Club Minutes: Mutual Improvement Association, 1987

1510th Meeting January 8, 1987 Martha Ligon Great Effort

Great Effort received Association members for their 1510th meeting on a snowy January 8th with great warmth. After a bountiful lunch full of good things the meeting was called to order by Nell Johnsen and the guests were introduced: Martha Ligon's long-time friend, Laura Carn, and her excellent helper, Cutran, Mimi and Julie Ligon and daughter-in-law, Anita The two sets of minutes were read and the Treasury of $4 was augmented by the collection of dues in the amount of $33. As is customary in January, the Association Rules and Regulations were read and the election of officers followed. Deb Willson resigned as Treasurer after 17 long years and Joy Shotts agreed to take over. Rose Hutton resigned as Chairman of The Place of Meeting Committee since there seemed little need for this group, and Mary Seiler agreed to continue as Secretary. The next three places of meeting were announced: Mary Moore Miller at Peg Gibian's on February 5th, Mary Reading and Mary Lil switched, so the March meeting will be with Mary Lillian Moore and the April meeting will be with Mary Reading Miller.

As her sentiment , Martha offered the following: "home is a place where love bears flowers and living means so much."

Joy Shotts, for her contribution, gave us news of Museum plans. She said the preChristmas open house and craft sale netted the Museum $1100. The craft sale will probably be held before Thanksgiving this year. Among coming events, an antique valentine display, an April trip to Winterthur, a costume exhibition(which, we hear, will include Sylvia Woodward's wedding teddy undies) and the June Strawberry Festival.

Sylvia Woodward had an old Chinese proverb told her by a nurse at Nursing Homeworry is like a rocking chair, it keeps you busy but gets you nowhere. Sylvia's question: could she have the recipe for the delicious lace cookies we enjoyed at lunch? Martha will give it to her.

Beth Bullard brought us information on asters found in A Guide to Enjoy Wild Flowers, by Don and Lillian Stokes, known for their books on bird behavior. "Aster" is derived from the Greek word for star. Like stars, a god scatered them across the landscape. They belong to a composite family with hundreds of species. Familiar to most are the deep purple New England aster, the front astes which bloom after frost, and the Michaelmas Daisy, so-called because they ate in bloom on Michaelmas Day, Sept. 29th. Because of this late-blooming trait asters have been much hybridized.

Chris Kolstad was interested in some facts she had read concerning colonial New England. Apparently there was little child abuse and family ties and ties with neighbors were closer. Midlife crisis - that time when individuals become aware of wrong choices in life - did not exist although death was always much closer. Chris had a question about her Ficus plant - it looks very tall and seems to bleed. Turning it was suggested as one remedy for tallness.

Rose Hutton passed along some observations made by Katherine Hepburn who said "out of the mouths of babes comes everything" - they want everything nowadays. How really happy are people these days? Too many seem to be ready for the psychiatrist. Rose brought love from Bette Hartge, and had the name of a china replacement firm for Louie called Replacements Ltd. in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Louie Canby continued reading her history of tapestries from Horizons. Wool and linen fibers, used in Egyptian weaving were later used in Europe. In 13th century Europe tapestries were costly and often took 10 years to complete. Only the Church and the aristocracy could afford them.and they often accompanied kings and nobleman in their travels. By the Renaissance thousands worked in the tapestry shops and great painters like Raphael were painting the designs for them.

Mimi Ligon who had seen the Goya exhibition at the National Gallery said Goya had created genre scenes for the Madrid tapestry factory. Goya later became painter to the King.

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Mimi also gave a very lucid description of the evolution and use of the color wheel which was created by a chemist in a Paris tapestry factory in the 19th century and subsequently used by artists. Shadows of colors were their compliments on the color wheel. Same of the Impresionists created their technique around the color wheel. Mimi's question concerned the yellowing of linens. Salt and lemon were suggested, also placing in the sun or on snow to dry.

Mary Reading Miller had several definitions: "memory" is what we choose to remember, and "friends" are those who remember what we do.

Anita Ligon wondered when to plant a live Christmas tree. The answer was "now". A live tree should not be indoors more than a week after which it can be left in the garage for a time to minimize shock. It should also have a bucket of water a day after planting.

Caroline Hussman having just arrived from the Cathedral School said they had been watching a hawk being chased among the towers by other birds. This was quite a sight in the middle of Washington.

Wendy Lawrence read an article from the New York Times describing the restoration of an historic Friends Meeting House in Locust Valley, Long Island, built in 1725 and destroyed by fire in 1985. Without any architectual plans existing, they used photographs and the memories of long-termed members to rebuild. They also salvaged all the elements they could for use such as old pine floors, handmade bricks and iron hinges and nails. One year after the fire it was rededicated.

Neka Thomas had a question: the County Historic Preservation Commission wants to put Tanglewood on their preservation list which will automatically restrict any family plans for repair or improvement. What should she do? Caroline suggested calling Bobbi Hahn of the Historic Preservation Commission before their next meeting.

Kay Metcalfe provided an interesting sequel to this question of an individual's rights by reading the First Amendment. She suggested adding the phrase "irreverence should be encouraged. Kay asked if members had seen the article on "black ice" in Modern Maturity. It is very rare and caused by three weather conditions coming together: a long period of subfreezing temperatures during which there is little wind and no snow. This creates a totally smooth and transparent surface that looks black and is a skater's dream.

Mary Moore Miller passed along some good advice: think well of everybody, take a broad view of life and humanity, and trivial grievances will give way.

