It’s Thursday evening and the girls have arrived.

As part of the nearly 100-year-old Saugerties Girls Community Club ritual, the gathering begins with a greeting at the door from hostess Lucy Stagich and small talk over wine and appetizers. The meeting sequence is consistent: a call to order, a run-through of the agenda, and occasionally a guest speaker, bookended with coffee and dessert.

Stagich, a member for the past decade, said she enjoys the preparation that goes into hosting. “I think it gives us an opportunity for people to come into your home so they can visit once again,” she said. The monthly meetings rotate through members’ homes.

The agenda focused on community service, the heart of the club’s mission. Leanne Thornton, a longtime member and deputy supervisor for the Town of Saugerties, updated those gathered on the town’s splash pad project and highlighted the Boys and Girls Club’s upcoming fundraiser. Club president Juanita Wilsey pointed to the volunteer sign-up sheets for the Brooke BBQ fundraiser for the splash pad and the club’s May 31 yard sale. There was also a rundown of April birthdays and personal updates; Stagich’s granddaughter’s choir recently performed at Carnegie Hall.

While the social aspect of the evening is a highlight, charity is the shared passion that binds members together. The Saugerties Girls Community Club was founded in the spring of 1928 by 15 young women with a mission of giving back to the community. Historically, the mission was to help those “less fortunate and assist with community concerns.”

Fundraising highlights have included an annual “vanilla campaign” where members sold vanilla flavoring to raise money for a Christmas party for needy girls. During World War II, members sent care packages containing socks, paperback books, and candies to servicemen. A note in a holiday package read, “To all of you in Khaki and Blue, we send this greeting warm and true. Our thoughts are with you day by day, while you speed victory its way. We hope our boxes have brought you cheer.” They also sold war bonds in the lobby of the Orpheum Theatre.

Nearly 97 years later, the club remains dedicated to charity and friendship. Membership hovers around 16, with many participants involved for decades.

“It’s a good group of women who like each other. We like to talk and visit each other, and we like to work together,” said Marilyn Bucher, the club historian, who joined 25 years ago. Membership is open to women 18 and older, with an annual fee of $25.

While the Girls Club is one of many civic organizations in Saugerties, its name is a reminder of a time when clubs were predominantly male-only. Women’s clubs emerged in the late 1800s, as women found more leisure time with the rise of the middle class and household innovations, according to Audrey Klinkenberg, the town’s historian.

Over the years, the Girls Club has adapted to accommodate working women. Meetings are held in the evening, with a summer hiatus for family vacations.

As a schoolteacher and vocational counselor, Bucher gravitated to the club partly because, unlike the afternoon clubs, it met in the evenings. Bucher, now retired, also appreciated that it was—as its name suggests—a women-only club.

“It’s a lot of camaraderie, and we’re all like-minded. We’re all interested in helping the community,” she said. Many members are retired teachers and nurses, and charitable efforts often focus on youth. “We’re all particularly interested in doing things that will help the children in the community because a lot of us were schoolteachers or worked with kids in one way or another,” she said.

The goal is to raise at least $1,000 annually. “What we raise is what we give away,” said Thornton.

Recent fundraisers have included a bus trip to New York City and a yard sale, which raised nearly $800 last year. This year’s yard sale on May 31 coincides with the tag sale at the United Methodist Church and the public library’s book sale.

A significant part of the meetings involves deciding how to allocate raised funds. This year, the club is supporting the town’s planned splash pad and the free store at Saugerties High School, which provides items for students. Ongoing projects include supporting high school scholarships, donating Stewart’s milk vouchers, collecting toiletries and food for local pantries, including the Saugerties Food Pantry.

Marilyn Richardson, who leads the Saugerties Food Pantry, said the club is proactive in identifying and meeting needs. “We run on donations alone, and we are all volunteers,” Richardson said. About 90% of the pantry’s expenses come from donations.

The club also seeks hands-on ways to contribute. Recently, members donated cookware to the Boys and Girls Club and have planted flowers at the entrance to the Village of Saugerties in the past.

While community service is central, camaraderie remains a main draw. In years past, the club hosted a community dance featuring Montano’s Orchestra. Fundraisers have included bake sales, raffles, gourmet dinners, cancer walks, Victorian tea parties, and an American Girl fashion show. Members also published two cookbooks filled with recipes, some dating back to original members.

“The cookbooks were a big hit. Mine is in pieces at this point and held together with a rubber band,” Thornton said.

Recruitment often happens by word of mouth and sometimes passes through generations. Thornton, who married into a Saugerties family, got involved after driving her mother-in-law and friends to meetings.

“Times have changed—the young ones, they’re not interested, and they just don’t join clubs anymore,” Wilsey said. “They must go out and work and support families, and it’s more family things and doing things on their own.”

Some community members said they were unaware of the club.

“I know a lot of people who volunteer for various organizations, and yet I have never heard of the Girls Club,” said Teresa Giordano, a village resident who sits on the library board and is involved with the Saugerties Democratic Committee.

“I’ve lived in Saugerties for over 20 years and never heard of the Girls Club. I think it’s more of a visibility thing,” said Katie Cokinos, senior program and outreach coordinator at the Orpheum.

Girls Club members, however, focus on the joy of camaraderie and their charitable work rather than the club’s fate.

“I expect to be here as long as God gives me that ability. I look forward to continuing my relationship with the people in the community and giving whatever we have to give,” said Sherian Thornton.

Despite changing times, members find comfort in enduring traditions—a September potluck to start the season, a June picnic to end it, and an annual Christmas party at a local restaurant.

When a member dies, family members are invited to share stories at the wake, where the club brings its banner.

And then there’s the club’s name.

“Well, the name, that’s really a misnomer,” Bucher said with a laugh.

“People laugh today when they look at the membership and go, girls? I said yeah. The average age is probably 70 now,” Thornton said. Although many new members are recent retirees, Thornton hopes the club continues into the next generation.

“It’s a great group of women who love the community and volunteer and want to continue to do what they can to help others,” she said.

Amy Wu is a reporter covering Woodstock and Saugerties. Send correspondence to amy@theoverlooknews.com.