The State College Women’s Welcome Club has 177 members. Pamela McDonough, the organization’s current president, is working toward greatly increasing that number as the organization celebrates its forty-fifth anniversary.
“For forty-five years, WWC has brought women together from all walks of life,” she says, “to socialize, have fun, and form lifelong relationships. I’ve been a member of this club since 1993 and have met many of my closest friends here.”
Diane Bartram agrees. “My husband and I moved to State College in 1979,” she says, “and the next year an acquaintance who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer took me to a meeting. I’m very glad she did. There were less than a hundred women in WWC in the 1980s, but the age range was greater—more people in their twenties—although we did have one woman become a member at age eighty-six!” Bartram joined forty-three years ago and is the organization’s longest continuous member and one of twenty currently active “Golden Girls” (those who have belonged for twenty years or more).
“I signed up for several of the interest groups in the beginning,” she says, “including one for bridge, which I still attend. Bridge has always been big for me, although I took part in other groups too, including one for knitting. But my stitches were lumpy every time, so I started just bringing mending instead.” Bartram also chaired the crafts group for several years. “I kept our projects simple,” she says, “because, really, it was just an excuse to get together. Many of us from those early days remain close today. I think it has to do with the cohesiveness of women.”
Catherine Koch, another Golden Girl, has been affiliated with the organization for twenty-five years. “In March 1997,” she says, “my son and I were at a local park when some members of WWC’s ‘Moms & Tots’ interest group [no longer active] invited me to join. That May, I became the club’s secretary, and have served on the board every year since. The beauty of our club, which I treasure, is that members get to decide how active they want to be. The events calendar shows you can be busy with activities every week, once or twice a month, or just occasionally—it’s completely up to you.”
Carol Dwyer, Golden Girl, club historian, and scrapbook-artist-extraordinaire, says, “The Women’s Welcome Club began in 1978, when members of the Welcome Wagon organization, which reached out to those women new to the community, decided to include long-term residents of the greater Centre Region area as well.
“The goal then,” says Dwyer, “was to offer monthly programs and social events, to share activities based on common interests, and to foster strong friendships—in addition to providing opportunities to participate in community service. All of that is still true to this day.”
A number of WWC members volunteer throughout the year for various community service activities such as the United Way Day of Caring, Toys for Tots, WPSU’s On-Air Membership Drive, and other similar opportunities. And at each general meeting, members collect magazines and tote bags for Centre Safe, needed items for PAWS, pop-top tabs for Ronald McDonald House, and used greeting cards for the Grange.
The club has, from the beginning, used the early-American pineapple motif (scattered liberally throughout its printed materials, on table decorations, and even worn as a costume) to symbolize its mission of friendship and hospitality. “But club members go beyond the laughter and light-heartedness that’s so much a part of the WWC,” says Golden Girl Bonnie Knapp, “to be there with love and support when someone experiences loss or hardship.”
Liz Keller, interest group chair, has seen many friendships deepen to this level while watching over the sixteen current WWC interest groups. Among these are: five card/game groups, breakfast and lunch dining groups, afternoon coffee or tea get-togethers, a group that attends local theater productions (often with a meal before or after), a weekly picnic-in-a-park group (weather permitting), a gardening group, a scrapbooking group, a book club, and the “Day Trippers.” The latter interest group initially chose destinations possible to visit round-trip in one day but now also ventures out for weekend—and even week-long—jaunts and occasionally goes much, much farther.
McDonough has been in charge of the Day Trippers for nearly thirty years. “I remember our very first outing,” she says. “We met at Meyer’s Dairy for sundaes. To my surprise, eighteen women showed up.” During that first five years, the group began to carpool to various locations. Then, at the urging of McDonough’s family physician, David Garrison, she began chartering a bus. (Garrison’s hobby was moonlighting as a Fullington bus tour driver, so he helped with the arrangements.)
