President Roger Webb called the meeting of
the Amherst Club to order at noon on Tuesday, February 10th 2015, and
welcomed us all Roger urged the members to buy their Cabaret reservations as soon as possible. The committee is putting a lot of work and worry into trying to make the event a success, but so far very few tickets have been sold. Announcements: Larry Siddall asked members to do their best to bring in gift certificates from as many vendors as possible for the Silent Auction, bringing them to him in Therese Donoghue’s absence in Florida. Barbara Freed explained that Jacquie Price has unfortunately come down with the flu. However, before succumbing she re-designed the Cabaret reservations flyer. Barbara gave each member a packet of flyers with a colorful postcard miniature of the poster. She asked each member to send these envelopes to their friends, with a personal note if possible, recommending that they join us for the Cabaret. Ruth Miller seconded Roger’s urging re buying Cabaret tickets now. She pointed out that even though some people have complained that the $75 charge is high, in fact it is quite in line with what other fundraisers in the area are charging and lower than several. We need to remember that the fee includes dinner and a rich array of entertainment. Ellen Kosmer confirmed Ruth’s remarks about other fundraisers, mentioning that the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Association fundraiser, which she highly recommended, will be held at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield on Saturday February 28th. The cost is $125 per person for dinner and a Red Carpet Oscars entertainment featuring, among other events, local people’s pets in movie-inspired videos which they are calling the “Pawscars”! Jim Wald reminded the group to look out for local events celebrating Black History Month. The members were delighted to learn that Carolyn Holstein is out of rehab and at home, although she can’t drive yet. Ellen Kosmer showed a copy of last Sunday’s Boston Globe which featured an article on Amherst, and pointing out some of the area’s richness in culture, natural features and accessibility to so many points of interest, both urban and rural. To our great pleasure, the article was enriched with photos and quotations featuring one Amherst couple - our own Cynthia Brubaker and her husband! Snapshot: Nancy Brose and Dick Bentley displayed their dramatic and comedic prowess with a skit on an important subject, the need to have our homes checked for radon gas. Raffle: Claude Tellier won the wine. Since he had also won the wine last week, he generously donated this bottle to the speaker. Jean Miller won the $10. Speaker: Phyllis Lehrer introduced our speaker, her former colleague Nick Grabbe, retired editor and correspondent of the Amherst Bulletin and former president of the Amherst Club. Nick spoke affectionately of his years as a Club member, before getting down to his main topic, living a life of radical frugality designed to protect the planet and free its practitioners from the endless search for wealth and accumulation and the unfettered use of fossil fuels. He seeks creative solutions to life’s challenges. To this end, he writes a blog with his wife’s help: adventuresinthegoodlife.wordpress.com. The blog expands on his family’s own practices of home gardening, food production, soup and bread making, and avoidance of many of the machines most of us take for granted. He cycles where possible, saves on electricity, and generally walks lightly on the earth. Your scribe, Linda Honan |
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