About Us

The Fortnightly Literary Club is an Indianapolis-based club for women, established in 1885, with the object of writing and presenting literary papers and encouraging improvement of the literary skills of local students.

There is no record of how the name “Fortnightly” was selected, but it first appears in the minutes of the October 27, 1885, meeting, and on the printed program for that year. It has been suggested that it might have been the result of a timely quote, “We fetch fire and water, run about all day among the shops and markets, and are the victims of these details, and once in a fortnight arrive at a rational moment.” As the club met bi-weekly at that time, the name seemed appropriate.

Membership is considered on an invitation basis.  Please contact us  with inquiries.

The club has a rich history dating back more than a century.  Read about it here.

Scroll down to see our current officers and committee chairwomen.

A list of past club presidents is here.

Memorials are here.

OFFICERS and COMMITTEE CHAIRS

OFFICERS

Carla Bennett, President
Judy Pearce, Vice President
Kandy Kinker, Secretary
Quin Paul, Treasurer
Carol Sears, Assistant Treasurer
Marianne Wokeck, Historian
Carol Hall, Communication Specialist

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Mary Kay Snyder, Hospitality
Mary McConnell and Pinky Stuhldreher, Membership
Mary Jane Mitchell, Media
Marianne Wokeck, History
Laurie Schneider, Nominating
Julie Slaymaker, Program
Julia Wickes, Yearbook
Kassie Ritman, Indianapolis Classical Schools Essay Contest
Carla Bennett, Judy Pearce, Quin Paul & Laurie Schneider, Tri Literary Event
Marg Herder, Cheer Lady
Jill Engel, Celebrating 40 Year Members
Mary McConnell, Communication Between Board and Membership, Streamlined Business Meetings
Sheila Little, Recruitment and Retention
Laurie Schneider, Succession Pattern for Officers and Chairs
Rosalie Vermette, Review of Constitution and By-Laws
Carol Hall, Technology

PAST PRESIDENTS

Mrs. Charles W. Fairbanks 1885-7
Miss Laura Ream 1887-88
Mrs. Albert Baker 1888-89
Mrs. James W. Hess 1889-1900
Mrs. James H. Baldwin 1890-91
Mrs. Joseph S. Jenckes 1891-92
Mrs. Solomon Claypool 1892-93
Mrs. Edward H. Dean 1893-94
Mrs. Elias J. Jacoby 1894-95
Miss Elizabeth Dye
(Mrs. George Longnecker) 1895-96
Miss Fredonia Allen 1896-97
Mrs. Jacob P. Dunn 1897-98
Mrs. John S. Tarkington 1898-99
Mrs. Henry Eitel 1899-00
Mrs. Henry Kahn 1900-01
Mrs. H. C. Newcomb 1901-02
Mrs. Charles P. Doney 1902-03
Mrs. Ida Davis Finley 1903-04
Mrs. Cora Campbell Barnett 1904-05
Mrs. Ovid B. Jameson 1905-06
Miss Alice Finch 1906-07
Mrs. Albert Rabb 1907-08
Mrs. James E. McCullough 1908-09
Mrs. Charles N. Thompson 1909-10
Mrs. Frank E. Gavin 1910-11
Mrs. Henry B. Heywood 1911-12
Mrs. John F. Barnhill 1912-13
Mrs. John N. Hurty 1913-14
Mrs. James P. Baker 1914-15
Mrs. Arthur V. Brown 1915-16
Mrs. Henry H. Hornbrook 1916-17
Mrs. William H. Dye 1917-18
Mrs. William N. Wishard 1918-19
Mrs. John T. Wheller 1919-20
Mrs. Louis Henry Wolff 1920-21
Mrs. William H. Insley 1921-22
Mrs. Harry R. Fitton 1922-23
Mrs. Henry Kahn 1923-24
Miss Sue Howe 1924-25
Miss Gertrude J. Baker 1925-26
Mrs. F. Ellis Hunter 1926-27
Mrs. Allan Hendricks 1927-28
Mrs. Albert P. Smith 1928-29
Mrs. John R. Curry 1929-30
Mrs. Mortimer Furscott 1930-31
Mrs. Jesse Cameron Moore 1931-32

