By Kara Linaburg
The Shinnston Woman’s Club, which was established over 100 years ago, continues to be a valuable asset to the community.
The Woman’s Club celebrated a century serving the community last year and was honored for the milestone at a Dec. 12 City Council meeting.
The club began on Aug. 22, 1922, with 44 charter members. Their projects over these years have included contributing to the Red Cross, giving scholarships to high school students, donating items to the VA Medical Center, providing books for schools, and much more.
Wanda Ashcraft, historian for the club, and past president at various times, said that the club has been a huge part of her life these last 60 some years. From the friendships formed there, to birthday parties in the past that were held for her children at the clubhouse, to the bean dinners hosted each year, the club has continued to give her many fond memories. During her tenure as president in 1980-1982, Ashcraft stressed family unity, and her theme was, “Lay hold on enduring things.”
She said that Woman’s Club has “provided a lot of support to a lot of causes,” but one of the assets it has provided for the community is the work they have put into the Lowe Public Library at 40 Bridge St. “It’s just a fixture in Shinnston,” she says.
Co-president of the Woman’s Club, Debra Herndon, would agree. “It’s hard for me to think of the history of the Shinnston Woman’s Club without thinking of how the ladies of the club affected my life,” she said. “In the mid-60s, as an elementary school student, I found the most wonderful place – the library that the Woman’s Club organized.”
She went on to say, “I was a voracious reader and would check out my limit most visits. Eventually, through junior high and high school, I volunteered at the library and worked with these ladies. They gave me a lot of good advice, and I developed many friendships with women who had been my Sunday school teachers, teachers and friends of my parents. Because of the experience, I minored in Library Science and spent seven years as Shinnston’s librarian – this time with many volunteer helpers from the membership of the Woman’s Club.”
Another project the Woman’s Club focuses on each year is sending a girl to Girls State. In 1972, Herdon was one of those girls. “The week at Girls State was dedicated to learning about leadership, service and government. That training would come in handy some 20 years later when I became the city clerk and began a career with the city that lasted for two more decades, ending with nine years as the city manager.”
The clubhouse, originally the Columbia Theatre, was purchased in 1958 for $2,000, and a ceremony was held in 1962 to celebrate paying off the building. Since then, it has undergone multiple renovations and facelifts, one of the latest being in 2020 with the help of the community and Jewel City’s youth group. The clubhouse has continued to serve the citizens as a meeting hall and community center, and the women hope this carries on for many years to come.
The club’s theme for this year is, “Beginning our second century of service,” and the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson placed at the front of their yearbook for 2022-2023, sums up who they are and the work they continue to do, the best: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find beauty in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here. This is to have succeeded.”
For those interested in the Woman’s Club, they can be reached at 304-669-3504. They are always looking for members that want to serve their community.
