Taking Stock

The recent issue of the P.E.O. Record features a nice piece of history where local Chapter Q contributed to the health of our community back in 1919 during the Spanish Influenza epidemic. International Chapter President Brenda Atchison used the history to point out the “bonds of sisterhood” that has endured to our current time of struggle.

P.E.O. International President Brenda J. Atchison recently mentioned The Dalles local Chapter Q in their July/August 2020 issue of the PEO Record. 

In Atchison’s message on page three she forded the topic of our current pandemic and grieved the loss of loved ones but then took a historical perspective  

But she also found a silver lining in The Dalles.  

She wrote the following:

“Nelle Stadelman, journalist for Chapter Q, The Dalles, Oregon, wrote The Record on May 8, 1919, “During the past winter we held only a few meetings owing to the fact that our town was twice closed on account of the terrible epidemic, Spanish influenza, which is now, we trust, a thing of the past. Our community suffered greatly, only a few families escaping. One of our members saw the need, in so many families where all were down, of hot nourishing broth, so she made and solicited all she could, and delivered it afternoons. Over three hundred quarts of broth thus found their way into homes, where nourishment was badly needed. All members of this chapter helped with this.”

Stadelman was the second founding member of Chapter Q in 1916. She passed away in 1977. Chapter Q remains an active group with a healthy membership. It continues to focus on the betterment of women through education.