ABOUT HCC
The Half Century Club of Winter Park is a Private Club exclusive to men who have been residents of Winter Park for 50 years or more. Membership is by invitation only. We are a social group that meets yearly for dinner and drinks to swap lies, tell bad jokes, and catch up with friends and neighbors. The food is good, the drinks are better, and the fellowship is unsurpassed.
Membership requires paying dues to provide the palaces, private jets, and limos bestowed to the Executive Committee. Dues also pay for little things like deposits on venues, the website, printing, and mailing. Having been in existence since 1951, the membership of the Half Century Club has been rich with diversity, as the only prerequisites for membership are gender and residency.
We typically meet once per year in April, though we hope to add a second "meeting" during the fourth quarter of the year. Most times, our meetings feature a speaker. In April of 2023, it was Rick Cronin, an author and historian specializing in Central Florida, and, appropriately, who brought Winter Park to where it is today.
TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST WISDOM AND GOINGS-ON AT THE HALF CENTURY CLUB, JOIN US ON OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP.
OUR HISTORY
Founded in 1951, the Half Century Club of Winter Park is a Private Club open to men only that have lived in Winter Park for 50 years or more. Membership is by invitation only. We are a social group that meets yearly for dinner and drinks to swap lies, tell bad jokes, and catch up with friends and neighbors. The food is good, the drinks are better, and the fellowship is unsurpassed.
First meeting of the Half Century Club. Villa Nova. 2/22/51.
Seated: left to right: Francis Harper; C. Fred Ward; Leland Chubb Sr.; Luther Detwiler; Andy Ahik; Arthur Missildine; Tom Henkel; Girard Denning; Carl Ahik; Clarence Richards. Standing: Ed Favor; Henry Mowbray; F.W. Shepherd; Ira Johnston; Carl Galloway, Sr.; Jack Taylor; Lawrence Chubb, Sr.; Dr. Fred Lewton; John Harris; H.A. Ward.
Officers and hosts at the Half Century Club annual dinner in 1952.
Left to right: Carl Galloway, V.P.; Guest speaker, Dean Edmonds; H.A. Ward, retiring president; Arthur Schultz (host0; Dr. Fred Lewton, honorary pres.; F.W. Shepherd, secretary-treas; Hank Mowbray, newly elected president.
Half Century Club: February 1958
Top row-left to right: Ward, C. Fred; Chubb, Lawrence; Henkel, Miller; Henkel, Tom; Harris, John; Chubb, Leland; Johnson, Ira; Twitchell, Carroll; Hunter, Ralph; Shepherd, F.W.; Ahik, Carl; Detwiler, Lou; Harper, Francis; Favor, E.R.; Galloway, Carl; Denning, G.N. Sitting: Williams, Harry; Harris, Percy; Ward, H.A.; Ward, Carroll; Ingram, Warren; Lewton, Dr. Fred; Ward, Frederick; Ahik, Andy.
Half Century Club Meeting at Winter Park Golf Club. 1959.
1st Row from left to right: Harry Williams; Harold Ward; Ralph Hunter; Ray Trovillion; John Harris; Ed Favor; Fred Lewton; Ira Johnston; Leland Chubb; Percy Harris; Jack Taylor; Andy Ahik; Lu Detwiler; Girard Denning. 2nd Row standing, left to right: Cecil Giles; Warren Ingram; Miller Henkel; John Harper; Carl Ahik; Ralph Twitchel; F.W. Shepherd; Lawrence Chubb; Frederick Ward; Larry Trovillion; Carroll Ward; Fred Ward; Francis Harper.
1960 Caption: Half Century Club: Front row: Frederick Ward; missing; Girard Denning; Lawrence Chubb; Leland Chubb Sr.; missing. Second row: F.W. Shepherd; missing; missing; missing; missing; C. Fred Ward. Back row: Missing; John Harris; Harold Ward Jr.; missing; missing; missing; Ira Johnston; Carl Galloway.
Half Century Club: Meeting at Winter Park Country Club
First row: left to right: F.W. Shepherd; John Harris; Ira Johnston; C. Fred Ward; Lawrence Chubb. Second row: Missing; missing; missing; Ralph Hunter; Percy Harris; missing; Francis Harper. Standing: Harold A. Ward Jr.; Ray Trovillion; Carl Ahik; Carroll Ward; Harry Trovillion; missing; Frederick Ward; Leon Overstreet; Miller Henkel; John Harper.
Photos courtesy of Winter Park History Digital Collections.
BECOME A MEMBER
If you would like to join, or if you would like to sponsor someone to join, we appreciate recommendations for eligible friends and family members to apply to our group. So, if you know someone who's been in Winter Park for 50 years, who you're not embarrassed to be seen with, and who you think might enjoy getting out of the house for a few hours, please send us their name and email address!
Additionally, If you'd like more information, or if you feel like imparting some much-needed wisdom, fill out the form and send it to us.