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Oregon State University Folk Club Records, 1908-2014

By Rachel Lilley

Collection Overview

Title: Oregon State University Folk Club Records, 1908-2014

Predominant Dates: 1910-2000

ID: MSS FolkClub

Primary Creator: Oregon State University Folk Club

Extent: 9.25 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement:

The Oregon State University Folk Club Records are arranged in three series: Series 1. Folk Club, 1908-2011; Series 2. Newcomers Club, 1944-1978; and Series 3. Thrift Shop of OSU Folk Club, 1948-2014. Materials are arranged either chronologically, or alphabetically by subject heading or name, as appropriate.

The Folk Club series is further arranged into 13 sub-series: Sub-series 1. Constitutions and Bylaws, 1912-1998; Sub-series 2. Organizational Histories, 1929-1930; Sub-series 3. Membership Records, 1931-1989; Sub-series 4. Financial Records, 1945-1949; Sub-series 5. Correspondence, 1927-1997; Sub-series 6. Meeting Minutes, 1908-1999; Sub-series 7. Committees, 1924-2001; Sub-series 8. Reports, 1925-2001; Sub-series 9. Publications, 1909-2011; Sub-series 10. Events and Programs, 1920-1999; Sub-series 11. News clippings, 1952-1987; Sub-series 12. Photographs and Photograph Albums, 1968-1999; Sub-series 13. Scrapbooks, 1928-1997.

Materials in Series 2 and Series 3 have been arranged to mirror the sub-series arrangement in Series 1 wherever like materials are present; folders have been titled descriptively to indicate the type of record (e.g. correspondence, meeting minutes, etc.).

Date Acquired: 00/00/1991

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Oregon State University Folk Club Records contain records pertaining to the group's charitable and social activities, and general records including annual reports, constitutions and bylaws, correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, news clippings, statements of policies and guidelines, and yearbooks. Also included in the collection are series documenting the establishment, activities, and membership of the Newcomers Club - a "department" of the Folk Club for those new to Corvallis and the OSU community - and the Thrift Shop of OSU Folk Club, which was established in 1949. Originally formed as the College Folk Club by Leonora Kerr in 1908, the name was changed to the OSU Folk Club in 1972.

The contents of box-folders 9.13, 9.14, 11.1, 11.2, and 11.4 have been digitized and are available upon request.

Scope and Content Notes

The Oregon State University Folk Club Records document the Club's establishment, membership, and charitable and social activities, and are comprised of reports, constitutions and bylaws, organizational histories, membership and financial records, correspondence, meeting minutes, committee files, reports, publications (the Fanfare newsletter, and Club yearbooks), files on events and programs put on by the Club, new clippings, photographs and photograph albums, and scrapbooks.

The collection also includes records documenting the establishment, activities, and membership of the Newcomers Club - a "department" of the Folk Club for those new to Corvallis and the OSU community - and the Thrift Shop of OSU Folk Club, which was established in 1949.

The contents of box-folders 9.13, 9.14, 11.1, 11.2, and 11.4 have been digitized and are available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The Oregon State University Folk Club (known as the College Folk Club until 1972) was founded on October 29, 1908 by Leonora Kerr, wife of President William Jasper Kerr. Membership in the Club was open to “all women of the faculty and other women employees of the institution, and to the women members of the immediate families of the faculty and other employees;” at its establishment, the Club’s primary aims were to provide “social diversion, general culture, and the promotion of the best interests of the college.” In 1913, smaller, special interest groups – known as “Study Sections” at the time, and later referred to as Interest Groups – were convened to further meet the needs and interests of members. The three Study Sections active in 1913 were an Art and Music Section, a Sociology Section, and a “Mothers’ Section.” That same year, the organization became a member of the Oregon State Federation of Women’s Clubs in order to “extend the work of the club as to effect the greatest possible good to the College and to the city.”

Early Folk Club meetings were held in a number of on-campus locations, including the parlor of Waldo Hall, the Women’s Building and, after its construction in 1928, the Memorial Union. Aside from the semi-monthly meetings of the various sections, the general club convened on the first Saturday of each month. At a typical meeting, conducting the business of the group was followed by academic lectures, and/or a musical or literary program put on by members of the club.

