The New Virginians is a woman's social club of over 400 members in the greater Richmond area. Married or single, we've recently arrived in Richmond from as near as suburban DC and as far as Singapore. We've had careers in business, education, interior design, sales, medicine and government, to name just a few, and we've created homes and raised families all over the world. As New Virginians, we enrich each others' lives with our varied interests, talents and experience.
Club History
The New Virginians started in the early 1970s as a Welcome Wagon Club. In April 1974 the club voted to change their name and drop their affiliation with Welcome Wagon. Several names for the club were considered and in May 1974 they voted to become the New Virginians.
Also in that year, a local journal described the club as an organization whose purpose is to help each member make new friends and to learn more about their new home city.
In early years, membership was limited to three years, but members wanted to stay longer and the time limitation was eventually dropped. Over the years, the membership has increased and members come from many parts of the city and surrounding areas.
Interest groups ebb and flow depending on current interest. Our interest groups reflect the many diverse tasks and talents of our membership.
Recent Programs
The October Luncheon was held at the Hermitage Country Club and our speaker was Roland Clement, a longtime resident, retired educator, and garden guide at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. In serving for 16 years as a valued volunteer for the Garden, Roland gained impressive knowledge of this beautiful and special place. He detailed the LGBG history, the different gardens and the many entertaining and educational opportunities the Garden offers its visitors, young and old.
Also,we were introduced to the CARITAS organization, our charity for this year. Karen Stanley talked about CARITAS which ministers to the Richmond homeless population, their mission and she showed us photos of CARITAS in action. CARITAS provides temporary shelter at local churches. Many of these people have jobs but don't qualify for housing or cannot afford it. There are 3 focus populations: male, female and family. They also provide job training (teaching computer skills, resume writing, job search techniques) and have a clothes closet where candidates can get clothes for interviews.
The speaker at the January luncheon was Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt, a native Richmonder and grand-daughter of the founder of the legendary Thalhimer's Department. Her recently published book "Finding Thalhimers" describes the family's migration from Europe and the founding of the department store which flourished during the second half of the last century. It was the place where parents took their kids on Sunday afternoon to see the magnificent Christmas window displays and then to visit Santa Claus. That was in the days of department stores with wonderful dining rooms. I buy a rectangular chocolate layer cake which the locals claim to be the original Thalhimer's recipe at a bakery called Michaela's in Northside. Elizabeth, whom I had the pleasure of sitting beside, said that indeed that is their cake and the same bakery chef still makes it.
Our February speaker, Paul Levengood, CEO of the Virginia Historical Society, highlighted the history of this venerable institu- tion, discussed its exhibits (present and upcoming), and its many other offerings. Richmond has such a rich historical past, and this institution has helped to preserve and present it to today’s modern world.