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M073 Reading Club of Durango (Colorado)

Collection Summary    back to top

Title Reading Club of Durango
Dates (Inclusive) 1854 - current
Dates (Bulk) 1887 - 1994
Creator Reading Club of Durango
Abstract This collection consists of historical records of the Reading Club of Durango (also at times known as the Ladies’ Reading Club of Durango).
Unique ID M073
Quantity 10 linear shelf feet

Historical Note    back to top
Reading Club The Reading Club of Durango was established in 1882. In 1894 it became one of the first federated Women's Clubs in Colorado. The State Federation followed in 1896. The Club has always met on Thursday afternoon; its membership is limited to 25. Throughout its history, its members have represented some of the most influential families in Durango. Club colors are pink and green (since 1896); the Club flower is the carnation (since 1895). As a literary club, the members have always been interested in books. The Club's single largest project was the establishment of the Durango Public Library. The Club wrote to Andrew Carnegie to obtain funding for the building in 1907, and donated its own small library of books, furnishings and fixtures to the new library. The Durango Public Library has been the largest philanthropic project of the Club since 1907. Another important early project (and the first project undertaken by the newly-formed Colorado State Federation of Women's Clubs) was the protection of the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings and the preservation of Mesa Verde as a park -- which nearly split the Club due to a difference of opinion as to whether the Park should be national or state. The Club donated $25 in 1926 to assist in forming a library at Mesa Verde National Park.

Reading CLub List of the 12 charter members of the Reading Club of Durango, 1882
(numbers in parentheses are references to lists of gifts to the Durango Public Library donated in memory of this individual, as noted in the members book*)



Mrs. Owen F. (Anna M.) Boyle (p. 85) Miss Maggie Krumpanitzky (Mrs. Solomon W. (or G.?) Raymond) (p. 66)
Mrs. Alfred P. (Estelle McNeil) Camp (p. 99) Mrs. George (May) Melville (p. 41)
Mrs. N. W. (Helen Babcock) Chamberlain (p. 48) Mrs. Gustavus F. (Jeannette Kellog) Scoville (p. 76)
Mrs. Franklin C. (Mary) Jackson (p. 77) Miss Grace K. Scoville (Mrs. Ben Bishop) (Mrs. Bennett Salmon) (p. 89)
Mrs. Gilbert D. (Maria Crow or Clara M.) Jackson (p. 41) Mrs. Charles D. (Ella Pelton) Wright (p. 41)
Miss Lounette Jackson (Mrs. John Haggart; Mrs. Gilbert Jackson's mother) (p. 91) Miss Laura D. Marsh (p. 43)]

*Source: Reading Club members book, page 3.

