There were several competing emotions in the air Monday inside the meeting room of the Main Branch of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

Anticipation, certainly, was present. Representatives of several community organizations and nonprofits were among those who had gathered to collect their portion of $155,000 that was about to be distributed.

It’s money that will be put to great use around the community, and as anyone who is involved with a nonprofit will tell you, every dollar can make a big difference in helping them to do their work.

That’s why, in addition to happiness, there was a sadness that came from knowing that as the cash disbursement was completed, a longtime part of the community, the Steubenville Woman’s Club, would be shut down.

“This is an occasion of mixed emotions for many of us,” explained Marge Bedortha. “It’s actually the end of an era. As we announce the dissolution of our club, it brings an end to 126 years of service to the community. That service has touched people of all ages, and people from all walks of life.”

Bedortha was a member of the club for 48 years, becoming a life member. There’s only one other living person who holds that status — Eleanor Weiss, a past president who now lives in the Columbus area.

Chronicling the club’s history was important to Bedortha, a former employee at the Herald-Star. Among her many contributions was a one-act play she wrote and directed — “The Legacy Lives On”– to commemorate the club’s 90th anniversary in November 1989. The performance depicted the founding of the club on Jan. 14, 1899. Among the 18 club members who were involved with the production and who helped tell the story was Weiss, who portrayed Mrs. W.B. Donaldson, the club’s first president.

In addition to helping chronicle a slice of the city’s history, the play was an award-winner — it would receive top honors as the best program in the Ohio state federation’s competition.

There were 12 women who were founding members, Bedortha remembered.

“That was 20 years before women could vote,” she explained. “These women wanted to have voice in their community.”

Membership would surpass 300 during the 1950s, and at one time the club was the largest in the state. For a while, the club owned its own building — which sat at the corner of Sunset and Braybarton boulevards. That building was sold in 2009.

“The funds we are distributing today are the result of what we have left from the sale of that house,” Bedortha added.

“So, as we dissolve the club, we’re divesting ourselves of all monetary assets.”

She added that she had no idea how many women had held membership in the club during the past 126 years.

Changing times, however, brought challenges — similar to those faced by service clubs and organizations around the country — and membership had fallen to 20. That led leadership to have to make some difficult decisions.

“Today, our membership has so drastically dwindled, and therefore participation has dwindled as well,” Bedortha said. “We felt we could no longer fulfill our obligations to the community. It was after many months of consideration and deliberation that we came to this decision — we hope everyone getting these donations will carry our mission forward.”

Sharing in the distribution were Unlimited Play, which received $25,000; the Visitor Center at Historic Fort Steuben and the Ohio Valley Youth Network, which each received $20,000; the Aim Mother of Mercy Home, which received $17,000; the Jefferson County Historical Association, which received $12,000; the Ohio Valley Health Center, the United Way of Jefferson County and the L.A.W.S. Movement, which each received $10,000; Homeward Bound, St. Paul’s Center and Little Branches, which each received $7,500; and Special Connections, which received $5,000.

Cookie West, the club’s treasurer who stood in for President Iris Craig during the final meeting, agreed that the decision to close the club down was difficult and added the members were happy with where their money was going, knowing it would continue their tradition of helping others.

“For many years we fought to keep it going, but members were pulled in many different ways,” West said. “Once we decided this is where we were going, we started to ask, ‘Where should this abundance go?’ and that’s where all of you come in. The selected agencies are genies of integrity, and we know that you will plant these seeds, we will see the trees grow from them and the fruit from them as the years go by and you continue to do the work you do in the community.

“We know you will be responsible and you will work with integrity, you will work with excellence and you will work with joy, bringing hope to those who are hopeless, and bringing new opportunities,” she said.

“These things matter — we are the village that our village needs,” she added. “That is the heart of the woman’s club. It was founded on volunteering, dedication and philanthropy, and I’m thinking we’re going to hit all of the marks today.”

(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)