It's 2020, and we're celebrating our centennial!
Making a difference, big and small, for 100 years... and counting.
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Welcome to our Centennial Newsletters!
Below you will find:
-Documents from our archives, including a notice and report for the club's organizational meeting in April 1920
-Info about our founding, history, and scholarship fund from the last hundred years
-Early letters and photos from the fascinating Stanford women who started it all
New! November 2020 Centennial Newsletter
Doris Kildale Niles
SWCSF Centennial Newsletter
July 2020
This year marks the 100th anniversary of our club’s founding! We have offered several events in celebration of the Centennial and plan more for later this year.
Club’s Founding
Our club’s organizational meeting occurred on April 15, 1920, and the STANFORD ILLUSTRATED REVIEW printed both an announcement of and report about what happened at the meeting.Doris Estcourt, the author, earned degrees in English AB (1917), AM (1918).
Club’s Purpose
At the Club’s annual meeting in 2010, our President spoke about our organization’s history, which can be read in its entirety at http://stanfordwomensclub.org/our-history.html.
Here is an excerpt from that address:
“The club was the successor to a World War I Volunteer Corps Unit of Stanford women directed by Edith Merrielees, a faculty member of the English department. After the war, these women continued the charitable work with the Stanford Hospital, which at the time was located in San Francisco. The Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco was founded in 1920 with the purpose “to develop and foster the social relations of all Stanford women in San Francisco and to maintain a spirit of interest in the conduct of our University.”
__________________________________________________________________
SWCSF Scholarships
Our Club’s scholarship was awarded for the first time in 1923. The Club held various events to fund the awards, including the tea announced in our May 1925 bulletin. Each attendee contributed 50 cents to the Scholarship Fund (present value of $.50 is $50.00).
One of the earliest documents in our Club archives is a thank-you letter written by our 1925 scholarship recipient, Doris Kildale (later Doris Kildale Niles) (her letter is posted on our website http://stanfordwomensclub.org/our-history.html .
Doris Kildale Niles was a native of Eureka, CA. She earned a BS in 1926 and a Master’s in1927, both in biology. She went on to study at Harvard and was granted a PhD in botany and marine biology. She returned to Humboldt County and had a long and distinguished career as a lecturer at Humboldt State University and U.C. Davis. In 1983 she created the Humboldt County Doris Niles Science Fair for local children ages 4th grade through high school, which continues to this day and each year awards 100 medals, including the Doris K. Niles Prize for the best submission. She was an early voice for ecology and wilderness preservation. An expert in California plants, a species of wild aster, Harmonia doris-nilesiae, was named after her. More information about Doris Kildale Niles can be found at: https://www2.humboldt.edu/scimus/HSC.36-53/HSCpics/Niles38.JPG?43,76
Over the years, more than 125 women have received SWCSF scholarships. In our next Centennial Newsletter, we will provide more details about recipients, along with biographies of the most recent award winners and more stories about our club’s history.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpts from the President's Address, Stanford Women's Club of San Francisco Annual Meeting, 2010:
We can date the founding of our club to April 15, 1920. The club was the successor to a World War I Volunteer Corps Unit of Stanford women directed by Edith Merrielees, a faculty member of the English department. After the war, these women continued the charitable work with the Stanford Hospital, which at the time was located in San Francisco. The Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco was founded in 1920 with the purpose “to develop and foster the social relations of all Stanford women in San Francisco and to maintain a spirit of interest in the conduct of our University.”
In 1924, we established our scholarship fund which we have continued to support through the years. Interestingly, in 1935, our scholarship was enlarged to $300/year to cover a full tuition of a student for the school year.
During the Second World War, the club volunteered thousands of hours in the hospital rolling bandages, threading silk sutures and generally supporting the overworked hospital staff.
However, it wasn’t all work. Over the years, the club has held a variety of events, most of which were to raise money for the scholarship fund. Events included Fashion Shows, a Scholarship Bridge Tea, a Dessert-Card Party and Silent Auction, an annual Big Game Party in conjunction with the Stanford Men’s Club, an annual Christmas party and a variety of annual excursions, as different as to the Hall of Justice and the Opera.
At one point, we had an evening section of our club which sponsored dinner meetings with noted speakers. I believe these evening dinners with speakers were the forerunners to our lecture series.
On June 22, 1939, Herb Caen addressed the evening section on “Extemporaneous Ramblings.” Particularly interesting, an evening lecture in 1940 given by Dr. Philip W. Buck, from the Political Science Department was entitled “The Long Run Problems of American Neutrality.” The club’s focus on the educational development of members has been a priority, and its importance was reflected in the revised bylaws of 1986 which added “the educational development of members” to our mission.
