The Women’s Christian Temperance Union supported many causes for the betterment of the lives of women in the decades before and after 1900. The Medford, Ore., chapter of the WCTU always campaigned for the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, but became especially active in the run up to the 1912 election that gave women the right to vote in Oregon.
In mid-August, the WCTU held an ice cream social in the park next to the new Carnegie Library in Medford. Despite bad weather, the WCTU earned both supporters and money.
The park featured electric lights, still a novelty for many people. The Pacific Motor Supply Co. wired the park and strung the lights and the Rogue River Electric Co. supplied the power. The park sparkled as the twilight deepened.
Others who contributed to the social’s success were the Medford Mail Tribune and ladies who brought homemade cakes. Ice cream was the culinary delight.
The Weinhard Brewery donated ice for the event, sponsored by the organization that brought Prohibition to Oregon in 1915.
Source: "W.C.T.U. Thanks Local Brewery." Medford Sun, 17 Aug. 1912, p. 1.
