IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
PROTEUS CLUB (DES MOINES,
IOWA)
RECORDS, 1897-1996
2.5 linear feet
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers
(donor no. 156) were donated by the Proteus Club, Des Moines, Iowa in 1993
and 1997. |
|
ACCESS: |
The records
are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University
of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In box 6. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Robert J. Jett, 1993. |
History
In October of 1896, seven young women, having
graduated from college and finished touring Europe, founded the Proteus
Club. In Greek mythology Proteus was a
learned sage with knowledge of all things past, present, and future. The object of this newly formed club was
intellectual improvement. A letter,
written in 1937 by Louise Elbert Everett, founding member, recalls the small
group of women who "....met together and unhesitantly decided, (to) have a
study club....swathed in many underpinnings, long skirts, high-boned collars,
lots of hair, hour-glass figures,...we had a beautiful and sublime trust in
God, our country, our state, our city, our families, ourselves." The membership soon grew to 25. In 1922 the first delegates were appointed
to the city and State Federation of Women's Clubs.
Members take turns preparing papers to be read at
the club's meetings. A wide range of
topics has been dealt with over the years, including: "Is co-education
desirable?", "Should a married woman hold a job?", the League of
Nations, American diplomacy, planning and zoning in Des Moines, Golda Meir,
Iowa wetlands, Gorbachev, Native Americans, computers and alcoholism.
One of the remarkable characteristics of Proteus is
longevity, both in the members and the club itself. Many members have remained active until their deaths, some for 70
years or more. In 1993 the club had 58
members, the longest active member having joined in 1938.
Noteworthy projects of the club include publishing a
cook book to raise funds for an art gallery in 1900, supporting two war orphans
in France and Belgium during the first world war, buying and selling towels
made by the blind, and donating materials to the Des Moines Art Center.
Scope and Content Note
The Proteus Club records measure 2.5
linear feet and date from 1897 to 1996.
The records are arranged in four series: Administrative files, Programs, Photographs, and Projects.
The first series, Administrative
files (1897-1996), includes the constitution, by-laws, and articles of
incorporation; correspondence (including one letter from the Woman's Peace
Party and one letter from the Woman's Section of the Navy League of the United
States); financial reports; and a history written in 1993 by Mrs. Julian (Win)
Bruner. A nearly complete set of
minutes, dating from 1897-1911 and 1917-1986 forms the core of this series.
Programs (1900-1993) are
arranged in three sub-series: papers presented at meetings, special events and
celebrations, and program yearbooks.
Papers, dating primarily from the 1970s to the 1990s, are arranged
chronologically. A list of authors and
titles is appended. In 1913 the club
presented a skit that parodied the British suffragettes, entitled "The
Militant Husbandette." A booklet
containing photographs and text from the performance is included in the special
events and celebrations sub-series. The
club's twentieth (1917) through the seventy-fifth (1971) anniversaries are
represented by various speeches, skits, newspaper clippings, and papers. Program yearbooks contain lists of the
club's officers, members, and papers presented.
Photographs (1937, 1980)
consist of two group photos from 1937 showing members wearing clothing from the
early 1800s and a 1980 photograph.
