After graduation, Doré spent a couple of years participating in organizations in Kernersville alongside her mother Polly Alice. In 1911, she left for her Grand Tour of Europe and the Middle East. She became a travel correspondent for the Winston-Salem Twin-City Sentinel and continued to write about her travels once she returned to the United States. Her articles were popular in the community. Writing for a newspaper was incredibly rare for a woman of her time. She was empowered by her experiences writing at Salem College.
Organizing Ambition: The Role of Women and Community during the Gilded Age
During the Victorian and Progressive Eras in America, it was most common for men and women to be separated into social “spheres” of influence. Men were in charge of political and economic affairs, and women took care of domestic activities within the home and their children. However, by the mid-1800s, women began forming social, intellectual, and civic groups to help make positive changes on their communities, particularly for those who were sick, widowed, orphaned, or infirm. Although American women were not allowed to participate in politics until the 1920s, they organized into groups that focused on various issues which directly effected themselves or the regions they lived. Even without political power, women were still able to shape the public world through community works.
As active hostesses and “pillars of community involvement,” Polly Alice Körner and her daughter, Doré, were involved in many civic and social organizations, which empowered them to lead in their own ways and help effect change in the Kernersville community. Using their interesting home, Körner’s Folly, for local gatherings, Polly Alice founded several organizations herself and met regularly with fellow members of the Woman’s Club of Kernersville, the Kernersville Embroidery Club, the Kernersville Moravian Church What-So-Ever Circle, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Needlework Guild of America.
Polly Alice at her writing desk in her bedroom at Körner’s Folly.
Speaking about his mother in his diary, Gilmer wrote, “Mama’s activities, Kernersville Orchestra in 1894, Juvenile Lyceum in 1896, What-So-Ever Circle at the Moravian Church in 1896, Needle Work Guild of America in 1902, Audubon Society in 1903, D.A.R., Woman’s Club Federation District President for 25 years, kept regular books for the Red Cross, War Bond Drives, Genealogical Work from 1904 to [her] death.”
Polly Alice and Doré Körner were involved in a countless number of clubs and charitable causes in Kernersville and beyond. Here are a few of the many groups they actively engaged with, many of which are still organized today.
Woman’s Embroidery Club of Kernersville
“Service is the record one makes for the space they occupy in the world.”
– The Woman’s Club of Winston-Salem Annual Meeting Program, 1922
Polly Alice was a founding member of the Woman’s Embroidery Club of Kernersville, which was organized on February 20, 1901. The club joined the North Carolina State Federation of Women’s Clubs in July of 1904. Polly Alice held many leadership roles. She served as president for many years, and often served as a delegate for the Kernersville club, representing the group at state meetings. In 1913, she was elected to the Finance Committee for the State Federation. The Woman’s Embroidery Club of Kernersville worked to promote art and needlework, and also extended hospitality to people visiting the town.
Even though much of the work the Embroidery Club did was for social purposes, they were also engaged in charity work to benefit those in need within their community. Oftentimes, the club hosted parties as fundraisers for various causes, many of which were held in Körner’s Folly. Some of their activism included raising money for orphaned children, collecting clothing and materials for the homeless, as well as building a library for a local school.
Additionally, the club often participated in Red Cross Seal Campaigns to raise money for activities and charities sponsored by the Red Cross.
“Do you remember how hard Mama used to work to sell those Red Cross seals before Christmas? They were a new thing then – but how hard she worked.” – Excerpt from a letter from Gilmer to Doré.
Red Cross Seal Campaigns
Motivated by the devastating effects of the Civil War on the American people and inspired by humanitarian movements organized in Europe at the time, Clara Barton created the American Red Cross in 1881 with the permission and support of the federal government. She was one of the first women to work in the federal government, having worked at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington D.C., and had a long history of working with wounded and missing soldiers and their families during the War Between States.
After receiving a congressional charter in 1900, the Red Cross is still tasked to this day with providing services to members of the American armed forces and their families as well as providing disaster relief in the United States and around the world.
Prior to the invention of antibiotics, tuberculosis killed many people every year. In Denmark in 1904, people began to sell stamps, and the proceeds went towards helping people with tuberculosis. In 1907, a woman involved in the American Red Cross named Emily Bissell came up with the first Red Cross Christmas Seal. The American Red Cross launched an annual, nation-wide campaign to sell the decorative seals, which were used to close envelopes. The stamps had a different design every year, and all proceeds went to helping tuberculosis patients.
In 1914, the Kernersville Woman’s Embroidery Club became involved in the Red Cross Seal Campaign. Along with selling seals, the club also donated money and clothes to the Red Cross. In 1917, the club donated $50, and they also sewed clothes for soldiers during World War I.
The 1914 Red Cross Christmas Seal. Polly Alice sold seals that looked like this!
The 1917 Red Cross Christmas Seal, which Polly Alice may have sold. The seals were used on the back of envelopes.
Needlework Guild of America
Nationally, the Needlework Guild of America was founded in 1896 by Laura Stafford Stewart. While this group met for social occasions, they also worked to improve the lives of those in need. Women sewed new clothes to give to the homeless or less fortunate, as well as for causes such as the war effort during World War I.
The Kernersville branch formed in 1902, and both Polly Alice and Doré were involved. Many meetings of the Needlework Guild were hosting at Körner’s Folly. Some of the charitable activities the club was responsible for included donating clothes to other civic organizations for their drives, including orphanages, as well as raising money.
