WILLIAMSBURG, Mo. - Since at least the early 1960s, a group of Williamsburg women has gathered once a month for a meal and a "gripe session."
On Wednesday, the Williamsburg Ladies Club will have its annual fundraiser auction and quilt raffle at the Williamsburg Community Center. There's a free fried chicken lunch at noon, with the auction following. Ladies Club President Linda Schotte said fellow ladies are invited.
Money from the raffle will pay for scholarships to several North Callaway High School seniors.
"They've always done the quilt," Schotte said. "Then one lady brought up the idea to start a scholarship. In the past, we've been able to award up to three North Callaway seniors $1,000 each."
Recipients must have attended the North Callaway school system since elementary school and must submit an application to the school counselor. From there, three members of the Ladies Club choose the recipients.
Secretary/treasurer Virginia Eckert said if one of the members has a family member among the applicants, they abstain from committee that year.
Raffle tickets cost $1, or six for $5, and can be purchased at the raffle or until Tuesday at Marlene's in Williamsburg, where the quilt is currently on display. The second and third draws get a $50 or $25 gift card, respectively. There's a second raffle for a quilted table runner, with tickets available that day.
"One of the ladies pieces (the quilt), and the rest of us quilt it together," Eckert said.
Ladies Club members are enthusiastic quilters, she said. This year's quilt was begun by a club member who had to go into assisted living. The rest of the ladies rallied to finish the quilt, Schotte said.
"I appreciate the togetherness," she said.
Past auctions have featured crocheted dish cloths, homemade pies, canned pickles, relish and cook books, she said.
Neither Schotte nor Eckert knew exactly when or how the Ladies Club got started. Schotte said it already existed when her sister moved to Williamsburg in 1966, though at the time it was a University of Missouri extension club. Members range in ages from 60 to more than 90.
Membership currently stands at just more than 20, Schotte said.
"I didn't join until after I retired," she said. "A lot of the ones who joined (in the early years) were stay-at-home mothers."
Both said they love the opportunity to gather and have fellowship with friends. The Ladies Club members take turns hosting and providing food for their gatherings.
"It's a chance to just get together with women and exchange ideas," Schotte said.