Children, reading, books and serving others are still priorities in our community, but this all started 100 years ago with the beginning of the Stuart Book Club, one of the oldest civic organizations in Patrick County.
The Patrick County Branch Library had its beginnings with the ladies in the club, who also provided needed items for students in the school, provided Christmas treats for children in the streets of Stuart and promoted reading through their various projects. These are just a few of the things the club has accomplished by meeting monthly and volunteering actively for the past 100 years.
It is believed that during the early 1920s, local resident M. R. Taylor asked the Board of Supervisors for permission to clean out the basement of Patrick County Courthouse to form a reading room for the young men of the community. The Stuart Book Club, which was formed in 1925, picked up on this idea right away, and in 1932, they started the Corner Library located in Clark Bros. Hardware, which was at the corner of Main and Blue Ridge streets in Stuart with John L. Clark assisting by acting as librarian.
The club collected, donated and were given books by the Extension Service of the Virginia State Library, so it started the library with approximately 300 books. The lending library continued for about 20 years until the present county library was officially opened. The club’s current projects still include giving free books to children during parades, providing money for children to buy books at book fairs, supporting the local library and book mobile, and they have given a collection of Spanish books to the library in memory of Ann Belcher, a popular PCHS Spanish teacher.
Through the years, the club has done such worthy projects as furnishing the clinic room for Stuart School so that sick students would have a cot to lie on, provided hot meals for the students before the school lunch program began, furnishing care packages for WWII soldiers with soap and other need items, They also knitted sweaters and socks and rolled bandages for the War effort. Members also collected and gave magazines and flowers to Stuart Hospital, as well as a donation of $1500 to the building fund for the R.J. Reynolds Memorial Hospital. The club even had a float in the 1976 Bicentennial Parade in Patrick County.
The club also donates Christmas gifts for children in need through the guidance departments at the local schools and has also funded scholarships for students for field trips, and clothing for special occasions for students who were unable to participate otherwise. Donations to allow local students to attend Camp Easter Seal were also given during the 1950s and once when needed, the club even donated a washing machine for a family.
This club, exclusive to women and to membership by nomination, is considered to be a legacy organization as many members have been descendants of previous members, often three generations have been represented.
When the club formed in 1925, there were 16 members, but in later years, it consistently remained at 12 members. Thus, 12 books are selected each year to be read and passed to another member each month. The books are varied in subject matter, according to what the individual members have chosen — which they recommend the others read. This has introduced genres that many would not have otherwise enjoyed.
Initially the meetings were held in members’ homes and a meal was often included, however the club now meets at Stuart Presbyterian Church and the monthly hostess entertains with an interesting program and refreshments. Members interviewed for this article remain excited about what the club has accomplished and look forward to opportunities that lie ahead of them which will help make their community a better place.
A positive impact is their motivation, and although they enjoy the books they read, their true pleasure comes from serving others and their camaraderie with their fellow members.
The Book Club year book of 1926 provides the following motto: “Live neither in the past nor in the future, but in the midst of things, enriched by memory and lighted by anticipation.” This is truly the ambition of this club. Watch for further events that are being planned to celebrate their successful history and to spotlight their future endeavors.
The current membership includes Sarah Brinks, Suzanne Hutchens, Phyllis Lemke, Peggy Rogers, Denise Smith, Linda Wilson, Eva Hopkins, Betty Kirkpatrick, Barbara Pendleton, Diane Ross, Rendy Williams, and Janice Woods.
