Submitted by Bernadette Farina and Ann Malinowski
The Woman’s College Club of Rutherford was established in 1914 by Mildred Fogle who held the first meeting at her house. The organization was founded to uphold “ideals of service through contributions to community enterprises.” For over a century, the WCC has promoted the leadership, power, and voice of educated women in order to benefit the community.
From the beginning, the women occupied themselves with "projects" to increase their knowledge about little-known places. They would purchase books about a topic, for example, South America. When their study was finished, they would donate their books to the library. To this day the club still donates to the Friends of the Library.
In the 1920’s, the club decided that a main project would be providing a scholarship to a Rutherford girl. The first award was made in 1926. One of the early club members was Ella Mounce, a Cornell graduate, who sparked many successful projects to support and fund the annual scholarship. Hence, the annual Ella Mounce scholarship was created as a tribute to her dedication and hard work.
Currently, the main goal of the Women’s College Club is to provide scholarship money to a Rutherford resident who will be attending a four-year university or college. Originally it was intended only for girls, but now it is available for boys as well. In addition, donations to The Friends of the Library and the Rutherford Food Pantry are made as civic contributions to the community.
The awards now are based on community service, participation in extracurricular activities, and grades achieved in high school.
Fortunately, Rutherford is a community where the expectation of college for most young people is not an anomaly. The power of higher education enhances not only the lives of individuals but also their communities. The WCC wishes to assist young Rutherford residents in making these possibilities a reality.
Because of the current pandemic, most household finances are more uncertain than ever. WCC scholarships awarded to worthy recipients will surely ease the challenge of tuition payments. It should be noted that this year scholarships will be awarded to students from the Classes of 2021 AND 2020.
To apply for the available scholarships, interested students should contact Darlene Capobianco (dcapobianco@rutherfordschools.org) in the Guidance Office at Rutherford High School. Mrs. Capobianco will email the application. Upon completion of the application, 2020 graduates should email the finished forms back to Mrs. Capobianco.
Finally, when the club was founded a college degree was a rarity for women. Over a century later, educated women have attained positions of expertise and power in every field. No longer must they resort to women’s organizations to be recognized for their knowledge and abilities. Thus, the happy consequence is there is no longer a need for The Woman’s College Club of Rutherford to exist. It will disband by the end of the year. The contributions of all these women who were and are members are gratefully acknowledged.
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