Records of Midlife: Options for Women, 1981-1999

The collection documents Midlife's forums and other activities. It includes by-laws and articles of organization, minutes, financial information, registration cards, membership and mailing lists, correspondence, program planning materials, audio and videotapes, photographs, and newsletters.

Most of the folder headings were created by the processor; Midlife's headings, when used, appear in quotation marks. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as parts of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back by an asterisk in square brackets [*]. A number of membership forms and registration cards containing only generic information were weeded from the collection. (Those membership forms which include members' programming interests were retained.)

Series I, HISTORY AND POLICY, 1981-1999, n.d. (#1.1-3.22, F+D.1-F+D.2, T-333.1), is divided into four subseries, described below. With the exception of Subseries B, they are arranged chronologically.

Subseries A, Policy, 1981-1998, n.d. (#1.1-1.11, T-333.1), includes Midlife's articles of organization and by-laws, as well as publicity on Midlife's early years and an information sheet describing the organization's purpose and activities. For correspondence about Midlife's incorporation, see #9.20 and 9.27. Also included are documents regarding Midlife's dissolution and members' reactions to the organization's demise.

Subseries B, Minutes, 1985-1998 (#1.12-1.17), consists primarily of board meeting minutes, but also includes minutes and reports for annual and policy meetings, as well as the minutes of a retreat held in 1993. Topics include the professional training and areas of expertise of founding members, possible collaborations with other women's groups, early planning and goals, development of special sessions and groups, program planning, evaluations of Midlife's past and present programming, and the possibility of Midlfe's merging with another organization. The annual meeting minutes provide an overview of Midlife's activities from 1991 to 1994, which included a brown bag lunch focusing on reactions to the 1991 Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings. Policy meeting minutes include discussion of whether Midlife should sponsor a conference; this discussion led to Midlife's annual forums. The subseries is arranged with board meeting minutes appearing first.

Subseries C, Financial, 1986-1999, n.d. (#1.18-3.2, F+D.1-F+D.2), consists of budget information, check registers, tax records, and itemized expense reports.

Subseries D, Office administration, 1985-1998, n.d. (#3.3-3.22), includes Midlife's phone log and information on the lease of Midlife's office space and other administrative matters, including some resource files and contacts. (The bulk of the phone log concerns requests for information about Midlife; some requests for workshops on specific topics, and offers to assist the organization in various ways, are also included.)

Series II, MEMBERSHIP, 1986-1998, n.d. (#3.23-5.6), consists primarily of mailing and membership lists. Some information on issues in which members were interested, ranging from empty nest syndrome to women's health to alternative lifestyles after 70, is included, as well as surveys and evaluations conducted by Midlife to ascertain the success of its programming and goals. The series is arranged with evaluations, surveys, and membership forms noting members' interests appearing first, followed by membership and mailing lists.

Series III, PROGRAMS, 1983-1998, n.d. (#5.7-9.18, Vt-142.1-Vt-142.3), consists of the two subseries described below.

Subseries A, Forums, 1986-1996, n.d. (#5.7-8.23, Vt-142.1), documents the day-long events Midlife held between 1989 and 1996. (No forums were held in 1994 or 1995.) Topics include health care, managing finances, and self-esteem. Included are planning materials, expenses, evaluations, programs and registration forms, lists of registrants, and information on speakers and individual sessions. The subseries is arranged with information on individual forums appearing first, followed by general forum planning files.

Subseries B, Other programs, 1983-1998, n.d. (#8.24-9.18, Vt-142.2-Vt-142.3), documents Midlife's brown bag lunch program, workshops on topics such as financial planning, and interest groups focusing on special issues, such as menopause. This subseries is arranged chronologically.

Series IV, CORRESPONDENCE, 1982-1998, n.d. (#9.19-9.27), includes requests for information about Midlfe; letters and resumes from women suggesting programs and offering their services to Midlife; letters asking if Midlife had centers in other parts of the country; correspondence regarding Midlife's administration; and letters and poems by Janice Gail Knowlton, author of Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer. In many letters, women express their happiness at learning that a group like Midlife exists, and report difficulties and frustrations encountered since reaching middle age. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series V, NEWSLETTERS, 1986-1998, n.d. (#9.28-10.2), consists of issues of Midlife's newsletter, which was published three times a year and included an advice column, a "Connections" page, which listed meeting times and topics for Midlife's various groups, book and movie reviews, short pieces by new board members, articles about the forums, poems, and other short articles. Some background material is also included in the series. A master set of newsletters is closed to research (#10.1-10.2); the run is incomplete. To use Midlife's newsletter, researchers should consult Schlesinger Library periodicals.

Series VI, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1991-1994, n.d. (#PD.1-PD.7), consists of images of Midlife's founders and board members, as well as forum speakers and participants, and other individuals associated with Midlife.