The year was 1995 when Holly Springs Mayor Gerald Holleman was approached by town employee Brenda Waddell and soon after by Katherine Herring, wife of police officer John Herring. Both ladies were interested in starting a local women’s club. They did not know each other, so Mayor Holleman did what any smart leader would do: he got them together. Little did he realize the power storm he was unleashing on the community; all in a good way as it turned out. In January, the first meeting of what would become the General Federations Woman’s Club of Holly Springs drew twenty-eight women eager to be of service to their hometown, and by April the membership tally reached sixty-two.
The founding officers were President Joanne Riley-Roth, First Vice-President Brenda Waddell, Second Vice-President Katherine Herring and Third Vice-president Debbie Whitaker-Mann.
When asked what her vision was for this fledging organization, co-founder Katherine Herring said, “My vision was to bring together women in the community with diverse backgrounds who had moved to Holly Springs from all over the country to create a club that would thrive on the personal strengths of these women, each with unique gifts to offer.” The chosen motto, “Unity in Diversity,” epitomized this group, which included women who were everything from college students to empty nesters, business owners to stay-at-home moms, and native born residents to recent relocates.
They soon became proud members of the General Federation Woman’s Clubs, which is the largest and oldest nondenominational, nonpartisan, international service organization of volunteer women in the world with its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The club set off like a whirlwind. These ladies saw shortcomings within town and, instead of sitting around complaining, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work! Needing money to accomplish all the items on their bucket list, they held yard sales and bake sales; sold hot dogs, cook books and commemorative afghans; held craft fairs, fashion shows, and a gift card raffle; sold more hot dogs; hosted a Casino Night and dances; and sold still more hot dogs. John Herring, husband of Katherine Herring, was called upon numerous times to haul his propane grill in the back of his pickup truck to various events so club members could cook and sell hot dogs to raise money. John still chuckles at the memory.
“That old grill of mine saw many a hot dog those first few years,” he said, adding, “the Casino Nights were a lot of fun.”
John wasn’t the only husband recruited into service within the club. The members relied heavily on their other halves and children to assist in the many projects and programs the club took on. In good fun, at the end-of-the-year banquet, an award was named for the husband who assisted the club the most in reaching its vision, and spent the most time volunteering. The first recipient was Tim Sack, husband of member Barb Sack. The award brought on some good-natured kidding amongst the men, who challenged each other to step it up so they would be considered worthy of the award at the end of the next year.
The club shaped its local projects to suit the particular community needs and followed the guidelines set by the international club, breaking the group’s curriculum into six departments: arts, conservation, education, home life, international affairs and public affairs.
Over the next two decades, the club promoted the arts by sponsoring a local arts festival and providing scholarships to school children for literature and visual arts.
With eyes focused on conservation efforts, the club cleaned Main Street under the Adopt-a-Highway program, helped at Turtle Fest, donated rockers and a free-standing viewfinder for Bass Lake Park, planted azaleas at Womble and Veterans parks, supported the Residents Against the Landfill group, sponsored plant swaps, held seminars on composting and backyard habitats, and planted a butterfly garden at Holly Springs Elementary School.
Quality education of children was always a high priority to the club, and when the town’s elementary children were sent to two or three schools outside of Holly Springs, the club members assisted in the effort to get a school in town. On June 5, 1995, the club hosted the groundbreaking of the newly approved school, assembled gift baskets packed with supplies for the new teachers, sewed chorus vests, and provided story books for every first grade student. The effort of providing books continued, even when the town had grown to having three elementary schools. On December 11, 1995, under the watchful eye of Roberta Clayton, we held the dedication of the very first library in town. You guessed it: the ladies had found the space in the old vacated town hall/police station building; solicited for used & new book donations and even created a small room for children’s story time. Later, members of the club served on the Wake County committee that established a county library in town. When the county library was completed, the club paid for the “Good Night Moon” mural to be painted on the children’s corner wall and purchased the display case in the front foyer.
Home life projects had club members making sure people weren’t hungry by collecting canned goods for food drives, delivering Meals on Wheels and packing goodie bags for the homeless. The same was done for four-legged friends with car-loads of dry and canned food delivered to the SPCA. The club collected money and walked annually for Relay for Life and Autism Awareness. It held blood drives, helped with the Special Olympics, played BINGO with seniors, visited the women’s prison and hosted an annual Heritage Day Dinner for the senior ladies of the community. Marianna Heim, long-time home life chairman, fondly recalled all of the Heritage Day Dinners over the many years.
“Honoring the women who grew up and raised their families here in our community has been one of the most rewarding projects both personally and as a club,” she said.
The dinner held annually in May near Mother’s Day, was an event that the ladies of the community anticipated eagerly. The attendees shared stories of life in the depression, pre-electric, pre- and post-war, and pre-Walmart Holly Springs eras.
Not neglecting the humanitarian needs overseas, the women sewed bears and hospital gowns for children undergoing surgery through Operation Smile and sponsored a little girl from Columbia named Rosio. Bees, goats and ducks were purchased through Heifer International to help families become self-supporting.
The club’s dedication to public affairs was accomplished through supporting Kids Vote, hosting candidates forums, supporting the DARE program in schools, and donating breathalyzers for the police department and canine/feline respirators to the fire department.
One project that club members look back upon with great pride is the 9-11 Respect for America Quilt, which was voted by the state woman’s club as the best project, both at the district and state levels. It was definitely a project that helped heal the heart of a hurting community. Chairman Christine Dickson spearheaded an amazing feat of fabric, markers and emotions. The club purchased yards and yards of red, white and blue fabric, cutting the red and white into 1000 3-inch square pieces, which would be reassembled into an American flag. The Character Education Committee at Holly Springs Elementary School helped the children express their pride on those square pieces of fabric with markers. The students then watched as club members lovingly sewed the quilt squares together, witnessing those pieces becoming a huge American flag. A packed auditorium of parents, students and community leaders watched as the 9-11 Respect for America Quilt was unveiled in its glory as the chorus sang God Bless America.
One of the goals of the General Federation Woman’s Clubs is to afford women the opportunity to grow within themselves, to develop leadership skills and to gain self-confidence. Out of this club, four members have been honored as Holly Springs Citizens of the Year: Christine Dickson, Marianna Heim, Cynthia Ellison and myself, Barbara Koblich. The members of the General Federations Women’s Club of Holly Springs were women who were not going to sit idly by when so much needed to be done! The hope of co-founder Brenda Waddell was that the club would bring the ladies together as friends with a united purpose. In Waddell’s mind, the proudest accomplishment of the club was the little library on Main Street. This club, over its twenty years, accomplished so much for the betterment of Holly Springs. It is impossible to list each and every project that was done. No matter where people look in Holly Springs – at the parks, in the schools, in the library – the club left its mark. Unfortunately, as with so many civic clubs, retaining membership is always a challenge. In its infancy years, the club was the “only game in town” so to speak. Soon came the school PTAs, dance schools, gymnastics, scout troops, football, soccer and baseball clubs. With so many other volunteer options, membership within the club dwindled to a handful of ladies. The club officially disbanded in December 2014.
There is an important lesson to be learned from this club’s history: Anyone and everyone can do their part and make a difference. No matter your personal history or background, we all have the ability to do something that will equal change and leave a better world than the one we found.