The Projects series contains a
recipe box and cards dating from 1909 and the Proteus Club cookbook from
1900. Both of these were used as fund
raisers.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Administrative files
Certificates and awards,
1951 and undated
Constitution, by-laws and
articles of incorporation
Original constitution, 1899
1906(?)-1977 and undated
Correspondence (1 folder)
General, 1915-1942
(scattered) [includes one letter from Woman's Peace Party (1915) and one letter
from Woman's Section of the Navy League of The United States (1915)]
Anniversary letters, 1916,
1947, 1971 and undated
“Des Moines’ Proteus
Club: A Celebration of the First One
Hundred Years--1896-1996”, 1996
Financial report and
statement, 1943, 1947
Handbooks
Roberts Rules Of Order, 1915
The Twentieth Century
Clubwoman, 1952
History (1896-1993), 1993
Insurance policy, 1905-1906,
1937 [includes partial list of paintings insured]
Lists of presidents
(1896-1990)
Minutes
October 17, 1897 - September
29, 1902
September 30, 1902 - May 8,
1911
Box 2
1917-1921
1922-1928
1929-1939
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1971
1972-1979
Box 3
1980-1986
Chronology of minutes,
1896-1956
Proteus relationships, 1996
Programs
Papers presented at meetings
[see appended list for titles and authors]
1900-1940 (scattered)
1950-1958
Papers presented at meetings
1964-1968
1970-1973
1974-1975
1976-1977
1978-1979
1980-1981
Box 4
1982-1983
1984-1986
1987-1989
1990
1991
1992-1993
Undated
Special events and celebrations
"The Militant
Husbandette", 1913
Twentieth anniversary, 1917
Thirtieth anniversary, 1927
Fortieth anniversary, 1937
Fiftieth anniversary, 1946
Sixtieth anniversary, 1956
Box 5
Seventy-fifth anniversary,
1971
Dinner program/invitation,
1900, 1901
Eulogies, 1966, 1980
Program yearbooks
1899-1901
1908/09-1921/22
1922/23-1939/40
1940/41-1956/57
1957/58-1974/75
1975/76-1992/93
Photographs, 1937, 1980
Box 6
Projects
Recipe Box with cards, 1909
Proteus Club Cook Book, 1900
Wood block
Chronological list of papers
presented
1900-1940 (scattered)
Nollen, Hanna T. "A
Master-Poet And His Master-Piece" [Virgil]
Nollen, Hanna T.
"Please Pass The Moon"
Nollen, Hanna T.
"Semantics"
"Art"
"English=The
Universal"
1950-1958
Bragg, Mrs. James O. "Duveen"
Nollen, Hanna T.
"Whither-Mid-Century"
Nollen, Hanna T. "How
Civilized Are We?"
Nollen, Hanna T. "Eat
And Grow Thin" [the pursuit of happiness]
Bragg, Mrs. James O.
"Planning & Zoning"
1964-1970
Bragg, Mrs. James O.
"Refugees and Buccaneers" [Bahamas and the West Indes]
Parker, Louise L.
"Abigail Adams - 1744-1818 Our Second First Lady"
Wijkman, Ruth Wallace
"Are We Shaping Up?"
1970-1973
Hunter, Ellen M. "On
The Rocks" [Isabella Bird Bishop]
Levine, Mrs. Arnold
"American Humor Today - Or The Lack Of It"
Riley, Mary Ann "Ms
Mother"
Jones, Nancy "The
Nomads"
O'Reilly, Phoebe "Pro
Or Con Of Woman's Lib"
Brammer, M.L. "Golda
Meir"
Hunter, Carolyn "Mary
Wollstonecraft (Shelley)"
Proctor, Alice "Dear
Indira"
Curtis, Marty "I'm
Okay, You're Okay: But We're Both Under 50"
Bragg, Mrs. James O.
"What Makes The World Go Round" [The family]
Marquardt, Sara "Is
Woman Creative?"
Dickinson, Mrs. L. Call
"The Animal That Laughs"
1974-1975
Riley, Mrs. Robert
"Humanistic Psychology"
Kruidenier, Elizabeth S.
"Behavior Modification: Is It The Solution...Or The Problem?"
Fleming, Ann "The
Producer Versus The Environmentalist"
Bastian, Mrs. Ralph
"Highchair to wheelchair" [American furniture]
Jones, Esther "How The
Colonists Grow Their Food"
Wallace, Helen J. "Constitutional
Labor Pains"
Weitz, Sally "The
Founding Fathers"
Marquardt, Sara C.
"Reflections Of Cycles"
Shiffler, LuVern
"Counterfeiting"
Blackburn, Helen Steadman
"Evolution of the Declaration of INTERdependence"
Haines, Betty "The
Presidents And The White House"
Brenton, Mrs. W. Harold
"Cheers"
Kruidenier, Mrs. David
"Why I am an Independent"
Wilson, Mrs. George
"Why I am a Republican"
Weitz, Emily "Our
Monumental Sculpture" [Earth]
Dickinson, Betty "From
the King's English to Current Jargon"
1978-1979
Bragg, Mrs. James "The
Persian - Arabian Gulf; Today's Black Gold - Tommorow's Enigma"
Mills, Clara "The
Future Of Optimism"
O'Reilly, Phoebe "Is
There A Future To Growing Old?"
Hein, Peggy "A Turn To
The Right"
Kruidenier, Liz "A
Sharp Medicine" [The death
penalty]
Brenton, Mrs. Robert C.
"Healing, Mind Over Matter?"
