Gerald Ensley: Woman’s Club stands the test of time

(This column was first published in the Tallahassee Democrat on May 12, 2013.)

All Tallahassee civic clubs do good things for our community.

But it's hard not to admire the oldest of them all — which may be perhaps Tallahassee's greatest example of women leading the way.

2013 marked the 110th anniversary year of the Tallahassee Woman's Club, which was formed in 1903 and predates such male-originated Tallahassee civic clubs as Rotary (1922), Lions (1930) and Kiwanis (1959).

On Thursday, the Woman's Club held its last monthly luncheon before a traditional summer break. Among other things, the luncheon celebrated eight of the 10 living ex-club presidents — who each recalled the proudest achievements of their tenures.

They had plenty to be proud of: raising money for hospice, collecting for food banks, awarding college scholarships, making pillowcases for veterans hospitals, hosting public forums, working with schools, aiding foster children and promoting the arts, conservation and historic preservation.

But all of them shared the same motivation:

"Doing for others and making life better for someone else," said Lila Eubanks, president in 1992-1994. "I had a good home, good parents. There are so many who haven't had that."

In a day gone by, women were not expected/encouraged/allowed to work outside the home. But that didn't keep local women from doing the heavy lifting of making Tallahassee a better, more beautiful place to live.

In 1891, Genevieve Randolph and several friends started the Tallahassee Improvement Association with a goal of improving 200 Foot Street — now known as Park Avenue. Over the next 10 years, the women prodded city leaders and helped raise money to create what is now known as the six-block Chain of Parks, along Park Avenue.

But it would be the TIA's successor — the Tallahassee Woman's Club — that would really kick butt.

In 1903, six women formed the Woman's Club at the old Leon Hotel on the north side of Park Avenue between Monroe and Adams (now the site of the federal bankruptcy court).

In short order, they persuaded city leaders to build sidewalks on Monroe Street, screen in the city's open-air market, improve the railroad station, clean up the cemetery and plant trees.

In 1910, they led the effort to build the first Leon High, calling for a voter referendum that supported the city's securing of bond funding.

In 1926, the Woman's Club ceded some of its beautification efforts to the newly formed Tallahassee Garden Club, also a woman's organization, which remains a leading proponent for the proliferation of ornamental plants in Tallahassee.

But the Woman's Club — which in 1912 held a precursor event to Arbor Day — continued to be a leading advocate for tree planting and historic preservation.

In 1938-39, Woman's Club members supported the city's planting of 120 live oaks along streets from Seventh Avenue to Gaines Street, from Franklin Boulevard to Macomb Street. In 1940 and 1941, they helped stage the first and second Live Oak Tours, which were popular driving tours designed to highlight and save Tallahassee's scenic oaks. In 1947-48, they were among the forces that turned back a plan by the City Commission to pave over the Chain of Parks to create more parking downtown.

One can argue the Woman's Club's greatest early achievement was in real estate development: In 1927, members chose the newly created Los Robles development as the site to build their headquarters. That building, at 1513 Cristobal Drive, would become their forever home — and a Tallahassee icon.

One of only three original Mediterranean-themed structures in Los Robles, the Woman's Club has long been one of Tallahassee's favorite venues for meetings, weddings, receptions, parties and even funerals. It went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. In 2000, then-president Jean English-Hurst led the effort to secure a $300,000 historical preservation grant to remodel the building. This fall, the building will receive a Florida historical marker.

In 2002, after English-Hurst finished overseeing renovations to the Woman's Club, she was approached by nearby merchants, "who wanted me to do for Midtown what I had done for the club." English-Hurst spent two years recruiting members for the Midtown Merchants Association, identifying the borders of the neighborhood just north of downtown — and helping spark the boom of restaurants, shops and activities in Tallahassee's trendiest district.

"Now look at Midtown and how it has grown," English-Hurst said. "I think (the Woman's Club) got the ball rolling."

The Woman's Club remains a catalyst for dozens of projects. Operating from six committees (Arts, Education, Conservation, International Affairs, Public Issues and Home Life), members participate in an endless array of fundraising and volunteer activities. Club member Anna Brandt is now leading a charge to bring passenger railroad service back to Tallahassee.

"Some clubs pick one charity to support. But our members have such wide interests," said current president Sue Tully. "For someone interested in any kind of community service, there is a spot for them in this club."

Many of the current 150-plus members are retirees — though several of the 23 new members inducted at Thursday's meeting appeared to be in their 30s and 40s. But the appeal of the club is eternal.

Charlene Bevis-Reese, a member for 53 years, likes to say she was "born at the Woman's Club." She was brought into the fold by her late mother, Jo Bevis, one of the club's handful of two-time presidents. Bevis-Reese, president in 1998-2000, and her mother are the only mother-daughter president team in club history.

"I think it's important for women of all kinds to get involved in the community," said Bevis-Reese, 73. "It's a sisterhood. It gives us strength to not only take care of ourselves but take care of ourselves to help others. I know churches do that. But this focuses only on women and makes our community stronger."

It certainly has for 110 years.

Gerald Ensley was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 following a stroke. The Tallahassee Democrat is publishing columns capturing Tallahassee’s history from Ensley’s vast archives each Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part of the TLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project. There are still about two dozen copies of a book of Ensley's columns available exclusively at Midtown Reader, 1123 Thomasville Road, or midtownreader.com .

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gerald Ensley: Woman’s Club stands the test of time