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Martha Washington Club records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS-044

Scope and Contents

The collection contains meeting minutes (1904-1976), programs (1905-1978), and a scrapbook of activities (1935-1937).

Dates

  • Creation: 1904-1978

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Historical Note

The Martha Washington Club was a woman’s club organized in Muncie in January, 1904 "for social and literary purposes." The twelve founding members were: Mrs. A. Hedrick, Mrs. W. Lister, Mrs. M. M. Baily, Mrs. L. Howk, Mrs. J. Dragoo, Mrs. W. Pike, Mrs. L. Griffin, Mrs. H. Manering, Mrs. A. Wetherill, Mrs. C. Sonertzer, Mrs. H. Owen, and Mrs. J. White. The club was federated in June 1905.

Its motto of "Lend a Hand" was practiced largely through donations to charities and individual volunteer efforts. An annual report from June 17, 1945 describes the types of activities pursued by the club. "Sewed for Red Cross. Contributed to Red Cross. Contributed to United War Fund. Contributed to Crippled Children. Contributed to YWCA. Contributed to Service Canteen. Contributed to Ball Hospital Library Fund. Five War Bonds Purchased. Contribution of needed articles for Camp Atterbury. Sent Letters of Protest to President Truman, Congressman Springer and Office of War Productions Board, relative to liquor holiday. Sent letter to Congressman Spriger endorsing V.A. investigation or the passage of the Philbin bill. Sent letter to the mayor regarding tavern and gambling activities in city. 200 pounds of clothing and 4 pairs of shoes for the European Clothing Drive. Baby comforters made for foreign relief. Contributed to Latin American Fellowship. Nine contributions to blood bank. One member gave 645 hours’ hospital service."

Active participation in the club was limited to twenty members, but both associate and honorary members were also allowed to attend meetings. Meetings were held twice a month at alternating homes of club members. The club was disbanded in 1978 for unknown reasons.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation on 1980/07/30 by Martha Rowe.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of the Martha Washington Club records are available electronically in the Ball State University Digital Media Repository: http://libx.bsu.edu/.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 1994/07/19 by M. Sears. EAD finding aid created 2012/04/19 by Julie Hausknecht. EAD finding aid revised 2012/09/11 by Bethany Fiechter.

Title
Martha Washington Club records
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Stoeckel Archives of Local History Repository

Contact:
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA