For 80 years, the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club has been finding ways to support a community they are committed to serve. On October 21, club members, both longstanding and new, came together at the Mattapoisett Congregational Church Hall to celebrate their eight decades of service and camaraderie.
Club President Carole Clifford shared that the club was founded in 1941 and spent the next several years in support of the war effort. The MWC has over its long history supported disabled military personnel and their families in a variety of ways.
However, the club does have four main goals, Clifford explained. Those goals are: scholarships to graduating seniors, and to at least one adult pursuing continued education; philanthropy – raising money in support of local charities; civic endeavors such as Taste of The Town; and education.
The MWC holds monthly meetings and often hosts guest speakers. These informative lectures and presentations are open to the public. “Many of the activities and programs overlap one another,” Clifford said, but all are for “the benefit of the town and the people.”
Another civic activity the club is famous for is the beautification of public areas. The flowerboxes at the Post Office, town beach bathhouse, Town Hall, Shipyard Park triangle (next to Munro Preserve), the flowers at the intersection of Church Street and Route 6, and several other locations around the community are all planted and nursed through the growing season by club members. Now a well-known fundraiser and beautification project that the MWC began is the selling of daffodil bulbs – bulbs that grace front yards and roadways throughout the town. And let’s not forget the holiday wreath sale.
Through the years, the MWC has also supported local Scouting groups and was a pivotal financial supporter of the new bandstand (commonly referred to as the gazebo) back in the day.
The MWC is most proud of the annual scholarships awarded to high school graduates. Clifford estimated in rough numbers that the MWC has awarded more than $150,000 over its 80 years. Some years more, some years less, but for all the club’s 80 years, fundraising money have been passed along to others. “In 1943, they gave a $5 scholarship to a graduating student from Center School,” Clifford said with a chuckle.
With Veterans Day approaching, Clifford said that the MWC kickstarted the ringing of the bells or Bells of Remembrance on Veterans’ Day in 2017. Begun at the end of WWI, bells ring on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to remember all the veterans. Clifford’s wish is that this event in honor of those who have served the nation remains an annual event, never going out of fashion, and that more towns adopt the habit, all ringing in unison.
To learn more, visit mattapoisettwomansclub.org.
By Marilou Newell