Sunbonnet Soliloquy

By Jewell Ellen Smith

The Value of Women’s Clubs

The Birthday Celebration which our Ft. Rucker Officers’ Wives’ Club (OWC) held in January to mark the 30th anniversary of its founding set me to thinking of all the women’s groups I belong to -- both on and off (military) Post.

Each club is different; yet they all have much in common. Many have a motto or theme which reflects the club’s reason for existence.

Some have chosen flowers, and colors, to be used in initiations and other ceremonies. (One club has the daisy, two the. red rose. One’s colors are gold. and red -- gold for excellence and red for Life and Activity. A second club uses gold and white. The white stands or Purity.)

One of my civilian clubs has even adopted a collect, or prayer, which we repeat in unison at the opening of each meeting. The heart of this is a line that says “keep us from pettiness; let us be large in thought, in word, in deeds”.

All these clubs have rules and by-laws, and offer opportunities for service. And in each there is a consensus that by being united in an organization members can accomplish more than they could by working alone. Also, in each club there is a general understanding of this principle: “Duty is a power that rises with us in the. morning and goes to rest with us at night.”

Work for the common good is stressed in several of these groups.

For instance, there is the Ft. Rucker (Post-wide) Protestant Women of the Chapels. It has been in existence some 24 years, and I have been privileged to be a’ member of it for 23 years. Its motto begins with these words: “We Are Workers Together...”.

Then there is the OSCAR Club of Enterprise, a service group made up of local women who have been named “Enterprise Woman of the Year”. Our motto is: “OSCARS in Action”. The club’s’ purpose is “To serve... for the betterment of our community”.

The book review or study club of which I am a member has as its motto: “Knowledge is Power”. This organization, the Chautauqua of Enterprise, founded in 1914, is affiliated with the Alabama (and International) General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

The 1984-1986 theme of Chautauqua and other clubs in the Alabama federation is: “GFWC-Alabama, A Power For Good”. Through programs and projects these club women emphasize “Doing Our Part to Keep America Great”.

And THAT, dear OWC members, is exactly what I have watched the Ft. Rucker Officers’ Wives’ Club do for more than 20 years! And hundreds of women have had a part in it all. They used OWC as a means of doing their part “to Keep America Great”.

But back to the local civilian women’s organizations and their roles.

Some ten or twelve years ago I was privileged to become an honorary member of the area, chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma International, a society of women educators which has been active for more than half a century.

Their leaders recognized that through the students they teach, DKG members can have a profound effect on the future; so their current theme is: ‘‘Women Educators, Architects of the Future”.

(Through its scholarships program, Ft. Rucker OWC too is an “architect of the future”. Right?)

There are other area women’s clubs to which I lend support: the Retired Officers’ Wives’ Association, the American Association of University Women, the Stitchery Club. And as I consider them all, and our Ft. Rucker OWC, I am convinced that women’s clubs are great.

It is a desirable thing for women, especially Army wives, to unite. Because, together, it becomes easy to translate high ideals and principles into action. We can literally be “A Power for Good” for our homes, our chapels, our communities, our nation, and ultimately, for the world.

To accomplish our lofty goals, may we, as OWC members and as individuals, always --

Have Faith ...

Pursue Knowledge ...

Honor Truth ...

Seek Beauty ...

Understand Duty ...

Value Work ...

Experience the Joy of Service ...
and

Be Kind to One Another.

(Published February 1985. Click your browser’s “Back” button to return