The Woman’s Club of Riverhead marks another milestone: its 110th anniversary

The Woman’s Club of Riverhead, a decade into its second century, celebrated its 110th birthday last month.

The club was established at a time of tremendous and exciting growth in the Riverhead community, an era of expansion and prosperity in the history of the Suffolk County seat of government. Marvels unfolded, like the first 24-hour electric service in the village — provided by the Riverhead Electric Light Company powered street lights in the village and lit up the night sky. Telephone service expanded, and so did Riverhead’s public school on Roanoke Avenue.

It was also a time when women did not have the right to vote and did not enjoy the civic, economic and social freedoms opened to them in the 1960s and after. The Woman’s Club was one of a few women’s organizations established in that era — when most clubs and organizations did not allow female members. It is the only surviving women’s group founded in that era.

Its purpose, according to club history, was to work together for the good of the community. It helped keep the fledgling new library open and staffed. Within a year of its founding, the club hired Riverhead’s first school nurse. It paid her $75 monthly salary until the school could afford to assume the expense. It helped establish a school lunch program. The club also helped start the local Red Cross chapter in 1917 and worked in the local Soldier’s Club during the First World War.

One of the club’s main purposes was — and remains — funding a scholarship program.

Its motto, “Non Nobis Solum — Not For Ourselves Alone,” is expressed by its many charitable endeavors such as donating to local nonprofits and supporting local food pantries. It has supplied Riverhead schools with hats, mittens and gloves, as well as school supplies. It has also donated pajamas and books for children served by the social services department and the Retreat.

“Time is relative. And it makes us think about things,” longtime Woman’s Club member Shirley Simon told club members during a luncheon meeting celebrating the anniversary last month at the Suffolk County Historical Society.

“Women didn’t have the right to vote. There were no televisions, computers, cell phones, washers, dryers, chemotherapy, heart transplants — all these things we hardly think of as new. Yet, all of these things are new, since this club was formed, and many, many more things as well, in the span of the time of this club’s existence,” Simon said.

Town Historian Georgette Case drew on her files to highlight additional facts about the club’s history, like its involvement in establishing a kindergarten in the school system, and its organizing the “June Fete and Baby Parade,” a children’s program in 1925.

Simon spoke about club members taking up environmental causes, such as wetlands preservation, and fighting the Shoreham nuclear power plant.

The most important work of the Woman’s Club has been scholarships, Simon said. The club gives five merit-based $1,000 scholarships, awarded at the club’s annual scholarship luncheon, which often includes a fashion show.

“Our esteemed club exists today, only because of the determined and dedicated desire of a few old stalwarts and more notably, a small solid core of newer members who would not let this club die,” Simon said. She credited club President Brenda Prusinowski and Past President Sandra Reeve with keeping the club going, at a time when membership has dwindled.

Membership in the club is “open to all energetic, community-minded women who live or work in Riverhead and the surrounding East End communities,” according to a Woman’s Club press release about a new membership drive. There is no residency requirement. The annual membership fee is $45. Membership meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month and typically feature lunch and a speaker or other program.

“Our members remain committed to the same values as our founders: enhancing the Riverhead community through service projects and fostering camaraderie among our members,” the club said.

Visit the club’s website for more information.