CSWS Finding Aids Header
Collection M 073:
Reading Club of Durango (Colo.) records
inventory

     
     Years this material was created: 1854-2007 (bulk 1887-2006)

      Quantity:  9 linear shelf feet (in 15 document cases)       


Links to contents

Preface
Introduction/ Scope and contents Administrative info
Historical note
Series
Container list
Center of Southwest Studies collection inventories
Center of Southwest Studies


Introduction/ Scope and contents

M 073
Reading Club of Durango (Colo.) records
The image at right is of an engraving of a scene at Emerald Lake designed by
Mrs. Reese McCloskey that has graced the covers of most of the Club's yearbooks since 1894.

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, through 2000; histories, 1895-2002; minutes, 1887-1990s; “yearbooks,” 1894-2006 (these contained the monthly program descriptions); newspaper clippings scrapbooks, circa 1910-2006; 27 photoprints, 1899-[circa 1950s] (in 2 folders); treasurer's reports and financial records, 1914-1998; membership books and other Club records, 1894-2007; programs, menus and other ephemera from banquets, etc.; journals, 1903-1926; three Reading Club block printer's plates (see the image above of one of the stamps) for ink stamping on book donations and yearbook; an old 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 (in Box 13, folder 17).

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).


Historical note

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.

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, 1882-2007

President Year   President Year
Mrs. N. W. Chamberlain 1882   Mrs. Otto B. Reusch 1950/51
Mrs. Charles D.  Wright 1883-1884   Mrs. Fred Browning 1951/52
Mrs. Owen F.  Boyle 1885   Mrs. E. D. Peters 1952/53
Mrs. Gustavus F. Scoville 1886   Mrs. Clayton W. Graebing 1953/54
Mrs. Gilbert D. Jackson 1887   Mrs. E. E. Hatfield 1954/55
Mrs. O. F. Boyle 1888   Mrs. Charles L. Mason 1955/56
Mrs. N. M. Chamberlain 1889-1892   Mrs. A. M. Emigh 1956/57
Mrs. Alfred P. Camp 1893   Mrs. A. C. Ruland 1957/58
Mrs. N. M. Chamberlain 1894   Mrs. T. G. Eggleston 1958/59
Mrs. Gustavus Scoville 1895   Mrs. R. F. McKelvey 1959/60
Mrs. D. M. (Sarah) DeCow 1896   Mrs. Dwight Dilley 1960/61
Mrs. T. F. Barbour 1897/98   Mrs. Otto E. Brown 1961/62
Mrs. H. R. Rickper 1898/99   Mrs. William Hurd 1962/63
Mrs. George E. (Alice) West 1899/1900   Mrs. J. E. Morehart 1963/64
Mrs. John Haggart 1900/01   Mrs. R. E. O'Brien 1964/65
Mrs. Irving B. Melville 1901/02-1902/03   Mrs. Charles M. Canatsey 1965/66
Mrs. Frank S. Balster 1903/04   Mrs. Roger Ptolemy 1966/67
Mrs. John Haggart 1904/05-1905/06   Mrs. R. D. Franklin 1967/68
Mrs. S. E. Herr 1906/07   Mrs. Tom Neal 1968/69
Mrs. Frederick (Nellie) Egan 1907/08   Mrs. James Gilchrist 1969/70
Mrs. Louis Jakway 1908/09   1970/71
Mrs. Milton Kauffman 1909/10   Mrs. Philip Parkinson 1971/72
Mrs. Reese McCloskey 1910/11   Mrs. George King 1972/73
Mrs. Clayton C. Perkins 1911/12   Mrs. John Watson 1973/74
Mrs. Joseph Hahn 1912/13   Mrs. Albert Kiesel 1974/75
Mrs. Frank (Evelyn Dyer "Effie") Eldredge 1913/14   Mrs. Rexer Berndt 1975/76
Mrs. Carl (Molly) Coulson 1914/15   Mrs. Harrold S. Shipps, Jr. 1976/77
Mrs. Joseph Clark 1915/16   Mrs. George Lockhart 1977/78
Mrs. Benjamin W. (Jeannette) Ritter 1916/17   Mrs. William Krauser 1978/79
Mrs. Edward H. Burdick 1917/18   Mrs. Howard Simpson 1979/80
Mrs. Allen Robbins 1918-1920   Mrs. Franklin McKelvey 1980/81
Mrs. A. Rex (Rose) Mollette 1920/21   Mrs. Margaret Dunn 1981/82
Mrs. Henry G. Berri 1921/22   Mrs. Lillian McKelvey 1982/83
Mrs. Arthur Ayers 1922/23   Mrs. Pat Ernst 1983/84
Mrs. Rowe N. Pingrey 1923/24   Ethel Dyer 1984/85
Mrs. Russell B. Raynolds 1924/25   Jane Hemphill 1985/86
Mrs. Harry Dixon 1925/26   Edith Latch 1986/87
Mrs. Rosepha C. Pulford Haskell 1926/27   Janet Watson 1987/88
Mrs. W. S. Pickerill 1927/28   Martha Simpson 1988/89
Mrs. Emory Smiley 1928-1930   Evelyn Bugg 1989/90
Mrs. W. Earl Barber 1930/31   Ruth Parkinson 1990/91
Mrs. Charles (Perle) Stilwell 1931/32   Shirley Buslee 1991/92
Mrs. George Lane 1932/33   Kay Baker 1992/93-1993/94
Mrs. Fred Clark 1933/34   Ann Willard 1994/95
Mrs. Hary McDevitt 1934/35   Bing Reed 1995/96
Mrs. W. L. Birkhimer 1935/36   Lorraine Gardenswartz 1996/97
Mrs. A. M. Emigh 1936/37   Kaki Bauer 1997/98
Mrs. George Frank 1937/38   Sharon Abshagen 1998/99
Mrs. James Noland 1938/39   Bing Reed 1999/2000
Mrs. W. D. Ewing 1939/40   Pam Furze 2000/01
Mrs. J. P. Chawnell 1940/41   Martha Simpson 2001/02
Mrs. F. C. (Helen S.) Daniels 1941/42   Ann  Butler 2002/03
Mrs. Dwight Sexton 1942/43   Ann Willard 2003/04
Mrs. John A. Lee 1943/44   Julie Shimada 2004/05
Mrs. Robert H. Sloan 1944/45   Mary Lou Falkenstein 2005/06
Mrs. A. L. Burnett 1945/46   Susan Davies 2006/07
Mrs. Hoyt C. Miller 1946/47   2007/08
Mrs. Claude S. Dudley 1947/48  
Mrs. Fred Brinker 1948/49  
Mrs. John Fleck 1949/50  

