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The Ravinia Garden Club was organized on August 16, 1927, by gardeners in a newly subdivided area of southeast Highland Park. Established to help educate the community in the art of gardening in the difficult conditions presented by the heavily forested woods and ravines that came to be the namesake of the community, founded as woman's club. Like other charitable Garden Club organizations of the era, they became well known for assisting with and sponsoring many horticultural related personal and civic projects throughout the years, often at the behest of the local, State, and Federal governments; in addition, to becoming a well-known philanthropic organization.

The Ravinia Garden Club nurtured initiatives beyond projects or public works. Endeavors also encompassed initiatives like the Garden Therapy project (which helped boost troops’ morale at Fort Sheridan during World War II), sponsoring youth education, and donating to botanical gardens and arboretums, and fund-raising for various other meritorious organizations and causes.

In 2017, members currently live in several communities in Lake county and elsewhere.

For a more complete history written by the organization, please see box 2.

The Ravinia Woman’s Club originated as the Woman’s Civic Club of Ravinia in 1911. (Until 1899 Ravinia existed as a village.) The goals of the Club focused on maintaining the needs and friendships of the small community. Throughout its years of service, the Club focused on families, friendship, and civic engagements that benefited those living in Ravinia. General Federation of Women’s Clubs, did not exclude men; and men did join and participate.. The Ravinia Woman’s Club was both state and nationally recognized. These records end in 1969 after the Club voted to be absorbed into the Highland Park Woman’s Club.

Despite their growth and annexation to Highland Park, Ravinia citizens expressed a need for organization that would continue to focus on their small community. In 1911 the Woman’s Civic Club of Ravinia organized and held its first meeting. The original thirty-three charter members held education as their primary concern.

In 1912 the Ravinia Woman’s Club Ravinia Commission was established the Ravinia Commission to focus on the civic needs of the community. Two years later, in 1914, the Commission separated from the Club due to government restrictions. Yet, they continued to work closely with each other for the betterment of the community. From 1914 until 1925, the a Library Committee formed and collected books which it then gave to the local school and Highland Park Hospital. It subsequently changed the Committee name to Civics and Philanthropy.

The different commissions vied for the most unique way to design the meeting house (an old schoolhouse previously used as a community building) to be honored with a dedication ceremony held every November 22. The ceremony, initially known as the “lighting of the fire” in building’s hearth and the designing competitions became known as remodeling and furnishing “The Village House” in honor of having the old schoolhouse given to the Club in 1913.

The Woman’s Civic Club of Ravinia joined the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs and the 10th district Federation of Illinois in 1914. Due to their increased size and activities level, they created many committees to assist with various projects and programs. In 1921 the Education Committee which as become so large and compartmentalized that it renamed itself the Arts Committee and focused on bringing drama, art, and music to the “twilight teas” events. These events included children and adults both associated and not associated with the Club.

By 1928, the Woman’s Civic Club of Ravinia changed its name to the Ravinia Woman’s Club and had 222 active members. Throughout the years of the Ravinia Woman’s Club retained its main focus has always remained the same, a focus on the betterment of the community through sociable, educational, and cultural events that promoted friendship and the beatification of the area. The Club’s information runs until 1969 when the membership voted to became absorbed by the Highland Park Woman’s Club. For more information on the intermittent years, look in the history section of the various Member Directories.

Amateur photographer Chaplain George D. Rice was born in Brighton, Massachusetts, on January 23rd, 1861, married on February 25th, 1883 to Elizabeth Fells, with no children, and educated at Tufts College. He was a chaplain of the 6th Massachusetts Volunteers in the Spanish-American War in 1898, and was appointed a first lieutenant in the 26th Regiment, United States Volunteers, organized to serve in the Philippine Islands, July 5th, 1899. He served the 27th Infantry Regiment, one of the ten new Regular Army regiments authorized for the Philippine-American War, organized on February 2, 1901. Chaplain Rice served at the battle of Bayan (May 2, 1902) ministering to the sick and wounded. He documented the assault on the cotta of the Sultan of Bacolod on April 6, 1903, known as the Battle of Bacolod, Philippines, with his Kodak Brownie camera, and turned it into a souvenir booklet for sale at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Rice was cited for heroism in the Spanish-American War.

Norman Rivkin was CEO and owner of Saf-T-Guard, founded by his parents in 1936. He served in the United States Army during the World War II.