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Joan Hemmert, president of the Ladies Auxiliary to California Pioneers, holds a photograph of her grandparents and great-grandparents at her Lodi home. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Preserving the past
Ladies Auxiliary to California Pioneers helps keep history alive
Joan Hemmert was born and raised in Lodi. Her ancestor, Samuel Ray, settled in California sometime before 1854. For this reason, Hemmert, who is a fifth-generation resident of both California and San Joaquin County, is eligible to be a part of the Ladies Auxiliary to California Pioneers. Hemmert served as the first vice president for the organization and recently was elected as president.
Q: What is your role as president of the organization?
A: I lead the board meetings and general meetings and keep track of the different committees.
Q: How long have you been in the organization and why did you join?
A: For three years, and I joined because my mother had been a member. Someone from the group asked me if I would be interested and I said I would be.
Q: What has been the organization's biggest accomplishment since you have been in it?
A: We donated a substantial sum of money from fundraising events to the Haggin Museum. We usually give them a supplement every year with a check. Our biggest fund-raiser is our annual card party in April. Also in 2006, we had an appraisal day for an antique roadshow, which was very successful. The money we raised generated a lot of cash we could donate to the Museum.
Q: What do you enjoy about the organization?
A: It's definitely a social organization, so I have made some new friends. We have monthly programs and as vice-president I was responsible for arranging the programs, which are of a historical nature. Next month a presentation will be made by Sylvia Sun Minnick, who is a Chinese author. She will talk about local Chinese culture. At Christmas time, we will be having bell ringers perform some music. In March, someone from Grupe Real Estate will talk about the Grupe family history; and in May, a member of the Women's Club will talk about the suffragette movement.
Q: What was your profession?
A: I was a floral designer and had a shop in Scituate, Mass.
Q: What celebrity would you most like to meet?
Joan Hemmert, president of the Ladies Auxiliary to California Pioneers, leafs through some of the groups vintage notes and applications dating back to the 1800s at her Lodi home. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Joan Hemmert, president; Darlene Ferrario, first vice president; Pat Hose, second vice president; Barbara Ellis, recording secretary; Rosalyn Meisch, financial secretary; Alice Baker, corresponding secretary; and Carol Sims, treasurer. The directors are Virginia Clark and Jenny Lind.
• First known as the Ladies' Annex, the organization was formed on June 29, 1892 by 19 wives and daughters of the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers to revere, honor and perpetuate the memory of the pioneers and early settlers of California.
• It was the first women's club to be organized in Stockton.
• Meetings of the newly formed organization were primarily social, with an abundance of food, and often a program of a patriotic nature.
• In the early 1920s, the group recognized the need for a museum in Stockton. Members helped raise money and were instrumental in getting the Robert T. McKee family to donate money and a large collection of paintings from the Haggin Collection in New York.
• The Haggin Museum was completed on June 14, 1931, and in appreciation for helping to furnish the lecture hall, the Auxiliary was granted the permanent right and privilege of holding meetings there.
• Members of the organization were involved in fundraising for the renovation of the Pioneer Room, which was completed on June 15, 1991.
• The organization celebrated its 115th year in 2007. Members in the Auxiliary include up to four generations of family members throughout the state.
• Eligible members must be descendants of pioneers who came to California before the end of 1854.
• Currently, the organization's main objective is to keep alive the life and times of California's early days and several of the programs held each year recall some facet of the period.
• It was the first women's club to be organized in Stockton.
• Meetings of the newly formed organization were primarily social, with an abundance of food, and often a program of a patriotic nature.
• In the early 1920s, the group recognized the need for a museum in Stockton. Members helped raise money and were instrumental in getting the Robert T. McKee family to donate money and a large collection of paintings from the Haggin Collection in New York.
• The Haggin Museum was completed on June 14, 1931, and in appreciation for helping to furnish the lecture hall, the Auxiliary was granted the permanent right and privilege of holding meetings there.
• Members of the organization were involved in fundraising for the renovation of the Pioneer Room, which was completed on June 15, 1991.
• The organization celebrated its 115th year in 2007. Members in the Auxiliary include up to four generations of family members throughout the state.
• Eligible members must be descendants of pioneers who came to California before the end of 1854.
• Currently, the organization's main objective is to keep alive the life and times of California's early days and several of the programs held each year recall some facet of the period.
A: I would like to go back and visit with my ancestor, Samuel Ray.
Q: What is the best thing about living in California?
A: Having lived in Massachusetts and Florida, I love the weather. It is definitely an improvement over the other two areas. I also grew up here and graduated from Lodi High. I left after I got married and then came back. It is my home.
Q: What would you change about California today versus how it was in the past?
A: I would slow the growth; that really bothers me. There's too much construction and now look at what's happening in the housing market.
Q: What is the best decision you have ever made?
A: To move back to Lodi. I came back for my 50th high school reunion and then stayed.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about living in Lodi?
A: That it's not Stockton. (Laughs) I enjoy it because most of my friends live in Lodi from when I grew up.
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