J. C. Clark Papers, 1893-1967

Predominant Dates: 1911-1956

The J. C. Clark Papers document Clark's 40-year career with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in the United States and in China as Boy's Division Secretary and World Brotherhood Secretary. The papers also document elements of his personal life, including his marriage to former OSU Dean of Home Economics Ava Milam.

Creators

ID: MSS ClarkJC

Extent: 0.7 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Jesse Claude Clark, known throughout his life as J. C., was born in Iowa. He attended Oregon Agricultural College, graduating in 1904. J. C. was a deeply religious man, which was reflected in his life's work. After graduation from OAC, he became the Boy's Work Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Boise, Idaho. Soon after, he joined the staff of the Young Men's Christian Association in Portland, Oregon. During his tenure in Portland, he established a boys' camp at Spirit Lake, and started and operated a home for working boys in the city. He married Julia Fuller, a 1906 graduate of Oregon Agricultural College, in 1907. He was assigned to the Shanghai, China branch of the YMCA in 1911 as the Boy's Division Secretary, and he moved there with his young family, including children Winston, Richard, and Emogene. In Shanghai, he oversaw a rapidly expanding set of services for Chinese boys and families. In addition to conducting the first ever camp for boys in China in 1913, he planned a building complex for boys' activities, which was finished in 1915. His Division became the largest in the world in 1914. Later he also became responsible for the Industrial Service of the Shanghai YMCA, and founded a Model Village for industrial workers at Pootung. J. C. and his family spent 12 years in Shanghai, and in the 1920s Clark accepted an appointment as the World Brotherhood Secretary of the National Council of the YMCA in the United States. Clark was elected to the honor society Phi Kappa Phi in 1928. Later, he became the General Secretary of the Seaman's Y in New York City. He retired from the YMCA in 1944, and became director of the American Baptist Assembly summer conference center in Green Lake, Wisconsin. His wife Julia died in 1951, when he retired completely. He returned to Oregon in 1952 and married Ava Milam after a brief courtship. J. C. and Ava traveled around the world during their short time together; JC died on August 26, 1956 after a brief illness.

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Statement on Description: This collection was fully processed in June 2016, and the Jesse C. and Ava Milam Clark Photographic Collection (P 152) was formally dissolved and integrated with this collection and the Ava Milam Clark Papers at that time.

Preferred Citation: J. C. Clark Papers (MSS ClarkJC), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: These materials were separated from the Ava Milam Clark Papers in 2016. They were originally acquired through her estate in 1975.

Languages of Materials

English
Chinese

Other

Container List

Series 1: Religious Work, 1911-1967 Add to Shelf

Series 1 is comprised primarily of reports authored by Clark as Boys' Division Secretary at the Shanghai Young Men's Christian Association from 1911-1926. These detailed narrative reports include letters to individuals and to groups, which Clark calls "report letters." These document activities and developments within the organization and within the locale. Clark reports on the development of services for citizens, which include English classes, financial aid, religious services, employment and placement services, social activities, gym facilities, and public health campaigns covering sanitation, temperance, and prevention of tuberculosis and cholera. The reports also document the YMCA's establishment of day and evening schools for boys, the development of an apprentice school, citizenship courses, and the first Boy Scout troop in China, lead by Clark. Some reports include printed color ephemera such handouts and pamphlets for young boys. Other materials include publications from the YMCA in Shanghai, and a small amount of material related Clark's work with the American Baptist Assembly.

Box-Folder 1.1: YMCA reports and letters, 1911-1914 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.2: YMCA reports and letters, 1912-1914 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.3: YMCA Annual Report, 1915 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.4: YMCA reports and letters, 1915-1916 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.5: YMCA Annual Report, 1917-1918 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.6: YMCA reports and letters, 1917-1919 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.7: YMCA Annual Reports, 1918-1919 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.8: YMCA letters and reports, 1920-1922 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.9: YMCA letters and reports, 1921-1922 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.10: YMCA letters and reports, 1923-1924 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.11: YMCA letters and reports, 1925 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.12: YMCA letters and reports, 1926-1927 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.13: Articles by J. C. Clark, 1911-1952 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.14: Publications of Shanghai YMCA, 1914-1927 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.15: National YMCA reports, 1933, 1967 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.16: American Baptist Assembly, Green Lake, Wisconsin, 1933-1963 Add to Shelf

Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-1956 Add to Shelf

Series 2: Correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing letters, especially related to Clark's retirement from the YMCA in 1944 and from the American Baptist Assembly in 1952. Correspondence with family members and friends trading news and advice appear throughout the series. Of particular note is a file of letters (folder 2.4) regarding Clark's interest in spiritualism and the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship late in his life.

Box-Folder 2.1: Correspondence, 1944 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.2: Correspondence, 1951-1952 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.3: Correspondence, 1954-1956 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.4: Correspondence, 1954-1956 Add to Shelf

Series 3: Personal Materials, 1893-1956 Add to Shelf

Series 3 consists of a textbook used by Clark while attending Oregon Agricultural College, several address and appointment books, and multiple photographs of Clark, his friends, and his family.

Box-Folder 2.5: Harmony of the Gospels, 1893 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.6: Address and date books, 1923-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.7: Phi Kappa Phi materials, 1928 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.8: Photographs, circa 1900-1954 Add to Shelf: Includes P152:1, P152:2, P152:3, P152:4, P152:5, P152:6, P152:7
Box-Folder 2.9: Obituaries, 1956-1957 Add to Shelf

People, Places, and Topics

Forms of Material

Related Materials

J. C. Clark with colleagues at Shanghai YMCA

Information and Credits