Women's Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors Records
name: label: Creator
content: Women's Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors
topic: label: Topic
content: Public health
label: Topic
content: Heating and ventilating
label: Topic
content: Heating
label: Topic
content: Plumbing
label: Topic
content: Trade associations
label: Topic
content: Sanitation
label: Topic
content: Women
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors National Auxiliary, through Sandy Stack, President on February 20, 2012.
creator: label: Creator
content: Women's Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors
setName: label: See more items in
content: Women's Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection documents the activities of the Women's Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors through financial materials, photographs, convention and scrapbook materials.
accruals: label: Accruals
content: Additional materials were donated by the Women's Auxiliary, Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors (PHCC), though Patricia Blank (2014); Lynne Finely (2014); and Jan Dugger (2015 and 2016).
bioghist: label: Historical
content: NAPHCC was originally called the National Association of Master Plumbers (NAMP).  In 1953 it became the National Association of Plumbing Contractors; in 1963 it became the National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors (NAPHCC).  In the years before the organization was started and during its early years, most plumbers were self-employed individuals rather than employees of larger contracting companies.  Their wives were likely to be involved in the business.  Often wives answered inquiries, kept the books, made appointments, and performed other duties in addition to their own domestic tasks.  

NAMP was founded in 1882 to promote the interests of plumbers who considered themselves "true craftsmen" at a time of rapid transition from outdoor to indoor plumbing and of major technological improvements in residential and commercial buildings.  These master plumbers tended to be specialists in metal work or gas fitting.  They saw their mission as ensuring a safe and sanitary public plumbing system, and this remains their mission.  They also promoted what was termed "trade protection" and opposed the sale of plumbing materials to anyone other than master plumbers. They foresaw, accurately, a time when there would be stringent governmental regulations on public sanitation facilities. 

NAMP's Women's Auxiliary was founded at the 1919 NAMP convention by Emily Hornbrook (b. 1857).  A year later the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving American women the right to vote. However, this auxiliary was not allowed to use the name and seal of the Association until 1921.  In these early years, the Auxiliary was involved in scholarships for the children of members, raising the profile of the plumbing profession, discovering ways to help their husbands' businesses, and advocating for better public sanitation.  

Over time the Auxiliary's activities expanded, and these activities are extremely well documented in the scrapbooks in the collection.  For example, in response to the increasing governmental regulation of public sanitation, the Auxiliary formed a very active Sanitation Committee.  In 1938, Anna Corcoran, the Chair of this committee, reported, "The Sanitation Program has become a march of progress for the Auxiliary…The women are now demanding, and in some cases getting, clean and sanitary restrooms, lavatory and toilet facilities in public theaters, restaurants, stores, parks and filling stations."  They worked with Texaco to set standards of sanitation in their gas station restrooms.  Texaco used these changes to their benefit in their ad campaigns, and other oil companies followed suit.  During the World War II years, the Auxiliary promoted educational efforts to spread the word about the transmission of water-borne diseases including polio, typhoid, TB, and diphtheria, and advocated for the need for proper sanitary systems to reduce the incidence of diseases.  In the decades that followed, the Auxiliary was active in promoting such issues as water pollution, labor practices (such as the Family Medical Leave Act), civil rights, pipeline safety, fuel economy standards, conservation, and recycling.  They continued to fund scholarships for the education of the children of members, and they also had a loan program for members in need.  

The mission of the Auxiliary today is to work in partnership with the National Association and the industry through cooperation, communication, and education.  More specifically, its goals include promoting the industry to the public; drawing more young people into the industry through educational programs in an effort to address the shortage of people with these essential skills and filling a gap once filled by trade and vocational high schools; and protecting the nation's health through advocacy and grass roots efforts to improve public sanitation and the water supply.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 14 Cubic feet (37 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1919-2019
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1304
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Ledgers (account books)
label: Type
content: Proceedings
label: Type
content: Programs
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Newsclippings
label: Type
content: Newsletters
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into six series.

Series 1: Historical Background, 1919-2015

Series 2: Financial Materials, 1979-1999

Series 3: Convention Materials, 1934; 1940-2019

Series 4: Publications, 1953-2010

Series 5: Photographs, 1950s-2003

Series 6: Publicity, 1965; 1976; 1982
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Alison Oswald, 2016. Additional historical information provided by Cathy Keen, archivist, 2016.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Ledgers (account books)
label: Genre/Form
content: Proceedings
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsclippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of the organizational records of the Women's Auxiliary of the National Association of Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors. The materials include financial records; by-laws; charter books for state and local chapters and for committees; ledger books detailing financial expenditures convention proceedings, auxiliary newsletters, informational brochures, and convention programs; scrapbooks compiled by presidents, and photograph albums. The scrapbooks relate to convention activities and include photographs taken at conventions. The scrapbooks cover almost every year of the Auxiliary's existence.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Plumbing (AC0060)

Estelle Ellis Collection (AC0423)

Earl S. Tupper Papers (AC0470)

Priscilla of Boston Collection (AC0557)

Dorothy Shaver Collection (AC0631)

Stanley Home Products (AC0788)

Spokeswoman Magazine Printed Materials Collection (AC0931)