Burying various moments of club history

WINTERSVILLE -- Remembering those who came before, honoring those who will come after and paying tribute to those here today is of great importance to the members of the GFWC Wintersville Woman's Club.

Since becoming federated in 1934, the club has focused on one key element -- to serve as a nonprofit organization which enhances the lives of others through its volunteer services.

The contributions of its members are many. From its signature project which focuses on domestic violence, Awareness and Prevention, to the New Life K-9s, an organization that trains service dogs for veterans, the club continually attempts to assist all who are in need.

President Iris Craig, along with the 45 members of the club, decided to save these moments, passing them along to its future members.

She and past president and membership chair Mary Beth Allan joined Treasurer Karen Hill and scholarship Chair Claudia Dorich at Robert Kettlewell Memorial Stadium Thursday morning.

There, the four club representatives did their part to -- in the timeless words of Jim Croce -- "save time in a bottle."

A time capsule was buried on Indian Creek High School's campus next to the stadium entrance and will remain unearthed until the club removes it during its centennial milestone celebration in 2034.

"Our 100th anniversary will be in 2034 and we plan on having the time capsule dug up then," Craig stated.

She explained the time capsule's chamber contains mementos of the group's accomplishments.

"Enclosed are past newspaper articles and memorabilia from projects our club has done during the past 30 years," she added.

The ladies made sure to include the first invitation to its Holiday Splendor event. That event was held 23 years ago, according to Craig.

This is the group's largest fundraiser, and is held every December. The club will be celebrating its 23rd year Dec. 3.

The show features lunch, a style show, vendors, door prizes, a Chinese auction and 50-50 drawings.

She added there is a lot to get ready for the affair, in addition to the ongoing volunteer projects.

The time capsule encompasses the club's program book from 1938. There is a listing of past presidents, writeups of donations made to the Urban Mission and a writeup of the club member who became state president of the GFWC.

Allan stated her mother was a charter member of the club.

"I am very excited to be able to leave our legacy here for those to find after 100 years," Allan expressed. "I also want to thank the school for cooperating with us in doing this project here today," she added.

"I think this is a great project to promote the woman's club and to be able to keep this going after 100 years truly says something," Hill added.

Projects have included distributing scholarships, collecting food and sock donations for the Friendship Room in Steubenville, hosting a trunk-or-treat event at the School of Bright Promise, providing gift bags for A Caring Place, giving hygiene products to the ALIVE shelter, collecting money for the American Cancer Society and New Life K-9s and most recently, holding a food collection at Wintersville Methodist Church for local school pantries as part of its National Day of Service project.

Other contributions have been made to the Urban Mission, the Aspire Program at Eastern Gateway Community College and Wintersville Good Neighbors and have gone to help purchase supplies for area schools.

Committees of the club include arts and culture, civic engagement and outreach, education and libraries, environment and health and wellness.

The Wintersville Woman's Club meets on the third Thursday of the month.

New members are always welcome, Craig stated. The meetings take place at noon on the third Thursday of the month at St. Florian Event Center in Wintersville.

"I am so proud to be a member of the woman's club," Craig concluded. "And I am looking forward to us becoming bigger and better than ever before."