Last month, members of the Three Lakes Women’s Club gathered at the Reiter Center to celebrate the club’s 80th year in style. Complete with hors d’oeuvres, champagne and cake, the anniversary-themed meeting reflected the camaraderie that has defined the organization for decades.
The event featured several speakers, including Gary Williams, grandson of Vada Williams, the club’s founder and first president. Together, they honored the club’s history while toasting its future, setting the tone for a milestone year.
Since its first meeting on April 12, 1946, the club has served as both a social outlet for local women and a philanthropic force in the community.
“More than ever, service to one’s community is critical,” said Dorothy Sadowski, president of the Three Lakes Women’s Club. “Our purpose is to provide annual scholarships to one or more female graduates of Three Lakes High School and to encourage, support and sponsor local activities.”
Sadowski said the club, which currently has 144 members, “stands on Vada Williams’ shoulders,” with the founder’s legacy still influencing the organization today.
Founding member
According to club member Susan Kordula, who spoke about the group’s history during the 80th anniversary meeting, Vada Williams, wife of former Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies player Fred “Cy” Williams, was 56 when she founded the club in 1946. By then, Cy Williams had been retired from baseball for 16 years, and the couple’s three children were grown.
Although Vada Williams had worked as a county agent, 4-H organizer and teacher in the Three Lakes School District, she believed something was missing for women her age in the community and wanted to improve the social life in Three Lakes.
Acting on her instinct, she gathered 20 women who shared her vision of creating a club that would be “nonpolitical, nonsectarian and nonprofit.”
Key achievements
Several members noted that one of the club’s most significant achievements was helping establish the first library in Three Lakes.
According to Kordula, the library first operated out of private homes before moving to the high school in 1949, becoming only the third public library in the county and the only one without public funding.
Over the following decades, club members cataloged books, paid expenses and helped rally support for a permanent community building and library space. When the Edward U. Demmer Library opened in 1971, the club had already spent years donating books and supporting library operations.
Beyond the library, the Three Lakes Women’s Club also supported youth programs throughout the community. In 1951, the organization helped establish the area’s first Girl Scout troop and later sponsored local Campfire Girls and 4-H programs for many years.
“From the onset, it was clear that a major goal of the women who formed this club was not only to provide socialization for members, but to also assist and develop young women of Three Lakes however and whenever they could,” Kordula said.
Scholarships
Scholarships eventually became one of the club’s central missions. What began as small fundraising style shows in the 1960s evolved into the club’s longtime fall luncheon and style show, which became its largest annual scholarship fundraiser.
The first scholarship was awarded in 1981, and the program steadily expanded over the following decades. Since then, the club has awarded more than $132,000 in scholarships to 110 young women from Three Lakes High School.
In 2020, the organization replaced the fashion show with a golf scramble fundraiser at Big Stone Golf Course. The event has continued to grow in popularity while raising more money for scholarships than ever before.
Sadowski said the club’s annual scholarships best capture the spirit of the organization.
“Our graduation tea and luncheon each May for young women graduating from Three Lakes High School is a lovely tradition in which we invite graduates, their mothers and other female family members to celebrate,” she said. “We present the scholarships and ask each student to say a few words about her future plans. Club members spend months planning the decorations, food and dozens of details that make the event special.”
In addition to scholarships, the club provides funding and volunteer support each year to organizations including the Reiter Center, Three Lakes Center for the Arts, American Legion Post 431 Auxiliary, Badger Girls State, Northwoods Children’s Museum, Edward U. Demmer Library, Three Lakes Christian Food Pantry and the Three Lakes Lions Club.
Friendships and fellowship
Even after eight decades of service projects and fundraising, members say the heart of the club is still the friendships formed along the way.
“When I moved here almost four years ago with my husband, a neighbor invited me to attend a meeting,” Sadowski said. “I was impressed by the warmth and friendliness of the women from that very first meeting. I’ve met amazing people I never would have known without this organization.”
Current member and former president Jane Crosson echoed that sentiment, saying “getting to know people” was her reason for joining six years ago.
“I was the new girl in town,” she said. “It made sense to get involved in Three Lakes activities and enjoy the camaraderie of being with other women and getting to know people because, living in the Northwoods, there aren’t always a lot of opportunities to do that.”
Sadowski said most members are retired or established in their careers, though the club continues to attract younger women interested in community service and fellowship.
“Our membership is stable and growing because everyone jumps in to help with projects while enjoying each other’s friendship,” she said. “It’s contagious.”
Upcoming events
As the club celebrates its 80th year, members said there will be no shortage of opportunities for others to get involved.
By the time of publication, the Three Lakes Women’s Club will have hosted its annual graduation tea and luncheon for the Three Lakes High School Class of 2026 and will be preparing for several summer events, including its annual golf fundraiser Saturday, June 6, at Big Stone Golf Course.
The shotgun start is scheduled for 2 p.m. Registration costs $75 per person and includes golf, a cart, raffles and dinner. The event is open to the public, and the registration deadline is May 29. The club is also encouraging businesses to sponsor a hole. To register, contact Big Stone Golf Course at 715-546-2100.
For members, additional events planned as part of the club’s 80th anniversary celebration include a May 26 evening gathering at Clayton’s featuring cocktails and appetizers, as well as a June 17 Past Presidents Luncheon highlighting former scholarship recipients. Members are encouraged to dress in 1940s attire for the luncheon, which will focus on how life and opportunities for women have changed since 1946.
The club also plans to participate in the Fourth of July parade with a special anniversary float and the Lawn Chair Ladies Brigade, which hopes to include 80 participants.
Additional activities include a summer community service project in partnership with the Three Lakes Lions Club and FORK to address food insecurity, along with a September meeting at the Three Lakes Historical Museum, where a new display highlighting the women’s club will be unveiled.
Looking ahead
Sadowski said the Three Lakes Women’s Club continues to thrive for the same reason it began — bringing women together to support one another and the community.
“We will continue partnering with community organizations, the school system and local businesses to support and promote events,” she said. “Just as importantly, we provide friendship and camaraderie for our members.”
The organization is always welcoming new members. More information is available by emailing threelakeswomen@gmail.com or visiting the Three Lakes Women’s Club Facebook page.
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