The LOS ANGELES SPINSTERS was founded in 1926 by Miss Betty Bettinger (the late Mrs. Leonard E. Harbach) and a group of seventeen charter members. These women thought that by banding together to entertain their friends they could throw a more elaborate and elegant party than by entertaining individually. The group was founded as a sister organization to The Bachelors, and The Bachelors traditionally set the date of their Annual Ball as the weekend before Lent. As such, The Los Angeles Spinsters chose the Saturday evening after Lent for their Annual Ball. Together, the two groups celebrated the opening and closing of the Lenten Season. The date for the Los Angeles Spinster’s Annual Ball was changed to the month of May due to the great number of members vacationing during the Easter Season. The original Annual Ball consisted of twice as many women as men, including a stag line of women. The women invited the men to dance, and men who had not returned invitations to parties during the year were put into cages and not allowed out unless invited by one of the women. Over the years, the Annual Ball experienced many changes including more guest couples and the disappearance of the women’s stag line. During Prohibition, no liquor was served. In the beginning, the Annual Ball themes alternated each year between very formal and casual. The first Annual Ball in 1928 was a “Bowery Ball,” which shocked the community since members wore outlandish and unattractive Bowery costumes. In 2020, the Annual Ball was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic lock-down orders and social distancing restrictions. The Annual Balls have produced a gamut of themes. The “Circus Party” in 1927 included specially built cages with stuffed animals and a life sized elephant. In 1930, an “After the Crash” ball was symbolized by a red toboggan slide entrance to the “pit” leading to a ballroom decorated in ticker tape. Faced with a low budget in 1936, The Los Angeles Spinsters very cleverly put on a “Newspaper Headline” ball, complete with blown-up newspapers (donated by The Los Angeles Times), with paid advertising and news items concerning the guests present. In 1941, at the “Mother Goose” ball, the members of the orchestra dressed in baby clothes and sat in a huge cradle. More recent Annual Ball themes have included: “The Embassy Ball,” “The Maiden Voyage of Queen Elizabeth,” “The Night on Broadway,” “Romance on the Orient Express,” “Casino Nights,” “An American in Paris,” “A Winter Wonderland,” “The Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball,” “Casablanca,” “A Night at the Grand Ole Opry,” “The Greatest Show on Earth,” “Havana Nights,” “Down by the Bayou,” “Night at the Copacabana,” and “Studio 54.”