Saturday Evening Girls facts for kids
Saturday Evening Girls working in the Paul Revere Pottery in Boston. House Beautiful, June 1912.
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| Formation | 1899 |
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| Founder | Edith Guerrier |
| Founded at | North Bennet Street Industrial School |
| Dissolved | 1969 |
| Type | Reading group |
| Location |
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Region
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North End |
| Leader | Edith Guerrier |
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Main organ
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S. E. G. News |
The Saturday Evening Girls club was a special group for young women in Boston. It started in 1899 and lasted until 1969. Most members were young immigrant women living in Boston's North End neighborhood.
This club was part of the Progressive Era, a time when people worked to improve society. The Saturday Evening Girls club offered educational talks and fun social events. They even had their own newspaper called the S. E. G. News. A big part of their story was running the famous Paul Revere Pottery. The club was supported by a kind person named Helen Storrow and led by Edith Guerrier and Edith Brown. It began at the North Bennet Street Industrial School, which helped people learn new skills. Later, meetings moved to the Library Club House. Helen Storrow also provided a summer house in Gloucester, Massachusetts for the girls to enjoy.
Contents
What Was the Club's Goal?
The club aimed to give young working-class women in the North End a chance to learn and socialize. Many of these girls came from Italian Catholic or Eastern European Jewish families. At that time, the North End was a very crowded area.
Like many groups back then, the Saturday Evening Girls club wanted to help young immigrants fit into American society. They introduced the girls to middle-class American culture. It was a safe place for girls to meet and learn. This was important because many families were strict about girls leaving home at night.
Club History
How the Club Started
In 1899, Edith Guerrier, an art student, got a job at the North Bennet Street Industrial School. She was asked to manage the school's reading room. This room was actually a part of the Boston Public Library.
Edith started a story-time that became very popular with the young women. This led to the official start of the Saturday Evening Girls' Club in 1901.
Club Activities
Edith Guerrier led several reading groups. The Saturday Evening Girls group met on Saturdays because many members worked or had family duties during the week. The club helped these young women from different backgrounds connect.
Weekly meetings covered many topics. They discussed music, books, art, and even job opportunities. Important people from Boston often visited. They gave talks or led discussions on history and current events. The club also held parties, plays, and concerts. Around 1906, Helen Storrow bought a large house by the beach. It became a summer camp for club members. Storrow paid for staff, and the members paid for most of their own costs.
The club also relied on volunteers and donations. To raise money, members ran a restaurant and put on shows. In 1910, they performed The Merchant of Venice at the home of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Older members helped and mentored younger girls. Each member also gave an hour of service to the clubhouse each week. In 1914, Helen Storrow stopped her direct funding. The Saturday Evening Girls took over running the clubs. They moved to a new space in the North End library.
Being part of the S.E.G. helped these young women get more education. It gave them a safe place to socialize. They didn't have to worry about being judged for being female or for their religion or background. Many S.E.G. members went on to higher education. This was much more common for them than for other women their age.
Famous Speakers
Many notable people spoke at the club meetings. Here are a few:
- Cyrus E. Dallin
- Paul Revere Frothingham
- Edward Everett Hale
- Heloise Hersey
- Charles Eliot Norton
- Vida Dutton Scudder
- James J. Storrow
- Edmund von Mach
The S. E. G. News Newspaper
The club published its own newspaper, the S. E. G. News, from 1912 to 1917. The main editor was Fanny Goldstein. She was a Russian immigrant who started working at age 13. Fanny continued her education by taking evening classes at colleges like Simmons University and Boston University. She later became a leader at the West End branch of the Boston Public Library. Fanny Goldstein also came up with the idea for Jewish Book Week in Boston. This idea was later used by Jewish communities across the country.
The S. E. G. News shared club news and articles. It had editorials, informational pieces, and personal stories. There was poetry by writers like Charlotte Perkins Stetson. It also included children's plays by Edith Guerrier. The newspaper reviewed books and listed good magazine articles. It even had ads for local businesses. The paper also discussed important topics of the time, like Zionism and preparing for war. These newsletters helped educate their readers in a small but important way.
The Paul Revere Pottery
In 1908, Edith Guerrier and Edith Brown started a small pottery workshop. Helen Storrow helped them with money. It began in the basement of their home. Soon after, it moved to the Library Club House. They named it the Paul Revere Pottery. This was because it was close to the Old North Church. That's where lanterns were hung to signal Paul Revere about the British. In 1915, the pottery moved to a new location in Boston's Brighton neighborhood. In 1916, it became an official company.
The pottery was more than just an art project. It gave young women good jobs. The working conditions were much better than other places. The women worked eight hours a day and earned fair pay. They also received hot lunches daily and a paid vacation each year. The pottery became very successful for many years. It gained national and international attention. It was featured in many magazines and journals. The Paul Revere Pottery closed in 1942. Today, items made by Paul Revere Pottery are valuable collector's items.
End of the Club
After World War I, fewer members joined the club. However, the Saturday Evening Girls still met sometimes. The club officially closed in 1969.
Records and photos about the club are kept at the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The old Library Club House at 18 Hull Street is now a stop on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
See also
- North Bennet Street School
- History of Italian Americans in Boston
- Settlement movement
- Arts and Crafts movement
