The March 1st meeting was introduced by
President Andrea Battle who introduced our guest Sylvia Burrutto. She
also spoke of Scott Merzbach with whom she is scheduled to meet about
our forthcoming fund-raiser, "Cabaret", scheduled for March 19th at the
Hadley Farms Meeting House. On March 9th the Amherst Girls and Boys Club Gala will be held at the Hadley Marriott Courtyard at 6 p.m. See Tom Crossman for tickets. On Wednesday, March 2 the Renaissance Center will honor Rob Cox speaking on "Northampton" at 4 p.m.. Free admission On Friday, March 4th, The Amherst Historical Society will sponsor Steve Strimes speaking on Frances Crandall, Catherine Maria Child and the Founding of the Utopian Community in Florence.. 12 noon President Andrea Battle announced that a Board Meeting of the Amherst Club would follow our speaker of today. Jim Scott announced that he has received reservations for 70 and $6,000 in payment for our March 19th "Cabaret" fund-raiser. Our speaker of the day, Beatrice Blake, was introduced by programmer, Claude Tellier. What we learned about Beatrice is that she has been attached to Costa Rica since her mother went there to live and became captivated by the culture which became her obsession. Beatrice is an acupuncturist who traveled in the 1970's, taking her grandmother to visit in Costa Rica. What happened as a result of Beatrice's difficulty in establishing residency there is history. Her mother's death after her success led to Beatrice's interest in becoming a guide herself. The Guide which Beatrice's mother had written was popularized in 1978, four years before her death in 1982. Having been rejected in her acupuncturist search, Beatrice began updating her mother's guidebook, hearing her mother's voice as force for good. One thing led to another and she began to do research on not only ecology, but history and business as well. She began in 1986 to take the tour book apart. At that time Oscar Arias had won the Peace Prize and drawn far more interest from travelers around the world. Beatrice soon became interested in the touring business which depended upon hotel recommendations as well as environmental fascination. It was the eco-tourism that Beatrice concentrated upon that gave farmers courage to depend upon UN support in what had become an international concentration for biologists worldwide. It was the declaration of the Costa Ricans following their civil war in 1948 to abolish an army that gave them special distinction. It was, however, their awareness of their concentration upon their eco-systems and their place as a link between North America and South America that won them a place in the business of tourism As a Quaker, Beatrice has had connections with those of the Friends Movement who moved to mountain tops and began dairy farms. Today Beatrice helps plan trips and send travelers to native-owned eco-lodges. The raffle wine was won by Nancy Brose. The cash was won by Ellen Kosmer. Reported by Nancy Brose |
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