Enews29-15

About OLLI E-News

OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman Associate Editor: Weekly Editorial Team: Pat Bangs, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere

Proofreaders: John West, Gordon Canyock, Susan Van Hemel Backup Chief Editor: Sheri Siesseger 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 – 6:00 pm Tuesday for that week's issue (6:00 pm Monday 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.

Print a condensed .pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper. Website   What's New   Catalog   DocStore   Facebook   Officials   Member Portal   Contact Us New Member Coffee, Tallwood, September 25; With 120 New Members, OLLI-Mason Now Numbers More Than 1200 October 2, 2015 Editor of the Week: Sheri Siesseger Table of Contents Alerts & Notices Fun Facts to Celebrate OLLI’s 25th Anniversary Profiles of Early LRI and OLLI Members Pat McGinty to Speak to History Club Religious Studies Club Meeting: Oct 9, 12:00, Tallwood Cottage Mason Invites You to CHINA Town Hall Inside OLLI-Mason Poet's Corner Arts & Music at George Mason Meetings & Clubs About OLLI E-News Alerts & Notices The Chili Cook Off will be held Friday, Oct 16 at 12:30 following the Board of Directors meeting at the Rose Gallery at Lake Ann in Reston. Sign up to attend (and bring chili, corn bread, or dessert) on the member portal (special event 1102). Virginia State Senator David Marsden will visit OLLI to discuss transportation issues in northern Virginia. This event will cover all northern Virginia traffic concerns, the future of mass transit and high occupancy toll lanes, and road construction. The meeting will be Monday, Dec 7, at 10:00 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Sign up via the member portal for event 1007BT. You need not be a constituent of Marsden to attend. The OLLI Holiday Party will be Friday, Dec 4, 11:30-3:30 at the International Country Club in Fairfax. Cost is $35 per person. Sign up on the member portal for special event 1104.  Register for ongoing activities on the member portal. This is necessary so that the club leaders will have a full roster of attendees for communications purposes. The OLLI Murder Mystery Group will present Mystery at Tallwood House, special event 984, Friday, Oct. 30 at 10:00 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Cost is $35 for a catered lunch and donation to Friends of OLLI. Back to Top of Page Fun Facts to Celebrate OLLI’s 25th Anniversary   By Ray Beery, Member, Board of Directors   By 1992 LRI had expanded to include winter and summer terms as well as spring and fall. By the annual meeting in May 1992, LRI was at 162 members. Two years later LRI membership was almost 200. It grew by about 45 members a year, beginning with approximately 100 in 1991 and now at 1228.  OLLI will celebrate its 25th year of classes for seniors in 2016. We’ll be publishing fun facts and interesting milestones about the Institute each week that OLLI E-News is published from now through the end of the fall term, 2016. Back to Top of Page Profiles of Early LRI and OLLI Members By Carol Henderson, E-News Contributing Writer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As we’ve researched the history of LRI and OLLI to help celebrate our 25th anniversary next year, we were impressed with how many key volunteers among our members have been the subject of features in LRI or OLLI newsletters. But some early key people have been overlooked or should be highlighted because we’ve talked with them recently.   This fall, we’ll try to remedy that. In addition to the profile of founder Kathryn Brooks, published in the Sept 18 issue, here are a few more early members who helped get the institute started.   Murray Minster joined in 1993. A Foreign Service retiree, he was passionate about recruiting instructors, being responsible for as many as 57 classes. He remembers walking the halls in the Mason history department and persuading professors to teach, and using his rolodex to get other Foreign Service experts to speak. He lives in the Westminster Retirement Community and is still a member.   Henry Shenker was a charter member who “for many years singlehandedly processed the class registrations—a daunting task but one that is at the heart of our operation,” according to then president Laura Cambern. Henry was also a Board member and helped acquire the first computer equipment.   