Men’s Club: A way to stay socially and personally active in your community
Fun, fellowship and festivities – those are the three “F’s” of the Men's Club of Grosse Pointe.
The Men's Club of Grosse Pointe provides those elements and more for its members through social, educational and peer group association in its recreational and social activities.
The Men’s Club is a resident community partner of The War Memorial, typically meeting at our nonprofit organization on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.
“We are a very active and engaged group,” Men's Club of Grosse Pointe President Ed Wolking said. “We’re committed to topics in Grosse Pointe and inquisitive. It’s a way to stay socially and personally active in your community.”
Early in the summer of 1959, War Memorial Director John Lake approached Edward Gehrig on the subject of forming a club for senior men.
“Mr. Lake had felt for some time that there was a place in the community for such a group,” the club’s website notes. “He asked Ed’s opinion and Ed said it seemed like a good idea and he would think about it.”
On July 15, 1959, nine men attended an exploratory meeting about the club at The War Memorial. By the time of its third meeting in September 1959, 40 men were present.
“There were a lot of veterans who served in World War I and World War II and Grosse Pointe had a lot of people who were in the military,” Wolking said, referencing the club’s origins. “Being at The War Memorial is great, and The War Memorial is only going to get better as years go along.”
Wolking has been a member of the club since 2016 and president of the group for the last year. Come Oct. 1, Dan Clark will serve as the president. Wolking estimates the club currently has 350 members.
“About 30% of our current members are veterans,” Wolking said. “It’s a club of senior men, which makes for a good audience and there’s a symbiotic relationship between the Men’s Club and The War Memorial.”
Criteria to be a member of the club includes being a male above the age of 55 who lives in what Wolking said as the “eastside” of metro Detroit.
“You also have to have a sponsor- a current club member – to have a sponsorship to become a member,” Wolking said. “We’re really looking to grow our membership in the future.”
A bi-weekly meeting of the Men’s Club, Wolking described, includes a full-blown membership meeting, with a luncheon, program and a speaker.
This month, it meets on Sept. 10 and Sept. 24. The speaker at the first meeting of the month is John Gallagher, former senior business columnist at the Detroit Free Press and member of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. Then on Sept. 24, Mil Hurley will present to the group. Hurley is an advanced master gardener and will speak about the Moross Greenway Project.
On Oct. 8, Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce President Jenny Boettcher will serve as the keynote speaker. The group’s Oct. 22 meeting will feature remarks from Michigan Sports Hall of Fame member Tom Gage. Gage worked as the Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Detroit News from 1979 to 2015.
Aside from meeting at The War Memorial, the group has a book club, a bowling and golf league, and takes part in special events like the annual Christmas party and taking a boat ride on the Detroit River.
For more information on the club, click here.