History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 49

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207

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EAST HIGH STREET CLUB. By Mrs. Horace G. Jones.

A little group of East High street women, while seated on the lawn of one of their number, in the twilight of one of the most sultry days of the summer of 1887, conceived the idea of banding together for some line of literary work for the coming winter, but action was postponed until cooler weather. A meeting was called in November, and on the 21st day of that month, at the home of Mrs. Hannah Underwood, the club was organized. The hostess was the possessor of a copy of Hicks' famous engraving of American authors, and it was decided that the authors represented in this picture should constitute the line of study. The first literary meeting was held at the home of Mrs. Lizzie Jones. The charter members were eight in number, Mrs. Hannah Underwood, Mrs. Lizzie Jones, Mrs. Nannie Houston, Mrs. Mary Davidson, Mrs. Anna M. Chandler, Mrs. Alice Armstrong, Mrs. Laura Ward and Miss Lucy Lotspeich. Other members were enrolled and, as the greater number lived on Fast High street, the name of the East High Street Club was adopted. Meetings were held on Monday evening of each week at the homes of the members, taking one author and a subject beginning with the initial letter of the author's name for the evening's study. Each member was on duty each evening.

The study of American authors led to the study of those of other countries. This manner of procedure was continued for seven years. Dating long before women's clubs became the necessity they are today, the organization, in the beginning, was a very simple one and its freedom from formality was, perhaps,, the reason of its success. Later, when the club movement became general, a constitution was adopted, regular officers elected and the club was federated with the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs on October 26, 1894. It became a member of the General Federation. on June 10, 1910.

The tenth, twentieth and twenty-fifth anniversaries and other "Festa" days were celebrated in a fitting manner. Memory recalls many pleasant associations, delightful friendships, and beautiful characters, met with during the existence of the club. Sad and tender thoughts are invoked when the memorial pages of the calendar are read.

Response has been made by the club to various outside issues, especially aiding in any work for the advancement and improvement of its home town.

With an unbroken record of twenty-eight years of progressive and happy existence, being, with one exception, the oldest woman's literary club in the state, it is not sur- prising that the East High Street Club should feel an honest pride in the earnest, con-

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scientious work which marks the whole of its career and in the fact that it is an active, progressive, up-to-date club.

The following are the present active members: Mrs. Myra Atchison, Mrs. Imo V. Booth, Mrs. Nannie Byers, Mrs. Anna M. Chandler, Mrs. Mary Durflinger, Mrs. Rose M. Gain, Mrs. Rilla F. Hornbeck, Mrs. Cathleen Hord, Miss Ella Ivins, Mrs. Lizzie H. Jones, Miss Clara Johnston, Mrs. Jeannette Loofbourrow, Miss Irene Martin, Mrs. Laura S. Noland, Mrs. Amelia O'Day, Mrs. Myra J. Rasor, Mrs. Haysel J. Robison, Mrs. Sallie K. Robison, Mrs. Lelia Rosnagle, Mrs. Nellie Rice, Mrs. Nora J. Simpson, Mrs. Elizabeth G. Stoll, Mrs. Myrtle Schurr, Miss Jeannette Smith, Mrs. Grace S. Thompson. Associate members: Mrs. Almeda Bryan, Mrs. Elizabeth Creath, Mrs. Ella Dunn, Mrs. Mattie Fisher, Miss Mabel Hamilton, Mrs. Viola E. Iliff, Mrs. Lucy A. Jones, Mrs. Carrie T. Kulp, Mrs. Minnie Noland, Mrs. Addie P. Rowlen, Mrs. Christine Smeltzer, Mrs. Lucile J. Stroup, Mrs. Jessie P. Sharp, Miss Jean Swartz, Mrs. Alice I. Tanner, Mrs. Frances M. Winchester, Mrs. Grace D. Warner. Corresponding members: Mrs. Ethel L. Baird, Henderson, Kentucky ; Mrs. Ada B. Chance, Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Lou F. Delahunt. Kansas City, Missouri; Miss Frank Delahunt, Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Elizabeth F. Ewalt, Loveland, Ohio; Mrs. Mary Harshman, Cleveland, Ohio; Mrs. Alice B. Jones. Van Wert, Ohio; Mrs. Minnie K. Jones, Seattle, Washington; Mrs. Bertha Kinsman, Kinsman, Ohio; Mrs. Ercel C. Kumler, Portland, Oregon; Mrs. Clara Mckinnon, Belle- fontaine, Ohio; Mrs. Lillian Prugh, Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. Rose P. Smith, Independence. Kansas; Mrs. Bess R. Thomas, Birmingham, Alabama; Mrs. Hannah Underwood, Mechanicsburg, Ohio; Mrs. Jeannette P. Watson, Weiser, Idahb.

