Abbie Adella Graham (May 28, 1889 – February 11, 1972) was an American non-fiction author, YWCA secretary, and camp director.
Biography Abbie Graham was born in Alice, Texas on May 28, 1889, to Rev. John Thomas Graham, a Methodist minister, and Adella Annabelle Bourland."Our Field County Secretaries," Association Monthly Vol. 10 No. 12 (January 1917) Graham became involved with the YWCA while attending Southwestern University, where she served as president of the university's student association.Sou'wester Yearbook, 1910 After graduating in 1910 with a B.A., she taught English for two years in Texas. Throughout the 1910s Graham worked as a secretary for the YWCA's Southwestern Field, which spanned Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.Shirley Kreasan Krieg, The History of Zeta Tau Alpha, 1898-1928 Vol. 1 In 1921 she moved to New York City and later directed YWCA camps including Camp Quannacut (Pine Bush, NY) and Camp Winnecunnet (Martha's Vineyard, MA)."Camp Authority to Speak at YWCA," Gazette (Montreal, Canada), May 11, 1936
Graham was in a long-term relationship with fellow YWCA secretary and writer Grace Coyle.Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, et al., "'My Ever Dear': Social Work's 'Lesbian' Foremothers - A Call for Scholarship" Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work Vol. 24 No. 3 (August 2009)
Writing career
Abbie Graham started her writing career with articles for the YWCA's magazine The Association Monthly. Her first published essays, however, were "The Gift of Leadership" (1916) and "Geographical Adventures in Friendship" (1918), printed in The Inch Library Vol. II and III (Woman's Press).Association Monthly, Vol. 10 No. 10 (Nov. 1916); Catalogue of Copyright Entries, no. 8, 1918
While working at a YWCA camp in 1921, Graham wrote the lyrics for "Fire Song" with music composed Margaret Kreglow, a student at Smith College and the camp's music director.Themis of Zeta Tau Alpha Vol. 20 No. 2 (Feb. 1922) It was later adopted as a Girl Reserves song.The Song Book of the YWCA, 1926
Between 1923 and 1942, Graham published 11 books through the Woman's Press, the YWCA's publishing branch. Her works covered subjects including spirituality, race relations, girls' camps, travel, and women's suffrage. Graham also wrote the first biography of Grace Hoadley Dodge, who negotiated the formation of the national YWCA in 1906 and served as the association's first president.Grace Hoadley Dodge Papers (Smith College, Northampton, MA)
In 1940, Graham received an honorary doctorate in literature from Southwestern University.
Books Ceremonials of Common Days, 1923 Grace H. Dodge: Merchant of Dreams, 1926 Vain, Pomp and Glory, 1927 High Occasions, 1930 Outposts of the imagination, 1930 The Mother and Daughter Observance, 1932 The Girls' Camp: Program-Making for Summer Leisure, 1933 Ladies in Revolt, 1934 A Vespers Service, "The American Dream," 1938 Time Off and On, 1939 Working at Play in Summer Camps, 1941 On Being Immortal, 1942
References