Inquiry club records, 1894-2018

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Inquiry Club
Title
Inquiry club records
Dates
1894-2018 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.9 linear feet, (5 boxes)
Collection Number
WCMss.051
Summary
On December 26, 1894, in Walla Walla, Washington, a group of business and professional men met and agreed to form the Inquiry Club, which was to serve two purposes. One, to promote the cause of higher education; two, to encourage each other in intellectual pursuits. This collection contains record books, speeches given by members, constitution, by-laws and membership information from the Inquiry Club.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

On December 26, 1894, a group of business and professional men met and agreed to form the Inquiry Club, which was to serve two purposes. One, to promote the cause of higher education; two, to encourage each other in intellectual pursuits. The group then drafted a constitution and by-laws and agreed to meet weekly at the home of one of the members. Membership was initially limited to twelve and later expanded to fifteen.

There were no prescribed qualifications for membership, but the club was typically composed of clergymen, lawyers, doctors, college professors, public school administrators, public officials, and businessmen.

The original by-laws stated that at each meeting at least one member "shall read a prayer, or deliver an address, not less than ten, nor more than sixty minutes in length, upon a subject chosen by himself." Dr. Chester C. Maxey, former president of Whitman College, was a member for 58 years and stated that he presented "no fewer than forty papers" to the club.

Mr. W.H. Upton, a Superior Court judge, was elected the first president and Mr. H.S. Blandford, an attorney, the secretary. Other prominent original members, were Rev. Stephen B.L. Penrose, president of Whitman College from 1894 to 1934, and Whitman College professor Louis F. Anderson, who served on the faculty for over sixty years. The Inquiry Club is still active today.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Inquiry Club records contain papers delivered at meetings, record books, research materials, and biographical information on club members from the years 1894 to 2018.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by John M. Reese, September 9, 1974, 2008, and October 21, 2018; Dr. Ralph Stevens, May 9, 1979. The accession numbers are retro-0556, 2008-007, and 2018-046.

Preservation Note

Portions of this collection were partially burned before they were donated. Originals require fragile handling.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1:  LettersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 15
Judge Upton's Lucky Seven
Undated
3 16
Draft of sympathy letter from the Inquiry Club to Mrs. Upton
31-Jan-1906
3 17
Letter from Everett J. Smith
7-Feb-1929
3 18
Letter from Allen Reynolds to Dr. Chester Maxey
Sept. 1929
3 19
Note of appreciation from Mrs. Rowland Smith, Frances Smith and Edward Smith
April 1929
3 20
Letter from Ben H. Kizer to Chester C. Maxey
1931-1932
3 21
Letter of resignation from James Gail Sheldon to Inquiry Club
23-Oct-1950
3 22
Note of appreciation from the Lyman family
Undated
3 23
Note of appreciation from Mrs. John W. Langdon
Undated

2:  Record booksReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box object
5 1
Transactions of the Club
1894-1897
Folder
3 1-4
Transactions of the Club
1894-1897
3 5
Speakers and Subjects for 1895-1904
1895-1904
3 6
Summary 1927-28: Meeting date, host, speaker, subject
October 5, 1927- April 4, 1928
3 7
Inquiry Club Meetings
Undated
3 8
List of Papers and Place of Meetings
Undated
3 14
List of papers and authors
October 1896-March 1897
3 9
20th Anniversary Meeting
1914
3 24
Meeting Minutes-- Secretary C.E. Tuke
October 1913- April 1914
object
5 2
Minutes of the Thursday Inquiry Club
1916-1930
4 1
Record Book: Constitution and Meeting Minutes
1894-February 22, 1905
4 2
Record Book: Constitution and Meeting Minutes
1906-April 26, 1950
4 3
Record Book: Constitution and Meeting Minutes
Mary 17, 1950-September 11, 1997
4 4
Record Book: Constitution and Meeting Minutes
October 9, 1997-February 14, 2008
4 5
Meeting minutes
2008-2018

3:  Member informationReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
3 27
Inquiry Club History
2018
3 25
Membership List
2008
3 10
Roster of Members
Undated
3 11
Club Forms for Club Member Information
Undated
3 12
Roster of Members
Undated
3 13
List of past and present members (possibly 1905 or later)
Undated

