By STEPHANIE BRUMFIELD / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The women, past and present, of the Montevallo Study Club gathered Oct. 22 to celebrate the club’s 80th anniversary, and a few women came reliving old traditions. When the club began in 1933, members were required to attend meetings in hats and gloves, and though the rule has since been changed, Dean Nathews dressed the part anyway.

“I thought it would be fun,” Nathews said.

During its 80 years of existence, the Montevallo Study Club has had a total of 113 members, with 20 serving as the maximum number at any given time, according to member Gene Lightfoot. The club was formed during the Great Depression by a group of women in their early 20s and is the oldest study and civic club in Montevallo, Lightfoot said.

The group of women meets once a month from Sept.-May, with members hosting the meetings at their homes. A theme is selected each year, and programs for each meeting are chosen based on the yearly theme, said vice president Betty Walker.

This year’s theme is “Rediscovering Montevallo” in honor of new things happening in the town.

“Last year, we looked back at the past 80 years,” Walker said. “This year we’re looking ahead and seeing what we’re doing now.”

Past program topics have included presidents’ homes, the environment, sustainability, places around the world, book reviews and education.

Though some members attend church together and see each other outside of meetings, many, like Sarah Arnold, say they often only see each other at club events.

“I’ll see people here that I don’t get a chance to see any other place,” Arnold said. “It’s so good to have such good friends.”

Others, like Georgene Watson, who was a member from 1949-1981, and Susan Fulmer, a current member, enjoy the club’s civic aspect.

“We don’t have a lot of money because we don’t take up collections, but what we do have we put back into the community,” Fulmer said.