Wijkman, Mrs. Per
"Proteus Past" [filed in box 1 with: History, (1896-1993)]
1980-1981
Wilson, Genie
"Railroading"
Bucksbaum, Kay "The
Press-Freedom For And Freedom From?"
Blackburn, Helen Steadman
"Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet"
Shiffler, LuVern
"Tasty?" [Etiquette]
Phillips, Mrs. T. Ward
"Medicine Discovers Man"
Michel, Shirley
"Peripatetic Parenting"
Riley, Mary Ann "The
Quality Of Life"
Riley, Mary Ann
"Quality Of Art"
Bastian, Margaret Ann
"Re-Industrialization - "An Economic Challenge"
Mills, Claire
"Capability Equals Quality"
1982-1983
Marquardt, Sara
"Bringing Up Quality"
Hunter, Ellen "A
Volunteer Looks at Voluntarism"
Curtis, Mrs. Hugh E.
"Quality Leisure"
Bragg, Janna "Clans,
Conquests, Colonies and Coups" [South America]
Furbush, Mrs. Fran "The
Mother Lode"
Dickinson, Betty
"Methuselah Did - Can We?" [Aging]
Hunter, Carolyn
"Russian Rebus"
Proctor, Mrs. William
"Modern Humor II"
O'Reilly, Mrs. Joseph
"One Woman Can Make A Difference"
"Re-Industrialization -
An Economic Challenge"
1984-1986
Murphy, Mrs. Ray "Diana
In Adidas"
Michel, Mrs. Raymond
"Clay: Tea and Chicken Soup"
Riley, Mary Ann "...And
Ladies of the Club"
Wilson, Genie "A
Genealogical Journey"
Bucksbaum, Kay "Anyone
For Adventure"
Dorner, Vernell H.
"Addictive Trips"
Levine, Caroline
"Journey Beyond War"
Baldwin, Pat "To Hell
And Back" [Dante]
Bloodgood, Jeanne
"Journey Through Culture" [Egypt]
Phillips, Helen
"Witchcraft"
Marquardt, Sara "When
Is Cow Not A Cow?" [Symbolism]
Pearsall, Virginia
"Reaching Out In New Ways" [Technology]
Worthen, Amy Namowitz
"Drawing Near" [Visual arts]
1987-1989
Pearsall, Virginia
"Memory"
Blackburn, Helen Steadman
"The Unsettling Dream" [Immigration]
Harmon, Muffy
"Scruples"
Fleming, Ann "Iowa Wetlands"
Harper, Mary "Not noing
how to reed gud" [Literacy]
Bragg, Janna "Can Man
Reverse His Folly?" [The environment]
Kenworthy, Ann "For
God's Sake-Laugh!"
Mills, Clare "Nonsense
and Whimsey"
Fleming, Allison
"Juvenile Justice"
Furbush, Bo "Disposing Of
Waste"
1990
Brown, Sibylla "TOWARD
2014"
Proctor, Alice
"Forgetting to Remember"
Worthen, Amy "Annual
Meeting and Discussion: Approaching The Millennium"
Riley, Kay "New Age
Thinking: Scientific Discoveries That Have Affected It or Rethinking Our Thinking"
Riley, Mary Ann
"Passion And Pretense"
Murphy, June "Your
Board Of Regents"
Brenton, Babette "Women
Behind The Veil: Life Within The Hidden World Of Islam Or Purdah"
1991
Michel, Shirley "The
Mediterranean Sea: A Sailor's Log"Blackburn, Helen "Searching For
Solutions: The World Wide Problem Of Illegal Drugs"
Bloodgood, Jean "An
American Legacy" [Native Americans]
Archer, Jean "Wallace's
Farmer"
Phillips, Helen "Our
Indian Heritage"
Milligan, Judy "A
Courage Of Place" [Iowa]
1992-1993
Bucksbaum, Kay "Ripe
Times" [Societal change]
Wilson, Genie "What
Makes Us Tick?"
Harmon, Muffy "Creative
Thinking, Bitte"
Pearsall, Virginia B.
"The Gorbachev Revolution"
McReynolds, Helen "The
Family Disease" [Drug addiction]
Undated
"Modern Trends In
Education"
"The Middletown
Spirit"
"The Origin Of The
English Drama"
"The Persians At Our
Gates"
"On Japan &
China"
"Adventures In
Pictography"