STUDY CLUB:

The Study Club had its origins with a group of eight affluent Minneapolis women who, bored with the endless rounds of social engagements that dominated their days, were seeking a more intellectually stimulating pastime. As founding member Eleanor Pillsbury describes in her reminiscences on the early days of the club, "In the summer of 1912 a few of us ex-debutantes were discussing the fact that our lives seemed quite useless and only occupied with pink teas and formal luncheons, usually given by one of the grand-dames of Minneapolis in our honor. . . . These luncheons gave us no outlet for our intellectual aspirations and when we attempted social work we were not accepted by the professionals. We decided, therefore, to change our life style, so a small group of us organized a club to study art, literature, and politics."

Early efforts to organize the group failed for lack of leadership, but in 1913, under the able direction of Mrs. Alice Ames Winter (who was president of the National Federation of Women's Clubs), the club was established with approximately eighteen members: Mrs. Sumner McKnight (Henriette), Mrs. Karl DeLaittre, Mrs. Philip Little (Ella), Mrs. Earl Partridge (Grace), Mrs. Frederick Atkinson, Mrs. John Bovey (Margaret), Miss Helen Tuesdell, Miss Helen Abbot, Miss Katherine King (later Mrs. Wilkes Covey), Mrs. Harold Hunt (Margaret), Mrs. George Norton Northrop (Catherine), Mrs. Harold Ward (Harriet), Mrs. Anson Jackson, Miss Charlotte Passmore, Miss Dolly Winston, Mrs. John Pillsbury (Eleanor), Mrs. Alice Ames Winter, and Mrs. John Dalrymple. A program of lectures on topics of interest to the group was arranged. In the early years the members took turns making presentations and leading discussion on assigned topics, but by the 1920s, the more usual practice was to bring in outside speakers, frequently university professors. Unlike many such clubs, which eventually evolved into philanthropic or social organizations, the Study Club maintained its primarily educational throughout the years.

Historical information was taken from the collection.

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Minutes, annual programs/membership directories, and historical material on a women's study and social club. Of particular interest is a reminiscence on the early days of the club, given by Eleanor Pillsbury on the occasion of the group's 1000th meeting in October of 1976.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Study Club Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,603; 17,981

Processing Information:

Digitized by: Evelyn Gaunt, July 2024, January 2025.

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman~Shedlov, July 2001 & July 2002; Leif Kopietz, December 2024

Catalog ID number: 990017371550104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Clubs -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Women -- Societies and clubs.

Education -- Societies, etc.

Persons:

Pillsbury, Eleanor Lawler, 1887-1991, author.

Winter, Alice Ames, 1865-1944.

Document Types:

Programs.

Photographs.

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