Murrysville Woman's Club marks 100th anniversary in 2020

The Murrysville Woman’s Club “has figured out 50 million ways to raise money,” according to Joy Somers, who has been a member for nearly four decades.

Somers’ tenure, however, isn’t even half the time the club has been in existence. Formed in 1920 to educate local women about voting following the women’s suffrage movement, the club will mark 100 years in 2020. Members will gather Dec. 5 to take a look back at its extensive history, which includes establishing Murrysville’s first library as well as building the structure which today is the Murrysville Community Center.

Club members are the reason the municipality even has its name: former president Anna Cotter circulated a petition that resulted in the area officially being named “Murrysville.” The club donated $1,000 to help establish what today is Murrysville Fire Company #1, and current president Jan Bollinger was part of the committee that drafted Murrysville’s home-rule charter in 1976.

Bollinger joined the club in 1987 when she got involved with the group’s Career Day. She is a second generation member of club, following in the footsteps of her mother, who joined in 1948.

“She always encouraged me to do club work and get involved in volunteer organizations,” Bollinger said.

Club members used to hold an annual rummage sale to raise funds, and its consequences help illustrate members’ dedication.

“I’m allergic to dust and mold,” Somers said. “I would get sick every time we did it.”

Somers joined the club in 1980.

“I joined because I’d become very involved with scholarships, which we award every year,” she said.

Starting out with vo-tech scholarships, the club in 1983 began awarding nontraditional scholarships for women 21 and older who are seeking to further their education. In June, the club awarded $6,600 in scholarships to women from Murrysville, Mount Pleasant and Greensburg.

“It’s tremendously satisfying to watch women who are in need of education to maybe support their families, even, and we have for three years now supported these women. I believe now we have 98 women we’ve helped, and of those we have PhDs, master’s degrees, and we’ve actually had some contribute back to scholarship funds as they became successful in life.”

Nowadays, the club funds scholarships with its two major annual fundraisers, a fashion show and a Christmas tea.

“I joined the club because I wanted to help people in my community,” said Dee Cimino, one of several women who have been part of the club for more than five decades. “Over the years, I’ve done quite a bit to help along with our other club members.”

Below, a timeline showing some of the club’s milestones over the years.

• 1920: The club is established with 44 members.

• 1922: Dr. Orbin Hall donates the building that will become the first Murrysville library, and club members staff it two hours per day.

• 1942: The club volunteers at hospitals during World War II.

• 1958: Ground broken on construction of what today is the Murrysville Community Center. The club eventually donated the building to the municipality.

• 1959: Club supports the publication of “This is Murrysville” by authors Helene Foley and Marion Berger. The book would go on to be re-published multiple times.

• 1974: Started “Career Day” at the high school; program continued until 2014.

• 1976: Former club president Anna Cotter circulates a petition to rename the area “Murrysville.”

• 1983: Donated the community center to the municipality; gave out first non-traditional scholarship.

• 1997: Marked the 75th anniversary of the library’s founding with a monthlong celebration.

• 2020: Will mark its 100th anniversary. The club will receive citations from both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly at their Dec. 5 meeting.