Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Aftermath Club records
Aftermath Club
XOE_CPNWS0001aftermath
5 linear feet
1895-2003
The collection documents the activities of the Aftermath
Club, a women's literary and social organization founded in New Whatcom (later Bellingham),
Washington, in 1895. Materials include administrative, financial and legal records,
yearbooks, and papers relating to Club's interests and activities.
English .
The Aftermath Club was a literary and social organization of women in Bellingham. The club
was founded in 1896 as the Aftermath Reading Circle by twelve young women in New Whatcom.
Within the first year, the group organized a constitution and by-laws as well as an annual
agenda of study and presentations on a wide range of topics. In 1907, the club moved into
the Aftermath Building in downtown Bellingham. The club also rented the building to other
groups for meetings and events, and eventually the site became a center for social and
cultural activity for the city.
Following the sale of the Aftermath Building in 1977, members continued to meet and sponsor
programs until the club's dissolution in June 2003. In addition, the club also donated to
local agencies and institutions and provided scholarships for Western Washington University
students. The records donated to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies reflect the growth
and evolution of the Aftermath Club. They also provide a source for study of the changing
roles and concerns of thoughtful, active, urban women in the Pacific Northwest during most
of the past century.
Aftermath Club records span the period 1895-2003, and comprise Administrative records,
Financial and Legal records, Club Activities, Yearbooks, Club History, and Artifacts.
Administrative records span the period 1897-2003, and contain Articles of Incorporation
(1904), incoming and outgoing correspondence (1948-1988) and minute books documenting the
Club's meetings from 1899 until its disbandment in June 2003. The first volume contains the
Constitution and By-Laws of the Aftermath Reading Circle (the original name of the Aftermath
Club), as well as the first membership roll. Later volumes include press reports of
meetings, printed yearbooks of scheduled activities, and a small number of photographs.
Financial and Legal records contain legal material regarding the clubhouse, the treasurer's
financial reports, and Member and Dues ledgers dated 1931-1997. The series also contains
nine volumes of redeemed and unsold stock certificates sold by the Aftermath Club from
1904-1977.
Club Activities records include annual reports written by the club historian. The first of
these histories was written by Mrs. Helen Phillips, the first Aftermath Historian, whose
report spans the period 1895 through 1907. The annual histories, presented at the final
meeting each year, begin in 1908 and continue through 2003 and include clippings, fliers,
letters, and some photographs. The series also includes newspaper clippings and press
releases, scrapbooks covering the period from 1990-2003, and papers presented by members to
the rest of the club. These are listed as "Presentation Materials," and span the dates
1898-1986. The collection also contains Yearbooks spanning the period from 1898-2003 (with
the exception of the yearbook from 1906-1907), which contain a general listing of annual
officers, weekly meeting programs, and a listing of active members. Club History records
contain papers and an inventory written by Susan Fahey for the members of the Aftermath Club
in 1994, as well as Fahey's 1994 Master's thesis. Artifacts comprise the incorporated seal
of the Aftermath Club and a hand-painted pin commemorating the centennial of the Club in
1986.
The collection is arranged in accordance with the following series arrangement:
- Series I: Administrative records, 1897-2003
- Series II: Financial and Legal records, 1904-2002
- Series III: Club Activities, 1895-2003
- Series IV: Yearbooks, 1898-2003
- Series V: Club History, 1992-1994
- Series VI: Artifacts,1986, undated.
The collection is open to the public.
Aftermath Club records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives
& Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Members of the Aftermath Club donated records to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
in 1988 and 2003.
The Aftermath Club records were processed originally by Susan Fahey in 1988, with
additional work carried out by David Boyd in 2000. In 2003, Amber Raney re-engineered the
entire collection and integrated new materials.
About Harmful Language and Content
This collection contains content that researchers may find offensive and harmful, including
materials relating to racism, white supremacy movements, acts of violence and sexual
assault. To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description
and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic),
see the following Statement About
Potentially Harmful Language and Content.
Fahey, Susan
<emph render="italic">A Quiet Region of the Mind: The Aftermath Club of Bellingham,
1896-1990.</emph>
Western Washington University, MA Thesis,
1994.
Aftermath Club--Archives.
Women--Washington (State)--Bellingham--Societies
and clubs--History--Sources.
Literature--Societies,
etc.--History--Sources.
