Club Minutes: Mutual Improvement Association, 1909-1914

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the men" students and then says he thinks "they will never be great scholars!" To our limited vision he blows both hot and cold and one side of his sentence is a refutation of the other, read it how we will. Helen Stabler also gave interesting statistics of Women's Clubs, the membership is estimated to be 132,000 and it is thought they will all eventually unite to try to get better laws enforced with regard to women, children, libraries, sanitation, and tenement houses.

Sarah F. Willson told of an English woman, Miss Charlotte Mansfield, who has gone into the African wilds with a large escort of natives expecting to travel 5,000 miles of that country and meet ex. Pres. Roosevelt in about a year. Mrs. Cobb gave a graphic account of curious [traits?] played and seen in the streets of Naples by Shepherd peasants, a father and son going about together. The custom has come down in the same family for generations and they are given small coins from almost all their hearers. They take part in a procession during the Christmas holidays.

Rebecca T. Miller made an earnest appeal for play grounds for the children and Sally P. Brooke thought all the parents and guardians should be aroused to the necessity of space for recreation. A motion to have the Association join the Confederation was carried by a large majority, and it was announced that the May meeting of the Federation would take place here in May.

Adjourned to the home of Carrie L. Brooke.

Mary Bentley Thomas, Sec.

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4/29, 1909 the Association met with Caroline L. Brooke at noon. Guests of the day were Ellen Stabler, Corrie M. Brooke, Charlotte, and Isabel Farquhar, Helen G. Miller, Marian Farquhar, Mary and Stella Moore.

The sentiment of our hostess was from the poems of Dr. Babcock,

"Oh that I may grow! I see the leaves out pushing hour by hour, With steady joy the bud bursts into flower, Uged gladly on by Nature's waking power, Oh! That I may grow! What though time cuts his furrows in my face, My heart may ever add grace unto grace Graces with added days still keeping pace Oh! That I may grow!"

Caroline S. Brooke, according to our custom also gave on invitation, an interesting description of her recent visit to New Orleans, the grand live oaks, the beautiful flowers in bloom in March; and last, but not least her new grandson, who seemed to have made a profound impression on her heart and mind - and we were all ready to agree with her that he was a boy of unusual traits and talents this early in his career. Louisa T. Brooke brought a sketch of Luther Burbank, the things he has done would have been deemed a species of witchcraft 100 years ago. "If such wonderful transformations are possible in botany and horticulture, why may not human beings gradually get rid of disabilities and peculiarities - We can all nurture and develop the power for exceptional ability and by continued effort grow and prefect as do the plants and fruits"

L.J.B also gave a short poem

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entitled "Will?"

"I will start anew this morning, With a higher, fairer creed, I will cease to stand complaining of my ruthless neighbor's creed, I will not be swayed by envy when my rival's strength is shown, I will not deny his merit, but I will try to prove my own, I will try to see the beauty, spread before me, rain or shine, I will cease to preach your duty and be more concerned with mine."

Ellen Stabler had an amusing biography of "Uncle Sam," for the past 100 years, bringing in a great deal of history. Mary G. Colt had a brief, but excellent clipping upon the necessity for moving, since when we cease we begin to die. Rest is necessary, but only to renew our strength that we may pass on. The anchor is built for the ship, but she is built for sailing, anchoring is not her business, a man is made for struggle and achievement not for ease and loitering - M.G.C. Also told us of her visit to Cape Cod which she found quaint, and made beautiful with wild roses in profusion.

Harriet I. Lea read a brief life of Joan of Arc, who has lately been beatified. The redemption of a kingdom by an unlettered peasant girl of 17 yrs. still has a flavor of the wildest romance, but there are few incidents in the story of nations more fully authenticated. The writer said her miraculous strength, whatever its source, had not been enqualed since the days of the apostles.

Eliza N. Moore said she had just received a P.C from Helen Thomas who

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has greatly enjoyed her recent trip to Italy. A second offering was some account of Marion Crawford, whose decease a few weeks since has called special attention to the variety & excellence of his writings. Descended from Gen. Marion of Revolutionary fame, and the son of Thomas Crawford, the sculptor, he was born in Lueca and remained in Italy until he was 12 yrs. of age. He acquired languages with marvellous ease. His success was not assured for several years after he began to write, and he first found fame and good hard cash in the magazines. When a plot occured to him he could not rest until it was worked out, and he said once that he lived in a community of 2000 imagining characters. His versatility was demonstrated by stories whose scenes were laid in Italy, England, Persia, Russia and Turkey with an unequalled minuteness of detail and description in each.

Alice Tyson called attention to our sightless neighbours there being one blind person to every 1200 of the population - Those who lose sight after maturity are more to be pitied than those born blind - Interest in the amelioration of their hard fate is increasing everywhere, in Baltimore they are being taught to make brooms, cane chairs, make mattresses, and engage in the lucrative trades while athletics and physical culture are not omitted - Experiments of placing blind children in Public Schools with sighted children was said to have been of reciprocal value to both.

The Sec. was persistantly invited to give her communication at this time, and she

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complied with an account of the interesting autobiography of President Magill of Swathmore College, who gave great credit to Benjamin Hallowell as well Francis Miller and Henry C. Hallowell for having influenced him for good in his youth and encouraged him to become a 'hard student' upon a diet of plain living, and high thinking for at least five years. The Sec. also read a Christmas card as follows,

"Four pounds of love I send to thee to-day, And only four. Our Uncle Samuel's mail bags So they say, Can take no more. But mail bags, boxes, sacks of any kind, Are all too small. And only hearts are large enough to hold it all. So take my love on the installment plan Friend of mine & send a part to-day, more when I can I trust for thine."

Mary E. Gilpin gave a few pithy sayings, "Make a bundle of your troubles and plough them deep" for instance. A message of love received from our valued former member Anna F. Gilpin. Margaret G T. Moore furnished some remarkable statistics with regard to the utilization of a German discovery that skim milk can be solidified into a substance known as "gabalith" which is made into buttons, piano keys, dominoes, chessmen dice, glue and paper - it takes some 3000 lbs of milk to make 220