Elgin club celebrates 75 years of service

Starting a new club in the midst of the Depression of the 1930s might seem like a very unwise idea, but sometimes things turn out very differently from what we expect.

This was certainly the case for the Elgin Junior Woman's Club, a local service club begun 75 years ago, which has not only survived, but thrived to celebrate its diamond anniversary this spring.

Roll back the calendar to the early 1930s. The Elgin City Council was planning "drastic reductions" because of the economy, the school district was looking at reducing teacher salaries, and a poll of nearly 2000 Elginites said they favored an end to prohibition by a margin of 3 to 1.

Women wanting to join a club organization had their choice of various church groups, literary societies, and patriotic groups. There was also the long-standing Elgin Woman's Club - a group that decided to spin off a new club for younger women in the 1933.

According to historical research complied by club members Lynda DeGroot and Susan Meier in the 1980s, the first meeting of the new group occurred in September 1933 when the state director of the Illinois Federation of Woman's Clubs spoke to a group of about 50 young women at Sherman Hospital. Out of the gathering grew the Junior Auxiliary of the Elgin Woman's Club - a group that changed its name to the Elgin Jr. Woman's Club a few years later.

The fledgling club held various fundraisers in their first decade all of which befitted the hospital - an institution then managed by the Elgin Woman's Club. These included card parties, dress raffles, roller skating parties, and baby-sitting.

There was also a Christmas dance and a Baked Bean Ball - a party that only required an admission of 35 cents. Proceeds went toward an incubator, respirator, and outfitting a hospital room and nurse's room at the hospital.

During World War II members ran a defense bond raffle, collected metal for the war effort, made scrapbooks for the U.S.O. and baby blankets for the Red Cross. Later, the women amended its charter to "aid community projects of charitable nature in addition to Federation projects."

In addition to Sherman Hospital, some of the many recipients of the club's funds have included the Y.W.C.A. Camp Tu-Endie-Wei, the March of Dimes, the Larkin Center, Ecker Center and the Jayne Shover Center. Fund raisers were expanded to include bake sales and bazaars, carnivals, dances, rummage sales, and puppet shows.

As the club moved into the 1960s and 1970s, it continued with many of its fundraisers, while adding others. One of the more notable accomplishments during the time was its sponsorship of the LaSalle II - an authentic re-enactment of LaSalle's 1681-1682 journey from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico. The membership also began its Outstanding Young Woman of Elgin award to honor a community member who had made various contributions.

The list of other charities helped by the club goes on and on. The Salvation Army, United Way, Community Crisis Center, American Cancer Society, and many others. By its golden anniversary in 1983, club members estimated this total to be over $115,000. Since that time, they say have given away at least a quarter-million dollars more.

It hasn't been all work, though, say club members, who note that their motto, "Study, Work, and Play" has given them ample opportunity to socialize with their friends. There is also the opportunity to meet women from other woman's clubs who are part of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs, they add.

"The Elgin Junior Woman's Club was formed at a time during which there were few organizations that did what they did for the community," said longtime member Margaret Schmoldt, who was also president in the early 1950s. "The list of people who have benefited from their time and contributions is a very, very long one."