Records (1937-2022) of Greenville, North Carolina, book club, including correspondence, constitution, by-laws, notes, yearbooks, photographs, minutes, scrapbooks, programs and clippings containing information on club activities and club members both past and present.
The Clio Book Club was founded in 1937 in Greenville, North Carolina by local community members who decided that they "needed to be more literary and improve their minds". The book club was named after Clio, the muse of history. The members chose blue and gold as the club's official colors and the daffodil as the club flower. According to the book club's constitution, the purpose of the club was to promote, through united effort, an increased interest in literature. Among the books that club members read were of history and historical fiction. The officers that served in the club's first year were Mrs. Marie Spain, who was the club's first President; Mrs. W.W. Morgan, Vice-President; and Mrs. L.A. Brock, Secretary and Treasurer.
The club's activities included programs and luncheons with guest speakers. Guest speakers spoke on topics such as the REAL Crisis, alcoholism, and art. The author Ovid Pierce once presented readings of his compositions at one of the club's meetings and Ralph Hardee Rives was a featured speaker at a club meeting sometime in the late 1960s. In later years, the Clio Book Club became active in philanthropy. They contributed money to various causes such as Habitat for Humanity and sponsored foster children through the Foster Parent Plan.
In 1987, The Clio Book Club celebrated its' 50th birthday and as of 2023, the club is still active in the Greenville, N.C. community.
Source: Clio Book Club Records (#0579), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
The records document the history of the Clio Book Club, based in Greenville, N.C. These records from 1937 to 2022 provide information on the activities of the book club and of the book club's members. The records also provide biographical information on the lives of some of the club's members through clippings and obituaries. Some of these club members include Else Forbes, Harvey Wooten, and Marie Spain, who was the first President of the Clio Book Club when it was established in 1937.
These records are organized by series. Series 1 contains clippings, correspondence, financial records, notes, and photographs. The member information includes membership lists, and lists of club officers. The correspondence spotlights the club's participation in the Foster Parent Plan charity and includes letters to and from kids that the club members fostered in the program along with photos of the kids themselves. The series also has brochures and clippings on the Foster Parent Plan Program.
Series 2 has the minutes of club meetings held from 1937 to 2022 and these minutes take the form of notebooks and loose-leaf notes. The minutes document specific club activities and membership lists.
Series 3 contains the club's yearbooks from 1937 to 2020. The yearbooks provide lists of the names of club members and officers, attendance records, and the lists of books that were read that year.
Series 4 consists of five scrapbooks from 1937 to 1997. Three of the five scrapbooks contain clippings, yearbooks, programs, correspondence, and photos of club members' participation in various club activities. The most noteworthy items in these scrapbooks are $5.00 Christmas bonds for the campaign against tuberculosis, a 1935 Peace bond for $1.00, a clipping on the Arts Festival Luncheon honoring Ovid Pierce and two programs honoring the End of the Century Book Club and the Sans Souci Book Club; two book clubs that were established in Greenville, N.C. The other two scrapbooks are photo albums containing photographs, clippings, and obituaries of past club members.
June 15, 2023, ( addition 1), 1.8 cubic feet; This addition to the Clio Book Club Records includes minutes (1983-2022), yearbooks (1971/1972-2019/2020), treasurer's records (1996-2017), scrapbooks (1987-1998), photographs, and loose clippings. Also included are records (1963-1986) kept by member Agnes W. Barrett related to the Foster Parent Club. The correspondence, clippings, and photographs document the book club's sponsorship of foster children in Haiti, El Salvador, Korea, and Hong Kong. Donor: Ms. Harvey Sharp Wooten
Gift of Mrs. Carolyn James
Gift of Ms. Harvey Sharp Wooten
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Processed by Nanette Hardison, June 6, 2019 and December 19, 2023
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
End of the Century Book Club Papers (#0150), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolian, USA.
Ovid Williams Pierce Papers (#0101), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Ralph Hardee Rives Collection, (#0024), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Sans Souci Book Club Records, (#0436), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.