|
Home Demonstration Clubs Home demonstration clubs, organized nationwide in the 1910s, taught members how to improve their homes and communities and provided opportunities for women to work and socialize together.
Benton County’s first home demonstration club, the
Minervians, began in 1919. Among their activities, club members canned
foods, organized food sales and displays, and held pantry tours, along
with building a clubhouse in the 1930s. |
This photograph shows the Rogers Minervian Club with their pressure cookers
|
|
The Benton County Federation of Rural Women’s Clubs organized in 1928, and the Minervians helped organize the Benton County Council of Women’s Clubs in 1929. Rest camps for club women were popular in the 1930s and 40s, combining study, fun, and a break from daily household chores. The clubs were renamed extension homemakers clubs in 1966 to reflect teaching more centered outside the home. Benton County Extension Homemakers Clubs continue their popularity, with over 400 members active today. |
|