*Source: Reading Club members book, pages 5-8, and yearbooks in the collection.


Administrative information

Acquisition information: 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. 

Provenance: Until their donation to the Center in 2002, those latter records were stored in a locked file cabinet at the Durango Public Library where the Club has held its meetings for many years.

About the organization of this collection:  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.

Processing informationThe 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.


Series descriptions

1.    Legal records, [19--]-1994.  5 folders in Box 1.  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. 

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.

3.    Minutes and attendance records, 1887-1996 Jan.  4 document cases (boxes 3-6). 

4.    Club journal (newsletter), 1910-1915.  6 folders in Box 7.

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

6.    Scrapbooks, circa 1910-2006.  In 2 document cases and 3 oversize document cases (boxes 8-11A).   Includes newspaper clippings and other printed materials and photos.

7.    News clippings and photographs, 1899-1963.  3 folders in Box 12.

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

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.

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


Container list

Reading Club of Durango records inventory

Box 1:  Constitution/ bylaws, 1961-1994; and yearbooks, 1894-1934/35.

Folder 1:             Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, [19??].  1 item.

Folder 2:             Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, 1961.  3 items.

Folder 3:             Reading Club of Durango constitution and bylaws, 1974.  4 items.

Folder 4:             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.)

Folder 5:             Durango Public Library rules, [undated], [190?].  1 item.

Folder 6:             Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1894 and 1895.  3 items.

Folder 7:             Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1896.  2 items.

Folder 8:             Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1897/98, 1898, and 1899.  3 items.

Folder 9:             Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1899/1900.  2 items.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1900/01 and 1901/02.  3 items.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1902/03 and 1903/04.  3 items.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1904/05 and 1905/06.  3 items.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1906/07.  2 items.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1907/08 and 1908/09.  3 items.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1909/10 and 1910/11.  4 items.

Folder 16:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1911/12 and 1912/13.  5 items.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1913/14.  3 items.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango yearbook, 1914/15.  2 items.

Folder 19:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1915/16 and 1916/17.  5 items.

Folder 20:            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.

