With this resolution, the Massachusetts State Federation of Women's Clubs urged Congress to defeat the Raker Bill, a bill to grant San Francisco the right to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley. In 1913, women's clubs from across the country voiced their desire to protect nature and build a stronger National Park system for the sake of both moral and physical health. The Massachusetts State Federation of Women's Clubs here argued that both women and men found health and inspiration in the beauty of the Valley. Although not using strict preservationist arguments, the Federation stressed that with more hotels and better transportation, the Valley could be enjoyed by more citizens. According to their resolution, San Francisco had no need to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley and its damming would be an irrevocable sacrifice by the whole nation.
When Congress first began debating whether to grant San Francisco the Hetch Hetchy Valley in December 1908, women’s clubs provided some of the strongest opposition. Tied to women’s larger effort to extend their traditional “housekeeping” role into the public sector, resolutions like this one from the Graffort Women’s Club of Portsmouth argued that the Hetch Hetchy Valley belonged to all people as a public playground. The General Federation of Women’s Clubs drafted the language for this petition, and dozens of affiliated clubs submitted their own versions.
Shows Mount Rainier in the background. Text on verso of image: "An unforseen incident concluding in a summertime tobaggan slide in Paradise Valley, Rainier National Park"
While most women's clubs who petitioned Congress argued against the damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley, San Francisco residents stood largely in support of the dam. In their telegram to Congress, the Executive Board of the San Francisco District of the California Women's Clubs urged the Senate to vote for the Raker Bill, a bill to grant San Francisco the right to dam the Valley. Women activists in the Progressive Era often appealed to the special concerns of their gender. In this example, the Federation argued that women faced the water crises daily.
Painting by Elvira Hutchings, wife of James Hutchings. The Hutchings owned and operated one of the earliest hotels to welcome and guide tourists through Yosemite. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of the hotel, Elvira studied painting, music, and botany. ("Hutchings," NPS.gov)
