When Melanie (Lutz) Adam of Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa became a member of her local chapter of the Royal Neighbors of America as a newlywed in 1906,¹ she could not have known how much her role as a Neighbor, as members called themselves, would define her adult life.

Founded in 1888 as a social organization, the Royal Neighbors of America incorporated as a fraternal benefit society in 1895 and became known as one of the nation’s first insurers of women.² Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Royal Neighbors of America developed a disaster aid program,³ and perhaps it was hearing about these worthy efforts that encouraged twenty-two year old Melanie to join later that year.

Melanie (Lutz) Adam, in hat with dark sash seated center left, on a local outing with the Royal Neighbors of America, Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa, 1916; digital image 2010, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2017.

Melanie was first a member of the Evening Star Camp before transferring to Sioux City’s Twilight Camp #6674.⁴ In 1922, she began her first term as oracle (leader) of the Twilight Camp, a position she held for nine years, and in 1925 began work as a field representative.⁵ She traveled frequently throughout northwestern Iowa as a life insurance agent, which provided a welcome source of income—particularly when her husband was unable to find steady work as a carpenter and after his death in 1944.⁶ Melanie retired as District Deputy in 1959, having served a total of fifty-three years with the Royal Neighbors of America.⁷ Upon the occasion of her retirement, she was honored with a speech, special guests, and the presentation of a scrapbook, “This is Your Life,” assembled by her colleagues.⁸

Melanie (Lutz) Adam at Royal Neighbors of America retirement, Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa, 1959; digital image 2017, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2017.

From her earliest years with the organization, Melanie found a strong circle of female friends among her fellow Neighbors, and photographs showcase countless gatherings, both formal and informal. Called “Mala” by those closest to her,⁹ notes in her retirement scrapbook call up a number of lighthearted memories within the organization as well as glowing praise for her work:

“You are to be congratulated […] for having accomplished, in good measure, what every person who does much thinking so very much wants: That is, to be remembered for something good they have done. Could you ask for more than – At the end of a cold, snowy day of driving in Monona County, as you drove home late and tired, to know that it had been you who had guided and influenced a young family in the start of a plan that has materially helped to educate their fine children? […] And perhaps that same cold day you had been responsible for the protection that later was the means of keeping together in the home a young mother with her children; because you had urged the young father that night to protect his family with Royal Neighbor insurance.

“We could look into many homes in Sioux City and the counties around, where you find Neighbors to bless you for the little extra you urged them to save. This little, now added to their Social Security, makes the difference between a bare existence and many of the good things of life.

“Perhaps many remember the good times at meetings and conventions and Royal Neighbor trips together. All that has been enjoyable and a happy way of life. And when you can add to it the sure knowledge that you can be remembered in so many places for something truly good, that you have done, you can say with certainty that yours has been a most worthwhile life as a Royal Neighbor Deputy.”¹⁰ 

The Royal Neighbors of America remains an organization with a rich tradition, and in addition to the scrapbook received upon her retirement, Melanie tucked away a number of other mementos of her time with the organization. One, a book, Rituals for Local Camps, details the many ceremonial aspects of the organization and also notes the tenets of faith, endurance, courage, modesty, and unselfishness upheld by its members.¹¹ As a champion for women and children, the Royals Neighbors of America was known also for their support of the suffragette movement, and Melanie may well have taken part in local efforts to secure the right of women to vote.¹²

Although enrollment has dwindled in Sioux City, the Royal Neighbors of America remains active nationwide today, a fact that would certainly have pleased Melanie who had a profound appreciation for the friendships, leadership experience, and career opportunities she enjoyed during more than half a century as a Neighbor.

Copyright © 2017 Melanie Frick. All Rights Reserved.

SOURCES

¹ Unknown, “This is Your Life,” biography, 1959; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2017.
² “How We Are Different,” Royal Neighbors of America (https://www.royalneighbors.org/how-we-are-different : accessed 15 September 2017).
³ “How We Are Different,” Royal Neighbors of America.
⁴ Unknown, “This is Your Life,” biography, 1959.
⁵ Unknown, “This is Your Life,” biography, 1959.
⁶ 1940 U.S. census, Woodbury County, Iowa, population schedule, Sioux City, enumeration district (ED) 97-66, sheet 4-A, p. 7201 (penned), dwelling 2002, family 69, Melanie Adams [sic]; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 November 2013), citing National Archives microfilm publication T627, roll 4481, and Los Angeles County, California, death certificate no. 2744, “Henry J. Adams,” 28 March 1944. According to the 1940 U.S. census, Melanie was employed for fifty-two weeks in the year 1939, earning an income of $1100, whereas her husband, a seasonal worker, was employed for only twenty-six weeks, earning an income of $624.
⁷ Unknown, “This is Your Life,” biography, 1959.
⁸ “This is Your Life” Royal Neighbors of America Scrapbook of Melanie (Lutz) Adam, 1959; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2017.
⁹ “Mala” was pronounced with a long A.
¹⁰ Nelle Sexton, “This is Your Life,” speech, 1959; privately held by Melanie Frick, 2017.
¹¹ Royal Neighbors of America, Ritual for Local Camps (Rock Island, Illinois: Royal Neighbor Press, 1904), 32; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 15 September 2017).
¹² “How We Are Different,” Royal Neighbors of America.