Junior League of Denver 100th Anniversary

If you’ve lived in Colorado for any length of time, chances are you own a copy of the Colorado Cache Cookbook or one of the other cookbooks issued by the Junior League of Denver.  But what exactly is the League?  The JLD is a women’s volunteer and charitable organization that was founded in Denver in 1918.  (The first Junior League was in New York, founded in 1901).  During the JLD’s earliest days the organization’s charitable endeavors included a children’s tuberculosis hospital; the provision of food and clothing for the needy; a traveling children’s theater; and volunteer efforts related to WWI.  Over the years, they added many more charitable contributions to this list, along with fundraising through their many social events and, of course, their famous cookbooks.

Check out the Colorado Historical Society’s book Junior League of Denver: Leaders in Community Service from our library to learn the history of the JLD and their many projects over the last century.

The Junior League Follies, shown here in 1926, was a major fundraiser for the JLD in the 1920s.  The Follies was a musical revue performed by members and their families. Photo courtesy Denver Public Library Western History & Genealogy Department.