The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-07-13
The Bozeman Woman's Club

Especial Correspondence of The Journal. |
BozEMAN, Mont, July 6, 1911. Although
the Bozeman Woman's Club has yet to cele-
brate its first birthday it has already dis
tinctive and important place in the community
life, and the 200 old members, plus an un-
known number of prospective members, are
looking eagerly forward to the re-opening of
the club season next October.
Bozeman always has been such "card
town" and numbers among its feminine popula-
ton so many devotees of $780," bridge and
auction that the few enthusiasts who saw
the need here for an "all-around'' womans
club were bit doubtful about its initial sue
cess. All doubts were dispelled, however. at
the preliminary meeting, which called to-
gether call women interested in the formation
of an up-to-date club" one stormy afternoon
in January. The fifty chairs in one of the
rooms at the public library were occupied long
before the meeting called to order, and
the later comers augmented the number pres
ent to nearly 100 women.
Preliminary meetings, with their mass of
detail to be worked out, are never full of
with the organization of the Bozeman Club
were no exception to the rule. Thanks to a
wise selection of officers, however, and COM
mittee on constitution and bylaws that not
only knew how, but really did things, the Or
ganization was effected with reasonable speed,
and in manner most satisfactory to the ma
jority. Among other items in the bylaws
tha at caused considerable debate Was the bour
of meeting-the dinner -at-night" faction
standing out for 2.3O o'clock against the quite
as-insstent noon diners who plead for 300
o'clock. A motion, put by some one worthy of
a place on the Peace Conference, that the
meetings be held at 2.45, was carried amid a
good deal of laughter. and that hour has been
strictly adhered to, contributing not little to
the success of the club meetings.
The object of the club, as set forth in the
constitution, is to 'foster the interest of its
members in literature, art, music, history,
home economics, and other topics of vital i'm
portance; to promote culture and cordial rela-
tions among women, and to contribute to the
welfare of the community" AS soon the
organization was effected, the departments. or
tive work. A club member can join as many
sections as she sees fit, and each section elects
its own chairman, secretary and committees,
and decides upon the time, place, and fire.
quency of their meetings. Last season the
general club meetings were held fortnightly
and most of the sections also had two meetings
month. Next year, however, there will be
but one club meeting month, as the active
work of the club can be carried on more ad-
vantageousy in the departments. There were
formed, Immediately, departments of music,
clvlcs, domestic science, literature and story
telling. The arts and crafts see tion was short
ly made up, and there is to be at least one new
department. -art-neXt year Although the
time this spring was limited, good deal was
accomplished hint however, of what
is hoped for next year. when the club will be
passing the experimental stage.
Like Belfast, Bozeman is rich in musical
talent and beside the strong musical depart
ment at the college there is small, but very
efficient and eminenty successful Conservatory
OF Music here. Quite a group of local musi-
clans have had the advantage of study abroad,
and the music section, which took up, for the
past-year, the study of American composers.
numbers call sorts and conditions of musi-
clans from professionals to beginners.
The Civic's section has been most active, and
among its accomplishments was the establish
ing of Arbor Day as "Clean-Up" day. An
active campaign was carried on through the
papers, the school children were interested
and the aid of the city secured. Property
owners were asked to make special effort to
remove rubbish and debris from their places,
vacant lots were attended to by the city. and
cleanup day" bids fair to be an annual insti-
tuition. Then, too this section prepared and
circulated, at general club meeting, petitions
protesting against the nomination, on moral
grounds, of prospective candidate for alder
man in one of the wards, before the spring
election, and urged the denomination, by his
party, of mayor who had done much toward
enforcing the laws, and making the city moral
ly Clean
The Domestic Science section is headed by
graduate of Kansas University, whose Domes-
tic Science department is well known the
country over, and the demonstration meetings
held during the spring are to be continued in
the fall. Food values, meats, breads, desserts,
cakes, meat substitutes, marketing, the plan
ming of housework and other kindred subjects
are to be studied and demonstrated, and it is
hoped that this section will lead campaign
for honest weights and measures in this city.
The literature section was represented at
the general club meeting in May by the follow
ing rhyme, which tells of its work. Next year
very fine program, dealing with the modern
drama, is to be studied:
when the club of our dreams came true at
And the bylaws were framed, all hard and
fast,
Then came the question: "Let me see
Which Section will be best for me?'
The musical ones found an answer soon,
And theirs will be study of time and tune.
AS well as composers, down to today
The "men behind the things they play
The Civics Section, as is but right,
Found members in plenty to enter the fight
For all that is good, pure and clean,
And BETTER Bozeman" soon may be seen.
The Story Tellers-you wouldn't smile
If you could but sit and listen awhile
At their crowded meetings, for then you'd
know
They're but reviving an art of long ago.