Lulu E. Crawford, 1875-1955

Mrs. Lulu E. Crawford was part of a generation of well-educated women who devoted their energies to bettering the city of Akron through civic organizations.

A graduate of old Buchtel College (now The University of Akron), Crawford was a gifted public speaker. The Beacon Journal described her as "skilled in elocution and public speaking." In fact, she taught and studied elocution (the practice of public speaking) at Emerson College in Boston before her marriage. She was married to Robert K. Crawford, one of Akron's most popular real estate developers.

Crawford, an Akron native, got involved with women's organizations when she was still in college. She was a member of Delta Gamma sorority and retained her ties to the organization even after graduation by serving as a national vice president of Delta Gamma. She also was involved in the Akron Panhellenic Association, a federation of sororities in the city.

She was charter member of the College Club of Akron and later served as the group's president. She was also a charter member of the Woman's City Club and served as president and secretary of the club's Little Theater Group.

Crawford got involved in the city's Women's Council, a federation of women's organizations that would be renamed the Akron Federation of Women's Clubs. In 1919 she helped revise the Women's Council constitution. She was also on the nominating committee for the Akron and Summit County Federation of Women's Clubs, a particularly powerful position in light of the many women involved in civic and community organizations in the Progressive period. She also held the position of president in the New Century Club from 1934-1935. In addition, she was a board member of Peoples Hospital. She was a member of the First Congregation Church as well.

Crawford died in Peoples Hospital in 1955, at the age of 80, after a brief illness. When she died, Crawford left four children. The Crawfords resided at 785 Merriman Road. She is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Akron.

--Janelle Baltputnis