Finding aid for the Fortnightly Club of Akron Records, 1897-2015

History of Historical Summary

The Fortnightly Club of Akron started in November 1896 when ten women meet to study "literature, science, art, and the promotion of social enjoyment." The group met twice a month (originally the 1st and 3rd Mondays) between October and April. During the meetings a presentation (originally two) would be given by a member relating to the topic of the year. Topics varied throughout the years, ranging from nations of the world, to Shakespeare, to literature and authors, to local history. Members were expected to research and cite sources used to prepare the presentation.

Having evolved from what was a sewing circle before November 1986, the tightknit group slowly expanded to a capacity of 20 members. Associate and Honorary statues were later introduced. Membership was later increased to 25, and by 1955 had risen to the current 30 members. By-laws were introduced in 1898 and evolved over time until replaced by the current system of guidelines in 2013. Various officer positions were established over the years. Dues collected from members helped support the charitable efforts of Fortnightly, which has donated to a number of local, national, and international charitable efforts. This included local efforts such as the Akron Art Museum, YWCA, and the Better Akron Foundation. National and international efforts included the War Chest and War Bonds, European Children's Fund, and Seeds for Europe. The Club was federated in 1908 and exists to this day.

Scope and Content

The records cover the timeframe 1897-2015 and contain many of the administrative records of the club including meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, treasurer's notebooks, and committee reports. Also included are the yearbooks printed for members following each club year (October-April). Original versions of presentations as well as copies of some are present in the records with the first dating to 1987. There are two scrapbooks containing said yearbooks and newspaper clippings, as well as one photo album with newspaper clippings and photos. This collection most clearly benefits historians interested in the club; however, there is value in the records for those studying social clubs and women's clubs in general and local (Akron, Ohio) history. The length and detail of the club's records also allows historians to examine changing attitudes, values, and research techniques used by the members.

The records are roughly divided into two sections: administrative documents and programs. On the administrative side, handwritten meeting minutes are kept in completion from 1934-1996. They resume in typed form starting in 2006 and continue to 2014; however, there are several gaps in this second time frame. Meeting agendas first appear for 2004 and go to 2014, again, with several gaps that at times align with the gaps in the minutes. Minutes and agendas were combined starting for the 2012-2013 year. This second era (2004-2014) is divided by year and also includes any extant committee reports that would have been available to members.

Yearbooks containing the yearly program topic, schedules with presentations, member rosters, officers, and in some cases, the by-laws or guidelines exist from 1897-1996 and 2003-2014 with two exceptions: 1960-61 and 2010-11. The contents of the 1960 book can be recreated from the meeting minutes, however. The books from 1897-1946 are located in the corresponding red scrapbook. Books from 1946-54, 1962-63, 1964-65 are located in the second scrapbook. From 1954-1996 and 2003-2014 (except where noted otherwise) can be found loose in folders.

Correspondence, divided between internal and external, dates largely from 2006 onward. E-mail exchanges between members, newsletters, and e-mails sent out to external organizations give glimpses into the communications of the club. Two handwritten notebooks from the different treasurers date from 1914-1931 and 1931-1952. These list expenditures and revenues in detail for those years. Lastly, printed guidelines distributed to members and a list of officers round out the administrative side of the collection.

Programs make up the other section of the collection. The date range for the programs is from 1987-2015 with varying degrees of completeness. Program histories from the club illustrate the range of topics they covered. Original or copies of programs were kept in chronological order by calendar year. It is worth noting that since the club year ran from October to April/May of the next calendar year, and that, per original order, the folders are based off of the calendar year, you could find individual programs of the same topic may be in more than one folder, depending on when they were given during the calendar year. Lastly, there is an audio cassette that is a recording of Rosalind Rothrock's 1987 90th Anniversary program. There are two scrapbooks in the collection: 1897-1946 and 1946-1976. The first book largely contains the yearbooks for those years with a few newspaper clippings about members in the back. The second scrapbook has a few yearbooks, but is mostly newspaper clippings, eulogies, and other documents relating to the members or their families from 1946-1976. A photo album contains numerous photos of members from the late 1980's to 2000's as well as additional newspaper clippings about members from this later date range.

Series Description

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No access restrictions.

Akron and Summit County Federation of Women's Clubs Records, 1894-2010 North Hill Literary Club Records, 1916-1960

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Archive's online public access catalog.

Organizations/Corporations:

Places:

Technical Requirements

A tape cassette player is required to hear Rosalind Rothrock’s 1987 90th Anniversary program in series II.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Fortnightly Club of Akron Records, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

Acquisition Information

The Fortnightly Club donated the papers to the archives in a series of accessions, from 2011 to 2015.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Daniel Ciofani in 2019.

Accruals

Additional material from the organization will be transferred to the archives as received.

Detailed Description of The Collection