To the left is a May 1919 Needlecraft Magazine that Polly Alice owned. To the right is the Spring 2023 edition of Piecework Magazine. Needlecraft Magazine no longer exists, but other magazines still help people improve their sewing skills. See how much the design of magazine covers have changed!
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 by Mary Desha, Mary Lockwood, Ellen Walworth, and Eugenia Washington. These four women wanted to celebrate patriotism in the United States and help protect American history from being lost. However, during this period, many patriotic organizations excluded women and only allowed men.
Throughout the years, the D.A.R. has continued “the simple mission of promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism.” In October of 1906, Polly Alice joined the Daughters of the American Revolution.
A meeting of delegates from nation D.A.R. representatives in Washington D.C. in 1908.
Audubon Society
“Never give up listening to the sounds of birds.” – John James Audubon, distinguished naturalist and painter.
American women were not only concerned about the people in their community, but also the wildlife within those regions. For many men, bird hunting was a popular pastime of the Victorian period. To help protect the beautiful birds which populated different regions, The Audubon Society was established nationally in 1896. Their main objective was to protect birds from extinction, but also protect the regions the birds lived in and migrated to. The North Carolina Audubon Society was formed in 1902, and Polly Alice became involved in 1903.
The Audubon Society also helped end the tradition of “side hunts,” where people would hunt birds on Christmas for sport. Instead, they started the Christmas bird count, where people count the number of bird species they see. Polly Alice could have been involved in this effort, and may have donated money to the Audubon Society.
The efforts of the Audubon Society led to the establishment of the first National Wildlife Refuge at Pelican Island in Florida. Their main goal was to protect water birds from hunting practices. Through their activism, the federal government eventually began their own forms of protections including in 1918, when President Wilson signed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which continues to protect birds today.
Doré’s College Years
Doré graduated from Salem College in 1908, a time when it was incredibly rare for women to have the opportunity for higher education. During her time at Salem College, she was involved in many clubs and organizations. These experiences empowered her to travel Europe and remain involved in her community throughout her life. Here are a few of the many organizations she was involved in.
Editor-in-Chief
In 1908, Doré was the Editor-in-Chief of Sights and Insights, the Yearbook for Salem College. Along with editing, she drew most of the artwork inside the yearbook, and she wrote poetry under the pen name “Rantha Rink” as an homage to her father Jule, who went by “Reuben Rink” in his professional life.
Doré wrote using a pseudonym “Rantha Rink” for some of her published works.
Senior image drawn by A. Doré for her class yearbook.
Hesperian Literary Society
Doré was the president of the Hesperian Literary Society, which worked together with the Euterpean Literary Society to publish The Ivy three times during the school year. The Ivy was a magazine that included news about the college, including sororities, advertisements for local businesses, and short stories and poems written by students. Doré drew for the February 1907 and February 1908 editions. In the February 1908 edition, she wrote a piece titled: “The Passing of the Century (memoirs of a wee girl)”. She discusses watching the turn of the century on New Years in 1900.
Doré was a sister of the Beta Chapter of Alpha Delta Phi at Salem College. This Sorority was founded by six students in 1851 at Wesleyan Female College, and was originally called the Adelphean Society. In 1905, the name changed to Alpha Delta Phi. In 1913, the name changed again to Alpha Delta Pi, as the Sorority is known today.
A sketch Doré drew in 1908, around the time she graduated Salem College. She often signed her artwork A. Doré.
A sketch Doré drew of herself in her cap and robe
Graduation
When Doré graduated, she was chosen to give a speech at commencement where she gifted the Class of 1908’s memorial to the College. She titled the speech “Our Memorial.”
“Today, Monday, Doré’s class presented their class memorial to the college and Doré made the presentation. I know it will be good because everything that Doré does is excellent. She can speak, write, sketch, play piano, act in dramatics. There seems to be no end to her various talents.” – Doré’s brother, Gilmer in his diary entry on May 31, 1908.
Doré’s Senior Class page in the Salem College Yearbook. An accomplished student, she was a part of many organizations.
Once she returned, Doré continued to be a socialite, artist, and writer. She spoke to various groups about her travels. Doré was involved in the Joseph Kerner chapter of the D.A.R. and the Kernersville Woman’s Embroidery Club. In 1914, a few years after graduating from Salem College, Doré followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a member of the D.A.R. That same year, she served as a page during the twenty-third continental congress, an annual meeting in Washington D.C. that brings members from all over the country together. During the week-long meeting, women discuss D.A.R. business, meet in committees, and socialize. Doré was involved in the Joseph Kerner Chapter, and received recognition for 50 years of involvement in 1964.
In 1916, she married Lan Donnell and moved to Oak Ridge, where she became involved in the Oak Ridge community while still continuing with several clubs and organizations in Kernersville.
Polly Alice and Doré were leaders in their communities during a time when women did not have as many freedoms as today. Together they, as well as thousands of women from other regions, left their legacies of kindness and willingness to help others in their community and beyond.
For more information about the organizations included in this exhibit, visit these links:
Kernersville Woman’s Club: https://kernersvillecommunityhouse.com/kernersville-womans-club/
Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/about-us.html
Needlework Guild of America (now called the National Giving Alliance): https://www.nga-inc.org
Audubon Society: https://www.audubon.org
Daughters of the American Revolution: https://www.dar.org
Salem College: https://www.salem.edu/about