A fashionable celebration

Mathis Winkler

It was 1960. Florine Roper, the wife of a retired Newport Beach

doctor, had grown tired of making friends on cruises and tours, only to

return home and lose contact.

Her desire for a meeting venue with her new friends prompted Roper,

then 59, to organize the Thursday Morning Club.

Roper, who died in 1998 at age 97, achieved her goal with the club,

which celebrated its 40th anniversary Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club.

“It gives women, many of whom would be shut out and isolated, an

opportunity to get out, meet people and make new friends,” said Judy

Button, 62, who joined the club three years ago.

A part-time saleswoman and independent beauty consultant, the Costa

Mesa resident said she found time to get involved only after retiring

five years ago as a sales representative for an electronics company.

“I never had time to get together with women and bond,” Button said,

adding that she hopes to get more active in the club’s golfing and

walking activities.

A monthly luncheon is still the club’s main activity, but it also

offers travel groups, bridge clubs and community service activities.

The club is beginning to show its age, however. Some activities, such

as a stitchery group called the Knit Wits, apparently deter younger women

from joining.

“It’s a problem we’re still thinking about,” said Elenora House, 72,

who joined the club after she retired in 1987 as an elementary school

teacher in Santa Ana. “We definitely have to do something or we’ll go out

of existence.”

Over the years, the group has shrunk from 600 members to about half

that size.

A 103-year-old member died in August and the youngest club members

have reached retirement age, Button said, adding that she hopes the club

will still be around when her daughter reaches her age.

“Right now, she’s raising children and works,” Button said. “I hope

she’ll have an outlet like this because once the children are gone, where

do you have left to go?”

Decorating the Balboa Bay Club’s Grand Ballroom with “40 Years of

Magnificence” balloons and banners, women spent Thursday morning getting

ready for a luncheon and fashion show to celebrate the milestone. About

100 members attended.

“I hope I see something I want to buy, that’s what I’m hoping” said

Lucille Hitz, a 24-year member of the club.

Asked her age, the retired school teacher didn’t hesitate with a quick

reply.

“No, I won’t tell you that,” said Hitz, who taught in Beverly Hills

schools for 37 years. “When you’re retired, you don’t tell how old you

are.”

Dortha Lamb, who organized the fashion show and modeled some fall

outfits, was more candid about her age.

“I’ll be 80 this Halloween,” she said, smiling.

FYI

For information on the Thursday Morning Club, call (714) 546-2244.