Arranged and described by Hansie Grignon; edited by Brenda Howitson Steeves
August 2010

Collection title: Thursday Club Records
Collection number: MS 500
Dates of collection: 1910-1976
Size of collection: 1 record carton
Restrictions on access and use: Collection kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice is required for retrieval.

History

The Thursday Club at the University of Maine was founded in 1910. Its constitution and by-laws were drawn up on October 6, 1911, and its object was “to promote acquaintance and mutual helpfulness among its members.” Faculty wives and female members of the faculty composed the members of this club. The first official president was Mrs. James W. Bartlett, its vice president, Mrs. Royden L. Hammond, and its secretary-treasurer, Mrs. Herman H. Hansen. This collection also includes records of the Newcomers’ Club, which was founded in October, 1951, and became part of the Thursday Club in May, 1953. Members were required to be a part of the Newcomers’ Club for two years before becoming eligible for full Thursday Club membership. Meetings of the Thursday Club were at first held weekly, then biweekly. Later the club met every third Thursday and, later still, convened on a monthly basis. As of 2010, the Thursday Club is still in existence. One of its objectives is “to award scholarships through the Thursday Club Scholarship Fund at the University of Maine Foundation for non-traditional students who have completed twenty-four credit hours.”

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains records of the Thursday Club. Arranged in chronological order, they include newspaper clippings, programs, member lists, expense accounts and meeting minutes. The history of the club is related from 1910 to 1969, and there is information dating from the 1910s to the 1960s. The bulk of this collection, however, centers around the club’s events from the 1970s. Committees from that era included: Program, Hospitality, Social, History, Publicity, Nominating, and Interest Groups (such as Antiques, Books, Bridge, Gardening, and Handicrafts). The events sponsored by the Thursday Club in the 1970s included the Fall Tea, Folk Dancing, Economical Ways of Meat-Cutting, Maine-ly Christmas, American Antique Clocks, Fashion Show, Husband and Guest Night, Our Talented Women, Spring Luncheon, Steamboating on the Penobscot, and Potluck Suppers.

An album with articles entitled “Home Fires Brighten College Work,” written by Nelle C. Penley in 1937 and donated by Mrs. C. Harry White in 1961, features photographs and profiles of University of Maine women.

Box List

Box 1

Folder

1 History of the Thursday Club from 1910 to 1947

2 History of the Thursday Club from 1911 to 1961

3 History of the Thursday Club from 1911 to 1969

4 Expenses, minutes and members, April 1911 – May 24, 1922

5 Expenses, minutes and members, October 1922 – October 1931

6 Thursday Club calendar 1928 – 1929

7 Expenses, minutes and members, November 1930 – May 1935

8 Expenses, minutes and members, September 1935 – June 1938

9 Home fires brighten college work, 1937

10 Expenses, minutes and members, September 1938 – January 1943

11 Expenses, minutes and members, February 1943 – March 1950

12 Members, 1945 – 1946

13 Members and minutes, 1956 – 1957

14 Members and minutes, 1957 – 1958

15 Members and minutes, 1958 – 1959

16 Members and minutes, 1959 – 1960

17 Members and minutes, 1960 – 1961

18 Members and minutes, 1961 – 1962

19 Members and minutes, 1962 – 1963

20 Members and minutes, 1963 – 1964

21 Members and minutes, 1964 – 1965

22 Thursday Club newspaper clippings, September 1964 – April 1967

23 Members and minutes, 1965 – 1966

24 Members and minutes, 1966 – 1967

25 Members and minutes, 1967 – 1968

26 Thursday Club newspaper clippings and programs, October 1967 – February 1975

27 By-laws, members and minutes, 1968 – 1969

28 By-laws, members and minutes, 1970

29 Newcomers’ Group invitations, 1970

30 By-laws, members and minutes, 1971

31 Recipes for Christmas with an international flavor, 1971

32 By-laws, members and minutes, 1972

33 Newcomers’ Club duties and procedures for officers and publicity chairman, 1971 – 1972

34 Orono annual report, 1972

35 Newcomers’ Group member cards, 1972 – 1974

36 By-laws, members and minutes, 1973 – 1974

37 Welcome Newcomers program, 1973

38 Holiday hues (recipes), 1973

39 Members and minutes, 1974 – 1975

40 Sample membership cards, deposit ticket, autumn place cards, 1974

41 Maine-ly Christmas, 1974

42 Thursday Club by-laws, events and members, 1974-1975

43 Program, 1974-1975

44 Members, by-laws and calendar, 1975 – 1976

45 Receipt book (n.d.)

46 Sample stationery (n.d.)