Club Minutes: Mutual Improvement Association, 1900-1905

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Owing to the extreme heat, the Association was late assembling at Walnut Hill 8th mo. 28th 1900. Only ten members were present - a number were absent attending the Friend's Conference at Chautauqua, the pleasure and profit of which, I trust will be shared with us at our next meeting.

Our guests were Martha Reese, Marian Tatum, Catherine and Sallie Turner Janney, Pattie R. Stabler, Katherine Gilpin, Carrie Bond, Kate Stabler, Emily Massey, Lizzie Hogg and her two little girls - with several other little children, added pleasure to the occasion.

Mary Bond and Mary E. Gilpin brought lovely collections of cut roses - unusually fine considering the dry season.

Annie F. Gilpin gave the following sentiment-

" The purer life draws nigher Every year: And its morning star climbs higher Every year: And Earth's hold on us grow slighter, And the heavy burden lighter, And the dream immortal brighter, Every year."

Mary Bond was first called on for her contribution - she gave lines entitled "No Time".

"No time do we say, for a helpful thought To lighten the burden of hearts that ache? No time for encouraging cheering words, That are healing balm to the hearts that break."

Still we grieve our own by hasty words And acts that in vain we try to forget Then beautiful things we say of our dead And cover with flowers our vain regret.

Mary G. Colt read an account of a marriage by the telephone - the parties living at a distance from each other - although legal and binding it was decided not to be as satisfactory as when face to face.

Elizabeth G. Thomas gave lines from Wm. Ellery Channing

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"My Symphony" - also some verses "Nearing the end."

Emily Massey read of the mania women have for clubs.

Margaret S. Hallowell brought a story written by her niece

Margurite Stabler of California read by Lydia Haviland.

"Contentment" was the theme of Virginia Steers articles.

Lydia Haviland gave us some wholesome truths - as to "the success of man depending upon his love of work - applying it to diligence in poultry raising or anything he may undertake.

Ellen Stabler read some verses by Ella Wheeler Wilcox -

"They say." "Have you heard of the terrible family "They" And the dreadful venemous things they say? Why half the gossip under the sun If you trace it back, you will find begun In that wretched house of "They".

It is wholly useless to follow a "They" With a whip, or gun, for he slips away. And into his house where you can not go It is locked and bolted and guarded so. This horrible house of "They."

In the minutes of the last meeting of our "Association" our secretary made note of the large number of members and guests "who had brought neither article nor question for our entertainment" - she excused them on the plea of the warm weather - which I suppose still held good on this occasion.

We adjourned to meet at Mary E. Gilpin's on Sep. 27th at 2 P.M.

Sarah E. Stabler

Sec. pro. tem

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9/27-1900 The Association convened for the first time with Mary E. Gilpin. Her mother was one of those who planted the seed of our loved society and materially aided its growth and progress year by year.

Excellent mintues of our last meeting were read by Sarah E. Stabler, secretary pro tem, and those were followed by interesting miniutes of the last session held at Avalon before the decease of Rachel E. Gilpin. Guests were Esther, Annie and Florence Wetherald, Harriet Haines, Sophia Robinson, Sarah Bond, Miss Ball, Emilie T. Massey, Harriet Kirk, Eliza, Elizabeth and Virginia Stabler.

Mary E. Gilpin's sentiment was by the lamented Helen Hunt Jackson -

"If I can live." To make some pale face brighter and to give A second luster to some tear-dimmed eye, Or e'en impart One throb of comfort to an aching heart, Or cheer some wayworn soul in passing by. If I can lend A strong hand to the fallen, or defend The right against a single envious strain, My life, though bare; Perhaps, of much that seemeth dear and fair To us of earth, will not have been in vain. The purest joy, Most near to heaven, far from earth's alloy. Is bidding cloud give way to sun and shine, And 'twill be well If on that day of days the angels tell Of me, she did her best for one of Thine.

The secretary suggest that in future all our members should be called on, in turn, first for their contributions and then an opportunity be given to guests - which was approved.

Mary S. Osborne read an amusing scrap upon the difficulty sometimes experienced by libarians and booksellers in discovering the title of a desired book when the would be reader has small idea of what he or she really wants; the word "fog' being the only aid

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given to the very bright clerk who finally made a triumphant sale of "The children of the Mist" which was exactly right.

Sarah T. Miller favored us with " My own shall come to me" by John Burroughs and a favorite poem of your secretary, who distinguished herself later by forgetting from what particular member it was contributed and giving S.T.M. an admirable opportunity to practice the virtue of forgiving and forgetting herself an unintentional slight.

Louisa T. Brooke gave an excellent extract upon the danger of condoning all sorts of offenses in boys under the general caption of wild oat sowing.

Albina O. Stabler's selection was "The Weavers" which, in the pleasant guise of verse, demonstrated the blessedness of conscientious labor.

We were told of the Panama hats, costing sometimes many hundreds of dollars as in the case of a special gift to General Grant.

Sarah E. Stabler read of Queen Victoria's characteristics as the mistress of a large household, she exacts thoroughness in small things as well as large from her dependents. S.E.S. also gave some apt verses "Keep Cool" which was more easily said than done with the thermometer still in the nineties.

Ellen Farquhar's article upon "The Weakness of Restlessness," was met with a hearty endorsement, the conclusion of the whole matter was "that restlessness was generally due to over worked nerves and should be deplored and shunned."

Mary G. Colt read an anecdote of the novelist Marie Corelli who on objecting to the singing of some school children as an interruption to her literary labors was informed by the teacher that if the music of her pupils could prevent the writing of such books as "The Sorrows of Satan" - she would gladly keep them at it indefinitely.

Virgina Steer gave a pretty poem "The Carpet of Life".

Elizabeth G. Thomas had accidently left her piece at home so she read Sarah H. Stone's selection - "How to Cure Worry". the remedy being to keep emotions in reserve, to check expression when bitter feelings influence one, and not to spread sorrow and sadness by dwelling upon them.

Martha Holland had something on a similar subject "What's the use of fretting."

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Mary P. T. Jackson entertained the company with an account of the first visit paid by Mrs. Carnegie to the Empress of China, supposed to have been the first foreign woman ever thus honored, if honor it were.

Many of our guests did not favor us but our venerable friend Esther Wetherald read without using her glasses to an attentive circle an Egyptian love story, translated by herself from the French, many years since.

Albina O. Stabler, by request, told us some pleasant incidents of her recent carriage trip with her husband to Blue Ridge Summit.

A beautiful bouquet of roses was the more admired because of the partial dearth of blossoms of all kinds this phenomenal year. Our hostess said both of her gardens had suffered greatly and that her cabbage was all of the open work variety so fashionable at present.

After a half hour of social intercourse we adjourned to the home of Martha A. Holland.

Mary Bentley Thomas sec.

Few of us will forget the beauty of the landscape as we drove to the home of Martha A. Holland on 10/25. 1900 the whole country was a succession of gorgeous pictures and many expressed the opinion that they had never before seen such lovely effects in gold and crimson, interspursed with almost solid masses of green leaves apparently frost-proof.

Our guests were - Cornelia Gover, Harriet Haines, Ellen Stabler, Clara Moore, Mary P. T. Jackson and Caroline Bond.

The sentiment of our hostess was an extract from a sermon by Phillips Brooks - "What a vast proportion of our lives is spent in anxious and useless forebodings concerning the future! Present joys, present blessings slip by and we miss half their sweet flavor, all for want of faith in Him who provides for the tiniest insect in the sunbeam. Why cannot we, slipping our hand into His each day, walk trustingly over that day appointed path, thorny or flowery, crooked or straight, knowing that evening will bring us sleep,