Overview of Collection
Modern Mondays Reading Club
Modern Mondays Reading Club Records, 1921-2021 (bulk dates 1921-2013)
HM51 Mode Mond
4.25 linear feet in 9 1/2 Manuscript boxes
History of the Modern Mondays Reading Club
The first meeting of the Modern Mondays Reading Club, often simply referred to as Modern Mondays, was held in December of 1921. At the time
of its organization, the club's purpose was "to do a little serious and worthwhile reading". Dues of $1.00 per month helped pay for such early guest speakers as Christopher
Morley (journalist and author) and David Morton (poet). Over the years, the reading selections have been eclectic and far-reaching, mirroring the caliber of the club's
members. Early members included: Ethel Cutler Freeman, an authority on Indian Affairs at the American Museum of Natural History; Dorothy Kunhardt, author of
Pat the Bunny and other children's books and Elinor Parker, a manager of Scribner's Book Store on 5th Avenue and 48th Street in New York.
Modern Mondays continues to meet on a monthly basis. Traditions founded with the club continue to inform the group, as members still write papers on the works they have
read and books are still donated to The Morristown and Morris Township Library in honor of past members.
Scope and Content of the Records
The records of the Modern Mondays Reading Club include meeting minutes, program guides, program reports (papers), membership lists, correspondence, newspaper
clippings, photographs, as well as the Constitution and By-Laws of the organization.
Arrangement of the Records
The materials are arranged chronologically by record type and organized into four series.
Series I: Administrative, 1921-2014.
This series includes the Constitution and By-Laws, historical information about the club, newspaper clippings, correspondence and photographs of a meeting held outdoors from the 1940's.
Series II: Minutes, 1921-2021.
The minutes of the Modern Monday Reading Club begin on December 5, 1921 and are available up until the last meeting of 2004.
Series III: Papers and Programs, 1927-2020; not dated.
Yearly programs were decided upon prior to the start of the season and program booklets were printed up and supplied to each member. Certain authors, books or subjects were assigned to each meeting date and
one member of the club was chosen to compose a paper on that topic, to be read at the meeting.
Series IV: Membership Yearbooks, 1925-2019.
The early yearbooks were primarily program guides, listing the dates of the upcoming meetings, the books and authors to be discussed and the club member whose turn it was to write a report on the subject.
These small booklets also listed the members of the club, the officers and program committee members, and the names of those members taking a sabbatical. By the mid 1960's members' addresses were also
included and therefore, have been restricted for use by members only.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Most of the collection is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History and Genealogy Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for
use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material
from the collection.
Material in the Modern Mondays Reading Club Records may be photocopied, but because it is a permanent part of the History Center's collections,
researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the reading room scanner for bound material. Restricted files are only accessible to current officers and will become available at a later date.
Acquisition Information
Material for this collection is acquired on a periodic basis. The most current information dates from 2021.
Preferred Citation
Modern Mondays Reading Club Records, 1921-2021. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Processing Information
Originally arranged by S. Christine Jochem, Archivist, 2001.
Revised and encoded by North Jersey History and Genealogy Center Archivist, 2008; Revisions and updates, 2013, 2022.
Container List
Series I: History and Administrative, 1921-2014.
1
1
Constitution, 1930-1937.
1
2
Constitution, 1930-1940; 1947; 1956; 1968; 1986.
1
3
By-Laws, 1944.
1
4
Constitution and by-laws,
1968
1
5
Constitution and by-laws,
1986
1
6
Constitution and by-laws,
2009-2010
1
7
History, 1943-1944; circa 1960.
1
8
History [by Mrs. Larson], 1961.
1
9
History, 1991.
1
10
Members topics 70 years history,
1991
1
11
Histories of Modern Monday,
1947-2001
1
12
80th anniversary notes,
2001
1
13
List of subjects from 1922-2007; constitution and by-laws,
2008
1
14
Topics for Modern Mondays, 1922-2009.
1
15
Subjects, 1922-2010: "What Have We Been Talking About for Over 80 Years?",
2010
1
16
"There's a Group of Ladies Known as Modern Mondays" poem,
ca.1974
1
17
Correspondence, 1955-1971; not dated.
1
18
Correspondence,
2009
1
19
Correspondence,
2000-2013
1
20
Newspaper clippings and notes, 1938; 1971; not dated.
1
21
Ephemera,
n.d.
1
22
Ephemera,
n.d.
1
23
Letterhead,
n.d.
1
24
Minutes - Suggested format,
ca.2010
1
25
Photographs, 1943-1944; 2007.
1
26
Photographs - Front row from left: Shannie Doremus, Vickie Shurtleff, Betty Bissell, Ginny Earley, Sue Wood.
Middle row from left: Judith McDonald, Missy Partridge, Pat Moody, Cynthia Robinson, Katherine Grieder, Dulcey Green.