Mrs. Joseph A. Miner 1932-33
Mrs. Frank B. Fowler 1933-34
Mrs. Harry Miesse 1934-35
Mrs. James L. Gavin 1935-36
Mrs. Albert L. Rabb 1936-37
Mrs. Timothy Harrison 1937-38
Miss Helen E. Jacoby
(Mrs. Harry W. Evard) 1938-39
Mrs. Charles M. Wells 1939-40
Mrs. Maurice E. Tennant 1940-41
Mrs. John Mason Moore 1941-42
Mrs. Mansur B. Oakes 1942-43
Mrs. Horace R. McClure 1943-44
Mrs. Harold Sutherlin 1944-45
Miss Ruth Bozell 1945-46
Mrs. Walter S. Greenough 1946-47
Mrs. Charles A. Pfafflin 1947-48
Mrs. Eldo I. Wagner 1948-49
Mrs. Arthur L. Medlicott 1949-50
Mrs. Wilbur Peat 1950-51
Mrs. Harley Rhodehamel 1951-52
Mrs. Francis H. Insley 1952-53
Mrs. Robert B. Adams 1953-54
Mrs. Theodore L. Locke 1954-55
Mrs. Clarence L. Kirk, Jr. 1955-56
Mrs. Neil C. Estabrook 1956-57
Mrs. William M. Horne 1957-58
Mrs. Ralph B. Coble 1958-59
Mrs. William H. Krieg 1959-60
Mrs. Wendell C. Taylor 1960-61
Mrs. Frederic J. A. Beyer 1961-62
Mrs. Richard M. Nay 1962-63
Mrs. John H. Jefferson 1963-64
Mrs. Emsley W. Johnson, Jr. 1964-65
Mrs. John R. Fulton 1965-66
Mrs. George A. Schumacher 1966-67
Mrs. Jack D. Patterson 1967-68
Mrs. Joseph W. Ferree 1968-69
Mrs. Frederick W. Steiger 1969-70
Mrs. Arthur W. Banta 1970-71
Mrs. Bert L. Pearce 1971-72
Mrs. Russell J. Ryan, Jr. 1972-73
Mrs. Henry M. Lee 1973-74
Mrs. Gentry Hillman 1974-75
Mrs. Richard A. Jackson 1975–76
Mrs. Max C. McCowen 1976–77
Mrs. Carter B. Tharp 1977–78

Mrs. Thomas H. Townsend 1978–79
Mrs. Felix T. McWhirter 1979–80
Mrs. Paul N. Harris 1980–81
Mrs. Donald J. White 1981–82
Mrs. H. R. Blasingham 1982–83
Mrs. Graeme B. Supple 1983–84
Mrs. William D. Hamaker 1984–85
Mrs. Dawn Dutton Hooker 1985-86
Mrs. David B. H. Best 1986–87
Mrs. Edward C. Grande, Jr. 1987–88
Dr. Jamia Jacobsen, PhD, PsyD 1988–89
Mrs. Herbert E. Strong, Jr. 1989–90
Mrs. Terrell G. Hudson 1990–91
Mrs. Richard A. Ruddell 1991–92
Mrs. John E. Stiers 1992–93
Mrs. James R. Hetherington 1993–94
Mrs. Frank L. Tout 1994–95
Mrs. Bloor Redding 1995–96
Ms. Catherine Gibson 1996–97
Mrs. Gordon G. Hughes 1997–98
Mrs. J. Thomas Rafferty 1998–99
Mrs. Thomas K. Krasean 1999–2000
Mrs. Edward Bowman 2000–01
Mrs. Kenneth Smock 2001–02
Mrs. William Schilling 2002–03
Mrs. James E. Davis 2003–04
Mrs. James A. Sabens 2004–05
Mrs. Richard C. Cummins 2005–06
Mrs. Howard W. Westbrook 2006–07
Mrs. Raymond E. Gnat 2007–08
Ms. Ellen Crabb 2008–09
Ms. Catherine Plump 2009–10
Ms. Catherine Coscia 2010–11
Ms. Natalie Nicholls 2011–12
Allaire Schlicher-Beutner, PhD 2012–13
Ms. Marcia Edwards Rice 2013–14
Ms. Sue Carkoski Tempero 2014–15
Dolores Chapo Hoyt, PhD 2015–16
Ms. Barbara F. Summers 2016–17
Ms. Nancy Sutton 2017–18
Ms. Mary Jane Mitchell 2018–19
Sheila Little, PhD 2019–20
Rosalie Vermette, PhD 2020–21
Ms. A. Laurie Schneider 2021–22

