In many ways, the La Jolla Woman’s Club has changed a lot since 1914. But in many others, it has not.
As the La Jolla Woman’s Club celebrates the 110th anniversary of its namesake building in October, it is also looking to return to its roots of helping others, service to the community and enhancing the lives of women.
In its infancy in the 1890s, La Jolla Woman’s Club meetings were held at members’ homes or local churches. By 1913, tired of the venue changes, member and La Jolla patroness Ellen Browning Scripps contracted architect Irving Gill to draw up plans for a permanent clubhouse. In October 1914, the first meeting was held in the “new” facility.
To honor the 110th anniversary of the Gill-designed building, the Woman’s Club is hosting an Anniversary Celebration at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at 7791 Draper Ave. in The Village.
In the years since its establishment, what started as a literary club and place for women to discuss current events evolved into a political hub, with members active in issues such as the right to vote, world war times, improving the lives of children, health and education.
As the years went on, the club needed to change with it. After a period of being more of a social club that hosted bridge and mid-day lunches, it re-emerged as an organization based on networking and community service.
“But it has been a wonderful place for women to get together and talk all that time,” four-term president Tona Macken said.
In recent decades, to pay the bills and generate revenue to provide ongoing care to the building, the La Jolla Woman’s Club became a wedding venue.
The La Jolla Woman’s Club is located at 7791 Draper Ave. in The Village. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)
But, like many things, that all came to a screeching halt at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the clubhouse was closed to weddings and didn’t host in-person events. As far as how the board of directors accommodated this, “We were really careful with our finances and made sure that we were ready when the club opened again so we could have weddings and events and make sure the board of directors met on a regular basis to keep with our bylaws,” Macken said.
Looking to return to its roots, the club is turning to the next generation of members to guide the club leadership into the types of speakers they host, activities they engage in and services they can provide.
“We have 143 members now, and many are younger, working women,” Macken said. “We try to focus on women’s issues such as what it’s like to be a working mother, should that be the case. Ellen Browning Scripps was driven to educate women with her establishing Bishop’s School and Scripps College. I’d like to see us move in that direction.”
Members range in age from one of the club’s oldest members — Noreen Haygood, who celebrated her 100th birthday at the club earlier this year — to recent college graduates.
Thus, Macken said, “I would like to see the club focused on helping these younger women as they start their careers, so we’re doing evening networking events so working women can get there. Then there are the older members that can provide insights.”
In addition to helping its members, the club is looking to help the broader community, with input from its members as to how to do that. The club hosts food drives, works with the Salvation Army ahead of Thanksgiving, and donates to Toys for Tots during the winter holidays.
“We are focused on the community and doing service to the community, which was Ellen Browning Scripps’ mission,” Macken said. “But to do that, we are asking our members what kinds of activities they are interested in. We make the space available for other community organizations but we count on our members to guide us to the kinds of activities they would like to do or speakers they would like to hear from. The main thing is still providing a safe and welcoming space for women and to assist them to become responsible citizens and have the tools they need to make good decisions about their future.”
Macken acknowledged that, like many other older institutions, the La Jolla Woman’s Club “is going through a transition in that we want to appeal to older and newer members that have different goals and different perspectives. So we are encouraging our members to give us some guidance as to how to do that. Any club the age we are needs ways to move into the future.”
As the current president — and the longest serving president in the club’s history — Macken said “it has been a joy” to be part of the La Jolla Woman’s Club, but that any future decisions would be made by future leaders.
“The La Jolla Woman’s Club has been revered as an important part of La Jolla’s history,” she said. “It has been an honor to, and we hope to, keep it that way.”
Visit www.lajollawomansclub.org for more information.
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 12:00:00
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