Folder 21:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1920/21 and 1921/22.  4 items.

Folder 22:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1922/23 and 1923/24.  4 items.

Folder 23:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1924/25 and 1925/26.  4 items.

Folder 24:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1926/27 and 1927/28.  3 items.

Folder 25:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1928/29 and 1929/30.  3 items.

Folder 26:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1930/31 and 1931/32 (front plate pictured at right).  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.

Folder 27:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1932/33 and 1933/34  (patriotic cover pictured below).  2 items.

Folder 28:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1933/34 and 1934/35.  3 items.

Box 2:  Yearbooks, 1935/36 - 2006/07

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1935/36 and 1936/37.  4 items.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1937/38 and 1938/39.  4 items.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1939/40 and 1940/41.  4 items.

Folder 4:            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.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1944/45 and 1945/46.  6 items.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1947/48 and 1948/49.  4 items.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1949/50 and 1950/51.  4 items.

Folder 8:            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.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1953/54 and 1954/55.  4 items.

Folder 10:            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.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1957/58 and 1958/59.  3 items.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1959/60 and 1960/61.  2 items.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1961/62 and 1962/63.  2 items.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1963/64 and 1964/65.  2 items.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1965/66 and 1966/67.  2 items.

Folder 16:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1967/68 and 1968/69.  2 items.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1969/70 and 1970/71.  2 items.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1971/72 and 1972/73.  4 items.

Folder 19:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1973/74.  4 items.

Folder 20:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1974/75 and 1975/76.  4 items.

Folder 21:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1976/77 and 1977/78.  4 items.

Folder 22:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1978/79 and 1979/80.  3 items.

Folder 23:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1980/81 and 1981/82.  5 items.

Folder 24:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1982/83 and 1983/84.  4 items.

Folder 25:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1984/85 and 1985/86.  2 items.

Folder 26:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1986/87 and 1987/88.  2 items.

Folder 27:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1988/89 and 1989/90.  3 items.

Folder 28:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1989/90 and 1991/92.  2 items.

Folder 29:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1990/91 and 1992/93.  2 items.

Folder 30:            Reading Club of Durango yearbooks, 1993/94 and 1994/95.  2 items.

Folder 31:            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.)

Folder 32:            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.)

Folder 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.)

Box 3: Minutes and attendance records, 1887-1914

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1887-1888.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1889-1891.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            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.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1899-1904.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1905 October – 1908 July.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango corresponding secretary's records, 1906 November - 1967 April.  1 volume.  Quite detailed until 1955, describing Club correspondence.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1908-1910.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1910-1914.  1 volume.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1914-1921.  1 volume.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1930.  1 volume.
 

Box 4: Minutes and attendance records, 1914-1950

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1921-1932.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1932-1933.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1933.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1934.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1934-1935.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1935-1936.  1 volume.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1937.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1937-1938.  1 volume.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1938-1939.  1 volume.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1940-1941.  1 volume.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1941-1942.  1 volume.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1942-1943.  1 volume.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1944.  1 volume.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1945.  1 volume.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1946-1947.  1 volume.

Folder 16:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1948.  1 volume.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1948-1949.  1 volume.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1949-1950.  1 volume.

Folder 19:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1950.  1 volume.
 

Box 5: Minutes and attendance records, 1952-1982

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1952.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1952-1953.  1 volume.

Folder 3            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1953-1954.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1954-1955.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1956.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1956-1957.  1 volume.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1957-1958.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1958-1959.  1 volume.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1960.  1 volume.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1961.  1 volume.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango minutes/attendance record, 1962-1963.  1 volume.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1962-1964.  1 volume.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1964-1966.  1 volume.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1968-1969.  1 volume.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1971.  1 volume.

Folder 16:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1972.  1 volume.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1972-1973,1981-1982.  1 volume.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1973-1974.  1 volume.

Folder 19:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1974-1975.  1 volume.

Folder 20:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1976.  1 volume.

Folder 21:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1976-1977.  1 volume.

Folder 22:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1977-1978.  1 volume.

Folder 23:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1978-1979.  1 volume.

Folder 24:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1979-1980.  1 volume.

Folder 25:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1980-1981.  1 volume.

Folder 26:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1981-1982.  1 volume.
 

Box 6: Minutes and attendance records, 1983-1996

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1983-1984.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1984-1985.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1986.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1987. 

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1988.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1989.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1989-1992.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1992-1993.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1993-1994.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1994-1995.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango minutes, 1995-1996 January.

