Tri-Towns Bureau

UNADILLA — One hundred years after it began, the Unadilla Federated Women's Club is going strong.

Surrounded by scrapbooks, tea, cookies and memories, the 30 members celebrated the occasion Tuesday, June 20, which was the very date the organization began in 1900 with 38 members.

Club President Ruth Lord attributed the club's success to efforts to rejuvenate the group in the 1996. To keep its membership, the club has cut back on the number of meetings, from six to four. What takes place during the meetings hasn't changed much, Lord said, "but we've just kept our goals realistic."

The women's club is a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, a worldwide volunteer organization based in Washington, D.C., said Pat Greene, a former club president.

The Unadilla group is the last of its kind in Otsego County. When she joined in 1969, Greene said, there were about 40 in the county. A few of these groups still exist, she said, but they have dropped their national affiliation.

Lord said she joined the group as an affiliated member in the late 1950s when she taught at Unadilla, because all teachers were honorary members. When Lord retired from teaching in the mid-1970s, she continued her membership.

Being part of a national organization, Greene said, gives the Unadilla club a number of advantages. It enables the women to participate in projects in six areas — art, education, home life, public affairs, international affairs and conservation. It also allows them to meet other members at the conventions that are held on the district, regional and state levels.

In 1992, the local club's work with the Head Start program earned it an award from its national parent organization.

But the project for which the club is most proud, Lord said, is members' work to improve literacy. In this area. the women's club is best known for its presentation of dictionaries to eligible sixth-grade students.

Sue Miller, a secretary at Unadilla Elementary School, said the dictionary award goes to students who have shown the most improvement in English. The students find them useful in high school, she said.

The club is also involved in a project to donate new books to the Unadilla library. This is part of the "Library 2000" project, Greene said, which is promoted by the national organization. Each volume the club donates has a bookplate in it.

Other projects the club works on include a scholarship to a Unadilla senior who is going on to study at a four-year college, restoration of local historical paintings, sponsorship of eye clinics and support of the Red Cross.

Tuesday's celebration was held at the home of Polly and Steve Judd in Unadilla.

Polly Judd, although not a member of the club, said the women are involved in valuable projects. But because she works, Judd cannot attend the meetings, which are held at noon on the second Wednesday of the month in May, June, July and August at the Unadilla House.

Lord said that the club is considering changing the meeting times to encourage working women to join the organization. Lord described most of the current membership as "older, retired" women who are able to participate in the afternoon meetings.

But in order to keep growing, Lord said, the club will continue to adapt.

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