Women's Clubs of the Upper Valley

In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, young women received the same high school education that young men did, but while many young men went off to college, opportunities for further education for young women were extremely limited. Even female college graduates found few opportunities to continue academic interests after receiving a degree. Women's literary clubs became an avenue for women to engage in intellectual pursuits after they graduated from school.

Women's clubs were popular in the Upper Valley. Every sizable town on both sides of the river had at least one women's club, and the larger towns had more than one. The 1922 Edition of “The Official Directory of Women's Clubs in America” listed ten women's clubs throughout the Upper Valley. Hanover had a Fortnightly with 31 members and the Hanover Woman's Club had 165 members. In Lebanon, the Vega Club had 101 members. On the Vermont side of the River, White River Junction had two clubs, the Loyal Club had 146 members and the Literary Club had 35. In Windsor, the Friends in Council Club had 126 members. Smaller Vermont towns had smaller clubs. The Bradford Fortnightly had 63 members, the Royalton Woman's Club had 26, South Royalton's had 16 and the Norwich Literary Club had 64.

Tuesday Club 1890's

 

 

 

The pictures came from the book "Lebanon, NH in Pictures" by Robert Hayes Leavitt, published for the Lebanon Historical Society in 1997. You can find the book in the West Lebanon Library.  I must admit that the "Smart Set" picture was a little surprising.  You have to wonder about the activities at the meetings.  I looked up "The Smart Set" in Lebanon, and didn't find any information. I did find a literary magazine by the same name, however, published around the same time as the above picture, often featuring the writing of H.L. Mencken. 

 

West Lebanon had a Fortnightly and in 1918, Clara Stearns, representing the West Leb fortnightly, composed a song that was performed at the New Hampshire Federation of Women's Clubs annual conference. Clara was the wife of Frederick Stearns. The “Granite Monthly”, in 1909, had this to say about Frederick Stearns. “The village of West Lebanon is remarkable for its sterling citizenship, a fine type of which is found in the person of Frederick Oliver Stearns”. Frederick was a member of the state legislature in 1909. The article went on to say that he was a graduate of Kimball Union Academy and Plymouth Normal School (now Plymouth State University) and a deacon of the West Lebanon Congregational Church. It tells us that his wife Clara was from Maine. Clara and Frederick had a daughter and a son. The article also mentions that their daughter Susan was the head of the Manual School in Taunton, Massachusetts, although she was only 21 years old. A manual school, in those days, was a school for intellectually impaired people, called a manual school because the residents there would learn to do some types of manual labor.

In 1900, Clara Stearns lived on the Stearns farm, which was apparently on the Connecticut River, probably somewhere in the vicinity of where the plazas are now. At age 41, she still lived with her in-laws, Nathan, age 80, and Jane, age 78. Nathan was listed as the head of the household. Frederick was listed too, of course, and the two children. Two farm laborers and a housekeeper were other members of the household.

Clara is probably a pretty good example of the kind of woman who was the member of a literary club. She belonged to one of the leading families of the town. Her house was nice enough for her to be comfortable as a hostess for the other leading ladies of the town, as members took turns hosting the meetings and providing refreshments. She could afford the ingredients to prepare a fancy luncheon or tea, and she even had a housekeeper to help her.

The Vega Club, which eventually became the Lebanon Women's Club, still active today, was another Woman's club in Lebanon. The President of the Vega Club was Lillian Haskell. Lillian and her husband Frederick lived on Mechanic Street, right next to Frederick's parents. They did not have any

children. Frederick and his father ran a florist shop. It is interesting that both Clara and Lillian's husbands names were Frederick. Both women lived in close proximity to their mother-in-laws, while both husbands worked for their fathers.                                                                                               The Vega Club

As college became more attainable for young women, the clubs focused more on social and charitable activities. As the 20^th century progressed, women's clubs stayed involved in the social problems of the day. Women's clubs were at the forefront of the temperance movement and the suffragette movement, as women fought to get the right to vote. One project that seems to have been a favorite of many of the women's clubs on the New Hampshire side of the Upper Valley was the New Hampshire Orphan's Home in Franklin, New Hampshire.

In the 1915 report of the New Hampshire Orphan's Home, you can read how much women's clubs provided for 177 orphans who lived there. Women's clubs provided birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and clothing and toys for the orphans throughout the year. The report lists every women's club throughout the state who gave donations, money, and actually came to the home to cook and serve holiday dinners for the children. Lebanon's Vega and Fortnightly Clubs, and Hanover's clubs are all included on the list, over and over again.

The Lebanon Women's Club is still active today. Follow this link to an article about the club in 2014.

http://www.vnews.com/home/11685139-95/a-tradition-of-tea-lebanon-womens-club-hosts-high-school-seniors