In an organization dating back well over a century, very few individual years stand out, as most flow into one another without much change.
For the Civic Club of Harrisburg, 2017 was one of the more memorable years.
The club made a conscious decision to do away with one longstanding tradition, began another one and, oh, there was the little matter of the flood—but more on that later.
New Direction
The Civic Club was founded in 1898 by a group of Harrisburg women dedicated to “increasing the public interest in all matters to good citizenship and to promote a better social order,” according to the club’s written history. It boasts an impressive dedication to public service, including establishing the first free kindergarten in Harrisburg in 1923 and leading a canning kitchen during World War II.
Through many of those years, bimonthly luncheons were a fixture of the annual calendar, as members would gather in the stately Overlook mansion, socialize, listen to a speaker and fundraise for a good cause. However, members decided this year that the club had to change with the times and, so, the ancient tradition would end.
Simply put, women’s lives had become so busy that the club had trouble meeting the miminum attendance quota for the midday gathering, said club President Judy Imler.
Member Melissa Snyder, who’s also executive director and chief operating officer for Jump Street, suggested a new direction. The club could initiate an educational film series as a public outreach project to replace the luncheons, Imler said.
An environmental film series sponsored by the Harrisburg Parks Foundation began in October with a presentation of “Racing Extinction,” a documentary by Academy Award-winning Director Louie Psihoyos examining biodiversity loss, its effect on humanity and the solutions that inspire hope for a sustainable future. November’s feature was “The True Cost,” focusing on the history of clothing and the impact the industry has on the environment and the world.
The series will continue in 2018 with “Water Blues, Green Solution” on March 22, telling the story of communities that create green solutions for water “blues” like flooding, pollution and scarcity. “Cities of Trees” follows in April, the tale of a nonprofit that worked to reduce poverty in Washington, D.C., by offering jobs to the unemployed while improving parks.
“How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things That Climate Can’t Change,” by Oscar-nominated Director Josh Fox, also is in line for a showing, but a date hasn’t yet been scheduled. All films are free and open to the public.
Never Forget
Chances are, you’ve passed Overlook, the Tudor mansion on Front Street adjoining the Old Waterworks building in Harrisburg. It’s easy to notice because it’s one of two surviving buildings on Front Street’s west side that runs along the river. This has been the club’s headquarters since for more than 100 years.
The home was built in 1903 by William Reynolds Fleming for his wife, Virginia, who inherited it upon her husband’s death in 1906. When Virginia died in 1914, the property was bequeathed to the Civic Club, which proudly continues to maintain the home and its scenic gardens.
An ornate ballroom on the mansion’s second floor offers a majestic overlook of the Susquehanna, the reason Fleming gave the home its name. Each year, it’s the scene of many wedding receptions and other events, which have become critical sources of revenue for the club.
Maintaining a 1903 building, however, comes with its challenges, which brings us to the final reason that 2017 has been such a significant year for the 120-year-old group.
On Sept. 25, Imler and others entered the mansion to discover extensive first-floor flooding in the kitchen, hallway and coat room.
“I’ll never forget that date,” she said.
A water pipe had burst in the upstairs men’s room when no one was there to stop it.
“I can’t explain how we felt when we walked in and saw this,” Imler recalled. “The whole kitchen was like a shower. It took 13 days for everything to dry.”
Unfortunately, building restoration involved more than just drying things out. The flood had ruined the kitchen’s commercial stove and cabinets, as well as nearby flooring and wallpaper.
“There’s only so much that insurance will cover,” Imler said. “We worked a deal for the new cabinets. We were able to save the refrigerator and had a donor stove. We got everything in order, finally. That was a big challenge.”
Things have, more or less, returned to normal at Overlook. Happy brides and grooms are, once again, celebrating their nuptials, and the holiday season is always an important time at the mansion.
In addition to the environmental film series, more changes might be on tap for 2018 as the group continues to ponder how best to serve the Harrisburg community. But good works have always been at the core of the Civic Club, even in our rapidly changing world, one so different from the days when ladies lunched.
“We want to keep the reasons and ideas going, along with a shared love of this building,” Imler said.
The Civic Club of Harrisburg is located at 612 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more inforomation, call 717-234-6736 or visit www.civicclubofharrisburg.com or the Facebook page.
