Back then, fiery Ivy Julia Cromartie Stranahan, the “mother of Fort Lauderdale,” led the charge. She was the city’s first schoolteacher and the very first club president, fighting for women’s rights, as well as Native American and African American communities. After the downtown fire of 1912, these ladies didn’t just sit around-no, they rallied the city, even helping to organize the first volunteer fire department!
Ivy and her husband Frank donated land for this very clubhouse and the surrounding park. The club was always focused on giving back: they helped start the first library, first Red Cross office, and even the first Girl Scout troop in town. They launched scholarships for women back in 1924-long before it was cool-and during World War II, they raised so much money that a bomber plane got named after them! Talk about uplifting spirits and… lifting off.
Fast-forward: in 1969, club president Virginia Young became the city’s only female mayor. More recently, the club continues breaking barriers, with Alice Sakhnovsky becoming the club’s first African American president in 2007. Today, the halls echo with joyful wedding receptions, city planning meetings, and visions for the future. If these walls could talk, they’d probably say, “Who runs the world? Girls-and a really nice kitchen!”
