Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Woodbine Home Demonstration Club records must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Woodbine Home Demonstration Club records, C0303, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by the Prince William County Library in November 2016.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in February 2017. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in February 2017.

Historical Information

The Woodbine Home Demonstration Club of Prince William County, VA was born of a wider movement across the United States - Elizabeth Griffin Hill notes that "Home Demonstration Clubs were an integral part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, which was established during the early 20th century as an experiment in adult education, providing agricultural demonstration work for men and home demonstration work for women" ('Home Demonstration Clubs'). According to a history by Louise Benton (a long-time officer and member) included in Box 3, Folder 6 of the collection, the Woodbine Club formed from the merger of two different home demonstration clubs in 1941. The organization was also known as the Woodbine Extension Homemakers Club and later as the Woodbine Family, Community, and Education (FCE) Club. Over the years, the women of the group gathered regularly, held meetings and events, and raised money for numerous charities. As of 2017, the Woodbine FCE club has disbanded.

Scope and Content

The collection is largely made up of scrapbooks, meeting minutes, photographs, and realia kept by the Woodbine Home Demonstration Club of Prince William County, VA between 1961 and 2008. The social and charitable activities of the club from the 1960s to the early 2000s are well documented in the records. Of particular interest in one of the scrapbooks from 1978-1979 is a letter from the White House congratulating club officer Louise Benton on her designation as Homemaker of the Year. VHS tapes and a DVD on charitable programs and the dedication of Louise Benton Middle School are also included.

Arrangement

The collection is largely arranged by format.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other collections donated by RELIC at the Prince William County Library, including the Future Farmers of America, Nokesville records, the Prince William Cultural Arts Foundation records, the Henry H. Douglas papers, and the Prince William Historic Newspapers collection.

Index Terms

Geographical Names:

• Prince William County (Va.)

Subjects:

• Domestic life.
• Home economics extension work.
• Home economics.
• Women--Societies and clubs.

Document Types:

• Color photographs
• Scrapbooks.