At the very first club meeting on May 23, 1930, thirteen Windsor ladies met for the purpose of organizing a Woman’s Club. A motion was made and carried to apply for membership in the Virginia Federation. The motion carried. Meetings were held twice

monthly and the first dues were $1.50. Five commandments were adopted and members were fined 10 cents if they

were late for meetings without a reasonable excuse. The five commandments were:

1. Thy shalt not be late.
2. Thou shalt be prepared to give thine opinion.
3. Thou shalt pay thy dues promptly.
4. Thou shalt not take offence at their fellow members.
5. Thou shalt bear this statement well in mind – A substitute you must find, if you cannot do the work assigned.

At the end of the first club year the club had $6.72 in the bank. In May of 1933 it was reported that $8.95 had been made on the sale of soup and that milk shades and cakes be served in place of soup some days for lunch at school. Fundraising projects

were not named in the minutes, but the treasurer reported a balance of $50.37 on hand in 1934.

In November 1934 the club voted to have a baby popularity contest and that a fancy sale be help on the night the prizes were awarded to the babies. Later the State President was entertained at a dinner on December 19th . The meal was served by the

ladies of Colosse Baptist Church at a cost of 50 cents per plate.

Through the years catering dinners was a remarkably successful way to earn money needed for our projects, including serving the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, the Central Hill Hunt Club Dinner as well as regularly serving dinner for the Windsor Ruritan Club meetings.

In 1987 our club joined with many of the civic clubs in the county to form the Isle of Wight Civic Club Council. One of the projects was planning and putting on the Smithfield Ham and Gourmet Food Festival The object of the festival was to promote

Isle of Wight County and its products. Entertainment the first year was Pat Boone.

Through the years fundraisers have changed with the times. Fundraising projects include holding Spring Craft Shows and now a Christmas Craft Fair. We even served breakfast to a hunt club near Surry at their dog trials. Then we decided to put the “fun” in fundraising and attended the Christmas tour of homes in Edenton, NC, made a trip to the Maryland Live Casino, attended several plays at the Sight and Sound Theater in Pennsylvania, Mt. Vernon Christmas on the Potomac, National Harbor and Ice Show and to see the Washington, DC Cherry Blossoms.

Currently our biggest fundraisers are our Christmas Craft Show and cooking and selling Boston Butts on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. The community of Windsor is incredibly supportive of all our projects and fundraisers.



The Woman’s Club of Windsor, Inc. is proud to recognize Mary Lee Willis for over 50 years of service to our community and local club as well as to GFWC and GFWC Virginia. In addition to the 50 year pin presented to Mrs. Willis, she received a letter from GFWC congratulating her on this milestone and recognizing the commitment and dedication with which she has served. In addition to being Club President several times, Mrs. Willis has served in many other capacities over the years and her leadership has made a great impact. We celebrate Mary Lee Willis and her 50+ years of extraordinary community service.

These beautiful replicas of historic Windsor buildings are available for $25! Contact a club member for more information.