Ladies Auxiliary
During the early struggling years of Pella Christian High School, a ladies auxiliary was formed, beginning with 36 members in 1937. This tireless, dependable organization of mothers of students was always busily engaged in a fund raising project. They sold greeting cards, calendars, dish cloths, commemorative plates, served meals and banquets; and by 1979, had raised a total of $109,500. They purchased desks, chairs, musical instruments, band and athletic uniforms, kitchen equipment and hundreds of library books as the years ensued. Following the fire in 1964, their efforts doubled to help replace all that was lost.
The organization met monthly from its beginning for many years, always in churches and then later at the high school. Attendance was good and a program including a pertinent speaker, often one of the teachers, and musical numbers by high school students was always enjoyed. By 1989, a total of $294,000 had been raised and donated to the school.
As more women returned to the work force, attendance at the monthly meetings began to wane but the spirit of the dedicated ladies remained strong. However, the monthly meetings were discontinued. After that, the serving committees known as "Ways and Means Committees" met as needed to prepare for banquets, anniversaries, and Tulip Time Festival, always held in Pella in May. The three days of Tulip Time has always been a time of good fund raising. A time of fun, fellowship, and hard work brings the many constituents together. In the early years, stoves and refrigerators were hauled into a tire shop in downtown Pella so as to serve meals to Tulip Time visitors. The group became well-known for the delicious meals they served from first-class accommodations in the kitchen/cafeteria at PCHS. Bus loads of visitors from all over Iowa and neighboring states, made reservations to enjoy the pleasant accommodations and good food provided at PCHS. As of August 2003, this group had raised over $406,000 for the school.
As Tulip Time changed, and food vendors became more prevalent around the square, the need to feed bus loads of tourists diminished. In 2005, it was decided to discontinue this effort. Since many of the fund raising opportunities of this group were no longer available or practical, the PCHS Auxiliary requested a merger with the Eagle Boosters in early 2006. The merger of these two groups seemed like a good and logical decision and they are now joined together to focus on all the fund raising activities for Pella Christian High School.
This group's efforts were truly blessed and multiplied over many times to support PCHS. Over the years, they donated over $414,000 to PCHS for equipment purchases and supplies. We thank all those ladies who worked tirelessly to support Christian education.