After that, the Day Trippers literally took off: to the Grove City outlets in an initial foray; to the Finger Lakes (where one traveler forgot her dentures), to New York City for a high tea at the Waldorf Astoria, and to dozens and dozens of other destinations in the U.S. But it didn’t stop there. Under McDonough’s guidance, the Day Trippers have taken elaborate overseas tours and cruises. A visit to the Alsace wine region in France proved a particular favorite, as did a Caribbean cruise.
In addition to planning and organizing the Day Trippers activities, McDonough says she took on the role of WWC president because “this club has given me so much; it’s my way of giving back.” And also because 2023—in addition to being WWC’s forty-fifth anniversary—is McDonough’s thirtieth year as a member. She found being elected, and then re-elected, to the two terms that span this particular year (terms run June 1 through May 31) especially meaningful.
A main focus for McDonough as president is to ‘get the word out.’ “For WWC to go another forty-five years,” says McDonough, “we need to build our numbers. And we’ve been putting a lot of effort into doing that. As one example, our club had a float in Penn State’s homecoming parade last fall. A committee of about fifteen members (some longstanding, some new) made this happen. I cooked dinner for us every Friday night, and although we worked hard, we also found a lot to laugh about.”
Kimi Waite, one of the newer, younger, members of WWC, volunteered for the Homecoming Committee and even recruited her husband to tow the float in the parade. “Being part of that experience was so much fun,” she says. Since then, Waite has stayed active by attending general monthly meetings. “I like the variety of the speakers,” she says. “I heard about ‘How to Write a Memoir,’ ‘An Update on the Palmer Museum of Art,’ ‘Volunteering in America,’ and ‘What’s New at the Arboretum.’ But there are lots of other topics. And the food people make and bring to these evenings is amazing!”
The board arranges speakers for many of the monthly meetings but also holds more active events including luaus, tailgates, trivia nights, murder mystery plays, banquets, elaborate teas, wine and chocolate socials, and more. “I’ve enjoyed every WWC activity I’ve taken part in so far,” says Waite, who became chair of the Ways & Means Committee in May, “and am looking forward to bringing other women into the club.”
In addition to the homecoming parade float, the club has occupied booths at Boalsburg during the Memorial Day celebration, at the Grange Fair, and at the Pine Grove Mills Farmers Market. WWC members talked with passersby and handed out club materials during these recruitment efforts. The women intend to continue promoting WWC membership at similar events to come.
WWC board members installed in May 2023 also are organizing several celebrations to occur between now and January commemorating the club’s forty-fifth anniversary year. McDonough has charged these officers with “spreading the sparkle” as they promote the idea of women coming together for fun and laughter, for companionship and camaraderie, and for a strong community presence.
To find out more, email Catherine Koch, membership chair, at wwcmembership@gmail.com or go to womenswelcomeclub.net. Prospective members will receive a packet of information about the State College Women’s Welcome Club, including the monthly newsletter, “The Welcome Mat,” which includes a calendar of activities. T&G
Diane Johnston Leos is a State College freelance writer.
WOMEN’S WELCOME CLUB PRESIDENTS
(1978 to present)
Marie Landiak
Pam Johnson
Ginny Ann Cappolla
Dolores Ritter
Donna Kelly
Lois Cooper
Sue Mascolo
Candy Dannaker
Jane Maslowski
Rhonda Wise
Mary Beth Allegretti
Linda McCoskey (2 terms)
Judy Rushing
Jane Stewart
Harriet Feinstein
Heather Bodwell
Gail Dougan
Beth Wilkinson
Saledeh Karamooz
Nancy Mitchell
Catherine Koch (2 terms)
Dorothy Pelick (2 terms)
Kimberly Kokoski
Jane Jantzer-Wilson (2 terms)
Leslie Foster (2 terms)
Carol Dwyer (2 terms)
Deborah Flavin (2 terms)
Terri Thompson (2 terms)
Beverly Mullen
Janyce Condon (2 terms)
Deb Williard (2 terms)
Carol Gouty (2 terms)
Pamela McDonough (2 terms)
