The Rosalind Club

ABOVE: Image of the Rosalind Club at 11 North Rosalind Avenue circa 1919.

In the Beginning – 1894

According to an article in the February/March 1974 edition of the “Central Scene” magazine entitled, Rosalind – The Sweetheart of Orlando, “Mrs. Cecil G. Butt, Mrs. E. M. (Miss Belle) Shephard (later Mrs. Edward Hauselt) and Mrs. L. P. (Miss Lucy) Lawrence came up with the bright idea that if the man could have a social club, so could the woman. They talked to other friends, and on February 15, 1894, twenty-three ladies met in the Knights of Pythias Hall and the club which is now the Rosalind Club was formed.”

Beauclaire Robinson donated copies of the Rosalind Club yearbooks and the 1894-1952 history to the Orlando Public Library. The yearbooks include the names of the officers, board of managers, the various types of members (charter, regular, courtesy, honorary, season, non-resident, and deceased), as well as the club charter and by-laws.

ABOVE: Past presidents from the 1964 yearbook.

Ladies Social Club of Orlando become The Rosalind Club

“The club was not named Rosalind at first. It called itself the “Ladies Social Club of Orlando,” but after a year, the members wanted something more meaningful. Remembering the close friendships between members and the “family” atmosphere of warmth and love, they coined the name “Wimodaughsis” – using the first letters of wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. Well, that tongue-twister of a name couldn’t last, of course, and when Mrs. Anna Pell, a Shakespearean scholar, suggested the name of Rosalind as being appropriate inasmuch as Rosalind was the sweetheart of Orlando, her persuasive argument won — and the Rosalind Club has flourished under that name to this day.”

From Orange to Rosalind

The Rosalind Club was originally located at 37 North Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando, Florida. It was constructed in 1901 in the Neo-Classical Revival style. The building was moved to Colonial Drive circa 1921 to make room for the Angebilt Hotel. In 1903, it became the home of the Rosalind Club. In 1916, the club moved into their own building on the shore of Lake Eola at 11 North Rosalind Avenue.

Early Members

Looking through the 1926-1927 membership list of the Rosalind Club, Orlando’s oldest private social club for women, is very much like perusing the index of any of the histories of Orlando.

Names like Beacham, Beardall, Blackman, Branham, Bumby, Cheney, Dolive, Duckworth, Giles, Guernsey, Holden, Ives, McCoy, O’Neal, Warlow and the Albertson Public library’s own Olive Brumbaugh, jump off the page.  Peruse additional yearbooks through 1964 under Documents at the end of this post.

Debutantes

A full-page story in the Monday, January 1, 1962, Orlando Sentinel features six photographs of 10 debutantes, their parents and escorts at the Rosalind Club on Saturday, December 30, 1961. The debutantes are daughters, granddaughters or great-granddaughters of Rosalind Club Members.

Mentioned in the article are Mrs. L. A. Blake, William Dial, Jerry Lyons’ Orchestra, Cornelia Whitner Campbell, Carole June Cubbedge, Beverly McCain Jones, Susan Mathers, Julia Ginther Robertson, Margaret Patricia Rush, Sharon Smith, Carol Louise Waterhouse, Susan Ann Phifer of Morganton, N.C., and Lauranne Wells of Charleston, S.C., Sidney Smith, Julian Pace, Mrs. Richard Walker, Mrs. Robert Carrington, Mrs. LeRoy Dickson, Jr., Harold Kyle, Jim Muncaster, Judge and Mrs. W. A. Pattishall, Mr. and Mrs. Don Randolph, Fletcher Gray Rush, Jr., Warren Edwards.

Today

The Rosalind Club is still in use today for weddings and celebrations of all types.

The yearbooks and other documents are part of the Florida Collection Orange County Associations vertical files but have been digitized. Peruse these and additional items under Images and Documents at the end of this post.