List of presidents of the Reading Club of Durango, 1882 - current

President Date President Date President Date President Date President Date
Mrs. N. W. Chamberlain 1882 Mrs. Joseph Hahn 1912-1913 Mrs. James Noland 1938-1939 Mrs. William Hurd 1962-1963 Edith Latch 1986-1987
Mrs. Charles D. Wright 1883-1884 Mrs. Frank (Evelyn Dyer "Effie") Eldredge 1913-1914 Mrs. W. D. Ewing 1939-1940 Mrs. J. E. Morehart 1963-1964 Janet Watson 1987-1988
Mrs. Owen F. Boyle 1885 Mrs. Carl (Molly) Coulson 1914-1915 Mrs. J. P. Chawnell 1940-1941 Mrs. R. E. O'Brien 1964-1965 Martha Simpson 1988-1989
Mrs. Gustavus F. Scoville 1886 Mrs. Joseph Clark 1915-1916 Mrs. F. C. (Helen S.) Daniels 1941-1942 Mrs. Charles M. Canatsey 1965-1966 Evelyn Bugg 1989-1990
Mrs. Gilbert D. Jackson 1887 Mrs. Benjamin W. (Jeannette) Ritter 1916-1917 Mrs. Dwight Sexton 1942-1943 Mrs. Roger Ptolemy 1966-1967 Ruth Parkinson 1990-1991
Mrs. O. F. Boyle 1888 Mrs. Edward H. Burdick 1917-1918 Mrs. John A. Lee 1943-1944 Mrs. R. D. Franklin 1967-1968 Shirley Buslee 1991-1992
Mrs. N. M. Chamberlain 1889-1892 Mrs. Allen Robbins 1918-1920 Mrs. Robert H. Sloan 1944-1945 Mrs. Tom Neal 1968-1969 Kay Baker 1992-1994
Mrs. Alfred P. Camp 1893 Mrs. A. Rex (Rose) Mollette 1920-1921 Mrs. A. L. Burnett 1945-1946 Mrs. James Gilchrist 1969-1970 Ann Willard 1994-1995
Mrs. N. M. Chamberlain 1894 Mrs. Henry G. Berri 1921-1922 Mrs. Hoyt C. Miller 1946-1947 1970-1971 Bing Reed 1995-1996
Mrs. Gustavus Scoville 1895 Mrs. Arthur Ayers 1922-1923 Mrs. Claude S. Dudley 1947-1948 Mrs. Philip Parkinson 1971-1972 Lorraine Gardenswartz 1996-1997
Mrs. D. M. (Sarah) DeCow 1896 Mrs. Rowe N. Pingrey 1923-1924 Mrs. Fred Brinker 1948-1949 Mrs. George King 1972-1973 Kaki Bauer 1997-1998
Mrs. T. F. Barbour 1897-1898 Mrs. Russell B. Raynolds 1924-1925 Mrs. John Fleck 1949-1950 Mrs. John Watson 1973-1974 Sharon Abshagen 1998-1999
Mrs. H. R. Rickper 1898-1899 Mrs. Harry Dixon 1925-1926 Mrs. Otto B. Reusch 1950-1951 Mrs. Albert Kiesel 1974-1975 Bing Reed 1999-2000
Mrs. George E. (Alice) West 1899-1900 Mrs. Rosepha C. Pulford Haskell 1926-1927 Mrs. Fred Browning 1951-1952 Mrs. Rexer Berndt 1975-1976 Pam Furze 2000-2001
Mrs. John Haggart 1900-1901 Mrs. W. S. Pickerill 1927-1928 Mrs. E. D. Peters 1952-1953 Mrs. Harrold S. Shipps, Jr. 1976-1977 Martha Simpson 2001-2002
Mrs. Irving B. Melville 1901-1903 Mrs. Emory Smiley 1928-1930 Mrs. Clayton W. Graebing 1953-1954 Mrs. George Lockhart 1977-1978 Ann Butler 2002-2003
Mrs. Frank S. Balster 1903-1904 Mrs. W. Earl Barber 1930-1931 Mrs. E. E. Hatfield 1954-1955 Mrs. William Krauser 1978-1979 Ann Willard 2003-2004
Mrs. John Haggart 1904-1906 Mrs. Charles (Perle) Stilwell 1931-1932 Mrs. Charles L. Mason 1955-1956 Mrs. Howard Simpson 1979-1980 Julie Shimada 2004-2005
Mrs. S. E. Herr 1906-1907 Mrs. George Lane 1932-1933 Mrs. A. M. Emigh 1956-1957 Mrs. Franklin McKelvey 1980-1981 Mary Lou Falkenstein 2005-2006
Mrs. Frederick (Nellie) Egan 1907-1908 Mrs. Fred Clark 1933-1934 Mrs. A. C. Ruland 1957-1958 Mrs. Margaret Dunn 1981-1982 Susan Davies 2006-2007
Mrs. Louis Jakway 1908-1909 Mrs. Hary McDevitt 1934-1935 Mrs. T. G. Eggleston 1958-1959 Mrs. Lillian McKelvey 1982-1983 2007-2008
Mrs. Milton Kauffman 1909-1910 Mrs. W. L. Birkhimer 1935-1936 Mrs. R. F. McKelvey 1959-1960 Mrs. Pat Ernst 1983-1984
Mrs. Reese McCloskey 1910-1911 Mrs. A. M. Emigh 1936-1937 Mrs. Dwight Dilley 1960-1961 Ethel Dyer 1984-1985
Mrs. Clayton C. Perkins 1911-1912 Mrs. George Frank 1937-1938 Mrs. Otto E. Brown 1961-1962 Jane Hemphill 1985-1986


Arrangement    back to top
The materials within most of the record groups in this collection are organized from highest hierarchical level to lowest, or from most general to most specific. Items within each series (e.g., yearbooks, minutes, and histories) and within each box and folder are arranged chronologically, unless noted otherwise. The boxes are numbered in one single numbering scheme starting with 1; folder numbers start with 1 in the first box, and begin again with folder 1 in box 2.

