16mo (ca. 17,2x10,3 cm or 6 ¾ x 4 in). 180 pp., mostly filled. Original black cloth with gilt-lettered title “Record” on the front cover. Binding slightly worn, occasional light soiling and ink marks to the interior block, four pages neatly repaired with a tape, but otherwise a very good notebook written in a legible hand.

Historically interesting pocket-size manuscript record of St. Joseph's Ladies Bowling Club in San Antonio, Texas, mostly documenting the sporting life of wealthy German-American women at the height of the Great Depression.

St. Joseph’s Bowling Club was organized in San Antonio on April 3, 1919, and remained active through the late 1930s. The club served as a direct social and marital extension of St. Joseph’s Society, San Antonio’s most influential German immigrant institution. Because membership was strictly limited to women in the Young Ladies Sodality, the St. Elizabeth Society (the female counterpart to St. Joseph’s Society), or the daughters of active members, the bowling league's roster directly mirrored the parish's elite male leadership. The bowlers were mostly the wives, daughters, and sisters of the wealthy German-Texan merchants, civic leaders, and "sturdy pioneers" who ran St. Joseph's Society. The club's meetings convened every four months at St. Joseph’s Hall (314 East Commerce St.), while competitive bowling matches took place every Thursday. The league was run with strict financial discipline: losing players paid 5 cents each, while unexcused absences drew a 10-cent fine. Additionally, the four-monthly meetings featured a highly anticipated "prize bowl" funded by a mandatory 25-cent monthly contribution from every member.

The notebook contains the minutes of the quarterly meetings held from December 29, 1930, to July 29, 1938. The records were kept and written by the elected league secretaries, whose entries were frequently co-signed by the league presidents for official approval. Minutes prior to April 1934 were recorded by Mabel D. Rieg (ca. 1899–1973), the wife of Charles Rieg (ca. 1883–1975), a German immigrant who served as vice president of St. Joseph’s Society and owned the Perfection Novelty Co. By 1940, Mabel had relocated to Austin, where she was divorced and serving as the Hospitality Chairman for the Becker PTA. Later entries in the ledger were primarily penned and signed by Mrs. Lucille F. Mainz (ca. 1904–1992), née Zizik, the wife of third-generation German immigrant Otto E. Mainz (ca. 1901-1995). Alongside Lucille’s role as a charter member of the St. Elizabeth’s Society, she was an active member of the Altar Society, the Martha Society of St. John Evangelist, and the Garden Club in Hondo, Texas.

The notebook outlines club rules, member lists, meeting proceedings, dues, and foul line regulations, alongside records of income, expenses, scores, new memberships, and resignations. Among the strictest regulations mentioned is a zero-tolerance policy for gossip; anyone caught discussing or talebearing club matters outside of meetings faced potential expulsion. Especially interesting are the ways the club adapted to the "hard times" of the Great Depression. According to the notebook, the club implemented several resourceful cost-saving measures, which included reducing weekly prize prices, negotiating a lower bowling alley fee of $2.00, and ultimately deciding to stop inviting husbands to events after concluding it was "cheaper to our club to leave husbands at home." In other parts, the notebook details the social and operational fabric of the club. It includes party menus (beef, tamales, and R.C. Cola), complete member rosters (among those identified are Mrs. Fuessel, Mrs. Gallis, Mrs. Nitsch, Mrs. Striech, etc.), regulation lists, schedules for weekly prize bowling, sign-up lists for bringing those prizes, and duty rosters for watching the foul line.

Overall, historically interesting manuscript record of a ladies bowling league club in San Antonio, Texas, at the height of the Great Depression.