Ladies Literary Club decides to disband after 94 years
By Peg McNichol
The Holland Sentinel
HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) - In the 94 years since the Ladies Literary Club started in Zeeland, thousands of dollars and volunteer hours have been donated to help others, mostly children.
This spring, club members made a thoughtful decision to disband. Times are changing, several members said. They are older and don't have the energy to develop the monthly schedule of speakers, music and art presentations that have been the club's hallmark for so many years. An influx of younger members had kept the club going, but times are changing, according to The Holland Sentinel.
"It's sad," said Henny Van Beek, 79, who joined about 10 years ago. "It was difficult getting officers, and none of our daughters were attending Lit Club. We all agreed it was time to quit."
But rather than "just fizzle away, we wanted to go out on a high note," said Donna Bogle, 69, a longtime member and former club president. The ladies, along with Mayor Kevin Klynstra and former club members, will meet one last time Oct. 14.
The group met monthly from fall to spring, started and ending each season with a luncheon. On Oct. 14, they will meet for a luncheon at Second Reformed Church and celebrate all Zeeland Ladies Literary Club has done in 94 years. Initially, members planted and decorated a community Christmas tree, funded an infant health clinic that treated almost 300 babies, led the March of Dimes campaign to end polio, volunteered at a hearing aid clinic for adults, sponsored Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops and bought countless books for Herman Miller Library patrons and Zeeland Hospital patients.
They served as an audience for madrigal groups, high school musicians, artists, poets, singers, writers and many speakers. In the 1940s, they heard talks from scientists, a rabbi and an NAACP representative. At one meeting, Dale V. Ford, Kendall College of Art and Design grad and the school's president from 1946-52, regaled them with tales of recovering art stolen or hidden during World War II. (That type of work was celebrated in a recent film, "The Monuments Men.")
With the Lit Club's outgoing president, Marlene Brands, members will celebrate, share stories and recall notable programs. Wilma Veldheer, 82, said she always enjoyed the book reviews delivered so well by Elaine DePree and others. Some reports saved reading time while others inspired the desire to know more, she said.
Henny Van Beek, 79, joined about 10 years ago, she said, to meet people outside of her circle at church and work.
"They opened my eyes to things," said Van Beek, "I hadn't had a lot of training or anything in art. That was a neat experience for me."
As several members noted, nothing prevents them from getting together as friends after Oct. 14, and as for literary gatherings, "the Holland Ladies Literary Club has very generously extended invitations to all our members," Bogle said.
For, of all the Lit Club's enrichment, said Van Beek, "it's the women I'll miss the most."
Published: Thu, Oct 09, 2014
