Clubbable Men (and Women!)

We have the advantage of electronic communication, connecting people regardless of distance and language.  Folks in the past had the original Facetime – they met together, spoke face to face, and made their community better hand-in-hand.

George Kuhn Clarke, in his History of Needham 1711-1911, made a list of the various societies that existed in Needham in the 19th century.  Although people had, as always, personal social lives, there was also a greater expectation at the time of more structured and more public community affiliations (church membership, club membership, etc).

The various societies served a number of social and economic purposes, and people often belonged to several clubs or societies. They were your social network ‘identity’ within the town, with the inevitable hierarchy of inclusions and exclusions. They bound people of similar interests or occupations together for the pooling of information, knowledge, or craft. In the absence of a social safety net, clubs often formed the community upon which you could depend in times of need.  Many acted as insurance or burial clubs, collecting a small dues payment to be saved for you in the event of accident, injury, or death. 

The Norfolk Lodge, the Monday Club (Women’s Club), and the Golf Club are still in business in Needham, despite the passage of more than a century.  Still others carry on, but no longer in Needham; and many have disbanded or merged into other organizations.

Fraternal Organizations – Fraternal organizations were organized as affinity groups for people who shared a trade, a belief in a particular social order, or a charitable purpose. In addition to social interaction, the group often served its members as a source of insurance in the event of illness, disability, or death (known as “mutual benefit orders”). Several functioned like trade unions, enforcing standards of craft and training, and representing the particular needs of the trade.

• Norfolk Lodge (Freemasons) – Originated in medieval stonemasons’ guilds. This lodge included most of the prominent citizens of Needham, and had an important part in the town’s civic and political life. Formed on April 6, 1874, the Lodge is still extant and active in Needham.  Modern freemasonry emphasizes the support of local civic charities and organizations.
• Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) – Organized for the purpose of giving anonymous social aid to those in need (“Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan”), and for pursuing projects for the benefits of “all mankind.” Needham’s Odd Fellows Hall was on the corner of Chapel Street and Great Plain Avenue (more about that here). The club’s name was said to represent the smaller trades that were not large enough to form their own guilds – these unusual, miscellaneous “odd trades” eventually joined together to form a larger group of “odd fellows.” Clarke notes that the Odd Fellows had 115 Needham members in 1911.
• The Anglo-American Lodge, Sons of Saint George – For English immigrants, their sons, and grandsons (a significant demographic in mid-19th century Needham Heights). Although it was originally formed in Pennsylvania in opposition to the influx of Irish miners, it morphed as it spread out of PA into a mutual benefit order, offering social and financial assistance. Those eligible for membership had to be between the ages of eighteen and fifty, and were required to recognize the existence of a Supreme Being and loyalty to America.
• The Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW) – Also first formed in Pennsylvania, the AOUW was a mutual benefit society, offering insurance for sickness, accident, death, and burial. It began in 1868 as an effort to combine the interests of both capital and labor, but soon became focused on the needs of laborers, mechanics, and other workmen for whom regular insurance was not available. By 1885, the AOUW was the largest fraternal benefit organization in the country. Its Needham membership reached 200 in 1908.
• Knights of Honor, Nehoiden Lodge – The Knights of Honor grew out of a dispute between the AOUW and a similar/rival organization, the Order of United American  Mechanics.  The Knights were also a mutual benefit society, paying sick and death benefits.  It numbered around 40 members in Needham, and disbanded in 1904 when it merged with another lodge in Natick.

Political, Social, and Purpose-Driven Organizations – These clubs gathered in support of a particular political project, or to promote a topic of mutual interest.  Many of these clubs were women’s organizations.   Women’s clubs allowed women to meet other women with similar interests or concerns, and to act together to pursue them.  Women’s clubs usually met during the day, while men were at work and children at school.   Without a professional network, it was easy for women to become isolated at home.  Clubs provided both the social outlet and the sense of accomplishing something of community importance. Their characterizations as ‘charitable,’ ‘literary,’ etc. also made them one of the few “acceptable” ways that women could exert social or political influence.

