Karen Wheeless described how recordings that were distributed to deployed WWII military throughthe Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) during a 1940s 27-month strike by musicians preserved thousands of classic performances on VDiscs; May9
OLLI Personal Computer User Group 3rd Saturday meeting is May 17 (tomorrow), at 1:00, in person and via Zoom; check today's OLLI daily schedule email for link and other information.
Registration for the summer term begins May 20 and continues through the term. The summer catalog is available on the website. Be sure to check the canceled, changed, and added list on the website.
The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, May 30; the regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, May 27, at 6:00.
By Camille Hodges, Board Member and E-News Staff Writer
The story of Black Fairfax has long been untold. The free Black population of Fairfax Court House dates to at least the 1820s. After the Civil War, newly freed Black citizens expanded the hamlet of Jermantown dramatically. Additional segregated neighborhoods, including School Street, which overlapped today's George Mason University, and Ilda, off Guinea Road, grew and thrived. In the second half of the nineteenth century, residents built schools, churches, and a cemetery. These families persevered under Jim Crow in the early twentieth century.
Etta Willson, Rita Colbert, Linneall Naylor, Rondia Prescott, and Jenee Lindner, authors of Black Communities of Fairfax: A History, discussed their book in presentations for OLLI Mason at the Civil War Interpretive Center at Historic Blenheim in Fairfax on April 7 and 14 as part of a three-part series.
Save the Date: LLT Program Planning Group to Meet May 27
By Patrica Bangs, LLT Program Planning Group Co-Coordinator
What: Literature, Languages/Writing, and Theater (LLT) Program Planning Group Meeting
When: Tuesday, May 27, 10:00-11:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Via Zoom (see link below)
OLLI members, we need your thoughts and ideas. Whether you enjoy the classics or spy novels, sci-fi or memoirs, want to read poetry, learn a language, explore playwrights and the world of theater, or hone your writing skills, the LLT Program Planning Group would love to hear from you.
Please join us for our quarterly all-campus program planning group meeting for literature, languages/writing, and theater program planning May 27 at 10:00 via Zoom.
We will be reviewing past terms and planning for the winter 2026 term and beyond. All OLLI members can contribute to this excellent programming. Bring ideas for literature, theater, writing, or language programs, and possible instructor resources. And, of course, if you or anyone you know would like to join our group, here is your opportunity to see the process in action. Spread the word. See you on May 27.
The meeting Zoom link from Shannon Morrow, our staff program associate, is below. The link will also be available on the emailed daily schedule. If you would like to be added to our LLT mailing list for a reminder, please email Pat Bangs at: [email protected].
It’s heating up out there. If the HEAT INDEX is in the Caution Zone or above, consider limiting or avoiding time outdoors. Remember to check not only the time you leave but the time you plan to return. Many weather apps will report this hourly.
June Theater Picks: Something New and Something Old
By Norma Jean Reck, Theater Lovers’ Group Coordinator
Something New! Murder by the Numbers
A murder mystery dinner with yummy BBQ, a help-yourself beer wall, and a chance to be in the show is what awaits you when you join the Theater Lovers' Group (TLG) on Saturday, June 7 for the StageCoach Theatre Company's performance of the newly minted Murder by the Numbers at Ono Offshore in Chantilly. This original murder mystery takes place in Las Vegas in the 1960s. Author Wayne Kerr is on stage talking about his recently published book, a thriller, dealing with chance, intrigue, and betrayal. His fans are more interested in murder than autographs. A publicity stunt or real life? You will have to be there to find out. Tickets, which are $61.25/person, include the dinner and show but not refreshments. Tickets sell out fast and can be purchased online at stagecoachtc.com. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is at 6 and the show starts at 6:45.
Something Old: The Piano Lesson
A winner of Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Piano Lesson is a play written by American playwright August Wilson in 1987, the fourth in his Pittsburgh Cycle. At the center of discussion is the family's heirloom piano that is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor showing the faces of the great grandfather's wife and son during enslavement. Bernice and her brother Boy Willie grapple with their differing views of the piano (with its own story) and questions about their lives. What do you do with a legacy? How do you put it to best use? TLG will attend the 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, June 14 at 1st Stage. There are still some $25 tickets left. Phone 703-854-1856 to get yours. There will be a Meet the Cast talk back after the show, followed by dinner at a nearby restaurant. Remember that guests are always welcome.
Editor's Note: At the author’s request, all words are published unedited, exactly as submitted.
The Computer Club (OLLI Personal Computer User Group, or OPCUG) 3rd Saturday meeting May 17 presentation by Rob Pegoraro has an updated description. The Zoom session opens at 12:45.
2025 In Tech: What Fresh Hell Is This? Presented by Rob Pegoraro
Yes, so many things seem kind of terrible right now. Between Trump's tariffs and his crusade against environmental-protection policies, even a tablet or a TV purchase isn't what it used to be. I'll talk about what's going on right now, what you can do about it (spoiler alert: sometimes nothing), and what's actually getting better in the tech universe.
Biographical information for Rob Pegoraro can be found in the Computer Club meeting announcement in the May 9 E-News issue: click here.
