Crescent Junior Study Club

Inside a local service organization that has connected generations of women in Jasper for decades.

Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Ryan McGill

It starts with a ringing doorbell and the sound of women greeting one another as they step into a friend’s home bearing casseroles, desserts, notebooks, and a willingness to contribute to their home community. Everyday routines are paused for one morning each month, and the Crescent Junior Study Club gathers.

It’s not a flashy group. There’s no website or social media feed. Membership is by invitation only, and meetings aren’t announced publicly. But for the women who are part of it, the club is a steady, meaningful rhythm that has shaped friendships, supported local causes, and quietly connected generations of women in Jasper.

The Crescent Junior Study Club was established in 1967 as an offshoot of the original Crescent Study Club, which began in 1934 with a focus on volunteer service and addressing issues such as education and women’s health. Initially, the intention was for members of the junior club to transition into the senior club at age 35, but this plan shifted as the younger women formed lasting bonds and chose to continue growing the organization in their own way.

Organization president Amy Grice has been attending these meetings for over 30 years. “When I joined, most of the women were stay-at-home moms,” she says. “Now we’ve got physical therapists, remote workers, business owners, retirees. It’s changed with the times, but the heart of it hasn’t.”

Grice remembers being one of the younger members when she was first invited to join. “Some of the ladies were in their fifties, and I learned so much from just being around them, like how to raise kids, how to decorate a home, how to handle hard things with grace,” she says. “And now, I look at the younger women coming in, and I’m learning from them too. They’ve got fresh energy and new ideas.”

That range of life experience has become one of the club’s defining strengths. Today the club has 35 active members and 14 associate members. The youngest member is 30. The oldest? That’s a detail best left to southern manners. Several daughters of longtime members, including Grice’s own, have now joined.

Each meeting includes a meal, usually homemade by a small group of members, and a program often focused on a local topic or speaker. The food isn’t fancy, but it’s part of the ritual. Recipes are swapped. Notes are compared. Hosting responsibilities rotate. “It’s simple, but it brings people together,” Grice says. “That kind of shared effort matters.”

Over the years, the Crescent Junior Study Club has also left its mark through community service. Its earliest efforts included visiting nursing homes and working with special needs children at the former Shrine School (later North Highlands). Members brought music, helped with the library, and made time for meaningful connection.

For two decades, members fulfilled Christmas wish lists for teenagers in the Walker County foster system. “Everybody wants to buy for little kids,” Grice says. “But those teens deserved gifts they really wanted, too.” One year, a boy asked for a set of drums. Somehow, the club made it happen.

Today, they focus on Beacon House, a local residential program for women. The club organizes outings, throws parties and delivers thoughtful surprises. “We’ve done everything from Easter baskets to movie nights to helping them make jewelry,” Grice says. “We show up. And the girls are so appreciative—but honestly, I think we get just as much out of it.”

The club also supports the Distinguished Young Women of Walker County program. Grice’s daughters participated years ago, and she’s stayed a loyal supporter ever since. “It teaches poise, interview skills, leadership, and other things they carry into college and jobs,” she says. “It’s not really about winning. It’s about confidence and growth.”

Other efforts have included reading programs in partnership with Jasper’s elementary schools, as well as a particularly memorable (but never repeated) Christmas bazaar featuring handmade goods. For years, they even sold tulip bulbs imported from Holland to raise funds, an event so popular in town that people would ask to be remembered when ordering season came around.

Grice, a retired CPA, says the club has shaped her in ways that extend far beyond service projects. “Being in other women’s homes, seeing how they live, learning from how they organize their lives—it’s all been part of the experience for me,” she says.

Asked what she hopes the club will be for future generations, her answer is simple: “A place to breathe. To step away from the rush, to be with people who understand, and to do something good for your town.”

That’s what it’s always been. A pause. A presence. A quiet kind of commitment that doesn’t seek attention but leaves a mark anyway.

As the door closes behind each departing member, empty casserole dishes in hand, maybe a new idea or recipe to try, the impact lingers in friendships strengthened, needs quietly met, and a community just a little bit better for the gathering.

Because sometimes, showing up is the tradition that matters most. 78