The Club was active both on campus and in the greater Corvallis community from its inception. In 1911, the club “voted to object to the Corvallis City Council’s move to ‘[open] the moving pictures shows on Sunday.’” In the late 1920s, the group staged the play The Famous Mrs. Fair, with all proceeds going towards “furnishing the faculty women’s club rooms provided in the Memorial Union” at the building’s completion. After the Memorial Union was constructed, the Club purchased and dedicated an “artistic statuary” to be displayed in the lounge in memory of the service of Louise Magruder, former Secretary and President of the Club.

In 1942, Folk Club member Corrine McKenzie, recognizing the unique needs of women new to the OSU community, whether as faculty or staff themselves or as wives or partners of faculty or staff, informally established the Newcomers Club. McKenzie – who had previously founded a similar club at the University of Missouri – and the original twelve members of the Newcomers met every second and fourth Thursday in members’ homes. According to an early constitution, the Newcomers Club was open to “women newly eligible to the College Folk Club.” More specifically, women were eligible for membership if they were “wives of staff members” or were “listed in the faculty directory of Oregon State College;” employees of the “permanent Federal and State Agencies cooperating with Oregon State College;” or “women of student service organizations.” Membership in the Newcomers Club was limited in duration; after two years in the Newcomers Club, women were members of the greater College Folk Club alone. Officers included a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary-Treasurer. Dues, which were used primarily to cover postage of various mailings, were originally set at 50 cents per year.

In January 1945, after meeting regularly for over two years, College Folk Club President Gladys Goode met with Elizabeth Rainey of the Newcomers to assist in formally organizing the group and electing its officers. In February of that year, at a regular meeting of the College Folk Club, the Newcomers Club was officially recognized as a “department” within the Folk Club; as such, the Folk Club committed to providing the Newcomers “every assistance possible.” McKenzie and Rainey were elected Co-Chairs, and May Barnes was selected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer. Bylaws for the group were drafted in April 1945, and formally adopted in May of that year.

By 1947, the original Newcomers membership of 12 women had grown to over 200. Due to its size and subsequent increase in expenses, the Folk Club voted to set aside “a designated amount of money…in the budget…to aid in their running expenses.” Initially, 20% of dues paid to the Folk Club – $1.25 each year – were encumbered for use by the Newcomers; by 1948 this had been increased to 40%. In addition to participating in programs and events of the Folk Club, Newcomers planned and attended luncheons and teas, Christmas parties, “style” or fashion shows, and philanthropic projects.

In early 1949, the Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis began a drive for funds with which to remodel and expand. A letter was sent to organizations in the area, the letter to the Folk Club being received by then-Folk Club President Mildred Bennion. When her term ended later that Spring, Bennion turned the letter over to her successor, Betty Slegel. In order to raise money to support the hospital’s fund drive, Slegel suggested a Thrift Shop, a fund-raising effort with which she’d had some experience (in her home town of Lafayette, Indiana the church mortgage had been paid in full with proceeds from their thrift shop). In May 1949, at a joint meeting of the incoming and outgoing Folk Club Executive Boards, the Thrift Shop proposal was approved as a limited-duration, community-service project. The Thrift Shop opened Friday, August 5, 1949, in the rear of the Tot Shop at 125 South Second Street in Corvallis. Dorothy Butts was selected to serve as Chair, and Ada Scheel was named Treasurer.

The Thrift Shop quickly outgrew its shared space on Second Street, and began looking for a new location, eventually settling on rooms above the United Products Company in downtown Corvallis. Just four months after opening on Second Street, the Thrift Shop reopened at its new location at 401 S. Third Street. At the end of what had originally been envisioned as a yearlong “project,” the shop had realized a net profit of $501.49, $500 of which was invested in a government bond. The proceeds of that bond – $1486 in 1951 – were donated to Good Samaritan to furnish the hospital’s newly remodeled waiting room. In 1950, the shop’s net profits doubled, and in 1952 the shop expanded again, this time into additional rooms at its then-current location on Third Street.

