The Blanco Women’s Club welcomed guests to an old-fashioned Christmas when they hosted their annual tea in the Old Blanco County Courthouse. Resplendent with red and green Christmas decorations, the Courthouse came alive with merriment, lively music, interesting conversation, and dance during the event, based upon the Blanco Sesquicentennial theme. To continue the year-long celebration of the county’s 150th birthday, members of the club welcomed guests dressed in long skirts, Battenberg lace aprons, and other period attire. Old fashioned Christmas music on guitar and fiddle, performed by area musicians Chris Prewitt and Bernard Mohlberg, filled the hall and prompted lively dancing. The beautiful flowers and centerpieces were donated by Arnosky Farms and arranged by talented BWC member, Barbara Crowley. As guests enjoyed the entertainment, they snacked on cheesecake, cut-out Christmas cookies, mixed nuts, hot spiced tea, apple citrus punch, and a wide variety of homemade Christmas candies, lovingly made by the hands of BWC members. The guest list included local and surrounding area dignitaries, such as Bonnie Rose of Dripping Springs, mother of State Representative, Patrick Rose, who attended the Silver Tea with several of her own guests. Gwen Risinger answered questions regarding upcoming library building plans as guests toured a display of plans and architectural renderings. Additionally, Jan Redmon, Librarian, had a display of events held throughout 2008 at the public library.

Begun as a fundraiser to support the area’s public library, the Silver Tea is an event anxiously looked forward to each year. All proceeds from the tea support the public library. This year, the Silver Tea raised over $25,000 to support the continued operation of the library. The Blanco Women’s Club works each year, all year long, to provide a library that meets the needs of our area. Throughout the upcoming year, you will often see club members volunteering at the library. In addition, all the boards that keep the library running are staffed by many members of the BWC (Blanco Library, Inc.; Friends of the Library; etc.) The ladies of the BWC appreciate the continued support of area residents to enable the growth and operation of our library.