IN MEMORIAM

Josephine Gill, 1892
Mary E. Langsdale, 1895
Almira S. Williams, 1895
Laura Severin Fletcher, 1896
Mary K. Denny, 1896
Charlotte P. Baker, 1902
Catherine Bullard, 1903
Carrie Tarlton Bals, 1905
Mary Bryson Keith, 1906
Sarah C. Gill, 1907
Elizabeth W. Monks, 1908
Elizabeth Booth Tarkington, 1909
Elva Riley Eitel, 1909
Eleanor Swadener Edenharter, 1909
Anna Campbell Baker, 1910
Camilla Walker Dill, 1910
Martha Charlton Clar, 1910
Jeanette W. Jenkins, 1910
Margaretta DeBruler, 1910
Mary Thompson Starr, 1911
Maria Butler Jameson, 1911
Mary Cornelius Helwig, 1911
Laura Ream, 1913
Cornelia Cole Fairbanks, 1913
Marie Dye Cushing, 1913
Martha Whitcomb Matthews, 1914
Rebecca Rogers George, 1914
Bertha Green Lockwood, 1914
Helen A. Eaton, 1914
Anna Barbour Gray, 1915
Cora F. Sanborn, 1916
Hannah Osborn Claypool, 1917
Julia Fried Walker, 1917
Alla Steele Kendall, 1918
Mary Thomas Carstensen, 1918
Annie Holton Dye, 1919
Agnes Kercheval Hitt, 1920
Cora Campbell Barnett, 1920
Martha H. Bladwin, 1921
Mary L. Hess, 1922
Elizabeth Hubbard Thompson, 1922
Irene Allan Townsend, 1923
Alice Finch, 1923
Kate Noble Dean, 1923
Ida Davis Finley, 1923
Frances Mary Beck, 1923
Anna loan Noel, 1924
Alice S. Allen, 1924
Frances Martha Kelsey, 1924
Mary Atkins Gladding, 1924
Ella Lathrop Gavin, 1924
Emma N. Carleton, 1924
Caroline Macy Malott, 1925
Mabel Cobb Morrison, 1925
Caroline Arnold Wynn, 1926
Kate Ray Newcomb, 1926
Marie Simon Zulich, 1927
Eliza Browning, 1927
Fredonia Allen, 1927
Ella Welborn McCullough, 1927
Lulu Thompson Blue, 1927
Julia Conner Thompson, 1928
Alice Baker, 1930
Eliza M. Niblack, 1930
Ida Malott Zulich, 1931
Carrie V. Norris, 1931
Julia Eaton Jacoby, 1932
Emma Stewart Cravens, 1932
Lazene Lambert White, 1933
Lila Keyes Hunter, 1934
Mary E. Reinhard, 1934
Isabelle Lamb Ferguson, 1937
Emma Louise Atkins Davis, 1937
Mary Booth Tarkington Jameson, 1937
Cora Howe Moore, 1937
Kate Milner Rabb, 1937
Mary Ellen Ahearn, 1938
Mary Quick, Burnet, 1938
Martha B. George, 1938
Jessie Cornelius Myers, 1938
Carrie Goodwin Rexford, 1938
Catherine Dunn, 1940
Louise Bowen Foltz, 1940
Ethel Johnston Hurty, 1940
Jessie Christian Brown, 1941
Jessy Wallin Heywood, 1941
Anna Cotter Malott, 1941
Rose Campbell Anderson, 1942
Emma K. Doney, 1942
Josephine Pittman Scribner, 1942
Edna Henry, 1942
Edith Stabler Conklin, 1943
Nellie Truitt Lockridge, 1944
Julia Goodhart Tutewiler, 1944

