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WOW2 – September's Trailblazing Women and Events in Our History - 9-1 through 9-8 [1]

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Date: 2022-09-03

September 5, 1881 – Minnie Hafley McCoach Barton born, American reformer, law enforcement officer, and philanthropist. She was born in Kansas, and moved to Los Angeles with her husband John and their three sons around 1905. It was a boom-town in those days, and women who got in trouble with the law went to jail, served their time, and then were dumped out on the street, where it was inevitable that they would wind up back in jail. Minnie Barton began to befriend these women, even taking some of them into her home. Recognizing her as a force for positive change, the Los Angeles Police Department offered her a position, and she became the only woman parole officer, and only the second woman on the force at the time. There was no precedent for her job, and no pay. On February 7, 1906, Minnie reported to the city jail to find that there was no office set up for her, just an old stool taken in a recent Chinatown raid. Finally, the city jailer went to the basement and found her a desk and Minnie went to work. It was a demanding, even dangerous, occupation. Once, in court she was bitten by an inmate who was denied bail. Minnie continued this work, without pay, for ten years. The city kept up its rapid growth, and her case load kept pace. Barton knew these women needed a place where they felt safe and secure, and could learn job skills so they could get back on their feet. She envisioned a half-way house, but after her long battle to be recognized officially as a Parole Officer so she could get paid for her work, she knew it would be an uphill battle to raise the funds. “I knew we had to have a place to send these girls and women in order to get them away from criminal influences. When I put this matter before the city council the answer was 'you are trying to reform those women. The problem is not ours – it belongs to the churches.' But an invitation to discuss things brought only four people. Then I got the names of [women's] club presidents, stated my questionnaire to them, and the next meeting was so big we couldn't get them all in the room. The clubwomen have been helping ever since.” – Minnie Barton (Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1940). In 1917, she started The Big Sister's League in Los Angeles to help her make her halfway home a reality. She quickly obtained a lot at 2118 Trinity Street in the residential neighborhood of West Adams at a steep discount, and began construction. Using donated materials and volunteer labor -- the mayor put in his time, Judge Fredrickson hoed weeds -- a two story structure was erected. Judge Georgia Bullock, Minnie's great ally at the women's court, released many women to Minnie's custody at the house, as did the police department. They were not all parolees; some were simply women with nowhere to go. She then founded the Minnie Barton Home for orphaned and abandoned children, and next addressed the plight of deserted pregnant wives and unwed mothers, founding the Bide-A-Wee Home for deserted mothers in 1923. It grew to have 16 bungalows, an employment bureau, and child care assistance. Many of the women gave the children up for adoption, and mothers who didn't were required to work and pay nominal rent if they were able, after their personal expenses were met. The actress Gloria Swanson slowly paid off the mortgage, and a cycle of ham dinners, and sales of donated and handmade goods continued to pay for the rest. When the Depression hit, Barton became more and more outspoken. Now considered the most popular speaker in L.A., she kept her job as a parole officer while running her various philanthropic homes and dealing with personal adversity. In 1935, Minnie was involved in a serious car crash when a truck plowed into her police car. A year later her son Jack, a new husband and father, died of a rare heart ailment. The Depression created a whole new group of displaced persons, as entire indigent families poured into Los Angeles. It also created an underclass of destitute, elderly women, leading one journalist to comment wryly, "Anyone who speaks to Minnie Barton more than a minute and a half is bound to hear something about the needs of middle aged and older women who are poor and friendless in L.A." In 1942, she retired from the police force, but continued all her philanthropic work, constantly fundraising and making public speeches. The war years found her advocating for parental responsibility, and the right of social workers to inspect homes suspected of abuse, in spite of a "man's home being his castle." She also bewailed the fact that there were numerous missions caring for homeless men in downtown L.A., but not a single one for women. She died after a long illness in 1946 at the age of 64. The Big Sister's League of Los Angeles changed its name to Children’s Institute International in 1980, and continues to provide clinical services, youth developmental programs, and parental counseling to over 20,000 at-risk Angelenos on four campuses.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/9/3/2120383/-WOW2-September-s-Trailblazing-Women-and-Events-in-Our-History-9-1-through-9-8

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