Brief History of the YMCA of Greensboro

              The YMCA was founded in London, England in 1844 by volunteers concerned about the health, welfare, and souls of young men during the Industrial Revolution.  The YMCA spread to over 200 U.S. cities in the next 10 years. Greensboro's first YMCA began in 1859 as a men’s Bible study group.  Over the next 40 years, this group disbanded and reorganized twice due to the Civil War. 

              During the early days of the YMCA, great emphasis was placed upon religious understanding and relationships with Protestant churches.  Most YMCAs of the day were educational organizations with libraries, reading rooms, and lectures.  During the late 1850s, YMCA classes in language, music, and gymnastics (now known as group exercise classes) began.  A strong movement to build gymnasiums was temporarily interrupted by the Civil War.

              In the 1883, Bennett Seminary, later to become Bennett College, had an active YMCA group formed under the auspices of the Colored Work Department for its ministers-in-training, many of whom had been born in slavery.  In the early 1890s, Guilford College built the first permanent YMCA facility in Greensboro, which included a gymnasium.  It was later sold to the school to become the music building.

              In 1910, Joseph Stone and J. Norman Wills spearheaded a campaign to raise $65,000 for a "Great Manhood Factory."  The new YMCA opened on Christmas day in 1911 at the corner of Greene and Sycamore streets, complete with a dormitory, gymnasium, and indoor pool.  This new Y thrived as a center for fitness and social interaction until the late 1920s.

              Julian Price, later to become president of Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, now Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln National, had recently stepped off the train from Pennsylvania and became one of the first to occupy a room at the new Y.  This YMCA served as a thriving center for fitness and social interaction.

              In 1922, Cone Mills opened two fully equipped YMCA facilities for their employees in Proximity and White Oak villages.  Camp Herman, north of town, offered overnight camping, fishing, and swimming. 

              In 1927 a new YMCA was opened to replace the Greene Street facility.  The new facility on West Market and Spring Street across from the old Greensboro High School was twice the size of the old building.  With the addition of a YMCA for the black community, the West Market Street YMCA became known as the Central Branch.

              The first Greensboro YMCA for black citizens began as the Jesse Moorland YMCA, and from 1932 to 1937 the YMCA was located in the Carnegie Library basement at Bennett College.  Community Chest funding in 1937 allowed renting a room over the Oddfellows Hall on East Market Street.  It was at this site that Greensboro's black YMCA movement caught the attention of Ceasar Cone, II of Cone Mills through newspaper articles and discussions with his butler.  Ceasar Cone made headlines when he announced plans to donate $50,000 toward building a Y for the black community to be named in honor of his family's late cook, Sallie Hayes, and butler, Andrew Taylor.  The Hayes-Taylor YMCA opened its doors on a blustery New Year's Day in 1939 on the corner of E. Market and Dudley streets adjacent to NCA&T University.  Many people find it heartwarming, and a true indicator of Greensboro's respect for diversity, that a Jewish man built a Christian organization for the black community.

              Beginning in 1930, under the direction of Frank R. Casper, a group called The Junior Citizens began a quarter-century of massive outreach toward boys in Greensboro's poorer neighborhoods.  In the 1930s, the Greensboro YMCA opened Camp NaWakWa in Randolph County.  Youth Director Frank Casper is a YMCA legend, and grown men still recite Mr. Casper's scary camp ghost stories, remember the exciting bus trip to California, and shrink in memory of the paddle he called "the preacher" but was alleged to never have used.  For many boys in Greensboro, Frank Casper served as substitute father and important role model whose influence will last throughout their lifetime.  Many people remember seeing Frank Casper driving his old station wagon through depression-era streets to haul barefoot youngsters to the old Central YMCA.

              In the 1940s, Hayes-Taylor and Central YMCAs served as recreational areas and lodgings for thousands of WWII servicemen temporarily stationed at Greensboro's Army Replacement Depot. 

              In the 1950s, the YMCA began to include women, and male nude bathing, once the hallmark of YMCA swimming, came to a quick halt.

              In the early 1950s the main buildings at Camp NaWakWa burned down, and the YMCA began a search for a new camp.  In 1956 a new 100-acre Triangle Y Ranch began another golden age of YMCA camping in Greensboro.  In the 1970s, the camp name changed to the YMCA Family Retreat Center.

