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1900's
Troops return from the Boer War, federal law closes the local opium factories, and the Empress Hotel is formally opened, but Victoria suffers yet another economic setback.
1900 YWCA - Memberships are only 25 cents a year, but the YW's finances suffer due to lack of community support.
1901 YWCA - The board cannot afford to maintain the women's residence. The YWCA is closed.
1903 YMCA - Meanwhile, the YMCA re-opens in its old Broad Street rooms. It offers entertainments, Bible study, educational classes, and a gym for boys & men. The Colonist declares, "The Association is no longer an experiment."
1905 YMCA - The first summer camp is held by the young men of the YMCA at the Gorge.
1906 YMCA - The first permanent Physical Director, H.R. Gregory, is hired. As membership increases, so does the need for larger quarters.
1907 YMCA - The 1st Annual Road Race is staged on New Year's Day, covering a distance of 6 miles.
The rented quarters are overcrowded & a new building is needed. The community vows its support.
YWCA - Belatedly realizing its value, Victoria supports the reopening of the YWCA. From its new rooms on Fort Street, the Y is a great success, especially its Employment Bureau.
1908 YWCA - The YW moves into the old Denny House at 942 Pandora. Although it is not centrally located, more boarders can be accommodated at the new location.
1909 YWCA - Mrs Dever, the first Travellers' Aid secretary, is hired.
YMCA - In 2 weeks, $100,000 is raised for construction of a new building, but some pledgers default and $30,000 is never received.
1910's
Following the opening of the Normal School & the Hudson's Bay Company store in Victoria, as well as the Panama Canal and the completion of two national railways, increased tourist travel and immigration is expected. However, World War I begins. Men flock to the colours and are sent overseas, while women maintain the Home Front.
1911 YWCA - The old Protestant Orphans' home at 756 Courtney is bought for $12,000 cash. It will be the new women's residence.
1912 YWCA - Newly arrived in town, many "pitiful" young women are stunned to find no one to meet them at the station. Their "utter helplessness" is relieved by the efficient Travellers' Aid secretary.
YMCA - Even while costs spiral upwards and the directors scramble for funding, the new YMCA building opens at the NE corner of Blanshard and View. It features a men's residence, gymnasium and a pool.
1914 YMCA - World War I begins. By now, $70,000 is owed on the men's new building, and main sources of revenue are lost when Y residents and members quit to join the armed forces. As YM volunteers enlist, many programs have to be slashed.
1915 YWCA - Retaining the Courtney St. Annex for indigent lodgers, the women also secure the old Union Club on Douglas Street as the association's main building. One of its attractions is a tiny gym.
YMCA - Military recreation huts are provided for servicemen barracked at the Willows' exhibition grounds, Esquimalt and Resthaven, and funds are raised for overseas work.
1916 YMCA - Special programs are introduced for boys whose fathers are stationed overseas.
1918 YWCA - Women's war work includes the accommodation of soldiers' families, Red Cross projects and registration of land army girls. The Y relocates to the Stobart Building, 745 Yates Street.
1919 YMCA - Financial woes improve as the troops return. The YMCA wins kudos for its war efforts at home and abroad. All boys aged 12 to 16 who have lost their dads in the conflict are awarded free membership in the Y.
1920's
Suffragist Emily Pankhurst takes up part-time residence in Victoria, and the Community Chest is introduced as a means of raising funds. The city becomes renowned for the quality of its sports, and the Crystal Garden opens, the largest indoor swimming pool in North America.
1920 YMCA - A Junior camp established at Beaver Lake attracts 181 boys.
YWCA - Club work begins. Physical fitness is taught at night in high school gyms.
1921 YWCA - Each Wednesday, 200 girls are allowed use of the YMCA pool & gymnasium. Also through courtesy of the YM, girls hold nine days of camp at Beaver Lake.
YMCA - Archie McKinnon is hired as Assistant Physical Director. Ultimately, he will teach 50,000 youngsters to swim. Boys' membership is 562, one of the highest in Canada.
1922 YMCA - The Hi-Y movement is introduced to Victoria high schools.
1923 YWCA - All efforts are bent to raising funds for a new building.
1924 YMCA - Still struggling under a debt load of $50,000, the YM holds a successful drive to reduce its mortgage. It raises $30,000, and the remainder is forgiven by the mortgagee. The building is finally debt-free.
