United in a quest for knowledge, a group of women meets monthly in Richland to focus on “intelligent inquiry” as a means of personal growth.

Called The Questers of Tri-Cities, the group has been going strong for nearly 60 years.

Each monthly meeting on a Tuesday afternoon includes up to three presentations from members, many of whom are retired, on topics they were assigned the previous year. The group believes personal growth and enhanced knowledge contribute to self-fulfillment.

“Your real purpose is to motivate somebody to want to go find out more and to learn more about a topic yourself,” said Questers Emeritus Member Emily Gabel.

This quest begins with a single presentation by a fellow member of up to 20 minutes. Topics are assigned and align with a monthly central theme.

A recent meeting focused on dance and topics assigned to members included Irish step dancing and clogging, indigenous dances of North America, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

They recently tackled the subject of the human eye, with presentations covering innovations in eye care, the eye as an art symbol, and achievements of the visually impaired.

“It’s all about the inspiration to go find out more,” Gabel said. “That’s why we don’t have a discussion afterward. Because you might have questions, but you’re supposed to go find them so you enhance whatever was presented.”

Most members present once yearly, with meetings held September through May. Membership is capped at 30, and since club officers don’t present during their term, this results in a goal of 27 presentations given in a single year.

Presenters can use the internet, books, articles and interviews as resources for their topic. The idea is simply to educate members on “this engaging, multi-faceted world we live in.”

“I have to say I have learned a whole bunch of things that I never knew about,” said Jen Kennedy, who gave the presentation on Irish dance, a topic that took her about two weeks to research and refine. As a previous member of the board, Kennedy got to choose her topic for the year.

“I am like 100% Irish so I said I should do the one on Irish dance,” she said.

Meetings, which last about 90 minutes, provide a brief opportunity to socialize after each presentation.

“No one quizzes you, which is like the best thing. Mostly everybody says, ‘Hey, nice job,’ and that part feels good,” said Kennedy, who didn’t know her mom was briefly a Quester before she died in 1995. Another member pointed this out at Kennedy’s first meeting. Her mother’s name is memorialized in the Questers yearly handbook.

Despite widespread access to the power of an encyclopedia through their phones and computers, groups like this continue to meet. The Questers is modeled after the Women’s Study Club, founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut, in 1894, that’s still active today.

The original group also meets in a library, like the Questers do. The club was called to order for the first time with a gavel made of wood from the old Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Attire was “Sunday best,” when hats and gloves were commonplace.

The idea of a Richland club was championed by a woman whose husband was affiliated with the Hanford site. Historical records have been a priority of the club since the start – a hard copy of every presentation is filed away, and members are working to digitize these.

Current Questers President Geri Fleming said she was encouraged to join in 2020 by another member who has since passed away. “She said, ‘You have a loud voice,’” Fleming laughed.

As one of the newer members, Fleming recalled her first topic was on the wife of the artist who created the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota.

“I had to research because most of it was almost hidden. I have a newspaper account subscription so I could read all these old newspaper articles about her,” she said.

That’s part of the uniqueness of the Questers – they try to share the little-known facts of a well-known topic.

“The papers are so diverse,” Kennedy said. “A lot of people know a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt, but they might not know about her compatriots.”

Kennedy fondly recalled one of Fleming’s presentations on the history of medicine.

“I came away going, ‘Oh my God, I never want to be sick again.’ So, you learn a lot.”

There’s a rotating hostess for each meeting, responsible for bringing the podium and regalia, and there are social events held a couple times a year.

The group once had a waiting list but is now soliciting additional members as others revert to emeritus status, granted after 30 years of membership or at age 80.

These members still attend but no longer present and pay reduced dues, which for members is still $20 annually.

This May, members will receive an envelope with their assigned topic for the upcoming year. They have no say in the subject.

“I did a topic on bicycling,” Fleming said. “I was like, ‘Bicycling?’ The Tour de France, the history of that – it was crazy, people cheating and villagers out throwing stones at riders who they didn’t like. It was so interesting. So, that’s why I like coming.”

Gabel also enjoys being an active member. She was first invited by a friend and remembers the time nuclear scientist Enrico Fermi spoke in town. She said she appreciates the opportunity to engage in a bygone practice.

“It’s always nice to be able to go hear good lectures; they don’t exist like they used to,” she said.

But the Questers are keeping the tradition alive in Richland.

To inquire about joining the Questers of Tri-Cities, contact Fleming via email at [email protected].