A history from 1906 to 1956
It was July 21, 1906, a warm day but not nearly warm enough to wilt the enthusiasm of eighteen women assembled to organize a woman’s club. These charter members elected Annette Beal as our first President and chose “Vineland Friday Afternoon Club” as our organization’s name. Our constitution read, “The object of this society shall be the promotion of social courtesies, the discussion of general interest and the aiding of all projects that will be for the improvement of Vineland”.
By 1908 the village of Vineland had changed its name to Baldwin Park and we officially became the Baldwin Park Woman’s Club. In hopes of a club home of our own, a building fund was started and very, very slowly accumulated funds to that cause – dues at that time were .25 cents a year.
By 1912, we had 21 members, a gift of property and with the building fund, along with a loan, work on the clubhouse began. Many men of the community donated labor and after the building was completed it became not only a club home but a social center for the little town. We even bought a piano for the clubhouse.
In 1915 we FEDERATED and became enthusiastic supporters of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs International. On the night of May 1, 1917, our clubhouse was completely destroyed by fire. Only the piano survived and we still have it today.
By this time, our community was involved in the First World War. We sewed, knitted socks and sweaters, tied comforters and sent boxes to the enlisted boys from Baldwin Park which began our service and commitment to active military and Veterans. We adopted a French orphan girl; putting $300 into Liberty Bonds and $50 into Thrift Stamps. When the war ended we were again anxious to establish our own quarters and by using every means at our disposal, we built a new clubhouse that stands today. We dedicated this new clubhouse on November 1, 1922.
Our commitment to the families in our community was strong and two of our members secured signatures in order to petition the County Board of Education to establish a kindergarten, beginning our life long priority of supporting students and education. We provided a milk fund and purchased blankets for rest periods.
During the Depression, our members assisted in distributing food and dry goods as well as providing added help to needy citizens. Our twenty fifth anniversary went by with only a token recognition given by the silver coin on our Yearbook. In April of 1944, we burned our clubhouse mortgage to ashes and after twenty two years, the clubhouse was ours. We had gone through recovery from one war, a depression, a bank failure and into another war. During World War II, we gave our basement to be used as a casualty station. We participated in all the activities of a country at war; air raid wardens, ambulance corps, first aid squad, rationing board, Red Cross work and Bond sales.
Because we’re the first social organization in Baldwin Park, so too we were the first to offer a scholarship. A $100 dollar scholarship was awarded to a female student at Baldwin Park High School to further her musical education. It would take many pages to describe our philanthropic projects during our first fifty years so we will quote the “Heritage of Baldwin Park” by Aileen Pinheiro. She stated “the members of the Woman’s Club did not just play bridge – their goal is to constantly serve the community of Baldwin Park”. This was done as proud members of the General Federation of Woman’s Club International and the California Federation of Woman’s Clubs.
A history from 1906 to 1956 as interpreted by
– Lillian Mower
A history from the 1950’s and 1960’s
In the 1950’s education for both young and old continued to be of primary interest and that single $100 dollar scholarship had grown too many scholarships, totaling in excess of $1,000 annually. Funds for the scholarship are achieved with our annual Scholarship Dinner and our two day Holiday Bazaar. In 1953 we made a contribution to the Woman’s Club in Manila to help rebuild their clubhouse which was destroyed in war. We also donated toward the restoration of Independence Hall earning us a place on its list of donors.
In 1956 our Golden Anniversary was celebrated; hostesses for the day wore period clothes of the era. Over 150 guests attended including the city’s Mayor, along with civic leaders, spiritual leaders and heads of other community organizations.
The Garden Section which began in 1928 was still going strong and we emphasize conservation, beautification and the environment. The club has donated trees to city parks and schools; a bi-centennial garden of red-white and blue flowers, planted in a local park and we planted California poppies along the freeways.
The Literature Section which started in 1936 continues to foster creative writing and lend assistance to the local library. In 1960 we won a $500 award presented by America Savings and Loan of Whittier under their “Strengthen America” project. Our winning project was the beautification of the Pacific Electric right – of – way. Thirty groups participated and under the supervision of the Head Horticulturist of the Los Angeles County Arboretum, volunteers planted iris plants, trees and bushes. An evening of sport and fun was provided by the ‘Harlem Clowns’. Five hundred dollars from the event went to the beautification program.
In 1962, members of the Past Presidents Section chose a philanthropic project for non-delinquent children from McLaren Hall. Monies donated were used for field trips and recreational activities. In 1966, the newly formed Teen Post held regular meetings in our clubhouse basement.
In 1966, we had a “Clubhouse Renovation Project” which included new sidewalks, painting inside and out, new landscaping, new wiring and a new front and back door. For the gerontology project, we presented programs for residents at the Eldercare Home.
A history from the 1950’s and 1960’s as interpreted by
– Suzanne Perez
A history from the 1970’s and 1980’s
In the 1970’s we brought the “Reading is Fundamental” program to the local schools and we distributed free books to children in elementary grades. Friends of the Library, sponsored by the Baldwin Park Woman’s Clubs, raised funds to purchase Spanish language books, reference volumes and assisted with the library summer reading programs.
At this time the Velvetones were organized by a group of women in the club and they were kept busy entertaining at many functions.
At our request, the bougainvillea became the official flower of Baldwin Park and two of our members helped to plant the first ones at City Hall.
As a club, we worked many hours on the “Meals on Wheels” and the “Anti-Graffiti Campaign”. In February of 1974, someone broke into our clubhouse and started a fire; damages suffered cost in excess of $23, 000, but we were not going to let that stop us.
