Had her picture been
included on this page,
I believe this one would have worked well.
I believe this one would have worked well.
From Club News
The Nokomish club met
Monday afternoon at the home of Miss Bessie Morgan, at 359 Bryan avenue, and
elected officers for the ensuing year. The new officers are: Miss Bessie
Morgan, president; Winnifred Saunders, secretary and treasurer: Ahna Rohlfing,
editor of the Nokomish Comet, a paper published by the club. Light refreshments
were served after the election and arrangements were made for the taking up of
a study of higher branches of literature.
The first Ladies’ Literary Club in Salt Lake was formed in
1877 by a small group of broad minded and forward-looking women. It was one of
twelve chapters founded in America and the first west of the Mississippi River. At that time becoming a club woman required great courage.
The majority of the women involved were non-LDS women, looking for a social
outlet and the opportunity of self-education.
The organization welcomed all women interested in “literary pursuits and
the development of mental culture.” The club’s purpose was to provide an
environment where ladies could educate themselves and each other in many
different aspects of culture and knowledge. The club was divided into sections
including art, drama, music, literature, history and others. Ladies could
belong to one or several sections depending on their interests. [1]
By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest
Nokomis is the name of Hiawatha's grandmother in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Song of Hiawatha. Nokomis is an Iroquois Indian name meaning "Daughter of the Moon" and "Grandmother". Nokomis nursed and educated Hiawatha after his mother died in childbirth. [2]
The literary club's name interests me, as does these young women’s
interest in “taking up of a study of higher branches of literature”. That
interest never left Grandmother Bessie. She continually thirsted for knowledge and studied.
Her sister called her the “brain”. Bessie had a sharp intellect and was interested
in literature, music, politics and current events—local and worldwide.
It is interesting to me now to recall my own mother’s
interest in The Song of Hiawatha when she helped me memorize it in grade school.
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