Celebrating their 125th anniversary, the Santa Ana Chapter of the Ebell Society had an open house party welcoming all to come in and learn more about who they are.
Established in 1876 by Dr. Adrian Ebell, the Ebell Society was created to provide a place for women to broaden their education and their scope of opportunity. Then in 1894, the Santa Ana chapter of Ebell was started by Mrs. W. Bartlett and several years later they purchased the building where they have been holding all their meetings since 1924.
In the main banquet hall at the clubhouse, there was a large display of historical documents relating to Ebell that was provided by one of their members, Barbara Belitz. Standing alongside the display to answer questions was Dylan Almendral, who works in the History Room for the city of Santa Ana.
A few of the documents that were on display included the Founding Bylaws book from the 1894, as well as scrapbooks put together by the past members, and year books from the Society.
There were many different sections for visitors to engage in at the Santa Ana Chapter. The sections that you can join are: antiques and heritage, book review, climbing your family tree, home and garden, quilting and crafting, second travel, social bridge, where’s art and color guard.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement and music as a roaming barber shop quartet called Preferred Blend serenaded visitors while they walked through the halls.
This Ebell chapter is also know for their philanthropy work that they do with Friendly Center and WISEPlace Women’s Shelter. Both are programs that are centered around helping women and their families.
The 125th anniversary event was lively and attended by the general public.
Several had stated they had always driven past this building, but never knew what it was like inside or what organization owned it.
When interviewing one of the member’s on why they joined Ebell, Robin Pasqual explained,” Education for women was wonderful and that so many women had varied interests. The Ebell Society sections provide an interesting education outlet.”
At the end of the event, guests were invited into the theater to watch as the Color Guard, which was started in 2003 by Karen Reese, posted the colors on stage after which the audience was invited to join in the Pledge of Allegiance. Following this was a performance by the KidSingers.
Towards the end of the event, when asked how it went, society member Leana Richmond commented, “it went very nicely and the society had three new people join that day.”
She is also hopeful that many others who had a chance to enter will become more interested in it.
If you are interested in joining the Santa Ana chapter of the Ebell Society, you can visit one of their general meetings that are held on the second Monday of the month at 1:30 p.m. at 625 French St Santa Ana, CA 92701.
The Ebell Society has several chapters right in Southern California, including one in Fullerton. They meet every first Friday of the month at 11 a.m. at the Fullerton Elks Lodge.
