AMHERST — In an effort to bolster membership and familiarize people with its mission, the Amherst Woman’s Club is holding an open house Monday afternoon.
The event will run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.on Sept. 12 at the club’s 35 Triangle St. home, the 19th-century mansion built in 1864 by hat manufacturer Leonard M. Hills and given to the club in 1922.
Co-President Cathryn Lombardi said the idea for the open house developed after the club sought and earned a $135,000 Community Preservation Act grant from the town for a painting and restoration project of the building it calls the Hills Memorial Clubhouse.
“We found in the process of applying for that grant that many people really don’t know about the Amherst Woman’s Club and what it does,” Lombardi said.
With the event, the hope is to inform women who might be curious about the club’s mission and the property, with members to lead tours during the two hours, and talk about the history of the club and its charitable work. Refreshments will be offered including afternoon tea served on the veranda, should weather allow.
Members are encouraged to bring a friend or neighbor, though anyone is welcome.
Founded on May 18, 1893, when Amy Barnes Maynard invited women living in Amherst to meet at her home on the Massachusetts Agricultural College campus, the club began meeting about a century ago in the Italian villa-style building designed by William Fenno Pratt, the same local architect who worked on The Evergreens, the nearby home of Emily Dickinson’s brother, Austin. The building is an element of the Emily Dickinson Local Historic District.
Money the club raises has gone to scholarships and to support nonprofits. This past year, for example, a scholarship is helping a high school graduate pursue his studies at Western New England University, while grants went to Family Outreach of Amherst, for providing shelter for women and children and crisis intervention; and the Boys and Girls Club of Amherst, as it creates new after-school programming for students.
The club has 80 members, meeting twice monthly on Monday afternoons and once a month on Thursday evenings. Many of the events, including those with speakers, are open to the public.
Co-President Charlene Moran said the open house could expand the club’s outreach to the Pioneer Valley. Also, by holding evening meetings on the second Thursdays in September, October and November, with social hours with wine starting at 6 p.m. and speakers at 7 p.m., more people might be able to participate.
Moran notes that club members will be touring, as a group, the newly refurbished Emily Dickinson Museum in October.
“We encourage everyone to join us next Monday, to come talk to us about our club, and to see what our public programs are for this coming year,” Lombardi said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
