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Receiving a
$35,898 gift to the Johnston Health
Foundation Hospice Fund from Laura Moore,
an incorporator of the disbanded
Smithfield Junior Woman's Club, are CEO
Tom Williams and Vice President April
Culver of UNC Health Johnston.
Junior Woman's Club donations are
unexpected gifts for three non-profits
STORY & PHOTOS BY SUSAN
LASSITER
who served as president of the Smithfield
Junior Woman's Club 1977-78
Although the Smithfield Junior Woman’s Club disbanded
about 11 years ago, members were able to deliver large
gifts of money this month to three non-profit
organizations.
Immediate Past President Sarah Caldwell, Immediate
Past Treasurer Crystal Allen, and an incorporator of
the club, Laura Moore, have worked since 2020 to make
this happen. Checks for $35,898 each were delivered to
Johnston Health Foundation Hospice Fund, Public
Library of Johnston County and Smithfield, and
Johnston County Arts Council because they met the
desired qualifications of being tax-exempt non-profits
that serve community betterment.
Public Library Director
Johnnie Pippin accepts the Junior Woman's Club
check from Laura Moore.
Arts Council Director Darlene Williford
accepts the club's donation from Mrs. Moore. |
The funds came from the sale of the club’s property
located on North Second Street in Smithfield. Guy and
Pam Lampe who live nearby on the same street purchased
the property last August and plan to remodel the
building for a residence.
It was built in 1931 by the Smithfield Woman’s Club as
a club house and has never been occupied as a
residence.
In 1995, the Smithfield Woman’s Club, Inc. conveyed
the property to the Smithfield Junior Woman’s Club,
Inc. because the senior club was dissolving. The
property was the remaining club asset that had to be
sold in order to dissolve the corporation.
It is believed that the club house was the only
structure built in Smithfield in 1931 in the depths of
the Great Depression.
The lot was donated to the Woman’s Club on June 27,
1931 by Mrs. T. R. Crocker, a former Smithfield
citizen and close friend of Mrs. H. L. Skinner, a past
club president.
When the club voted in February 1931 to construct a
new club house, it agreed to spend $4,000 because that
was the value of the Building and Loan shares the club
had been carrying. The club had selected a lot for
construction but abandoned it when costs to prepare
the lot were too expensive. Upon receiving the
donation of a better-located lot from the Crockers,
construction began. It was completed in December. Mrs.
T. J. Lassiter Sr. (Rena) was president of the club
that year.
An open house was held at the new club building in
early January 1932 and, according to a Smithfield
Herald story, "more than 150 guests called
during the evening despite the inclement weather." The
house was remodeled in 1979 by club members and
husbands using funds raised by two community homes
tours. In 2001, the club again held a campaign to
"renovate and enhance our 70-year-old Smithfield
historic landmark." It was called a "This Old House
Reception."
Through the years, the building was used by the
community for dances, receptions, family reunions,
dinners, music recitals, art contests, bridge parties,
and birthday celebrations in addition to many civic
meetings.
The Smithfield Junior Woman’s Club – sponsored
by the Woman’s Club – was organized on September 12,
1945 by 15 charter members with Mrs. J. J. Broadhurst
serving as president, Mrs. Thel Hooks Jr. vice
president, Mrs. Ed Boyette recording secretary, Mrs.
Bernadette Hoyle corresponding secretary, and Mrs.
Brack Wilson treasurer. Other charter members were
Delia Ellington, Mattie Lassiter, Mrs. Bill Upchurch,
Mrs. Fred Gardner, Mrs. Sam Cooper, Mrs. Frank
Skinner, Mrs. T. J. Lassiter Jr., Mrs. James Hill,
Mrs. Henry Johnston, and Mrs. Rufus Crumpler.
Initially, the club met in the homes of members but
quickly outgrew that and began meeting at the club
house.
The club was elected to membership in the General
Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1946 and was open to
women between the ages of 18 and 35 (later expanding
to age 40). The club was incorporated as a charitable
organization in 1974 when Laura Moore was president.
In the beginning, the Smithfield Junior Woman’s Club
was active in community projects such as organizing a
PTA in the Smithfield schools and supporting The
Salvation Army, Public Library, and Girl Scouts. The
Junior Women helped erect the Girl Scout Hut off South
Second Street in 1950 and later remodeled it in 1974.
An annual event was the Halloween Carnival, first held
in 1947 in the American Legion Hut and then moved to a
tobacco warehouse. It was finally moved to South Third
Street Downtown where it took place for several years.
In early years, the club maintained interests in
community beautification by supporting projects for
the Town Commons Park and landscaping at local
schools. One of the most significant projects
co-sponsored by the Junior Club and the Woman’s Club
was "The Smithfield Plan" in 1964. The plan involved
25 improvement projects for Downtown renovation. The
clubs were joined in the effort by the Smithfield
Chamber of Commerce, Town Board, and other service
groups.
The Junior Woman’s Club always had interests in the
care of children and service to parents. Projects
included support of the Children’s Home Society of
N.C., Well Baby Clinic at the Health Department, and
the March of Dimes. In the 1950s, they campaigned for
free polio vaccination clinics. In 1958, club members
appeared before the Smithfield Town Board to request
appropriation for the addition of fluoride to the
town’s drinking water to protect children’s teeth.
The Public Library was a favored project and for years
the club gave books to the library in honor of babies
born to club members. In 1978 and 1979 the club
sponsored "Reading Is Fundamental" at South Smithfield
Primary School – a program that gave three books to
every student.
Later years saw the club advocating for clean water
and conservation of natural resources, safety,
promotion of fine arts, and pursuit of peace and
international understanding. In 1965, a permanent
scholarship was established to be awarded to a
Smithfield graduating senior in need of financial
assistance to continue his or her education. The final
scholarship was presented in 2002.
Smithfield Juniors traditionally supported "Operation
Santa Claus" and The Salvation Army, once spearheading
a drive to purchase a bus for its program. They
actively worked with the Hastings House Association to
restore the house and move it to Front Street. Through
the years, the club championed school-bond
referendums.
A popular club fundraiser was the annual fall
"Shopping Spree" where vendors rented spaces from the
club to sell their wares. This began in 1996, first
held in Centenary Church’s Wesley Hall, next moving to
the National Guard Armory, then to the Johnston
Community College auditorium, and finally to the
Medical Mall. Proceeds were given to local
programs.
Clubs for high school girls – known as "Sub-Juniors" –
were first organized by the North Carolina Federation
of Women’s Clubs in 1960, and one was established in
Smithfield. Later named the "Smithfield Juniorettes,"
the club flourished for 50 years, assisting the Junior
Woman’s Club as well as running service projects of
their own.
Both the Woman’s Club and the Junior Woman’s Club have
remarkable histories of service. In one of its final
publications, the Junior Club described its mission as
"a civic organization committed to enhancing the
quality of life in our community through volunteer
service and financial contributions while providing an
opportunity for life-long learning and fellowship
among women.”
Both clubs certainly filled a century with good deeds.
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