Lecture Series

The Ladies of the Club

Tuesday, February 24, 2004, 8:00 p.m.

Doreen Stevens

The Kensington Park Study Club had aspirations as lofty as its location on the rocky bluffs above Spy Pond. The nine women who began The Kensington Park Study Club in 1911 lived in the new elegantly rustic neighborhood of large distinguished homes with fresh air and lovely views, but they also felt somewhat isolated at the western edge of Arlington. Mrs. Theodore Everett, Mrs. G.B.C. Rugg, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Billings, Mrs. H.D. Ever, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cobb, Mrs. Walker, and Mrs. Morse -- and, yes, they were always "Mrs." -- met every two weeks, fall to spring, with each meeting devoted to a different subject. So popular was the new club that soon membership doubled, and the geographical distribution of its membership expanded also -- organizational expansion no doubt aided by the advent of telephone service and the family Ford.

Although the KPSC always adhered to serious study and the presentation of papers on topics ranging from Alaska to bacteria, the participants also attended to the intricacies of parliamentary procedure and sought to influence current events. They participated in the civic affairs of Arlington and Massachusetts and worked for Women’s Suffrage. During the war years -- the Kensington Park Study Club’s long life encompassed both World Wars -- the club members knit sweaters for the soldier during meetings, sold war bonds, and supported the Free Bed Fund at Symmes Hospital.

Still, the intellectual and political activities of these very busy and influential women never supplanted the pleasure in "social intercourse" that was a founding principle of the Kensington Park Study Club. The Club minutes reflect a constant exchange of cards, flowers, and social events amongst the women, just as neighborhood Book Clubs in our own lives offer not just intellectual but also emotional sustenance.

A staff member of the Arlington Historical Society, Doreen Stevens remembers a childhood populated with historical artifacts of life on the northern plains-from her grandfather's buffalo robes to teepee rings in the pasture of the Montana farm where she grew up. She studied American history at the undergraduate level (University of Oregon) and graduate level (University of California, San Diego) followed by acquiring an RN and a rewarding decade as a childbirth educator. Her joint interests in the well-being of women and American history inform her studies of "The Ladies of the Club."

The lecture will be held at the Smith Museum, adjacent to the Jason Russell House. Admission is free and seating is unreserved. The lecture will take place at 8:00 p.m. with doors open at 7:30. Wheelchair access is at the Jason Terrace entrance. Directions