Ocean Grove Woman’s Club 2014. Photo by Paul Goldfinger ©
By Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, editors @Blogfinger
In 1922, an Ocean Grove woman named Miss Mary Daniels lived in a large home at 89 Mt. Carmel Way, at the corner with Pennsylvania Avenue. The house had been built in 1875. She decided to turn her home into the Ocean Grove Women’s Club. The group became part of the New Jersey Federation of Women’s Clubs. The movement began in 1894 and has chapters all over America. In New Jersey, it is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state.
These women’s groups have a history of charitable work and activism. They turned the tide in 1906 when they pushed for passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. In NJ they founded Douglas College in 1918 and they are known for providing scholarships to help train women leaders. The national group opened many of the public libraries across America.
General Federation of Women’s clubs 1914. FWC web site (PG did not take this photo!)
In Ocean Grove, there isn’t a lot of detail, but we know that they were interested in charitable work. A branch of the Monmouth County library was established in the house, and people came and went . At one point they had rooms to rent, but only for women. In the 1940’s they sent Red Cross kit bags to the troops. In more recent years they built an addition which housed a stage, and plays were performed there. We don’t know if they were political or active in the suffrage and/or temperance movements in town.
In 1994, the organization closed down. We don’t know why. Mrs. Eleanor Blackmore Whitefield has the distinction of being the last President—-at least until 2014.
Pegi in her living room with a work of art painted by an elephant. (I kid you not!) Quirky indeed. By Paul Goldfinger ©
In 2010 the house was purchased as a second home by Pegi and Tom Costantino of East Windsor. They were charmed by the home’s history. Pegi is a gardening expert and she has written books and has had a radio show on Sunday mornings for over 25 years. It is called “The Garden Show” on 1450 am WCTC. She goes under the name of Pegi Ballister-Howells.
Recently Pegi decided to bring back the OG Woman’s Club in the very place where they were founded in 1922. She isn’t sure of the exact parameters of the club but she wants her home to be a place where women can gather, network, take classes, put on shows/concerts, learn crafts, have a book club, do yoga, have conversations, and make friends. She is open to almost any idea. Pegi says that she is a bit quirky and that she tends to “think ever so slightly out of the box.” She wants her club to have a sense of community. She calls it “a work in progress.”
The group had its first meeting earlier this month, and it was a success. Most of the women who came are from Ocean Grove, and the ages began “in the thirties and up from there.” She now has a mailing list of 44 names and growing. No men are allowed. I asked her if she would accept someone who used to be a man, but now is a woman. Pegi said, “If she says she’s a woman, then she is welcome.”
Regarding the name, Pegi found a sign in the basement that said, “Ocean Grove Woman’s Club,” so, even though the national group says “Women’s,” Pegi decided to wax nostalgic and stick with the name on the sign.
Already there are three events scheduled. Pegi’s living room is huge and can acommodate all sorts of activities.
1. A dinner and movie night on March 31 for 10 people at $15.00 per person . Pegi is cooking, and they are showing “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
2. Yoga class March 29 with Marcia McKeon. That is at 10 am and costs $12.00.
3. A wine-sharing event on April 12.
For further information, go to the Ocean Grove Women’s Club Facebook page. Or call Pegi at 609-575-5585 or email to Pegi@comcast.net
IRVING AARONSON AND HIS COMMANDERS. From the roaring twenties album
