The Recital Club (Garner, Iowa) records

Collection

Identifier: IWA0157

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Scope and Contents

The Recital Club of Garner records date from 1901 to 1994. The records are arranged in four series: Administrative files, General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, and Community Improvement Program. The records document the activities of the club since 1901, particularly the extensive community improvement project the club began in 1957.

The Administrative files series (1901-1994) includes the club's constitution and by-laws, secretary's books, finances, correspondence, and awards and recognition. Together these detail the club's programs,goals and contributions since its organization.

The General Federation of Women's Clubs series(1956-1983) consists of a certificate of membership from 1922 and programs and newspaper clippings from annual conventions.

The Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs series (1951-1984) includes a profile of the organization, newsletters, projects such as "Adventures in Reading," and issues of The Iowa Clubwoman from 1951-1969 and 1982-1983.

The Community Improvement Program series (1957-1959) includes information about how to begin such a project from Iowa State College, the State University of Iowa and the General Federation of Women's Clubs. There are also three scrapbooks in this series, which contain profiles of the Garner program and its results, specifically the organization of the Garner Town and Country Planning Council. In addition there are correspondence, photographs, and award certificates in this series.

Dates

Creation: 1901-1994

Creator

Recital Club (Garner, Iowa) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

The Recital Club of Garner, Iowa, was organized in 1901 and federated in 1907. Early in its history, the organization was unusual because it included both men and women, although now it is composed entirely of women. Originally established to provide a musical or dramatic program at each meeting, the club has also promoted education by offering scholarships to students in the community.

Throughout the Recital Club's history, the women have chosen programs which pertain to the projects of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) and the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs (IFWC). One of these projects was the Community Improvement Program, which the Recital Club initiated in 1957.

The club was concerned with the number of high school graduates leaving Garner, a town of approximately 2000 at the time. In response, with the help of services from both Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) and the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), the club sent out questionnaires about aspects of Garner to high school graduates of the previous eleven years (429 people).

Ultimately, the program resulted in the organization of the Garner Town and Country Planning Council, which promoted such projects as a public swimming pool and retirement apartments. The Recital Club of Garner continues to hold meetings with presentations and discussions about literature, the arts and the community.