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Cage 630
Pullman Fortnightly Club
Records, 1893-1996

The Fortnightly Club of Pullman, Washington, donated its records to Washington State University in 1989 (accession MS89-72). Jean Johnson processed the collection in 1995.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

The Pullman Fortnightly Club was organized in 1893 by Mrs. Harriet E. Bryan as a women's literary society and and has functioned continuously afterward. Since its inception it has conducted bi-monthly meetings from September to April at which members present their analyses of classical and contemporary works of poetry, drama, and fiction. In addition, the Fortnightly Club holds breakfast meetings and annual anniversary dinners.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The records consist of business records of the organization and materials related to its programs. Many of the club's records were preserved by Catherine Mathews Friel and her mother Serena F. Mathews. Papers presented by both these women, as well as others, are included in the collection, the group from Serena F. Mathews being particularly extensive.

The collection is organized into seven series: Business Records, Club Papers, Correspondence, Memorabilia, Miscellaneous, Programs, and Oversize.

Business Records contain club minutes, the constitution, and receipts and bank statements.

Club Papers include several groupings of presentation papers written by club members for presentation as well as miscellaneous papers and title lists.

Correspondence files include business correspondence, member correspondence, and letters from the French orphan that the Fortnightly Club sponsored after the Second World War.

The Memorabilia series is rich with historical information relevant to the club. It includes news clippings, photographs, and three notebook compilations of club history, one which was prepared by Serena F. Mathews. One large poster portraying charter members of the club and several laminated newspaper pages with articles concerning the club are stored separately as Oversized holdings.

Miscellaneous materials include a Federation of Women's Clubs pamphlet, an Albert Egge manuscript, and information pertaining to the club's purchase of Thatuna Park and Playfield for the City of Pullman.

The Programs series contains annual program booklets that list each year's literary works or subjects of study, as well as breakfast meeting agendas and annual anniversary dinner menus and speakers. Some party favors from these occasions are preserved, as well as two audio cassette recordings from a 1979 talk by Mary Johnson.

RELATED MATERIALS

The WSU Libraries also hold Cage 108: Fortnightly Club Yearbooks, 1893-1960. This collection comprises 2 boxes, ca. 1 linear foot. There are also three unprocessed accessions as of 2008: MS 1996-56, MS 2004-04, and MS 2008-30.

CONTAINER LIST