Harry Brunger papers

Collection

Identifier: Y.USA.92

Staff Only

SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

Personal and YMCA-related papers of Harry A. Brunger, primarily material associated with his international YMCA work, particularly in Canton, China; Hong Kong; and Lebanon as a fraternal secretary. The bulk of the papers consist of correspondence, reports, and extensive background materials, as well as extensive material related to several YMCA-related visits to China during the 1980s and 1990s, including video recordings and slides.

The collection also includes files associated with his service in the YMCA’s International Division of the National Board and World Service. This material documents YMCA work in Italy; southeast Asia; and Japan, and with the YMCA Press a Russian-language publishing house in Paris, France. Also included in the collection is a smaller selection of Brunger’s YMCA domestic work which consists of his work correspondence with James C. Peleris and John W. Leslie. Domestic work topics include family communication skills and Christian social influences.

Personal papers in the collection include speeches and written articles, memoirs, personal notes, assorted research notes, greeting cards sent from family, celebrations, pictures and other materials that caught his interests, including a journal written about a Chinese person’s personal experience during the formation years of the People’s Republic in China.

Also included in the collection is assorted memorabilia of the 100th Anniversary of the Guangzhou YMCA, which includes a Chinese-American bilingual Bible, pamphlets, and commemorative volumes.

Dates

Creation: 1949-2010

Creator

Brunger, Harry. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

BIOGRAPHY OF HARRY BRUNGER

Harry Albert Brunger was born on November 10th, 1919 in Grand Ledge, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He also attended Yale University Divinity School, and later pursued Arab studies at the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in Beirut. In 1944, Harry Brunger married YWCA member Grace Nashtoll, whom he met previously when each served as presidents of their student Ys. Between 1944 and 1947, Brunger served as an assistant minister at The United Church-on-the-Green (Congregational) in New Haven, Connecticut.

Brunger first became a part of the YMCA as a member and leader in the Hi-Y clubs in Michigan. While there,he served as president of the student YMCA and was a member for the National Student Council. While he attended Yale, he also worked part time with extension work for the YMCA in Connecticut and gained some experience in both Michigan and New York as a program director of Y camps.

In 1947, Brunger was assigned by the International Y to serve in the YMCA in Canton, China. During his tenure there, he witnessed the final period of the Nationalist Government of China and the beginning of the Communist PRC liberation in southern China. After 1950 Brunger and his family relocated to Hong Kong where he served as fraternal secretary, and later, as the Y International Division Liaison Representative for the Chinese YMCA there.

In 1961, Brunger became the liaison representative for Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, where he also served as fraternal secretary based in Beirut, Lebanon. During that period he served as secretary of the Coordinating Council of Voluntary Agencies for Work with Palestinian Refugees, and was deeply involved in the YMCA's community development and management training programs, including the International Camp Counselor Program (ICCP), the Center for International Management Studies (CIMS), and International Student Service (ISS).

Brunger returned to the United States in 1975, and served in the YMCA International Division of the National Board in New York, as Executive Director of the YMCA World Service Education and Income Production. In 1980 he was appointed head of International Relations for the YMCA of the USA relating to programs in China and the Middle East.

Following his retirement in 1985, Brunger continued to work as a consultant, regularly volunteering to help American YMCA relations with China and the Middle East, and making multiple visits to these regions. He also was affiliated with the Riverside Church in New York City and part of the Board of Directors Christianity and Crisis.

In the last few years of his life Brunger lived in Claremont California and passed away on August 17, 2011.

Biographical information was summarized from the collection.