This year marks the centennial celebration of The Iowa State Women’s Club, and in celebration of its 100 years, the club will be releasing a book titled “Keepsakes: A History of the ISU Women’s Club 1897-1997.”

About a year ago, co-authors Marlene Geiger and Rae K. Eighmey began writing the 224-page soft-cover book that chronicles not only the history of the club, but also the lives, interests and activities of ordinary ISU women over the past century.

“We are speaking not only in our own voices, but we have been able to use the letters, minutes, poems, artwork and notes from so many of our members,” Geiger said. “‘Keepsakes’ is the result of many writers.”

“Keepsakes” also tells the stories of the club’s activities, including the events during the war years, activities on behalf of children and faculty social events.

The book covers the opening of the Thrift Shop, which the club has kept in operation for 66 years. The shop opened when the club noticed a need for used clothing for the underprivileged in the Ames community.

Club members began to remake their clothing and give it to underprivileged children and families. The need remained persistent, and in the 1930s, a sewing room was established and a sale was held to make money.

Soon afterwards, five women committed to opening the Thrift Shop two Saturdays a month. The money from the sale was donated back into the community for underprivileged children.

“The club has always had a wide interest in benefiting children,” Eighmey said.

“Keepsakes” also contains illustrated line drawings, several photographs plus 41 recipes for cookies, breads and main dishes collected throughout the club’s history.

All of the profits from “Keepsakes” will go to benefit the group’s scholarship endowment for women because support for women students at ISU has been a long-standing goal of the group. The club has provided financial aid to women students for 84 of its 100 years.

The club itself began in November 1897.

Thirteen women, mainly faculty wives, who lived on what used to be the residential campus, decided to meet on Wednesday afternoons and organize in a friendly manner for “fellowship, self-improvement and to be available to help the community, should the need arise.”

The Priscillas — naming themselves after a popular painting of the time depicting a woman walking across a snowy plain, which was the very image these founding women presented as they walked between their campus houses to the Farm House, Sloss and Osborn Houses — are still found on campus today in the forms of Beardshear, Marston, Pammel and Curtiss.

One of the club’s main goals was to help ISU women financially. And the first step toward this was in 1913 when the first award created by the group enabled a sophomore woman with outstanding scholarship, college activities and YWCA service to attend the student YWCA conference held at Lake Geneva, Wis.

The Accommodation Loan Fund followed in 1922.

Mrs. A.B. (Cora) Noble, who initiated the fund, designed it to furnish emergency loans to tide over young women during temporary financial difficulties.

In 1932, Mrs. Anson (Alice) Marston wrote about the success of the Accommodation Loan Fund.

“In the 10 and one-half years the fund has been in action, almost $4,800 has been loaned to 151 girls to enable them to stay in college,” Geiger said.

In many instances, especially during the last three years, these girls would have been obliged to drop out of school and forfeit teaching positions that were dependent upon their degrees, she explained.

“Letter after letter has said, ‘As soon as my debts are paid and I have money to spare, I want to help some other girl as I have been helped and repay in part the kindness shown to me,'” Geiger added.

Over the years, student needs changed and the Loan Fund was converted to a scholarship award; and additional funds were added to establish an endowment. The impact of these awards continues in the spirit of the original Priscilla Club.

The club now awards an International Award given to “one or more deserving graduate or upper-class women of Iowa State University with good grades, who possess qualities of leadership, character, and personality enabling her to foster international understanding and to interpret our American way of life to the people of her country.”

A Senior Award is also offered to “one or more worthy senior women of ISU who have been partially self-supporting, have maintained acceptable but not necessarily top-ranking scholarship and have contributed to the University and/or community life.”

Both awards are considered an honor rather than a scholarship based on financial need.

The 1997-98 award recipients are currently being selected. They will be honored with a lunch at the MacKay Tea Room on Thursday, followed by the award presentations in LeBaron Lounge, Room 1009.

What Mrs. Marston said in 1924 regarding the Accommodation Loan Fund holds true even today: “What it has meant to them [award recipients] to have not only our financial support, but the thought that the college women [club members] are interested in them and their efforts, cannot be expressed in words.”

Barbara Gurganus, current ISU Women’s Club president, underscored the importance of the scholarship endowment in this centennial anniversary year.

“‘Keepsakes’ is just one of a number of anniversary events in which we are remembering and celebrating our past history and accomplishments,” Gurganus said.

“This year’s celebration culminates in a festive birthday luncheon in April 1998 where members of the Club will have the opportunity to bring an individual ‘birthday gift’ contribution to the scholarship endowment,” she added.

Books are on sale for the general public beginning Nov. 25 at Beverly’s Gift and China, Train of Thought Books in downtown Ames and from the club via mail order.

Mail orders should be sent to ISU Women’s Club, P.O. Box 384, Ames, IA, 50010.

Each book costs $16 plus $3 per book for shipping and handling.