The first meeting of the Guild was held on Monday, May 27th, 1946, at the Darien Community Association House, in Darien, Conn.
Darien was chosen for the meeting, because it seemed quite centrally located. It had been impossible to get space in New York. It proved to be a wise choice, with the meeting place a most delightfully suitable spot. The rooms of the Community house were spacious, with many mantels, which made fine settings for the beautiful exhibits of trays. All about the rooms, lovely flower arrangements had been placed, which further pleased all the artistic souls present.
These flower arrangements had been contributed by Darien ladies:
Mrs. John Leffler
Mrs. A. E. L. Maduro
Mrs. John Nickerson
Mrs. Nilo Voight
The Credentials committee, who greeted arriving members at the door, were as follows:
Mrs. Herbert Coggins
Mrs. Nelson Williams
Mrs. D. G. Ziegler
The Organization Committee had long prepared for this meeting. The names of this committee were as follows:
Mrs. Walter Burrows, Darien, Conn.
Mrs. Arthur Chivers, Hanover, N. H.
Mrs. George Devoe, New Milford, Conn.
Mrs. S. Burton Heath, Darien, Conn.
Mrs. William C. Hilton, Harrisburg, Pa.
Mrs. John McAuliffe, Newton Highlands, Mass.
Mrs. Ruth Hicks Mathey, Cranford, N. J.
Mrs. Max Muller, Beachhurst, L. I.
Mrs. Gordon Scott, Uxbridge, Mass.
Mrs. Henry W. Seldon, West Hartford, Conn.
Mrs. Andrew Underhill, New York, N. Y.
Miss Florence Wright, Ithaca, N. Y.
Mrs. S. B. Heath, who had been chosen Chairman of the Organization Committee, presided at the meeting and opened it with a welcome to all present. She called on the members to honor the name of Esther Brazer by arising and standing in silence. A hush fell on the room as all stood and paid homage to the teacher, who was so dear to us all.
The meeting proceeded, and Mrs. Heath gave a brief outline of the Guild's purpose in bringing together those interested in carrying on the work of Esther Brazer. Mrs. Arthur Chivers of Hanover, further explained the growth of the idea of the Guild. She gave much credit to Mrs. Heath's untiring efforts on behalf of the Guild. Mrs. Max Muller of Beechhurst, was called on to present a decorated parchment scroll to Mr. Brazer, which was later to be signed by all former students of Mrs. Brazer. Mr. Brazer acknowledged this presentation and promised to have the scroll framed and kept with Mrs. Brazer's things, as proof of the respect and gratitude her students had felt for her. He gave Mrs. Muller credit for the large task of checking and cataloguing Mrs. Brazer's patterns. He further gave the Guild the great hope that, as some future date, it may be possible for the Guild to have access to these patterns, if the required care of them can be taken. He stated that, had Mrs. Brazer known of the Guild, he felt sure she would have wished the Guild to have them. His short address was a very touching one and all persons present were deeply moved with sympathy for his great loss.
Mr. Robert Keegan, Chairman of the Resolutions Committee, was then called on to present the Resolutions. These expressed the sincere feeling of members as to the greatness of Mrs. Brazer's contribution to our lives.
Members of the Resolutions Committee were :
Mr. Robert Keegan,
Chairman Mrs. C. W. Leslie Mrs. E. H. Christ Mrs. Arthur Oldham Mrs. Mell Prescott Mrs. Arthur Holmes Mrs. Alma Brockway Mrs. Robert Keegan Mrs. Samuel Hauser Mrs. Philip Broughton Miss Sarah Bailey
In the absence of Mrs. Gordon Scott, Mr. W. C. Hilton of Harrisburg, read the Constitution and by-laws, as drawn up by the Organization Committee. These were adopted as read on a motion made by Mrs. Max Muller and seconded by Mrs. Alfred Ells.
The Guild was greatly honored to have as its afternoon speaker, Miss Alice Winchester, editor of Antique Magazine. Her words of praise for Mrs. Brazer were eagerly listened to by all. She spoke of the many articles written for Antiques Magazine by Mrs. Brazer and of her ceaseless and untiring research, of her generosity in sharing her knowledge with others and of the respect accorded her as an authority in her field.
