A Page from North Quabbin History: Ladies Benevolent Society celebrates 200 years

Carla Charter pf Phillpston.

Carla Charter pf Phillpston. Paul Franz

The Ladies Benevolent Society of Royalston enjoy a garden party in the 1930s.

The Ladies Benevolent Society of Royalston enjoy a garden party in the 1930s. Photo courtesy of Royalston Historical Society

Published: 05-20-2024 2:03 PM

Modified: 05-24-2024 1:26 PM


By Carla Charter

The Ladies Benevolent Society of Royalston, the second-oldest benevolent society in the state, will celebrate its 200th anniversary this year.

Society President Beth Gospodarek said that according to “The History of the First Congregational Church of Royalston,” written by the Rev. Ginger Asel, the Royalston Ladies Benevolent Society began as a women’s group connected to the church. Its first records are from Dec. 21, 1824. In these early years, the president was always the pastor’s wife.

By the mid-1840s, through fundraising and a push for membership, the society was contributing significantly to the Congregational Church’s budget. In 1848, it raised enough to pay the pastor’s $450 salary, and the $750 in yearly expenses. After a fire destroyed the church and Town Hall in 1851, the society paid for the replacement of the church furnishings, she said. The society was also instrumental in establishing the town’s library. Other charitable works the society undertook in the early years included sewing clothes for families in need and providing quilts for the Orphan’s Asylum in Worcester, according to Gospodarek.

In the mid-1850s, men were encouraged to become honorary members, although they could not hold office.

During the Civil War, the society made caps, flannel shirts, socks and bandages. In Royalston, there were 147 enlistments, over 8% of the town’s population, who participated during the four years of the war and Royalston’s farms and workshops were drained of men of military age, according to Gospodarek.

“With sons, husbands, brothers, and nephews gone, these were laborious and stressful times for Royalston’s women,” she said.

After the war, the society worked to aid the Freemen, a liberated slave organization. Mrs. Almira Woodbury was “impassioned with the project,” according to Gospodarek, and kept an open barrel in her home for all to stop by with items of clothing to donate.

From the beginning, the society gave assistance to people in times of sickness, bereavement, accident or special distress. In the 1800s, “They brought flowers and wrote notes to cheer heavy hearts,” Gospodarek said.

In May 1967, members voted to separate from the church and focus on good works in the broader community. That meeting was reportedly heated and the pastor’s wife quite exasperated. The change was due to many vocal new residents and older members’ reluctance to assert themselves, according to Rev. Asel’s book, Gospodarek stated.

Since that time, the group has continued to raise money for good causes with public suppers, Thanksgiving pie sales, bake sales at elections, and catering collations for bereaved families. Other events include tree ornaments sold at the annual Memory Tree Holiday event in South Royalston.

Memberships and donations add to the coffers, Gospodarek said. These are used to fund Ladies Benevolent Society scholarships, awarded yearly to Royalston residents attending institutes of higher education. They also provide funds to the Amanda Putney Fund, which pays horse show entry fees so cost doesn’t prohibit anyone from competing. At no cost, the society provides valentines, cards and gift baskets to those who could use a boost.

Membership in the society open to all – of any gender, religion or identity – who are interested in connecting with neighbors and pursuing benevolence, said Gospodarek.

Among the upcoming events planned to celebrate the 200th anniversary include the Royalston Historical Society exhibit “Women of Royalston,” in which there is a Ladies Benevolent Society exhibit.

Among the items which will be on display include society photos from 1915 onward, as well as event posters from the 1920s-1940s, refurbished by Ken Levine of Frames/Ink and Lorraine Cassinghino. These events included one-act plays and according to Gospodarek, it is still unclear as to whether the society acted in them themselves or had school children perform in them.

The society also had an annual “After Turkeys What?” event, held on Thanksgiving Day, where after the holiday dinner, residents could come to the Town Hall and enjoy musical entertainment. Another annual event was a Presidents Day fundraiser which included cherry pie and other cherry deserts and gave residents the opportunity to wear colonial caps to the event.

On June 8 there will be a Foods Our Mothers Made dinner at Town Hall at 6 p.m. followed by a Palm Leaf Hat lecture by Kathy Morris. There will be a historical garden party and croquet on July 24 from 2-4 p.m. at 21 on the Common.

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.