (President) 1983-1984
6 14 Guestbook 1980-1985
6 15 Steinway Materials 1983
7 1 Member Binder 2004-2005
7 2 Member Binder (Nancy Rice) 2005-2007
7 3 Member Binder (1 of 3) 2008-2009
7 4 Member Binder (2 of 3) 2008-2009
5 Member Binder (3 of 3)
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum
Cookbooks, 1981-1989
Box # Folder #
7 6 General Administrative Materials 1981-1999
Photographs 1981 2011
Location
Ndrive Event Photographs and Member Pictures 2002-2011
Junior Forum International, 1963-1996
Box # Folder #
7 7 General Administrative Materials 1963-1996
Call number: AR.2013.AR
Title: Austin Junior Forum