Elected President of Literary Society

17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Friday, February 7, 1913: We had our literary meeting this afternoon and also elected officers to take the place of the old ones. They had to go and elect me president.

Building that once houses McEwensville School.
Building that once houses McEwensville School.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Way to go Grandma!—You’ve put so much energy into the Literary Society and it’s awesome that you’re now the president.

On November 1, 1912, you wrote:

We organized a Literary Society at school this afternoon. I am one of the committee. Just what I wanted to be.

Why was there an election just three months after the society was organized? Were there problems with the previous officers. . .or had they always planned to have elections every couple of months?

15 thoughts on “Elected President of Literary Society

  1. Haha, when I first read that I took “They had to go and elect me president” as sarcasm. But guessing by the older entry she was probably serious. Well good for her!
    🙂

  2. “They had to go and elect me president”–I love that line. As a reluctant officer of a couple organizations, I can identify with her words.

  3. Oh Miss Muffly… I want to congratulate you and sing your praises but am thinking that maybe you actually didn’t want to be elected “President”? Maybe you’re just being modest? … maybe future diary entries will clarify this…

  4. Grandma sounds secretly proud to be elected president. I think she must have been very popular and is only trying to sound humble in her diary in case it should be read by posterity! 🙂

  5. I too think she was secretly pleased. I think women were raised to be modest at that time more than now. Not to act too ambitious. I certainly see it in my own family. If that’s the case, good for her! But I sure wish she could feel free to toot her own horn.

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