Happy New Year! I am pleased to be back at work and picking up where I left off processing the Woman’s Club of Claremont records. I am making progress and am almost finished processing the Club’s operational records. I am looking forward to moving on to processing the Junior Club’s project reports and associated records. The process keeps unfolding as I get deeper into the records. The plan keeps evolving, and I can see ways of improving the plan as I continue to wade through the material and become more familiar with the Club itself. I really want to finish as much as possible before my time with CCEPS is over, so I feel like I accomplished something important when I leave. This desire is fueling a sense of urgency in my work.
The Woman’s Club/Junior Club has done some amazing projects to better their community over the years. The Junior Club has made a difference through projects under program themes such as Building a Better Community, Fine Arts, Family, and many more. I was able to learn about one such program while processing correspondence with the theme of International Affairs. The letters detailed the club’s sponsorship of an orphan named Lee Myung Cha from the Orphans’ Home of Korea located in Seoul, Korea. Lee Myung Cha wrote a touching letter of appreciation and gratitude to the ladies of the Woman’s Club that appears to be dated ca. late 1950’s to early 1960’s.
Lee Myung Cha reports that, through the Club’s sponsorship, she can stay healthy and continue her educational studies. She mentions twenty cows that were sent to her town from Texas and a homemade drawing she sent to the club depicting happy children playing with a top. I wonder what ever became of Lee Myung Cha? I haven’t come across any records detailing her fate, but her letter says a great deal about the Woman’s Club of Claremont’s efforts to make the world a better place. These compassionate women not only impacted communities domestically, but also managed to touch lives on an international scale.
Brava Ladies!Â