Washington
(State)
Literature
Women
Records (Documents)
Administrative records
Series I
1897-2003
Articles of Incorporation and Amendment of Articles of
Incorporation
1904 February 8; 1986
1
1
Framed Certificate of Incorporation,
1904 March 12
1
Ballot Returns on "Centennial Givings" (1/10
sampling)
1995 February 1
1
2
Century Corporation Certificate
2004 March 12
1
3
Committee Reports
1952-1977
1
4
Constitution and By-laws
1925, 1987
1
5
Correspondence
Incoming
1948-1988
1
6
Outgoing
1948-1988
1
7
Sample club stationery
undated
1
8
Corresponding Secretary's records
1959-1986
1
9
Constitution, By-Laws, and Minutes
1897-1899
1
10
Minutes
1900-1903
1
11
Minutes
1903-1907
1
12
Minutes
1907-1910
1
13
Minutes
1910-1914
1
14
Minutes
1915-1920
1
15
Minutes
1920-1923
1
16
Minutes
1923-1925
1
17
Minutes
1927-1930
1
18
Minutes
1930-1933
1
19
Minutes
1933-1936
1
20
Minutes
1936-1944
1
21
Minutes
1944-1951
1
22
Minutes
1951-1956
2
1
Minutes
1956-1960
2
2
Minutes
1961-1969
2
3
Minutes
1969-1984
2
4
Minutes
1984-1997
2
5
Minutes
1997-1998
2
6
Minutes
1999-2000
2
7
Minutes
2000-2003
2
8
Survey of the Aftermath Club membership re.
distribution of funds upon club's dissolve; Aftermath Club Survey
2003 March
3, 1986 June 2
2
9
Various administrative records (minutes, scholarship
and grants committee materials, meeting programs, proposed amendments to
bylaws)
1985-1986
2
10
Financial and Legal records
Series II
1904-2002
Check and Deposit Registers
1974-2000
2
11
Materials re. the Aftermath Club Building
1904-1987
2
12
Materials re. status as non-profit
organization
1980-1997
2
13
Membership and Dues Ledgers
1931-1944
3
1
Membership and Dues Ledgers
1944-1953
3
2
Membership and Dues Ledgers
1954-1977
3
3
Membership and Dues Ledgers
1978-1988
3
4
Membership and Dues Ledgers
1989-1997
3
5
Stock Books
#1-200
1907-1916
3
6
#201-253
1917-1921
3
7
#254-305
1921-1931
3
8
#305-354
1931-1939
3
9
#358-405
1944-1948
3
10
#406-457
1948-1952
3
11
#458-507
1952-1956
3
12
#508-558
1956-1961
3
13
#559-610
1961-1972
3
14
#611-631
1972-1977
3
15
Treasurers Reports
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1946-1948
3
16
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1965-1970
3
17
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1970-1978
3
18
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1978-1987
3
19
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1987-1990
3
20
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1990-1994
4
1
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1994-1998
4
2
Treasurer's Reports – Monthly and Annual
1998-2001
4
3
Western Washington University Endowment and
Memorials
1992-2002
4
4
Whatcom Community College Foundation Annual Report-
Aftermath Club Scholarship information
2002-2003
4
5
Club Activities
Series III
1895-2003
Historian's Reports
1895-1907
4
5
Historian's Reports
1908-1922
4
6
Historian's Reports
1923-1927
4
7
Historian's Reports
1927-1935
4
8
Historian's Reports
1935-1955
4
9
Historian's Reports
1958-1971
4
10
Historian's Reports
1972-1973
4
11
Historian's Reports
1900-1981
4
12
Historian's Reports
1975-1982
4
13
Historian's Reports
1995-2003
4
14
Newspaper Clippings and Press Releases
1905-2003
4
15
Presentation materials (collected by Mrs H.E.
Hadley)
1898-1900
4
16
Presentation materials
1905-1986
4
17
Programs
1986-2001
4
18
Scrapbook
1904-2003
1992-2003
1992-2003
5
1
Scrapbook
1904-2003
1992-2003
1992-2003
5
2
Scrapbook by Barbara McCollum (Club President from
1990-1992)
1990-1993
5
3
Songbooks
1939
5
4
Photograph - "Gay Nineties Group for Aftermath
Christmas party, from Rhoda Keagle, 2nd from left on top row."
undated
5
5
Yearbooks
Series IV
1898-2003
Yearbooks
1898-1913
6
1
Yearbooks
1913-1931
6
2
Yearbooks
1931-1951
6
3
Yearbooks
1951-1970
6
4
Yearbooks
1970-1991
6
5
Yearbooks
1991-2003
6
6
Club History
Series V
1992-1994
Fahey, Susan. "The Aftermath Club of Bellingham:
1896-1990," written for the members of the Aftermath Club
1994
6
7
Fahey, Susan. "Description and Inventory of the
Aftermath Club Papers," prepared for the members of the Aftermath Club (used in
thesis); A Quiet Region of the Mind: The Aftermath Club of
Bellingham, 1896-1990 (Western Washington University, MA Thesis)
1992 1994
6
8
"100th Birthday of Bellingham - Then and Now - Scenes
from the Northwest Collector's Calendar," with history of the Aftermath
Club
2004 February
6
9
List of Active, Associate, and Honorary members
1905-1906
undated
English.
6
10
Artifacts
Series VI
1986
undated
Incorporated Seal for the Aftermath Club
undated
6
Centennial Pin, hand-painted by Mary Blake
1986
6