Club History

The Oxford Women’s Social Club was started by Oxford, Michigan resident Linda Grunewald in the Fall of 2003. After 35 years of married life, Linda suddenly found herself in the midst of a divorce that she did not want. With her world crashing down around her and no children or family close by, Linda knew that she would have to make friends locally if she planned on staying in the area. But she had no idea how to go about that. After praying for an answer, the idea of placing a classified ad seeking like-minded women who might be interested in going out to dinner or a show every once in awhile came quickly. That one ad turned into 30 phone calls. Those 30 phone calls turned into needing a meeting room big enough to organize all the activity ideas that were being presented. In January of 2004 non-profit status was granted, and the club established membership dues to help with basic expenses.

To say that it was wildly popular is an understatement. In one year’s time there were 150 members! Linda attributes this to the lack of a formal board-of-directors structure. Volunteers alone make up this club.

What type of women join? Stay-at-home-moms to business owners, twenty-somethings to eighty-somethings make it a well rounded club. A surprising statistic to most everyone is that 2/3 of the membership has consistently been made up of married women and 1/3 of single women. That shows a real need that all women have for finding new ways of connecting with other women.

As of this writing, the Oxford Women’s Social Club is just starting it’s fifth consecutive successful year in existence. Women have come and gone and some have come back again because of the timing in their lives. But even with attrition, the numbers have held well over 100 members for the entire five years.

The greatest joy Linda says that she receives from founding this club is the huge numbers of women who have thanked her over the years for introducing them to their new best friends. And she has made many close friendships herself which, after all, was what she was seeking when she placed that first little ad.