
Sketch of the Community Center
to be built in Whitmore during 2003
Social life
for families living in remote areas like Whitmore was centered around their family. There
was so much work to do and animals to take care of that a day off was a rarity. When they
visited other ranches it was on foot or by horse or horse and buggy. If the weather was
bad they stayed home. The roads were so bad that even in the 1920s, when they had a car,
it was not any better than a horse for local visiting. In wet weather the roads in
Whitmore were like river bottoms, muddy and rocky.
During the early nineteen-hundreds the ladies of Whitmore formed a "Stitch"
club. This was a chance to entertain, gossip, and occasionally do some sewing.
The Whitmore Stitch Club
In the 1981 Covered Wagon, Lucille Miller Weller writes:
The pioneers
living on ranches in the days when the trip to Redding was a two-day affair had to create
their own amusement. The "Whitmore Stitch Club," which was formed by the early
ranchers' wives, and was the highlight of their social life for many years. Meetings were
always held in the members' homes with very elaborate plans by the hostesses. Old
newspaper clippings referred to a "dainty lunch" being served, but this was more
apt to be like a banquet.
Often the husbands joined in when they came to get their wives. There were always plenty
of goodies left from the sumptuous spread. Thinking back I can almost smell Mrs.
Montgomery's treat of homemade rolls. Contests were held, prizes awarded and occasionally
they came in funny costumes using a theme such as cartoon characters or current events.
Since I was an only child and no one thought of having a "baby sitter" come in,
I attended them from the time I was about two months old until I started school. They
actually did some sewing and fancywork during the afternoon.
The Redding
Record Searchlight wrote about the social event:
Mrs. C. B.
Miller, Hostess of Club
WHITMORE STITCHERS ENTERTAINED IN A BOWER OF LOVELINESS (Special to The Searchlight)
WHITMORE. June 1.--The Whitmore stitch club met on Mill Creek and were well entertained by
Mrs. C. B. Miller, the pioneer resident of Whitmore. The home was a bower of loveliness,
for Mrs. Miller had decorated everything in snowballs and La France roses. A delicious
luncheon was served, for Mrs. Miller is considered a teacher in domestic science.
The attendance was not as large as was expected on account of the inclement weather. Many
started but had to return home. The afternoon was spent pleasantly, almost everyone doing
tatting. The next meeting will be at Mrs. C. E. St. Vrain's residence on South Cow Creek.
Another article
in The Redding Record Searchlight:
EXTRA!
WOMEN'S CLUB GOES ON RECORD NOT TO GOSSIP OR "KNOCK", WHITMORE ORGANIZATION
DECIDES TO SMOTHER ALL NATURAL INSTINCTS
(Special to The Searchlight)
WHITMORE, February 9 -- The Whitmore Stitch club members were entertained February 7 at
the residence of Mrs. Isaac Meeker, near Whitmore. Most everyone was as busy as could be,
some were sewing and some learning new patterns of crochet.
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