Club members in costume representing each decade of the past 100 years: L–r: Mrs. James Davis Potter Jr. (Fran), 1930s; Mrs. Burton Wellman Fowles (Carol), 1940s; Mrs. George Bunch III (Nancy), 1910; Mrs. George Gordon Ross (Mary), 1920s; Mrs. George English Linder (Sara), present; and Mrs. William Hammond Bowman III (Ethel), 1950s. William Howard Taft was president, Henry Ford was working out the details of the world’s first assembly line, and fashionable ladies wore frilly blouses with leg o’mutton sleeves when 20 ladies of Columbia organized the Current Literature Club in 1910.

As reported in The State

newspaper of February 27, 1910, the club stated: “At each meeting there will be a regular programme that will consist of the reading of magazine articles, which will be discussed by the members, after which there will be a chat on current events in the world of literature.”

Mrs. George Gordon Ross and Mrs. James Elliott Sanders III) The 20 charter members soon added five additional members, and enrollment has stood at 25 members ever since. Several club members represent legacies as the daughters or nieces or granddaughters of charter members. The club is still delving into current literature as well as that of the past hundred years, and last week the members celebrated their centennial with a party at Still Hopes.

“We’ve survived two world wars as well as others, The Great Depression, a man on the moon, the birth of the Internet, and terrorist attack,” according to the president, Mrs. James Elliott Sanders III. “The best of times, the worst of times. We’ve watched it all go by.”

A review of the Current Literature Club’s history matches it to the current events of the past century. At first, they chose a topic to study for the entire year, such as “Cities of the World, Governments, Religion, Psychology, Drama, Music, Art.” Later, members would present a program of their own choosing, with the option of inviting a guest speaker.

In 1914, when World War I was declared, club members were following current events. No notice was taken of Woodrow Wilson’s family, who lived in Columbia early in the century. They noted triumphantly the passage of the Constitutional Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920. They expressed reservations about the extension of electricity to rural areas in 1930.

During the year that the Luce family was studied, the club spent a day at Mepkin Abbey near Moncks Corner, S.C., founded through the benevolence of Clare Booth Luce.

Not the stock market crash of 1929, the Depression era of the 1930s, or the advent of World War II interrupted the regular gathering of the club. Some actions toward improving society were recorded, as when the club wrote to the Lasky company in California asking that the moving picture industry be more delicate in their picture shows, to use less vulgarity and sexual innuendoes. Closer to home, the club led a community project to have a women’s dormitory built at the University of South Carolina.

The club found a number of worthwhile projects for their energies over the years. As soon as Easter Seals were presented, this group made it a point to buy them. They sent toothbrushes to the Carolina Children’s Home. They sent 75–cent Victrola records to Osteen Sanatorium in Asheville, North Carolina. Ten cents a person was donated for a Christmas tree at the penitentiary, and the members planted trees at the Home for the Blind.

Not every request for support was approved. The club quickly voted down a request to send three members to serve a half–day manning the women’s restroom at the State Fair. A local judge advised the club that women should not serve on jury duty.

Many governors’ wives were invited to join the club, honorary members for the most part. Meetings were sometimes held at the Governor’s Mansion as well as at the home of the president of U.S.C.

A highlight of the centennial celebration was the display of fashions representing each decade of the club’s existence.

Present membership of the Current Literature Club includes: Mrs. John Barr (Nell); Mrs. William Bowman III (Ethel); Mrs. George Bunch III (Nancy); Mrs. Barry Burton (Linda); Mrs. Charles Duvall (Nancy); Mrs. Christopher FitzSimons III (Hazel); Mrs. Burton Fowles (Carol); Mrs. John Henry Fowles Jr. (Carol); Mrs. Edens Hawley (Mason); Mrs. Raymond Kennedy (Bobbi Jean); Mrs. Harry McKinley Lightsey Jr. (Kathleen); Mrs. George Linder III (Sarah); Mrs. Steve Matthews (Caroline); Mrs. Ernest Meynard (Ginny); Mrs. George Muller (Catherine); Mrs. H. Victor Murdaugh (Betty); Mrs. James Potter Jr. (Fran); Mrs. Wallace Reed (Mary); Mrs. George Ross (Mary); Mrs. James E. Sanders III (Candy); Mrs. William W. Sullivan III (Mollie); Mrs. Dominick Tringali (Dot); Mrs. Richard Earl Umbach (Susan); Mrs. James J. Wheeler III (Georgianna); Mrs. Frank Wyman Jr. (Margaret); and three Members Emeritae: Mrs. Marion Dantzler (Ora Lee); Mrs. Robert McCaskill (Katherine); Mrs. Jack Scoville (Ellen).