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Secretary's Records (including Detroit Young Men), 1877-1975
The Secretary's Records (including Detroit Young Men) (1877-1975) series comprises over two linear feet of materials and primarily consists of the minutes of the executive board of the Metropolitan Offices of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit from 1921 to 1975. The materials created before 1921 consist of the minutes of the Railroad branch from 1877 to 1890, the minutes of the downtown branch of the Detroit YMCA from 1890 to 1909, and the publication, Detroit Young Men, for the years 1911 to 1922. These earlier records are treated as the official minutes and historical record by the present Metropolitan Offices of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, so they are included in this series. These Secretary's records provide an excellent week-by-week insight into the operations of the Detroit YMCA beginning in the early 1890s. They also serve to illuminate the changing faces of the city of Detroit. Of special interest are the minutes describing the closing of the St. Antoine branch of the YMCA. This branch had served as the "colored Y" from its inception in 1919, but changing attitudes, limited funds, and urban renewal prompted its closing in 1960. The Bentley Historical Library has copies of the Secretary's records after 1921, the originals are retained by the Metropolitan Offices of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit.