Priscillas Club members, c 1910-1913Courtesy Deschutes County Historical Society

The group of young women in party frocks giggled, stifling their laughter as they gathered their coats from the cloak room. They quietly tiptoed down the stairway and slipped out the back door, thereby evading the young men who waited to escort them home.

It had become a custom during the regular Saturday dance at Lara’s Hall for the men to choose which woman to escort home. But not that night. If they came alone, they would go home alone.

The group, known as the Priscillas, hoped their message was a not so subtle hint. They were tired of waiting around, hoping to be chosen as if they were commodities. They wanted proper dates — to be escorted to and from the dance.

“They would show the men that pursuing a woman was not as easy as deer hunting,” said Marion Weist, a member of the group, years later.

The next week, there were notes of apology from the abashed gentlemen and invitations to the next dance.

The Priscillas had made their point.

From 1909 to 1913, this club of young women and their activities was a prominent part of early Bend’s social structure. Most of the Priscillas were teachers, but eventually the club included any respectable young woman in the rowdy wild-west town of early Bend.

The young women began to meet as early as 1909 but did not officially form their club with rules and regulations until 1911. One such rule was that men were not allowed to attend the meetings. The mere mention of a man would result in a fine. So while the ladies met weekly at a member’s home where they chatted, did needlework, played card games, and planned their future events, their events and parties were a source of entertainment and gossip.

Most sources agree that the club’s name was taken from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Puritan poem, “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” In the poem, a man named John Alden agrees to intercede for Miles Standish in asking Priscilla Mullins for her hand in marriage to Standish. Priscilla, preferring John, replied, “Speak for yourself.”

Thus set the standard for the independent-minded Priscillas.

Among the original Priscillas were the Markel sisters, Ann, Gertrude and Nell, who came from Illinois to homestead. Anne became one of the first teachers in Bend. Her sisters were stenographers and soon found jobs in town. The Vandevert sisters, Maude, Mittye and Grace, were from a prominent pioneer family of Bend.

Weist was the daughter of Levi Weist, who planned the canal system for Alexander Drake, a founder of Bend. Weist was also one of the first teachers. She was once reprimanded by her father, who was on the school board, for unladylike conduct when chasing one of her students down the street when he refused to stay for detention. Later, she discovered that her student couldn’t stay because if he didn’t get home in time for chores, his father would beat him. She learned quickly that country ways had to be respected and even so, a lady did not run down the street in full pursuit.

It wasn’t long before the Priscillas parties, trips, dances and eventual weddings were duly noted in The Bulletin’s social columns. Some of their parties were described as “high jinx” and “jollity galore.” Many of the Priscillas were talented musicians who played instruments or sang at many dances and recitals. At the dedication of the new Star Theatre in Bend, the group performed and brought down the house by wearing the little white caps and aprons indicative of that Puritan maid, Priscilla Mullins.

But not all of the Priscillas events were as prim as their name suggests because they were a high-spirited, educated and talented group of women. They camped, organized picnics in the forest. Most were experienced horse riders, and often traveled in horse-drawn hacks.

An article in the Bulletin tells of a 76-mile weekend horseback trail ride to Paulina Lake by Vandevert and the Markel sisters.

The Priscillas proved to be a rough and tumble team off the trails as well when the new sport of basketball became popular. Seven of the Priscillas, including Anne and Gertrude Markel, Angeline (Angie) Young and Arrie Black, formed the Bend Athletic Association.

The team was quite popular, and their games were well attended. Anne Markel suggested that the team’s success might have had something to do with the distraction of their scandalous bloomer suits and black stockings, and yet the team went on to win all their games in 1912. The team was so popular that upon returning home to Bend from a championship game with Prineville, “in a rattling good game of 12-9,” according to The Bulletin, the team was greeted by a brass band and a large, cheering crowd. And much to their delight, each member of the team was presented with a treat — a big box of chocolates.

Of course men were eventually invited to some of their meetings, and most importantly, they were included in the dinners, dances, picnics and horse rides. The Priscillas flourished, and like their namesake, they eventually did find their John Aldens to marry.

As a symbol of their camaraderie and friendship, the bride was presented with what became known as the Priscilla Spoons. Each member gifted a silver spoon to the bride, engraved with her initials. Nell Markel, who never married, was given a set of spoons anyway.

During their short reign in Bend, the Priscilla Club was a positive influence in the development of Bend. They taught, entertained, married and raised families in a town they helped to tame.