AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
Lewis County Branch
May 2017
OFFICERS 2016-2017
President ................................. Kerry Serl
Program Vice-Presidents .........................
................... Kristi Nelson and Jan Snider
Membership Vice-Presidents...................
.............. Kristi Nelson and Norma Green
Secretary ................ Corene Jones-Litteer
Treasurer .......................... Donna Loucks
EYH Chair ................................ Judy Bell
Book Sale......................... Donna Loucks
Directory Editor .............. Jeanne Nygard
Early Morning Discussion ......................
........................................... Norma Green
EF Program Chair ..................... not filled
Art Group........................... Bonnie Blake
Book Group. ................. Nancy Leventon
Needle Arts Group ...................................
................................Corene Jones-Litteer
Travel Group ................... Donna Loucks
Historian ........................... Priscilla Tiller
Hostess Coordinator ........... Linda Zarek
Legal Advocacy Fund .............. not filled
Newsletter Editor ................. Peggy Barth
Profiles ............................... Kristi Nelson
Scholarship Committee Chair..................
.......................................... Priscilla Tiller
Sunshine Chair................. Jeanne Gordon
BRANCH MEETING
Thursday, May 4, 2017
6:45 p.m.
“Antiques and Secondhand
Items: If They Were Good Before,
They’re Good Now!”
Speaker: Dina Koehn,
owner of Dina’s Great Finds
The Gathering Place (Community Room) at
Stillwaters Estates
Hostesses: Jan Snider, chair;
Ceci Hauer and Sharon Lyons
MEETING ACCESS: The gate to Stillwaters
Estates from the Scammon Creek Road (near the
Colonial Residence) is open until 7:00 p.m.
Remember that the front gate on Cooks Hill Road
still closes at 6:00 p.m.
PRESIDENT’S NOTES
MAY PROGRAM
Kerry Serl
While at Sandy Godsey’s memorial service on
Saturday, I was reminded of the Latin phrase on
my grandmother’s gravestone: Dum Vivimus
Vivamus “While we live, let us live." Sandy
enjoyed life fully and exuberantly. She pursued
many interests: art, photography, music. She
participated in the community: Friends of
Seminary Hill Natural Area, AAUW, and her
church. And most characteristic, she collected
friends everywhere she went; many friends and
students who stayed with her as long as some trees
have been growing on Seminary Hill. I am
inspired to have known her; she who was always
gracious, always welcoming, always interested.
Her memorial service was full of those who loved
her; all telling of a lovely lady who was caring,
friendly, talented, and kind. Sandy will be greatly
missed.
“Antiques and Secondhand Items:
If They Were Good Before,
They’re Good Now!”
Speaking of exuberant, Jan and Sharon and all the
committee heads have been working hard and
enthusiastically to pull off LUNAFEST by May
13. Thank you to everyone who has put in so
much effort! We still need to sell tickets! Look
further in this newsletter for Jan’s article on
LUNAFEST.
Dina Koehn (pronounced Deena Kane), owner of
Dina’s Great Finds, an antique and vintage shop,
formerly located across the street from the
Chehalis post office, will discuss the running of
her business and her love of vintage items,
especially their quality and artistic design. She
will also have many interesting stories to tell about
the people she has met and the items they have
either bought or sold. Dina has just moved to the
Olympia area and will be opening a new shop
soon.
The board received requests for business cards. I
ordered and received them. Let me know if you
want any. They have a blank for a name, so
anyone of us can write in our name.
