Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)Gilbert Borrego, Staff
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
The collection is open to research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Tuesday Afternoon Book Club Records, Ms1989-052, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Tuesday Afternoon Book Club Records were donated to the Special Collections in 1989.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Tuesday Afternoon Book Club Records was completed in 2005.
The Tuesday Afternoon Book Club was organized in Blacksburg, Virginia, on March 13, 1933. Bernice Pettinger was elected the club's first president. Gathering the third Tuesday of each month to discuss books and current affairs, the club's membership consisted largely of wives of Virginia Tech faculty members, though it also included a few members of the faculty itself. Officers were elected and members were nominated throughout the club's existence. A hand-made program was created for each year's worth of meetings and given to all members. Minutes were taken at each meeting and refreshments were served. The club held its last meeting on June 20, 1989.
This collection contains the records of the Tuesday Afternoon Book Club, a Blacksburg, Virginia group that met to discuss books and current affairs. The collection includes programs, minutes books, a 1980 history of the club, and a list of books checked out by members.
The programs, ranging from 1942 to 1989, provide dates of meetings, the hostesses and program leaders for each meeting, those who were to purchase books, the subject of conversation for each meeting, and the officers during that time.
The minutes books document the activities of each meeting from 1933 to 1980. Inserted within the minutes books are supplemental materials associated with the meetings. Volume 1 includes a 1939 list of books and their assigned members as well as a 1938 letter from The Literary Guild of America. Volume 2 includes a 1947 memorial service poem and prayer for Lucy Wells Turner, together with a letter of thanks from Ambrose Turner for his wife's memorial service; a 1947 letter of thanks from Elsie Love for the club's sympathy letter; a letter from Marguerite McGahey with a 1948 newspaper clipping about weather in Los Angeles, California; and a sheet continuing the book list at the back of the volume. Volume 3 includes loose minutes entries from March 1957, November 1958, January 1959, October 1959, and January 15, 1963; a 1956 newspaper clipping about the Olympic Torch being lit in Athens; and an undated list of suggested meeting topics. Volume 4 includes a Smithfield Plantation landscape plan from the October 1964 meeting; loose minutes from January 18,1966, September 16, 1975 and (probably) October 21, 1975; an envelope bearing minutes notes from October 17, 1972 to September 18, 1973 and containing a 1979 statement of contributions to Mrs. A. V. Morris from Blacksburg's Christ Episcopal Church and an introduction for Lucy Lee, guest speaker on March 19, 1974; a resignation letter from Mildred Dietrick (?); a 1980 Laurinburg Exchange article about Elizabeth Vardell McNett; a 1979 letter of thanks from Blacksburg's Luther Memorial Lutheran Church for a book donation in memory of Mrs. H.C. Ahalt; and two poems: "The Blessings That Remain" by Annie Johnson Flint and "Tribute to a Christian Friend" in memory of Lolly Shear. Volume 5 includes loose minutes from October 20,1987; a 1989 letter from Bernice Pettinger to Carrie Sibold; a sheet titled "Native Shells" with drawings and names of shells; a Nature Conservancy brochure for the June 20, 1989 talk; and two sheets and an envelope bearing lists of program chairmen throughout the club's history.
"Biography of a Book Club," a chronological history compiled by Katherine Morris for the club's March 18, 1980 program, contains extracts from club minutes and members' reminiscences. The checkout list details books checked out by club members from 1982 to 1989.
The records are divided into nine folders and are arranged by document type, then chronologically, in the following order: programs, duplicate programs, minutes books, club history, and book checkout list.
The guide to the Tuesday Afternoon Book Club Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).