THE WOMAN'S CLUB. By Sallie Dooris.

Don't you remember when there was no woman's club in London?

Maybe some of the rising generation of club women think it was of primeval origin; or even like the old oak tree-"it was here when I came!"

Not so. There was a time when some young heads that are now growing silvery said : "Why can't we have a literary club, not like any other club that ever was?"

So when the weather was growing cold and the nights long, and winter coming on apace, little white-winged messengers bearing the names of the hostesses, Misses Mar- garet and Sallie Dooris, November 5, 1892, 3:00 p. m., the magic word "conversazione" in the lower left-hand corner, were sent forth.

In response, a bevy of women, some young, others in the meridian of life, assem- bled at a little white house on a green bank just between the edge of town and country- side, where oak trees grow. On that Saturday afternoon, while the tea was being sipped, and the ices consumed, the nature of the "conversazione" developed and the possibility of organizing a woman's literary club to meet afternoons once a week, was discussed.

Twenty-three years ago all staid and fashionable people had their social doings at night. No one dreamed of gadding about to clubs or anything else in daytime. The serious business of social leaders was to "make calls" from three to six o'clock, or a decorous "tea" among intimates was permissible at four-thirty. All other functions were relegated to lamplight or gaslight homes. It was a bold step to take, but those women took it, and so the first afternoon club in London was inaugurated.

But the boldest step of all in defiance of custom or conventions was to hold it on Mondays. Don't you remember three and twenty years ago that, rain or shine, Mon- day was sacred to wash day and all uncomfortableness?

It was a blow to all past traditions, that women should wilfully abandon their homes of a Monday, in broad daylight and spend their time in a state of mental dissipa-

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tion. It had a dash of audacity in it. It appealed, as it were, to all the unconvention- alism of a conventional class. There were five other days all open to choose from, not as it is nowadays, a club or two for every day of the week, but just because every mother's daughter of us had been born to look upon Monday as a day of drudgery, it was chosen as the day of days for a literary club.

So enthusiastic were the promoters of the club idea, another meeting would have been held the following day, only it was Sunday; but the day after that, the 7th of November, the same zealous women with a "Build-thee-a-more-stately-mansion-oh-my- soul" expression on their faces, met at the residence of Mrs. Mary Finley, on Main street, at two o'clock in the afternoon and an organization was effected. The new club was named "The Woman's Club." Mrs. Georgia Gould was elected president; Mrs. Elizabeth Watson, vice-president; Mrs. May B. Prettyman, secretary; Mrs. Alice Dooris Thomas, treasurer. A committee on program for the year's study was appointed and English literature was selected as the subject for study. The drafting of a con- stitution and by-laws was a delightsome task to a specially favored few. Later on the motto, "Animi Cultus Humanitatis Cibus," was considered fit for such a learned club. The carnation was chosen as the club flower, pink and green the club colors.

It is to be regretted that all the records of the club for the first sixty-four meet- ings were lost in the fire of 1906, which very nearly destroyed the residence of the late Mr. William Morgan, North Main street, the custodian of the club at that time being a guest of the family, only saving a few personal effects.

It is recalled that the club year began on the first Monday in November, ending on the last Monday in May, with a three-weeks' holiday at Christmas time.