Scope & Contents    back to top
Yearbook Plate This collection consists of historical records of the Reading Club of Durango (also at times known as the Ladies’ Reading Club of Durango). It includes the club's constitution and bylaws, histories, minutes, yearbooks (these contained the monthly program descriptions), newspaper clippings scrapbooks, photos, treasurer's reports and financial records, membership books and other Club records, programs, menus and other ephemera from banquets, etc., journals, an unidentified diary, awards (including a glass one honoring Mrs. Frank Eldredge as the longest continuous member of the Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs), and artifacts. The collection also includes a handwritten valedictory address dated 1854.

For an oral history account of the Reading Club, see the 7-page transcription of Duane Smith's interview with Mrs. Emory Smiley dated June 4, 1976, which is in the Durango Oral Histories (Collection U 003).

Restrictions    back to top
Access. There are no access restrictions on the use of these materials for research purposes. This collection is open to the public for use in the Delaney Southwest Research Library at the Center of Southwest Studies.

Use and Copyright. These materials are for use only in the Delaney Southwest Research Library; they are non-circulating. Limited duplication of print materials is allowed for research purposes. The user assumes full responsibility for observing all applicable laws regarding copyright, property rights, and libel.

Preferred Citation    back to top
Reading Club of Durango, Fort Lewis College. Center of Southwest Studies.

Processing Info    back to top
The bulk of the physical arrangement of this collection was accomplished in the fall of 2003 by volunteer Club members (including Beverly Darmour and Ann Butler), student archival assistants, and J. Todd Ellison, Archivist. This online inventory was prepared by Ellison, beginning in 2003. Finding aid revised and reformatted by archival student worker Daryl Begaye in Winter of 2012.

Acquisition Info    back to top
The collection is comprised of several donations to the Center of Southwest Studies: accession 1991:05003 from Mr. and Mrs. Guy Gilbert, who donated the first installment (19 folders of yearbooks and a members book) in May of 1991 (the accession number is noted on these items to distinguish them within the collection), accession 2002:11013 which was the donation of the bulk of the collection by the Club itself in November of 2002, and 2007:118 containing the most recent materials.

Separated Materials    back to top
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Series/Container List    back to top

Series

Series 1: Legal records
Series 2: Yearbooks
Series 3: Minutes and attendance records
Series 4: Club journal (newsletter)
Series 5: Treasurer's reports and financial records
Series 6: Scrapbooks
Series 7: News clippings and photographs
Series 8: Histories
Series 9: Programs, poems, songs, awards, and other printed materials
Series 10: Membership records and correspondence

Series 1: Legal records, [19--]-1994. 5 folders, includes the Club's constitution and bylaws, and an early set of rules of the Durango Public Library in which the club has met for many decades.   back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, [19??]. 1 item. 1/1
Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, 1961. 3 items. 1/2
Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, 1989 and 1994. 3 items. (The 2000 revision is glued onto a page of the 1996-2001 scrapbook.) 1/3
Durango Public Library rules, [undated], [190?]. 1 item. 1/5

