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ALONG THE AVENUE PEOPLE AND PLACES ALONG WINTER PARK’S SIGNATURE STREET. By clyde moore
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a conscious one, Nancy tells me. “I think it’s because it was speaking to the individual woman. You as a woman can be significant. You can do things.” The club was founded in 1915 by Helen Morse, wife of Charles Hosmer Morse, one the city’s founders and primary benefactors. The first meeting was held at the Morse home, known as Osceola Lodge. The current building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built on land donated by Morse. Because it was begun during World War I,
the club’s first projects included making surgical dressings and sending 700 pounds of homemade Florida orange marmalade to troops. Sandra says the club today is as vibrant as ever, despite misconceptions that it consists of “a bunch of little old ladies who drink tea and play bridge.” Hardly. Oh, there may some bridge playing and tea drinking going on from time to time. But the club has a $1 million Scholarship Endowment Fund and helps college-bound young people — male and female, from Orange and Seminole
COURTESY OF THE WINTER PARK HISTORY MUSEUM
hen your community has been around for more than 125 years, you’ll have a number of organizations celebrating centennials. Last year it was the Winter Park Country Club. This year it’s the Woman’s Club of Winter Park. Led by President Sandra Blossey, the club is housed in a lovely circa-1920s neoclassical building on Interlachen Avenue. My friend Nancy Miles, the treasurer, introduced me to the group. When the club was founded, the decision to use the word “woman” instead of “women” was
The Woman’s Club of Winter Park, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, is located on Interlachen Avenue in a charming neoclassical building that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The postcard was published shortly after the building was completed.
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W I N T E R P ARK MAG AZI N E | WI N TER 2015
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