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In addition to the events listed on the club calendar on the first page, please note the following upcoming events:

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Book Group
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
at the home of Roo Dane ‘61

Sunday, December 6, 2009
Board Meeting
3:00-5:00 p.m.
at the home of Barbara Powell ‘62

Sunday, February 28, 2010
Board Meeting
3:00-5:00 p.m.
at the home of Barbara Powell ‘62

Sunday, April 11, 2010
Board Meeting
3:00-5:00 p.m.
at the home of Barbara Powell ‘62

All are welcome to the Book Group’s discussion of Diane Ackerman’s The Zookeeper’s Wife. “Ackerman (A Natural History of the Senses) tells the remarkable WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who, with courage and coolheaded ingenuity, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds.”

Find out what the Club is up to and help us welcome BMC past president, Nancy Vickers, as an honorary lifetime member of the Bryn Mawr Club of Boston.  Watch your mail for details.

On May 16th, 16 alumnae and 7 guests had a delightful tour of the Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. The Elm Bank Reservation, run by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, is a hidden gem in the middle of a busy suburb. The land was originally owned by the Cheney family and several beautiful homes still stand. The land passed through a number of hands until it was taken over by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. A total of 8 gardens are included in the reservation including a formal garden for one of the Cheney houses, a Goddess garden, a children’s garden, and several gardens and greenhouses for experimental plants. Volunteers maintain all the gardens and run the Master Gardener program. After the tour of the gardens and grounds, we had a picnic lunch with Patty Talbot ‘61. Patty owns a greenhouse business in Vermont and she was able to expertly answer everyone’s gardening questions. In addition, Patty told about her amazing trip to France to see Monet’s water lilies.

A few small world connections…..our tour guide, Dr. Scott Birney was formerly the head of Wellesley College’s astronomy department and gave tours of the observatory to Jane Lifton’s 4th grade classes. Carolyn Heath’s family has a garden in Corinth, NY which was designed and installed by Patty. Finally Kathy Knight’s daughter, Jenny, interned with Patty in Vermont.

In attendance were 16 BMC alumnae and 7 guests, including Louise Ambler ‘56, Susan Cummings ‘75, Caron Dubnoff ‘64, Carolyn Heath ‘48, Artemis Hionides ‘82, Margaret Hoag ‘86, Kathy Knight ‘59, Jane Lifton ‘76, Sandra Mills ‘61, Sydney Owens ‘64, Cecelia Parks ‘50, Barbara Powell ‘62, Cornelia Robart ‘61, Patty Talbot ‘61, Debbie Weiss ‘68, and Win Wilbur ‘55.

- Margaret Hoag ’86

On May 3, an intergenerational group of Bryn Mawr alumnae gathered to celebrate May Day and decorate and deliver May baskets and cards to our oldest Boston area alums. In addition to the alumnae, we had three Bryn Mawr daughters (Alisa and Sonja Amador and Sophia MacKay) who outworked the grown-ups, and two Bryn Mawr sons: Ahn Nguien’s 8-month-old son Kien brought the sweetness, while 2-year-old Moses Abrahams rearranged baskets and “helped” in general. After the ceremonial consumption of strawberries and cream and other snacks, 50 baskets were decorated and addressed for delivery while 52 greeting cards were prepared for those outside of our delivery area. Thanks to Martha Levinson ‘74, currently residing in Newburyport, we were able to include some North Shore alumnae in our basket route this year. A highlight was the impromptu singalong led by Cornelia Robart ‘61 and Rosi Amador ‘81 and her daughters, ranging from Dona Nobis Pacem and other Step Sing favorites to standards by Gershwin and Irving Berlin.