Series 2: Yearbooks, 1894-2007. 2 document cases (boxes 1-2). These described the scheduled program contents of upcoming meetings for the year, plus information on officers, etc. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1894 and 1895. 3 items. 1/6
Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1896. 2 items. 1/7
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1897/98, 1898, and 1899. 3 items. 1/8
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1899/1900. 2 items. 1/9
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1900/01 and 1901/02. 3 items. 1/10
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1902/03 and 1903/04. 3 items. 1/11
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1904/05 and 1905/06. 3 items. 1/12
Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1906/07. 2 items. 1/13
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1907/08 and 1908/09. 3 items. 1/14
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1909/10 and 1910/11. 4 items. 1/15
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1911/12 and 1912/13. 5 items. 1/16
Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1913/14. 3 items. 1/17
Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1914/15. 2 items. 1/18
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1915/16 and 1916/17. 5 items. 1/19
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1917/18 and 1919/20. 3 items. There was no yearbook for the 1918/19 club year, because the Club was busy assisting the American Red Cross during the War. The 1919/1920 yearbook was produced on a mimeograph machine rather than having the Durango Herald Press produce it as usually was the case. 1/20
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1920/21 and 1921/22. 4 items. 1/21
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1922/23 and 1923/24. 4 items. 1/22
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1924/25 and 1925/26. 4 items. 1/23
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1926/27 and 1927/28. 3 items. 1/24
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1928/29 and 1929/30. 3 items. 1/25
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1930/31 and 1931/32 (front plate pictured). 4 items. One of the 1931/32 yearbooks contains an undated Club program and a 3/21/1936 newspaper clipping about the death of Colorado song writer Miss Estelle Philleo. 1/26
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1932/33 and 1933/34 (patriotic cover pictured). 2 items. 1/27
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1933/34 and 1934/35. 3 items. 1/28
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1935/36 and 1936/37. 4 items. 2/1
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1937/38 and 1938/39. 4 items. 2/2
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1939/40 and 1940/41. 4 items. 2/3
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1941/42, 1942/43, and 1943/44. 5 items and a mimeographed page of songs. One of the 1943/44 yearbooks contains two partially dated newspaper clippings about the Club and about the June 12th Annual Convention of Southwest District of the Colorado Federation. 2/4
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1944/45 and 1945/46. 6 items. 2/5
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1947/48 and 1948/49. 4 items. 2/6
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1949/50 and 1950/51. 4 items. 2/7
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1951/52 and 1952/53. 6 items. One of the 1952/53 yearbooks contains a songs sheet and the words of the Star Spangled Banner 2/8
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1953/54 and 1954/55. 4 items. 2/9
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1955/56 and 1956/57, and a bibliography of Club programs for 1955/56 that was inserted into each yearbook for that year. 6 items. One of the 1955/56 yearbooks contains a 10/25/1955 newspaper clippings of various world news items. 2/10
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1957/58 and 1958/59. 3 items. 2/11
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1959/60 and 1960/61. 2 items. 2/12
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1961/62 and 1962/63. 2 items. 2/13
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1963/64 and 1964/65. 2 items. 2/14
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1965/66 and 1966/67. 2 items. 2/15
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1967/68 and 1968/69. 2 items. 2/16
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1969/70 and 1970/71. 2 items. 2/17
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1971/72 and 1972/73. 4 items. 2/18
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1973/74. 4 items. 2/19
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1974/75 and 1975/76. 4 items. 2/20
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1976/77 and 1977/78. 4 items. 2/21
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1978/79 and 1979/80. 3 items. 2/22
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1980/81 and 1981/82. 5 items. 2/23
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1982/83 and 1983/84. 4 items 2/24
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1984/85 and 1985/86. 2 items. 2/25
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1986/87 and 1987/88. 2 items. 2/26
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1988/89 and 1989/90. 3 items. 2/27
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1989/90 and 1991/92. 2 items. 2/28
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1990/91 and 1992/93. 2 items. 2/29
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1993/94 and 1994/95. 2 items. 2/30
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1995/96 and 1997/98. 2 items. (The 1996/97 yearbook is glued onto the front page of the 1996-2001 scrapbook.) 2/31
Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1998/99, 2000/01, and 2001/02. 3 items. (The 1999/2000 yearbook is glued onto a page of the 1996-2001 scrapbook.) 2/32
Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 2003/04, and 2004/05. 4 items. (Yearbooks for 2002/03, 2005/06 and 2006/07 are glued into pages of the scrapbooks for those years.) 2/33