Now, let’s hear some voices from our past:
Letter dated May 7, 1925:
Addressed to the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco Dr. Edith Hammond Williams, president
Dear Friends: What a blessed thing it is to know that the days of fairies and fairy god-mothers are not a thing of the past! For here comes the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco with a fairy scholarship to help make my Stanford dreams come true. It must be because you all have lived the Stanford inspirational life and have had the Stanford vision that you know how much such an encouragement may mean. Because you may like to know your “protégé,” I am happy to introduce myself: My home is in Eureka, Humboldt County, this state. I am now a Stanford Junior, majoring in biological sciences, and supplementing the science work with languages and Education. I hope not only to graduate from Stanford but to continue my work here for further degrees. I thank you for your encouragement and I shall try to merit your help by honest endeavor. Of course, you all know that Stanford life is the biggest adventure and that work is the greatest fun, and whenever any of you come back to the campus, I shall be happy to meet you at room 111, Roble Hall.
Again thanking you, I remain yours faithfully, Doris K. Kildale.
Letter dated November 25, 1925:
Addressed to Mrs. JA Miller, secretary of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco
My dear Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Dunlap told me that the board of Directors of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco very kindly endorsed my candidacy for the position of Assistant United States Attorney in Mr. George Hatfield’s office. I am duly complimented by this action and I hope that should I receive the appointment, that I will fill the office to the satisfaction of all of you and to the credit of Stanford.
I graduated from Stanford in 1915 and received the degree of Juris Doctor in 1917, at which time I was the first woman to receive that degree from Stanford University. I have been engaged in active practice ever since, and have successfully maintained a private practice in Seattle, Washington for the past five years. I recently returned to my Native State to reside permanently, and upon being encouraged by my friends applied for the office of Assistant US Attorney in the San Francisco office.
I will be grateful if you would communicate the action taken by the Board of Directors to Mr. George Hatfield, San Francisco (who is a graduate of the Stanford Law School)…Again I wish to thank you and the Board of Directors for your kind endorsement.
Very truly yours, Altha Perry Curry.
Letter dated February 14, 1940:
Addressed to Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, President, Stanford University
My dear Dr. Wilbur, I am enclosing a copy of a letter received by the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco from the Stanford chapter of Pi Lambda Theta, national honorary educational fraternity for women.
Pursuant to the suggestion contained in this letter, we took up at our last Board meeting the question of recommending the appointment of a woman to the Stanford Board of Trustees.
In the preliminary discussions some of the members felt that this was not essential. However, it was brought out that the number of women at Stanford grows larger every year, and that it is therefore increasingly important that a woman’s viewpoint be represented on the Board of Trustees. Further, from a practical standpoint, it was pointed out that statistics show that women control more than two-thirds of the wealth in the country, and therefore a woman member of the Board of Trustees might be able to appeal successfully to members of her own sex to part with some of their money, either as gifts or devises, where a man could not.
With these considerations in mind, the following resolution was adopted: “Whereas, the Board of Directors of Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco feels that it is important, in view of the increasing number of women registered at the University, that a woman’s viewpoint be represented on the Board of Trustees; and Whereas, the practical considerations of having a woman member of the Board of Trustees are not to be overlooked; Now, Therefore, we suggest that a woman be appointed to fill the current vacancy on the Stanford Board of Trustees occasioned by the death of Mr. Wallace Alexander; and further recommend that the Trustees consider the advisability of always having one woman member on the Board.”
We would appreciate your conveying this information to the Board of Trustees.
Cordially yours, Aileen Hicks Finley, President.
Excerpts from Stanford Women’s Unit in War Service 1942 By Carol Green Wilson:
There were uniformed women in France in 1917-18, wearing brassards identifying them as members of the “Leland Stanford Unit”. [There are] many stories of their varied experiences as Red Cross canteen workers, hospital aides, and casualty searchers... Now, with tragic suddenness, war has again broken the rhythm of campus life, and Stanford daughters, like her sons, are once again ready to serve. Only this time there is no long journey to the scene of need. The Pacific Coast is itself a war zone and our Stanford Hospitals in San Francisco are prepared for emergency service.Because of the foresight of Edith Howard Smith ’16, who served in France with the Base Hospital Unit, in the other war, …with the help of Mrs Harold Rea, president of the Stanford Women’s Club, an auxiliary to the Hospitals was formed four years ago. It has now been expanded to form the Stanford Volunteer Corps, a group ready, as was the Unit in France, to answer any call where their time and talent may be used... So quickly was the Unit ready to function, that on December 16th, ten members were called to help prepare the emergency dormitory set up in the pavilion of the Nurses’ Home, and the next day [there was] a group working, making and packing surgical supplies. The only registration to do this type of work is to report on Wednesday or Friday at 10:00, on the sixth floor of the Stanford Hospitals. We need and welcome you and your friends to this group.
Letter Dated April 25, 1944:
To the President and Board of Directors of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco
I am very sorry to have to present my resignation after so short and pleasant a term as Vice-President of the Club, due to my enlistment in the US Navy.