OFFICERS FOR THE COMING YEAR
The officers elected for the coming year are:
Kerry Serl
President: Kerry Serl
Program co-Vice-Presidents: Kristi Nelson and
Jan Snider
Membership Vice President: Kristi Nelson
Co-Secretaries: Nancy Leventon and Ceci Hauer
Treasurer: Donna Loucks
2016-2017 BUSINESS MEETING
LEADERSHIP LINE-UP
May
Sharon Lyons
Donations have been made to the Lewis County
AAUW Branch Endowment Fund
In memory of Sandy Godsey
by
Donna Loucks
Luana Graves
Ann Tuning
Corene Jones-Litteer
Barbara Cress
Jean McLaughlin
Alvin and Eileen Fixler
Laurel and Priscilla Tiller
Norma Green
Fae Marie Beck
Phyllis Rice
Nancy Leventon
Peggy Barth
In memory of Charles “Chic” Gordon
by
Laurel and Priscilla Tiller
Peggy Barth
Nancy Leventon
Ann Tuning
Corene Jones-Litteer
In memory of Byrn Watson
by
Laurel and Priscilla Tiller
Nancy Leventon
Ann Tuning
Corene Jones-Litteer
Fae Marie Beck
Peggy Barth
In memory of Anne Ev Burrows
by
Kerry Serl
Laurel and Priscilla Tiller
Nancy Leventon
Peggy Barth
Corene Jones-Litteer
Donations have been made to the Lewis County
AAUW Branch Endowment Fund
In memory of Meddie Jose
(Joy Carter’s sister)
by
Nancy Leventon
Peggy Barth
In Memory of Ruby Pipe
by
Fae Marie Beck
In memory of Suzanne King
by
Laurel and Priscilla Tiller
Donations to the Lewis County Branch
Endowment Fund are applied to academic
scholarships for women from the area. All
donations are tax exempt. Donations may be
mailed to Ann Tuning.
BRANCH WEB PAGE and
FACEBOOK
Donna Loucks and Kerry Serl
LUNAFEST IS HERE!!!!!!!!
Jan Leth and Sharon Lyons
Calling all Lunafesters...our first LUNAFEST
event is almost upon us! Yes, on Saturday, May
13, Lewis County will have the opportunity to
experience a great afternoon dedicated to fun,
education, and philanthropy! You, fellow AAUW
members, are a huge part of it!
For the many of you who have dedicated your
time, money, and talents to make our endeavor a
success...THANK YOU! As the date approaches,
take note of the committees you are on, when the
meetings occur, and what the duties entail. If you
have questions, call either Sharon Lyons or Jan
Leth.
Of course, LUNAFEST will be a success if the
Fox Theatre is filled with patrons on May 13! Sell
those tickets! Talk up the event with your family,
friends, neighbors ...anyone whom you meet who
you think would attend. If someone wants to
purchase tickets and you have sold yours, direct
them to brownpapertickets (a quick and easy way
to purchase online). Remember, LUNAFEST is an
afternoon event. It does not interfere with
Saturday evening activities on May 13.
We are mounting this fund-raising effort the day
before Mother's Day for a reason...We are hoping
that daughters will attend with mothers and
women friends with women friends. Remember
our AAUW mission statement of promoting
education and equity for women fits this
worthwhile philanthropic activity.
The Human Response Network board members
have been working with us to assure that our
community effort on their behalf is a huge
success. We are assured it will be a fantastic
event because of you, our amazing AAUW sisters.
We salute you!! See you all on May 13 at the
Historic Fox Theatre in Centralia at 1:00 p.m.
Please check out our branch web page at
http://lewiscounty-wa.aauw.net/
Send contributions to these pages and ideas for
other pages to Donna Loucks.
To go directly to the MEMBERS ONLY page,
click on this link.
http://lewiscounty-wa.aauw.net/members-only-2
and enter the password (which is in the directory).
Then you will be able to see past newsletters, past
profiles, bylaws, and details for the book sale.
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanAssociation-of-University-Women-Lewis-County1594584720774399/timeline/
LUNAFEST: Centralia
short films by, for, about Women
coming May 13, 2017
http://www.lunafest.org
ART GROUP
Bonnie Blake
The Art Group will meet on
Thursday, May 18. Location
and activity to be determined.
Details will be sent out via
email. If you have any
questions, please contact
Bonnie.
