News
The 3-W Homemakers Club to celebrate its 75th anniversary
Scott Wagar
10/01/2013
The 3-W Homemakers Club in Willow City will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary this week with a special luncheon and spending time remembering their past.
The 3-W Homemakers established on a cold, rainy evening on April 23, 1938 when all 45 ladies in Willow Creek Township were invited to its club organization meeting which was held at Willow Creek School #1.
On that cold, wet evening, of the 45 women in the township, eight women walked into the school house and took it upon themselves to organize a homemakers club and invited all women living in the township to join the club.
The chartered members included Laura Block, Hattie Coss, Arline Dreyer, May Dreyer, Eva Liebelt, Clara Lehmann, Violet Lehmann and Luella Rothgran who was the initial organizer.
On May 18, 1938, the homemakers held its first official meeting, which was held at the Coss’ home. In the ladies first meeting they voted Liebelt the first president and Violet Lehmann the vice president and Rothgarn secretary and treasurer.
The women also chose a temporary name for the group and called themselves the Willow City Homemakers.
Two individuals, Dorothy Block and Emelia Munger, also joined the club, making the membership consist of 10 residents of the Willow Creek Township.
Rothgran held the first lesson, which was titled appropriately, “A Successful Club”.
Membership dues were also set with members paying 5 cents a meeting, or 60 cents a year.
In the next four months, the Willow City Homemakers drew up and approved its constitution, bylaws and creed; installed its officers, approved of having the first Wednesday of each month as its permanent meeting date and gave the organization its official title, the 3-W Homemakers.
The 3-W in the group’s name was placed into the homemaker’s name to symbolize and remind the members that if they missed three meetings in succession without a proper reason, they would be removed from the group.
By 1939, the 3-W Homemakers were well established in the townships and were busy holding educational meetings, assisting community members in their times of need and celebrating special events; and, at times, with a bit of fun.
“On Sept. 27, 1939 they held the first bridal shower honoring member Clara Mae Coss, who was about to marry Harry Ralph,” stated Mildred Rothgran in her writings of the 3-W Homemakers. “The Reinhold Klebe home burned and they planned assistance for the family.
“There were regular birthday parties where crafts were gifted,” Rothgarn added. “A couple mystery routes took them to the vacant Fred Lentz and William Getzlaff’s farmsteads. One picnic clue was, Chase the Pony around the Big Tree to be interpreted as the Chase place that had a record large tree growing there.
“The club had begun as an affiliate of the Extension Division of North Dakota Agricultural College with Director Grace Delong assisting 3-W. From April 1939 to October 1947 they received project lessons through the Bottineau County Extension Department, then from the McHenry County Office until October 1947 when it went back to being a Bottineau County Club. Currently, there is a connection to McHenry County through individual membership. The first extension lesson was canning meat in the home.”
Meetings were held primarily in the members’ homes. At times, they were held in the basement of Immanuel Church and its parochial school building.
The 3-W Homemakers were known to have combined meetings with other clubs and enjoyed card tournaments and other activities. In the members first combined meeting in 1941, they played cards against the Willow City Birthday Club and won the tournament.
They also had fundraisers and assisted a number of institutions, some of which included San Haven Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Jamestown’s Anne Carlsen Center for handicapped children, Grafton State Hospital, Willow City Pioneer Home, Pennies for Friendship and the International Peace Garden to name a few.
During World War II, the club assisted in the war effort with projects and they adopted soldiers’ sons.
Having a homemakers club in North Dakota was no easy task considering the weather, but the weather never deterred the women in their club meetings. This was best seen on April 1, 1942, after a terrible spring blizzard that left deep snow in the area and impassable roads.
For Coss and Liebelt, who lived seven miles out in the county away from the club’s meeting place that day, they walked the seven miles in the deep snow and unforgiving roads to attend the meeting. Apparently, to them, bad weather wasn’t a proper reason to miss the club’s meeting for the 3-W members.
The group was interested in other countries and international cuisine. Annually, they hold ethic food dinners tasting and learning about different food staples from around the world.
On May 5, 1982, the first international member was recognized into the homemakers club, Pauline Kitzman, who had just recently became a U.S. citizen from Germany. Kitzman is well identified as a member of the group and is known for her hospitality, kindness and her ability to enjoy speaking, to the point that during one meeting the group hosted an animal calling contest and she was named the champion of the competition.
From eight members, the 3-W Homemakers of Willow Creek Township today have grown to 63 members with an annual membership from 60 cents a year to an annual fee of $5.
The group today still holds to its traditions of being humanitarian group with a love for learning, making friends and enjoying life to the fullest.