Series 3: Minutes and attendance records, 1887-1996 Jan. 4 document cases (boxes 3-6). back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1887-1888. 1 volume. 3/1
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1889-1891. 1 volume. 3/2
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1893-1899. 1 volume. Includes (inserted between pages 192 and 193) an original newspaper clipping (and an archival photocopy wrapped around it) of a society column dated May 25, 1899 describing the annual banquet of the Reading Club that met at the residence of Mrs. I. Kruschke 3/3
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1899-1904. 1 volume. 3/4
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1905 October – 1908 July. 1 volume. 3/5
Reading Club of Durango corresponding secretary's records, 1906 November - 1967 April. 1 volume. Quite detailed until 1955, describing Club correspondence. 3/6
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1908-1910. 1 volume. 3/7
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1910-1914. 1 volume. 3/8
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1914-1921. 1 volume. 3/9
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1930. 1 volume. 3/10
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1921-1932. 1 volume. 4/1
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1932-1933. 1 volume. 4/2
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1933. 1 volume. 4/3
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1934. 1 volume. 4/4
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1934-1935. 1 volume. 4/5
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1935-1936. 1 volume. 4/6
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1937. 1 volume. 4/7
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1937-1938. 1 volume. 4/8
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1938-1939. 1 volume. 4/9
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1940-1941. 1 volume. 4/10
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1941-1942. 1 volume. 4/11
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1942-1943. 1 volume. 4/12
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1944. 1 volume. 4/13
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1945. 1 volume. 4/14
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1946-1947. 1 volume. 4/15
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1948. 1 volume. 4/16
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1948-1949. 1 volume. 4/17
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1949-1950. 1 volume. 4/18
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1950. 1 volume. 4/19
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1952. 1 volume. 5/1
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1952-1953. 1 volume. 5/2
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1953-1954. 1 volume. 5/3
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1954-1955. 1 volume. 5/4
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1956. 1 volume. 5/5
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1956-1957. 1 volume. 5/6
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1957-1958. 1 volume. 5/7
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1958-1959. 1 volume. 5/8
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1960. 1 volume. 5/9
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1961. 1 volume. 5/10
Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1962-1963. 1 volume. 5/11
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1962-1964. 1 volume. 5/12
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1964-1966. 1 volume. 5/13
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1968-1969. 1 volume. 5/14
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1971. 1 volume. 5/15
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1972. 1 volume. 5/16
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1972-1973,1981-1982. 1 volume. 5/17
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1973-1974. 1 volume. 5/18
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1974-1975. 1 volume. 5/19
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1976. 1 volume. 5/20
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1976-1977. 1 volume. 5/21
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1977-1978. 1 volume. 5/22
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1978-1979. 1 volume. 5/23
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1979-1980. 1 volume. 5/24
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1980-1981. 1 volume. 5/25
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1981-1982. 1 volume. 5/26
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1983-1984. 6/1
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1984-1985. 6/2
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1986. 6/3
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1987. 6/4
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1988. 6/5
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1989. 6/6
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1989-1992. 6/7
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1992-1993. 6/8
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1993-1994. 6/9
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1994-1995. 6/10
Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1995-1996 January. 6/11

Series 4: Club journal (newsletter), 1910-1915. 6 folders in Box 7. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango journal, 1910-1911. 1 volume. 7/1
Reading Club of Durango journal, 1911. 1 volume. 7/2
Reading Club of Durango journal, 1913. 1 volume. 7/3
Reading Club of Durango pictorial record of current events, 1913 April 13/ compiled by Anna Robbins. 1 volume. 7/4
Reading Club of Durango journal, 1913 December. 1 volume. 7/5
Reading Club of Durango journal, 1915 February. 1 volume. 7/6

Series 5: Treasurer's reports and financial records, 1914-1998. 1 document case (box 7). back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1914-1941. 1 volume. 7/7
Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1941-1969. 1 volume. 7/8
Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1969-1997. 1 volume. 7/9
Reading Club of Durango annual reports, 1982-83, 1985-87, 1991-92 and budgets, 1958-80, 1983-1988, 1990-97. 7/10
Reading Club of Durango miscellaneous records and correspondence, [1909]-1998. 7/11
Reading Club of Durango bank statements and financial records, 1979-1996, incomplete. 7/12
Reading Club of Durango bank statements and financial records, 1997-1998. 7/13