4:  SpeechesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 22
"An Old Ballad Told to a Different Counterpoint" by Craig C. Esary
6-May-1987
2 20
"Forty-Six Years as a Writer" by Bill Gulick
5-Feb-1986
2 21
"A Brief History of the Inquiry Club 1894-1985" by Chester C. Maxey
20-Nov-1986
2 1
"Dissection of a Genius: Frank Lloyd Wright" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
15-March-1961
2 2
"Our Daily Bread: A Little History of Fleshpots, Stewpots, and Crackpots" by Chester C. Maxey
6-Sept-1961
2 3
"The History of Cataracts" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
7-March-1962
2 4
"Spices and Modern Civilization" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
3-April-1963
2 5
"Something About Humor" by Chester C. Maxey
7-Oct-1964
2 6
"Duf or Duffer?" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
2-Dec-1964
2 7
"Horses in North America" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
1965-1966
2 8
"A Young Man Named Garfield" by Chester C. Maxey
5-Oct-1966
2 9
"Understanding Aggression" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
1966-1967
2 10
"Natural Superiority of Women" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
3-March-1971
2 11
"Some Random Observations" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
6-Dec-1972
2 12
"Walla Walla Since 1937" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
April 1974
2 13
"A Man Named Stevens" by Bill Gulick
5-Feb-1975
2 14
"My Special Report to the Building Facilities Review Committee of 1970" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
7-May-1975
2 15
"The Evolution of Christianity, Part One" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
4-May-1977
2 16
"The Evolution of Christianity, Part Two" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
3-June-1978
2 17
"Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area" by Bill Gulick
1-Feb-1978
2 18
"On Ben Holladay" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
2-May-1979
2 19
"Dr. Clifford M. Drury" by Bill Gulick
6-Feb-1985
2 23
"A Search for Peace" by Dr. Richard D. Simon
1992
1 20
"The Third Term Comes Home to Roost" by Chester C. Maxey
1943
1 21
"A Plea for the Politician" by Chester C. Maxey
1944
1 22
"Throttlebottom Makes Good" by Chester C. Maxey
1946
1 23
"The Mystery of the Cycle" by Chester C. Maxey
1949
1 24
"A Review of the Inquiry Club of Walla Walla" by Almos K. Reynolds
4-Apr-1951
1 25
"A resume of the Race Question" by Chester C. Maxey
1951
1 26
"Careers of Henry Villard" by Almos K. Reynolds
2-April-1952
1 27
"The Oldest Profession" by Chester C. Maxey
3-Dec-1952
1 28
"Rabbits or Human Beings?" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
1954
1 29
"Right and Wrong" by Chester C. Maxey
1954-1955
1 30
"The Atomic Revolution" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
Dec. 1955
1 31
"The Custer Tragedy" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
Dec. 1956
1 32
"Mormonism: An All-American Phenomenon" by Chester C. Maxey
2-October-1957
1 33
"Smoking and Lung Cancer" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
1957-1958
1 34
"Religious Education in the Public Schools" by Chester C. Maxey
3-Sept-1958
1 35
"Medical Quackery" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
October 1958
1 36
"The Enduring Western" by Bill Gulick
1-April-1959
1 37
"Pusses and Pooches" by Chester C. Maxey
2-Sept-1959
1 38
"Pandora's Box and the American Economy" by Dr. Ralph Stevens
October 1959
1 39
"What About the Jews?" by Chester C. Maxey
7-Sept-1960
1 1
"Introduction" by Chester C. Maxey
Undated
1 2
Includes: "Atomic Energy and Heredity", "The Problem of Radiation", "American Education" by John C. Lyman
Undated
1 3
"Mind: A Physical Force (synopsis)" by H.S. Blandford
9-Jan-1895
1 4
"The All- Knowledge: Or the Reason for Progressive Evolution" by H.S. Blandford
30-Jan-1895
1 5
"The Future of Socialism (synopsis)" by W.D. Lyman
20-Feb-1895
1 6
"Alexander Hamilton, The Lawgiver" by W.D. Lyman
13-March-1895
1 7
"The Homeric Question" by L.F. Anderson
18-March-1895
1 8
"The Necessity of Subordinating Reason to Faith" by H.S. Blandford
2-Oct-1895
1 9
"Hawaii" by L.F. Anderson
27-Nov-1895
1 10
"Development of Special Senses from a General Sense" by Benj. H. Brown
11-Dec-1895
1 11
"Some Thoughts on Education" by H.L. Blandford
22-Jan-1896
1 12
"The Hope Dynamics of Nature" by Benj. H. Brown
4-March-1896
1 13
"Our Alchemist" by H.S. Blandford
1-April-1896
1 14
"The Ultimate Object of the Social Organism" by H.S. Blandford
22-April-1896
1 15
"Profit: Weighed on a New Pair of Scales" by Prof. W.A. Bratton
29-April-1896
1 16
"The Evolution of Christian Ethics, Versus Natural Evolution" by H.S. Blandford
30-Dec-1898
1 16a
"A memorial paper to C.B. Upton and Dr. J.E. Bingham" by L.F. Anderson
7-March-1906
1 17
"Some Grounds for Hope in the Immortality of Man" by Rev. Austin Rice
16-Oct-1908
1 18
"How Much is the Consitution in Danger?" by Chester C. Maxey
1935
1 19
"Shall We Amend the Court or the Consitution" by Chester C. Maxey
1937

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Clubs--Washington (State)

Corporate Names

  • Inquiry Club