The May 2025 Photo of the Month theme was close-ups. We selected Cookie (Ellen) Hilert's photo "Duckling: Pond at Burke Center" which may also be viewed at this page. To view other photos by members of the Photography Club, visit the club's photo website. -- By John Olsen and Edward Marion, Photography Club Co-Coordinators
you birthed your own demons
in the teen years, a horrific accident
self-medicated with alcohol
the garage now your private bar
kept a job, brought home the bacon,
never a DUI. But when you
menaced your wife, that final straw
woke you to action
thirty years hence, no longer lost to me
reborn sans alcohol, easy to forget
the dark days, the shovel attack
a story now relived with laughter
a new person, full of epiphanies
more alike than different, we
no longer rivals
but siblings-and-friends
our twilight years upon us,
time together our treasure to stow
For tickets for either Center for the Arts Concert Hall (CFA) or Hylton Center, call 1-888-945-2468. You can also buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below) or visit the venue's box office. For more information, see the CFA ticket pageor the Hylton Center ticket purchase page.
Dr. Linda Apple Monson produces a periodic “Notes from the Director.” This email is full of information on interesting online performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music. If you would like to receive these bulletins, just sign up at this linkto stay in touch. Also, the Center for the Arts has a website,Mason Arts at Home, which has a calendar of online events and access to many past performances.
ARTfactory’s Pied Piper Theatre: The Lightning Thief – The Percy Jackson Musical
Fri, May 16, 7:00
Sat, May 17, 7:00
Sun, May 18, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: $25 Adult, $20 Senior.
American Festival Pops Orchestra: Armed Forces Day Celebration
Sat, May 17, 8:00
A pre-performance discussion begins one hour prior to the performance
Merchant Hall
Admission: $60, $51, $36.
Northern Virginia Ballet: Peter and the Wolf plus Paquita
Sat, May 24, 4:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $35 Adult, $30 Senior.
Manassas Chorale: Princesses and Pirates
Fri, May 30, 7:30
Merchant Hall
Admission: $25, $23.
Virginia National Ballet: Spring Recital
Sat, May 31, 3:00
Merchant Hall
Admission: $35.
Please note: OLLI Meetings and Clubs may currently take place in several formats: some are in person only, some are online only, and some are hybrid, meaning that they take place in person and are accessible online simultaneously. OLLI events and activities meeting online bear the identification "Z" in their course or event number (except clubs; you may need to check the OLLI calendar and daily schedule email for location and other event information). Refer to the university's coronavirus website for official university updates.
The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office. The list is accurate as of mid-week. Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kick-off coffees, etc., bolded below. The OLLI office has sent (or will send) emails with links and meeting passwords to club members; you may also log in at the member portal and click on ZOOM CLASS LINKS.
Sat May 17
10:30 am
1:00 pm
Tai Chi Club – online
Personal Computer Club
Mon May 19
9:30 am
11:00 am
4:00 pm
4:00 pm
What’s in the Daily News? – online
Poetry Writing Club – online
Family History/Genealogy Club – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tue May 20
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
Chair Yoga and More – online
Mah Jongg Club – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed May 21
10:00 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
12:00 noon
1:30 pm
4:00 pm
Board Games Club – online
Bridge Club
Investment Forum
Chair Yoga and More – online
Dabbling Artists
Spanish Club
Thu May 22
10:00 am
11:50 am
3:00 pm
4:30 pm
Humanities Social Sciences/Current Events Program Planning Group Meeting
All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Fri May 23
9:30 am
9:30 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
Photography Club
Crafts and Conversation
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Sat May 24
10:30 am
Tai Chi Club – online
Mon May 26
11:00 am
Poetry Reading Club – online
Tue May 27
10:00 am
2:00 pm
3:45 pm
4:30 pm
Literature, Theater, and Writing/Languages Program Planning Group Meeting
Chair Yoga and More – online
Caregivers Support Group – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Wed May 28
10:00 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
12:00 noon
2:00 pm
4:00 pm
Board Games Club – online
Bridge Club
Investment Forum
Chair Yoga and More – online
Memoir and More Writing Group – online
Conversation with Team Bloch – online
Thu May 29
11:50 am
3:00 pm
4:30 pm
6:00 pm
All the News – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
Tai Chi Club – online
Ethnic Eats Club – online
Fri May 30
9:00 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
11:00 am
12:00 noon
Walk & Talk Club
Crafts and Conversation
Mah Jongg Club
Homer, etc. – online
Chair Yoga and More – online
OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.
Editorial Staff
Chief Editor: Paul Van Hemel
Associate Editor: David Gundry
Weekly Editor Team: David Gundry, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel Proofreaders: Rebecca Jann, Susan Van Hemel, Thomas Appich, Martha Kossoff, Anne Hartshorn, Bonnie Becker, Carol McManus
Submissions: Members are encouraged to submit letters to the editor, letters to Ms. Ollie Ettakit (on etiquette matters), OLLI-related news items, articles, and photos. Submit material to: [email protected]. Deadline: Tuesday, 6:00, for that week's issue (Monday, 6:00, for letters to the editor); early submissions are greatly appreciated. Please limit articles to about 250 words. Note: You can view past issues of OLLI E-News on the DocStore. To search the content of issues, use Search Our Site or put your search term in Google followed by "site:olli.gmu.edu/" without the quotes.
Something New! Murder by the Numbers
Something Old: The Piano Lesson