Don't you remember, we met at two o'clock in the afternoon at each other's houses and had five and six duties apiece? Light refreshments were served after the literary program and by the time "good-byes" were exchanged it was dark night ere the very tired club women reached their homes, literally worn out in mind and body.

It was a wild leap into space when the Woman's Club was federated into the Gen- eral Federation of Women's Clubs on June 6, 1893, being at that time among the very first Ohio clubs to become identified with the larger movement. Then later, a less exciting, but at the same time a pleasing exhilaration of spirits was enjoyed when the club federated with the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs, February 2, 1895.

Memory recalls an ambitious attempt at journalism. in editing "The Voice of the Club," to which every member was expected to contribute an original article in addi- tion to their other duties. It died young, from want and inanition, aged six volumes. Be it said to its earthly honor and glory, however, that a copy of this periodical was sent to the women's department of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. It held the choicest original thought. as expressed by the literati of the club, written in the finest handwriting, with a white linen cover, embroidered in pink carnations, the club flower. It received special mention for its artistic beauty in a Chicago journal. Later on it was returned to Woman's Club, when the dismemberment of the world's fair took place. Alas! it, too, went up in smoke in the conflagration of 1906.

In 1894 the educational room of the court house was chosen as the place for club meetings. being more central. The club year was shortened, ending the last Monday in March, which has been the rule since, and the tea-drinking were discontinued. The first printed calendar of the Woman's Club was issued in November, 1894. Germany the subject chosen for study. It was no idle matter to "keep up." Fancy writing four or five papers on such subjects as the following, taken at random from a program lying before me: "Development of Science in Germany," "Early German Literature and Folk Lore," "Martin Luther-His Influence on Germany," etc.

Those were strenuous days; and the club expression was of the essence of strenu-

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osity, and because of the lessons learned in that hard school of expression, the young club women of the present day ought to rise up and call us beautiful names because we have now learned how to frivol. But truth must be told though the heavens fall. It was not all toil and endeavor. We had our glorious hours of pleasure and sense. Don't you remember our annual field day, held at the country home of Mrs. Lucy Beach, "The Cedars?" Surely among all the trees of Lebanon, none were more beauti- ful than these growing at this beautiful place. We have had good times under their branches, and we recall with delight the pleasant hours in June, fragrant with sweet memories and redolent of the past. It was decided in 1914 that field day be rein- stated in the club annals and that a day in June be taken for its celebration by pick- nicking in Snyder Park. Vive la Field Day !

So swiftly have the years passed by, it seems only a little while since the giving of a rose fete and colonial tea for the benefit of the public library. How memory crowds upon memory as the events of more than two decades are reviewed. Gala days, banquets, receptions, teas and garden parties were given, delightful hours spent at homes where generous hospitality was dispensed.

It has not been all toil and endeavor for self alone; not all social enjoyment or hours of pleasure. While the aim of the club as originally planned was for literary, scientific and artistic culture. the broader human interests have not been neglected. The cry of the children in factories and mills has been hearkened to. Petitions bearing the . signatures of the Woman's Club have been forwarded to the lawmakers, asking them to preserve our forests; to enact more stringent sanitary laws regarding public health; to suppress the white-slave traffic -. in short, every good for the public welfare and uplift of humanity has received their moral support.

Our beautiful public library was the gift of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, through the solicitation of a member of the Woman's Club. Miss Sallie Dooris. The Woman's Club alcove bears on its shelves the gift of many books from the club women, one especial gift deserving particular mention, that of the late Mrs. Mary Florence, president of the Woman's Club, 1898-99, who left a bequest of five hundred dollars to the public library, which sum was spent in works of reference adding much to the students' research for knowledge. The little children of our town have been very near the heart of the Woman's Club. For years past it has been their dearest pleasure at Christmas time to remember the "little brothers and sisters" for whom no preparation is made. So that it can truly be said that there are no sad hearts among the little ones of Lon- don when the birth of Christ is celebrated.

