STAFF INDUCTEES

ISAAC EDDY BROWN (1849-1917)

A towering figure in YMCA history, I.E. Brown, as he was known, was instrumental in the early architectural design of YMCA buildings and also in the development of YMCA educational systems.Brown published his book, “Book of Y.M.C.A. Buildings” in 1895. With its numerous illustrations and floor plans, it became a standard reference source for YMCA architecture. That was a significant contribution to the early YMCA Movement, but Brown’s greater achievement was his insistence on educating YMCA secretaries – in today’s vocabulary, “professionalizing” the association leadership. He was a founder, along with Robert Weidensall and William E. Lewis, of the “Western Secretarial Institute” at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, which was later to become a campus of George Williams College. The Institute’s articles of incorporation said its intent was “the establishment and maintenance of an organization for the purpose of training and developing secretaries and physical directors of Young Men’s Christian Associations in their work.” Brown also participated with his sister, Lida Brown, in the creation of the Young Women’s Christian Association.

SUMNER F. DUDLEY (1854-1897)

Young men’s work was the heart of the early YMCA, but in the United States, boys work followed before long. The pioneer of this focus was Sumner Dudley, who served on the staff of the New York State YMCA and as General Secretary of the Orange YMCA in New Jersey. Dudley started with a boys literary society and soon convinced the New York State YMCA Convention to seat boys as delegates. He organized summer “rambling tours” to the country that, over time, were lengthened into overnight camping experiences. Dudley came to understand – and to convince other YMCA leaders – that the camping experience provided a unique setting for character-building. In 1891, he established a summer boys camp on Lake Champlain, New York. Dudley is often referred to as “the father of YMCA camping.” After his death, the camp he founded was named in his honor. Camp Dudley YMCA is the oldest continually operating boys camp in the United States.