MS 986 - Happy Circle Club (Milton Township, Wood County, Ohio)

Title	MS 986 - Happy Circle Club (Milton Township, Wood County, Ohio)
Introduction	The records of the Happy Circle Club from Milton Township, Wood County, Ohio, were donated to the Center for Archival Collections on May 19, 2003, with the cooperation of H. Irene Trumbull. The collection consists of minutes, rules and regulations, officer and hostess lists, a club history and newspaper clippings, dating from the Club's beginning in 1929 to 1979. No restrictions exist on the research use and duplication of this collection. The manuscript register was prepared by Ann Bowers, September 2003.
Agency History	The Happy Circle Club first organized on March 1, 1929, when twenty-three women met at the home of Mrs. Jay (Sadie) Pugh to "form a club of sociability and usefulness." After some consideration, the name of Happy Circle Club was chosen for the group and meetings were set for the first Thursday of each month. From this original twenty-three, within twenty years, the Club had grown to a membership of fifty-two women. The women would meet most of the day, spending the morning making comforters for the needy, lap ropes for soldiers in hospitals and similar charitable projects. A lunch would be held followed by the business meeting. Monies raised would be donated to such worthy causes at the Red Cross, Polio Fund and the Cancer Fund. Over the years, showers were held for family weddings and births. Ice cream socials and Christmas gift exchanges were included in the Club's many social activities.
Scope and Content	The records of the Happy Circle Club document the activities of this women's rural social organization, including charitable work and celebrating family events of the members, including weddings and births of children and grandchildren. The minutes, available from the Club's organization in March 1929 until 1962, document the day long activities of the women when they met once a month. Financial reports within the minutes document the monies contributed for the charitable work as well as support of the members' families. Minutes are not available after 1962. Various record books documenting officer lists, meeting hostesses, rule and regulations of the Club complement the minutes and date from 1943 to 1973, although the dates are somewhat scattered. A few news clippings and a club history complete the collection.
Series Description	PROCEEDINGS MINUTES 1929-1962 Arranged chronologically Includes a narrative of each meeting--where the meeting took place, those attending, charitable work completed, business meeting details and lunch or dinner menu. RULES AND REGULATIONS 1949 Includes a revised list of the rules and regulations of the Club ROSTERS/LISTS 1943-1973 Arranged chronologically Includes lists of officers and hostesses LITERARY DOCUMENTS CLUB HISTORY 1949 Handwritten history (also in typed form) written in 1949 by a member. SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL NEWS CLIPPINGS 1979 Newspaper articles of Club celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Inventory	Box 1 Folders Minutes, March 1929-August 1933 Minutes, September 1933-February 1937 Minutes, March 1937-January 1942 Minutes, March 1942-February 1945 Minutes, March 1950-February 1952, a few scattered minutes from 1953 Minutes, March 1955-March 1957 Minutes, April 1957-November 1958 Minutes (two volumes-one a duplicate but also includes news clippings of meetings 1965-1966), December 1958-April 1962 Rules and regulations-revised (includes club history by Bertha Underwood dated March 1949), January 1949 List of members, committee members and hostesses, 1943-1955 List of officers, 1961-1972 List of hostesses, 1969-1973 News clippings, 1979