According to the Club’s history, Delmar in 1901 was a hamlet with no sidewalks, no street lights, two churches, a two-room school house and no women’s organizations.
Elva Hinman, a well-known woman in the community, saw the need for a woman’s organization in Delmar, following a visit in 1901 to the Woman’s Club of Cobleskill. She called together interested women and eleven responded. The object of the club, as the minutes recorded, was “for the mental, moral, and social development of the members and the betterment of the community.”
Included in the Club’s many achievements over the years were the founding of what we know today as the Bethlehem Public Library. The Club in 1912 raised money for books to establish the first free library in the community. The Club also was respon-sible for the naming of streets and the numbering of houses. This accomplishment made the town eligible for mail delivery to homes. The Civic Betterment committee petitioned the Town to provide garbage collection, and it also is credited with leading the effort to establish the Town Planning Board.
In 1932 with 157 members, the Club was organized under the Study Group plan. The first groups were Homes and Gardens, Modern Literature, Government, and Drama. In 1935 a social committee was added. Club membership was raised to 300. An early travel program showed slides of England, and Yellowstone on a Stereoscope.
Numerous projects sponsored by the Club continue to benefit the community. These include staffing of the Bethlehem Library’s annual book sale, donating of new books to the library in memory of deceased Club members, providing a club scholarship to a graduating Bethlehem Central High School student, and contributing food items to the Bethlehem Food Pantry. Through our Literacy Volunteer Program, members tutor students on a weekly basis at the Glenmont Job Corps and in several area elementary schools.
Programs contributing to the “mental, moral and social developments” of club members are sponsored by the Club Interest Groups: Antiques Study, Creative Arts, Performing Arts, Garden, Health and Fitness, Literature, and Travel. Government Council, Civic Betterment, Environment and Conservation Committees provide programs. Club members currently hold offices at the County, District, and State Levels of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Our Club is fortunate to have several Past Presidents still taking an active role in the activities of our Club. Our history continues as they share some memories of their terms as Club Presidents with us.