IOWA CITY, IOWA

BEST EVER CLUB

RECORDS, 1929-1994

9 linear inches

ACQUISITION: The records (donor no. 259) were donated by Gertrude Ettleman in 1995.

ACCESS: The records are open for research.

COPYRIGHT: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

PHOTOGRAPHS: In box 1.

PROCESSED BY: Leslie Czechowski, 1995.

History

The Best Ever Club of Percival, Iowa, was a women's study club founded on November 24, 1922. The club generally held monthly meetings for study, conversation, and refreshments. Members frequently participated in other community activities and donated money to local groups and causes such as the P.T.A. Student Loan Fund, Fremont County Historical Society, and Odyssey of the Mind teams.

Scope and Content Note

The Best Ever Club records date from 1929 to 1994 and measure 9 linear inches. The records consist of scrapbooks, notebooks, yearbooks, and an Iowa Community Achievement Contest entry. They document the activities of this social club and the lives and activities of the members in this small, rural Iowa community of approximately 100 families in the mid-1950s.

The Scrapbooks (1954-1994) contain newspaper clippings, annual club program books, photographs, meeting notes, and other memorabilia, including newspaper clippings of legislative reports from Best Ever Club member, Lillian M. McElroy, a state representative. Also included are the handwritten articles regarding the formation and plan for the club.

The Notebooks (1948-1993) contain minutes of each meeting, roll call lists of members, and lists of dues paid.

The Annual programs (1929-1949) are the handmade programs of the club during those years, often in pink and green, with construction paper covers and mimeographed or carbon copy pages.

The Iowa Community Achievement Contest Entry (1956-1958) contains the forms from the Best Ever Club's entry into this competition. The club had planted a tree in the church yard to honor their "boys" in the armed forces, donated $25 toward construction of rest rooms in a community building, entered a float at the Thurman, Iowa, centennial, and encouraged home decorations during the Christmas season. Included are black-and-white photographs of the tree, the float, and "home beautification."

Box no. Description

Box 1
Scrapbooks
1954-1971
1972-1994
Box 2
Notebooks
1948 and 1949/50
1950-1958
1958-1967
1967-1980
1980-1993
Annual programs
1929/30-1948/49 (lacking 1936/37 and 1939/40)
Iowa Community Achievement Contest Entry, 1956-1958