By Darla McCammon

Many different things spring to mind right away with a title like “The Saturday Evening Girls.”

From 1899 to 1969 this organization, sometimes called a “club”, came upon the scene. It began when a young woman named Edith Guerrier took a letter of introduction penned by her uncle, William Garrison, in order to apply for  job. She hoped to work at the North Bennet Street Industrial School as a staff member in the day nursery. She met with Helen Sorrow, the school’s founder, who had some connections with Guerrier’s family. Sorrow, rather than putting the young girl in the nursery job, gave her a position of maintaining the school’s reading room, which was a part of the Boston Public Library. Guerrier was creative in developing a story hour that became extremely popular with the young women at the school. In 1901, this nucleus became the Saturday Evening Girls’ Club. The name became familiar to everyone when it was shortened to “The S.E.G.”

Initially the purpose of the club was to provide education and knowledge of polite society manners. This was to help young women of the North End working class who came out of poor tenement neighborhoods where the child mortality rate was extremely high. This charity and others were supposed to help these girls to improve their abilities to rise out of their poor backgrounds to keep them away from unsavory establishments that could lead to their ruin.

As the club expanded and added things like educational lectures, Guerrier and Sorrow published a newspaper and began to teach the girls in the program to produce the now famous Paul Revere pottery.

The art of creating and painting designs on pottery was begun in 1908 when Guerrier and Edith Brown, assisted financially with Sorrow, created a small pottery in the cellar of their home in Massachusetts. It quickly became successful and was moved to the library clubhouse lower level. They named it Paul Revere Pottery because they were located close to the Old North Church, the place known through history as the signal from Revere when the British were coming. The pottery was one of the most successful ventures of the S.E.G. in finding the ladies decent jobs and great working conditions. This pottery became recognized as beautiful and collectible. It is still treasured today.

Upcoming and Current Events:

• The Warsaw City Hall Gallery will have works by Steve Creighton on display through Dec. 27.
• On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Lakeland Artisan Holiday Show will take place at the Center Lake Pavilion from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• The Lakeland Art Association winner awards reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 17. Please also visit the gallery during their “Christmas in the Gallery” sale through Dec. 21 for unique gifts.
• At 10 a.m. Dec. 13, there will be a drawing to win one of Steve Creighton’s paintings. Enter now until Dec. 13 at Warsaw City Hall.