May the Stanford women of San Francisco be very successful in their wartime program. I am hoping to rejoin you when the war has ended.
Sincerely yours, Phyllis D. Raljohn
July 2020
This year marks the 100th anniversary of our club’s founding! We have offered several events in celebration of the Centennial and plan more for later this year.
Club’s Founding
Our club’s organizational meeting occurred on April 15, 1920, and the STANFORD ILLUSTRATED REVIEW printed both an announcement of and report about what happened at the meeting.Doris Estcourt, the author, earned degrees in English AB (1917), AM (1918).
Club’s Purpose
At the Club’s annual meeting in 2010, our President spoke about our organization’s history, which can be read in its entirety at http://stanfordwomensclub.org/our-history.html.
Here is an excerpt from that address:
“The club was the successor to a World War I Volunteer Corps Unit of Stanford women directed by Edith Merrielees, a faculty member of the English department. After the war, these women continued the charitable work with the Stanford Hospital, which at the time was located in San Francisco. The Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco was founded in 1920 with the purpose “to develop and foster the social relations of all Stanford women in San Francisco and to maintain a spirit of interest in the conduct of our University.”
__________________________________________________________________
SWCSF Scholarships
Our Club’s scholarship was awarded for the first time in 1923. The Club held various events to fund the awards, including the tea announced in our May 1925 bulletin. Each attendee contributed 50 cents to the Scholarship Fund (present value of $.50 is $50.00).
One of the earliest documents in our Club archives is a thank-you letter written by our 1925 scholarship recipient, Doris Kildale (later Doris Kildale Niles) (her letter is posted on our website http://stanfordwomensclub.org/our-history.html .
Doris Kildale Niles was a native of Eureka, CA. She earned a BS in 1926 and a Master’s in1927, both in biology. She went on to study at Harvard and was granted a PhD in botany and marine biology. She returned to Humboldt County and had a long and distinguished career as a lecturer at Humboldt State University and U.C. Davis. In 1983 she created the Humboldt County Doris Niles Science Fair for local children ages 4th grade through high school, which continues to this day and each year awards 100 medals, including the Doris K. Niles Prize for the best submission. She was an early voice for ecology and wilderness preservation. An expert in California plants, a species of wild aster, Harmonia doris-nilesiae, was named after her. More information about Doris Kildale Niles can be found at: https://www2.humboldt.edu/scimus/HSC.36-53/HSCpics/Niles38.JPG?43,76
Over the years, more than 125 women have received SWCSF scholarships. In our next Centennial Newsletter, we will provide more details about recipients, along with biographies of the most recent award winners and more stories about our club’s history.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpts from the President's Address, Stanford Women's Club of San Francisco Annual Meeting, 2010:
We can date the founding of our club to April 15, 1920. The club was the successor to a World War I Volunteer Corps Unit of Stanford women directed by Edith Merrielees, a faculty member of the English department. After the war, these women continued the charitable work with the Stanford Hospital, which at the time was located in San Francisco. The Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco was founded in 1920 with the purpose “to develop and foster the social relations of all Stanford women in San Francisco and to maintain a spirit of interest in the conduct of our University.”
In 1924, we established our scholarship fund which we have continued to support through the years. Interestingly, in 1935, our scholarship was enlarged to $300/year to cover a full tuition of a student for the school year.
During the Second World War, the club volunteered thousands of hours in the hospital rolling bandages, threading silk sutures and generally supporting the overworked hospital staff.
However, it wasn’t all work. Over the years, the club has held a variety of events, most of which were to raise money for the scholarship fund. Events included Fashion Shows, a Scholarship Bridge Tea, a Dessert-Card Party and Silent Auction, an annual Big Game Party in conjunction with the Stanford Men’s Club, an annual Christmas party and a variety of annual excursions, as different as to the Hall of Justice and the Opera.
At one point, we had an evening section of our club which sponsored dinner meetings with noted speakers. I believe these evening dinners with speakers were the forerunners to our lecture series.
On June 22, 1939, Herb Caen addressed the evening section on “Extemporaneous Ramblings.” Particularly interesting, an evening lecture in 1940 given by Dr. Philip W. Buck, from the Political Science Department was entitled “The Long Run Problems of American Neutrality.” The club’s focus on the educational development of members has been a priority, and its importance was reflected in the revised bylaws of 1986 which added “the educational development of members” to our mission.