Back Row from left: Nancy Purdy, Susan Gulick, Valarie Gilliland, Heather Nicolosi, Ann Nash, Janet Loengard, Cam Cavanaugh, Helen Brunet,
2007
1
27
Photographs at the home of Sue Woods in Peapack - Top row from left: Dulcy Green, Katherine Grieder, Marian Mundy, Ginny Easley, Helen McFerran(?), Betty Cutler, Nancy Purdy, Janet Loengard,
Sue Woods, Judith McDonald, Cam Cavanaugh.
Bottom row: Helen Brunet, Beth Bayles, Newly Preziosi, Valerie Gilliland, Linda Carrington, Pat Mooley, Ginny Pierson,
2014
Series II: Meetings, 1921-2021.
2
1
Minutes, 1921-1925.
2
2
Minutes, 1925-1928.
2
3
Minutes, 1928-1932.
2
4
Minutes, 1932-1937.
2
5
Minutes, 1932-1935, 1936-1939.
2
6
Minutes, 1939-1940.
2
7
Minutes, 1940-1941.
2
8
Handwritten minutes and notes, 1941; 1947; 1949; not dated.
2
9
Minutes, 1941-1942.
2
10
Minutes, 1942-1943.
2
11
Minutes, 1943-1944.
2
12
Minutes, 1944-1945.
2
13
Minutes, 1945-1946.
2
14
Minutes, 1946-1947.
2
15
Minutes, 1947-1948.
2
16
Minutes, 1948-1949.
2
17
Minutes, 1949-1950.
2
18
Minutes, 1950-1951.
2
19
Minutes, 1951-1952.
2
20
Minutes, 1952-1953.
2
21
Minutes, 1953-1954.
2
22
Minutes, 1954-1955.
2
23
Minutes, 1955-1956.
2
24
Minutes, 1956-1957.
3
1
Minutes, 1957-1958.
3
2
Minutes, 1958-1959.
3
3
Minutes, 1959-1960.
3
4
Minutes, 1960-1961.
3
5
Minutes, 1961-1962.
3
6
Minutes, 1962-1963.
3
7
Minutes, 1963-1964.
3
8
Minutes, 1964-1965.
3
9
Minutes, 1965-1966.
3
10
Minutes, 1966-1967.
3
11
Minutes, 1967-1968.
3
12
Minutes, 1968-1969.
3
13
Minutes and programs, 1970-1975.
3
14
Minutes and programs, 1975-1979.
3
15
Minutes and programs, 1980-1985.
3
16
Minutes and programs, 1985-1989.
4
1
Minutes and programs, 1989-1994.
4
2
Minutes, October 1994-1996.
4
3
Minutes, 1997-1999.
4
4
Minutes, 2000-2004.
4
5
Minutes,
2005-2006
4
6
Agendas, notes, attendance,
2006-2010
4
7
Minutes,
2006-2007
4
8
Minutes,
2007-2008
4
9
Minutes,
2008-2009
4
10
Minutes,
2009-2010
4
11
Minutes,
2010-2011
4
12
Minutes,
2011-2012
4
13
Minutes,
2012-2013
4
14
Minutes,
2019-2020
4
15
Minutes,
2021-
Series III: Papers and Programs, 1922-2020.
5
1
Meeting programs and syllabi, 1922-1925.
5
2
Programs: Reading topics list, 1922-1991.
5
3
Papers: Light Fantastic American Ballet; Fashion and Fashion Houses, 1936.
5
4
Papers [read at meetings], 1936-1982.
5
5
Programs, 1942-1944.
5
6
Programs, 1944-1949.
5
7
Programs, 1950-1956.
5
8
Papers: St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1951.
5
9
Papers: Taj Mahal, 1951.
5
10
Papers: Michelangelo, 1953.
5
11
Papers: Alfred Nobel, 1954-1955.
5
12
Papers: Nile River (The Nile), 1954-1955.
5
13
Papers: Isabella of Spain, 1956.
5
14
Papers: Chinese Painting, 1959-1960.
5
15
Programs, 1960-1961; 1968-1969.
5
16
Papers: Eisteddfod, Wales, circa 1967-1968.
5
17
Programs, 1975; not dated.
5
18
Papers: Women's fashion; Children's literature; A play, 1985; not dated.
5
19
Papers by Margaret Taylor - Ellen Glasgow: A Chronicler of the South,
1986
5
20
Papers: Writer's and Christmas Literature, 1988-1989.
6
1
Papers, circa 1993-1998.
6
2
Papers: Don Carlos of Spain; Turkey; Wind in the Willows, 2000.
6
3
Programs: Paper proposals, 2000-2001.
6
4
Papers, 2000-2005.
6
5
Papers by Shannon Doremus - Letters and Diaries: Women’s Western Travels, 1840-1873,
2002
6
6
Papers by Margaret Taylor - Greed in Fact and Fiction,
2004
6
7
Papers by S. Woods, 2005-2009.
6
8
Papers, 2006-2007.
6
9
Papers by J. Loengard, circa 2007-2010.
6
10
Papers by Linda Carrington - "Sometimes You Are a Stranger in Your Own Country", 2008
6
11
Papers by Cam Cavannaugh - Washington Irving,
2008
6
12
Papers, circa 2008-2009.
6
13
Papers by Betsey Blair - Lakota Women,
2009
6
14
Papers by K. Gruder, 2009.