              In 1955, Ceasar Cone again led the effort for Hayes-Taylor YMCA, and Spencer Love of Burlington Industries donated $50,000 for the addition of an indoor pool that remains in use today.

              In 1956, Cone Mills closed its YMCA facilities because of the changing needs and decreasing work force.  In the 1960s, the YMCA became very concerned about desegregation, and in 1965 the board of directors voted to eliminate white-only membership requirements at Central and black-only membership requirements at Hayes-Taylor.  In the 1960s, Hayes-Taylor served as host to many civil rights activities, including visits from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

              In 1969, Central YMCA moved to its third location at West Market and Tate streets.  In 1970, the Metropolitan YMCA of Greensboro was formed to oversee the expanding association.  In 1974 the YMCA began serving the Guilford College community, and in 1980 the Guilford College YMCA opened its doors sharing the college's facilities.

              In the early 1980s, the YMCA's Family Retreat Center camp changed its name to the YMCA Outdoor Center and added a new outdoor pool.  In the 1980s and 1990s, the association renovated the Hayes-Taylor YMCA and the Central YMCA, and added a new bath house and improvements to the Outdoor Center YMCA including a children's play village, pavilion, and adult fitness center.  In 1998, a generous donation from the Weaver Foundation allowed for renovation and improvement, and the facility was renamed Camp Weaver in 2004.

              In 1990, the Reidsville YMCA joined the YMCA of Greensboro under a management contract to become the association's fifth branch, and in 1997 the Reidsville YMCA renovated the facility and added an indoor pool.  In 1999 the Reidsville YMCA opened a new fitness wing, and additional improvements were made through 2004.

              In 2002, a new Alexander W. Spears, III Family YMCA opened on Horse Pen Creek Road to replace the Guilford College YMCA branch.  This branch was made possible by the donation of land from a partnership with Guilford Day School.  In 2003, the new Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA opened on West Market Street to replace the old Central YMCA.  The fourth home for this branch was built in the exact same location of the second home at Spring and Market streets.  During excavation, parts of the old pool and building were found. 

              In 1998, the YMCA of Greensboro responded to community need and began programming in Jamestown.  The new Mary Perry Ragsdale Family YMCA opened in May 2004 on the campus of Guilford Technical College in Jamestown.  In 2003, the Stoney Creek Express YMCA opened in Whitsett.  In 2005, discussions are underway to begin a new YMCA in Pleasant Garden.

               From its beginning, the YMCA has pioneered across a wide front and has helped other organizations serving youth, such as Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls, to get started.  In 1891, a YMCA program director in Massachusetts named James Naismith invented basketball, and in 1895, a YMCA program director named William Morgan invented volleyball.  Organized youth camping was first started by the YMCA in 1884.  In 1906, George Corsan, Sr., a popular swimmer in his day, revolutionized swimming by teaching groups of people, rather than individuals, and helped the YMCA become "America's Swimming Instructor."  Through Corsan, the YMCA spearheaded the first national program to teach lifeguarding and lifesaving.

              The YMCA has led the way in disaster relief efforts, organized community and public recreation, developed the concept of man's unity of body, mind, and spirit, and reinforced it with a nationwide health education and physical education emphasis. 

              There are YMCAs in over 100 countries worldwide making the YMCA the largest social service organization in the world.  A large number of U.S. YMCAs engage in exchange programs with YMCAs in other countries contributing in cultural exchange programs as well as providing money to fight hunger and disaster relief.

              The YMCA of Greensboro is a not-for-profit organization that has served our community for over 100 years providing services in recreation, childcare, youth and adult sports, swimming, educational programs, and more.  The branches include Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA at W. Market Spring streets; Hayes-Taylor YMCA at E. Market and Dudley streets; Alexander W. Spears, III Family YMCA on Horse Pen Creek Rd.; Camp Weaver off of I-40 and Alamance Church Road; Reidsville YMCA in downtown Reidsville; Stoney Creek Express YMCA in Whitsett; and the Mary Perry Ragsdale Family YMCA on the campus of GTCC in Jamestown.

              Over 150 policy volunteers and 500 program volunteers and coaches help the staff reach more than 60,000 people each year, regardless of a person's religion, race, physical, or financial ability.  The YMCA earns most of its revenue from program and membership fees.  Contributions from We Build People annual campaign provide approximately 3% of our budget, and United Way contributions provide approximately 2% of our budget.  These contributions allow the YMCA to provide financial assistance to those in need of services.