DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it along just the same. By 1898, Friona and a handful of other area townsites had been laid out as switches on the Pecos Valley and Northern Texas Railroad. Settlers started arriving not long after, and Friona itself incorporated in 1906.
Now, a town is more than a railroad switch and a plot of land, and twenty Friona women knew it. In September of 1909, they organized a club. No fancy building waiting for them, mind you.
They met wherever they could find the room, passing the gathering from place to place for years, all while quietly raising money toward something more permanent. That patience paid off in 1941, when a meeting house was finally constructed right here on this spot. In 1922, the group became part of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, and from that one original gathering of twenty, three more clubs eventually grew.
Between them, these women planted trees, provided medical aid, and founded the Friona Public Library. A library, conjured out of determination and meeting dues and years of showing up. The clubhouse they built has never stopped being useful, serving the Women's Clubs and the broader community alike.
Twenty women showed up in September of 1909 with nothing but an idea. What they left behind is still standing.
What the marker says
By 1898, Friona and several other area townsites had been laid out as switches on the Pecos Valley & Northern Texas Railroad. Settlers soon began arriving in Friona, which incorporated in 1906. Twenty Friona women organized a club in September 1909, meeting in various places for many years while raising money for a meeting house constructed here in 1941. The group, which became part of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs in 1922, generated three other clubs. Each group performed a variety of services, including tree planting, medical aid and founding of the Friona Public Library. The clubhouse has served as a meeting place for the Women's Clubs, as well as for the larger community. (2005)