THE END OF AN ERA --
87th
and Final Union Aid Meeting Held
As
it has
for eight
decades, the
annual Union
Aid meeting
for church
women in
Clarion included
food, fun,
an offering
for a
good cause, and good
company. Members, however, won’t
be looking
forward to another meeting
next year. Due to slowing participation, the leaders of the women’s organization
decided it was time to close the door on an era.
At
noon on Thursday, 62 women and preachers
representing the
churches of
Clarion gathered
at the
United Presbyterian
Church. Mary
Kallem informed
the attendees
that the very first Union
Aid, originally called General
Aid, was
held at
the Presbyterian
church in
1927. “We
think it’s really special to get to host the last one, too,” she said.
Florine Swanson,
a former
president of Union Aid,
led a
presentation which started
with a
skit about how Union Aid
began. Becky
Ahrendsen
and
Muriel Demuth
of the
Iowa River
Players portrayed
Marg Linfor
and Bessie
Box, two
friends from
different
churches
who, in 1927,
bumped into each other while
going to
their respective
church’s ladies’
lunches. The two of them
agreed that it would be nice to have a meeting where the ladies from different
churches could gather. Thus, Union Aid was born.
The
first few meetings focused on book
reviews, songs,
and entertainment,
creating
a bond
between members of
the different
churches. After
a decade,
however, the
group began
to broaden
their focus.
“In
1939, the program switched, and
they focused
on women
who had
worked and
traveled in
other countries.
There were
missionaries to
Egypt and
India and
Burma and
Africa,” Swanson said.
Until this point, Union Aid had
collected dues to fund their meetings and nothing
more. But
in 1941,
Union Aid
bought a
war bond
for $18.50.
“That was the first time we did anything
outside our immediate
treasury,” Swanson
said. In 1948, Union Aid
made a $25 donation to Girl Scouts.
In 1949, the war bond was cashed in, and
that money, along with other
donations adding up to $75,
was given to the new Clarion
Memorial Hospital. So began Union Aid’s
tradition of donating to worthy causes in the community.
Yvonne Stevens read a poem that had been written for the 1949 Union Aid meeting
by Mrs.
M. A. Stark.
It summarized the history of
Union Aid and also commented on the turbulent state of the world at that time
and called Union Aid’s meetings
“a lesson in unity”
that Mrs.
Stark wished the United
Nations could have witnessed.
Union Aid went on to host many
outstanding female
speakers from around
the state,
such as
Martha Duncan of WOI radio and TV
and Betty Jean Clark of
Mason City,
who later
became Senator Clark.
Organizations they hosted
and helped with donations included county
health nurses,
hospice,
LIFT, the
Clarion school
nurse, Lighthouse,
Unlimited Opportunities, the
Domestic
and Sexual
Assault Center,
the Clarion
library, Connections,
To Haiti
with Love,
CHICKS, Hiz
Kidz, and
Building
Families. In
1971, Union
Aid hosted
a panel
of concerned
church women,
chaired
by June
Hagie. “They
presented a
panel on
the needs
of the
community. Out
of that
effort, we
developed a youth
center on Main Street,”
Swanson said.
After the survey of organizations Union Aid
has helped,
Carolyn
Bowman, president
of Union
Aid, introduced past
presidents and a few family members
representing past
presidents to
the group.
“The work and dedication you
women have had over the years has led to some great accomplishments.
We are
forever
indebted to your foresight,
and also your hard
work and
your energy,”
Bowman said. Swanson then introduced Karen Weld
from Marys
and Marthas,
the
organization Union
Aid chose to hear from on
their last meeting. Weld
shared about
Marys and
Marthas’ participation
in
Make a Difference Day and how they donate quilts and crocheted
goods. Though they have
small monthly meetings
of 25 members or so, Weld said they intend to stay together until they’re
no longer called to do good works. “Some things ebb in for a while in our
society and then go by the
wayside... when we’re
invited to come to places,
like today, we know He [God] is not done with us,” Weld said.
Marsha Larson spoke specifically about Marys
and Marthas’
quilt project,
where they send quilts
to people
in need
and pray
for the
person receiving
the quilt
while they
work. Larson
then presented
quilt to
Helen Taylor,
a past president of Union
Aid who had recently celebrated her 99th birthday. The organization took up a
donation of $537
for Marys
and Marthas.
The meeting
then concluded with the
hymn “Blessed
Be the Tie that Binds,” an appropriate song for such an
organization and what
they’ve
stood for throughout the years.
“I
think it’s amazing that a chance meeting in 1927 of two
friends led to the ecumenical
cooperation we have in
this community,”
Bowman said at the start of
the meeting. Though Union Aid will
no longer be around, Clarion can hope that the cooperation they’ve
helped foster between churches will
continue.
Source: The end of an era -- 87th and final Union Aid meeting held
by
Kacey Ginn
Wright County Monitor –
Clarion, Iowa
October 8, 2015