Records of the University Club of Evanston

The first vice-president of the club, John H. Wigmore, kept most of the notices--printed on postcard stock and mailed to members--of the weekly Club meetings from 1907 to 1940. Listing topics to be discussed at the meetings and the names of the speakers, the announcements are enlightening and valuable sources for documenting the activities of the club. The collection (which is incompelte) consists of 300 announcements of meetings, arranged chronologically by date.

ADDITIONS

The additions to the University Club of Evanston Records shed additional light on the history and internal affairs of the organization between 1905 and 1965.

The publications folder (containing by-laws and house rules, membership booklet, club history booklet, and financial reports) provides historical information about the Club’s founding, activities, and the officers and directors of the Club. Materials are organized chronologically.

The Treasurer’s file documents club purchases and membership dues between 1906 and 1913. The purchase invoices and receipt offer a unique view of Evanston’s commercial and life, representing such Evanston-based businesses and services as the North Shore Electric Company, Henry Butler’ Livery and Boarding Stable, State Bank of Evanston, J. C. Connor Hardware Company, The Ridgeville Press, Dr. Roscoe L. Wilkes’ Drugstore, Peabody Coal Company, Wright’s Electric and Lighting Supplies, Northwestern Gas Light & Coke Co., Evanston Public Schools, Kimball and Rogers Printers, E. L. Kappelman Printers, H.E. Chandler and Co., George Iredale Furniture Storage Co. and Charles Beck Sanitary Plumbing and Gas Fitting. There are also receipts for transactions with Chicago-based businesses, such as Chicago Telephone Company, Marshall Field and Company, The Pilgrim Press, Lincoln Fuel Co., J. C. Craig Florist, and The Fair.

The bulk of the addition consists of correspondence to and from the University Club of Evanston's Secretary, dating between 1905 and 1913. Much of the correspondence is directed to Dwight St. John Bobb, who served as secretary from 1907-1909. These letters deal with membership applications, elections to membership, member responses to elections, and discussions of possible lecture series speakers.