• Ladies’ Charitable Society – Its origins are unclear, but this may be a precursor to the Unitarian Ladies’ Aid Society.
• Needham Women’s Suffrage League – The League was founded in 1873 to “labor for the suffrage of Women.” It was open to both men and women, and at its height numbered more than 200 members. After the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, it turned its efforts toward getting women to register as voters. It disbanded in 1931, “since, having accomplished its object, its work was completed.”
• The Needham Nationalist Club – The club, which lasted only two years (1891-93), included “some of the most intelligent people in Needham,” who discussed the great economic and social questions of the day, and listened to papers and addresses by strangers.
• The Social and Literary Union – This club lasted for about four years (1880-1884) and offered high-quality musical and literary programs to raise funds on behalf of good causes. In 1881, its membership numbered about 100.
• Young Men’s Christian Association – Formed to promote education and social engagement in young men. This Was Needham’s first effort to form a branch of the YMCA, but it lasted for only two or three years.  It was organized and met in Needham Heights, and maintained a small reading library.
• Needham Improvement Society – Pursued projects aiming to make the town centers in the Great Plain and Needham Heights more attractive.
• The Tea and Toast Club – A rather exclusive literary club for married women, with membership was limited to sixteen.  There was an annual “Gentlemen’s Night” party, which husbands were permitted to attend. It was most active between 1886 and 1900, but was still in existence in 1911.
• The Monday Club – The purpose of this women’s club was the study of literature, and the consideration of public questions. Enrollment was limited to 34 women, and there was a waiting list. One or more essays prepared by members were read at each meeting, usually presenting the result of the writer’s study of an author, or of some foreign land, or relating to art, or to an economic or social question. They also read out the Reports from the State Federation, and extracts from current publications on matters of public interest. The Monday Club lives on as the Needham Women’s Club.
• The Unitarian Club – This club was connected with the First Parish, meeting in its vestry and contributing to its expenses. The meetings were social gatherings, as well as opportunities to hear and discuss lectures on various topics of interest.
• The New Century Club – A women’s social and civic club, organized under the auspices of the Federation of Women’s Clubs. The club enrolled 135 women on its first day, and added another 100 members by its sixth month.
• Newton, Needham and Natick Society for Apprehending Horse Thieves – Despite the name, this was actually more of a men’s supper and social club. No horse thieves were ever recorded as apprehended.

Sports and Games

• The Albion Cricket Club (Needham Heights) – One of several cricket clubs in the Heights, when most of the neighborhood’s population was first- or second-generation English. Organized (and disorganized) cricket was the primary game in the Heights from the 1860s to about 1920, and the mills, neighborhoods, and other local organizations fielded teams.  There were also a couple of state-league teams that played other towns. The Albion Club was state-league champions in 1904. 
• Rod and Gun Club – This may have been the precursor to the current Needham Sportsmen’s Club (but I might be wrong).
• Needham Golf Club – the Golf Club first opened in 1901, but struggled for the first few years – there were not enough golf-players to maintain the finances necessary for upkeep.  It folded in 1905, but reopened on the same site in 1923, and celebrated its 100th anniversary two years ago.
• Needham Young People’s Association – An athletics club for both boys and girls, similar to today’s YMCA. It also provided supervised social opportunities and amusements.

Temperance Societies – Needham was a temperance stronghold, with groups attempting to reduce or eliminate the sale of strong drink from about the 1820s. Temperance movements, along with abolition and suffrage, had strong female participation in their organization. These movements were acceptable outlets for women’s political involvement because they were considered “hearth and home” issues – a man who is drinking his pay is not supporting his family. Temperance was also supported by several church congregations, especially the Baptists and Methodists, who were largely teetotal.  Needham’s strong support for temperance is one of the reasons that the town remained dry after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, and did not allow the retail sale of liquor until 2014.

