By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

After more than 120 years of activity in Manlius, the Monday Evening Club has decided to finally say good night.

“It was a very difficult decision to end,” said Marjorie Edwards, a member of the club for 21 years. “But we would have rather ended on a high note than let it slowly dissolve.”

The group started in 1894 as a women’s study group and social club that allowed women the chance to learn and present on topics they may not have heard about in order to educate themselves, said Edwards.

The Monday Evening Club met 12 times a year, and members were expected to alternate each year between hosting the meetings or presenting information relating to a specific topic.

“Monday Evening Club has always been a club members have taken great pride in belonging to. Members have come and gone, but our numbers had remained at 25 until recent years. It is all these ladies through the years who have made this club what it is and who have carried on the traditions of Monday Evening Club since 1894,” said member Linda Tessier.

At the last meeting on Dec. 19 at the Manlius Library, there were six regular members, two honorary members, one member who had just resigned and one visitor to the club. Some long-time members at the final meeting included Shirley Matstone, a member for 60 years, and Beverley Gilmore, a member for 44 years. Some long-time members unable to attend the last meeting were Betty Hopkinson, 48 years, Beverly King, 41 years, and Clarie Reed, 24 years.

The group had their own bylaws, constitution and Ten Commandments, including “Thou shalt have no other clubs before this one,” “Thou shalt honor thy club sisters,” “Thou shalt not murder the King’s English” and “Thou shalt diligently keep these commandments so that thy club days be lengthened and thy fame spread unto the uttermost parts of clubdom,” to name a few.

Yearly dues of $10 were paid by each member to cover costs for printing programs, and the club regularly contributed to local organizations such as the Manlius Historical Society, the Manlius Library and the Manlius Senior Centre.

“I think the club has gone by the wayside because there are more opportunities for women to get educated than there were when the group started. Plus research has been made much easier by the internet and people can do that themselves,” said Edwards. “I’m really going to miss it. This group of women did things by the book. Everyone was so classy and intelligent and well informed and felt I had so much to learn from them.”