St. Anthony of Padua Church at 32832 Saint Anthony Way, San Antonio, FL 33576 US - CATHOLIC WOMEN'S CLUB

The St. Anthony’s Catholic Woman’s Club, as we know it today, was preceded in the earlier days by The Mama Margaret Guild, which acted in the same capacity.  To serve the parish needs and support the school.  However, that group dissolved some time in the 1940's - perhaps during the war years.  Although, I have heard about the women of the parish making bandages, etc for the war effort.

My earliest recollection is 1949 or 1950.  A group of parish ladies decided to re-start a support group after a number of years of inactivity.  The meetings were held in the school basement/cafeteria.  As I recall from photos Mrs. Gayle Therres was the first president; Mrs. Mary Jones was Vice President; Mrs. Mary Ellen Backline was Sect. and Mrs. Elizabeth Cannon was Treas.  Some of the early members were: Mrs. Effie Mc Cabe; Mrs. Theresa Schrader; Mrs. Amelia Storch; Mrs. Helen Des Rosier; Mrs. Blanche Naeyaert; Mrs. Orban; Mrs. Catherine Greif; Mrs. Betty Marsh; Mrs. Madaline Beaumont; Mrs. Ester Bienkampen; Mrs. Tillie Yates; Mrs. Rose Herrmann;  Mrs. Ruth Govreau; Mrs. Ruth Culliton; Mrs. Dora Legere; Miss Bernadette Barthle; Miss Barbara Barthle; Miss Rose Therres ; Mrs. Angela Midili;  Among the younger members in the group were: Mrs. .Mary Schrader; Mrs. Pat Reynolds; Mrs. Dolores Hust; Mrs. Mildred Schrader; Mrs. Cecelia Scharber; Mrs. Mary Schambeau, Mrs. Margaret Kiefer; Mrs. Tawana Greif; Mrs. Betty Beaumont; Mrs. Lillian Ullrich Mrs. Jeannine Atwater; Miss Janet Culliton; Mrs. Dottie Sumner; Mrs. Louise Jones; Mrs. Irma McLeod; Mrs. Mary Plazewski; Mrs. Frances Elwell and me, Mrs. Diane Jones.  I’m sure there are untold others whose names I have omitted - my apologies to them.

One of our duties consisted of altar care.  A team was assigned for each month and their duties were to wash the altar linens, dust the sanctuary and the sacristy, pick and arrange flowers and then come back a few days later to remove them. There was a room in the building behind the church with a sink and lots of shelves with every shape of flower vases.  For those with beautiful gardens this was no problem.  Some of us picked “weeds” along the railroad track which we mistook for flowers (but we thought they were pretty) and were politely chastised!  We also sponsored a yearly volunteer clean-up of the church.

One of the group’s best fund raisers was to co-sponsor with the Knights of Columbus the serving of chicken Pilau cooked by Hugh Dunne at the county fair each year.  The women made homemade soups, cakes and pies and did most of the serving.  The booth was a huge hit with the carnival ride employees who seldom got home made foods.

The organization was active in the West Coast Deanery, a group of Catholic Women’s Clubs sponsored by the diocese.  I recall once when we were hostesses we presented a comical skit on how NOT to be a good Catholic.  The mother bemoaned having to get the boys up and to the church before day-light for altar boy duties and how it wasn’t important to send religious cards at Christmas time because the others were usually cheaper, etc. Sadly, two ladies from the west coast were killed at Gower’s Corner on U.S. #42 & S.R. #52 returning home from that meeting.


A large project undertaken by the Catholic Woman’s Club was to completely furnish the school basement with stainless steel appliances so the children could have hot lunches.  This was a huge undertaking and took a number of years to pay off.  However, the children were being served delicious hot meals and never to be forgotten cinnamon rolls whose smell permeated the school and the children must have found it difficult to keep their mind on their studies. Two ladies were hired to cook:  Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Hindman, later on Mrs. Nellie McLoone.  The work table was a covered pool table discarded by someone.  Later on, we added a steam table and a freezer.

Another early project was a library.  It was located in the downstairs of the Jovita Building in the north end, which is now part of Johnson and Beall Surveyors.  Books were donated by all the members and a few were even purchased.  The avid readers soon had read everything in the library and there was also a problem keeping someone there to check out the books. The library lasted only a few years.

Bazaars were an annual affair with a dinner being served, games for the children, raffles on hand made items and other items that were donated. It was noisy, hot and stuffy in the basement, packed with people, but all the memories are of the fun times and the excitement of the children when they won a prize at the fish pond or the bean bag throw.  Most memorable were the Italian dinners served by the Midili / Rinaldi Family.  There were not a multitude of Italian restaurants everywhere then so it was a special treat.

A yearly event was the Halloween Carnival in the park with a costume parade for the children.  Prizes were awarded but each child got a small “prize”.  Games and concessions were placed all around the perimeter of the ball field.  Hamburgers and hot dogs and all the usual Halloween fare was available. The most popular spot was the spook house (tent) with it’s eerie music and slimy “body parts”.

But the most fun and the biggest fund raisers were the annual variety shows entitled “Corn Off The Cob”.  Husband were recruited and asked to do ridiculous things.  The cast was always made of children showing off their singing and dancing talent all the way to seniors who had “known the ropes” of entertaining.  Others not game to silliness on stage would do backdrop art, advertising, stage props, selling tickets or refreshments or whatever it took to raise money.  Photos of some of the acts and programs are still available. Everyone looked forward to this event and children (now in their 50' and 60's) still recall some of the funny moments.  Some plays were also presented at St. Leo auditorium (since destroyed) because the school stage had been made into a classroom and library. A Minstrel Show was even presented one year.

Before these shows, years earlier, a cast of talented parishioners formed the San Antonio Players group which presented plays in the 1920' and 1930's.  Some of those programs are still available. Among those players were Tom Beaumont: Ed Burke; Lucinda Hoehn Vogel; Eris Hartman; Dolores Hartman Hust; Joe Herrmann and several more. I have been told of an elderly parishioner, Mrs. Carrie Tucker, who would always occupy two seats, one for her and one for her umbrella!

A large parish celebration for the church’s 75th anniversary was sponsored by the Catholic Woman’s Club with a beautiful cake served to all.

 
A tradition started by this early Catholic Woman’s Club and continued today is the presentation of gifts to all the first communicants and those being confirmed. 

As I recall, the name became The Catholic Women’s Club a few years ago, instead of the Catholic Woman’s Club.

If anyone has other memories, please jot them down and I will happily include them in this brief history.