A sampling from some of the many thank-you notes received tells how much this remembrance means to the recipients:

“I am writing to thank the Club for the very charming purple and white petunia that a recent alumna brought here last Monday. I enjoyed her and I am enjoying the plant which is doing well, growing and the buds are opening. It will be fun to watch for a long time to come. Thank you so much.” - Sister Catherine Louise (Louise Perkins ’38)

“What a surprise when I opened my door to go out Sunday evening - your beautiful May Day basket of bright petunias! It brought back memories of many happy hours at Bryn Mawr, and was a wonderful breath of spring. Many thanks to you and the members of the Bryn Mawr Club of Boston .” - Hortense Barnes ’43

“Please thank everyone who helped with this great tradition. It really gives one a boost to be remembered.” - Myra Siegenthaler ’52

“I got a surprise this evening–an adorable plant for May Day from the Bryn Mawr Club. It’s a little disconcerting to realize that I have reached the age of the recipients—rather than the donors—but it is truly a happy event. Thank you all.” - Hilma Unterberger ’48

Hardworking owls included Cornelia Robart ‘61, Martha Levinson ‘74, Rosi Amador ‘81, Heidi Pemberton ‘82, Margaret Hoag ‘86, Brenda Breed ‘87, Luann Abrahams ‘87, Lindsay Welch ‘98, Hilary Becker ‘99, Ahn Nguyen ‘99, Catherine Foster West ‘99, Carolyn Dahlgren ‘06, Amy Case ‘08. Thanks also to Peggy Deifenderfer MSS ‘67, Jane Lifton ‘76, and Alice Diamond MA ‘77 for delivering baskets.

-Luann Abrahams ’87

Join the Book Group’s discussion of Book of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis, “a haunting, masterfully wrought debut novel about a young woman adrift in Berlin, where a string of fateful encounters leads to romance, violence, and revelation….Unfolding with the strange, charged logic of a dream, Book of Clouds is a profound portrait of a city forever in flux, and of the myths we cling to in order to give shape to our lives.”

Like eating breakfast? Like helping your community? You can do both on Saturday, April 25th at the 10th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup!

Throw on your favorite Bryn Mawr t-shirt, sweatpants, tote bag and/or hat and join fellow Mawrtyrs in making Boston a little more pleasant. Grab a water bottle and a friend and join us at the Hatchshell at 8:30.

Last year, volunteers helped remove over 20 TONS of trash from the riverbanks. This cleanup really makes a difference and so can you! If you’re lucky, you might even get to pick up trash with some famous volunteers, like Senator John Kerry, who came to the 2007 Cleanup.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

Breakfast provided by Starbucks and Dunkin’ Doughnuts.

Board meetings are open to all.

On February 28, Leslie Rescorla, director of the Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center at Bryn Mawr, and former chair of the department of psychology, unraveled the mysteries of the Hepburn Center to the Bryn Mawr Club of Boston. A robust audience included:

Barbara Powell ‘62, Margaret Hoag ‘86, Cornelia Robart ‘61, Libby Atkins ‘46, Martha Levinson ‘74, Cassandra Phillips Sears ‘04, Sydney Owens ‘64, Irena Bronstein Bonte ’67, Sarah Tan ’04, Sally Zeckhauser ‘64, Louise Ambler ‘56, Hilary Hosmer ‘67, Rosi Amador ‘81, Artemis Hionides ‘82, Carol Cerf ’48, Sandra Lovell Blaine ’56, Madeleine Fletcher ‘60, Dorianne Low ‘66, Marie Banerjee Walsh ‘92, and 1 guest.

Prof. Rescorla, who has basically created the Hepburn Center out of whole cloth, explained that, “the Center honors four-time-Oscar-winning actress Katharine Hepburn and her mother, an early feminist activist, both Bryn Mawr College alumnae who defied conventions. The Center focuses on three areas that formed the life work of its namesakes—film and theater, civic engagement and women’s health. The Center inspires Bryn Mawr students and graduates to make a meaningful impact on the world.”

The Center includes three programming elements: the Hepburn Fellows Program which brings to Bryn Mawr’s campus individuals who bridge academics and practice in nontraditional ways in any of the three thematic areas; the Hepburn Summer Internships which enable students to get practical experience in one of the Center’s mission areas; and the Hepburn Medal which recognizes women whose lives, work and contributions embody the intelligence, drive and independence of the two formidable Hepburn women.

The evening was greatly enhanced with a huge plate of “Chase Away the February Blues” Sushi.

- Barbara Powell ‘62