Box 7: Club journal (newsletter), 1910-1915, and treasurer’s reports and financial records, 1914-1998

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango journal, 1910-1911.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango journal, 1911.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango journal, 1913.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango pictorial record of current events, 1913 April 13/ compiled by Anna Robbins.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango journal, 1913 December.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango journal, 1915 February.  1 volume.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1914-1941.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1941-1969.  1 volume.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango treasurer’s journal, 1969-1997.  1 volume.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango annual reports, 1982-83, 1985-87, 1991-92 and budgets, 1958-80, 1983-1988, 1990-97.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango miscellaneous records and correspondence, [1909]-1998.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango bank statements and financial records, 1979-1996, incomplete.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango bank statements and financial records, 1997-1998.

Box 8: Scrapbooks, 1963/64-1967-68, and Chinatown (4 volumes; there are none in the collection for the 1966-67 year)

Folder 1:            [This folder is empty.]

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1963-1964.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1964-1965.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1965-1966.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbooks, 1966-1967 and 1967-1968.  2 volumes.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango Chinatown scrapbook, [undated].  1 volume.
 

Box 9: Scrapbooks, 1968/69 and 1971-74 (2 volumes; none for 1969-71)

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1968-1969.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1971-1974.  1 volume.
 

Box 10: Scrapbooks (oversize), 1939–1947, 1951-52, 1954-1963, and 1975-1979 (18 sections)

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1939-1941.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1941-1942.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1943-1944.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1944-1945.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1945-1946.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1946-1947.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1951-1953.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1954-1955.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1955-1956.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1956-1957.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1957-1958.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1959-1960.

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbooks, 1960-1961 and 1961-1962.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1962-1963.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1975-1976.

Folder 16:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1976-1977.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1977-1978.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1978-1979.
 

Box 11: Scrapbooks (oversize), 1980–1996 (2 volumes and 8 unbound sections)

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1980-1985.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1986-1987.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1987-1988.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1988-1989.  1 volume.

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1989-1990.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1990-1991.  1 volume.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1991-1992.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1992-1994.  1 volume.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1994-1995.  1 volume.

Folder 10:          Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1995-1996 spring.  1 volume.

 

Box 11A: Scrapbooks (oversize), 1996 fall–ongoing (3 volumes)

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 1996 fall-2001.  1 volume.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 2002-2005 Sept.  1 volume.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango scrapbook, 2005 Oct.-2006.  1 volume.


 

Box 12: Photographs, newspaper clippings, and histories, [1890s – 200-]

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango untitled story and program, 1884 April.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango group portrait photos, 1899 -[circa 1904].  6 photoprints, comprising 3 different images.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango group portrait photos, [circa 1930s -1950s].  22 photoprints, comprising 14 different images.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango newspaper clippings, [circa 1950s]-1963.  (See also clippings in Box 12, Folder 25, and in the scrapbooks.)

Folder 5:            Reading Club of Durango history by Mrs. Vaile or Mrs. Camp (?), [circa 1890s].

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1908-1909.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1916.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango in pre-historic and medieval times, by Rose Mollette, 1916 May.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango history, ancient, by Z. R. P., 1917 May.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1917.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango resolutions on the death of Mrs. J. R. C. Tyler, 1919 October 23.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1921.

Folder 13:            In memoriam: Mrs. Jeannette Ritter, by Mary C. Ayres, 1921 February 17.

Folder 14:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1922.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1923-1924.

Folder 16:            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.

Folder 17:            Reading Club of Durango journal poem, “The Fates,” 1925-1926.

Folder 18:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1925-1926.

Folder 19:            Reading Club of Durango history, 1927-1928.

Folder 20:            Reminiscences of the San Juan Basin, Reading Club of Durango history, 1929.

Folder 21:            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).

Folder 22:            Reading Club of Durango history, by Mary C. Ayres, 1934 May 24, updated 1940 June.  5 pages.

Folder 23:            Durango Public Library history, by Mary C. Ayres, 1947.

Folder 24:            Reading Club “Jewels,” featuring Mrs. Frank (Evelyn Dyer) Eldredge, 1965.

Folder 25:            Reading Club of Durango history newspaper clipping from the centennial 1880-1980.

Folder 26:            Molly Coulson, biographical sketch, [undated].  2 pages.

