The Women’s Club of Glen Ridge is preparing to open its doors to the community for a final event celebrating the centennial of its clubhouse.
The event is Saturday, Sept. 6, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its slogan is “Celebrating a Century of Open Doors,” according to event chairperson and club vice-president Trisha Turiano.
“It’s free to the entire town,” she said of the open house, “and we hope to have many people stop by.”
While the open house is the final event celebrating the centennial, on Sept. 6, another event, separate from the observance, will also take place at the clubhouse: a community square dance.
A fee will be charged for the square dance and tickets are on sale now. Admission will include “a grab-and-go style dinner, so you can eat and mingle featuring grub from Urban Chicken,” Turiano said. “At 7:00 p.m., we’ll kick things off with casual line dancing, no experience needed, followed by a live fiddler and caller-led square dancing at 8 to 10 p.m. Beer and wine will be available, for purchase, throughout the night.
“The square dance is a great community event,” she said. “This building is the heart of Glen Ridge. In some way, most of the town has been involved or visited the clubhouse.”
While the adults are hoedowning downstairs, upstairs, for the kids, in the Georgian Ballroom, from 7 to 9 p.m., there will be a special dance party hosted by the Girls’ Club of Glen Ridge.
The open house will have clubhouse tours, guided by Glen Ridge Historical Society volunteers, at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.
“Most notably, there will be a tour of the backstage and the dressing rooms,” Turiano said, adding that the paintings exhibited in various rooms will be noted.
There will also be community organization tables and on the hour, every hour, from noon to 3 p.m., there will be a birthday cake celebration.
There will be a “Kids Art Project — Building a House of Kindness.” For this, children will write a kind thought on a rectangle of paper — a “brick”— which will be displayed to symbolize the clubhouse facade.
“This building was built out of love and kindness and friendship,” Turiano said. “It was 20 years before the membership got the clubhouse. It was a big deal. In 1921, they purchased a property lot. They raised the money themselves. That’s a lot of bridge parties. And they purchased the property without any idea of how the clubhouse would be built.”
The Women’s Club of Glen Ridge, according to the Glen Ridge Bicentennial Committee publication, “The ‘76 Spirit Reaches Out,” is the outgrowth of a Bible study class. On March 9,1905, 35 women voted to organize into a club named “The Woman’s Club of Glen Ridge.” The first woman Essex County Freeholder, Elizabeth Harris, suggested to a wealthy friend, Henry Chapman, that he build the clubhouse as a memorial to his wife, Emily, a club member, who had recently died. Chapman donated $100,000; ground was broken June, 1924, and the clubhouse was dedicated May 30, 1925.
“Mr. Chapman then upped his donation by $25,000 more due to building cost,” Turiano added. “The building only took nine months to build. But the women realized they also needed shrubs, a driveway and grading, so Mr. Chapman gave another $1,500. Then he gave them $1,500 for one year’s salary for a secretary, an oil portrait of his wife and the money to have a portrait painted of Mrs. Harris. He then gave another $100,000 for an endowment. In the end Henry Chapman’s contributions came to $235,750.”
Turiano said a time capsule is also being planned for Sept. 6 and she is working on the details.
“We’ve had a successful centennial year so far,” she said. “It included the Mayor’s Gala, our home and garden tours, and all the other events we have including two outings to NYC. But the year we’ve been celebrating, it’s not an end, but a launching point.”
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