Guide to the Elk Grove Book Club Records MC 69

Amanda G. DeWilde

Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento Room

828 I Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 264-2795

Email: sacroom@saclibrary.org

URL: http://www.saclibrary.org

Language of Material: English

Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento Room

Title: Elk Grove Book Club Records

Identifier/Call Number: MC 69

Physical Description: 2.5 Linear Feet (6 Archival Boxes)

Date (inclusive): 1937-2018

Abstract: The Elk Grove Book Club has met since 1937 to share member book reviews of popular titles. The records of the Elk Grove Book Club are comprised of meeting minutes, book lists and reviews, member files, and anniversary celebration ephemera documenting the history of the club from its inception to the present.

Biographical / Historical

The Elk Grove Book Club held its first meeting on March 17, 1937, in the home of Mrs. Nonine Wackman with a group of ten young women in attendance. The club's charter members decided met the third Wednesday of every month to hear two book reviews, and dues were set at $1 per year to cover the cost of books and magazines for the group. Since its inception, monthly meetings have featured book reviews of popular titles presented by individual members. For decades, membership was capped at about 20 and readers met for dessert luncheons in members' homes. The club has been comprised of women active in the Elk Grove community, many of whom were longtime members. Edna Sperry, the longest living charter member, passed away at age 101 in 2007; Olga Batey was its longest member, joining the club in 1949 and serving as a member for nearly 70 years. As of 2018, the Elk Grove Book Club is one of the longest-running in the United States.

Scope and Contents

The records of the Elk Grove Book Club are comprised of meeting minutes, book lists and reviews, member files, and anniversary celebration ephemera documenting the history of the club from its inception to the present. The records are organized according to the original order of the club, into the following series: Series I. Meeting minutes; Series II. Book lists and reviews, Series III. Member files; Series IV. Anniversary celebrations, Series V. General.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Elk Grove Book Club Records, MC 69, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

Access

Collection is open for research; records containing contact information on current members are restricted until 2038.

Administrative records (1941-2015) Series I

Constitution and bylaws, 2012, n.d. 1/1

Financial records, 1941 1/2

Financial records, 2011-2015 [RESTRICTED] 1/3

Meeting minutes (1937-2015) Series II

Minutes, 1937-1941 1/4

Minutes, 1941-1951 1/5

Minutes, 1951-1964 1/6

Minutes, 1964-1985 2/1

Minutes, 1985-1999 2/2

Minutes, 2000-2011 2/3

Minutes, 2011-2015 2/4

Book Lists and Reviews (1937-2018) Series III

Book lists, 1937-1976 3/1

Book lists, 1987-2018 3/2

Book reviews, ca. 1938-1939, 2014, 2018 3/3

Book review portraits, 2016-2017 [RESTRICTED] 3/4-5

Member Files Series IV

Member lists, 2011-Present [RESTRICTED] 4/1

Barnes, Charlotte 4/2

Bartholomew, Amy 4/3

Batey, Edna 4/4

Batey, Olga 4/5

Beitzel, Maeola 4/6

Brown, Alma 4/7

Buscher, Dorothy 4/8

Camp, Willeta 4/9

Case, Lucille 4/10

Castello, Helen 4/11

Colton, Hilma 4/12

Daly, Marty 4/13

Ehrhardt, Frances 4/14

Engle, Marliee Lewis 4/15

Gormley, Maureen 4/16

Holmes, Marsha 4/17

Johnson, Sue 4/18

Kelly, Evelyn 4/19

Krull, Phyllis 4/20

McGuire, Margaret 4/21

Mix, Marion 4/22

Morse, Barbara 4/23

Neiger, Helen 4/24

O'Brien, Mary 4/25

Reynolds, Helen 4/26

Signorotti, Virginia 4/27

Silva, Carmel 4/28

Sperry, Edna 4/29

Wackman, Frances 4/30

Westerberg, Aileen 4/31

Wisler, Mitzi 4/32

Wright, Elaine 4/33

Anniversary Celebrations and History Committee (1985-2018) Series V

48th Anniversary (1985) - Lists of invitees, notes on program for meeting 5/1

50th Anniversary (1987) - Minutes of anniversary meeting, photographs, letters, constitution and bylaws 5/2

60th Anniversary (1997) - Program, memory book, invitation and menu selections 5/3

65th Anniversary (2002) - Bookmarks 5/4

70th Anniversary (2007) - Program, CD of photographs 5/5

75th Anniversary (2012) - Program, invitation, bookmark 5/6

80th Anniversary - Program and other printed material 5/7

History Committee Records, 2018 5/8

General (1984-2018) Series VI

News clippings and press releases, 1985-2008 - Regarding meetings, member activities and anniversary celebrations 6/1-2

Photographs, 1984-2010 6/3

Correspondence – book donation, Samuel Kennedy third grade class, 2018 6/4

Correspondence – primarily meeting scheduling, 2015-2016 [RESTRICTED] 6/5

Other printed material 6/6