Silver Tea tradition honors past presidents of Butler Intermediate League
BUTLER TWP — Silver Tea is an important tradition to the Greater Federation of Women’s Club Intermediate League of Butler and the one Monday evening, April 13, was particularly historic for the group.
During the event, its members called past leaders to the floor to be honored for their service to the club.
The intermediate league honored its past presidents Monday, and several of the 14 who are still living attended to receive some recognition in person — a majority of them are still members of the organization.
Yolanda Cypher, the current president of the league, led the meeting and said each president brought her own missions, but also led in a way personal to themselves.
“Their leadership qualities of stability, strength and sympathy have been guides to members during many years of community volunteer work, federation activities, fundraisers, personal development and growth in friendships,” Cypher said.
The Silver Tea meeting featured spring colors — every table was lined with a pink tablecloth and many league members also sported brightly-colored clothes. Many of them wore name tags shaped like teapots and all of the members were encouraged to bring a personal or special tea cup with them to the meeting.
Some of the past presidents in attendance Monday recalled some of the initiatives they led while heading the group, like Beverly Olenic, who was president from 1999 to 2001.
Olenic was president during the club’s 50th anniversary, which was in the year 2000, and said the group put on a big party to commemorate the occasion.
“We put on our 50th club anniversary in 2000, we had a special event at the country club,” Olenic said. “That’s the first thing that comes to mind.”
But her most cherished initiative was the creation of a cookbook, which was the first of its kind for the Butler organization. Olenic said she asked all of the members of the league at the time to contribute a recipe and she and other members typed them all up and laid them out to be published as a book.
“I’m really proud of that,” Olenic said.
About 15 years ago, Olenic also helped create a cookbook for the GFWC Junior Women’s Club of Butler, which she said was another point of pride for her tenure with the league — her initiatives didn’t end after she was done being president.
“That was a good fundraiser, everyone participated,” Olenic said.
Collaboration with the Junior Women’s Club of Butler has been somewhat of a back burner goal for some of the Intermediate League presidents. Phyllis Laporte, who was president from 2016 to 2018, said she always tries to recruit new members, although it is not usually through the junior club. She said many members have joined directly, without ever being involved in any of its sister organizations.
“We’re starting to get some younger women — we have 65 in our group and it’s expanding every year,” Laporte said.
But Laporte said no matter where they come from, members of the league are almost always service-oriented and join the group because they want to help out. Laporte said she has made and maintained many friendships through her connection with the league.
“First of all, it’s a service organization, we really give almost all the money away to a nonprofit,” Laporte said. “It’s a group of ladies who have that volunteer spirit.”
As for her time as president, Laporte said she was happy to be a leader of the volunteer efforts, including many that helped people and organizations in Butler.
“We did a lot of things for the Grapevine Center,” Laporte said. “You always get volunteers who want to help.”
The Intermediate League of Butler began in 1950, created to bridge the “age gap” between the junior club and the senior women’s club, the latter of which is now defunct. According to a history document by the league, the organization has planned parties at the ARC of Butler County, assisted in the special needs classrooms of McQuistion Elementary School and helped the Butler County Historical Society.
But one of the organization’s most lasting initiatives was establishing the 911 service in Butler County in 1969, which is still active today and coordinates emergency services.
Additionally, the league continues its signature project, the annual antique show and sale, to this day. Anne Miller, the current chairwoman of the antique show, said the event remains one of the league’s biggest fundraisers and helps get money to other organizations the group helps over the course of the year.
“It’s just a wonderful project to be involved in,” Miller said prior to this year’s show.
