Gold Star Veterans - Charlotte YMCA

Dedicated to the memory of Mecklenburg County, NC Veterans who died during World War II.

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) History

The Charlotte Y.M.C.A. was founded on November 11, 1874 with 23 members:

Rev. A. Shorter Caldwell
Thomas W. Andrews
William H. Phillips
Rev. W. M. Hunter
R. M. Crawford
R. A. Littlejohn
J. A. Hunnycutt
Paul F. Eagle
D. H. Anderson
L. R. Wriston
Charles A. Rigler
S. D. Smith

J. C. Smith
C. J. Chunn
J. D. Bundy
M. L. Smith
C. H. Overman
W. C. Petty
L. L. Sarratt
S. B. Tanner
D. A. Johnston
W. M. Barnett
Rev. P. J. Carraway

After 12 years in rented space, the organization began a building fund, and the completed structure was its home for 20 years. As Charlotte's population grew, so did the membership in the Y. M. C. A. Sale of this building and donations from Charlotte's citizens provided funds for a new facility at 330 S. Tryon St., pictured above. The colored branch of the Y. M.C. A., located at 416 E. Second St., was founded in 1936. Leadership for that branch was furnished by Johnson C. Smith University students.

The first twelve presidents of the Y. M. C. A. were:

Rev. A. Shorter Caldwell	11-11-1874 to 6-1-1875
R. N. Littlejohn	6-1875 to 12-1875
Rev. W. M. Hunter	12-1875 to 6-1876
Prof. George B. Hanna	6-1876 to 5-20-1906
J. A. Durham	5-20-1906 to 1-11-1907
Robert Glasgow, Jr.	1-11-1907 to 2-21-1919
D. H. Anderson	2-21-1919 to 2-1-1923
Peter S. Gilchrist	2-20-1923 to 1-21-1936
Francis D. Clarkson	1-27-1936 to 1942
Frank Dowd	1942 to 1945
Edwin l. Jones	1946 to 1947
James J. Harris	1947

Professor George Hanna died in office, and the Hanna Hall of the association building was named after him. He had led the Charlotte Y. M.C. A. for almost 30 years and was nationally prominent as the founder of the American Young Men's Christian Association movement.

By 1924, the "Y" as it is commonly known, was the largest club of men in the city and had about 1,600 members. It was also one of the most equipped Y. M. C. A. 's in the country. It had been added on to twice to provide a total of 107 rooms to rent to young men. These rooms were usually taken as soon as they were available. One of the Y's missions "was to provide a home for young men where they would be surrounded by Christian influences and a pleasing environment that is conductive to clean living."

Every year a "Come Clean In Character" program was sponsored throughout the schools. The local Y. M. C. A. was also the headquarters of the Charlotte Ministerial Association and the weekly meeting place of the Christian Men's Club. Other programs that they provided for the community before World War II were Gra-Y, Hi-Y, the Foreign Work department, the Physical Education department, night school and adult education, the health clubs, the fatherless boys' banquet, and the young boys work.

Besides the normal programs and activities that are functions of Y. M. C. A. programs, several staff and members began an extraordinary project to create files for these local World War II veterans that made the supreme sacrifice. Mr. Lex Kluttz, Dr. Herbert Spaugh and the public relations committee, Mr. Neill Whitlock, Mr. J. Laurence Jones, Jr., L. H. Griffith, James Purnell, Parks McConnell, Dr. Tom Nesbet, William Archer, Alex Josephs, Francis Fairley, and Bob McManeus were representatives from the Y. M. C. A. that were part of the original planning team that met in August of 1946 to organize what became the Y. M. C. A. Memorial Records Committee.

Work on the files began on December 7, 1946. The files, when completed, were to be placed in the Y. M. C. A. Today the veteran's files are kept in the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room in the Main Library in Charlotte, NC. They are the compilation of hours of research, phone calls, organizational meetings, and mailings by many people from different organizations over the past 54 years.

Adapted from an article by Jean Hendrix in The Charlotte Observer on 1-14-1940, an article from The Charlotte Observer on 8-29-1946 and information from current Y.M.C.A. staff.