Notes
Admin or Biographical History: The Merri Mix Club served as a major social hub for many Broomfield women from 1923 into the 1970s. The main purpose of the club, as stated in its constitution preamble, was for "social pleasure, mental improvement, and mutual help...to form ourselves into a 'Woman's Club.'" Throughout much of its history, the club formed lasting friendships among many Broomfield women and families in the community.
The club started off in 1923 with 28 charter members, mostly housewives. Officers consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer were elected by members on a semi-annual basis. The cost for membership was 50 cents a year. Several women from early Broomfield families - including the Crooks, Koziseks, Vaughns, Crawfords, Mitzes, and Brunners - took membership and leadership positions. Longstanding members included: Viola Crooks; Edith Dunphy; Mae Billington; Jessie and Mollie Kozisek; Julia Vaughn; Emily Crawford; and Elizabeth Brunner, among several others. By 1973, the club had close to 150 different members spanning multiple generations throughout its lifetime.
The club would typically meet once or twice a month at members' (designated "hostesses") homes to engage in various activities. Meetings would typically start with a call to order by the President, then an opening prayer or scripture reading, often led by the club's appointed Chaplain, Anna Crooks. Then, a roll call would ensue to track attendance, with a twist: each scheduled meeting had a theme for its roll call that members would prepare for ahead of time. Instead of simply calling out their names, members would say something in accordance with the theme. For example, some meetings required members to call out their favorite greeting or joke, or briefly discuss their views on a current event.
The business portion of a meeting involved elections, installation of officers, and general discussions and decision making. Meetings would also include planned presentations (by members and guest speakers), poem readings, musical performances, group singing, the occasional luncheon or party, games, and debate. One interesting rule of the meetings was the prohibition of negativity in conversation; failure to comply would incur a fine. In all, meetings focused on uplifting attendees and allowing women to meaningfully engage with each other and the wider community.
In 1973, the Merri Mix Club held its 50th - and last - anniversary celebration, documenting several years of activity. Several members or relatives of members were in attendance, showing the lasting influence and strong social bond of the Merri Mix women within the Broomfield community.
Sources:
Merri Mix Club Minutes, 1935-1944 (1994.27.18), Broomfield Train Depot Museum, Broomfield, Colorado.
Merri Mix Club Minutes, 1945-1968 (1994.27.19), Broomfield Train Depot Museum, Broomfield, Colorado.
Merri Mix Club Notebook of History (1994.27.1), Broomfield Train Depot Museum, Broomfield, Colorado.
Pettem, Silvia. Broomfield: Changes Through Time. Longmont: The Book Lode, 2001, pp. 126-128.
Custodial History: Guest list and several other papers of the same collection donated to the Broomfield Depot Museum in 1994 by Helen Kozisek. She and other women in her family were all members of the Merri Mix Club.