TOOZE AGAINST BOOZE - Mrs. Fred J. Tooze

When I was a student at Evanston Township High School one of our assignments was "Interview a Famous Person."  With the wisdom of hindsight I can see how ridiculous this assignment was.  Very few teenagers have access to a famous person, and few famous people have the time (or the inclination) to be interviewed by a teenager.   I wracked my brain to find a solution - and then it came to me:  Mrs. Fred J. Tooze.  If you ask "who was Mrs. Fred J. Tooze?" you obviously did not live in Evanston from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Evanston, Illinois is the home of the Womens Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).  The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emphasize alcohol's negative effects on people's health, personalities and family lives.  Mrs. Fred J. Tooze was the WCTU President from 1959 to 1974.  

Why do I refer to her as "Mrs. Fred J. Tooze" instead of her first name "Ruth?"  She always referred to herself that way and I didn't even know her first name until I started researching her life.  Here is a photo of Mrs. Fred J. Tooze at her desk at the WCTU.  As you can see, her nameplate reads "Mrs. Fred J. Tooze."

Back to my high school assignment.  I decided to try to interview Mrs. Tooze.  It is one of the ironies of life that the head of the WCTU had a last name that rhymed with "booze."  As much as she loved her husband, I bet she wished his last name had been Smith.

I called the WCTU headquarters on Chicago Avenue in Evanston and asked to speak with Mrs. Tooze.  I was connected to her secretary.  I told her why I wished to speak with Mrs. Tooze but her secretary told me that she was away.  But she said she would have Mrs. Tooze call me when she returned.  Frankly I didn't put a lot of faith in the return call.

To my surprise she called me several days later.  She was very nice to me.  I told her my assignment and she said "so you think I'm famous?"  I said "everyone knows who you are, especially in Evanston."  She told me she would send me some literature about her and the WCTU and that should make an interview unnecessary.  Let's face it, she didn't want to be interviewed by some high school kid any more than the high school kid wanted to interview her.  But she did say at the end of our conversation that if I had any questions after I read the literature that I should feel free to call her.  She also said that after reviewing the material if I still felt a face-to-face interview was necessary she would make herself available.  I have to say it again: Mrs. Tooze was very nice to me.    

So this month I am going to tell you her story.            

Ruth Elizabeth Tibbets was born December 21, 1901 in Trumansburg, New York to Rev. John Clark Tibbits (1870-1952) and Julia Henrietta Mische (1868-1927).  At the time Ruth was born, Rev. Tibbits was the pastor of the Baptist church in Trumansburg.  Ruth was the eldest of the three children born to John and Julia Tibbits.  Her siblings are Edgar Albert Tibbets (1903-1991) and Neltje Edith Tibbets/Mrs. Pierre Saucy (1907-1995). 

Ruth's parents had been married in Syracuse, New York on January 30, 1901.  The groom was thirty years old; the bride was thirty-two.

In 1905 the family relocated to Utica, New York for two years, then to Chester, Connecticut for three years as Rev. Tibbits was called to be the pastor of Baptist churches in different parts of the country.

The 1910 US Census shows the Tibbits family living on West Main Street in Chester, Connecticut.  The family consisted of:  J. Clark Tibbits (39 years old), his wife Julia (42) and children Ruth (8), Edgar (7) and Neltje (2).  Tibbits reported that he was a "Clergyman" in the "Baptist Church."  J. Clark and Julia said they had been married for nine years.  They said they lived in a house which they rented and that Ruth and Edgar were attending school.  Julia reported that she had given birth to three children, and all three were still alive in 1910.  

Later in 1910 the family moved to Ipswitch, South Dakota, and in 1912 to Oregon.  In 1918 the family finally settled in Salem, Oregon.    

The Census Taker for the 1920 US Census visited the Tibbets family on January 13, 1920.  They were living at 190 S. 14th Street in Salem, Oregon:

190 S. 14th Street, Salem, Oregon

The family consisted of:  J. Clark Tibbits (49 years old),  Julia M. (51), Ruth (18), Edgar (17), and Neltje (12).   The three children were all Attending School, and the entire family could both read and write.   Julia said that her parents' native tongue was German.  J. Clark reported his occupation as "Clerk for the State Highway Department."

Ruth Tibbits graduated from Salem High School in June of 1920.  In 1921 she moved to Los Angeles, California and enrolled at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles.   