Series 6: Scrapbooks, In 2 document cases and 3 oversize document cases (boxes 8-11A). Includes newspaper clippings and other printed materials and photos. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1968-1969. 1 volume. 9/1
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1971-1974. 1 volume. 9/2
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1939-1941. 10/1
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1941-1942. 10/2
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1943-1944. 10/3
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1944-1945. 10/4
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1945-1946. 10/5
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1946-1947. 10/6
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1951-1953. 10/7
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1954-1955. 10/8
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1955-1956. 10/9
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1956-1957. 10/10
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1957-1958. 10/11
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1959-1960. 10/12
Reading Club of Durango scrapbooks, 1960-1961 and 1961-1962. 10/13
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1962-1963. 10/14
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1975-1976. 10/15
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1976-1977. 10/16
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1977-1978. 10/17
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1978-1979. 10/18
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1980-1985. 1 volume. 11/1
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1986-1987. 1 volume. 11/2
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1987-1988. 1 volume. 11/3
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1988-1989. 1 volume. 11/4
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1989-1990. 1 volume. 11/5
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1990-1991. 1 volume. 11/6
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1991-1992. 1 volume. 11/7
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1992-1994. 1 volume. 11/8
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1994-1995. 1 volume 11/9
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1995-1996 spring. 1 volume. 11/10
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1996 fall-2001. 1 volume. 11A/1
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 2002-2005 Sept. 1 volume. 11A/2
Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 2005 Oct.-2006. 1 volume. 11A/3

Series 7: News clippings and photographs, 1899-1963. 3 folders in Box 12. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango untitled story and program, 1884 April. 12/1
Reading Club of Durango group portrait photos, 1899 -[circa 1904]. 6 photoprints, comprising 3 different images. 12/2
Reading Club of Durango group portrait photos, [circa 1930s -1950s]. 22 photoprints, comprising 14 different images. 12/3

Series 8: Histories, circa 1890s – 2006. 27 folders in Box 12. Includes a small folder of newspaper clippings. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango newspaper clippings, [circa 1950s]-1963. (See also clippings in Box 12, Folder 25, and in the scrapbooks.) 12/4
Reading Club of Durango history by Mrs. Vaile or Mrs. Camp (?), [circa 1890s]. 12/5
Reading Club of Durango history, 1908-1909. 12/6
Reading Club of Durango history, 1916. 12/7
Reading Club of Durango in pre-historic and medieval times, by Rose Mollette, 1916 May. 12/8
Reading Club of Durango history, ancient, by Z. R. P., 1917 May. 12/9
Reading Club of Durango history, 1917. 12/10
Reading Club of Durango resolutions on the death of Mrs. J. R. C. Tyler, 1919 October 23. 12/11
Reading Club of Durango history, 1921. 12/12
In memoriam: Mrs. Jeannette Ritter, by Mary C. Ayres, 1921 February 17. 12/13
Reading Club of Durango history, 1922. 12/14
Reading Club of Durango history, 1923-1924. 12/15
Traditions of the Durango Reading Club, a history by Rosepha C. Pulford, 1925 May. 9 pages, and archival photocopy made of the same item as it is acidic and torn. 12/16
Reading Club of Durango journal poem, “The Fates,” 1925-1926. 12/17
Reading Club of Durango history, 1925-1926. 12/18
Reading Club of Durango history, 1927-1928. 12/19
Reminiscences of the San Juan Basin, Reading Club of Durango history, 1929. 12/20
Colorado State Federation of Women's Clubs histories and chronologies, 1931-1932. 3 items. Includes a letter (3 typed double-sided pages) from state president Helen W. Fischer to Mrs. Ashbach dated November 9, 1931; the June 1932 issue of the Colorado Club Woman (Volume 11, Number 8; convention issue); and a history and chronology by the Federation itself, 1932 (1 volume; 103 pages). 12/21
Reading Club of Durango history, by Mary C. Ayres, 1934 May 24, updated 1940 June. 5 pages. 12/22
Durango Public Library history, by Mary C. Ayres, 1947. 12/23
Reading Club “Jewels,” featuring Mrs. Frank (Evelyn Dyer) Eldredge, 1965. 12/24
Reading Club of Durango history newspaper clipping from the centennial 1880-1980. 12/25
Molly Coulson, biographical sketch, [undated]. 2 pages. 12/26
Anna Robbins, poem in tribute to her, [undated]. 12/27
Reading Club of Durango history, by Sally Morrissey, 1989 January. 12/28
Reading Club of Durango history, by Beverly Darmour, 2002 December. This was created for a Club program when the theme was area history. 12/29
Unidentified diary, 1910. Report of a trip to Europe, especially Spain. 12/30

