A LOOK BACK:

The Huntington Beach Woman’s Club prepares to celebrate its centennial anniversary Tuesday.

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 the clubhouse Sept. 19.

Shortly after the board meeting, 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.

Responsibilities for decorating the clubhouse went to 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 its 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 and 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.

There was 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.

The public is invited to attend Tuesday’s free event starting at noon de their clubhouse at 420 10th St.

Some 60 members attended the Christmas meeting Dec. 12, 1944, and as they arrived at the clubhouse they were greeted with beautiful decorations made possible by Clara Coupland and Jenkins.

They had arranged a large bowl of brilliant poinsettias at the center table, flanked by a reindeer, pine cones, miniature pine trees and glowing red candles that ran the entire length of the table.

The individual tables around the room were decorated with poinsettias, red candles and colorful pompons.

Following their holiday luncheon, Ridenour told the members the story of the birth of Christ and when she finished, Wheat introduced the guest speaker of the month, Enid Case from Bullocks department store, who spoke on the art of making holiday decorations, covering gift boxes and the proper method of wrapping and tying Christmas packages.

A special table was given over to members who celebrated their birthdays in December, and they were served a slice of cake and a rendition of the birthday song.

With a new year ahead, the membership’s Jan. 9, 1945, meeting was a little more special as they observed their 37th anniversary.

Some 90 members and guests packed the clubhouse to honor past presidents and the presidents of the Federated Women’s Clubs of Orange County.

For this meeting the tables were decorated with narcissus and sweet alyssum, glowing white tapers and much greenery. Pink and green baskets filled with cream candy were used as place cards on each individual table.

Jones opened the meeting while Wheat led the members in the salute to the flag.

That month’s program featured Florence Ackley, a former instructor of fine arts whose theme for the program was “Colorful Living.”

She illustrated this by using examples of colorful dresses, scarves, capes, hats, jewelry and art objects to show how color affects your health.

After the hour-long program, the girls from Martha Trafford’s art class at Huntington High presented colorful, handmade corsages to each of the honored guests.

At their February general meeting, a Valentine theme was carried throughout the clubhouse, with small bowls of peach blossoms, sweet peas and ferns placed on lacy red and white valentines on each of the table.

Three new members were added, Eve Druxman, Myrtle Hermann and Frances McKelvey, to bring the total membership to 118 paid members.

Wheat conducted this meeting and as part of the club’s patriotic duties during the month of February, two members acted as hostesses on each Sunday night at the USO, passing out cookies, coffee and sandwiches to our boys in service.

Local Laguna Beach artists lent several of their paintings to the club for an art exhibit the woman’s club was sponsoring.

You must remember that during the war, many items were scarce and at this time our residents needed an “A” coupon 14 to purchase four gallons of gasoline to travel in their car.

So it was a sacrifice for those members who came a long distance to attend these meetings.

The guest speaker for the month was Wesley Havermale, the rector of the Episcopal church of Santa Ana, who gave a program about digging up buried Bible cities.

Havermale brought along several items to illustrate those that were taken from tombs, including a small oil lamp that dated back to 1500 B.C., an early perfume bottle, chalice and a tear bottle.

Wheat thanked the hostess chairwoman Stefinia Wuerer, and her assistants, Della Harpster, Cora McGuire, Mary Jurkovich, Dorothy Pickering and Mrs. Walter McCleneghan, for all their work in helping with the luncheon.

Lillian Moore was elected president of the club during the April 10 meeting amid a beautifully decorated clubhouse that included a bower of yellow iris donated by Pinkley’s Flower Shop at 215 Main St.

Members were asked to bring good used clothing to the meeting to contribute to the United Nation’s clothing drive, and it was reported by Florence Tunis that the members did their part and brought a fine collection of clothing for the people of war-torn Europe.

World traveler Imogene Warder, the guest speaker for April, spoke on “Travels Through Europe” and displayed several interesting souvenirs she had collected prior to World War II.

During their final meeting of the club year of 1944-1945, May 8, Lillian Moore was installed as president of the club.

Individual tables were decorated with white and pink watsonias in ivory-colored pottery bowls and glowing white tapers in glass holders, all thanks to Jenkins and her committee.

The meeting opened with the salute to the flag, singing of “Holy, Holy” and a prayer read by Volena Jones. President Moore named her chairwomen for the coming year including two new sections, Bible and child welfare.

Grace Scott and her hostess committee of Florence Tunis, Pearl Jones, Julia Hart and Grace Brose were thanked for serving the delicious luncheon.

We have seen in the past weeks some of the activities and programs that the members of the Huntington Beach Woman’s Club have done.

It is their legacy that has been passed down to today’s members to continue to carry on the mission of helping make Huntington Beach a better place to live.

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.