Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Publishes Club 50th Anniversary History

As good a place as any to put a cap on the blog, although guest posting will always be welcomed ...

The Next Page: The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club, Pittsburgh's mavericks

The history of the East End's self-described outpost of progressivism

May 24, 2014 11:52 PM

Molly Yard Quits the Club - 1977

Molly Yard, an assistant to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (!) and the eighth president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), is widely recognized as the club's founder.

According to her Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Yard), she moved to Pittsburgh in 1953, worked on David L. Lawrence's gubernatorial campaign in 1958, led the Western Pennsylvania presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy in 1960 and George McGovern in 1972, and led an unsuccessful campaign to get NAACP President Byrd Brown the Democratic nomination to Congress.

In 1964 she made an unsuccessful run for the state legislature as a candidate from the 14th Ward. The club formed around her campaign.

Less well-known is that Yard apparently stepped down as president and quit the club in 1977 when she lost a race for ward chair following that year's tumultuous mayoral election. 

In a letter to club members announcing her resignation, Yard addressed an ongoing philosophical debate about the club's mission:

Molly Yard's club resignation letter, 1977.
Note the spilled coffee stains.
(Click on letter for larger version.)

“Some [club members] view it as a completely “independent” club with no real ties or responsibility to the Democratic Party, whereas I view the Club as made up of Democrats who want to influence the development of the Party in the 14^th Ward and in Allegheny County, as well as influence the selection of candidates by the Party for public office.”

Perhaps not coincidentally, Yard joined NOW's national staff the year after writing the letter, so she might have taken the occasion to make a dramatic exit. Still, it's good reading and raises an issues that remain relevant for the club today.

Molly Yard's New York Times obituary (2005) is at this link http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/national/22yard.html

A Brief History of Club Fundraisers

It's that time of year again. The club will host its third annual Progressive Visions video contest and fundraiser, Saturday, April 20, at Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Melwood Screening Room.  http://www.facebook.com/events/358568350930764/. The club finances itself almost exclusively through the fundraiser and membership dues.

The club's first fundraiser was held in August 1964, at Molly Yard’s house. Upwards of 400 tickets were sold, and some people were turned away. As a storm brewed on party day, some of the proceeds were eaten up in a last minute tent rental. Of course, it didn’t rain.

That event kicked off a long string of barbeques at what was then called the Schenley Park Athletic Pavilion (now Vietnam Veterans Pavilion). For $2.50 attendees got beer, hot dogs and stump speeches. In 1973 the price went up a buck.

Planning the sixth annual "Swanky Ball" (L to R): Nan Matthews; Beatrice Goldszer (Bicky!); Joyce Lee Itkin; and Barbara Fenton. [Click on picture for larger image.]

Another popular club function was the Swanky Ball, which was just the opposite of swanky. It was initially held at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, later moving to the YMCA in Oakland. The price for the early balls was $7.50 for dancing and refreshments (booze was extra).

One year the club threw a “Stay at Home” fundraiser. (Stay home and send money!) It was reportedly a welcome break for some committee people who tired of the candidate fundraiser merry-go-round.

Another one-time fling was called the Tidal Basin Affair--in honor of U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills’ famous watery frolic with stripper Fanne Foxe--and was held at a club member’s swimming pool.

Club fundraiser special guests have ranged from Donald Fraser, a liberal congressman from Minnesota who accepted an invitation to a 1965 barbeque, to political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow, New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz, and The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi. 

(Excerpted from "Founding of the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club", a talk delivered by club board member Nat Hershey at the February 13, 2006 meeting of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society.)