The college president’s wife, Ada Cantwell (pictured), is credited for organizing women faculty members and the wives of faculty members in 1915 to promote sociability with female students on campus in a group called the Lahoma Club. Through the years, the club has sponsored several scholarships, funded other organizations including hobby and interest groups, provided assistance to the university’s first ladies, and offered meetings on practical topics for better living. In its early days, junior or senior female students in need could also apply for a loan from the group. Mrs. Carl Gundersen was the club’s first president.
Also pictured are five of the charter members of the 1915 Lahoma Club who attended a golden anniversary celebration on campus in 1965 and posed with then President Mrs. Wilson Bentley (center, back row). The original members include, front row (from left), Mrs. M.J. Otey, Mrs. M.A. Beeson, and Mrs. D.C. Mooring, back row, Mrs. R.O. Whitenton and Mrs. E.C. Gallagher.