Ruby Claypool Bradford, 1945
Bertha Bals Fitton, 1945
Elizabeth Dye Longnecker, 1945
Frances Scoville Wishard, 1946
Dr. Kenosha Sessions, 1946
Alberta Hess Calvert, 1946
Julia A. Brown, 1947
Minda Bean Dye, 1947
Margaret Smith Abbott, 1947
Jane Williams Insley, 1948
Helen Todd Moore, 1948
Celeste Terrell Barnhill, 1949
Florence Thompson Taggart, 1950
Mary Alice Claypool Hilleary, 1950
Daisy Hendricks Sutherland, 1950
Nelly Colfax Smith, 1951
Ida Linn Henderson, 1952
Sara Lang Kahn, 1952
Margaret Newcomb Bird, 1953
Mrs. Leonard Hackney, 1953
Dorothy Ford Buschmann, 1953
Blanche Kercheval Simpson, 1954
Edith Lawrie Ottinger, 1954
Winifred Clark Wolff, 1954
Florence I. Morrison, 1954
Winifred Brady Adams, 1955
Charlotte Jones Dunn, 1956
Elizabeth M. Wishard, 1956
Pearl Landers Harrison, 1956
Sue Howe, 1957
Katherine Malott Brown, 1957
Susan Davis Taylor, 1958
Edith Keay Fowler, 1958
Dorothy Putzki Bishop, 1960
Miriam Waldo Gregory, 1960
Winona Montgomery Gilliland, 1960
Eleanora Dilks Hendricks, 1960
Claribel Kahn Furscott, 1961
Mary Oursler Sutherlin, 1962
Florence Atkins Gavin, 1962
Elizabeth Everitt Prescott, 1962
Ruth Thompson Gillespie, 1962
Hannah Mary Bradford Johnston, 1963
Agnes Maude Richardson, 1963
Ruth O’Hair, 1963
Mary O’Hair Hitz, 1963
Mary Elizabeth Brann Smith, 1963
Opal Lamm Wheeler, 1963
Lectania Newcombe Wright, 1963
Nora Kalmbach Horne, 1964
Ona Grube Green, 1964
Edith Hull Luten, 1965
Mary Wheeler Wells, 1965
Melissa Myers Whitaker, 1965
Grace Kettenbach Pfafflin, 1965
Grace Norris Houghton, 1965
Marion Milne Hall, 1965
Arria Calhoun Greer, 1965
Grace Smith Hornbrook, 1965
Ruby Claypool Faris Tennant, 1965
Lila Hart Burnette Louden, 1966
Georgia Galvin Oakes, 1967
Martha Jane Banta Beyer, 1967
Helen Jacoby Evard, 1967
Jessie Camerson Hershey Moore, 1967
Alice Weinstein Cavins, 1968
Elizabeth Cooley McKibbin, 1968
Mary Klentschy Rhodehamel, 1969
Mary E. Gavin, 1969
Ella Laura Malott Evans, 1970
Jessie Wolff Curry, 1970
Anna Megee Eveleigh, 1970
Helen Newman Smith, 1970
Grace Rawles Wheeler, 1970
Rose Shuler Brigham, 1971
Frances Julia Morrison Rabb, 1971
Frieda Elfers Robinson, 1972
Elizabeth Eitel Miesse, 1972
Grace Montgomery Showalter, 1972
Vera Palmer Sterling, 1973
Constance Stanton Turner, 1973
Adele Crim Bowman, 1973
Nora Harris McCarty, 1974
Mary Jane Seaman Munson, 1974
Mary Craig Tucker, 1975
Elizabeth Whiteside Carr, 1975
Marian McFadden, 1975
Julia Louise Tutewiler Taylor, 1975
Isabel Davidson Stubblefield, 1976
Catherine Croan Greenough, 1977
Margaret Pezald Kleiderer, 1978
Jean Luther Noling, 1979
Louise Wills Steiger, 1979
Miss Gertrude J. Baker, 1979

