A hundred years ago as Indiana emerged from a pandemic and women stumped for the right to vote, Gary’s first lady Cassie Hodges and Laura Seaman took an unconventional trip to New York.
The wife of Gary’s third mayor, Republican William F. Hodges, set forth on a mission to wrangle money out Elbert H. Gary to build a YWCA in the city named in his honor. Laura Seaman was the politically active wife of the Rev. William G. Seaman who led the construction of City Methodist Church, also with financing secured from Elbert Gary.
This week, the YWCA launched by Hodges and Seaman, is marking its 100th anniversary.
“She said women deserved something, too,” said Caren Jones, director of the YWCA of Northwest Indiana of Cassie Hodges. “She went and tried to raise money.”
By 1919, Elbert Gary had already bankrolled a YMCA with $250,000. Besides serving as a social center, it housed men who came to work in the mill.
Hodges and Seaman sought a measure of equality during the women’s suffrage era.
They managed to secure $100,000 in U.S. Steel stock for the YWCA building at 6th Avenue and Massachusetts Street in the heart of downtown. Instead of a new building, they got a former furniture store.
The renovated YWCA opened in 1922, serving women until 2000 when a fundraising campaign financed a new building at 150 W. 15th Ave.
Jones marvels at the success of Hodges and Seaman. “It’s the same YWCA that’s here today. The affiliation is the same. This board of directors stands on their shoulders and 100 years later, we’re still here.”
On Oct. 31, as the country wrestles with another pandemic, the YWCA is hosting a virtual “Mask-Querade” gala, livestreamed from Majestic Star Casino. The event, from noon to 2 p.m., will include live music, dancing, a silent auction, raffles and return down memory lane to pay homage to the organization’s history.
It’s co-hosted by Samantha Chatman of ABC 7 in Chicago and her father, deejay Sam Chatman of 95.1 FM Chicago Club Steppin.’
Jones said the YWCA hopes to raise $100,000 to finance building upgrades and programs.
The $100,000 raised by Hodges and Seaman would amount to about $1.3 million in today’s money, Jones said. “Those ladies were really ahead of their time. Back then, women had to fight for so much.
“Everything was just so difficult, they didn’t get a brand new building like the men did. Women couldn’t even go to the YMCA. Even then, women were second-class citizens.”
Along the way, other women kept the organization chugging along.
Jones cited two trailblazers – Cynthia Powers and Earline Rogers.
Back in their high school days in the 1950s and ’60s, each woman was a Y Teen, a group that offered support and social activities.
Powers remembers the sleep-ins the YWCA sponsored that drew girls from across the city during a period when schools were still segregated.
“It was our first opportunity to really experience fellowship and camaraderie in sharing leadership roles in an integrated environment,” Powers said. She said the outing left an impact on her when she went off to college at Indiana State University.
She and her husband, Mamon Powers Jr., soon became civic-minded leaders in Gary with Cynthia Powers overseeing Powers Realty Inc.
As YWCA leaders eyed plans for a new building, they turned to Cynthia and Mamon Powers to lead the ambitious fund-raising campaign. By then, the aging building on Massachusetts Street had a leaky roof and had begun to deteriorate.
Citing a heavy workload, her husband bowed out, but Cynthia Powers took on the challenge.
Within a few years, she raised more than $2 million. Powers credits former mayor Scott King for pledging more than $1 million in new casino money to the YWCA.
“We never ever could have opened those doors in 2000 without Scott King and the Gary City Council,” Powers said.
The new 25,000-square-foot building opened in December 2000 with a swimming pool and fitness center. Powers secured donations for most of the equipment.
Powers stayed on the board of directors and became its chairwoman.
She answered the call again this year, this time when an economy is fraught with uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic.
“When it came time to celebrate 100 years, my phone started ringing,” said Powers who’s once again fundraising chair for the latest campaign.
“I guess I’m good at begging,” she said. “We have a lot of people who understand the need to provide for young people and our aging community.”
She said it’s been easier for YMCAs to flourish, while YWCAs have become scarce across the country.
“We’re proud to still be here and still serving the community. Our indoor pool is the only swimming pool for the public in whole city of Gary – that tells you the need,” she said.
Former state senator Rogers, also a retired Gary teacher, was a Y Teen during her years at Gary Roosevelt.
“I always give credit to the YWCA for the path I took to becoming a teacher,” said Rogers. “I’ve always been there to try to support them in all their endeavors.”
Rogers, 85, has faithfully used the YWCA over the decades and praises its fitness programs for keeping her in good health.
“The older I get, the more I realize what a major role it has played in terms of my health. I always felt I owed the YWCA a lot.”
Gary has lost a lot of its luster over the decades and Rogers said the YWCA persevered.
“They touched the lives of women and had the opportunity to build another building,” she said.
Like most organizations, the Gary YWCA was closed by the pandemic. Its pre-pandemic membership was about 1,500, Jones said. Throughout the early pandemic days in March and April, the YWCA offered day care for essential workers. Now, kids are doing e-learning classes daily and the swimming pool has reopened.
“We’re still plodding along after all Cassie Hodges and Laura Seaman did to get it started. One hundred years later, we are still here. It’s still about empowerment of women,” said Jones.
If you watch:
YWCA of Northwest Indiana’s virtual Mask-Querade Gala is noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 31. For sponsorship information, contact 219-881-9922. Facebook Live will periodically broadcast the event. Registration required for the silent auction and raffles and to see most videos. Guests may register at http://bidpal.net/y100matters. Guests who don’t have a computer can text Y100Matters to 243725 for a link to the registration page.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
