Saturday, February 7, 2015

President of the Laurel Club

Most of the photos in my grandmother's photo albums relate to family members or close friends but every now and then there is a photo that seems incidental, such as the one below;

Laurel Club - Nov 1974
Mrs Hustler (Secretary), Ethel Dadswell (President) Ararat, Mrs Tyrer (Leader) Bendigo
I could not locate any record of a "Laurel Club" in the Bendigo area, where my grandmother lived. Further investigation revealed that the Laurel Club is a social club for widows, whose husbands served in the Defense Force.   Therefore it is likely that my Grandmother, Eva Scott (nee Pilgrim) was a member of the Laurel Club.

The name Ethel Dadswell resonated with me and I soon found that she was a paternal first cousin to my grandmother.

Ethel Evelyn Mary Pilgrim
Born: 11 March 1907 at Nhill, Victoria 
Parents: William Thomas Pilgrim and Mary Ann McPherson
Married Stanley Alfred Dadswell on 16th June 1928 at Ararat, Victoria
Died: 6 December 1978 at Warrak, Victoria

Stanley Dadswell married  Ethel Pilgrim
at Ararat on 16th  June 1928


This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday.
Please click for more crafty posts.


28 comments:

  1. Loved the wedding photograph - so typical of the time - short dress, long veil and huge huge bouquet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would like to see what the dress looks like behind the flowers!

      Delete
  2. The wedding dress is incredible! All that lace and all...I've never seen a short-skirted wedding dress like that; but I've seen plenty of lace and flowers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think my grandmother would ever have worn a dress so short!

      Delete
  3. I love the wedding outfit and big bouquet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It looks lovely in black and white. I imagine that in person, it would have been magnificent (but the flowers heavy)

      Delete
  4. Sharon, you always have the best photos..just love them. That's an incredible bridal outfit, managing to be both modest and daring at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I imagine that Ethel was either admired or despised for her choice!

      Delete
  5. You hit the jackpot on your gram's "incidental photograph". My husband's mother belonged to the "Thursday club" (they met onThursdays, surprise!). Those connections lasted throughout their lives, My mother-in-laws passed away in her early 40's, but she was remembered in the club for decades after. The bonds in those social clubs were very strong.
    The wedding photo was exquisite. I was curious as to whether the lace veil was a hand made lace. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is the beauty of Sepia Saturday. A photo that I had never noticed previously, is the only one that matched this weeks prompt (craftwork) and led to a post that I would not have written otherwise!

      Delete
  6. I wonder what they're doing in the photo? Did the group enjoy doing art and crafts together? Were the things on display for sale or auction, or simply for viewing each other's work?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't suppose that we will ever know but it seems to me that as the key people in the club (secretary, president and leader) that they could be judging?

      Delete
  7. I'm so pleased to have volunteered for our local Southern Highland Crafts Guild, where they have a great display of some of the Appalachian women who were so proud of their needlecraft. They also had competitions and shared with each other, and I believe there's a photo of Eleanor Roosevelt look at some of their works. Several schools exist still in this area where traditional crafts are taught, needlework, weaving, woodworking and pottery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara, I would be interested in a blog about this. I know nothing about Appalachian women or their traditional crafts.

      Delete
  8. I enjoyed seeing the photo of them admiring the handicrafts. It could so easily been a CWA or Embroiderer's Guild display of work. But interesting choice of name for the club. I believe Laurel is sometimes used as a symbol of peace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There seems to be very few Laurel Clubs in the country now but I imagine that after the war, they were fairly common but members have since passed.

      Delete
  9. Good that you were able to work out who Ethel was and had her wedding photograph as well as the one of her in later life at the Laurel Club.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was very fortunate to remember the surname Dadswell. I should have know that my grandmother only has photos in her albums, which were important for one reason or another.

      Delete
  10. I just love Ethel's head-piece and long veil, and her flowers are amazing. Lovely photo to have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the old photos but this is one time that I would like to see a photo in colour! I also wonder what colour her shoes are!

      Delete
  11. Wow! The bouquets were big at weddings back in the day....

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is what I like so much about Sepia Saturday. A chance theme image leading to a connection leading to a story. It's what makes life interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are exactly right! Me too! I write and research posts that I would not have otherwise!

      Delete
  13. It looks as if the ladies were admiring some rather beautiful handicrafts but the seamstress who made the wedding gown is in a class of her own.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Have you inherited the crafty gene?
    I wonder if the photo is one that was published in the local paper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoy sewing and crocheting but other things seem to take priority :)

      Yes I wondered if it was published in the local paper too (but it was not on Trove yet) as it is a different size and type to the majority of her photos.

      Delete