• The Needham Temperance Society
• the Nehoiden Division, Sons of Temperance
• Nehoiden Band of Hope – A club for children, to start them young.
• The Union Temperance Band – This band was for young people, as a continuation of the Band of Hope.  It consisted of members of the Unitarian, Baptist, Congregational, and Methodist Sunday Schools.
• Independent Order of Good Templars – The Order was founded in 1851, and was unusual in that it admitted men and women, and all races, equally. It promoted abstinence and organized social events without alcohol.  It also worked for social justice, equality, and better working conditions for laborers. The order only lasted for a few years in the 1870s in Needham, but is still operating worldwide as the International Organization of Good Templars.
• The United Order of the Golden Cross (UOGC) – A mutual benefit order founded by the Freemasons, whose members had to pledge to abstain from alcohol.
• The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union – The WCTU branch was organized in Needham in 1886, and lasted until the 1970s. the also had a Loyal Legion for young people.
• The Temperance Reform Club – This club was formed in 1876, and enrolled 119 people on its first day. It was associated with the Appleton Temporary Home for Inebriates, on the corner of Highland Avenue and May Street (now the location of St. Joe’s). The Appleton Home was a charitable organization, dedicated to the care of men “reduced by circumstances and indulgence in intoxicating drink, who had signed a pledge” – a pledge to abstain. The men spent their recovery time working for the Home by refurbishing and maintaining its buildings and grounds.

Educational Societies provided opportunities for adult education. Most people went to school for only a few years as children, acquiring what we would consider a basic primary education. While this was enough in the 1700s and early 1800s, the growing opportunities of business and manufacturing in the 1800s required broader knowledge and skills.  Adult education programs, like the Chautauqua or Lyceum movements, provided opportunities for adults to educate themselves in the social and intellectual skills that were becoming increasingly necessary in American society and business.  Both the Lyceum and the Chautauqua were local branches of national organizations.

• The Needham Lyceum – The Lyceum was organized in 1831 and lasted until 1860.  It provided lectures, training classes, debates, etc. on topics of scientific, political, historical, and social interest. It was the main forum in Needham for debating abolition and the national issues that led to the Civil War.
• The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle – The Chatauqua operated in Needham from 1884 to 1890.  Members read and discussed literary and scientific works. Roll-call was taken, and attendees could earn a diploma at the end of a course of study.

Agricultural and Trade Societies promoted both the practical skills of farming, and support for the farmer, as well as the more artistic skills of fancy breeding. Shows and fairs encouraged the improvement of stock through competition, and allowed for farmers and breeders to share information and solve mutual problems.

• The Middlesex and Norfolk Pomona Grange, Patrons of Husbandry of Massachusetts – there was also a Needham Grange – The Grange movement began after the Civil War as the first advocacy organization for farmers and agricultural workers.
• the Needham Horticultural Society – This Society created exhibits of fruits, and flower shows, like the current Garden Clubs.  They promoted general improvement in the cultivation of fruits and flowers, and sought to stimulate competition by awarding prizes. It lasted in Needham from 1860-1862.
• The Needham Farmers and Mechanics Association – The Association was formed in 1877, and included members from several surrounding towns. They organized agricultural fairs, which included livestock, produce, and domestic arts. It had 100 members in 1908.
• Poultry Club – Members grew competition poultry and fancy pigeons, quite successfully – some of Needham’s poultry and pigeon fanciers took national prizes.

Honestly, it’s exhausting to even think of so many clubs! Where did they find the time? They made the time – for Needham circa 1900 and the years before, meeting together was the main form of information transmission. It was the social glue that held the neighborhoods and community together. It was the professional networking that built and shared skills and improvements. It was the opportunity to create advocacy and change. In our day, we have the advantage of electronic communication, that broadens our reach and can connect people of similar interests worldwide, regardless of distance and language.  But these folks had the original Facetime – they met together, spoke to each other face to face, and made their community better hand-in-hand.