REMEMBERING "CLUB"

My interest in vintage handiwork brings to mind memories of my mother and her social circle in the 1950s. Basically Mother had two social outlets – CWF (Christian Women’s Fellowship) and an informal sewing circle that met monthly. It’s the sewing circle I remember most. She called it “club.”

Let’s see. Who was there? Grandmother Nina Portfors (until 1955 when she passed on); Psyche Johnson, "Judy" Jewell, Ruth Ross, Evelyn Hanson, Mrs. Kimball, Mittie Tucker, Mrs. Molloy, Delia Oud, Rhoda Hayes Smathers, Mrs. J. J. Johnson, and later Beatrice Smolinski. Well, to most of you the names don’t matter. Most of these ladies were of my grandmother’s generation. They all lived within a few blocks of one of another. Before I went to school, Mother would take me with her. I loved to sit with Ruth and Evelyn. Their laughter was so infectious!

I can’t tell you the history of this club. I’ll bet they began meeting in the ‘30s – maybe even the ‘20s. They had no treasury and no philanthropic purpose; this was not a chapter of an international organization but an informal neighborhood women’s group. Meetings were held in the homes of the members according to rotation. If it was your turn to serve as hostess, it was an obligation you took seriously. Your home would be spotless, and your desire was to serve graciously. The hostess would also provide refreshments. I remember how wonderful the house would look and smell. The members wore dresses such as would be appropriate for church on a regular Sunday. Each would bring her handiwork -- her embroidery, her knitting, maybe even her mending – and a pleasant afternoon would pass as they worked and visited. At the appropriate time, the hostess would serve refreshments using her best linen, silver and china – the finest she had to offer. Before they left, they would pass a dish with little pieces of folded paper in it. The one who chose the slip of paper that said “It’s you” received a gift – usually something lovely. Once I was “it.” My gift was a Fenton milk glass vase with a ruffled edge trimmed in green. I love it to this day. It’s something that is truly mine.

All of this appreciation of finery -- this desire to provide a "gracious" experience for one's friends or to practice one's manners based on the rules of etiquette -- began to disappear. It was mostly gone by the time I went to college in 1967. No wonder I was so confused! Of course, women were beginning to enter the workforce, but I think it was more than that. Perhaps we began to see the falsity of what appeared as “putting on airs.” Yet, we have Martha Stewart among us, telling us how to live the gracious life. Some of us (perhaps most of us) find her so obnoxious – yet, she still has a career in the world, doesn’t she?