Junior Service League's Charity Ball was Christmas Season Highlight
On December 27, 1932 area women joined to take part in the Junior Service League's 4th Annual Charity Ball. The ball, which was held at the Manitowoc Elk's Club, was a project of the Junior Service League, which began in Manitowoc and Two Rivers in 1928.
The December 6 Manitowoc Herald Times described that the Service League was "finding a need for charitable work more serious this year than before" and the league was "striving to equal or surpass, financially, the successes of the balls of the last three seasons." Funds raised in 1932 were shared with the needy in Two Rivers, spreading cheer at St. Mary's Home for Orphans and Aged, Maple Crest Sanitarium in Whitelaw, and the Manitowoc- Two Rivers area hospitals.
The Junior Service League had been receiving many requests for health care needs so that would also be a priority of funds raised at the ball. A main mission of the league was to fund the operation of health centers in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, as well as the salary of a visiting nurse for those who could not afford full-time nursing care.
Mrs. Richard Torrison of Manitowoc was the chairperson of the ball in 1932.
Along with Mrs. Torrison, the charity ball committee also consisted of Mrs. Edward Hamilton of Two Rivers, who was in charge of the food committee with Mrs. Gilbert Rankin, Mrs. A.F. Stueck, and Mrs. A.L. Vits of Manitowoc, and Miss Genevieve Hammel of Two Rivers. No ball would be complete without dancing and Miss Jane Schuette was chosen chairperson of that effort. Assisting with the music was also Mrs. A.J. Vits Jr. of Manitowoc and Mrs. James Godfrey. Entertainment was planned with Mrs. Raymond Schneider, Two Rivers, as the chairperson. Those working with her included Mrs. Frank Eggers Jr., Mrs. Paul Urbanek, Mrs. Henry Schuette, Mrs. Guido Rahr, of Manitowoc and Mrs. Howell Evans, of Two Rivers. Tables and chairs were secured by Mrs. Frank Eggers, chairperson.
The day of the event featured an article in the Manitowoc Herald Times stating, "for many of the folk attending the Junior Service League charity ball at the Elks club this evening, the ball will be a continuation of social affairs of the early evening. Supper parties, a progressive dinner for a group of the younger set, and several informal gatherings are planned. Mr. and Mrs. Harold C. Alt will have a buffet supper for 16 guests at their home, Shorewood Manor, and Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Vits Jr., will entertain at their home on Michigan Avenue [in Manitowoc]. In Two Rivers supper parties will be attended at the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hamilton and Mr. and Mrs. Howell Evans. The guests will come from those homes to the ball later that evening."
"Visitors from Sheboygan, Neenah, and Milwaukee predominate among those from out of town who will be entertained at the ball. Miss Agnes Ricks of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Miss Madeline Reichert of Sheboygan guests at the home of Miss Natalie Rahr, will be in the younger crowd at the Service League affair."
The League's annual charity ball was one of the premier social events of the holiday season. Plans were soon underway for the 1933 Charity ball, with decorations from a World's Fair theme and entertainment with a "burlesque on a Century of Progress exposition" - including skits on the gay 90s. The Charity Ball would continue to be a highlight of Christmas for many Manitowoc area residents for decades to come.