Synopsys of TWIST

In the summer of 1911, the “Village Improvement Club” was founded. It later became known as the “Women’s Improvement Club”.  The wives of the West Side Lumber executives took leading roles. The first summer they had street cleaning, interested themselves in child welfare, and safety at the park. In later years, the Improvement Club was involved with planting sycamore trees which line so many of Tuolumne’s streets.  By 1921 The Women’s Improvement Club acquired a lot and had a clubhouse built at 18663 Carter Street. Tea parties, fund raiser and exercises in refinement were held. After WW II the club lost membership through attrition and the last few members disbanded about 1982.

While working on the celebration events of Tuolumne’s Sesquicentennial Anniversary, Serina Ortega was inspired to re-establish the Women’s Improvement Club of 1911.

Ortega, with friend Terri Neher, began to pull together ideas and people. Thus, the club was resurrected and newly dubbed the Women’s Improvement Society of Tuolumne (TWIST).

On Oct 7 2005 The Union Democrat ran an article about the improvement club highlighting among other things, TWIST’s first annual Scholarship tea fundraiser.

TWIST holds this well attended tea and table setting fundraiser in order to give out scholarships to graduating seniors in the township of Tuolumne. Other projects have been our annual clean up and beatification projects in the township of Tuolumne.

All of these projects, tea's and recipients of the scholarship can be found on our facebook page The Women's Improvement Society of Tuolumne

Volunteer Tasks:

Our scholarship fundraiser set for Oct 19-21 2023 This will be a tea luncheon and table setting contest. It will be held in the new resiliency center in the town of Tuolumne