EARLY MORNING DISCUSSION
Norma Green
This year’s discussion of Humor will continue on
Thursday, May 11, at 7:30 a.m., at the Kit
Carson Restaurant in Chehalis.
Our May topic is “A Potpourri of Humor.” Bring
something humorous to share, e.g., your favorite
joke, short story, poem, cartoon, personal
experience. Or bring information on an aspect of
humor that is of interest to you, such as humor of
different cultures, humor in art or music, humor in
the workplace, the use of humor to present
difficult topics.
We will also begin our discussion of topics to
consider for next year. A list of past topics
discussed, as well as topics considered but not
selected, is available. Contact Norma for a copy.
All AAUW members are welcome to join us on
Thursday, May 11, to participate in an interesting
discussion, including amusement and laughter, our
focus topic for this year. You will also enjoy our
warm and friendly camaraderie, along with the
breakfast of your choice.
If you are not on our e-mail list and would like to
be, please contact Norma.
SUNSHINE REPORT
Jeanne Gordon
Please call or email Jeanne to let
her know of any members and their
families whom we want to keep in
our thoughts.
RAVENOUS READERS
BOOK GROUP
Nancy Leventon
The Ravenous Readers will meet on Tuesday,
May 16, at 7:00 p.m., at the home of Linda Zarek.
Please let Linda know that you will be coming.
May is the month that we select our reading list
for the coming membership year. It is best to
bring copies of your nominations with you to the
meeting. Be prepared to speak about the book in
order to “sell it” to the rest of the group. It is a
good idea to look up the availability of the book.
How many copies are in the library system? Is it a
brand new book or is it out in paperback? We
choose our books by voting. Your vote counts.
Some titles have slipped onto the list by just one
vote. The list is always a revelation! It is a fun
evening, and not one that you will want to miss.
Planning Ahead: The book for
our June meeting will be
Bittersweet by Colleen
McCullough. Corene JonesLitteer is the discussion leader.
“Happy May Birthday” to:
Doris Svendsen (18)
Norma Green (21)
Priscilla Tiller (22)
Barbara Selis (24)
Gail Gibbard (24)
MEMBERSHIP
Kristi Nelson and Norma Green
We are looking forward to an enjoyable May
meeting and hope you will take the opportunity to
invite a guest.
It is DUES COLLECTION TIME again. So far,
23 people have paid, so there are only 30 renewals
to go! Bring your check and renewal form to the
May meeting or mail them to Kristi Nelson.
DUE DATE: JUNE 1, 2017.
Thank you!
NEEDLE ARTS GROUP
Corene Jones-Litteer
Needle Arts Group will meet
Monday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m.
at Karen McInturff's
home. All who are interested
in stitching with Karen should
contact her. This will be our
last meeting for the year.
Please let Karen know you
will be coming.
TRAVEL GROUP
Donna Loucks
Travel Group will meet on Thursday, May 25, at
the home of Donna Loucks. Social time at 6:45
p.m. Program at 7:00. Donna will show photos of
her recent trip to Namibia. Everyone is welcome
to attend.
BITS ‘n PIECES
The Centralia College Lyceum is a series of
public conversations presented Wednesdays, 1:001:50 p.m. in Washington Hall 103 or Corbet
Theatre, and is free and open to the public. The
May programs are:
May 3 - “I am Ocean, the Difference You
Make”: I Am Ocean creates an interactive bridge
across oceans and cultures through video
snapshots of the people whose lives are deeply
impacted by each ebb and flow. The OMI (Ocean
Media Institute) integrates students' video footage
into "video postcards" that serve as a direct call to
action for stauncher protections of our seas.
This presentation is by Elise DuFour, who has
more than 30 years working in ocean conservation
and education.
May 10 - Know Your Rights as a Citizen:
Assistant Attorney General Dave Stolier will talk
about your first amendment rights. What are rights
and how to use your rights to your advantage.
