Club Minutes: Mutual Improvement Association, 1896-1900

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had that day returned from a trip to Niagara, Toronto and Watkin's Glen gave, after some questioning the most laughable and terribly annoying experience of sea sickness we have ever heard from any traveler Mary T. Moore furnished reminiscences of Whittier and Louisa T. Brooke a short, but beautiful poem.

The sec. read the much talked of "Man with a Hoe" by Prof. Markham and then a most decided refutation of the idea by a critic who reserved his pity for the man without any love. Adjourned to the home of Virginia H. Steer.

Mary Bentley Thomas Sec.

9/28-1899 The Association was held at the home of Virginia H. Steer our latest acquisition. Her sentiment was "There is but one failure and that is not to be true to the best one knows. When thou wouldst help another, study to please, not thyself in the doing but him thou servest. So shalt thou be unselfish indeed". This admirable thought was succeeded by another equally good. "Let us be only patient and God will teach his own lesson in his own way. Let us try to learn it well and learn it quickly but do not let us fancy that He will ring the school bell and send us to play before the lesson is learned". Elizabeth G. Thomas read of a brave Sister of Charity in France who had seized a mad dog and saved the lives of some children by sacrificing her own, and Louisa T. Brooke gave a pretty poem by a Priest which we copy-

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"The baby has no skies but mother's eyes Nor any God above but mother's love. This angel sees the Fathers face But he the mother's full of grace And yet the Heavenly Kingdom is of such as this." L.T.B. also read "Frances E. Willards advice to boys and girls whom she thought should be treated alike in many respects. The pieces Sarah T. Miller had intended to bring were all "lost, stolen or mislaid " so she culled from Harper a laughable description of the futile efforts of a stammering man to escape from an elevator that carried him 20 stories too far up. Mary Osborne brought a short story, new to all, apparently, though written long ago by Louisa M. Alcott. It was entitled "Grandmas Team" which consisted of a pair of grandsons who drew the old lady to church when there was no available horse and in the pleasant guise of fiction contained the sound moral lesson of greater humanity to dumb animals. Sarah E. Stabler favored us with a most interesting sketch of Rosa Bonheur in her old age. She prefaced it by saying that she was reminded of Edith D. Bentley whenever she saw the name of the artist's name who was such a favorite with one of our first and most devoted members. The famous painter was found surrounded by her animal friends many of these old like herself. Annie F. Gilpin contributed a receipt for Tomato Soy which several had tried and pronounced excellent.

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Green Tomato Soy 2 gals. green tomatoes sliced, 12 large onions, 2 qts. vinegar, 1 qt. sugar, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 ground mustard, 2 black pepper, 2 allspice, 1 cloves, Mix and stew till tender. The sec. will note that she prefers to slice the tomatoes, & onions add the salt and place them in a colander under a weight for a few hours before cooking and that she found 2lbs. of green cantaloup, sliced and also drained were an improvement. Martha Holland's selection was part of a letter from a Baltimore minister who recounted recent experiences in Europe, some pleasant and others annoying, he advised travellers to take as little baggage as possible. Mary G. Colt exhibited a plate of very nice looking mixed spices which she said would season a certain quantity of pickle just right. Her next contribution to the general good was likewise spicy, a little girls composition and the Asso. enjoyed a hearty laugh over the child's droll conceits. Her third contribution was a laudatory essay upon "The Hen", some would-be scientist declaring, whimsically, that in the dim future domestic fowls would be fed upon various compounds, medicinal more especially suited to the needs of human beings who could thus dispense with Dr's. in time. Solely through living upon properly balanced eggs. Eliza N. Moore gave anecdotes of Edison who is still a wonder to all

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who know the hard student of electricity. Pattie T. Farquhar by request, recited "Echo" a musical poem by an unknown author and E. G. Thomas, also by request, kindly repeated verses "Unawares" which might well remind us, anew, to be thoughtful of our nearest and dearest lest we wound a loving heart. A number of guests, with many members, enjoyed our first meeting at this home. Some remarkably nice begonias were duly admired and our hostess attributed their thrifty appearance to a liberal use of a solution from the pig pen. The Sec. read several clippings - "Too Many Things" urged housekeepers to dispense with superfluities, to buy only what was needed and to so arrange their rooms that "the eye may rest upon some refreshing spaces, simplify as we may life is still complicated enough but "everything eliminated means to the busy woman that much less to think of and care for, & that means more time for thought and culture, for love, helpfulness and charity.

Adjourned to Sunnyside.

Mary Bentley Thomas Sec.

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10/26-1899 found us assembled at Sunnyside, Pattie R. Stabler, Annie Bell Higgins, Carrie Bond, Florence Bond, Mary H., Emma and Lillie Stabler and Clara P. Moore were guests. Mary Osborn's sentiment was from Hawthorne - "In chaste and warm affections, humble wishes and honest toil for some useful end there is health for the mind, quiet for the heart the prospect of a happy life and the fairest hope of Heaven."

Sarah T. Miller's article was a protest against the spirit of caste which it was believed had a mighty influence in deterring the debased from all effort to rise. This protest met with approbation; she supplemented it by a fine poem on thanksgiving.

Ellen Farquhar read interesting extracts from a most voluminous Postal card written by Caroline H. Miller from St.Louis where her twin grand daughters are evidently a source of both pride and pleasure to their family.

Martha Holland's selection was a story of a minister who had the happy faculty of turning all the affairs of life with "the best side out" and Sarah Stone's was a curious list of charms, and medicines sold by a sort of witch doctor on the East side of New York City.

Elizabeth G. Thomas had a fine extract upon the heroism of drudgery, comparing the [Dewey?] pageants with the lack of praise