Call Number:

07

Repository:

Haverford Township Historical Society

Extent:

2.75 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1913-1984 (inclusive)

Creator:

The Brookline Club (Brookline, Pa.)

Abstract:

The Brookline Club was organized in 1912 as a social and service club for women in the Brookline neighborhood of Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The organization was active for over 70 years, serving its members and community until it disbanded in the mid-1980s. The Brookline Club records, 1913-1984, consist of administrative, financial, and membership materials including meeting minutes, officer reports, correspondence, and materials relating to various club committees and projects. Of special interest is a folder of reports from the Defense Committee, organized during World War II to assist with the war effort.

The Brookline Club was organized in 1912 as a social and service club for women in the Brookline neighborhood of Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The organization was active for over 70 years, serving its members and community until it disbanded in the mid-1980s.

The first president of the Brookline Club was Mrs. Katherine L. Barr, who was also a charter member. The Club was incorporated in 1914 and federated in 1926. Its objectives were to "develop the educational, civic and social interests of its members, to advance the welfare of the community, and to promote the progress and work of the Pennsylvania Federation of Women's Clubs." (The Brookline Club by-laws)

Over its existence, the Brookline Club "funded scholarships for local girls to attend college, knitted afghans for the hospital and stump woollies for amputees coming home from [World War II]. The kind of support the women at the Brookline Club gave was at times as simple as donating glasses to students in need or it could be as demanding as their tireless efforts during WWII to help raise money for the war." (Leonardi)

Bibliography:

Quoted text from: The Brookline Club. "By-Laws of The Brookline Club." 1960. Document found in collection.

Leonardi, Jill. "The Brookline Club of Haverford." Haverford Township Historical Society Newsletter, Spring 2009. Accessed April 25, 2014. http://haverfordhistoricalsociety.org/downloads/newsletters/hths_2009_spring_newsletter.pdf.

This collection consists of administrative, financial, and membership materials including meeting minutes, officer reports, correspondence, and materials relating to various club committees and projects.

The majority of the collection is meeting minutes (1929-1984), but annual reports, president's reports, treasurer's reports, budgets, by-laws (1960), and several yearbooks/directories (1954-1980) are also present. The materials from the various club committees include a folder of reports from the Defense Committee, organized during World War II to assist with the war effort. Club projects represented are the Brookline Fire Hall kitchen project and Trotters Club.

There is also a significant amount of membership material, in the form of member applications listing address and endorsements for each applicant (1937-1965) and membership cards with name, address, and dues paid (1931-1962).

There is a small amount of correspondence regarding incorporation, 1913; and a few property records in the collection as well.