07/15/2026
💙🩵 Woman’s Club Wednesday 🩵💙
Organized Feburary 14th, 1895, we are honoring 131 years of service, leadership, and history-one story at a time.
Mrs. Paul Johnson was president from 1967-69, and busy years they were. A number of "firsts" were recorded. For the first time a newsletter, initiated by the Literature Department (with special thanks to Mrs. Robert Shedd and Mrs. Elmore Weir) was sent to every member several times a year. For the first time, a yearly $150 scholarship award for a high school art student was made possible from profits from the Art Fair. This accumulated for two years and was awarded in 1968 to Miss Debbi Skinner for summer study in Banff, Canada.
For the first time, a dinner dance was held (April, 1969) at the Valparaiso Country Club and proved so successful it will be repeated. Many helped, but special honors should go to Mrs. Charles Gromley. Classes in painting and ceramics were offered for the first time. For the first time members of the Valparaiso Woman's Club were serving on all five levels of Federation: Mrs. Paul Johnson, local president; Mrs. Robert Laughery, General Federation Fine Arts chairman and County President; Mrs. James Dean, Indiana State Federation Recording Secretary (later first vice-president); Mrs. Myrick Crampton, Tenth district second vice-president, and Mrs. Harry Deu, Porter County Treasurer. Pictures of this group were in both the State and National Federation magazines. The Tenth District Nurses' Scholarship of $300 was awarded to Miss Beverly Wright of Washington Township High School, one of three students entered by the Valparaiso Woman's Club. A second high school student, Scott Reed, was sent to the Students Affairs Tour to the United Nations and Washington D.C. Our scrapbook on beautification was assembled with the help of Mrs. Robert Laughery and won an award for achievement.
Mrs. James Dean has been unanimously endorsed by the Valparaiso Woman's Club for President of the State Federation for 1970. When elected she will be the first state President from Valparaiso since Mrs. O. P. Kinsey in 1906. Family Service, a newly organized agency in Porter County, was supported by the Valparaiso Woman's Club. A donation of $50 was given by the General Club and another $50 by individual charter members. Mrs. Paul Vietzke is president of this agency, and three club members are on the Board of Directors. A great deal of work was done on our club home, more than in any similar period in the history of the Woman's Club. This is detailed under "Sarah Porter Kinsey Memorial." But probably the greatest single event in this two-year period was the winning of the $500 Shell Aid to Education Award, the top award in the state. This was a big "first" and not too much credit can be given to the president, Mrs. Johnson, for her superb reporting. Lost by death in 1969 was Mrs. Robert Wise, past president and fifty-year member. Mrs. C. B. LaDine, Indiana Federation President, and Mrs. Parke Jessup, State Parliamentarian, were guests on Federation Day, 1969. Mrs. LaDine's enthusiastic talk about Federation was an inspiring close to the club year. In the spring of 1969, under the sponsorship of Mrs. Bert Farnum, the Junior Woman's Club was reorganized, and is well on its way to becoming a strong club again.