Changes have taken place since the organization of the club in 1892. Of the charter members, ten still answer the roll call. Some have left us; others have passed away. Their names are recorded in the club calendar. As the years pass, the list of the immortals increases : Mrs. Sobrina Custer, Mrs. Alice Dooris Thomas, Mrs. Flora Jones Murray, Mrs. Elizabeth Trimble Wilson, Mrs. Mary E. C. Florence, Mrs. Eliza- beth Watson, Miss Nellie Morgan, Mrs. Anna C. Bidwell, Mrs. Caroline Ross. The club year of 1913-14 exacted a heavy toll of members: Mrs. Alice R. Armstrong, Miss Ruth M. Van Wagener. Mrs. Georgia Gould, Mrs. Hazel Van Wagener Thomas. These have joined the "choir invisible" in the house not made with hands. They are not forgotten.

The club year 1913-14 made its mark. The Woman's Club had the honor of giv- ing to the Federated Clubs of London its first president, Mrs. May B. Morse. A notable event in the club's achievement was the community Christmas tree of 1913, the tree. a splendid fifty-foot pine, being the gift of that year's president, Mrs. M. M. Rowland. It was placed in the public square, where the many twinkling electric lights helped tell out the story of Peace: Good Will to Man. Under its spreading branches over one

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thousand gifts of candy and toys, the uninvited offering of our town-folk, made the little children realize as never before the pattern Christ Child.

One of the latest ventures of faith on the part of the club was another flight into journalism; not for self-aggrandizement or power; not for the purpose of scaling Parnassian heights to dwell with Apollo and the muses. This venture of faith was possible through the generosity of Mr. R. K. Shaw, editor of the London Times, enabling the club to assume control of his paper for one week; to give to the people of London and Madison county at large the "Woman's Club Edition of the London Times," the proceeds to be used for the beautifying of the grounds of the public schools, and another honorable achievement was added to the club's escutcheon. In 1917, the Woman's Club will celebrate its silver anniversary. Much can be accomplished in the meantime.

Memory may linger fondly on the days that are past; the vanished faces and sweet companionship that is no more. Hope looks forward eagerly to the work that is to be done; the good to be accomplished. To each and every member of the Woman's Club the wish is extended, "May we be there to see."

The charter members of the Woman's Club were twenty-one in number, as follow : Mrs. Lucy Beach, Mrs. Sobrina Custer, Miss Margaret Dooris, Miss Sallie Dooris, Mrs. Mary C. Finley, Mrs. Georgia K. Gould, Miss Florence Gould, Miss Anna Gould, Miss Adah Jones, Miss Lucy Jacobs, Mrs. May B. Prettyman, Mrs. Emelyine Richmond, Miss Emma Richmond, Mrs. Kate Dooris Sharp, Mrs. Alice Dooris Thomas, Miss Alice Thomas, Miss Mae Toland, Mrs. Elizabeth Watson, Miss Mary Williams, Mrs. Eliza- beth T. Wilson, Miss Mary Wilson. Of this number some have passed away; others removed from London or resigned from the club, while yet others fell victims to the winged arrow of Dan Cupid and changed their names. At the present date ten of the original members are enrolled on the club calendar, viz. : Mrs. Lucy Beach, Miss Mar- garet Dooris, Miss Sallie Dooris, Mrs. Anna (Gould) Emery, Mrs. Mary C. Finley, Miss Adah Jones, Mrs. M. B. (Prettyman) Morse, Mrs. Emelyine Richmond, Miss Emma Richmond, Mrs. Mary ( Watson) Williams.

