Bronxville Women's Club Celebrates Mildred McLearn at 101 as 'Woman of the Year'
Oct. 2, 2013: She sat at the entrance to the grand hall of The Bronxville Women’s Club greeting the guests as they arrived with her usual feisty eagerness, dressed in her signature outfit, a black full-length gown decorated for the occasion with an orchid on her shoulder. Her blond hair hung straight, touching her shoulders, and the twinkle in her eye let guests know she was enjoying herself.
She was stellar, even having celebrated her 101st birthday.
Many dignitaries came to join the festivities and say a few words about her remarkable life.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin noted that Mildred was born before women won the right to vote. Nevertheless, she attended college, something few women did in those days, and pursued her interests in architecture and economics.
State Senator George Latimer stood in awe of her employment at the Hearst Corporation and her co-chairing the Westchester Committee for Senator Robert Taft’s campaign for president in 1952.
Former Mayor Marcia Lee recounted Mildred’s ardent opposition during the 1970s to the 188-unit condominium proposed on Sunset Hill in 1974. "Mildred would have preferred the whole hilltop be left as open space," said Lee. "That wasn’t going to happen. But the 188-unit condominium proposed on the top of the highest point in Bronxville didn’t happen either, thanks to Mildred’s tireless work against it."
Mayor Mary Marvin presented Mildred with a special Bronxville pillow to prop up her feet at the end of the day, stating she was a good friend and a remarkable woman who just kept producing.
After the dignitaries spoke, Mildred delivered her own address. She stated that successful communities are those with a central business district that brings people together. It is important, she advised, for Bronxville residents to shop in the business district and support the merchants in every way possible. She also hoped we could preserve villages like Bronxville that create a community for its people to thrive and care for each other.
Attending the event were her daughter, Laura, and Laura's husband, Mike, her grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Laura is well known to Bronxvillians as Laura Strichter Bryson, a real estate broker in the Bronxville office of Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate, Inc.
Mildred Adams McLearn was born in 1912 in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended Vassar College and Case Western Reserve University and married Frank C. McLearn after college. She found Bronxville by hopping on the Harlem line train and watching out the window—the first nice community she saw. Eventually the family moved to Prescott Avenue, where Mildred still lives today. She wrote the "Brain Game," a weekly column for the Hearst Corporation, and worked briefly as a broker for Francis I. Dupont. She became involved in politics and was the Westchester County co-chairman for Senator Robert Taft’s presidential campaign in 1952. An article of hers on voluntary taxation was published in the National Review in 1958, and she wrote the book The Voluntary State.
The Bronxville Women’s Club, founded in 1925, is one of the jewels in the diadem of Bronxville and Westchester County. Funds raised from the annual Women of the Year cocktail party help provide improvements to the clubhouse. This year, President Mary Westmoreland announced that the funds raised from this year's event would go toward improvements to the ceiling in the grand ballroom.
Pictured here: Honoree Mildred Adams McLearn receiving a Bronxville pillow from Mayor Mary Marvin.
Photo by N. Bower
Community Service Organizations Directory
Bronxville Beautification Council
Organized in 1982 and incorporated in 1993, the Bronxville Beautification Council (BBC) is a not for profit organization administered by a Board of Directors. Its mission is to enhance and maintain the natural and man-made beauty of Bronxville Village, with emphasis on the downtown business district of Bronxville. The BBC uses the dollars raised in its annual spring solicitation letter to residents to fund the mum, tulip and summer flower plantings downtown and at traffic intersections, as well as the summer hanging baskets. Every few years the group spearheads such major endeavors as the renovation of Leonard Morange Square on the west side of the railroad tracks and the beautification of the Lawrence Hospital traffic circle, which included the addition of plants and the building of the fountain that now makes a gracious western portal to our town. The BBC also works with other civic groups to monitor the aesthetics of retail signage, the consistency of sidewalk materials, and litter and graffiti. During Beautify Bronxville Week, the BBC sponsors a poetry reading and works with Scout groups on the annual village clean-up.
Bronxville Beautification Council
PO Box 127
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-779-6123
Bronxville Boy Scouts
The village of Bronxville has a long tradition of scouting. “The troops and packs of Bronxville have maintained the finest scouting organizations and have taught the boys of the Bronxville area to be leaders and outstanding members of the local, national and global communities.”
There are several Boy Scout Troops in Bronxville, including Troops 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Bronxvillle Girls Scouts
The Girls Scouts is “the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.” In Girl Scouts, “girls discover the fun, friendship and power of girls together. Through the many enriching experiences provided by Girl Scouts, they can grow courageous and strong.”
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
The Bronxville Historical Conservancy was founded in 1998 to further the understanding and appreciation of the history and current life of the village. The Conservancy furthers its mission through the presentation of programs, publications, lectures and special events that foster an awareness of the village's architectural, artistic and cultural heritage, and lends its support for projects designed to strengthen and preserve those legacies. Anyone who is interested in the Bronxville and its history can become a member; varying levels of membership are available.
Bronxville Historical Conservancy
PO Box 989
Bronxville, New York 10708
http://bronxvillehistoricalconservancy.org/
Bronxville School Foundation
The Bronxville School Foundation, founded in 1991, is a non-profit organization independent from the school with the sole purpose of supporting the school. The Foundation raises money each year through donations from school families, community members, and alumni, among others.These contributions fund grants that provide cutting-edge technology, innovative programs and curriculum and other resources that are beyond the scope of public school funding.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0515
https://www.bronxvilleschoolfoundation.org/
Bronxville Women’s Club
The Bronxville Women’s Club offers lectures, exhibits and concerts. It also has a beautiful clubhouse which is available for rental for events.
135 Midland Avenue
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-3252
www.bronxvillewomensclub.org
Bronxville Youth Council
The Bronxville Youth Council provides volunteer and leadership opportunities for high school students in the village of Bronxville.
177 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-395-0500 ext 1789
Counseling Center
Founded in 1971, the mission of the Counseling Center “is to provide a wide range of psychotherapeutic and counseling services to individuals, couples and families by a staff of highly trained, experience and dedicated psychotherapists.
The Counseling Center
180 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-793-3388
www.counselingcenter.org
Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester & Tuckahoe
The mission of the Community Fund is “to support broad social services in Bronxville 10708, Eastchester and Tuckahoe through grants and technical support to local agencies and community projects. All money raised here in our community stays here in our community.”
15 Park Place
Bronxville, New York 10708
914-337-8808
www.thecommunityfund.org
Friends of the Bronxville Library
The Friends of the Bronxville Library is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to focus attention on the “Library’s services, facilities and needs” as well as sponsor projects and provide materials that are beyond the reach of the Library’s regular budget and perform other services.
Junior League of Bronxville
The Junior League of Bronxville is “an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”
Rotary Club of Bronxville
The mission of the Rotary Club of Bronxville is to “encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and to encourage and foster (1) the development of friendships within the community as an opportunity for service, (2) high ethical standards in business and professions, (3) the application of the ideal of service of each member to his personal and business and community life and (4) the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship.”
Senior Citizens of Bronxville
Senior Citizens of Bronxville is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and programs to seniors within the 10708 zip code area. “Programs cover a wide range of activities from educational seminars and cultural enrichment, to community services, bridge classes and exercise.”
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