A Look Back:

This week we’ll continue our look back at a year in the life of the Huntington Beach Woman’s Club as it prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary Feb. 12.

With the Allies continuing their drive toward victory in Europe and the Pacific in 1944, the members of our Woman’s Club were helping at the home front by selling bonds subscriptions and keeping up the spirits of the ladies whose husbands and brothers were fighting at the front.

As the last days of August arrived and summer vacation was coming to a close for our students, the club’s new president, Johnnie Belshe, called a meeting in the clubhouse Aug. 29 for the club’s officers to plan for the 1944-45 club year.

Surrounded with tables decorated with ferns and beautiful begonia blossoms, courtesy of Hazel Hudson’s husband R.G. “Scotty”, the “Begonia King of Huntington Beach,” the ladies enjoyed a dessert luncheon before the start of the meeting.

Attending this meeting besides Belshe were Lillian Moore, Bonnie Hepburn, Louise Jenkins, Martha White, Jessie Todd, Mary McBride, Hudson, Floteal Gisler, Ethel Wheat, Volena Jones, Mona Nevins, Zadia Clegg, Florence Redford, Peggy Patterson, Ina Blossom, Fern Sayer, Elma Robidoux, Nancy Pann, Stella McIntosh and Ethel Catching.

Sayer reported the club had sold $14,000 in war bonds during the Fifth Loan drive and a new section, contract bridge, was added to the program for the coming year.

Fifteen new members were reported to have enrolled in the club for the coming year and would be attending the first regular meeting for 1944-45 inside of the clubhouse Sept. 19.

Shortly after the board meeting, Johnnie Belshe in a surprise move resigned as president of the Woman’s Club for health reasons and vice president Jones would assume the duties of president and Wheat would serve as vice president.

It was a great turnout for the first regular meeting as 69 members arrived at the clubhouse.

Responsible for decorating the clubhouse went to Louise Jenkins, Hudson and Margaret Hoxie.

New for this year was a table set aside for members whose birthdays were in the months of June, July, August and September.

All women were asked to donate a sum of money according to their respective ages that would go toward the club’s philanthropic programs.

Prior to Belshe’s resignation, the club had chosen for the theme for the 1944-45-club year of “Women Face Forward.”

Next on the program was Wheat who introduced the guest speaker, Edith Cloyes of Santa Ana, the drama chairwoman of the Women’s Clubs of Orange County.

Cloyes gave a stunning review of Moss Hart’s new play “Winged Victory” that told the story of America’s Air Force and the motion picture of the same name that starred Jeanne Crain, Edmond O’Brien, Judy Holliday, Lee J. Cobb and George Reeves, who would later go on television to portray Superman.

This movie was partly filmed at the old Santa Ana Air Base where our Orange County Fair is today.

The club’s executive board met at the clubhouse Oct. 3 to help plan for an antique hobby show at their next regular meeting.

It was decided that members bring to the meeting pieces of old china, glass, prints and antique clothing to share with the membership.

Jones called the Oct. 10 meeting to order as members sat around tables decorated with bright marigolds.

Five new members were introduced to the membership just prior to the introduction of the guest speaker of the month, Mrs. William Gibbs of the Mayflower Antique shop in Santa Ana.

Gibbs spoke on early glass and brought with her several examples in her collection including one piece that dated back to 1608.

Margaret Ridenour Ethel Wheat brought several pieces of early American glass from their collections to exhibit.

It was Oct. 31 that 18 members of the club gathered for a day of cards at the clubhouse to play contract bridge.

Lucile Brewster and Nellivee Moore served as hostesses at this card party and the clubhouse was decorated in a Halloween motif with large pumpkins placed around the room and black cats, witches and owls danced eerily across tally cards and napkins.

Between hands the membership enjoyed a light lunch of fruit salad, topped with whipped cream, wafers and coffee.

Prizes of defense stamps for the best scores went to Mrs. B.J. Frost, Mrs. F.H. Clark and Dorothea Benningsdorf.

A good turnout of members for their regular meeting at the clubhouse Nov. 14 despite the rain that was falling that day.

The meeting began with a flag salute and the singing of “God Bless America.”

This was followed with a luncheon hosted by Jessie Todd and her committee of Martha White, Gisler, Cleo Bollman and Jean Barrett.

During the business part of the meeting it was decided that at their Christmas party no exchange of gifts would be done, but each member would bring a gift for the elderly women in the county hospital.

Jessie Adams introduced the November guest speaker, Leslie Eames of Los Angeles, who explained the lives and customs of the Hopi and Navajo people of New Mexico.

Eames brought along color films showing the colorful costumes, the villages, missions, scenes inside their homes and the games they played.

She told members these people really needed clothing and it was decided the club would donate clothing.

Ridenour and Mrs. Goodman brought several Indian baskets for the members to see and it was also decided to hold a Christmas bazaar inside the Lake Park clubhouse and next week we’ll continue our look at that bazaar and the programs the members of the Huntington Beach Woman’s Club planned for the holidays.

JERRY PERSON is the city’s historian and a longtime Huntington Beach resident. If you have ideas for future columns, write him at P.O. Box 7182, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.