We had a couple from Okeene come for a tour this week. One of the visitors had seen the article in the Oklahoma Today Magazine. She loves antiques and has several. She has a cook stove similar to the one in the kitchen and still uses it. That reminded me that Mina Green had one that she also cooked on. Lewis had to brace up the floor because it was so heavy. He ask if I had been to the museum at Boise City and I told him I hadn’t. They said they drive hundreds of miles to visit museums and after reading the article decided to come see the Ferguson Home and was sorry they hadn’t done so sooner. The man told me I gave a very good and informative tour as they were going out the door. They were going to visit the Seay Mansion after leaving Watonga.
Louise D. cleaned the office and put out three scrap books. Out of curiosity I opened one and it was about the Women Culture Club. One article said they entertained Sister Clubs in Watonga. The M S C met with the Quest Club and Outlook Study Club to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. I don’t know what the initials M S C stand for. Another page said they met in the Red Cross Room and rolled bandages after the meeting. I wonder where the Rod Cross Room was. One showed a picture of an airplane with the writing below reading “the Bomber the O. F. W. C. in September 1943 drive with $300,000 on bonds”. Then below that was the Oklahoma Federation Women Clubs. So, I take it was the whole state Women Club not just Watonga that did this fund raiser. These ladies really worked hard to raise that much money to buy this bomber. That was as far as I looked because the book was old, and the pages were fragile. I notice that each page had a paper napkin folded and glued on. So, I’m assuming it was what was used at the meeting and some of them had other small items glued on, one had a small, dried flower. The reason I found this so interesting is the Women Culture Club is the reason the Ferguson Home is a museum. They raised the money to purchase and restore it.
Mrs. Ferguson writes in her book They Carried the Torch about organizing a culture club. Some of the ladies were young but had come to Oklahoma Territory with their husbands. Even though their families took up most of their time they didn’t want to neglect their minds. They took to writing papers about solemn subjects. They met in various homes, and some had to sit on upturned boxes. The refreshments were simple things like molasses cookies and lemonade without ice. One of the ladies was Fleta Campbell Springer, who later became a writer. Springer used some of the information given to her to make their small club look narrow and somewhat ridiculous. Mrs. Ferguson was a charter member and at the time the book was written was still the only one still living in Watonga.