Butler women’s club big milestone
PENN TWP — A list of the Intermediate League of Butler’s projects includes donating to the Victims Outreach Intervention Center, providing meals for Parc Productions parties and facilitating educational presentations at the Butler Area Public Library.
And that’s just in the time that Carole Goldinger and Judy Neigh have been with the GFWC, or Greater Federation of Women’s Clubs, Intermediate League of Butler.
The league also started an annual antique show fundraiser, supported new kindergartens in the county and even kick started the creation of the Butler County 911 system in 1970.
On Thursday evening, April 24, members of the Intermediate League gathered at the Butler Country Club to commemorate the group’s 75th anniversary. Goldinger said prior to the event that the league is not only a force in supporting issues facing children and women, but a support network for the women who are members of the club.
“What I gained was confidence,” Goldinger said. “I was a stay-at-home mom; I was not an outgoing person, but I do keep busy, I have made a lot of good friendships.”
The Intermediate League organized in Butler County on June 25, 1950, and federated on Sept. 11, 1950. The league typically has two “party” meetings — one in the spring and one in the fall — so the group commemorated its anniversary Thursday at its spring party event.
In addition to many current league members, the event Thursday was also attended by GFWC state officials, including Donna Malone, GFWC Pennsylvania president. Malone awarded the club with certificates commending the league’s 75 years of service, and commented that the longevity of the club is a testament to the women who have kept it — and the community service it stands for — going for so long.
“Our organization has a proud history of making a difference in the lives of others,” Malone said.
Yolanda Cypher, the current president of the Intermediate League of Butler, led the festivities Thursday at the country club. She said the league, and other women-led groups that have operated in Butler County over the years, have contributed to promoting women’s initiatives which have progressed women’s rights. The changes in culture is especially evident when comparing today to the 1950s, when the club was founded.
“I didn’t go to kindergarten when I was a kid,” Cypher said. “Kindergartens, that was a foreign concept and (the league) supported that.”
Cypher has been in the women’s league for 45 years, having been involved in the Junior Intermediate League before joining the Intermediate League. The intermediate league is for women aged 40 years and older.
Cypher said in her time with the league, the group has donated to organizations like VOICe, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Kids’ Weekend Backpack Program and the Salvation Army, to name a few.
According to Cypher, the Butler-based league sometimes comes up with its own projects, but it also follows the lead of the Pennsylvania league and its leadership, pushing clubs to donate to similar causes statewide. League members also can attend conferences attended by women’s league representatives from around the state or the nation, which also gives them ideas for projects to take on.
When it comes down to it, however, the club always falls back on women and children being its main focuses to provide support to.
“Our whole focus is on women and children, and trying to make their lives better,” Cypher said. “I think that as far as being aware of women's issues, I think we’re part of all that, because how can you not be?”
The league started hosting an antique show in the 1950s, which is now its main fundraiser to earn money for the causes.
Neigh said the antique show is one of her favorite projects she works on with the league, and the work that goes into planning it each year pays off.
“Their first antique show they raised $1,100,” Neigh said, “now they’re up to $20,000 — and it all goes back to the community.”
Membership in the Intermediate League has fluctuated over the years, but the Butler group has remained relatively strong in numbers.
Neigh said the membership is lower than it was when she joined, but the fact that Butler still has a league, while others around Pennsylvania have disbanded over the years, is promising.
“There probably was close to 100 members,” Neigh said of the time when she joined the league. “There was a waiting list. Now our club has 68, but we’re one of the largest in PA. A lot of clubs have closed or are not active anymore, but our club stays very, very active.”
As Cypher said at the league’s spring party Thursday, the members of the Butler league also are active in many more organizations. And the women’s collaboration on events and activities throughout the year helps strengthen the bond between one another.
“The fact that you get to meet other girls, and everyone seems to support everyone else,” Neigh said.
Cypher said the club is also “a great opportunity to grow in friendship” — most of her friends she has made through being a member of the league.
Working in the league alongside women of similar ages has created a support network, Cypher said, which has been helpful to her from the time she was in the Junior League.
“Through the years we kind of grow together,” Cypher said. “In junior club it was support, it raising our children because we were young. Now it’s things like how do you age, how do you continue to bond with people, taking care of yourself.
“It's friendship and a support system.”
