On a Monday afternoon in January of 1924, a number of ladies met at the Franklin Grove Town Hall for the purpose of organizing a Woman’s Club. There was great interest and enthusiasm shown toward the project and it was decided that a general invitation should be extended to the ladies of the community for a meeting in two weeks to organize the Franklin Grove Women’s Club. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution that would be voted upon at this meeting.
The preliminary meeting was held on Monday, Jan. 28, at 2 PM in the Town Hall. The constitution was presented and accepted by the group of ladies present and Officers were elected. It was decided that all those signing the Constitution and paying their dues before the May meeting, would be considered Charter Members. The dues were $2.00 a year, but those joining later would pay an additional 50 cents. Twenty-two ladies signed the Constitution that day.
By the May meeting, 41 more had signed and paid their dues so in total there were 63 charter members. The meetings were held in the different member’s homes for some time. As the club grew they met at the Church of the Brethren and after 1937 in the Kersten Gym here in Franklin Grove.
In April 1925, the club voted to join the District Federation and two members were elected delegates to attend the convention to be held in Warren, IL. The Women had an article in the March Franklin Grove Reporter stating a need for a community house. The article ended expressing their sentiment for this project and stated they were ready to help in any way possible to meet this goal.
They decided Franklin Grove should be known as the “Zinnia Town” and asked everyone to plant zinnias in front of their home.
That first year the ladies were busy. Some of their accomplishments were planting flowers at the Flat Iron Park; hosting a community picnic at the campgrounds; helped the American Legion arrange for a July 4th celebration and sponsored a picture show.
The Franklin Grove Woman’s Club joined the GFWC Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs and General Federation of Women’s Club. We continue to serve and improve our community with such projects such as the building a community building which was donated to the Village of Franklin Grove.