The active members of the club for 1915-16 number thirty-nine: Miss Amber Arbuckle, Miss Eloise Atchison, Mrs. Jeanette Barker, Mrs. Miinne C. Bidwell, Miss Gertrude Chance, Mrs. Alice W. Chenowith, Mrs. Neva K. . Chenowith, Mrs. Fannie Clark, Miss Margaret Converse, Mrs. Bettie D. Davis, Miss Margaret Dooris, Miss Sallie Dooris, Mrs. Anna Gould Emery, Miss Margaret Farrar, Miss Adah Jones, Mrs. Harriet T. Martin, Mrs. Lizzie D. Mitchell, Mrs. May B. Morse, Mrs. Grace P. Parker, Mrs. Vinnie Phifer, Mrs. Elizabeth Ridenour, Miss Emma Richmond, Mrs. May M. Rowland, Mrs. Florence V. Shaw, Mrs. Olga S. Spitter, Mrs. Kate P. Strain, Mrs. Marjorie S. Tanner, Mrs. Lucy Taylor, Mrs. Mary F. Taylor, Mrs. Helen Taylor, Mrs. Alice G. Underwood, Mrs. Ida F. White, Mrs. Mary W. Williams, Mrs. Kate F. Wilson, Mrs. Wilda Wilson, Mrs. Lelia H. Winchester, Mrs. Cora P. Wood, Mrs. Norma N. Wood, Miss Rosalind Wood.

The associate members number nineteen: Miss Marguerite Bange, Miss Myrtle Clark, Mrs. Alice K. Downing, Mrs. Catherine Dun, Mrs. Nella V. Houston, Miss Miriam Jackson, Mrs. Lizzie H. Jones, Miss. Helen Mitchell, Miss Norma Pratt, Miss Ella Prim- rose, Mrs. Emelyine Richmond, Miss Louise Richmond, Miss Jean Swartz, Mrs. Helen Thomas, Miss Grace Thurness, Mrs. Mary Van Wagener, Miss Jeanette Van Wagener, Miss Sara Van Wagener, Miss Fannie Vent.

The honorary members number five: Miss Cora Atchison, Mrs. Lucy Beach, Mrs. Fannie Chance, Mrs. Mary C. Finley, Mrs. Mary 8. Markley.

The active membership is limited to fifty, each paying an annual fee of one dollar; associate members pay an annual fee of two dollars.

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In March the election of officers for 1915-16 was held, with the following result: President, Mrs. Olga S. Spitler; first vice-president, Mrs. Mary Watson Williams; sec- ond vice-president, Mrs. Lizzie D. Mitchell; recording secretary, Miss Gertrude Chance; corresponding secretary, Miss Sallie Dooris; treasurer, Mrs. Alice W. Chenowith; cus- todian, Mrs. May B. Morse; librarian, Miss Rosalind Wood.

A few months later the president-elect, Mrs. Olga S. Spitler, passed away. In the fullness of ripe womanhood, with the promise of good days, she was looking forward to another year's progress and now she is not. For the beautiful life that ended, a minor key has been touched, without which her earthly diapason is complete.

In 1913, the three literary women's clubs of London, of which the Woman's Club is one, united in the London Federation of Women's Clubs, their object being more especially for the good of the community. Through the munificent gift of seven thou- sand dollars from that great-hearted lover of humanity, the late Miss Bertha Coover, the federated clubs has acquired a handsome club house, occupying a commanding site in the center of the town, which will be hereafter headquarters for all federated clubs in the pursuit of literary, social and civic improvement.

The twenty-fourth year of the Woman's Club opens the first Monday in November. The year's study is "Woman's Work in the World." One quotation from it sounds the keynote of its import : "The woman of today has two big home duties: First, to see that her own home is civilized, that her own men and children are cared for expertly; and second, to see that the same degree of civilization prevails in all the homes about her."

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. By Mrs. Victor W. (Julia Matthews) Reese.

The London chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, owes its inception to the patriotism of Mrs. Forrest A. Bidwell, she having taken the preliminary steps necessary to its organization. The first meeting for this purpose was held in the par- lors of Hotel London on Thursday, May 21, 1908. Mrs. Bidwell had been appointed regent of the London chapter by Mrs. Edward Orton, Jr., state regent for Ohio. Twelve representative women who were eligible to membership and interested in form- ing the chapter were present at the meeting.

