By Claudine Klose
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Posing for a group photo circa 1929, the women of the Historical Club of Upper Red Hook personified the “cream” of local society. All wives of successful farmers and professionals and overwhelmingly Dutch Reformed and politically conservative, they were civic-minded and wanted to promote education and enlightenment in their community. The exclusive “by invitation only” club was formed in 1901 as “The Monday Club,” but because Mondays were typically wash days, they decided that “laundry and literary pursuits were a bad combination,” so moved the meetings to Fridays and renamed the group the Historical Club of Upper Red Hook.
Membership was restricted to 30 so as not to overcrowd the private homes where it met, and meetings revolved around formal teas and lengthy presentations by members about “world- wide subjects” they had researched. On June 16, 1944, after much discussion about inviting a Democrat, Eleanor Roosevelt attended a meeting to share impressions from her wartime travels. She became an honorary member of the Club in 1950, and the club survived for another forty years.
Historic Red Hook is fortunate to have a rich collection documenting the Club’s activities, donated in 2003 by longtime secretary Charlotte Bathrick.
Click on the images below to view some of the items in this collection.
