if you need something done, ask a busy woman!

How many times have your heard this phrase and thought of the many busy women you know who can always be counted on to make time to help their families, friends, and communities?

We are fortunate at the Minneapolis Police Museum to be the archive for the papers of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Minneapolis Police Federation.

The Ladies Auxiliary was founded in 1922, by women who were wives, mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and friends of Minneapolis Police Officers.

The Ladies Auxiliary provided its members an opportunity to socialize, learn, and serve the city.

Through its monthly sewing days, especially during the Great Depression, it was a driving force in providing good clothes for women, children, and infants living in poverty. The Ladies Auxiliary supported the work of the Michael Dowling School – the first school in the city to serve the needs of students with disabilities – with the proceeds from its many pancake breakfasts, spaghetti suppers, and holiday dances.

The Ladies Auxiliary began with 70 members who paid an initiation fee of fifty cents and a membership fee of one dollar per year.

We are happy to share with you the List of Officers and the Minutes from its very first meeting in 1922.

Handwritten minutes from the very first meeting