The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-12-19
He Finally Becomes ReoonOiled
to Clubs" Of Both Genders.
GIVES REASONS FOR HIS CONVERSION
Gets Copies Of General Jaekson's
Speech on "Wanderer," and Dan.
Ell Websters Last and Great.
cot Grafton at Capon
Springs.

I've been watching these women
these club women. For a long time
did not like the name, but am recon
ciled never visited a mans club but
once. It was a gathering Of very nice,
we'll behaved social gentlemen with
eatables and drInkables in the back
ground, but nobody partook to excess
while / was there. The excess came
afterwards, If It came at all. But a
woman's club has neither eatables nor
drinkables nor cigars. OF course it Is
2 very social gathering, but they mean
business and they do it. Only a few
years ago a few ladies OF this town de-
termined to do something for the town
and they formed The Cherokee
Club" and soon had more members
and went to work. All the members
had passed their teens and the mar
ried ones had laid by their crop. They
secured a charter and tnen got lease
from the city and the state for fifty
years control of the ground between
the hotel block and the railroad and
adorned it with grass and gravel
walks and enclosed it with a chain
fence and placed handsome iron seats
by the shade trees and planted beau
tiful fountain in the center and peo-
pied it with gold fish This beautiful
park is the frOlicking ground for the
children and a cheerful resting place
for their tired mothers and a trysting
place for young men and maidens.
Near by the trains are passing at all
hours, and our new beautiful passen-
ger depot is near at hand, where our
people congregate to receive their
friends or bid them goodby. And the
club did it all, for the old depot would
still be there if the women had not
stirred up the men to demand another.
Then these women began to plant
flowers and shrubbery in the school
house grounds, and next they started
a small library in a small room, and
circulated good books among our peO-
pei and kept on and on until they got
a larger room and more books, and
kept it open two days in week, and
the demand for books soon widened
to the country and every week they
sent out four boxes of sixty volumes
each along the mail routes, and so
have established a rural circulating
library that has proven blessing to
our whole country boys and girls, and
the books always come back unhuTt
and are sent out on another mission.
Next these good women started a
sewing society among the poorer
classes in our community and are
taking turns in teaching the girls how
to cut garments and make them and
where they are very poor they give
them aid and comfort 1t is all char
ity. But last Of all and best of al
they have actually laid the foundation
OF a Club Library building that will
hold thousands of books and where
all the best magazines of the country
will be taken The city fathers gave
them a beautiful lot, and if the wealth
er permits the building will be finish
ed and paid for and occupied in three
months. 1t will not only be library
for books, but place for rest for the
travelling man as well as for oul
country friends and their wives anC
daughters when they come to town
Besides these uses it is intended tt
J have literary and musical entertain
ments there that will be far more ele
waiting and refining than the averag,
shows that perform in our oDeri
house. These same women organizes
a lyceum course for two winters ant
succeeded fairly well, but to send afa
off for lecturers costs too much for
town of this size, and so they are &c
ing to secure home talent from Altar
J ia and Rome and Dalton and have eI
tertainments at popular prices, say a
10 cents admission, as Professor Proc
tor, the great astronomer, did u
north. He told me he never charge
more in a manufacturing towns an
always gave the working people tn
preference of seats and always had
crowded house. 1t was a cheap an
delightful school to them. What thes
club women will do next do nc
know, but they mean business. The
mean to elevate their own sex frs
and if the men and boys come in the
will find welcome. l suppose thu
this library building will be the frs
that any club has erected in the stat
and what l wish to remark and en-
phasize is that there is not a respe
table town or village in the state bl
! can do snmething ON this same Lin