Calhoun Women’s Club, then and now
The Calhoun Women’s Club was first established in 1902, only 50 years after Calhoun was first incorporated by the state legislature. By 1910, the club was recognized nationally by The Ladies’ Home Journal for its efforts to better the city of Calhoun and look out for its citizens.
An article published in the magazine July 1910 praises the club for providing the town with sanitary drinking fountains, removing rubbish piles from public areas, erecting a chapel in a local cemetery, planting trees and flowers around town on Arbor Day, observing Georgia Day, hosting a County Fair honored by the presence of highpowered political figures and sending flowers to the sick and afflicted.
“Nor is this all that the Women’s Club of Calhoun has accomplished,” wrote Mary I. Wood in the article. “Write to the president for inspiration and suggestions for work in your town.”
Audra Arnold, the current corresponding secretary for the club, said The Ladies’ Home Journal was recently
rediscovered after a woman from out of town sent a copy to her.
“I think it just shows that this club has always been about doing the best we can for Calhoun and the people who live here,” Arnold said. “We still do things like sending flowers to the sick and providing scholarships today.”
She is not wrong. The club has a legacy of commitment to Calhoun.
Since 1902, the Calhoun Women’s Club has raised more than half a million dollars to reinvest back into the community. Its projects have included the building of a small, log cabin clubhouse that would later become Calhoun’s first public library, the established and organization of the first local American Red Cross Chapter in 1917, encouraging children to get involved with the arts by establishing the Stateside Art Scholarship Contest and the erection of the Sequoyah Statue at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 225. More recently, the club raised funds to cover the costs of a new roof for the Calhoun Depot and, in March 2010, constructed the Calhoun Women’s Club Anniversary Fountain.
Arnold said the club’s current activities are centered around six main community service areas: the arts, conservation, education, home life, international outreach and public issues.
“One of our biggest things has always been taking care of the children in this community and encouraging them to be their best,” she said. “One of the things we do every month is have a Youth of the Month who we recognize for being outstanding. They come to our meeting and we celebrate their hard work. We also go over the senior center every year to celebrate their anniversary and to give gifts to the folks there.”
Last year, the club raised thousands of dollars for the Voluntary Action Center’s two hunger-related programs: the community kitchen and its food pantry. Both programs have both been vital to the community in a year when COVID-19 made access to warm, reliable meals more difficult for the vulnerable in the community.
“We always try to choose a Sequoyah Ball partner that is doing good things in our local community,” club leader Sara Keys said. “Our club is all about developing and helping our community grow, so we choose partners who share that goal.”
The Calhoun Women’s Club is always seeking new members. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month at 11:30 a.m. Contact Sara Keys at 423-413-3067 for information about meeting locations or how to join.