The St. Petersburg Woman's Club, organized in 1913, has championed a number of civic causes, "but people are still spitting on the sidewalks."
By SCOTT TAYLOR HARTZELL
Published December 10, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - In 1913, 14 women organized to fight poverty, treasure music and demand bakery cleanliness.
Minutes of the first meeting of the St. Petersburg Woman's Club read: "The object is to instruct and entertain . . . and shall meet every Thursday afternoon at three o'clock at the First Baptist Church."
The Woman's Club subsequently became the first state club to support the World War I relief effort. They championed civic responsibility and helped form the local Red Cross and YWCA. The group later acquired land and built a clubhouse. Today, the SPWC is nearly 200 members strong.
"We've been a very caring group of women that has worked hard to improve the lives of working people," said Fay Baynard, club president from 1992 to 1994.
Said current club president Joanne Walker: "The group is an umbrella of every cause in the community."
On Feb. 7, 1913, at the First Baptist Church, Illinois native Nancy Green called the first SPWC meeting to order. The club continued meeting at various churches, focusing on immigration, child labor and spitting on the sidewalk. Bible study was a constant, and ministers' wives were exempt from the $1 annual dues.
In 1915, the Woman's Club was honored for its World War I Belgian relief work. By 1919, the women had helped foster the local Red Cross and YWCA.
Baynard wrote of that time: "Women gained the right to vote in 1920, but people are still spitting on the sidewalks."
In 1922, the Woman's Club's 400 members established a clubhouse building fund - which amassed $11,000 by 1928. That year, developer C. Perry Snell offered the club property at 40 Snell Isle Blvd. NE. Members balked over the land's inaccessibility, then accepted.
"I was much pleased to make the gift of the two lots," Snell said. "I know, as many others do, that the Woman's Club is one of the city's strongest and most important organizations."
On Nov. 4, 1929, members dedicated their $30,490 clubhouse designed by Frank F. Jonsberg, also architect for the Princess Martha and Jungle hotels. Speakers, including Mayor Judge Arthur Thompson, stood amid an array of yellow chrysanthemums.
Members praised Snell and sang The Star Spangled Banner. "An occasion of importance to prominent club women from all over the state," the St. Petersburg Times wrote.
Within a year, the Mediterranean-style clubhouse was in disarray. "The kitchen was largely unequipped, the grounds were in a chaotic condition," then president Mildred Blake wrote. "There were no bylaws to govern . . . no plans established for maintaining the property."
By 1932, furnishings were acquired, the organization improved. The Garden Club had beautified the grounds, and the Woman's Club had inspired the building of the Snell Isle Bridge. Then came the Depression, and membership in 1933 plummeted to 81.
"Two bank crashes came, and we lost about $800 in the first one," Blake, the president from 1930 to 1932, wrote.
On April 18, 1940, the Woman's Club burned the mortgage on the clubhouse. One month later, a blaze in an unfinished room above the kitchen forced members to repair and remodel their structure.
The club supported the war effort in the 1940s and supplied Wildwood Park with playground equipment. In the 1950s, membership soared to 788. "There were so many members they were seated in the balcony," said Bernice McCune, 87, club president from 1967 to 1968.
After financially supporting Radio Free Europe in 1960, the Woman's Club earned a plaque from the state federation of women's clubs as its most prolific fundraiser.
In 1989, the clubhouse became a local historical site. "(Council's) vote was unanimous," said Vera Brantley, club president from 1988 to 1990. "It enhanced the prestige of the organization."
Named a state landmark in 1993, the clubhouse a year later was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. "There is something special about having such a historical building as a clubhouse," said Walker, 54.
More recently, the members have made 1,000 pillows for hospice and collected and donated toys to Sallie House. Members are currently collecting new socks for charities.
"Each member has a good heart, serves the community and makes friends," Walker said.