Mary Blacklidge Wagner, 1981
Barbara Oakes Taylor, 1982
Beryl Peterson McCowen, 1983
Miss Ruth B. Bozell, 1984
Emma Rhodehamel Locke, 1984
Charlotte McCurdy Harris, 1986
Margaret Hornbrook Coppock, 1986
Mary Heikes Supple, 1990
Naomi Fisher Campbell, 1991
Delores Billman Hill, 1991
Jessie Strickland Burns, 1991
Jean Hamlet Snoddy, 1992
Jane Chanley Wheeler, 1992
Alberta Alexander Raffensberger, 1992
Ann Samonial Ropkey, 1992
Virginia Ballweg Krieg, 1992
Edna Coffey Schumacher Pritchard, 1992
Lois Esther Wishard Insley, 1993
Eleanor Burrill Green Roberts, 1993
Marie Love Jacobi, 1995
AliceMarie “Deedy” Woolling Roggie, 1995
Virginia Holt Townsend, 1995
Virginia Fosler Gruen, 1995
Mary Jane Carr McClure, 1995
Ruth Smith Kivett-Burns Jensen, 1996
Betty Ann Evard Patterson, 1996
Bonnie Jean McKechnie Weaver, 1996
Margaret Rose Zaff King, 1997
Diana Boisson Nering, 1997
Eleanor Dunn Moore, 1998
June Mershimer Dubois, 1998
Ruth Fark Banta, 1999
Joy G. DeMars, 1999
Gracia Scott Harvey, 1999
Janet Carr Hildreth, 1999
Dorothy Lane White, 1999
Esther Gentry Hillman, 2000
Esther Myers Tharp, 2000
Evelyn Crostreet Wolter, 2000
Talitha Rasmussen Peat, 2001
Martha Hughes Stiers, 2002
Virginia Ridpath Smith Freebairn, 2002
Mary Anna Tall Jefferson, 2002
Caroline Hitz Gibson, 2003
Myra Brown Bailey, 2004
Elizabeth Bowman Reilly, 2005
Jean Storen Fouke, 2006
Velma Dean Ryder, 2006
Ann Conner Fulton, 2006
Nancy Beatty Gerard, 2006
Jean Pennington Nay, 2006
Ann Conner Fulton, 2006
Margaret Ferree 2008
Maxine Lee 2008
Patricia Watson Grande 2008
Dorothy Miller Morrison 2009
Janet Mitchell Evard 2009
Elizabeth Carr Beyer, 2011
Madelyn Schroeder Sundquist, 2012
Phillipa Connor Hughes, 2012
Mary Sue Smith Best, 2013
Martha Rose Baum, 2014
Helen Stone Lohss, 2014
Barbara Sue Handy Beard, 2014
Lucy Coyle Schilling, 2014
Mary Caroline “Molly” O’Dell
Adams, 2014
Marie Turner-Wright, 2015
Sue Westbrook, 2015
Sue Kassebaum Westbrook, 2015
Martha Josephine Cantwell Meeker, 2016
Patricia McGraw Sweeney, 2016
Mary Elizabeth Jones Kirk, 2017
Barbara Jungclaus Campbell, 2018
Martha Anne Varnes, 2019
Noel Norton Heymann, 2019
Eleanor Reed Kassebaum, 2019
Beth Van Vorst Gray, 2020
Mary Evans Calkins, 2020
Ivey Long, 2020
Diana Harvey Jackson, 2020
Judy Dittbrenner Davis, 2020
Mary Virginia Taylor Francisco, 2020
Margaret Jennings McWhirter, 2020
Marilyn Wiegard Pecsok, 2020
Elsa Kramer, 2020
Georgia Benefiel Bowman, 2021
Peggy Shucker Sabens, 2021
Jane McClure Bielawski, 2021
Nancy Miller Aiken, 2022
Susan B. Hetherington, 2022
Jayne Thrasher, 2022