Monday Club Records

The Monday Club is a women’s social club which has always been limited to just twenty-four members. It was first organized in Reno, Nevada, in 1911 and continues to this day. The initial purpose of the club was to study topics of the day or of member interest for the betterment of its members and to encourage knowledge and social interaction. At roll call each woman was to answer with a current event. For their programs, serious topics were assigned for discussion to one member who could decide to handle it anyway they wished. For example, outside speakers could be brought in to share their knowledge or expertise about a subject, such as crime prevention and the treatment of criminals, the emigration of the Japanese, modern drama, educational methods, or the history of Nevada mining. Books and plays were reviewed and often critiqued. Sometimes topics might be less formal when members or outside speakers talked about their vacation trips and would also share photographs. Many of the people asked to speak were instructors at the University of Nevada, Reno, or sometimes their spouses who were also knowledgeable in some area.

At first, the members met every other Monday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at home of one of the member in alphabetical order by their names. Usually the member hosting the meeting might serve some refreshment. In later years they met more at midday for a luncheon that often was held at a restaurant. Club years changed to run from October to May in 1917, skipping the typical vacation months when many may not have been in town. In later years summer meetings were held.

When a member or former member died, their passing was often noted in the minutes, sometimes accompanied with a clipping from the newspaper. In 2014, information about many of the founding members was gathered and placed into a scrapbook which included photographs of the members and their homes. The listing shows the prominence of each member in society either through their lineage within the state or due to their husband’s position. Some of the early women members were: Emma Humphrey, wife of banker Frank Humphrey; Euphemia Clark, wife of Walter Clark, President of the University of Nevada, Reno; Edna Adams, wife of Reverend Brewster Adams of Reno’s First Baptist Church; Julia Scrugham, wife of James Scrugham, former Nevada Governor, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator; Elizabeth Evans Robinson, wife of J. La Rue Robinson and whose father, John Newton Evans, was an early resident with extensive Reno land holdings; and Myrtle Hawkins and her sister-in-law Kay Hawkins, members of the John Mackay family of Comstock Lode fame. Many members were a driving force in their own right such as Ludovica Graham, who built a 30-room mansion on Ralston Street now occupied by the Sigma Nu fraternity.

The records of the Monday Club not only shows the history of this club but may also reflect the historical development of women’s clubs in Nevada and elsewhere. These clubs fulfilled women’s needs to gain information in a world where furthering their own formal education was not always an option due to societal norms, family or other commitments. Yet the hunger of women to learn and be engaged in issues and discussions about their town, their state and the world was acceptable through a social network where building long-term friendships were just as important as the knowledge imparted.