Series 9: Programs, poems, songs, awards, and other printed materials, 1882- 2006. 1 document case (box 13). Includes Club event programs, menus and other ephemera from banquets, etc., and three Reading Club block printer's plates. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango banquet and special events programs and clippings, 1882-1928. Also a paper napkin with a colorful floral picture on it. 13/1
Reading Club of Durango special events program, 1902 February 20. 13/2
Reading Club of Durango program, leather bound, 1902. 1 volume. 13/3
Reading Club of Durango banquet programs, 1989, 1991, and 1992. 13/4
Ladies Library Association catalog, 1894. 1 volume. 13/5
Reading Club of Durango journal “The Hasty Pudding,” 1911. 1 volume. 13/6
Reading Club of Durango journal “The Hasty Pudding,” 1912. 1 volume. 13/7
Reading Club of Durango poems, 1911-1922. 13/8
Reading Club of Durango untitled poem, 1923. 13/9
Reading Club of Durango poem for 1924, by Perle B. Stilwell. 13/10
Reading Club of Durango poems, 1925-1932. 13/11
Reading Club of Durango songs, [undated]. 13/12
Reading Club of Durango Christmas songs, [undated]. 13/13
Property of the Reading Club of Durango, Colo., metal plaque, 1914. 13/14
Reading Club of Durango awards and certificates, [191-] – [199-]. 13/15
Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs award and certificate, 1955 and [undated, circa 1990s], 3 items, including a glass plaque honoring Mrs. Frank Eldredge as the longest continuous member of the Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs. This folder also contains 5 pages of items from the Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs and the [national] General Federation of Women's Clubs, circa 1940s-1980s, that were found with the records of the La Plata County Commissioners. 13/16
Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs programs, 1939, 1949, and 1951. 13/16a
Valedictory address delivered at Boeh (sp?) Seminary (Mt. Morris, Ill.), by J, _ Hazt (sp.?), 1854 June 28. 4 sheets, written on both sides. 13/17
William the Silent, oration re:, by Alla M. Jakway, [undated]. 13/18
The Bacon-Shakespeare controversy, by Mrs. Doggart, 1909 November. 13/19
King Solomon’s Matrimonial Bureau, [a mock letter to], by Mary Anderson Tyler and Evelyn Dyer Eldredge, 1913 April 10. 13/20
A modern Ww [woman?]: the badly told tale of a domestic problem, by ___ Phillips Kauffmann, 1914. 13/21
Truth is stranger than fiction: as exemplified by a week at Electra Lake, by Rose Mollette, 1914. Typescript. 3 copies. 13/22
Ute Indians of Southwestern Colorado, compiled by Helen Sloan Daniels, with sketches by Pearl Oliver, 1941. 13/23
Latter-day pioneering in Colorado: a true story, by Mrs. Larinione, [undated]. 13/24
Through the shop window, by Annie A. Balster, [undated]. 3 pages. 13/25
 Reading Club of Durango Honorable Associate number. Received via Beverly Darmour in 2003. Writings by Club members over time. Edited and compiled by Ella H. Burdick. Includes "a record of the sayings, philosophical, wise, and learned of the twenty-four illustrious ours." Also, a history of the Club. A computer printout, approximately 20 pages, not numbered. 13/26
Reading Club of Durango list of drawer files in Durango Public Library, 1996-1997. 13/27
Reading Club printing plates for ink stamping on book donations and yearbooks. 3 items. 13/28

Series 10: Membership records and correspondence,circa 1920s-2007. 1 document case (box 14). Includes other Club records and correspondence. back to Series list

Description Box/Folder
Reading Club of Durango membership book, 1882-1946. Compiled by Mrs. R. McCloskey. Includes lists of charter members, presidents, retired members, deceased members, and titles donated to the Durango Public Library in memory of Club members (the first gift was on May 6, 1907, for a set of Stoddard's Lectures). 1 volume (300 pages; many of them are blank). Includes (found loose in the book) a calling card of Lucy B. Shackford. Accession 1991:05003. 14/1
Reading Club of Durango membership book, circa 1920s - 2007. 14/2
Reading Club of Durango members list and miscellaneous loose notes, undated through 1989. Also, a letter to Helen Sloan Daniels postmarked May 28, 1956 from a nursing school graduate, Shirley Mitchell, and a memo from City Councilman Harrold Shipps dated June 21, 1989 regarding the Ela Berkheimer memorial Ash tree on 10th Street and East 3rd Avenue. 5 items. 14/3
Reading Club of Durango miscellaneous member correspondence, circa 2007. 14/4