Mathatasian Club Promotes Exchange of Ideas for Over 100 Years

 

Scrapbook page showing ephemera from a 1955 Mathatasian Club fundraiser 

The E.O.T (Every Other Thursday) Book Club was organized in September 1915 with sixteen charter members: Maud Allison, Mrs. Beavens, Ida Bryant, Mrs. Burnett, Mrs. Caldwell, C.E. Deaver, Flora Duckworth, Kathleen Ervin, A.E. Hampton, N. Forsythe, Ora Jones, Mrs. Margan, E.H. Norwood, Mrs. Macfie, E.H. Trowbridge, and Julia Trowbridge. The group met to trade books and had a theme that changed each year. On April 12, 1917, the name was changed to the Mathatasian Book Club. Julia Trowbridge selected the name because it meant “learner.” The club joined the N.C. Federation of Women’s Clubs on October 20, 1921.

Cover of 1955 scrapbook

In addition to their intellectual pursuits, at times the club also acted as a charitable organization through efforts such as fundraising for veterans and their families and polio prevention. One early fundraising effort was to publish a cookbook with a small collection of recipes in 1939, making this the earliest published local cookbook in Transylvania County. The photo included in this article is an image of a scrapbook page from 1991. This retrospective scrapbook showcases the fundraising efforts of the club in 1955 when money was raised to aid a family of Czechoslovakian refugees living in France. The Mathatasian Club of Brevard is still active today and continues to discuss their annual theme and exchange books.

Cover of 1939 cookbook

The minutes from 1916 to the present, collected club scrapbooks, and the 1939 cookbook are archived
in the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room at the Transylvania County Library. Scrapbooks from the past club years are also digitized and part of the online collection, which can be accessed on Digital NC.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs. This article was written by Laura Gardner, Local History Librarian. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact laura.gardner@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.