Gown in Town dining club papers

Gown in Town is a faculty dining club founded in 1914. Originally the membership consisted only of men and was limited to 33. In later years the membership was enlarged and the 1990 roster lists 51 active members. A membership committee was in charge of replacing members in the club. In 1954, its name was changed to the Beowulf Group and later the Beowulf Committee. The original members of the newly named committee were Huntington Brown (chairman), Orville Dahl and J.B. Wolf.

Meetings were originally held at 510 Groveland, a Minneapolis residential hotel, until 1979. At that time management changed and the club moved its meetings to the AAUW Club at 2115 Stevens Avenue, Minneapolis. In 1992 the location changed once again to the St. Paul College Club at 990 Summit Avenue, St. Paul.

A secretary, who is appointed on a biannual basis, is given the responsibility of organizing the monthly meetings, arranging speakers, who are members of the club, to present a topic at each meeting. Additionally, the secretary is responsible for the financial affairs of the club.

In 1939 the club celebrated its silver anniversary, in 1964 its golden anniversary and in 1989 its diamond anniversary. At the 60th anniversary celebration in 1974, ladies were invited for the first time in the club's history. In 1979, the issue of admitting women as members was discussed, and in April 1980, Jeanne Lupton became the first woman member of Gown in Town.