After graduating from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1925 she returned to her family in Salem, Oregon where she, like her father, worked for the Oregon State Highway Commission.

Ruth's mother, Julia Mische Tibbits died in Salem, Oregon on December 30, 1926 from chronic cardio-renal disease with the contributing factor of broncho-pneumonia,  She was fifty-eight years old.  She was cremated at the Portland Crematorium, but I was unable to find any record of where (or if) her cremains were interred.  Here is her obituary from the Salem (OR) Statesman Journal of January 2, 1927:

Ruth's father remarried on November 14, 1928 in Marion, Oregon to Fannie Alice Baxley Brown (1877-1951).  The groom was fifty-eight; the bride was fifty-one.

The 1930 US Census saw Ruth living with her father and step-mother at 1985 Fir Street in Salem, Oregon:

1985 Fir Street, Salem, Oregon

The family consisted of John C. Tibbits (59 years old), Fannie A. (52), and Ruth (28).  The Tibbits family reported that they owned their home and it was worth $7,000.00 ($132,745.00 today) - although the current estimated value of the home is $725,000.00. 

The family owned a radio.  Ruth's father reported he was an Insurance Agent, and Ruth said she was a "Stenographer for the State Highway Commission."  

On September 12, 1931 Ruth Tibbits married Fred John Sherman Tooze, Jr. (1900-1977) in Salem, Oregon.  The groom was thirty-one; the bride was twenty-nine.

This is the announcement of their betrothal from the Salem (OR) Capital Journal of June 20, 1931:

Fred Tooze, Jr. was born January 17, 1900 is Saline, Michigan to Fred J. Tooze, Sr. (1865-1940) and Emma Louise Frey (1871-1942).  Fred Tooze, Sr. was a Teacher and Publisher.  In addition to Fred, Jr. the Toozes also had two daughters, Helen Louise/Mrs. Robert Dial Hutchinson (1905-1933) and Annabell Parkmand/Mrs. Dr. Carl George Ashley (1910-1974).        

At the time of their marriage, Fred Tooze worked for the Oregon Department of Food and Dairy Products as Sanitary Inspector.

The 1940 US Census found Ruth and Fred Tooze living with Fred's parents at 816 Mill Street in Salem, Oregon.  That address no longer exists.  The family consisted of: Fred Tooze, Sr. (74 years old), Emma (68), Fred, Jr. (40), Ruth (38), and grand-children Robert A. Hutchinson (8) and Annabel Hutchinson (6).  The grandchildren's mother Helen Louise Tooze Hutchinson had died in 1933 from acute nephritis and pyelitis.  She was twenty-seven years old.

Fred Tooze Jr. reported his occupation as "bookkeeper for State Department of Agriculture" and Ruth as a "church secretary."  Ruth and Fred said they had been living in the same place in 1935.

I think we can safely say that when Ruth Tibbits became Mrs. Fred J. Tooze she had no idea that she would one day be in the national temperance spotlight as being married to a man whose last name rhymes with "booze."

Ruth Tibbits officially joined the WCTU in 1931 but she related at the time that it had been a part of her family life for years.  Her father was a teetotalling Baptist minister and her mother had been a WCTU organizer.

Once Ruth Tooze became involved with the WCTU she dedicated herself to it 100%.  In 1950 she was elected President of the Oregon WCTU.  

The 1950 US Census finds Ruth and Fred Tooze living on their own at 3603 SE Grant Street in Portland, Oregon:

3603 SE Grant Street, Portland, Oregon

It was just Fred (50 years old) and Ruth (48).  Fred said he was a "Salesman for a Correspondence School" and Ruth was "President of a Women's Organization - the WCTU."

Ruth's dad, John Clark Tibbits died October 7, 1952 in Salem, Oregon.  He was eighty-two years old.  His second wife, Fannie Baxley Brown Tibbits had pre-deceased him in 1951.  Both are buried in Belcrest Memorial Park in Salem, Oregon:

John Clark Tibbits

Fannie Alice Tibbits

Photos courtesy of Find a Grave Volunteer "Ann"

Mrs. Tooze rose steadily through the ranks of the WCTU, culminating in her being elected president of the national WCTU on September 28, 1959 as reported by the Kansas City (MO) Times of September 29, 1959:

Photo Courtesy NWCTU

It became obvious very early in her tenure that Mrs. Fred J. Tooze was not going to be a president who just stayed quietly in her office.  In November of 1959 she openly attacked CBS Television as was recounted in newspapers all around the country.  Here is one from the Mansfield (OH) News-Journal of November 24, 1959:

She would be spinning in her grave if she could see what is shown on prime-time TV these days.

