By By Stephen Fay
Copyright berkshireeagle
STOCKBRIDGE — The Tuesday Club, whose métier is tea and philanthropy, turned a spry and stately 90 yesterday.
On hand for a luncheon in observance of this significant birthday were 52 of the club’s 65 members.
The Tuesday Club, which meets at the First Congregational Church, was organized in 1892 by a small group of churchwomen of St. Paul’s Parish here. The purpose, according to a brief history published by the club, was “to provide cultural opportunity to the ladies of the town.”
Accordingly, the early agendas included conscientiously prepared book reviews, papers on French history and presentations on great artists.
The club took a theatrical turn at the turn of the century and undertook the production of plays. They were performed in the old Casino — now the Berkshire Theater Festival’s Playhouse. One early piece was written by Miss Alice Byington, club president from 1896 to 1908.
In the beginning the club met twice a month at one or another of the members’ homes. Meetings tended to draw about 45 ladies. By the early 1920s a single meeting site was designated — St. Paul’s Parish House. And there was another change. Guest speakers, not a few of whom were illustrious, began providing the culture. Dr. Austin Fox Riggs, Norman Rockwell, Mrs. Margaret French Cresson, Joseph Franz, Mrs. Reinhold Niebuhr, the Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes, Richard R. Bowker and Dr. Millicent McIntosh graced the dais.
St. Paul’s Parish House remained the meeting place until 1972 when the church Vestry made the meeting space available for a nursery school. The First Congregational Church provided the club with its Jonathan Edwards Room and there the ladies meet every third Tuesday of the month.
Beyond lectures, luncheons and teas, the Tuesday Club also supports various philanthropies. For many years the club provided scholarship aid to local students. More recently, the club has sponsored an American Indian child through the Christian Children’s Fund.
The oldest living member is Mrs. Joseph Franz, age 92. Mrs. Franz, who joined the club in 1913, couldn’t make it to yesterday’s meeting since she is in Europe. She did, however, send a letter which was read aloud at lunch.
