On Sunday, February 20, 2022, Librarian and Historian Kathy Seidel presented the story of a particularly interesting library artifact, the long-lived club that it describes, and an unexpected special character. The program was live-streamed on the AHS Facebook page with a question and answer session following the presentation.
The Ten Dons was a social and literary club in Albuquerque that was founded in 1904 with ten members. The club continued until the mid-1960s, with only ten men as members at any one time. The stated purpose of the club was “to provide opportunity for social recreation and mutual mental development.” Club meetings were traditionally held at the home of a member. At each meeting a sumptuous dinner was provided by the host, and another member would present a scholarly lecture. This presentation will look at the founding members of the club, the club’s prominence in the city, the lectures, and the food!
Kathy Seidel is a graduate of the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, where she specialized in Children’s Services. Kathy then worked as a school librarian at the John-F-Kennedy Schule, a bi-lingual and bi-cultural school in Berlin, Germany. After seven years in Berlin, she moved back stateside and took a position as an academic librarian at Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana. Her work with student researchers was particularly rewarding for her. When she moved to Albuquerque, Kathy was delighted to continue working with researchers by serving as the Branch Manager at the Albuquerque and Bernallilo County Special Collections Library. Recently retired, she is pleased to have joined the Board of the Albuquerque Historical Society and to maintain her connections in local history and research.
You must be logged in to post a comment.