Red Oak Monday disbands, final distributions made

After well over a century of existence, the Monday Club of Red Oak has dissolved.
Four of the remaining Monday Club members, Lois Pratt, Connie Sampers, Vici Giltner, and Sandy Reich split up the club’s remaining funds and presented $18,000 to the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors for clock tower maintenance.
Following that meeting, the Monday Club members met with more organizations at the Red Oak Public Library. The library, the Wilson Performing Arts Center, the Red Oak Grand Theatre, the Montgomery County History Center, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, the Restored Burlington Northern Depot and World War II Memorial Museum, and the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Court of Honor were each presented with $18,000 checks to benefit their organizations.
After the presentation, the members sat down to talk about the history of the club. Connie Sampers said the club was initially founded by Mrs. Ella Louise (Bacon) Houghton in 1895.
“Mrs. Houghton was very active in the Republican Party, and the club was founded for ladies in Red Oak who had husbands who worked. A lot of them were college educated, so they wanted to keep in touch with education and educate themselves. The initial members had to be asked to join, though I’m not quite sure how many were the initial group, you know. Ida B. Hysham was also an early member. Her husband, Thomas Jefferson Hysham, was the prosecuting attorney for the Villisca Axe Murder case,” said Sampers.
The club was incorporated in 1895 and by-laws were established. Each new member was voted upon. Yearly dues for the club at that time were $1.50, and members were fined a nickel if they were tardy to or absent from a meeting.
Lois Pratt said one of the longtime staples of the Monday Club was the Hysham House.
“Mrs. Hysham was a member of the club for more than 50 years. Hysham House was remodeled into a Tudor in 1926, and in 1956 Mrs. Hysham left the house to the Monday Club. It was dedicated in her name in 1957. Over the years, the club offered a book club, art club, music, current affairs, history, literature, and social, among others. There were probably 12 different clubs in the Hysham House, or in the Monday Club at one point. In 1896, a year after being founded, the club had 67 members. At one time, there were 125 women in the club, in the Red Oak community,” commented Pratt.
In addition to meetings, the Monday Club was also involved in countless charitable projects over the years.
“They bought the first sewing machine for the high school, they hired the teacher to teach home economics, and of course they put in the clock tower on the courthouse. They put in a restroom downtown, which I think a lot of people would say that the downtown needs again. They helped assure Red Oak had a Carnegie Library  as well. That’s just a handful of the things the club has done. There is a large history of charity provided by the Monday Club. We’re going to be taking a lot of these papers and information about the history to the Montgomery County History Center,” commented Pratt.
In later years, to help support the cost of the upkeep on the house, it was rented out,  but it fell in disrepair and the size of the club reduced to around 30 members, leading to a difficult choice.
“It was just not feasible to maintain the home, so they put the Hysham House up for sale and we got a fair amount of money. We’ve been nurturing it and saving it and trying to help the community. We kept the clock at the courthouse going all these years. In the last few years, we’ve donated to other institutions, other clubs,” said Sampers.
Monday Club members were also pleased that they were able to use some money to help women with their education.
“We gave over more than $30,000 worth of scholarships to young women who were returning to the workforce. They were not scholarships for high school kids. It was for ladies that were out in the community and wanted to go back to college to help their families or help themselves get ahead. Going to college, going to nursing, we sent several to nursing school, and we also had many who we gave money who went into teaching,” commented Sampers. “It was a very productive endeavor that those women took on 128 years ago. And we’re lucky. But the younger women are all working. They can’t come to our meetings.”
Despite the declining members, member Sandy Reich said it was an extremely difficult decision to disband.
“I’m the youngest as far as being the membership that’s left. I feel like I’ve lost part of my body. I fought it, I cried about it, I prayed about it. I think that’s just what we had to do. It was a decision we voted on. But it was an emotional decision. Very emotional. Just like selling the Hysham House. I mean, you wouldn’t think you’d get that emotionally attached to a club like that, but we did so much. I’m going to miss it.”
While it doesn’t make the decision any easier, the final fund distribution was a small comfort.
“We’re all members of this community and we want to keep going. The choices that we made were the best ones. We went out for coffee waiting for our meeting at the library. And Kim and John Haidsiak came in for breakfast. John’s a veteran. John’s with the Court of Honor. I told him because I knew he wasn’t going to get to come down and watch anything. I told him and he was overwhelmed, advised Reich. “He was so thankful that we would think of the veterans and think of what they do and do something like that..”
Pratt said they met and decided on these seven places that they thought really needed the funding.
“Of course, there’s so many more that need it, too, But we thought these organizations would really benefit and the money given to them would help the community, and preserve it. And I know every one of them is going to make good use of it,” said Pratt.
As for the legacy of the Monday Club, Sampers said there were a number of things that she hoped they were remembered for.
“Lifting up women and lifting up community …. generosity. Not only in money, but in actions. If anybody wants to drive by and see the Highsham House, we’d love that. Because the selling of that was where, is where everything came from, and we’ve worked hard to preserve the money of the women who started it, you know. They started that bankroll, they started everything. I know they would be proud of us,” explained Sampers.
While the club has disbanded, the four members are all friends and will keep in touch.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

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