Woman's Club of Winter Park celebrates its 99th birthday

There’s a special house in Winter Park where, behind its classic yellow façade, through its arched floor-to-ceiling windows and rows of white columns, women have been crafting plans to make their city a better place for just shy of a century.

There in that home sit the women of the Woman’s Club of Winter Park. The 99-year-old club has raised scholarship money to send students to college, crafted surgical bandages and handmade more than 700 pounds of homemade orange marmalade to send to the troops during WWI, and raised thousands of dollars in grants and donations for local nonprofits each year. And they even broke their “no politics” rule to send a petition to the Florida State Legislature in favor of women’s suffrage.

“The Club has been really integral to the growth of the city,” said Sandra Blossey, president of the Woman’s Club.

And now, its members said, it’s time to put a little focus back on the home where all that work gets done. Their 93-year-old house is in need of some renovations. At the Club’s 99th birthday party last month, members announced a plan to raise $300,000 in the next three years for renovations that include a new roof, updated catering kitchen, remodeled terrace and landscaping, and other interior décor improvements. They hope that by the club’s 100th birthday they’ll be able to begin some renovations.

Blossey said they’d like to preserve the house that has been home to the voices of many great women who have shaped and improved Winter Park and the lives of its residents.

“It keeps the life of the house, it speaks – it continues to speak – for the goals of the ladies who formed it, and it makes the house come alive,” she said.

“It comes alive differently with each group in it,” said Cynthia Gerken, vice president of the group.

And it’s what the founders of the club intended for the house. Helen Morse was the club’s first president – yes, the Mrs. Charles Morse, as she was described in an early document. She and her husband were building a city, with their sights set on the future. The Morses’ forward-thinking vision solidified one of the club’s goals as preserving the house, which they built on land donated by Charles Morse himself.

Members have been avid workers in support of the clubs other two goals: advancing the civic and educational welfare of the Winter Park area, and assisting worthy students with college funding. The club raised $31,000 for student scholarships last year, also raising money for the Harbor House, the Orlando Housing Authority, Orlando Rescue Mission, and many others. Gerken’s favorite time of year at the club is when she gets to see piles of wrapped gifts and bikes covering their home’s stage for children at Christmas.

“The bottom line is there’s a real purpose,” said member Diane Sandquist.

And it gives the women who are members a chance to give back to the community they love.

“Nothing has been quite as satisfying as this … it feeds me as well as gives me an opportunity to do something for others,” Blossey said. “It’s a way of life.”