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r rienasuouncn nasdeep roots, tiesKUtudy club to celebrate 140 years this monthAndy Hylandahyland@ljworld.comLater this month, mem-:rs of a long-standing iwrenee study club will mmemorate its 140thmversary.The club, Friends in )uncil, brings women gether to discuss a vari-y of academic subjects, id it canice its his-ry all the ly back touantrilTs lid, the ite’s first )vernor d Kansas diversity’sLairdst full-time woman pro-ssor.Here's how the club arks: Each year theoup’s members select a pic. This year the topic volves Kansas in the ne of the club’s found-g, to commemorate the ib’s anniversary. Club embers each write pairs on the topic and pres-t them at club meetings. Papers have ranged )m newspapers in nerica, clothes and fash-n tn nairifinff onrl artrian. She said the club is the oldest such group in Lawrence, and members believe it’s the oldest of its kind west of the Mississippi River.“A lot of us have some connection to the university,” said Laird, who taught freshman English classes at KU once upon a time.Barbara Schowen, a retired KU chemistry professor, is the group’s president.“It’s a wonderful group,” she said. “I never had the time to do this when I was working.”Schowen said the group’s upcoming five-year anniversary banquet will feature an “in memo-riam” tribute for several members, toasts, speeches and a history of the club.The club’s founder, Elizabeth Perkins Leonard, was a New Englander who served as KU’s first full-time woman professor after being hired in 1869.Leonard was KU’s fifth faculty member and taught modern languages, including French and Ger-staying with her close friends Charles and Sarah Robinson. Charles served as the state’s first governor.Leonard came to Lawrence from Quincy, 111., where Friends in Council began. She helped the city recuperate from the raid, doing some cooking and tending to the injured and dying.“It must have stayed with her all her life,” said Laird, who has studied Leonard and written a play about her life.The club was founded in 1871, and the first topic centered on Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart and his work, “A general view of the progress of metaphysical, ethical and political philosophy.”“They probably considered it a way of bringing culture to this town” at the time, Laird said.The topics are a bit lighter these days, she said, but the group’s members still enjoy learning new things.“The satisfaction is being associated with something that’s worthwhile, Laird said.Ltcman anrl naintina anrl art
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Journal World
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Sun, Apr 08, 2012
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Lawrence P.
KS, USA 25 May 2021
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