EDITORIAL

Johnston is a quiet town – except, maybe, on Saturday night.  It has been called a town to raise your children in.  What is significant in the mind of this writer, at this time, is how this quiet town has produced such strength in women.  When a club has lasted half a century, there is some stick-to-it-tiveness that stands like a rock on which to build.

This club is the Woman’s Club of Johnston, a half-century old that grew out of a much earlier one, the Apollo Music Club. (There is a garden club even older in Johnston that is very active and is seen in one way in the community through acknowledging of  “gardens of the month.”)  I remember joining in a sextet from Edgefield High School and singing for Apollo back in the early 50s, under the direction of Kate Hill Schull. I remember the dignity of the occasion                                                                      and the appreciation of the audience.  And they served food that a 15-year-old really enjoyed.

The Woman’s Club still serves food, and on Saturday they served an elegant lunch to a crowd of women to raise money for a scholarship for a woman graduate in this county. What gave the event its success was a large group of very professional women, club members, with an obvious talent for making things happen, but in a quiet way.

There were no bands playing, no shouts and whistles, no banners to attract the crowd: tickets were sold quietly and the crowd filled the room. Success promotes success.

Here one needs to hear that the vaulted ceiling of the banquet room of the Johnston United Methodist Church was perfect for such a crowd.  Conversations could carry on without the din of noise. Tall vases held spring flowers above the heads of the luncheon guests and did not interfere with the entertainment of a fashion show and viewing the models – all members of the club and looking stunning.  No outside models needed in this club!

Kudos to the Johnston Woman’s Club which is into its second half of a century of service that they are likely to give to their town and our county!

Suzanne Mims Derrick