Woman's Kansas Day Club

By Bobbie Athon, for Hers Kansas

Prior to 1905, Kansas women were excluded from the traditional Republican Kansas Day commemorations. Members of the Good Government Club of Topeka wanted to give women access to participate in the state's annual birthday party, January 29. In 1905, they initiated their own event, hosted by the Kansas Historical Society, at the Kansas State Capitol. Their program featured prominent speakers discussing the state's history.

Mrs. A. H. Horton, president of the Good Government Club, presided over the event. Among those featured was Charles M. Sheldon on "The Mothers Make the State." Miss Helen Morton, Washburn College math professor, spoke on the battle of Arickaree. Other readings included a paper on the Exoduster movement, a reading on Kansas authors, and the presentation of an oil portrait of Sara T. D. Robinson, wife of the first governor.

Buoyed by a successful event, Good Government Club members organized the "Woman's Kansas Day Club" in 1906. Dues were set at 25 cents, and men, as well as women, were encouraged to join. The club was established as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical organization to "promote patriotism and loyalty to Kansas and the preservation of its history." Newspapers reported much interest around the state.

"I think your patriotic association is a splendid thing and I wish you abundant success," a McPherson lawyer was quoted in the Topeka Daily Capital. "My wife is visiting in Kansas City but she will be in Topeka for the meeting and I want to pay her dues in advance and have her enrolled among the charter members of the Women's Kansas Day Club."

Mrs. J. D. McFarland was elected the first president; Sara Robinson was elected honorary president. The January 1907 event, held at the First Baptist Church in Topeka, drew 500 attendees and featured a program on the past, present, future, and poetry readings. The members sang "Song of the Kansas Emigrants," by John Greenleaf Whittier. Mrs. Margaret Hill McCarter spoke on "Kansas-Her Heroic Past" and told her audience that the secret of the state's progress was due to six factors: the shotgun, the plough share, the spelling book, the high chair, the hearthstone, and the Bible.

Ensuing meetings were held in various locations including Topeka High School in 1908. At the 1910 meeting, held at Unity Church, members advocated a systematic study of the history of the state. Their program featured Mrs. Lillian Mitchner of Baldwin on the Women's Christian Temperance Union and Mrs. Lillian A. King of the Kansas Woman's Press Association. The 1911 event, held at the First Presbyterian Church, attracted 400 members and included a talk by Mrs. D. S. Alford on brass bands.

The club reported large attendance at meetings in 1912 at the YWCA and in 1914 at the First Methodist Church. Mrs. J. J. Ingalls of Atchison was one of 25 pioneer women to speak on a panel at the 1915 meeting, which drew 1,000 members. First Lady Mrs. Arthur Capper hosted a reception for the event at the governor's mansion.

The club's focus turned toward the selection and adoption of a Kansas song in 1916. Members sought aspiring Kansas poets and composers to encourage the creation of an appropriate song. Held at the First Presbyterian Church, the program featured Native American music and a pageant. Miss Georgia Calac and Miss Evelyn Pierce, two Haskell students, participated in the program.

In 1918, as the nation was engaged in World War I, members explored women's roles in the war. With encouragement from Charles M. Sheldon, they protested the use of Kansas grain by breweries in Great Britain. At this meeting, they also honored several pioneer women. The following year at First Methodist Church, members pledged their support toward reconstruction efforts in Europe. Newspapers reported that the 1919 meeting was the most well attended in history.

In 1920, Washburn College students presented a dramatization at the Grand Theater of Margaret Hill McCarter's book, "The Price of the Prairie: a Story of Kansas." The luncheon, held at the Masonic Temple, drew 600 attendees. They endorsed a constitutional amendment on farm tenantry, addressing the issue of decreasing ownership in family farms. Mrs. H. B. Asher, the newly elected president, advocated support for women's athletics.

Members in 1922 voted to make Topeka the permanent home of the Woman's Kansas Day Club. The club continued its focus on social reform with resolutions on disarmament, a soldier bonus, and better working conditions for women in industry and it initiated legacy projects. One effort was to assist the Kansas Historical Society with acquisition of property or restoration funds. In 1914, members unveiled a monument at Pawnee Rock, which the club had acquired and presented to the State of Kansas as an historic site. The club provided supplemental funds to restore Stach School at the Kansas History Center and Museum in 1986. In 1933 they donated to the museum a hatchet used by Carry Nation.

Over the years, members collected reminiscences on a wide range of topics in Kansas history. These subjects include transportation, the role of women in libraries, prominent women, newspapers, post offices, pioneer medicine and education, women's clubs, Native American heritage, courthouses, opera houses, hotels and inns, churches, music and musicians, mills and milling, and banking. At the conclusion of these yearly collecting efforts, the club presents its materials to the Society's Library and Archives. Their efforts continue today, nearly 100 years after their first meeting.