DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, when you hear 'book club,' you might picture a comfortable couch, a glass of sweet tea, maybe a lively argument about the ending of last month's novel. And sure, that's part of it.
But the Carthage Book Club — well, they had a few other things on their to-do list. Twelve area women founded what they called the Circulating Book Club in 1907, and from the very start, these women were not thinking small. Among their founding number was Margie Neal, who would go on to become Texas' first woman senator.
That ought to tell you something about the caliber of ambition in that room. Literacy was on the agenda, yes — but so were civic and social issues, and those ladies were not about to let the grass grow under their feet. Their first major project?
Raising funds for Carthage's very first sidewalk, running from downtown all the way to the Santa Fe Railway. A sidewalk. Humble, maybe.
Necessary, absolutely. Then in 1922, the club established a clubhouse and a ladies' restroom — and before you smile at that, consider what it meant to a rural woman who'd traveled miles into town for trade and business. It meant she had a place.
The club went on to open a public library, and when the world called twice — through World War I and again through World War II — they kept a Red Cross workroom running right through both of them. They led beautification projects across Carthage, including revitalizing the town square. Twelve women, a circulating book club, and a century-plus of showing up for their community.
The Carthage Book Club is still at it today — still promoting the civic, social, and literary welfare of the community. Turns out the most powerful thing in a room sometimes isn't a gavel. Sometimes it's twelve women and a good idea.
What the marker says
IN 1907, TWELVE AREA WOMEN, INCLUDING TEXAS’ FIRST WOMAN SENATOR, MARGIE NEAL, ESTABLISHED THE CIRCULATING BOOK CLUB. FOCUSING ON CIVIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN ADDITION TO LITERACY, THE CLUB’S FIRST MAJOR PROJECT WAS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CARTHAGE’S FIRST SIDEWALK, CONNECTING DOWNTOWN TO THE SANTA FE RAILWAY. IN 1922, MEMBERS ESTABLISHED A CLUBHOUSE AND LADIES’ RESTROOM, WHICH MET THE NEEDS OF RURAL WOMEN VISITING TOWN FOR TRADE AND BUSINESS. THE CLUB ALSO OPENED A PUBLIC LIBRARY, MAINTAINED A RED CROSS WORKROOM DURING WORLD WARS I AND II, AND LED BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS, INCLUDING REVITALIZATION OF THE TOWN SQUARE. TODAY, THE CARTHAGE BOOK CLUB CONTINUES TO PROMOTE THE CIVIC, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY.