THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410270171
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
IN THE FALL OF 1894, several young ladies enrolled at the Nansemond Seminary attended a series of lectures on English poets and were so inspired that they decided to meet weekly to study the classics on their own.
Lizzie King, whose father, Professor Joseph King, founded the Suffolk Military Academy in 1875, invited four of her fellow students to her home. These five invited five more, who in turn were asked to invite five other young women to a weekly study of literature and the arts.
That first meeting was the beginning of the Suffolk Literary Club, which has continued to thrive throughout a century of change in Suffolk and the world. The club is one of the two oldest woman's clubs in Virginia; the Richmond Woman's Club was organized the same year.
Today, there are 30 active members of the Suffolk Literary Club, and they are celebrating their centennial year with special programs and guest speakers.
The inspirational lectures that influenced the early club members were presented by the Rev. John McCormick, rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church at the Seminary on North Main Street, a private school described in an early article as ``the fine and flourishing school for young ladies conducted by the well-known educators and sisters, Mrs. Quimby and Mrs. Mundy.''
``In 1894, there were several private schools in Suffolk, and it was important for young women to be educated,'' club vice president Barbara Marr said. ``Education for young women was just getting off the ground. The girls were eager to learn and began to study the English poets - Tennyson, Byron and Sir Walter Scott. Then they began to study Shakespeare.''
``At that time,'' member Carol Lynne Shotton said, ``all of Shakespeare's plays and poems were read, and the ladies became so familiar with these works that they occasionally played games in which they would identify quotations.''
``They were certainly educated in good literature,'' Marr said, ``and were quite interested in contributions the South had made to literature.''
A century later, several of the club's traditions have remained intact. Membership is by invitation only, and daughters and granddaughters of members are typically invited to join. Each member is still expected to serve as an officer, prepare a program and entertain the club every three years. And outside speakers are a rarity.
However, meetings are now held monthly instead of weekly.
During a typical club meeting, minutes are read and business is discussed. The speaker presents a biography of an author, comments on a book - which other members have been asked to read - and encourages discussion. And, of course, refreshments are served.
``There has been more in the way of discussion than the earlier ladies probably did,'' Marr said. ``We comment on the authors' techniques and on the subject matter itself - such as whether it's handled well or not.''
At the turn of the century, Suffolk was a prosperous community, with several lumber businesses on the city's edge, railroad service and the Nansemond River, which provided an important means of transportation. In 1894, the Nansemond County Clerk's Office was under construction, and Joseph P. Hall Drugs, which still exists on West Washington Street, celebrated its sixth anniversary.
Parties given by club members were recognized in the city as major social events, according to a newspaper account. Decorations, refreshments and the ladies' attire were described in great detail.
``Members of the club began to have very fancy parties, to which they invited their husbands and beaus,'' Marr said. ``They put on Shakespearean skits, dressed as Shakespearean characters - and other members guessed who they were.''
An 1910 newspaper account: ``A fashionable and cultured audience was entertained yesterday afternoon by Mrs. John B. Pinner at a reception for the Literary Club. The Pinner home presented a scene rarely equaled in Tidewater Virginia.''
Because minutes of the meetings were not recorded until 1923, the club owes the preservation of its own history to one of its charter members, Mrs. Alex Baker. Remembered affectionately as ``Mamie-Dear,'' she thought it important to keep newspaper clippings about club events, and she pasted them in her program booklets.
The club's ladies continued to focus on Shakespeare until the 1920s, when they began to study the works of contemporary authors, art and music. After the two world wars, they also became interested in other nations' culture, architecture, government and geography.
``During the '40s, the club contributed books to the Woman's Club Library on Bank Street,'' Marr said.
Later, the two organizations joined forces to form a city library, now the Morgan Memorial Library on West Washington Street.
``Every time a member died, the club gave a book, significant to that person's interests, to the library,'' Shotton said.
The club was the first in Suffolk to organize and work as a unit for the Red Cross in World Wars I and II.
In celebration of its centennial, the Suffolk Literary Club will review its history and present programs reminiscent of earlier times, Marr said. Topics will include Shakespeare, current events, world history and a review of the works of Pearl Buck, who won Pulitzer and Nobel prizes.
Jill McCorkle, guest speaker and author of four novels, will give a lecture and reading at 2 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Cafetorium.
April 1, Margaret Wetterer will present a special program for children at the Suffolk Museum. Both events are sponsored by the Suffolk Literary Club and are open to the public.
In May, the last meeting of the year will feature a luncheon at Cedar Point Country Club.
``We'll dress up as if we are attending the first meeting,'' Marr said. ``I'm sure we'll have hats and gloves.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Esther Holland, president of the Suffolk Literary Club, tries on
the hat she plans to wear for the centennial celebration.
Mary Hart Darden helps her daughter, Melissa Darden Odom, with her
jewelry as they dress in period clothing. Membership in the club is
still by invitation, and members' daughters and granddaughters are
typically invited to join.
Photographs show the club's Shakespearean actors of the past: Mrs.
John Pinner, left, Katherine Pinner and Mrs. Alex Baker,
affectionately known as ``Mamie-Dear.''
Literary Club programs, at right, span the years from 1909 to 1995.
Special centennial events will begin when author Jill McCorkle gives
a lecture and reading Nov. 6 at the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
Cafetorium and will continue April 1, when Margaret Wetterer will
present a special program for children at the Suffolk Museum.
Graphic
Color photo
ON THE COVER
Suffolk Literary Club members Mary Hart Darden, left, Melissa
Darden Odom and Esther Holland pose in period costumes for the
club's centennial in the photo on the cover, taken by staff
photographer John H. Sheally II.
by CNB