Organized in 1949 as “The Woman’s Club of Reiffton,” the object of the organization is to develop the educational, civic and social interests of its members, and to advance the welfare of the community. The driving force behind the Club was a group of women who wanted to establish a kindergarten in Reiffton. With generous support of the community at club fundraisers, the kindergarten was opened in 1951. It was managed and maintained by the Club until the school district added kindergarten to its program.
Our next project was the beautification of the gravel trolley bed that ran adjacent to Perkiomen Avenue in Reiffton. Work began in 1963 to create and landscape a green mall from W. 34th Street to W. 37th Street. Exeter Township now maintains that area but the Club continues to tend seasonal plantings in the urns under the portico.
As the Township expanded, so did the Club, and in 1978 we changed our name to “The Woman’s Club of Exeter Township.”
In 1990, we established a recycling program for Township residents. For five years we recycled paper, glass and aluminum cans once a month. Exeter residents supported our efforts far beyond what we ever imagined and the Club was cited by the Pennsylvania Senate for keeping 1,000,000 pounds of newspaper out of our landfills. Eventually the Township was mandated to have its own recycling program and we were delighted to have them do it!
In 1998 we launched our first annual holiday house tour, which, for 25 years, annually kicked off the Christmas season in Exeter Township.
A newcomer to Exeter (and our Club) noticed that we really needed a library. She put together a committee, gathered books on a huge scale, garnered community support, and worked unceasingly through a variety of setbacks to finally bring a library to Exeter. Now a part of the Berks County library system, Exeter Community Library continues to be one of the county’s busiest branches.