Do It Yourself Homemakers Club Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 326

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the organizational documents, meeting minutes and agendas, as well as program and project records of the Do It Yourself Homemakers Club from its beginning up to 1998. The minutes are continuous for these years as described more completely in the paragraph below. The bulk of the collection is made up of twenty-two scrapbooks which survey the various projects of the club over the years under the headings of Citizenship, Foreign Exchange, Family Life, Health, Food, Nutrition, and Safety. These deal with the expected concerns of home and family, community and society, and contain accounts written up by the members, newspaper clippings of their activities, photographs, brochures, lists and tables. The collection concludes with some small subject files concerned with constitutional and organizational materials, lists of members, officers, hostesses, secret pals, programs, meeting agendas, Halloween parties, dinners served, dinner parties, sales. There is a series of meeting minutes, a series of major project record books, and a special subject files series. The Meeting Minutes Series appear to be complete. The Major Projects Scrapbook Series seems to be limited to the years 1971 to 1984, yet is very extensive and gives a good coverage of many of the activities and impressive achievements of the club. The Meeting Minutes Series consists of books found in two sub-series, the first covering the period October 21, 1949, to September 9, 1981; the second covering the period November 6, 1963, to May 11, 1998. The first series appears in general ledger type volumes; the second series is recorded in North Dakota State University Extension Service volumes formatted, printed, and dedicated specifically for homemakers clubs. There is some overlap between the two. The initial records of the second sub-series provide minutes for the same meetings recorded in the first sub-series, but much more briefly and with many omissions. For more complete minutes check and compare both series where there is overlap. It is possible that when the club reverted to the official extension service minute books, there was some attempt to partially back enter material from the earlier series. Also, the volume of the second series for 1971-1972 is missing, but the missing section is covered in the first series, so the minutes are complete from the birth of the organization in 1949 until the terminus of this archive in 1998. The Major Project Scrapbooks Series forms the bulk of the materials in this collection consists of the Major Project Scrapbooks Series, under the headings: Citizenship; Foreign Exchange; Family Life; Health, Food, and Nutrition; and Safety. The Citizenship scrapbooks contain such club projects as negotiating with town and county officials about the rehabilitation of run-down town property; clippings, brochures, photographs, and text concerning the operation of local, state, and national government; heritage emphasis including a period style show and quilt making; work with retirement homes, mental health, and other topics. The Foreign exchange scrapbook deals with projects of the International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) involving contacts between Hunter citizens and citizens of Panama, Germany, Japan, and Mexico, with clippings and photographs. There are several scrapbooks in the Family Life category: such things as relating to senior citizens, doing things with the family, abused children and child welfare, cookbook production, blood drive, holiday parties, theatricals, dangerous chemicals, and various charitable contributions by the club. The title of the Health, Food, Nutrition scrapbook and the title of the Safety scrapbook are self-explanatory. Many of the same themes are revisited from year to year, and topics appropriate to particular subject scrapbooks are sometimes also included in scrapbooks dedicated to other subjects. The Subject Files Series contains a file of an undated year’s accounts for June and July. There are Cass County and State homemakers materials for 1994, 1999, and an undated item. The correspondence file consists mainly of thank you notes and announcements in the years 1980, 1981 (2 items), 1982 (4 items), 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999 (2 items), and three undated. One file lists food and personnel inventories for dinners served by the club, mainly after funerals. There is a file on Halloween parties in 1990 and 1991 with pictures in the separate photograph collection. The Hunter Homemakers cookbook (210 pages), published in 1978, was a joint project of the Do It Yourself, Town & County, and Fortieth homemakers clubs. An IRS club identification number form is for 1978. Another file contains lists of members, officers, hostesses, programs, 1949 – 2003. A file has organizational materials, mainly pamphlets from the State Extension Service, consisting of information about the umbrella organizations over the local homemakers clubs, materials on constitutions and how to elect officers and conduct meetings, as well as suggestions for ceremonies. A program file deals with a Christmas program, a fashion revue and a dinner with clever menu terminology. A roll call has program suggestions for 1949 and 1981. There are Secret Pal lists for 1985 – 1986 and 1987 – 1988.

Dates

1949-1998

Creator

Do It Yourself Homemakers Club (Hunter, N.D.) (Organization)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection is held by the Institute for Regional Studies.

History

The Do It Yourself Homemakers Club was organized October 21, 1949, and was composed of women homemakers from the area of Hunter, Cass County, North Dakota. It is affiliated with the North Dakota State University Extension Service. The meetings were monthly though usually not during the summer. Membership over the years varied from about twelve to twenty-one members. This archive effectively ends in 1998, though one document projects some member assignments to 2003. The club was ongoing beyond 1998. Activities involved business meetings and refreshments variously in members’ homes, afternoons or evenings, together with topical programs, featured guests, occasional field trips, and short and long term projects.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (1.5 linear feet.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Do It Yourself Homemakers Club of Hunter,N.D. records contain meeting minutes and twenty-two scrapbooks, giving good coverage of many of the activities and impressive achievements of the club. The scrapbooks survey the club projects to include topics of Citizenship, Foreign Exchange, Family Life, Health, Food, Nutrition, and Safety. These deal with the expected concerns of home and family, community and society, and contain accounts written up by the members, newspaper clippings of their activities, photographs, brochures, lists and tables.