by Sarah Price, Curator of Collections, Rogers Historical Museum, 2008
Woman’s
Study Club programDonated by Richard and Jessie Holyfield
1975.107.5.30
For March, the Rogers Historical Museum joins the nation in celebrating Women’s History Month with a look at the Woman’s Study Club of Rogers, Arkansas.
In the fall of 1897, a group of women in the Rogers area organized a local branch of the Bay View Literary Society under the name “Maz Luz” which meant “More Light.” The club met regularly for meetings and was said to be the only active literary society in Rogers for several years. In 1902, the Maz Luz club changed its name to the Woman’s Study Club and was listed in the year book of the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs.
The group joined many women’s clubs across the United States who organized for cultural study, social work, and companionable activity. In 1890, led by Jane Cunningham Croly, 63 women’s clubs formed the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), a nationally federated organization that is still in operation today. One of the federation’s first major resolutions was to work for the improvement of child labor laws.
The Woman’s Study Club of Rogers was believed to have entered the national federation in 1912 although records from the GFWC indicate the group joined in 1914. The club’s first major social project was opening a public library in Rogers in 1904. The library was housed in the second floor of a business at the corner of First and Poplar streets. There were 458 books on the library shelves that year. Although there were only 12 members in the club, they still voted to pay an additional $50 for furnishings for the library. They were also supportive of the local schools. In 1912, the club voted to give $200 to the high school when it was in need.
In addition to the club’s social activities, one of its main goals was to provide opportunities of further cultural and educational study for its members, hence the name “study club.” The club held regular programs on many topics including fine arts, history, legislation, education, citizenship, literary studies, and foreign relations. The club also took formal courses of study through the extension department of the state university according to this program from 1925-1926.
This booklet is part of a collection of yearly programs summarizing the activities, members, and goals of the Woman’s Study Club of Rogers. According to this program, the group’s motto was “More Light” (from Maz Luz, the original name) and the club objective was “intellectual culture and an endeavor to hold the Golden Rule before us as a guiding star to our destination.” The objective was later shortened to “Intellectual Culture and Betterment of Life,” and the group remained active in study and social activity for several decades to come.
Source Information:
General Federation of Women’s Clubs. “History and Mission” http://www.gfwc.org/section_8.cfm, 2008.
“Women’s club dates back to 1897,” Northwest Arkansas Morning News, Sunday, May 25, 1986.
Rogers Historical Museum Research and Donor Files.