Ellen Swallow Richards: The Lake Placid Conferences
Home economics and family and consumer sciences grew out of a series of annual conferences held between 1899 and 1909, known as the Lake Placid Conferences. The first annual Lake Placid Conference was held at Mr. and Mrs. Melvile Dewey’s retreat in the Adirondack Mountains, which would become the historic venue for the conference. The conference began with 11 people in attendance including Mr. and Mrs. Melvile Dewey, Martha Van Rensselaer, Isabel Bevier, and Ellen Swallow Richards as the group’s first chairperson. Conference attendees were in the vanguard of a growing movement towards social change.
The objective of the first conference was to discuss ways to alleviate conditions in the home and lessen the struggles associated with family life in American society at that time. They also directed their attention to the selection of a name for this new field of education, the preparation of women for leadership in this field, and the classification of home economics literature. This small gathering of men and women who met at the Lake Placid Club in 1899 expanded to 30 members at their second meeting in July 1900.
Ellen (front, center) and her contemporaries at Lake Placid. She is joined by Annie Dewey at left, Alice Ravenell on right. The women second from left and far right are unidentified.
The 10th Lake Placid Conference was held at Chautauqua, New York, in July 1908. One of the major accomplishments of this conference was planning for a national home economics organization. Recommendations were made for the creation of a national organization, for home economics groups to be started in different states to promote rapid growth of the new organization, for members to pay annual dues to the organization, that a journal be published, and that a name national in character be chosen for the new organization.
The culmination of these conferences was the formation of the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), founded on January 1, 1909. Each year, the interest in the Lake Placid Conference grew as indicated by the number of attendees. By the 10th conference in 1908, membership had grown to 201, with 74 attending the conference. Each conference examined a new set of issues (that we now consider family and consumer sciences) to be discussed on all levels. It is remarkable that the founders recognized so early the need for an educational and scientific association as a necessary component in formalizing the profession. They also recognized what science might do for the housewife in making both her work easier and more efficient.
Current boathouse restaurant at Lake Placid near the previous site of the Lake Placid Club and the original boathouse.
In October 2009, the New York Affiliate of AAFCS will host their annual meeting at Lake Placid with a centennial celebration near the site of the initial meeting more than 100 years ago. It will be exciting to relive the wonder and enthusiasm of those first pioneers of our profession. Attendees will be able to capture the essence of why Lake Placid was the perfect place to give birth to a discipline that has been so enduring. If you are interested in attending, please contact Shirley Ware at sware@nscsd.org.
Material for this article was edited from a paper by graduate student Erin Mathews