“The purpose of this club shall be to promote a spirit of Christian fellowship; serve the congregation and support the general welfare and ministries of The First Church in Windsor.”
We welcome you to our meetings. We enjoy your company. Bring along a new church member, or one who has not formed the second Tuesday habit.
Programs for 2012-2013
September 11: Astrid Hanzalek"The CT River—First National Highway"BYOS - Hostesses: Heather Renaud (688-5091) and Sue Keirstead (688-6548)
October 9: Helen Davenport"Tasha Tudor Collection"BYOS—Hostess: Polly Ellis (688-5949)
November 13: Ruth Budlong"Kenya Adventures”BYOS - Hostess: Ginny Lougee (688-9236)
December 11: Rev. Rick Huleatt"To Sri Lanka with Rev. Rick" POTLUCK - Hostess: Mary Ransom (688-3704)
January 8: Mary Phelan “The Many Hats of your Church Administrator” BYOS - Hostesses: Heather Renaud (688-5091) and Sue Keirstead (688-6548)
February 12: All MembersCherished Family Mementoes: bring some to share. BYOS—Helen Davenport (285-8694)
March 13: Jan Dagenhart“ Looking back at the 1980’s Quilt Show” BYOS - Hostess: Janet Graves 298-0784
April 10: April Michaud “Our Parish Caring Ministries” Potluck: The Executive Board hosts
May 8: Luncheon at a restaurant - To Be Announced
For pictures of the 100th anniversary of the First Church Women's Club, please see the Highlights section of this website. What follows is a description of this landmark event written by Women's Club member, Beth Horlitz.
On Tuesday, April 12th, more than 80 Women’s Club members and their guests gathered in Nelson Hall to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Women’s Club. Several of the women present are second generation club members. The mothers of Doris Butler (Eleanor Douglas), Elizabeth Parker (Ruth Bryant), Virginia Maher (Dorothy Snelgrove), Jean Young (Jane Nearing), Mary Ransom (Florence Ellsworth), Jay Davenport (Marie Nuttall), Betty Jourdan (Grace Whipple), and Lynne Gillette (Betty Farley), were active members of the club. It was at the home of Mrs. Edgar D. Clark, Donn Jourdan’s grandmother, that seven ladies met on April 24, 1911 to organize the Women’s Club. Jay Davenport has the distinction of being both the daughter of a club member and the mother of Helen Davenport-Senuta and Mary Phelan, her guests and future members of the club.
Polly Ellis, the president of the club, welcomed all. In her Blessing, Jan Dagenhart, asked us to keep in our memory the many good friends who have passed away or could not be with us because of illness or distance. We enjoyed a gala luncheon prepared by The Beanery and served by our club members. Dessert was a festive cake decorated with pink roses and inscribed with “First Church Women’s Club Celebrating 100 Years 1911 – 2011.” We thank Ada Martin for arranging for our delicious meal. We thank Dorothy McAllister for her lovely Spring flower tea cup arrangements that decorated each table.
Beth Horlitz prepared several display panels illustrating significant events in the history of the Women’s Club. Her resources were a 4 page document, written in 1950 by a Woman’s Club member, entitled, “The Woman’s Club, 40 Years of Service and Sociability,” a scrapbook covering the same time period and the Women’s Club annual reports written by the presidents from 1950 to this year. Each guest received a scroll with one of those annual reports written on it.
Also on each table were decorative copies of more than twenty years of club programs. The displays list the century of service of the Women’s Club to the church, Windsor, and the world community. Everyone enjoyed looking at the copies of newspaper reports of the 20th and 25th anniversary celebrations, programs for original plays and fashion shows and fairs, as well as photographs of the First Church 300th Anniversary Pageant and the 75th Women’s Club Anniversary Fashion Show and more recent photographs. So many of us participated in those events or remember our friends pictured on the displays.
Our program resumed after our luncheon with Mary Ransom reading highlights from the 1950 document and reminiscing about some of the notable women and events mentioned in it.
Mayor Donald Trinks then read to us a Proclamation from the town of Windsor honoring our 100th Anniversary which he presented to Polly Ellis.
Next, Beth Horlitz read from Anita Woodstock’s 1969 Annual Report. Anita was a dear friend to so many of us. As she read Anita’s expressions of gratitude to our friends of 42 years ago for their work for the club, the church and the world, she asked those present to raise our hands if we too had participated over the years by working on service projects, planning programs, putting on luncheons, fairs, fashion shows and more. We all could raise our hands to acknowledge our contributions, recognizing that we are all very much a part of the distinguished history of the First Church Women’s Club.
Beth made special mention of Mary Giffin, our much loved friend and former president, who presented the World Day of Prayer at our church the year she died. Jean Hotchkiss, a former president, who now lives in Vermont, wrote a heartfelt letter of congratulations to the Women’s Club and even sent us $100 for our 100th. We also thank her for the historical documents she sent us.
Jan Dagenhart spoke to us about the Costume Committee which she and Jean Hotchkiss chaired for many years. Christina Vida, a curator at the Windsor Historical Society, showed us two handmade dresses from the Costume Committee that Jan brought over from the historical society where much of the clothing is now preserved. Jay Davenport spoke to us about the history of the First Church Nursery School which was founded in 1956 by the Women’s Club. Jay was its longtime director. So many of us present were teachers or volunteers or sent our children and grandchildren to that fine nursery school. Even one of the nursery school graduates was with us. She is Mary Phelan, our church administrator, who we thank for her highly competent and always gracious help to the Women’s Club throughout the year and especially for this event. Jay also told us about the Couples Club. Elizabeth Parker told us about the Merry Wives who met in the evenings.
The program concluded with Sue Keirstead playing the piano while we all sang the Women’s Club 100th Anniversary song, composed by Bea MacLaughlin with additional lyrics by Mark Watkins. The women of the Women’s Club invite all the women of the church to join us at future meetings as we embark on our next century of service to the church and the world.
Organized April 24, 1911
The Women’s Club meets the second Tuesday of each month, September through May. The Executive Board meets at 11:00 a.m in the Morrell Room. Lunch and program begin at noon. A $2.00 donation is requested.