A last farewell from the wise women

THE end of an era was observed at the end of February as the Bendigo Y Service Club Women held their final regional meeting.

Many of the members had dedicated their lives to the club and so cutting the cake at the dual celebration of their 70th anniversary and send-off was bittersweet.

At the get together, the club handed in their charter and said farewell to the five remaining regional groups from Geelong, Ararat, Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk.

Eva Chalmer, current treasure and former president, said it was sad to see the club come to an end.

“We’ve only got 12 members left, and there’s three in care who can’t come to meetings,” she said.

“It is an end of an era and it’s been a successful era for us too, we’ve raised lots of money and over the years we’ve held lots of fundraisers.”

Their fundraisers included concerts, parades, and dinners, with the money going to foundations like Smith Family, Foodshare, and other community groups.

The group’s primary purpose was to provide support to the YMCA – short for the Young Men’s Christian Association, and to support the Y’s men.

“The Y’s men used to have the Easter book fair and the spring book fair in the Tom Tweed stadium and we used to help them with that, and they used to sell Christmas trees,” she said.

“But they’re getting on in years, so they handed over the book fair to Foodshare last year and the Christmas trees have gone by the wayside.

“Apex has folded years ago, and some Lions clubs and stuff, it’s all part and parcel.”

The Bendigo Y Service Club Women will operate for one more month before folding.