When Wilma Robinson first joined the Neptunian Women’s Club of Manhattan Beach, the group’s monthly luncheons were affairs worthy of stockings, hats and furs.
“I remember taking my little white gloves, and it seems that was when the Italian knit suits were in fashion,” the 77-year-old recalled. Dress may be much more casual these days, but the club is thriving – hitting a spike in new membership that leaders attribute to aggressive recruitment efforts and the town’s tight-knit sense of community, providing much reason for celebration Sunday, the Neptunians’ 100th anniversary. “We are a community,” member Linda LeRoy said. “It’s our duty and responsibility to make everyone feel welcome. It’s not exclusive While membership in some clubs has languished in recent years – some groups collapsing completely, in fact – thanks to an increasing need for dual income households, busier lives and more disjointed communities in general, the Neptunians have apparently hit their stride. As the club’s vice president of membership, LeRoy helped recruit 83 new members this year, bringing the group to 179 ladies strong and earning the club an award earlier this month from the GFWC California Federation of Women’s Clubs, a state umbrella group. As a comparison, the Torrance Women’s Club follows with 129 members Hermosa Beach’s, 77 Redondo Beach’s, 74 and El Segundo’s, 52, according to figures provided
But such was not always the case for the Neptunians, established by 10 ladies in 1909 and named after the Roman god of the seas as a nod to the ocean’s significance to Manhattan Beach.