Lexington History Museum at the Thomas Hunt Morgan House 210 North Broadway, Lexington, KY. Tours of the “130 Years of the Woman’s Club of Central Kentucky” exhibit. Exhibit and Kentucky Chautaugua performance by the incomparable Kelly Brengleman portraying WCCK member Madeline McDowell Breckinridge. This performance is open to the public.

Chris Cathers, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council, will be our featured speaker. The Kentucky Arts Council is the state arts agency and is responsible for developing and promoting support for the arts in Kentucky. Jean Dorton, who serves on the Council’s Board of Directors will introduce Chris. Jean also serves on the board of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Past President Terrell Kowal will be your hostess for our April meeting at Masterson Station Clubhouse, located at 328 Masterson Station Drive, Lexington. Spotlight Speaker will be Hope’s Wings, a domestic violence shelter in Richmond.

Meeting is set for the Lexington History Museum/Thomas Hunt Morgan House. Our business meeting will include a review of our club finances, a discussion of the upcoming state convention of the General Federation of Womans Clubs - Kentucky and plans for the 130th Anniversary of WCCK. Spark Community Cafe is our Spotlight Speaker.

Virgil Covington Jr. offers a riveting performance as William Wells Brown, Lexington native and the first published African American novelist and playwright. Brown was born to an enslaved mother. Due to inadequate record keeping for slaves, the time and place is not assured. He was likely born in 1814 or 1815 in the Mt. Sterling area or in Lexington. Brown experienced the dissolution and sale of his own family and witnessed the harsh and brutal separation of other families in the institution of slavery. After years of failed attempts to escape slavery, for which he was jailed and beaten, Brown finally escaped to a life of freedom in 1834.

William Wells Brown went on to become a public advocate of the abolitionist and temperance movements. His memoir, Narrative of William Wells Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself, had a direct influence on the abolitionist movement. In 1853, he published Clotel; or the President's Daughter and in 1858, a play The Escape; or a Leap for Freedom. Our SpotlightSpeaker will be the Lexington Tool Library.

Traditional Christmas luncheon at beautiful Spindletop Hall, decked out in holiday finery, featuring a Christmas Concert by Woman’s Club Favorites Al and Kristy Beers on the flute and guitar, followed by Christmas games. Stacey Stone with the Center for Creative Reuse will be our Spotlight Speaker

Speaker TBA. Private room, order your own lunch from the menu. Judge Lindsay Hughes Thurston will be our featured speaker. Spotlight Speaker will be Tim Hodge of Thursday’s Child, which supports families of special needs adoptees.

We'll gather at the historic Athens Schoolhouse Inn, with a catered luncheon in the private Chicago Room. Our program will be the Berea Festival Dancers led by none other than our wonderful member Jennifer Escobar. The Festival Dancers, a youth dance group of students aged 12 - 18, will perform English Country Dance. Jacqueline Hamilton, our Spotlight Speaker, will report on the week-long student writing workshop Why We Write. Your club provided two scholarships for this newly-launched this year at Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. WCCK paid the tuition and expenses for two students of children who are Lexington firefighters. Thank you!

Spring will be here soon! It won't be long before you need to pull out those hat boxes, press those pretty dresses and head to beautiful Keeneland Race Course for the April Spring Meet.

As your President I am proud to say I was able again this year to reserve 24 seats in the Phoenix Room for Wednesday April 12, 2023.

First come, first served.

Reserve your spot by mailing a check for $125 to Pace Cooke Emmons with the Philanthropy Committee. Her address is: 121 Edgemoor Drive, Lexington, KY 40503.

Your check covers admission, a buffet meal and a gift to the Annual Fund of $40. You can join your friends in the Phoenix Room as early as 11 a.m.

Additional details will be available after we receive your payment.

The new Executive Director of the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation will discuss his vision for the future of the Trust, for historic preservation in Central Kentucky and the partnership between the Trust and Woman’s Club. This meeting will be a brunch. Pastries and drinks will be provided by Club leadership. In the event of bad weather, we will cancel the in-person meeting and switch to Zoom.

Woman’s Club member Linda Cunningham took a one-day journey of a lifetime to Washington, D.C. Called Operation HERoes, the Honor Flight is sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs (KDVA), the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) and UPS. The mission is the first all-female flight coordinated by Honor Flight Kentucky. WCCK members were heavily involved in this event: Ashley Bruggeman was the flight director, Kelli Parmley and Lindsay Thurston were bus captains in Washington, D.C. and Recording Secretary Amelia Wisner coordinated having members of our club on hand to greet Linda’s flight when it returned home. Linda will share the story of her day and her service.

Jean Ritchie

Damsel with a Dulcimer

1922-2015

Traditional musician, songwriter, poet, commercial performer, recording artist, author and composer Jean Ritchie, born in Viper, Perry County, Kentucky, in 1922, was the youngest of Balis and Abigail Ritchie's 14 children. She began her recording career in 1952, signing with Elektra Records. Throughout her career she recorded more than 35 albums, which strongly reflected her Kentucky heritage and featured her playing the mountain dulcimer. Known as the "Mother of Folk," Ritchie was a major contributor to the national revival of folk music across America during the mid to second half of the 20th century. Artists including Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton have covered her songs. Jean Ritchie was also an outspoken environmental activist. Her song, "Black Waters" is a well known protest song that Ritchie wrote about strip mining in Kentucky.

The final event of the club year: Election of officers. Fun Tea. Annual major grant selected by YOU, the members.

From President Judy Owens: It is my pleasure to announce that the annual Woman's Club exclusive gathering at Keeneland Race Course is back! Your club has reserved 24 seats at the Phoenix Room for April 13.

The Phoenix Room offers a view of the Paddock. The dress is business casual.

To reserve your place, please mail a check for $125 to our treasurer Gayle Hutcherson. This amount covers a buffet luncheon and a $40 donation to the Annual Grant. Reservations are first-come, first-served.

We will hold spaces for Woman's Club members ONLY until February 21st. If all 24 seats haven't been sold by then, we will open sales up to prospective members, family, and friends of members.

Ladies, don't miss this opportunity to reconnect with the glorious heritage of Central Kentucky racing, and to benefit the Annual Grant.

This amazing presentation is rescheduled for March 2023. Unfortunately, the February meeting was canceled due to COVID-19. During World War II 310,000 American women worked to produce aircraft for the war effort and none was more famous than Kentucky’s Rose Leigh. Kelly Brengelman will portray Rose Leigh, a young girl from Science Hill, Kentucky who worked as a riveter during World War II, earned her pilot’s wings, and went on to inspire many as "Rosie the Riveter. Kelly, who performs as part of the Kentucky Humanities Council’s Chautauqua program, is a Woman’s Club favorite. Kelly has also portrayed Madeline McDowell Breckinridge for Woman’s Club.

At Home Tea. Please join us for this fun and fabulous annual fundraiser to benefit the Annual Grant for Woman’s Club. This year, Linda Owens Jennings of Berea, an expert on British tea service and tea in general, will do a Zoom presentation. She has had extensive training in Great Britain on the nuances of tea and the traditions associated with serving it. The beauty of this is that it gives you, our members, an extra program. And it doesn't cost anything! Enjoy this updated event in two ways: Via Zoom in the comfort of your own home or at an in-house Watch Party, where you can enjoy Linda’s presentation and avoid dealing with the technology. Watch Parties are scheduled at the homes of Judy Owens, Pace Cooke Emmons and Barb Ellerbrook. Please contact Jean Dorton at jeandorton@icloud.com to RSVP to attend one of the in-house Watch Parties.