About 50 years ago in Newmarket, a group of young women came together in search of enrichment in their lives.
Spinning off from the Canadian Federation of University Women, five women came together to form a book club. Starting with reading Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel, the group began meeting monthly to read and discuss books.
But it evolved into much more than that, said Sandra Davis, one of the group’s first members. The club forged a bond that would stand the test of time, carrying on for five decades in the community.
“It’s not just a book club,” Davis said. “Over the years, we’ve really been supportive of each other through babies, through sickness, through death, through divorce. Everything.”
The club celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Postmark Hotel Oct. 8. Gathering its current nine members, the club reminisced about its long history in Newmarket. Made up of adult women, including the club's original five members, the group has read hundreds of books over the years while bonding and helping one another through life.
The group's original members were all neighbours living in a newer area of Newmarket, who met through walking babies, pickups at preschool and playing tennis. The group’s memoir said the members were teachers, nurses, secretaries, “women of our time,” seeking “adult conversation and intellectual stimulation.”
Pam Cornelius, who has been with the group for about 10 years, said it became a way to build friendships.
“It was the anticipation of a night out. Of going out with some women and talking to women,” Cornelius said. “It was really fun to go out and leave the kids at home.”
The club, lacking a formal unique name, has stayed around Newmarket. It has not loudly broadcasted itself, with members coming in through word of mouth but staying at 12 members or less. Members meet every month, generally at one of their homes, to talk about their lives and the book of the month.
But the whole club is on the informal side as far as book clubs go, preferring to keep things more casual, Davis said.
“It might be the most unorganized book club you’ll ever see,” Davis said.
Member Marie Coulter said that flexibility has helped the club last as long as it has.
“A lot of things have happened, and a lot of lives changed. Good changes, bad changes, difficult times and we’ve sort of seen each other through them all,” she said.
Through reading books, the group has remained close.
“I could call these women in the middle of the night,” Bright said. “This is not just fluff. These are really, really good friends and interesting people with points of view.”
Coulter said some people this age might have to worry about loneliness, but this group helps prevent that.
The group also does not judge book preferences, happy to have disagreements on the contents.
“Sometimes, we have better discussions when some people hated it and other people loved it,” member Nora Jones said.
The group tends to gather for a big anniversary celebration every 10 years. Five years ago, the group also wrote a memoir outlining the group’s history after the passing of longtime member Helen Bradstock.
Jones said that caused them to spend a lot of time reminiscing and she wanted to be sure to get their club’s history down on paper so they would not forget it.
“The chance to share reading with others in the book club opened up a new world of experiences for me,” Jones wrote in the memory. “I feel a deep gratitude to all of my book club friends.”
