Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the Thirteen Club of Defiance, Ohio (1893-2000) were donated to the Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University, on May 6, 2003. The collection was transferred by Ann Bowers, Curator of Manuscripts, Center for Archival Collections, with the cooperation of Edna Solether.

The records of this organization consist of minutes, programs, financial records, program books, club histories, and photographs. Literary and property rights have been dedicated to the public. The collection was processed and the register drafted by Lee N. McLaird, Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections in January 2007.

Agency Sketch

The Thirteen Club was organized in September 1893. Membership numbers varied for the first few years, but in 1895, the club consisted of thirteen women and remained so after that time, as the Thirteen Club. Meetings were held on the first and third Mondays of each month, from September through May.

Musical entertainment and spoken presentations made up the bulk of the programming, and social gatherings with the families of members were held on special occasions throughout the year. Service projects over the years included gift baskets to needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas, planting a tree in honor of George Washington's bicentennial, and charitable gifts to causes such as the Red Cross and Children's Home.

The club celebrated its centennial year in 1993. By 2003, members found it increasingly difficult to meet regularly, and the club was disbanded and the records donated to the Center for Archival Collections.

Scope and Content

The activities of the Thirteen Club of Defiance, Ohio are recorded in detail through the minutes and program books, which cover a period of more than one hundred years. The minutes are complete, although the dates of some of the volumes overlap. Researchers should take care to see that they have searched both volumes for the dates needed. Minutes include the date, time, and place of each meeting, activities and program. The program books are nearly complete, with early records lacking only for the program year1919-1920; dates in the 1970s and 1980s are somewhat more scattered.

Treasurer's Ledgers are complete for the years from1893-1960. These records list members' names and dues paid as well as expenses of the club and their purpose.

Club histories and lists of officers were prepared in 1975 and 1993. A photograph of members' children from 1907 and several photographs from the 100th anniversary celebration in 1993 complete the collection.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES
September 1898-February 2000
Arranged chronologically
Includes date, time, and place of meeting, business conducted and program presented.

FINANCIAL RECORDS

TREASURER'S LEDGER
1893-1960
Arranged chronologically
Includes members' dues payments as well as club expenditures and their purpose.

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

PROGRAM BOOKS
1898/90-2001/02
Arranged chronologically
Includes information about each year's program schedule.

CLUB HISTORIES
1975, 1993
Arranged chronologically
Includes a history of the club written in 1975, as well as a list of officers through the years.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHS
ca. 1907, 1993
No arrangement
Includes photographs of club members and activities.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Minutes, Sep 1898-Apr 1903
2. Minutes, Sep 1909-May 1915
3. Minutes, Oct 1915-June 1918; Oct 1925-Jan 1936
4. Minutes, Sep 1919-May 1925
5. Minutes, Jan 1936-Oct 1940
6. Minutes, Oct 1940-May 1956
7. Minutes, Sep 1956-May 1961
8. Minutes, Sep 1961-May 1972

Box 2

Folders

1. Minutes, Sep 1972-May 1979
2. Minutes, Sep 1979-May 1982
3. Minutes, May 1989-Feb 1991
4. Minutes, Mar 1991-Feb 2000
5. Treasurer's Ledger, 1893-1937
6. Treasurer's Ledger, 1938-1960
7. Program Books, 1898/90-1909/10
8. Program Books, 1911/12-1918/19

Box 3

Folders

1. Program Books, 1920/21-1929/30
2. Program Books, 1930/31-1939/40
3. Program Books, 1940/41-1949/50
4. Program Books, 1950/51-1959/60
5. Program Books, 1960/61-1969/70
6. Program Books, 1970/71-1974/75, 1979/80

Box 4

Folders

1. Program Books, 1984/85-1989/90
2. Program Books (2 copies), 1990/91-2001/02
3. Club Histories and List of Officers, 1975, 1993
4. Photographs, ca. 1907, 1993

Manuscripts by Subject | Women's Studies Bibliography