In 1969, the Thrift Shop was presented with the opportunity to purchase the Spencer Feed and Seed building at 144 NW Second Street in downtown Corvallis; the purchase was approved at a special business meeting December 1, 1969, and a Contract of Sale was signed. At the end of the first full year in their new building, bank deposits totally over $59,000, more than double the deposits in 1969. Lorraine Crowell – who had been instrumental in securing the purchase of the building, and who served as Building Manager after the sale – was memorialized with the C. Lorraine Crowell Thrift Shop Memorial Scholarship, awarded to freshman women from Benton County. As celebration of their 20th anniversary in 1975, a second scholarship – the Betty Slegel Scholarship – was established.

Throughout its history, the OSU Folk Club has routinely hosted a wide variety of events, including teas and luncheons, public lectures, dances, fashion shows, and tours and trips. The philanthropic mission of the club is to raise funds to provide scholarships for Oregon State students, and grants to Corvallis and Benton County non-profits and charitable organizations; much of this fund-raising is done through the Thrift Shop, though the Club also hosts fund-raising events. The first scholarship provided by the club – named for its founder, Leonora Kerr, and totaling $50 – was awarded in 1930.

In its first 30 years – 1949 to 1979 – the Thrift Shop donated over $200,000 for scholarships and community projects. By 2000, the Club and Thrift Shop had donated more than $1 million to charitable organizations and projects in Benton County, including over $340,000 in scholarships. For the 2020/2021 academic year, nineteen $3,000 and one $1,500 scholarships were awarded, and twenty-nine Benton County non-profit agencies received grants totaling $35,000, including the Corvallis Bicycle Collective, the Corvallis OSU Symphony Society, the Jackson Street Youth Center, the Alsea Valley Gleaners, the Benton County Historical Society, and the Oregon Cascades West Senior Meals on Wheels.

Entering its 110th year in 2020, the Folk Club’s nearly 300 members come together through special programs, including lunches and educational lectures, and interest groups such as Hiking/Walking, Menuettes, OSU Folk Club/OSU Crossroads Scholar Friendship Coffees, and several book clubs. According to the club webpage, the purpose of the club continues to be “friendship among faculty women and wives/partners of faculty, as well as service to OSU and the community.”



Author: Rachel Lilley and Sabrina Gorney

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 22 boxes, including 206 photographs, 27 negatives, and 10 oversize boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The initial donation of Folk Club materials was made to the former University Archives in 1991. Additional materials were received on a semi-regular basis, either from Folk Club members or the current Folk Club Historian or President.

Related Materials:

Additional materials pertaining to the OSU Folk Club or College Folk Club are available in the T.J. Starker Papers (MSS Starker), the Corvallis Gazette-Times Photographs (P 066), Harriet’s Photograph Collection (P HC), the News and Communication Services Photograph Collection (P 057), and the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC).

Collections relating to women's clubs at Oregon State include the Student Club and Organization Records (RG 276), the Oregon State University Dames Club Records (MSS Dames), the Oregon State University Women's Club Records (MSS OSUWomensClub), the Friendship Internationale Scrapbook (MSS FriendsInt), the Co-Signers Engineer Students' Wives' Club Collection (MSS Cosigners), and the Resident Hostess Club of Oregon State College Records (RG 133).

Preferred Citation: Oregon State University Folk Club Records (MSS FolkClub), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid replaces information about the collection that was placed online in 2012.

Creators

Oregon State University Folk Club
Strandberg, Rebecca

People, Places, and Topics

Clubs--Oregon--Corvallis
Corvallis (Or.)--Social life and customs.
Kerr, Leonora, 1865-1963
Oregon Agricultural College--Faculty.
Oregon Federation of Women's Clubs
Oregon State College--Faculty.
Oregon State University--Faculty.
Oregon State University Folk Club
Scholarships--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History
Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.
Women--Oregon--Corvallis--Societies and clubs.

Forms of Material

Film negatives.
Photographic prints.
Scrapbooks.


Box and Folder Listing