Now, let’s hear some voices from our past:
Letter dated May 7, 1925:
Addressed to the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco Dr. Edith Hammond Williams, president
Dear Friends: What a blessed thing it is to know that the days of fairies and fairy god-mothers are not a thing of the past! For here comes the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco with a fairy scholarship to help make my Stanford dreams come true. It must be because you all have lived the Stanford inspirational life and have had the Stanford vision that you know how much such an encouragement may mean. Because you may like to know your “protégé,” I am happy to introduce myself: My home is in Eureka, Humboldt County, this state. I am now a Stanford Junior, majoring in biological sciences, and supplementing the science work with languages and Education. I hope not only to graduate from Stanford but to continue my work here for further degrees. I thank you for your encouragement and I shall try to merit your help by honest endeavor. Of course, you all know that Stanford life is the biggest adventure and that work is the greatest fun, and whenever any of you come back to the campus, I shall be happy to meet you at room 111, Roble Hall.
Again thanking you, I remain yours faithfully, Doris K. Kildale.
Letter dated November 25, 1925:
Addressed to Mrs. JA Miller, secretary of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco
My dear Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Dunlap told me that the board of Directors of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco very kindly endorsed my candidacy for the position of Assistant United States Attorney in Mr. George Hatfield’s office. I am duly complimented by this action and I hope that should I receive the appointment, that I will fill the office to the satisfaction of all of you and to the credit of Stanford.
I graduated from Stanford in 1915 and received the degree of Juris Doctor in 1917, at which time I was the first woman to receive that degree from Stanford University. I have been engaged in active practice ever since, and have successfully maintained a private practice in Seattle, Washington for the past five years. I recently returned to my Native State to reside permanently, and upon being encouraged by my friends applied for the office of Assistant US Attorney in the San Francisco office.
I will be grateful if you would communicate the action taken by the Board of Directors to Mr. George Hatfield, San Francisco (who is a graduate of the Stanford Law School)…Again I wish to thank you and the Board of Directors for your kind endorsement.
Very truly yours, Altha Perry Curry.
Letter dated February 14, 1940:
Addressed to Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, President, Stanford University
My dear Dr. Wilbur, I am enclosing a copy of a letter received by the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco from the Stanford chapter of Pi Lambda Theta, national honorary educational fraternity for women.
Pursuant to the suggestion contained in this letter, we took up at our last Board meeting the question of recommending the appointment of a woman to the Stanford Board of Trustees.
In the preliminary discussions some of the members felt that this was not essential. However, it was brought out that the number of women at Stanford grows larger every year, and that it is therefore increasingly important that a woman’s viewpoint be represented on the Board of Trustees. Further, from a practical standpoint, it was pointed out that statistics show that women control more than two-thirds of the wealth in the country, and therefore a woman member of the Board of Trustees might be able to appeal successfully to members of her own sex to part with some of their money, either as gifts or devises, where a man could not.
With these considerations in mind, the following resolution was adopted: “Whereas, the Board of Directors of Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco feels that it is important, in view of the increasing number of women registered at the University, that a woman’s viewpoint be represented on the Board of Trustees; and Whereas, the practical considerations of having a woman member of the Board of Trustees are not to be overlooked; Now, Therefore, we suggest that a woman be appointed to fill the current vacancy on the Stanford Board of Trustees occasioned by the death of Mr. Wallace Alexander; and further recommend that the Trustees consider the advisability of always having one woman member on the Board.”
We would appreciate your conveying this information to the Board of Trustees.
Cordially yours, Aileen Hicks Finley, President.
Excerpts from Stanford Women’s Unit in War Service 1942 By Carol Green Wilson:
There were uniformed women in France in 1917-18, wearing brassards identifying them as members of the “Leland Stanford Unit”. [There are] many stories of their varied experiences as Red Cross canteen workers, hospital aides, and casualty searchers... Now, with tragic suddenness, war has again broken the rhythm of campus life, and Stanford daughters, like her sons, are once again ready to serve. Only this time there is no long journey to the scene of need. The Pacific Coast is itself a war zone and our Stanford Hospitals in San Francisco are prepared for emergency service.Because of the foresight of Edith Howard Smith ’16, who served in France with the Base Hospital Unit, in the other war, …with the help of Mrs Harold Rea, president of the Stanford Women’s Club, an auxiliary to the Hospitals was formed four years ago. It has now been expanded to form the Stanford Volunteer Corps, a group ready, as was the Unit in France, to answer any call where their time and talent may be used... So quickly was the Unit ready to function, that on December 16th, ten members were called to help prepare the emergency dormitory set up in the pavilion of the Nurses’ Home, and the next day [there was] a group working, making and packing surgical supplies. The only registration to do this type of work is to report on Wednesday or Friday at 10:00, on the sixth floor of the Stanford Hospitals. We need and welcome you and your friends to this group.
Letter Dated April 25, 1944:
To the President and Board of Directors of the Stanford Women’s Club of San Francisco
I am very sorry to have to present my resignation after so short and pleasant a term as Vice-President of the Club, due to my enlistment in the US Navy.
May the Stanford women of San Francisco be very successful in their wartime program. I am hoping to rejoin you when the war has ended.
Sincerely yours, Phyllis D. Raljohn