Folder 27:            Anna Robbins, poem in tribute to her, [undated].

Folder 28:            Reading Club of Durango history, by Sally Morrissey, 1989 January.

Folder 29:            Reading Club of Durango history, by Beverly Darmour, 2002 December.  This was created for a Club program when the theme was area history.

Folder 30:            Unidentified diary, 1910.  Report of a trip to Europe, especially Spain.

Box 13: Programs, poems, songs, awards, and other printed materials, 1882- 200-; and printing blocks

Folder 1:            Reading Club of Durango banquet and special events programs and clippings, 1882-1928.  Also a paper napkin with a colorful floral picture on it.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango special events program, 1902 February 20.

Folder 3:            Reading Club of Durango program, leather bound, 1902.  1 volume.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango banquet programs, 1989, 1991, and 1992.

Folder 5:            Ladies Library Association catalog, 1894.  1 volume.

Folder 6:            Reading Club of Durango journal “The Hasty Pudding,” 1911.  1 volume.

Folder 7:            Reading Club of Durango journal “The Hasty Pudding,” 1912.  1 volume.

Folder 8:            Reading Club of Durango poems, 1911-1922.

Folder 9:            Reading Club of Durango untitled poem, 1923.

Folder 10:            Reading Club of Durango poem for 1924, by Perle B. Stilwell.

Folder 11:            Reading Club of Durango poems, 1925-1932.

Folder 12:            Reading Club of Durango songs, [undated].

Folder 13:            Reading Club of Durango Christmas songs, [undated].

Folder 14:            Property of the Reading Club of Durango, Colo., metal plaque, 1914.

Folder 15:            Reading Club of Durango awards and certificates, [191-] – [199-].

Folder 16:            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.

Folder 16a:          Colorado Federation of Women’s Clubs programs, 1939, 1949, and 1951.

Folder 17:            Valedictory address delivered at Boeh (sp?) Seminary (Mt. Morris, Ill.), by J, _ Hazt (sp.?), 1854 June 28.  4 sheets, written on both sides.

Folder 18:            William the Silent, oration re:, by Alla M. Jakway, [undated].

Folder 19:            The Bacon-Shakespeare controversy, by Mrs. Doggart, 1909 November.

Folder 20:            King Solomon’s Matrimonial Bureau, [a mock letter to], by Mary Anderson Tyler and Evelyn Dyer Eldredge, 1913 April 10.

Folder 21:            A modern Ww [woman?]: the badly told tale of a domestic problem, by ___ Phillips Kauffmann, 1914.

Folder 22:            Truth is stranger than fiction: as exemplified by a week at Electra Lake, by Rose Mollette, 1914.  Typescript.  3 copies.

Folder 23:            Ute Indians of Southwestern Colorado, compiled by Helen Sloan Daniels, with sketches by Pearl Oliver, 1941.

Folder 24:            Latter-day pioneering in Colorado: a true story, by Mrs. Larinione, [undated].

Folder 25:            Through the shop window, by Annie A. Balster, [undated].  3 pages.

Folder 26:            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.

Folder 27:            Reading Club of Durango list of drawer files in Durango Public Library, 1996-1997.

Folder 28:            Reading Club printing plates for ink stamping on book donations and yearbooks.  3 items.
 

Box 14:   Membership records, and other records and correspondence

Folder 1:            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.

Folder 2:            Reading Club of Durango membership book, circa 1920s - 2007. 

Folder 3:            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.

Folder 4:            Reading Club of Durango miscellaneous member correspondence, circa 2007.


This inventory was produced by Todd Ellison in November of 2003 (updated November 2007).

© 2003 by Fort Lewis College Foundation, Center of Southwest Studies account (revised 2007)



Doing your own research:
This description of a portion of the collections at the Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies is provided to inform interested parties about the nature and depth of the repository's collections.   It cannot serve as a substitute for a visit to the repository for those with substantial research interests in the collections.

This collection is located at the Center of Southwest Studies on the campus of Fort Lewis College.  Researchers wanting more information about using this material at the Delaney Southwest Research Library at the Center may email the archivist at archives@fortlewis.edu or click here to use our E-mail Reference Request Form (or phone the archivist at 970/247-7126).  The Center does not have a budget for outgoing long-distance phone calls to answer reference requests, so please email if you wish to receive a response from the Center.  To request reproductions/copies, click here for instructions.


 

Page last modified: November 27, 2007