While work was being done on the clubhouse, we met at the Morgan Park Recreational Center. In October of 1974 we once again opened our clubhouse for activities and programs.
In 1981, we celebrated our seventy fifth anniversary with the theme of “Old Times and Odd Times”. Many old-time residents came to celebrate with us and share their memories. During the Christmas season, we made and filled 170 stockings to give to the Children’s Center.
We had two auctions and the money raised was given to the WINGS Shelter for battered women. We also had a progressive luncheon event to raise money to help needy children around the world. We had raffles so we could donate to CARE and for the purchase of children’s books. This was done in conjunction with the GFWC’s “Save the Children” project.
At a Chamber of Commerce banquet a brand new award was announced and we received the inaugural award. It was called the ”Hall of Fame Awards” and was given to the Baldwin Park Woman’s Club for their many accomplishments which have brought recognition to the city of Baldwin Park.
A history from the 1970’s and 1980’s as interpreted by
– Diana Asmundson
A history from the 1980’s and 1990’s
In the early 80’s our club donated and planted a white alder tree in our new park the “Walnut Creek Nature Park” in honor of Arbor Day. At the opening ceremonies of a time capsule by the Chamber of Commerce, we provided music and led the singing of patriotic songs which included music we composed for the song, “Baldwin Park to Thee We Praise”, we also put club items into the capsule to be buried and opened in fifty years.
The Night Section was busy making masks for the upcoming Baldwin Park Days Parade in which we entered a float. Eighty five members attended the annual Day at the Races fundraiser with proceeds benefitting our Police Department’s canine maintenance program.
We added to our scholarship giving a new category in creative writing which included poetry and short stories by high school students. At two meetings our state president spoke about “Habitat for Humanity” and it was all we could to join in to help a needy family achieve the American Dream of owning a new home.
We added a Professional Network to our Sections with members meeting monthly over breakfast. Many fundraisers took place at the clubhouse so we could fulfill our community and Federation donations. In March 1994, the city’s Department of Public Works installed a plaque recognizing our club for service to the ”Adopt a Tree” program during the remodeling of Morgan Park. The plaque is displayed in the picnic area behind the Amphitheatre.
Another tragedy struck our club house in December of 1988; a windstorm blew our Deodar tree down on our kitchen area. We had to have it repaired and also the kitchen.
The International Affairs Department sponsored “Operation Smile” teas with the proceeds going to Interplast; a company which works on disfigured or badly burned children and adults.
A history from the 1980’s and 1990’s as interpreted by
– Charlyn
A history from the 1990’s to the Centennial in 2006
In 1996, The Baldwin Park Chamber, hosted by the Baldwin Park Woman’s Club presented the ‘State of the City’ address given by our Mayor. Breakfast was served and the music was provided by the BPUSD High School Orchestra.
The CFWC of the SGV dedicated 15 bells to be placed throughout the valley marking the Historic Mission Trail. This was held at the San Gabriel Mission. Our club provided the music and sang the San Gabriel Valley song. Presentations of the bells to the city were accepted by the San Gabriel mayor. The ringing of the bells concluded the ceremony.
Five major projects from the club were pooled together so we could give the Boys and Girls Club at the Community Center a donation of $1,500. We were honored with the ‘Golden Donor Wall of Fame Award’ which is displayed at the entrance to the Community Center. In 1998 the club established the ‘Lift Fund’ and the ‘Mural Fund’. We purchased large print books and donated them to the Baldwin Park Library, the value was $720.
The club was involved with the General Federation of Woman’s Club project “Library 2000” and were mentioned in the GFWC Publication for supporting the project for five years. In July of 2001, the construction of our lift was completed. This has been very useful for our club members who have difficulty walking up the stairs and in general making our public building ADA compliant for all functions hosted by our club and the District meetings held here.
The Night Section supported the “Operation Smile Dolls” campaign. We added to our scholarships the Sallye Seay Scholarship named after a club member who was also a teacher in our city. In 2003 we had 103 members in our club. The Night Section was active, planning trips for members in the summer months. We went to the PAC Center and saw the play ‘Personals’ and went to dinner at Joey’s BBQ in Pomona; we also went to ‘Medieval Times’ in Buena Park with 26 members attending that excursion.
One of our fundraisers, ‘Spud – Bunco‘ is so well attended that we host 4 a year through our Night Section. In 2004 we had a beautiful mural painted on our building of our club flower, the iris. It welcomes all and gives our clubhouse a unique look. Looking forward to our club’s centennial celebration in 2006, we organized a ‘Centennial Committee’ to work on our event to celebrate our 100 years of service to the Baldwin Park community.
In 2006, ‘Hurricane Katrina’ wreaked havoc in the gulf coast and we gave approx. $1,300 for victim relief. This was a Federation project. At the Spring Council in 2006 three of our students received Music Scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each. We were honored to see so many of our talented students awarded. While we prepare for our 100 Year Celebration, our daily commitment to the community and to the Federation enthusiastically continues.
A history from the 1990’s to the Centennial in 2006 as interpreted by
– Cheryl Woodward
Baldwin Park Woman’s Club… A history of the first 100 Years of Service to the community of Baldwin Park as interpreted by club members through our books, notes, reports and historic documents.
Our Club was established in 1906, Federated in 1915, reaching the milestone of 100 years in 2006.
Baldwin Park Woman's Club 