The Denver Women's Social Union Club, a club for poor and working-class
women, was founded as a mutual-aid society in November 1898 by members
of the social science department of the Women's Club of Denver. The
club was started to benefit women and their families living in the Delgany
neighborhood. The social science department of the Women's Club of Denver
ran a variety of social programs in the Delgany neighborhood ranging
from a night school and Travelling Art Gallery to free baths. The Delgany
Library was housed in the Railroad Mission at 19th and Wewatta Streets
and it was here that the initial meeting of the Social Union was held
during which women resolved to form an organization to meet the needs
of the people in the area. Mary C.C. Bradford, a member of the Women's
Club of Denver, was later considered the mother of the Social Union
because of her help in its early years. She christened the mutual-aid
organization "The Social Union," a name that was retained until 1921
when it was reorganized as a philanthropic and social organization and
renamed "The Denver Women's Social Union Club." The Penny Provident
Fund, established for members of the Social Union, became the Social
Union Savings Bank in 1903 in which club members deposited what savings
they could. This money was used as an emergency fund to aid needy members
in hard times. Mary C.C. Bradford described the benefits of the Social
Union to its members: "The uplift that the meetings have given to these
toil-worn, shut-in lives is incalculable. Vistas of beauty have been
opened, stronger thinking stimulated, home problems solved, and best
of all, the sense of loving unity established between themselves and
their more fortunate sisters." (from Some Work of the WCD in A History
of the Women's Club of Denver by Mary Sinton)
Meetings generally consisted of business followed by refreshments and
a program. During the meeting, women would suggest those in need whom
the organization might assist in one way or another and plan benefits
such as cake baking contests or raffles. The money thus earned would
go to fund the Union's Activities. For example, during 1908-1909, the
women of the Social Union made visits to homes and hospitals and delivered
bouquets, jellies, fruits, bundles of clothing, a total of eight tons
of coal, and 14 dollars to the sick and needy. "We also have endeavored
to answer every call of sickness and distress that has come to us, as
well as to visit every member of the S.U. who has been ill." (from Minutes
1908-1916) The programs were organized by individual members and included
a variety of presentations. For example, one meeting on March 29, 1923
included a talk by Mary C.C. Bradford, who gave an "account of [the]
compulsory educational bill and urged women to sign it," followed by
a program of "fancy dancing" presented by Virginia Jardt and Janice
Goalstone. (from Minutes 1923-1924)
The last meeting of the Denver Women's Social Union Club was held in
1973 and the remaining 25 members decided to close the books on November
4, 1977 "due to [the fact that] many of our faithful members passed
on." (from Minutes 1957-1973)