THE INCEPTION OF THE LOIS CLUBS
Over a business lunch in 1979 Lois Weston and Lois Millner conceived the idea of getting together with other women named Lois. Lois Tate, a member of the first Lois Club in St. Paul, Minnesota tells the story:
“Weston invited all the Loises she knew from her insurance business and Millner invited the ones she knew from a class she taught called: Everything You Wanted to Know About Housekeeping, But Were Afraid to Ask. I had taken one of her classes, so I was on her list. There were six of us at the first luncheon May 1, 1979. In addition to Weston, Millner and me, Loises Arnsdorff, Loftis and London attended.”
“Thanks to Weston we were written up in the St. Paul newspaper. Millner saw to it that we were on a local television show where she was a guest every other week giving tips on shortcuts in housekeeping.”
 “We met at Lois Bohon's home once a month, but some of Loises were too busy to make the meetings. So, we decided to meet on the fifth Tuesday of the month, which happens only four or five times each year. We ruled out having officers, committees and dues. There would also be no business solicitations or political statements. As the group grew, we met at various restaurants before settling on the Lexington, an old established restaurant in St. Paul.”
Over the years the Minnesota Twin City Chapter grew to one hundred and eighty members. They proudly call themselves “The Mother Club”, after chapters sprouted up in about half the States, Canada, and several countries like Ireland, New Zealand, England and Norway.
Today, both founders of the Lois Club are gone. Lois Weston moved to Nemo, South Dakota, and Lois Milner died on February 2, 1995. She was the one who coined a slogan: I never met a Lois I didn't like.
A HISTORY OF THE LOIS CLUBS IN WISCONSIN
After reading a newspaper article about the Lois Club in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Lois Campbell and Lois Cramton-Margwarth staged their first Lois Club meeting in Milwaukee in January 1991 with eighteen Loises attending. Eight of those Charter members are still active. From that date on Lois Clubs sprouted up in Wisconsin cities like Green Bay, Kenosha, and Fond du Lac. Women from Chicago and as far away as Michigan City, Indiana, attended Lois luncheons in Milwaukee. Today, Milwaukee alone has over one hundred and fifty Loises on their roster. With the help of a starter kit prepared by Lois Campbell chapters have organized in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Florida, Connecticut, Phoenix and Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Using their newsletter, the Milwaukee club corresponds with eleven out-of-state Lois Clubs.
 They traditionally meet for lunch on the 5th Tuesday of the month with approximately seventy-five to eighty Loises attending. Recently, the club decided to have an occasional program. The Dancing Grannies was their first. One of their members, Lois Breitlow, dances in the group. At the Milwaukee luncheons a scrapbook is displayed with photos of past events like the Dancing Grannies, the Loises Hat Fashion Show and local celebrity speakers.
“Although we tried to avoid dues, to cover the cost of our newsletter and luncheon brochure we instituted a five dollar ($5.00) annual fee,” said Lois Campbell. “To make our newsletters more personal we share a profile of one of our members in each issue, an idea we appropriated from Lois Rightor in Columbus, Ohio.”
“Throughout the year we have merchandise for sale, items like tote bags, sun visors, pens and notepaper with the Lois Club logo. Some of these items are displayed with order forms at our luncheon meetings. We also publish a directory of our members with their photos and a brief profile.”
“We appreciate the legacy of the Lois Clubs initiated by Lois Weston and Lois Millner in St. Paul. On May 1, 1979 five Loises met there for lunch. Stimulated by a little newspaper publicity, that was the birth of the Lois Clubs. Lois Milner died in 1995, but she established a slogan for the Minnesota Twin City Chapter that describes the groups: I never met a Lois I didn't like.”
 
WHEN DID THE NAME LOIS
PEAK IN POPULARITY?
LOIS means desirable, kitchen helper and long lived.
In the Bible, Timothy's grandmother was named Lois.
Lois Wilson was Shirley Temple's mother in Bright Eyes.
Lois January starred in many westerns in the mid nineteen thirties
Lois Delander from Joliet, IL was the 1927 Miss America
Art Linkletter's wife is a Lois as was Candice Bergren's dog
Lois is the mother in TV's Malcolm in the Middle
Hi and Lois is a newspaper comic feature
Lois Lane—even Superman loves Lois
More information can be found at www.classicimages.com/1996/april/loisjanuary
and www.hollywood.com.celebs/bio
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