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Warwick Ladies Club Celebrates 100 Years of Fun, Fellowship and Service
Warwick Ladies Club Celebrates 100 Years of Fun, Fellowship and Service
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Warwick Ladies Club presented a High Tea Party for their Centennial Celebration at Warwick Hall on October 23.
There were around 65 people in attendance. The current club members hosted this event and they said they wanted an afternoon tea to accommodate a diverse group of ladies to reminisce and celebrate a wonderful organization.
Viola Braun Fox emceed this celebration. She joined the club in 1974 and said she would always be grateful for the invitation Jean Hughston gave her to join.
President Tracy Giffin said, “I am truly humbled and honoured to be up here today. Being a member of this group has been very rewarding. There is a bunch of fun, wisdom and respect that each of these ladies bring to the table at each of our gatherings.”
Jean Hughston who is the longest standing member noted that the original founders of the club were: Ada Hughston Dunn, Margaret Bosse, Teresa McKenzie, Vera Hughston and Ethel Pugh.
In 1922 there were 10-15 members and in 2022, and today there are between 20-25 members.
When asked why she believes the club is still going strong, she replied, “We are all still dedicated to help raise money to donate to local charities. In early days, our ladies needed social interaction because they were isolated on the farm. Today, life is so busy no one has time to visit and this club encourages one to slow down Celebrating 100 Years - CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 and it brings members of the community together.
Changes over the years were the fees started at 25 cents a year for membership and now the fee is $20 a year per member. Our meetings were in the afternoon and now the meetings are in the evenings and we take turns hosting the meetings. We made flannel pyjamas and flannel quilts to donate to hospital where we bought the yard for 25-30 cents a yard. We made quilts to raffle to donate the money to charity and we worked at the hospital canteen selling bars and sweets to the sick patients. Now, we have hot dog sales to raise money to donate to local charities. We now have craft nights and have dinners out. We had an annual picnic and we still host an annual picnic.”
Tina Warawa presented greetings on behalf of Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs. Warawa presented a scroll on behalf of the Government of Canada and Shannon Stubbs, and an official Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee pin.
Viola Braun-Fox brought greetings on behalf of Fort Saskatchewan- Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong- Homeniuk and past members of Warwick Ladies Club.
County of Minburn Div. 7 Councillor Kevin Bentley said he wanted to congratulate the ladies on their 100th Anniversary and thank them for all the work they do to help their community be strong. He then presented them with a plaque to mark this special occasion.
Olga Jamison spoke about the curtain history. “We have been unable to pinpoint the date the canvases were painted and put up. However, we do know they aren’t a hundred-years-old. They were painted sometime after 1936. The roll down front canvas displays advertisements from 28 different local merchants with a central European style painting of a garden scene. When they were first painted by N.P. Boychuk they were a source of pride in the thriving community of Warwick.”
Vice-President Vicky Chilibecki closed by saying their resilient club continues to exist despite all the changes in the world. “A true accomplishment we are celebrating. I guess our club is like the tea cups on the tables, we are all unique and different yet we are somehow cohesive.”
There was also a short humourous skit written by Jean Hughston and performed by members of the club. It was titled: ‘A Typical Warwick Ladies Club Meeting.’