One hundred years of history with a place that started off as a dream.
“The Community House was really the center of everybody’s life from being small, all the way up to adult programming,” said executive director Pam Henshall, who joined the organization in 2024.
“Growing up in Moorestown, the Community House was a big part of my childhood,” recalled Mayor Quinton Law. “It’s where I learned to swim, where I learned to dance at dance assembly and where I built lifelong friendships that I still have today.
“Its legacy lives in the generations of residents who have walked through its doors, the nonprofits and community organizations it has supported, and the countless memories it has helped create for our town,” he added.
” … As it celebrates 100 years, we remember that the Community House is an iconic landmark at the heart of Moorestown.”
“It’s been a launching pad for a lot of organizations, and when you think about how many people have met there and have been a part of it over the years, it’s incredible,” noted Linda Vizi, president of the Historical Society of Moorestown, of Community House.
A century ago, the Women’s Club of Moorestown envisioned a place where nonprofits could come together. The group’s determination, according to Henshall, won over Eldridge Johnson, founder of the Victory Talking Machine Company, which later merged with RCA.
The centennial will be celebrated in style on Friday, with antique cars; croquet; live music from the Abe Speller Trio and Don’t Call Me Francis; a centennial sign – made for photos – surrounded by flowers; auction items; and refreshments. The house’s club room will be transformed into a speakeasy, all possible with food and signature drinks.
“It is so meaningful, because there are so many people that want to celebrate with us,” said Henshall.
Henshall feels comfortable with the community that surrounds the house, and with everyone involved, from the board to staff to residents.
“The love and the passion that everybody has for the Community House is very welcoming and warming and it seems like I’ve been here for just a minute,” she explained, “because of going through the process of researching the history of (the Community House) …
“We’re such a blip in 100 years that it puts things in perspective to be able to understand that there’s so much more to learn (from) and so much more to do from our past.”
The centennial celebration will remind everyone how the only community house in South Jersey remains true to its mission when it opened on April 11, 1926. It’s about the memories residents can offer and there’s no end in sight for the nonprofit to collect stories that matter.
Whether it’s a childhood swim, a school dance, a wedding or a certain tradition, no memory is too small. All residents are encouraged to share their stories at the Community House website.
“We need people in the region to be able to look back and say, ‘I want to make sure that my story is told because it’s important to the Community House,’ because it is all heartbeat, it’s all stories,” Henshall related. “Our intention is to build a museum, but the museum will be very similar to the (National) Constitution Center (in Philadelphia). That’s what we are going to generate …
“It’s the verbal story and the pictorial story of the country that is so eloquently displayed … That’s what we want to set.”
It’s almost impossible to count all the people and organizations that have passed through the Community House. From the Rotary Club of Moorestown to the first Samaritan Hospice volunteer training class; to dance, civic and religious groups; service and hobby clubs; pool clubs; holiday events; and arts lessons, the list goes on.
“It’s a step back in time in so many ways, and we would like to have a nod to that,” Henshall pointed out. “Any program or activity that we have will be a nod to what we have celebrated in the past, people coming together and having a connection, the community having a connection and working together, understanding how we need to work together to not be divided any longer …
“We need to start to heal the division, and I hope that the Community House can help play a role.”
Among everything, Henshall added, is the Community House’s need for individual donors. To contribute, visit its website.
The Community House gymnasium served as an all-purpose room, hosting banquets, dances, movies, concerts, recitals, weddings, basketball leagues and more in its early years.
