From Welcome Wagon Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula to Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club: A History of the Club

By Bridget Stillo

Sitting in a closet in my home is a shoebox full of membership directories from the past. I recently inherited this shoebox and a “President's box” when I became Co-President of the New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The lid on the shoebox says: Welcome Wagon Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula 1964-1989, Wagoneers Club of Palos Verdes 1970-1993, and New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula 1989-2020. A manila file folder in the President’s box holds information about the club’s history. My curiosity to learn more about the history of the club led me to talk with 14 former presidents and current members who were eager to share their memories with me. Through these conversations and the information handed down through the years, I pieced together the history of our club.

Welcome Wagon Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula - 1964-1989

Welcome Wagon was an international organization, and there were 650 welcome wagon clubs in the United States. Members of all welcome wagon clubs adopted the bylaws of the international club. The Welcome Wagon Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula welcomed new arrivals to the community by giving them a basket of gifts, food and coupons supplied by local businesses for new homeowners.

Newcomers were eligible for a membership in the club up to twelve months after moving to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and membership was limited to a period of three years, after that the newcomers “graduated” and were no longer members. It truly was a club for new neighbors. They had activities, luncheons and charitable events and printed a directory of all members, which included their bylaws. A directory of each year from 1966 until 1989 is inside the aforementioned shoebox.

Wagoneers Club of Palos Verdes - 1970-1993

The Wagoneers Club started because members enjoyed the Welcome Wagon Club but couldn’t stay as a member after three years so they decided to form a club called the Wagoneers Club of Palos Verdes.

They never registered in connection with the Welcome Wagon Club so they were not required to use their bylaws. They did, however, continue to serve new members of the community and to have baskets delivered to newcomers. They had activities, two membership meetings a year as well as charitable events. There was no limit on the time Wagoneers could stay in the club. In 1983 the board of the Welcome Wagon Club and the board of the Wagoneers Club got together and decided they would like to have a few joint luncheons and programs. The two clubs continued to enjoy joint programs for six years. Membership and activities flourished.

In September 1989, Welcome Wagon Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula was asked by Welcome Wagon International to abide by the rules and regulations of Welcome Wagon or leave the organization. They didn’t appreciate the fact that they were having joint meetings with the Wagoneers, who were not members of Welcome Wagon. Because of this conflict, the members of Welcome Wagon Club decided to form a new club known as New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Wagoneers Club continued on for several years after this until it merged with the New Neighbors Club.

New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula - 1989-2020

In the 1990’s The New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula bylaws stated: the club was an organization of new residents and members were to (1) join within two years upon their arrival (2) live in one of the four cities on the peninsula (3) after three years members became sustainer members of the organization and their involvement was limited to attending luncheons and activities, they could not hold board positions or chair committees.

In 1992 a newsletter stated that some of the activities offered were horseback riding, moms and tots group and there was an announcement of the wedding of a member, potentially indicating a younger demographic. They had general meetings in member's homes and also held charitable events.

As time went on the bylaw that said members had to join the club within two years of arrival was changed and a clause was added that if a neighbor secured a sponsor in the club they could join even if they had lived on the peninsula for more than two years. The bylaw was later changed again so that new members had no requirement to obtain a sponsor and could join regardless of how long they had lived on the peninsula.

Some of our current members who were presidents in the 1990s remember that they still gave gift baskets to new members of the community. There was a member who made welcome baskets for newcomers and local realtors paid her to do this. This practice was discontinued sometime in the early 2000s.

When members began requesting that their friends who lived in the surrounding communities join the club, the bylaws changed again to say that members could live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the surrounding communities. Another bylaw change stated that sustaining members could become chairpersons but not hold office.

The club continued to evolve, and many of our members remained members for years, greatly contributing to our club.

Eventually the club had more long-time members than new members and this made it hard to find enough new members to fill the board of director positions. In 2018, the club changed the bylaws to make all members active members and did away with the sustainer membership. This made all new and current members eligible to be board members.

The shoebox includes directories of New Neighbors Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula from 2002 until 2020.

***Excursion to Angel’s Flight in Los Angeles***

***Visiting the Butterfly Exhibit at the South Coast Botanic Garden***

Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club - 2020-Present:

I shared the history of the club with our members, including the fact that a large percentage of our members were long-time members. At the October 1, 2020 general meeting, club members in attendance unanimously voted to change the name of the club to Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club.

At present, the membership of the club includes 75% long-time members (three years or more) and 25% new members. Our new name reflects that membership. Our club endeavors to welcome all new and current residents of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and surrounding communities and to participate in our many activities and meetings.

Today our club has a general meeting every month, which includes information about our upcoming activities and a speaker. We host 15 different activities, publish a monthly newsletter, host a Facebook group page, have a website and we raise money for our charities. The club has 12 Board of Directors and 26 Activity Chairpersons.

As we begin our new year, I added Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club to the lid of the shoebox, and a 2020-2021 e-directory of our members to the content of the shoebox full of past directories, knowing that what is most important; the camaraderie and community of the people in our club, and the activities that we share together, continues on.

Our website is: https://pvpneighborsclub.wixsite.com/website

Bridget Stillo

Co-President

Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club

Bridget Stillo has lived on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for 20 years. She has a Bachelors Degree from Indiana State University and a Masters Degree from Northern Illinois University. Bridget enjoyed a career as a teacher and school principal. Besides being Co-President of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Neighbors Club she is a Wedding Coordinator for St. John Fisher Church. She resides in Rancho Palos Verdes with her husband John, they have three grown children who attended Palos Verdes Peninsula Schools.