But she didn't stop there.  In 1961 she wrote to President-Elect John F. Kennedy deploring the amount of money spent by the US government each year (almost $1 million per year) for liquor for American embassies and diplomatic functions.  In 1965 she wrote to President Lyndon B. Johnson asking him to reconsider his plan to add a wine cellar in the White House.  It is not know if she ever received a response to either of these letters.

Prohibition had been tried in the USA once before (from 1920-1933) and not only failed but spawned the careers of "bootleggers" like the notorious Al Capone.  Mrs. Tooze thought it was time to give Prohibition another try as reported in 1971:

"Prohibition has got to come back," says Mrs. Tooze, a tall gray-haired woman who has been associated with the temperance movement for 39 years.  "Prohibition," declares Mrs. Tooze, remembering the 18th Amendment and the zenith of her organization's existence, "gave this nation the best years of our life."

"Home purchases went up, bank balances increased, life insurance contracts increased, people had a chance to graduate from high school and go on to college because there was no alcoholism disturbing home life."

I wonder what Mrs. Tooze would think of legalized marijuana?

Mrs. Tooze was president of the WCTU from 1959 to 1974.  She spent her entire tenure tirelessly working for the elimination of "demon rum" by the three-fold approach of the WCTU:  Organization, Education and Legislation.  

How did she describe the success of her efforts?  "It's here a little, there a little,  You just have to keep hammering away at it."  And "I'm not discouraged, though, not at all.  After all, Christianity has been going on for a lot longer than we have and there are still a lot of people against that, too."     

There is a book that was published in 1967, the first book where columnist Mike Royko reprinted some of his favorite columns from his many years in Chicago newspaperdom.  The very first column he featured in the very first book was a column about Mrs. Tooze.  It would be worth your while to check Steve Bartolucci's website describing it:

https://roselandchicago1972.substack.com/p/mike-royko-50-years-ago-today-mike

Scroll down to:

December 4-5, 1971

The Holiday Spirits of Mrs. Tooze

Mrs. Tooze did not limit her work to the national WCTU.  She was elected twice as First Vice President of the World Women's Christian Temperance Union and also was elected the first woman president of the National Temperance and Prohibition Council.  She was also a member of the National Safety Council's Woman's Conference.  

Mrs. Fred J. Tooze hung up her "White Ribbon" and retired from the WCTU in September of 1974.  After her retirement she and her husband stayed in Illinois.  They moved to Hoopeston, a small town in Vermillion County near the Indiana border between Bloomington and Champaign. 

Fred J. Tooze (not Mrs.) died August 28, 1977 in Hoopeston.  He is buried in the Danville National Cemetery in Danville, Illinois.  Here is a photo of him and of his tombstone:

Photo Courtesy of Find a Grave Volunteer Dwaine Desselle

After Fred's death Ruth returned to Oregon.  Both her brother Edgar and her sister Neltje were still alive at that time.  Edgar was in Salem and Neltje was in Mount Angel, Oregon.

Ruth Elizabeth Tibbits Tooze died June 6, 1992 in Silverton, Oregon.  She was ninety years old.  Here is her obituary from the Salem (OR) Statesman Journal of June 8, 1992:

Here is a clipping about her from the Statesman Journal of June 17, 1992:

She is buried in the Belcrest Memorial Park in Salem, Oregon, Section 8, Block 12, Lot 6:

Ruth E. Tooze

Photo Courtesy of Find a Grave Volunteer "Ann"

Surprisingly, her tombstone does not say "Mrs. Fred J. Tooze."

Ruth Tibbits Tooze may be gone, but she is definitely not forgotten.  For example, the online site crosswordsolver.io mentions that a popular crossword puzzle clue is:  "Mrs. Tooze's Org."  to which they are 94% sure the correct answer is "WCTU."

As I said earlier in this article, it is one of life's ironies that the head of the world's largest temperance organization had a last name that rhymes with the slang word for alcoholic beverages.  Over the years Mrs. Tooze was kidded about it numerous times.  Here is her response from the Miami (FL) Herald of September 8, 1962:

Ruth Elizabeth Tibbits (Mrs. Fred J.) Tooze - tireless crusader for the elimination of alcoholic beverages - may she rest in peace.