May 17 - Hundreds of Hats and Bags for
Africa: Retired Centralia College instructor and
2017 Centralia College Distinguished Alumna,
Alicia Wicks, has spent much of her retirement in
Africa. She has visited Liberia, Ghana, and Kenya
and worked with at-risk women and girls. She just
returned in March from an extended stay with her
Maasai family.
May 24 - George Washington founder of
Centralia: In August, Centralia will mark the
200th birthday of its founder, George Washington.
This presentation will cover his life as the son of a
former slave and a woman of English decent and
then being raised by a White couple, Anna and
James Cochran, to his travels across the United
States, founding Centerville (Centralia) and
helping the townspeople through the Panic of
1893.
May 31 - Working with Orphanages in
Cambodia: Tim Gilmore will share his
experience working with orphanages in Cambodia.
For more details on these lectures, go to lyceum
schedule
more BITS ‘n PIECES
Kids’ Kloset Distribution Day is Saturday,
August 12. 800-900 children are expected to
attend this year to receive school clothes, a
hygiene kit, and school supplies. Help is needed
with fundraising, sorting and set-up of clothing
and supplies, and with serving and clean-up on
Distribution Day. To assist in any of these areas,
call Julie Kalich, 748-3785. Tax-deductible
donations may be sent to:
Kids’Kloset
c/o Immanuel Lutheran Church
1209 N. Scheuber Rd., Centralia, WA 98531
The Advisory Board of the Borst Home is
attempting to finance construction of a Pioneer
Church on the Borst land across from the Borst
Home and Pioneer one-room school. An auction
will be held on Friday, May 26, at the Historic
Train Depot in downtown Centralia. If you are
interested in volunteering, donating, attending the
auction, or for more information, please call Jean
Bluhm: 360-748-4362.
NEW MEMBER PROFILE: GAIL GIBBARD
by Kristi Nelson
Gail Gibbard grew up in Oregon and graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. degree in
fisheries biology. She then enrolled at Texas A&M University to earn a master’s degree in the same field.
She worked as a fisheries biologist for six years, but because these jobs were in short supply, turned to
teaching. She taught math and science to middle and high school students in Vancouver, WA and later
moved to the Portland area to teach blind students. Gail had her own classes for eight years but then spent
the next 25 years as an itinerant teacher, offering assistance to both teachers and their blind students. She
happily retired in 2015 and considers retirement to be “the best thing ever.”
Because of the rise of the cost of living in Portland, Gail decided to move to Centralia, which seemed to be
an ideal spot to live because of its size, central location and weather. She lives on Alexander Street, a few
doors down from Judy Bell, in a house with a lovely backyard of gravel paths lined with brick, raised
vegetable gardens and the perfect open-air glass cottage, which houses a sofa, a chair and a brick floor. You
can sit on the sofa, look through the glass windows and enjoy the garden – possibly, you will pet the cat.
Besides being a master gardener, she plays the bagpipes (they come in various sizes) and she loves to travel.
Having been all over the U.S., to Europe and the Middle East, Gail says she is almost running out of places
she wants to visit. Her next destination, however, is Africa.
Gail’s home is quite cozy but eclectic, full of the memorabilia of her travels: large plates from Jordan,
Istanbul and Dubai are hanging on a wall, smaller Majolica plates from England and Germany enhance
another wall, a small rug from Turkey serves as a wall hanging on another. She has Wade Pottery teapots
from England, cups from almost everywhere, a camel skin basket and a camel bone box. There are also
numerous paintings. This is a short list – there is a lot more to see!
Welcome to Lewis County AAUW, Gail!
CALENDAR
Thursday, May 4.....................................Branch Meeting
Monday, May 8 ......................................Needle Arts Group
Thursday, May 11 ..................................Early Morning Discussion
Saturday, May 13 ..................................LUNAFEST
Tuesday, May 16 ....................................Ravenous Readers Book Group
Thursday, May 18 ..................................Art Group
Friday, May 19 ....................................... June Newsletter Deadline
Thursday, May 25 ..................................Travel Group