Ed Swoboda was a charter member who remembers that financial records were not kept as he thought they should be. At Lilyan Spero’s request he became a Board member and an early treasurer. He gave the investment group the name “Forum” to distinguish it from a club. Ed says he taught the first 8-week class titled “Congressional Reform.” Four people sat around a card table for this class! Back to Top of Page Pat McGinty to Speak to History Club By Beth Lambert, History Club Coordinator The first meeting of the History Club will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 2:15 in TA-1. Patrick McGinty will speak on "The Philippine American War, 1899-1902. Pat describes this war as representing "America's first attempt at imperialism." As always when Pat is presenting, we can assure you of a dynamic meeting. All OLLI members are invited to History Club meetings; you need not be a member of the History Club to attend. Guests are welcome. Back to Top of Page Religious Studies Club Meeting: Oct 9, 12:00, Tallwood Cottage By Steve Goldman, Religious Studies Club Coordinator The first meeting of OLLI’s Religious Studies Club took place at the Tallwood Cottage on Sept 25. This club encourages participation by members of all faith traditions as well as those who doubt or don’t believe. It will be a forum where ideas and experiences can be explored in a safe, collegial environment. No topic will be considered too controversial. We agreed that the topic for discussion at our next meeting on October 9 will be Pope Francis’ visit to the United States.   What impact did his message and presence have for you? Do you think that he intends to change Catholic practices and relations with other faiths? Do you think that he offered a political message as well as spiritual teachings? Please join us for a lively discussion and help us plan the future activities of this new club.  Back to Top of Page Mason Invites You to CHINA Town Hall   By Michael Chang, Associate Professor, George Mason Department of History   George Mason University, together with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), presents the 9th Annual CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections at 6:45 pm, Monday, Oct 5 at Merten Hall, 1201-1202.  The CHINA Town Hall is a national day of programming on China involving 70 cities throughout the United States and is intended to provide Americans the opportunity to learn about and explore critical issues of concern with leading China experts.   For more details, please see this link: http://historyarthistory.gmu.edu/articles/8714   If you would like to submit a question to the panelists who will discuss the impact of Chinese foreign direct investment in the U.S., you may do so here: https://www.ncuscr.org/cth Back to Top of Page Inside OLLI-Mason Spotlight on Our Volunteers: The Hospitality Committee By Sandra Driesslein, Chair, Hospitality Committee   Have you ever thought about how the refreshments appear at certain OLLI events throughout the year and who provides all of that? The Hospitality Committee is the group that sees to it that all of those goodies are available to all the attending members. Chaired by Sandra Driesslein with volunteer members Bud Andress, Debby Calender, Sandy Hoch, Phyliss Kochmal, Elaine Leonard, Ellen McCarthy, Rosemary Reardon, Lou Rosato, Eleanor White, and Maria Wilson, the committee supports regular meetings throughout the year. These include the spring meeting in March, the annual and Town Hall meetings (May and November), the fall members coffee in September and occasional special meetings. Each event provides an opportunity to meet other OLLI members and discuss what is going on at OLLI today. A committee member is designated to be the lead person for each event. The remaining members then all pitch in to assure that the tables are full of delectable items. The highlight of the year has been the OLLI Holiday Party scheduled on the first Friday in December. Various OLLI groups provide the entertainment and there are always prizes and a raffle. Committee members act as hosts for this event, and it is always well attended. What a great way to enter the holiday season. The Hospitality Committee is a major part of OLLI with a very important responsibility and always welcomes any OLLI members that may wish to help out and join the committee. Photo by Paul Van Hemel Back to Top of Page   Poet's Corner Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop   About Lawn Furniture                                   The thing is to place it away from the house, in the corner, say, of a grassy square with a tree nearby, or a friendly shrub, and a view of the sky for contemplation.   