The Medra Club

Medra Club at Christmas; Recto-Front.jpg

The Medra Club formed in November 1929 to bring together business and professional women into close relationships, and promote civic and social enterprises that would have a bearing on community development. During meetings, the club hosted guest speakers to talk about various topics, held demonstrations, and discussed literary works. In this photo, members of the Medra Club gather around a tree at Christmas time.

“Progress, Proficiency, Improvement” was the motto adopted by the Medra Club upon their organization in November 1929. The Club’s purpose was, “…to bring together business and professional women into close relationships, and promote civic and social enterprises that would have a bearing on community development.” Women were required to be actively engaged in either a local business or profession, and their membership included teachers, welfare workers, nurses, and office workers in Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois.

The Medra Club tried to match their projects with the interest of club members. They regularly supported local service organizations like Champaign-Urbana Community Chest, United Way of Champaign County, Annabelle Huling Memorial Home for children, the McKinley YMCA, and the Salvation Army. The Club also provided grants for girls and young women to attend scout camp, nursing school, and the University of Illinois.

This scrapbook primarily contains newspaper clippings about the Medra Club’s activities, as well as some ephemera. For example, the two pages of the scrapbook seen above feature not only short articles about the Medra Club's activities, but also an orange pumpkin that holds an invitation to the 1932 Medra Club Halloween party in its mouth.