Victor Improvement Club...
It's the first Friday of the month, and as
the sun is goes down, the good people of Victor pack up - their place
settings and a beverage that is, as well as a homemade dish to share at the
monthly Victor Improvement Club potluck supper and business meeting.
Not a particularly exclusive bunch, the Victor neighborhood also welcomes
people from nearby Allyn and Belfair to their meetings, which have been held
continuously since 1932 in a country clubhouse on the hillside overlooking
the peaceful eastern shoreline of Case Inlet's North Bay.
Victor Improvement Club
Back then, life was simple enough to enable members to build their clubhouse
on donated land with volunteer labor. A generous neighbor funded the $338.69
needed for lumber at zero interest. Three thousand shingles for the roof
were purchased for $3.75 and within two months of the first hammer hitting a
nail, the club’s doors were open.
Of prime importance was the wooden dance floor, where dances were and still are held with regularity for the purpose of raising funds for worthwhile causes in need of support. In fact, dances were the primary source of income used to repay the loan for the club's construction.
Wooden Dance Floor
On April 16, 1932, when the first dance was held in the
new hall, tickets sold for 50 cents each and included supper and prizes.
Eight and a half months and many dances later, the club had raised enough
money to repay the entire loan for the building.
Nowadays, members of the Victor Improvement Club gather monthly on the first
Friday at 6pm for a social hour, followed by a potluck supper at 7 and a
business meeting at 8. Members often invite guests, who are duly noted in
the minutes. Dues have risen slowly over the years from the initial 50 cents
in 1932 to $12.00 annually in 2004.
During the winter, participation dwindles to about 35 with many people
snowbirding to warmer climates. But as spring and summer draw near, it’s not
unusual for the meetings to draw upwards of 100 members again, many with
children and grandchildren in tow.
Each month, two couples sign up to serve as kitchen hosts and a clean-up
crew. Another woman regularly calls everyone to coordinate potluck
contributions and ensure a variety of main dishes, salads and desserts.
While members socialize, the kitchen hosts are setting out the food, brewing
coffee and joshing with their neighbors.
Potluck Contributions
Promptly at 7pm, someone rings the dinner bell and members line up on both
sides of a long table loaded down with the labors of Victor’s cooks. Fried
chicken wings and baby meatballs, crispy spinach salads and spicy ginger
cake with frosting meet the approval of every palate. The abundance is
remarkable, and leftovers are few.
Members Line Up on Both
Sides of a Long Table
When the club’s kitchen needed renovation, members began the fundraising
process by publishing a collection of everyone’s favorite recipes.
Appropriately entitled “Recipes and Remembrances” the book also included a
narrative of the club’s early history with a sprinkling of old photos among
the recipe pages. All proceeds were earmarked for the kitchen remodel, which
will soon be underway.
After supper, the club gets down to business. Officers take their seats on a
small stage and a child solemnly leads the members in the Pledge of
Allegiance. Committee chairs give their reports; including the Charity
Committee which recently donated $30 for the North Mason Children’s Easter
Egg Hunt, $375 for 5th grade camp scholarships at Belfair Elementary, $100
to the North Mason Class of 2004 Graduation Party and another $225 to the
local Boys & Girls Club.
Tonight, volunteers and donations are being sought for the annual Victor
Flea Mart, traditionally held the second Saturday in June. Always popular,
the sale draws people from all over Key Peninsula, reminded of the date by
“Burma Shave” style signage posted along Highway 302. By 9am, the line of
eager shoppers generally stretches well out into the parking lot.
Following
discussion of other routine business, the evening’s meeting draws to a
close. “Lucky” Lance Ecklund steps up to give away the monthly jackpot,
consisting of dollar bills collected upon arrival from the membership. The
winner
must be present, and a round of good-natured chuckling accompanies the
drawing, which cycles through a few absentees before Allyn resident Ben
Meservey’s name is pulled from the coffee can. Ben’s take is a whopping $26,
which he collects with a big grin and another round of high-spirited
applause.
As the meeting adjourns, the clean-up crew swings into action. By 9pm, the
parking lot is empty and members of the Victor Improvement Club head for
home, well-fed and nurtured once more by the company of their neighbors.
New members are always welcome. Call vice president and membership chairman
Jeff Carey at 275-9744 for details.
FYI:
Victor Improvement Club's "Spring Fling" dance will be held Saturday, May 22, 2004, to benefit the club's planned remodel of its kitchen. Local music man Stan Yantis and "Swing Fever," a swing dance band with professional talent, will provide the evening's tunes. Past beneficiaries of Victor funds have also included students at Belfair Elementary and North Mason High School and the local Boys & Girls Club.