Have a chair that lets you lean back, you’ll want to see to the tops of the trees. Also look at the quiet leaves, at their shadows and stirrings. Then just be patient and wise and calm, at dusk you’ll see the fireflies.   Caroline McNeil   Back to Top of Page Arts & Music at George Mason Performances, next ten days By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer For tickets for either Center for the Arts (CFA) or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page. At the Fairfax Campus Venues Virginia Opera: Orpheus in the Underworld Sat, Oct 3, 8:00 and Sun, Oct 4, 2:00 Pre-performance discussion: Member of the company Concert Hall Admission: $98, $80, $48 Turtle Island Quartet with special guest Cyrus Chestnut: Jelly, Rags, & Monk Sat, Oct 10, 8:00 Concert Hall Pre-performance discussion: David Balakrishnan; founder and performer with Turtle Island Quartet Concert Hall Admission: $48, $41, $29.   Aquila Theatre: Romeo and Juliet Sun, Oct 11, 7:00 Pre-performance discussion: Member of the company Concert Hall Admission: $44, $37, $26. Back to Top of Page Mason Student & Faculty Performances (see music.gmu.edu for additional student recitals) Composer's Week Recital Sun, Oct 4, 6:00 deLaski 3001 Admission: Free   Jacob Lash, Music-Ed Vocal Recital Sun, Oct 4, 7:00 Harris Theatre Admission: Free   Curt Christensen, Doctoral Trumpet Recital Mon, Oct 5, 7:00 Harris Theatre Admission: Free Boleros for the Disenchanted - A Mason Fringe Performance Wed, Oct 7, 8:00 Fri, Oct 9, 8:00 Sat, Oct 10, 2:00 TheatreSpace Admission: Pay what you can ($5 increments only).   A Bright New Boise - A Mason Fringe Performance Thu, Oct 8, 8:00 Sat, Oct 10, 8:00 Sun, Oct 11, 2:00 TheatreSpace Admission: Pay what you can ($5 increments only).   Faculty Artist Showcase Fri, Oct 9, 8:00 Harris Theatre Admission: Free.   Rachel Bradner, Music-Ed Recital Sun, Oct 11, 6:00 deLaski 3001 Admission: Free. Back to Top of Page At the Hylton Center The Story of E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) Through Oct 4 Buchanan Partners Art Gallery The Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances. Admission: Free. Nature Visions Traveling Exhibition Oct 5 - Nov 15 Buchanan Partners Art Gallery The Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances. Gallery Reception: Thu, Oct 8 from 6:00 to 8:00. RSVP to [email protected]. Admission: Free   Manassas Chorale: Princesses and Pirates Fri, Oct 2, 7:30 Merchant Hall Admission: $20  Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra: To Swing Through the Sky Sat, Oct 3, 8:00 Merchant Hall Admission: $44, $37, $26 Matinee Idylls: Thomas Pandolfi: Russian Romance Tue, Oct 6, 1:30 Gregory Family Theater Admission: $43 (12:30 lunch and concert), $20 (concert only).   Dr. Ralph Stanley with Nathan Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys: An Evening with an American Icon Fri, Oct 9, 7:00 Merchant Hall Admission: VIP tickets $55 (includes autographed poster), Advance tickets $42, Day of show tickets $48.   Aquila Theatre: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sat, Oct 10, 8:00 Merchant Hall Pre-performance discussion: Member of the company Admission: $44, $37, $26.   Poetry Day! Sun, Oct 11, 1:00 State Poets Laureate from across the Mid-Atlantic area are joining in workshops, open mic and more. Hylton Center Admission: Free. Back to Top of Page For further details on any of the above events, please see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar Back to Top of Page Meetings & Clubs The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kickoff coffees, etc. (bolded below). Sat Oct 3 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3 Mon Oct 5  1:15pm Executive Director Conversation and Coffee–Annex Tue Oct 6 10:00am  1:15pm   Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon Executive Director Conversation and Coffee–UCP Reston Wed Oct 7  1:30pm  1:45pm  1:45pm  2:15pm Mah Jongg Club–TA-2 Bridge Club–TA-3 Special Events Committee–Annex History Club–TA-1 Fri Oct 9  9:00am  9:30am 10:00am 11:00am 11:00am 12:00pm Recorder Consort–TA-3 Photography Club–TA-1 Craft and Conversation–Cottage Classic Literature Club–TA-2 Homer,etc–Annex Religious Studies Club–Cottage Sat Oct 10 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3 Tue Oct 13 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon Wed Oct 14  1:30pm  1:45pm  1:45pm Book Club–TA-1 Bridge Club–TA-3 Spanish Club–TA-2 Fri Oct 16  9:00am 10:00am 10:00am 11:00am 11:00am Recorder Consort–TA-3 Board of Directors Meeting–Rose Gallery Lake Anne Craft and Conversation–Cottage Classic Literature Club–TA-2 Homer, etc–Annex Back to Top of Page