Have you ever heard of the O. D. D. Club that existed here in Monroe a century ago? Neither had I — until I was looking though an album with Roy Thomas at McDonald’s one afternoon in September 2021. The album, which belonged to Jan Woeffler, had four photos of a group of women dressed up in winter coats holding their hand muffs standing in front of the Milwaukee depot. The group of photos was identified as “The O. D. D. club.” One of the photos also included a man and a child. There was a fifth photo of just a man and a woman. One might assume that these women were traveling somewhere together, but nothing else has been found about the club.
I did search at the courthouse to see if the O. D. D. Club had been registered, but it had not. As I continued to read the newspapers at the library, I did find some articles about the O. D. D. Club. It is unknown how many articles there may have been prior to me having seen the photographs. The earliest was printed on November 1, 1919. It said, “Eight members of the O. D. D. Club met at the home of Miss Mathilda Buri last evening. Refreshments were enjoyed at the Ruf Garden and later the guests attended the Badger dance. Miss Buri left this morning for Chicago for an indefinite stay.”
The second article appeared on January 14, 1920. “Twenty members and friends of the O. D. D. Club enjoyed a dinner last evening at the home of Miss Mathilda Buri [1625 19th Street] at 6:30 o’clock. The dinner, served in three courses, was given by the club in honor of Mrs. Emil Wyss, a recent bride of the club. Following the dinner, bunco was played. First prizes were awarded to Mrs. Burton H. Lynch and LaVern E. Deal, while Miss Kathryn Gruenewald received the booby prize.”
Hazel Deal had married Emil Wyss in “a pretty Christmas wedding” at the Deal home [believed to be at 520 19th Avenue]. Hazel’s siblings, Vera and Ralph, attended the couple. “The rooms were decorated with Christmas colors and holly. The ceremony was performed beneath a large bell with a background of holly and mistletoe.” The bride wore a dress of blue georgette crêpe with bead and charmeuse trimmings. Her corsage bouquet was of pink sweet peas and rosebuds. A dinner was enjoyed by 20 relatives and friends.
An article on October 25, 1921 shared that 10 members of the O. D. D. Club had hiked to the home of Henry [actually Fred and Bertha], south of town [in Section 2 of Clarno township], the evening before. The purpose was to charivari Mrs. Blumer’s sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Maurer, who had returned from a honeymoon trip to Milwaukee and northern Wisconsin. The club members then returned to the home of Misses Catherine and Marie Gruenwald [believed to be at 547 16th Avenue]. Cards were played, a lunch was served, and a business meeting was held.
Ella Keller had married Mr. Maurer on Monday afternoon, October 17 at St. John’s Church with her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. John Tschanz, as attendants. The bride, who had been employed at Ruf’s confectionery for 11 years, “was attired in a suit of brown Salem cloth and her hat was of the same choice. She wore a corsage of pink roses.” Besides being a member of the O. D. D. Club, she was a member of the T. L. S. Club.
Another article appeared on December 29, 1923. It said, “An unexpected caller put in his appearance at the an annual Christmas party of the O. D. D. club, which was held at the home of Misses Emma and Rose Zuercher,” the evening before. “The merry old fellow, who was supposed to have returned to the North Pole long ago, delayed in the city, so asked to be present at the happy gathering last evening.
“Entering the rooms, which were appropriately decorated, Santa distributed presents to each of the members present, who were dressed in costume.” Games were also played and refreshments were served late in the evening.”
I had not thought much about the O. D. D. Club again until I received some items from the collection of the late Howard “Bruiser” and Bernie Schulz this summer. To my surprise there were two photographs of the members of the O. D. D. Club. Not only were the photographs in the collection, but both had the names of the members identified on the back. Bruiser’s mother, Lillian Marty Schulz, was one of the women identified in the 1919 photograph. I looked in the city directories to see what I could learn about these women. Unlike many of the women in their early 20s during that era, these women were employed and single. Is that why they were called “odd?”
When we didn’t get any response to a post on Facebook about the O. D. D. Club, Roy and I did some brainstorming about what the acronym, O. D. D., might stand for: Our Determined Daughters, Only Determined Daughters, Order of the Different Dames, or Order of the Different Daughters Or was it something completely different? If anyone has any other information about, or photographs of, the O. D. D. Club, please contact me.
— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and a local historian. His column will appear periodically on Saturdays in the Times. He can be reached at mfigi48@tds.net or at 608-325-6503.