A recess was called to permit members to become acquainted and to view the outstanding exhibits, which had been featured. Some of Mrs. Brazer's beautifully decorated trays and patterns were there. The rectangular lace-edge tray, she had done some years ago, was an inspiration to all. A very fine collection of originals was displayed and much admired. There was great excitement and admiration caused by the many decorated pieces displayed in the basement rooms. Over two hundred patterns and articles had been submitted. It proved to be impossible for the committee to make any headway in examining all of them with enough care to judge them, with the intention of setting standards. A vote of commendation and thanks was decided on to all who had brought things along to show and it was decided that further plans for judging would be taken up by a committee.
The credit for handling these exhibits is due to the following persons :
Exhibits Mrs. Carroll Drury Mrs. Ludwig Link
The signing of the Constitution was handled by a Signatures Committee as follows :
Signatures Miss May Bunnell Mrs. Ludwig Link Mrs. George Devoe, Jr.
At six-thirty a very welcome buffet supper was served in the dining hall and much credit is due the Supper Committee for managing so famously, during difficult circumstances.
The Supper Committee:
Mrs. Walter Brown
Mrs. George Devoe
Mrs. Ruth Mathey
At the resumption of the meeting, on motion of Mrs. Arthur Chivers, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, the following directors were unanimously elected :
For three years :
Mrs. S. Burton Heath
Mrs. John McAuliffe
Mrs. Max MullerFor two years :
Mrs. Arthur Chivers
Mrs. W. Hilton
Mrs. Gordon ScottFor one year :
Mrs. Henry Selden
Mrs. Walter Burrows
Mrs. George Devoe
At a directors meeting, immediately following the Guild meeting, the following officers were chosen :
Mrs. S. Burton Heath, President
Mrs. John McAuliffe, 1st Vice President
Mr. William Hilton, 2nd Vice President
Mrs. Arthur Chivers, Treasurer
Mrs. George Devoe, Corresponding Secretary
Mrs. Henry Selden, Recording Secretary
Mrs. John McAuliffe, of Newton Highlands was the evening speaker. In starting her address, she recommended that Mr. Clarence Brazer be made an honorary member of the Guild for life. This was put in the form of a motion by Mrs. Arthur Chivers. The motion was seconded by Mrs. George Devoe and was enthusiastically carried by the unanimous vote of all the members. Mrs. McAuliffe further stated that we owe Mr. Brazer a great deal of gratitude for the constant encouragement and assistance he had given Mrs. Brazer in carrying on her work. Mrs. McAuliffe called on all teachers to exert themselves to the utmost to sustain the high standards of the craft set for us by Mrs. Brazer. She spoke of the fine exhibits and of the difficulty encountered in the judging as the time had been so short. She read a letter from Mrs. Albert Holmes of Kingston, Mass. who had most regrettably been unable to attend the meeting. The name of Edith Holmes was familiar to all, as Mrs. Brazer had so often spoken of her with such great affection, in her classes. The letter was deeply touching and expressed most aptly what all members felt. An important part of Mrs. McAuliffe's further address was to exhort students to keep the piece they are decorating authentic, by gracing it with the proper design. Her speech was enthusiastically received by her audience.
Mrs. Max Muller then suggested to the Guild that a fund of forty-three dollars left over from a flower fund be donated to the Cancer Research fund in the name of Esther Brazer. This met with approval from the members and the fund was immediately raised to fifty-three dollars by further donations from Mrs. John McAuliffe and Mrs. George Devoe. Mrs. Muller spoke also of the need for a Bulletin or Journal and called for suggestions and ideas on the subject.
Mrs. Heath then closed the meeting, with thanks to all who had cooperated to make it a success, to the members of the Organization Committee, who had come long distances on several occasions to discuss plans and means of executing them, to all the other committee members, whose labors had made the proper functioning of the meeting possible, to Miss Natalie Burrows and Mrs. Donald McGlashan for hours of tedious typing and especially to Mr. Brazer, to whom we turned at all times for advice and whose patience with us was sincerely appreciated.
The meeting dispersed. All were loathe to leave, but went forth into a night of teeming rain and flooded roads to their homes, many of them to considerable distances, buoyed up with enthusiasm and fine hope for the future of the Guild.
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