After 116 years, the St. Clair Women’s Club meets for the last time in Belleville

Dressed in long skirts, their bodies molded by corsets, members of the East St. Louis Woman’s Club convened to discuss philanthropy, literature and the news of the day. The Ford Model T was still on the assembly line, so many arrived by horse and buggy.

More than 100 years and a name change later, they met for the final time as another casualty of an aging roster and a busier era.

“The first meeting was March 10, 1908,” said Ann Smith, a third-generation club president, who chaired that final meeting on May 8. “It was a simpler time. They met in each other’s homes. The club was their distraction — their social life.”

But it would morph into so much more.

“Back in their ‘heyday,’ women’s social organizations served as a way for women to exercise their leadership skills in a world where few were pursuing higher education or professional careers,” Smith said. “Nevertheless, women were intelligent, well bred, well read and needed an outlet.”

In 1973, the group voted to change its name to the St. Clair Woman’s Club, since the majority of the ladies no longer lived in East St. Louis.

The membership kept growing. Until it didn’t.

“Back when it started, the average age of members was (much younger),” Smith said. “Now the median age is in our 70s or 80s. In the last two years, we’ve lost our two oldest members who were in their 90s. The membership was declining due to attrition.”

Several ladies no longer drove so they relied on others for transportation. And then there was the task of decorating tables for the luncheons that followed the meetings — and booking live entertainment for the ladies to enjoy.

“It just got too difficult to find someone to organize everything,” said Smith, who served four terms as president, a position both her mother and grandmother had held.

And so, earlier this month — 116 years after its inception — the philanthropic, Catholic-based organization voted to convene for the very last time.

As usual, they dined on white-linen table cloths topped with china at Bellecourt Place in Belleville. Many ladies, like Marilyn Eschman, 88, of Belleville, were beautifully coiffed for the occasion.

“I enjoy seeing everyone,” she said and smiled.

Socialization was always the group’s hallmark.

“I joined in 1981,” remembered Dolores Sullivan, 93, of Belleville. “I knew so many people in the group. We had 150 active members and a waiting list. We all wore gloves. Everybody dressed up. Back then our main meeting place was always at the St. Clair Country Club.”

Sullivan’s friend, Jackie Brennan, concurred. The pair attended St. Teresa’s Academy together and, years later, served together in the Woman’s Club.

“We had at least 15 friends here,” said Brennan said, whose mother was a past club president.

Though club members hope to meet socially in the future, an era has come to an end.

“It’s sad,” said club member Judy Pratl, of Swansea, who often helped decorate for luncheons. “Now that the club is coming to a close — to think you may not see anyone anymore — I’ll miss them.”

No one can take away the memories. But now it’s time to figure out what to do with them.

“We’ve got a tremendous history,” said Smith, a former professional singer who performed at several club president inaugurations, including her mother’s. “We have boxes and boxes of material and minutes. I’m not sure what we’ll do with it all. We’ll have to talk to the St. Clair County Historical Society.”