On motion of Mrs. Horace G. Jones it was voted to call the chapter the London Chapter. The other officers of the chapter and the committee to draft suitable by-laws. viz. : Mrs. Annette P. Lincoln, Mrs. Perry C. Rowland and Mrs. Victor W. Reese, were then appointed by the regent.

The first regular meeting was held in the assembly room of the court house on the 4th of June, 1908, when the national constitution and the by-laws of the chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as prepared by the committee, were read and adopted. The organization was then effective. Another meeting was held on the 18th of June. when the regent appointed her standing committees. Up to this time nine- teen applications for membership had been approved by the national board. The sec- retary was instructed to apply for the charter, which was procured on January 18, 1909, and the names of these nineteen women were engrossed upon it as the charter mem- bers of the chapter: Mrs. William Morrow (Lucy E. Wilson) Beach, Miss Jennie Black, Mrs. Marion L. (Lizzie R. Cheney) Burnham, Mrs. Forrest A. (Mary Beach) Bidwell, Mrs. William ( Harriett S. Thomas) Farrar. Mrs. Frank (Olive Black) Feather, Mrs. John ( Blanche Morgridge) Florence, Mrs. Elmer E. (Esta Coover) Har- vey, Mrs. Glenn H. (Mary Martin) Johnson, Mrs. Horace G. (Lizzie Houston) Jones, Mrs. George (Theodora Annette Phelps) Lincoln, Mrs. Victor W. (Julia Matthews) Reese, Mrs. Perry C. (May' Morgridge) Rowland, Miss Jean Rowland, Miss Florence Farrar

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Thomas, Miss Mary Webster Thomas, Mrs. Walter (Cleo Emerson Thompson) Florence, Mrs. Homer E. (Ida Farrar) White, Mrs. Pierrie ( Helen Wilson) Voorhies.

The objects of this society are, "to perpetuate the memory of the spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence, by the acquisition and protec- tion of historical spots, and the erection of monuments; by the encouragement of his- torical research in relation to the Revolution and the publication of its results; by the preservation of documents and relics, and of the records of the individual services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, and by the promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries.

"To carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the Amer- ican people, 'to promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the gen- eral diffusion of knowledge,' thus developing an enlightened public opinion, and afford- ing to young and old such advantages as shall develop in them the largest capacity for performing the duties of American citizens. To cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, 'and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty."

The personnel of the first officers, appointive for one year, include the names of Mrs. Forrest A. Bidwell, regent; Mrs. George Lincoln, vice-regent; Mrs. Victor W. Reese, secretary ; Mrs. Elmer E. Harvey, treasurer; Mrs. Horace G. Jones, registrar; Mrs. Frank Feather, historian; Mrs. Perry C. Rowland, chairman ways and means committee. In the following year, at the annual business meeting, on June 4, 1909, these same officers were unanimously re-elected for another term. From 1910 to 1915 successors to Mrs. Bid- well's regency are: Mrs. Horace G. Jones, Mrs. Perry Rowland, Mrs. John Florence, Mrs. Homer E. White and Mrs. Lucy E. Beach.

The regular meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month from October to May, inclusive, also two "gala days" are included in the calendar, "Flag Day" and "Charter Day," both of which are always most charmingly celebrated.

The work of our chapter is largely patriotic and educational and may be summed up in the following list of standing committees: Memorial continental hall, patriotic education, to prevent desecration of the flag, "old trails," road conservation, wel- fare of women and children. real daughters, George Washington memorial, Amer- ican Monthly Magazine, and locating and marking Revolutionary soldiers' graves. Inter- national peace arbitration contributions are made annually to the cause of patriotic education, memorial continental hall. the baby camp (Columbus), the Annette Phelps Lincoln memorial scholarship, and many other worthy objects. Four graves of Revolu- tionary soldiers have been located.

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History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 49

Author: Chester E. Bryan Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1207

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207