Culbertson Women’s Club Celebrates 100 Years Of Service

The Culbertson Women’s Club was organized in September 1924 by Kate Whitcomb and her sister Mary Franklin. They put an article in The Searchlight for all women interested in forming a women’s club to meet at the school on a certain evening.

To quote Mrs. Whitcomb, “Their purpose was to form an organization of women who would work together for the good of the community.” Twenty-three women responded and they organized, adopted a constitution and by-laws, elected officers and appointed committees. The officers elected were Kate Whitcomb, president; Mary Stahl, vice president; and Jeanette Brooks, secretary/treasurer. In May 1925, they joined the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

The Culbertson Public Library was established in 1925 as the first project of the newly organized Women’s Club. The women did a house-to-house canvas for books and the new library was opened in the building next to Culbertson’s current town hall. The library board, comprised of Women’s Club members, kept the library open on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. The only money they had for maintenance and new books was from fines and from new books which were rented out for 2 cents a day. Each year they also had a book drive. For years they sponsored a Flower Show Tea and the proceeds went to new books. This came to be known as the Annual Library Pie Social and continues today.

The Women’s Club has sponsored many worthwhile programs throughout the years. In 1933 they were the first to supply milk to undernourished children attending school. In 1934, they started the school hot lunch program. For many years, they sponsored the speech and drama program in the high school.

In July 1970, $3,200 was raised through various fundraisers and donations for a new swimming pool. Within a year, they had raised $12,535 and the new pool opened its doors in 1971. This is Culbertson’s current pool to this day.

Some other projects spearheaded by the Women’s Club in the past include a beauty shop for the nursing home residents, anatomically correct dolls for safety awareness, fundraising for the fire department, style shows, walk-a-thons, an old-fashioned carnival, concerts, local talent shows, fun runs, community fund drives, bingo, breakfast with Santa, 50/50 tickets, main street flowers and Frontier Days meals to name a few.

The most recent community project has been the construction of a new swimming pool bathhouse. This project was begun in 2015 to raise money for a splash pad/ pool building to update the original structure built in 1971. Due to ongoing road blocks and continual rising construction costs, it is only feasible to complete the building at this time. The groundbreaking for the new building was held on May 5 and the target opening will be the summer of 2026.

The Culbertson Women’s Club would like to take this opportunity to recognize all the many women who have served as members, volunteered to help or contributed in any way. “You truly have made a difference. Also, a shout out to all of you who have supported this club for 100 years. What a wonderful community we live in,” said Women’s Club members.