In its prime, the Tudor home on Front Street was a hub for the who?s-who of Harrisburg. The hallways and gardens would fill with the wives of influential Harrisburgers, gathered for tea and discussions regarding the issues of the day.
Named the Civic Club of Harrisburg, the ladies? impact on the city was deep and wide as they lobbied for social concerns.
Members of the women-only club paid for Harrisburg?s first free kindergarten, were instrumental in the establishment of a garbage collection system for the city and became champions of the ?City Beautiful? movement in the early 1900s.
The club took on environmental issues that affected residents? health, advocating for clean air and water and at one time, placed a bounty on flies. In 1914, members paid 5 cents per pint of flies, collecting more than 500.
Today the home, with its carefully tended garden and beautiful ballroom, is better known as ?the wedding place on Front Street.? A venue for brides and grooms to dance the night away above the banks of the wide Susquehanna River where Front and North streets meet.
Like many century-old organizations, the club has been challenged to adopt to the modern world. At its peak, club membership included more than 700 women.
Times have changed.
As more and more women entered the workplace ? and more things competed for people?s attention ? club membership began to fall off.
Now, more than 114 years after it began working in the city, the club is rebooting.
Members spent the better part of a year working on a strategic plan for the club, aimed at figuring out its future.
A few weeks ago, in the ballroom on the second floor of the mansion, the heads of several nonprofit organizations were sipping coffee and munching on breakfast. They talked about what their organizations are doing in the Harrisburg region and their plans for the rest of the year.
Habitat for Humanity is close to opening three new homes, they heard. Dress for Success is planning to start a mobile store for women in need of professional clothing. The arts program Barak is planning to launch an arts festival for young people.
The nonprofit breakfast get-together is one of the new initiatives being hosted by the Civic Club. President Beth Cornell is hoping it will become a way for the agencies to not only network, but identify community issues to tackle together.
Business have the Chamber of Commerce, Cornell said, ?but what about non-profits??
?Where do they meet, where do they talk?? she asked. ?We want to be outside facilitators.?
Hence the roundtable discussion a few weeks ago.
Other subtle changes are also taking place in the club. The old house is now wired ? both figuratively and literally, with a website and Internet access. There?s a new motto and logo.
But one of the most interesting initiatives is that the club has started broadcasting.
Each month the ladies host a speaker on a topic relevant to the community.
One month may be a speaker discussing Chesapeake Bay conservation and its impact on communities along the Susquehanna. Or a seminar on senior citizen crime prevention.
In the past, members and visitors would have to physically be present to hear the discussions. But this year the club piloted a program where they began broadcasting the sessions to the nearby Homeland Center.
They?re pursing a grant to allow them to continue to do so, and are working with other organizations in the area to increase their audience.
Then there is the building itself. Upkeep of the historic structure is expensive, but necessary. The club sees itself as a public space ? how can they capitalize on that?
Club officers are talking with the League of Women Voters to host political debates in the fall. Nonprofits can use the historic home for events.
?We?re still doing weddings, we?re still doing events, but we want to expand a little bit beyond that,? Cornell said.
This summer the club is holding a membership drive for women in the local community. More members means more hands to work on projects in the community.
?We have to think about our society today,? Cornell said. ?This place used to be where women would to find out what the issues are. What then is the role of our club? That?s what we want to tackle.
?I didn?t really want us to be known as ?the wedding club,?? Cornell said. ?I want us to be known as ?the Civic Club.??
Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/08/civic_club_of_harrisburg_looks.html
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