6
15
Papers by P. Krementz, 2009-2010.
6
16
Papers: Ireland and the Celts, 2009-2010.
6
17
Papers by D. Green, 2009-2011.
7
1
Papers by Sarah Black - Upcoming American Woman Writer,
2010
7
2
Papers by Betsy Blair - Celts of Cape Breton Island,
2010
7
3
Papers by Helen Brunet - Margaret Mitchell,
2010
7
4
Papers by Burcat, circa 2010.
7
5
Papers by Linda Carrington - Alice Duer Miller,
2010-2011
7
6
Papers by K.C. Grieder - Contemporary Irish Poetry,
2010
7
7
Papers by Peggy Krementz - "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", by Harriet Jacobs,
2010
7
8
Papers by Ginny Pierson - Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird,
2010
7
9
Papers,
2010
7
10
Papers by Linda Carrington - Alice Duer Miller,
2011
7
11
Papers by Linda Carrington - Paulo Coelho,
2011-2012
7
12
Papers by Peggy Krementz - Latin American Literature: Eva Peron,
2011-2012
7
13
Papers by Janet Loengard - Lydia Maria Francis Child,
2011
7
14
Papers by Helen McFerran - Laura Esquivel,
2011
7
15
Papers by Nancy Purdy - Literature of South America: Jorge Amado,
2011
7
16
Papers by Betsy Blair - Voyages and Voyagers: Admiral Peary,
2012
7
17
Papers by Linda Carrington - Voyages and Voyagers: de Tocqueville in America,
2012
7
18
Papers by Sarah Dundas - Charles Darwin,
2012
7
19
Papers by Peggy Krementz - Voyages and Voyagers: Argonautica,
2012-2013
7
20
Papers by Helen McFerran - Voyages and Voyagers: Ed Hillary,
2012-2013
7
21
Papers by Nancy Purdy - Daisy Miller, the American Girl Abroad,
2012
7
22
Papers by Sarah Dundas - All About Rivers: Thames,
2013
7
23
Papers by Dulcy Green - Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Her Many Journeys,
2013
7
24
Papers by Janet Loengard - Journey to Nowhere: Thomas More and Jonathan Swift,
2013
7
25
Papers by Linda Carrington - The Literary and Artistic Life in the Kedge: the Works of the Rev. J. Brett Langstaff,
2014
7
26
Papers by Sarah Dundas - Places that Fostered Creativity: Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance,
2014
7
27
Papers by Linda Carrington - The Heroines of the Special Operations, F Section: Britain's Secret Weapon,
2015
7
28
Papers by Sarah Dundas - Women in War: The Girls at Bletchley Park,
2015
7
29
Papers by Linda Carrington - Homecoming, a Novel by Yaa Gyas, and a look at the slave trade in 18th century Ghana,
2019
7
30
Papers by Maryann Ficarra,
2019
7
31
Paper on Nelson Mandela,
2019
7
32
Papers by Maryann Ficarra,
2020
7
33
Papers by Linda Carrington - John Le Carre,
2018
8
1
Six Younger English and American Novelists, n.d.
8
2
Papers: Virginia Woolf, n.d.
8
3
Papers: Women and the Civil War, n.d.
8
4
Papers: [read at meetings], n.d.
8
5
Papers: [read at meetings], n.d.
8
6
Papers: [read at meetings], n.d.
8
7
Papers by Helen Brunet - How I Became a Celtophile Against my Better Judgement, n.d.
8
8
Papers by E.L. Cutler, not dated.
Series IV: Membership and Yearbooks [RESTRICTED], 1936-2019.
9
1
Yearbook, 1925-1934.
9
2
Yearbook, 1934-1942.
9
3
Yearbook, 1943-1944.
9
4
Yearbook, 1955-1970.
9
5
Yearbook, 1970-1980.
9
6
Yearbook, 1980-1984; 1985-1990.
9
7
Sabbatical Lists,
1988-2008
9
8
Yearbook, 1990-2000.
9
9
Member List,
1991
9
10
Yearbooks, 1999-2010 [2007-2008 missing]
10
1
Memorials - Marie-Lorraine Lee,
2004-2007
10
2
Memorials - Marian Niles,
2004
10
3
Memorials - John Lothrop Shurtleff,
2004
10
4
Memorials - George Albert Easley, Jr.,
2005
10
5
Memorials - Thomas Martin 'Monk' Green, IV,
2005
10
6
Memorials - Ms. Barbour,
2007
10
7
Memorials - Elizabeth Burlingame Emory,
2007
10
8
Memorials - Margaret Farrelly Gottscho,
2007
10
9
Yearbooks,
2007-2015
10
10
Members - Octavia J. Brown,
2008
10
11
Memorials - Sharon M. Doremus,
2008
10
12
Memorials - Correspondence regarding Ms. Perkins(sic?),
2008
10
13
Memorials to Joseph Collins,
2009
10
14
Memorials - Margaret Wade Taylor,
2009
10
15
Memorials - Sally Bailey Burkat,
2011
10
16
Yearbook,
2015-2019