I love old books and that includes old cookbooks. I inherited one such not too long ago and have been trying to gather information about its history. It's a lovely old cookbook with name attribution for every recipe and a list of members belonging to the club. It is titled Favorite Recipes compiled by The Five O'Clock Tea Club, Oklahoma City, 1935.

In the The Story of Oklahoma City Oklahoma Vol II, 1922 written by W. F. KERR and Ina GAINER, Page 536 we read: "Among the most exclusive clubs in Oklahoma City is the Five O'Clock Tea Club which was organized in the spring of 1906 in the home of Mrs. Oscar G. Lee, having for its purpose charitable work. The first thing of importance done by the club was the establishment of a day nursery for mothers who worked. Later the club built and furnished the children's ward of St. Anthony's Hospital in which it has endowed two beds. Members of the club are Mrs. Charles B. Ames, president; Mrs. Henry Overholser, vice-president; Mrs. Edward F. Davis, secretary; Mrs. Russell B. Halliburton, treasurer; Mrs. Richard A. Vose, Mrs. M. L. Turner, Mrs. William J. Pettee, Mrs. Floyd S. Lamb, Mrs. Charles Edward Johnson, Mrs. Thomas G. Chambers and Mrs. William Wallace Bierce."

An article was published in the May 8, 1910 edition of The Daily Oklahoman announcing that the Day Nursery mentioned above, was to open on May 18, 1910. Several charity balls were held to support the effort but unfortunately after just 2 1/2 years the society found it impractical to continue its day nursery for children of poor mothers. (See, Daily Oklahoman, Sunday Nov 17, 1912, Oklahoma City, Vol: 24 Issue: 153 Pg. 8) That is when the society turned its attention to equipping a ward of St. Anthony's Children's Hospital. Little snippets of information about Tea Club happenings can be found throughout newspapers quite often.

The founder of the club, Mrs. Oscar G. LEE was born Adelaide Marie HOWARD in New York to unknown parents. She was married December 18, 1896 to Oscar Grant LEE.  The little that is known about Adelaide was taken from her obituary published in The Daily Oklahoman on September 3, 1911.

"After an illness from typhoid fever covering a period of nine weeks, Mrs. Oscar Grant Lee of Oklahoma City died Saturday afternoon [Sep 2] at 1:30 o'clock in the Congress hotel of Chicago...Mrs. Lee was born in New York City, Christmas Day 1871. Her maiden name was Adelaide Marie Howard...She came to Shawnee, Okla., early in the year 1896 and was married to Mr. Lee December 18, 1896, in New York City...Mrs. Lee bore the distinction of being the first acknowledged leader of Oklahoma City society, a position of eminence she held to the day she left in June. The constantly changing personnel of Oklahoma City society within the past ten years might have made for social chaos with a woman of less social experience than Mrs. Lee, whose remarkable beauty, grace and compelling charm made her a center of interest and a majestic figure in any assembly. In addition to her social graces, Mrs. Lee possessed intellectual attainments of a high order and was one of the best informed and most widely read women in the city. 

In the year 1906 Mrs. Lee founded the most exclusive social organization in the city - the Five O'clock Tea club - of which she was the first president. Memberships to this club, which are limited to seventeen, are much sought after. From its beginning the club has given its entire time and efforts to charity...Her home, one of the most beautiful and artistic in the city, was the scene of many brilliant social gatherings and invitations to her affairs were eagerly sought for. Mrs. Lee limited her list to eighty, not from any desire to exclude, but from the conviction that she could not keep properly in touch with a greater number of friends, to whom she gave a devoted friendship. She was one of the first singers in the city, and many a social and musical events has been made the more interesting through the unselfish giving of her talent. 

Mrs. Lee's devotion to her husband and to his interests has been a frequent cause for remark among the acquaintances of both, and Mr. Lee often has been heard to say that he owned much of his great commercial success during the last ten years to her sound judgment and advice. He has been made a millionaire largely through her constant assistance to him..."





As club officers and members changed each year there were many who belonged to the Five O'Clock Tea Club at one time or another. These are the members for 1935: Mrs. Hugh JOHNSON; President, Mrs. Roy HOFFMAN, Vice-President; Mrs. Lea RIELY; Secretary, Mrs. George WOODWARD; Treasurer, Mrs. C. B. AMES, Mrs. W. A. BROOKS, Ms. Fred BULKLEYy, Mrs. W. S. BULKLEY, Mrs. Thomas G. CHAMBERS, Mrs. Edward F. DAVIS, Mrs. John H. FREDRICKSON, Mrs. R. H. GARDNER, Mrs. John J. HARDEN, Mrs. Charles HOOPES, Mrs. R. M. HOWARD, Mrs. Charles E. JOHNSON, Mrs. Frank JOHNSON, Mrs. George KERR, Mrs. Floyd LAMB, Mrs. Edith LUTZ, Mrs. William MEE, Mrs. Lewis MOORMAN, Mrs. W. J. PETTEE, Mrs. Henry OVERHOLSER, Mrs. Frederick OWEN, Mrs. Thomas OWEN, Mrs. Robert RAINEY, Mrs. D. A. RICHARDSON, Mrs. Millard H. RUSSELL, Mrs. George SOHLBERG, Mrs. E. K. THURMOND, Mrs. I.C. THURMOND, Mrs. R.A. VOSE, Mrs. Arthur WHITE.

If you've stumbled upon this blog post while doing a name search for your ancestor I would be happy to send you a free digital scan of the recipes they submitted for publishing in this book. Just click on the Author tab at the top of the page to contact me.