Almost 66 years of service to community will come to an end Sept. 8 when the Sharpsville Woman's Club holds its final meeting.

The primary reason for that, club member Marcia Lenhart said recently, is because of declining membership due to "people either passing away or becoming ill and incapacitated and not being able to do some of the strenuous fundraising that we were doing in the past when we were much younger."

This year, the club's membership dropped to 17 -- about a dozen of whom are considered active -- from a high of about 125 in the late 1970s and early '80s. The decision to disband the club was made in March when members came to the realization those numbers weren't going to turn around.

"We all felt bad," said vice president Fran Pavcik, a 33-year member. "It was a very difficult decision and we all thought about it a lot. It was very sad."

Mrs. Lenhart, a member for a quarter of a century, agreed.

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