Women's Clubs in Oregon
By JENNIE C. PRITCHARD,
Secretary Portland Woman's Club
CLUBS organized by women, and for women exclusively, have for many years been a feature in our far Eastern states, having started in New York and Massachusetts. The movement gradually moved west through the middle section of the country over the Rockies, to California, Oregon and Washington.
The first women's club in Oregon. "The Thursday Afternoon Club," of Pendleton, was organized in 1893, the members devoting their time to literature. After twelve years this club is still in existence and doing good work. It has been a characteristic of women's clubs that, once started, they steadily grow: no going back or disbanding. In 1894 the town of La Grande organized a Musical Club. Also in that year the little town of Granite started an association called "The Daughters of Progress." In 1896 the "Portland Woman's Club" came into existence and took for its motto, "Take counsel with common sense."
Southern Oregon also fell into line, with women's clubs at Grants Pass, Ashland, Roseburg, and the movement crept up the Willamette Valley to Salem, Eugene and Oregon City.
"The Portland Woman's Club," the largest club in the state, now numbers two hundred and thirty members. Its object is to secure concert of action in intellectual, philanthropic, and social activities. It has been instrumental in gaining needed improvements in the city. To the club is due the election of a woman on the school board. Its members stand ready to give help to all needed reforms. It has twelve well organized departments and maintains two scholarships in the School of Domestic Science and two in the Manual Training class in the Y. M. C. A.
Portland has numerous other clubs; some are devoted to study alone, either literary or musical; one, the Forestry Club, whose members are studying the best methods of preserving the forests of Oregon; a Mothers' Club and a Teachers' Club, giving time and thought to the best interests of the children.
In 1899, realizing that in unity there is strength, the clubs united to form a State Federation. Meetings are held biennially. This state organization joined the National or General Federation of Clubs in 1901, thus making a connecting chain from the smallest to the largest. While the State Federation includes only thirty-five clubs, there are in the state not fewer than one hundred organized woman's clubs. In this body there are standing committees on education, library, domestic science, civics, Oregon history, reciprocity, exposition, Chautauqua, legislation, industrial and forestry. Although but few, if any. individual clubs carry out all the lines of work suggested by the Federation, some of them are represented in each of the clubs. Special work is also being effectively pursued. The maintenance of free reading-rooms in
