Joann Leal (left) and Nancy Campbell in front of the Mackinaw City Woman's Club House Friday, September 25. Mrs. Leal joined the club in 1987 and is its treasurer, while Mrs. Campbell has been a lifelong member and is the club historian. The Mackinaw City Woman's Club has played a significant part in the development of the village and in the lives of its members. Nancy Campbell of Mackinaw City was practically born into the club, and was a baby when the ground was broken for the clubhouse's construction. She joined the club when she was a child and remains a member to this day.

"It's been a part of my life. Always has been," she said.

A retired teacher of 32 years, Mrs. Campbell has served on every position in the club and now serves as its historian. In addition to learning everything about the club since it was conceived in 1914, she also maintains and updates a scrapbook of the club's activities, which is housed at the Mackinaw Area Public Library. Had it not been for the woman's club, people in the village would not have been able to easily borrow books in the early 1900s.

Originally a group formed to study the works of Shakespeare, the club grew and developed programs to provide services at the village. Among the first initiatives was the development of a library. Club members would gather books and push them along in a cart, delivering them to readers' homes. The moving library settled into the village council chamber building, then to a school house, and finally moved to the Mackinaw City Woman's Club House. Shelves of books packed the ground floor of the clubhouse and lined the walls, growing so large that the club library was integrated into the Northland Library System in 1969, Mrs. Campbell said.

Club members also made hot lunches for the Mackinaw City schools, donated pianos to the schools, and sponsored Boys, Girls, Cub, and Brownie scout troops. The members established a baby clinic in the clubhouse, gathering doctors from the community and providing free shots and examinations. The clinic remained at the clubhouse until 1970, when it was moved to Pellston.

"We were pretty much the only resource for projects like that," treasurer Joann Leal said.

In recent years woman's club members are mainly active in the summer, hosting antique shows and aiding American Red Cross blood drives. Members help register donors and escort them to the refreshment table after blood has been drawn. A strawberry social fundraiser takes place each year July 4. This year, 20 members spent hours at the club house two days before the event, cleaning and cutting 24 cases of strawberries, Mrs. Leal said. The women raised $1,200 from the strawberry and ice creamcovered biscuits.

The money raised from the fundraisers is used to maintain the clubhouse and support other endeavors. Donations of cosmetics, soaps, and diapers are sent to the Diane Peppler Resource Center in Sault Ste. Marie. Scholarships are awarded to high school graduates to pay $500 for their first year's tuition, Mrs. Leal said.

Much of the club has changed over time, Mrs. Campbell pointed out. Initially the club provided services the village needed, but as time passed new groups and organizations developed and assumed those roles. The changing role of women has made it a challenge to attract younger women to the club, she said, and with more and more women working for a living, finding time for such activities is difficult.

The Mackinaw City Woman's Club meets the first Monday of each month at the clubhouse on Jamet Street. Members discuss upcoming events and fundraisers of the club and host educational programs on different subjects. Those who would like to attend a meeting or join the club are asked to contact Membership Chairman Georgia Prillwitz at (231) 436-7257.