YWCA - Financial setbacks frustrate the women's Association, but club work excels in "emphasizing the 'C' in YWCA."
1927 YWCA - A new building is opened at Courtney and Blanshard. The Lieutenant-Governor praises the women's efforts "in the face of innumerable obstacles that would have daunted men."
1928 YMCA - In close cooperation with city churches, the YMCA leads the city in boys' work, actively participating in a Sunday School Basketball League, a variety of hobby clubs, and annual Father and Son events
1930's
Victoria is still sports mad, but the Great Depression affects everyone in town, causing mass unemployment, hunger and marital problems. However, hard times also create a sense of esprit de corps among the citizens of Victoria. They pull together to sustain each other while the prospect of another world war looms.
1930 YWCA - Already overcrowded, YW staff have to refer young women to alternate, safe accommodation.
YMCA - The camp at Beaver Lake is permanently closed and summer day camps are conducted in city parks.
1931 YMCA - Despite total occupancy, dormitory revenues are down by $1000 as impoverished, homeless men are allowed accommodation at no charge. City Council provides a tax grant in view of the vital services performed by the Association.
1933 YWCA - Indigent young women are cared for and allowed to live in residence at no cost. Young girls' needs are met with fun activities such as camps, splash parties & gym classes.
1934 YMCA - Members of the track and field team bring glory to Victoria at home and abroad.
YWCA - A Household Workers course is launched, providing domestics with training to improve their employability and wage-earning potential. It is copied nationally.
1935 YMCA - Glinz Lake, and 320 acres of the adjoining Sooke Hills, is secured as a permanent campsite to be known as Camp Thunderbird. It is encumbered with a $2000 mortgage.
1937 YWCA - Instruction is given in dressmaking & salesmanship. Typewriters are provided for out-of-work stenographers so they can keep up their typing speeds until they can find work.
1938 YMCA - At the British Empire Games in Sydney, Bill Dale wins gold & bronze in the half mile & is ranked No. 2 in the world.
1939 YMCA - On the eve of WW II, an anonymous donor redeems the mortgage on Camp Thunderbird to commemorate the popular visit of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
1940's
Victoria throws itself into war work. Trousered women labour in factories, & uniformed personnel crowd city streets. Housing becomes impossible to find as workers flock to the city. Fuel and food is rationed. At war's end, families and homes are rebuilt.
1940 YWCA - Council lauds the YW on its range of war services, including an Info Bureau at CPR wharf for arriving servicemen.
YMCA - A Red Triangle "hut" is built at Macaulay Point, made comfortable by the Ladies' Auxiliary. Volunteers provide "comforts."
1941 YMCA - The YM welcomes all servicemen. Just two bits buys a soldier a bed, a morning wake-up call, a shower & use of the pool.
YWCA - A Hostess House opens in Sidney for airmen. It provides recreational facilities & overnight accommodation for their relatives.
YMCA - Women's participation in So-Ed, an informal Adult Ed program, marks the beginning of their formal membership in YM.
1942 YWCA - Responsibilities include Hostess Houses, hospitality & entertainment for servicemen. Meanwhile, despite the war, normal YW programmes are not abandoned, but are even enhanced.
1943 YWCA - Housing is found for servicemen's families flooding the city, & camps are maintained for land army girls. Peter House & the Blue Triangle Leave Centre are provided for servicewomen.
1945 YMCA - At war's end, veterans are given free memberships and rehab therapy. A record number of members and new programs render the old building redundant. A new YM would cost $450,000.
YWCA - Classes & counselling are provided for two wartime phenomena - juvenile delinquents and war brides.
1946 YMCA - "Flyng Y" athletes win honours at home & abroad.
1947 YMCA - A membership drive exceeds the objective of 1000, swamping the inadequate facilities. Many prospective women members are turned down because of space constraints.
1949 YMCA - English classes are offered to new Canadians.
YWCA - The Girls' Hi-Y Mid-Winter Conference is held in Victoria. Soaring membership numbers increase the need for a pool, gym & just more space, but money is tight.
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