Artesia Historical Society Honors Artesia-Cerritos Women’s Club at Victorian Tea

Dr. Fran Newman, pianist, and AHS President Barbara Applebury ready for the tea.

By Delores Eveland
On Sunday April 6, 2014 the Artesia Historical Society honored the Woman’s Club of Artesia-Cerritos with a Victorian Tea launching the celebration of their 100 years (1915-2015) of community service.
The event was held at the Albert O. Little Community Center in Artesia Park and over 100 people attended and enjoyed an elegant tea catered by the Noble and Locke Tea Company.
The Woman’s Club of Artesia-Cerritos is the oldest surviving service club in either community. It began with a small membership in 1915 in the village of Artesia and was known as the Westside Reading Club. In just a few years the club changed its name to the Woman’s Club of Artesia and quickly became aligned with the California Federation of Women’s Clubs and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, their international parent organization. With the development and growth of the city of Cerritos, the club then became the Woman’s Club of Artesia-Cerritos.
The audience was enthralled as members of the Executive Board of the Woman’s Club presented a program highlighting the activities and accomplishments of the group by decade from 1910 to the present. The ladies took turns speaking about the activities of each decade. The presenters included Marilyn McGorman, President; Joanne Witt, 1st Vice President; Saundra K. Stark, 2nd Vice President; Irene Lowenberg, Director of Finance; and Katherine Chu, Recording Secretary. Many in the audience commented on the magnitude of the organization’s accomplishments and contributions to our communities. Their projects have been, and are, small and large and have involved many hours of volunteer service as well as thousands of dollars in contributions.
Proclamations were presented to President Marilyn McGorman by Tony Lima, Mayor of Artesia; Mark Pulido, Mayor of Cerritos, and Barbara Applebury for Los Angeles Supervisor Don Knabe. Also present from the Artesia City Council to honor the event were Mayor Pro Tem Miguel Canales, Council Member Sally Flowers and Council Member Ali Taj. Mayor Pro Tem Carol Chen, who is also a Woman’s Club member, further represented the Cerritos City Council.
The Artesia Historical Society was pleased to host such a beautiful afternoon while honoring an outstanding organization.