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• WELCOME to the first of the Denver Branch monthly newsletters to be posted on our Web site!
• See News and Notes (below) for a photo of Emeritus Member Alice Marian Laurent.
• You probably haven’t heard of Articipate. See News and Notes (below).
• October’s meeting offers a photo retrospective. See Upcoming October Meeting (below).
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MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 29TH BUSINESS MEETING
IN ATTENDANCE were Jane Carpenter, Sandy Chapman, Dorothy Donovan, Florence Elliott, Nancy Hegan,
Pat Kennedy, Marie Kriss, Lorrie Reed, Paula Paul, and Virginia Small.
JANE BEGAN THE MEETING at 1:40 p.m with her lovely inspirational poem “Flower by Flower.” In the absence of Gwen Scott, Treasurer, Jane also gave the TREASURER’S REPORT: current balance, $2,482.56. Treasurer’s report accepted.
AS AUDITOR, KRISS PRESENTED THE 2009-2010 BUDGET with a year-end figure of $2152.87. The budget assumes we acquire three new members. Also, the branch is able to keep more out of renewal dues (from what goes to National) than we do from new members’ dues. The 2009-2010 budget was accepted. [The complete budget spreadsheet was e-mailed to members earlier this month. –Ed.]
OUR BRANCH HAS ESTABLISHED A PARTNERSHIP with both OSHER, the Lifelong Learning Institute (formerly VIVA) at Denver University, and with The Academy of Lifelong Learning. Kriss, as Membership Chair, is sending both groups our organization and meeting information. Kriss and Nancy of our membership committee (which also includes Jane and Virginia) have met with Sally Kneser, Director of the Academy for Lifelong Learning. After discussion of the partnership, we proposed devoting the November 7th meeting to a critique of guest writers from these groups. If there is a sizable response, we might divide into more than one critiquing group during our meeting time. The readers would be our guests. This proposal, receiving a passing vote, was greeted with enthusiasm by those in attendance. [Individuals from the two organizations were asked to respond to this invitation by September 28th. Since our meeting, Kriss notes that three writers have already responded, and there may be more. –Ed.]
THE DISCUSSION OF MEMBERSHIP for men was discussed again this month. Since none has yet applied to our branch [or to any NLAPW branch, as far as we know –Ed.], the issue remains largely uninvestigated.
LINDA OHLSON GRAHAM HAS VOLUNTEERED to serve and has been voted in as Vice-President.
Meeting adjourned at about 3 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Nancy Hegan, Co-Secretary
SEPTEMBER PROGRAM: FORUM FOR CURRENT PROJECTS
PAULA OPENED THE MEETING to presentations and discussion of members’ current creative projects.
PAT KENNEDY will have a story published in the September 23rd issue of Prairie Times. It is titled “Prairie Times in the Suburbs” and is a recollection of her days as “school marm” in the late 1980’s, when she was a primary teacher at Stein Elementary in Lakewood. The piece details the curriculum, which she wrote, and the pioneer school-style activities in which the students participated. Featured in the story is a depiction of the field trip taken when the class walked six city blocks– in costume and with McGuffey Readers, slates, and lunch buckets– to the restored one-room school house at the Belmar Heritage Center.
SANDY CHAPMAN is still proofing–and most recently finished a 450-page book about the history of Mexico City and a book about an Italian physicist who discovered the neutrino.
DOROTHY DONOVAN said she published her first article in 1962, before she went back to school. Since then, she has written articles about local history and western materials.
LORRIE REED said she is concentrating on taking care of her mother who is just turning 107 and is a resident of a retirement home. [Sounds to me, Lorrie, like there’s a book project here. — Ed.]
VIRGINIA SMALL is always working on several projects. Currently, she is a freelance writer for Demand Studios www.demandstudios.com.
FLORENCE ELLIOTT reported her work on University college.edu/learning/epcatalog–catalogue classes for children’s writers.
JANE CARPENTER’S poetry collection, What to Make of Silence, will be available on Amazon.com shortly.
PAULA PAHL has been working continually on numerous quilts…and trying to get organized. She is thinking of doing a biography of a woman quilter who has only one hand. She is also working on a history of quilts and quilting.
NANCY HEGAN says she has been writing a lot and researching places to submit her short pieces. She has built quite a list! Two stories are out at present, submitted to contests.
NEWS AND NOTES
1. Our prayers and support go out to Dorothy, whose husband suffered a bad fall at home on September 8th. Further news will be e-mailed to members.
2. From Phyllis Eberhard: “I just sent a check to Gwen and am STILL an NLAPWer… had to pay the penalty, but I was in intensive care in June, and again in July… so I had told Gwen I had to quit … sigh… couldn’t stand it … felt like an orphan…”
3. Barry Laurent sent a note: “Just thought you might like to hear from my mother, Marian Laurent. She lives at a retirement center not far from my house. As you can see from the enclosed photo, she is doing fine and enjoys the various activities (that’s her on the left). She also enjoys getting the newsletter and has many fond memories of the Pen Women.”
4. Ann Klaiman says, “I just attended a concert at the Steam Plant Theatre and discovered it was a benefit for a newly formed group here in Salida called Articipate. It is a collaborative of artists working to bring arts of all sorts to schools and communities, particularly in rural areas. It reminded me of the days when Denver Branch members did workshops at an Aurora branch library and for Aurora West Middle School. Budgets are tight everywhere, and that means that community and school arts programs, unfortunately, are often scaled back. Check out the website at www.articipate.net .”
UPCOMING OCTOBER MEETING
The October meeting will be Saturday, October 3, 2009 at Virginia Village Branch of the Denver Public Library located at 1500 SOUTH DAHLIA AVENUE. It is at the corner of Dahlia and E. Florida Ave. Dahlia is eight blocks east of Colorado Blvd., and the meeting will be from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Member Sandy Chapman will present a retrospective of her work with photography. We’re pleased to be able to offer this presentation now, as it was “snowed out” last April.
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Circulating in cyberspace: “Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandable surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.” Chuckle. Amusing, yes? But not true, nor are the six other stories with which it was circulated.
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Respectfully submitted, Ann Klaiman, Newsletter Editor