Elizabeth Ligon had a question: where did the expression "to start from scratch" come from? A few theories were offered, a few heads were scratched, but now one was sure.

Mary Lilliam Moore read an article called "All Aboard the Rouge Line" from Wash. Post magazine describing the various ways commuters use their commuting time - to apply makeup, to change their jogging shoes, etc. The article finishes with the thought of the incredible achievements possible on an Amtrak to New York! Mary Lil had several questions for the Museum. What was the method for preserving newspaper clippings given at one of our meetings? The secretary will check. She also had an old merchandise catalogue that had no dates or prices, and old photographs which she passed around for identification.

There being no special committee reports, new business or announcements, the meeting was adjourned to Pen-Y-Bryn with Mary Moore Miller in February.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Seiler

1511th Meeting February 5, 1987 Mary Moore Miller at Pen-Y-Bryn

The 1511th meeting of The Association met with Mary Moore Miller at Pen-Y-Bryn. Once again Peg Gibian had invited Mary Moore to have her meeting there, and spring flowers on the tables invited all to enjoy a delicious lunch orchestrated by Jane Riggs.

Mary Lillian Moore called the meeting to order. The decision was made to omit the reading of the minutes of the last meeting with Mary Moore so only the minutes of the January meeting were read. Joy Shotts collected dues from members who had been absent from the January meeting. The next three places of meeting were read: with Mary Lillian Moore on March 5th, with Mary Reading Miller on April 2nd and with Caroline Schauffler on May 7th.

Mary Moore's sentiment was in the form of a humorous verse about the aging process. She closed with these lines: "My get up and go has got up and went, but sometimes I grin when I think where it's been!"

Sylvia Woodward also had some humor involving doctors' diagnoses, the wording of which needed a second opinion from a grammar teacher. An example-"her rapid heart had stopped and she was feeling better."

Beth Bullard told us how the house finch, similar to the purple finch, came to our area. Natives of the West, they were discovered to be good cage birds and so were brought to New York around 1940. When they were released they began to breed rapidly-and now are a serious nuisance.

Nell Johnsen read an amusing verse in honor of Valentines Day called POSS-L-Q, an abbreviation for "Persons of the Opposite Sex Sharing Quarters. The verse conveyed neither approval nor disapproval but did suggest that POSS-L-Q might be used instead of "honey bunch", and promised-"love will stay forever if you will be my POSS-L-Q."

Louie Canby also had a verse-this one a play on "The Night Before Christmas" and called "A Bradley Christmas " left no one or thing in the Washington newspaper scene untouched and finally, asked the question-"is it journalism or is it theater?"

Caroline Schauffler read about plans for a new New York aquarium which will introduce people to the animals and plants that inhabit the sea-a sea that covers 70% of our globe.

Deb Willson had a February recitation in honor of our first President's honesty. When courting, Martha asked if George had courted othershis answer: "a few." When asked if she was his first love, his answer was "Oh, no." As his wife, she asked if he would love her when she was toothless and old. The reply was- "perhaps" -honest but not reassuring!

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Hennie Bregliano read a letter from her grandchild, Anne, an exchange student in London. Adjusting to homesickness and trying to find her classroom building, she was reduced to tears-a solicitous native befriended her, put her enroute, and she realized how kind the Britishers could be.

Jane Stabler was reminded by an article in The Smithsonian Magazine describing the Kookabura bird of her experience in Austrailia-they were being entertained at a barbecue when a Kookabura bird spotted her meat-descended from its tree and made off with it.

Mary Reading Miller shared an article from Friends Letter by Marge Steer, comparing Friends House to a quilt. As in a quilt where each piece is indispensable, so at Friends House-where there is a miscellaneous assortment of people, the whole requires careful piecing to create a fine pattern. The result in both cases is a sense of accomplishment.

Betty Grey read an article about her son, Robert that appeared in The Student Advocate at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As a professor and editor of The South Poetry Review, Robert was described as an individualist who always encouraged artistic freedom in writing. Among his achievements-he is finishing a novel called The Lizard.

Joy Shotts said the next Museum exhibition would be Victorian Costumes (1870-1910), and she had some questions answered concerning The Victorian period. She also described a second-grade visit to The Meeting House and related some of their questionssuch as, "how deep do the holes have to be in the cemetery?"- and- "is God buried there?"

Caroline Hussman had discovered the origin of the "blue plate special"-the low-priced, set meal served on a blue and white plate. The history of blue and white china pattern originated in China and includes Delft, Staffordshire, and the Meissen Onion pattern. Willow ware is probably the best known and undoubtedly the inspiration for the blue-plate special. Caroline's questiondoes anyone know who might buy beef? She also had the source of the term "to start from scratch." In house racing the starting point [The handicap time] was scratched in the gravel-hence, the runners with a handicap started "from scratch."

Elizabeth Ligon read from her favorite book of poetryBest English Poems-one by Ernest Henley which closes with these familiar lines: "It matters not how strait the gate-How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the Captain of my Soul."

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Wendy Lawrence had found an interesting article from the New York Times describing the switch to adobe for roofs in parts of the Third World where wood has become scarce. The Development Work shop and The World Wildlife Fund are helping promote domed and vaulted adobe roofs, and the training of masons.

Peg Gibian, just back from a family wedding in Kenya, described the wedding and a safari to Tree Tops on which wedding guests went afterward. Peg said one of the park people had been there with Elizabeth, who as visiting Tree Tops, had become queen. The design of Tree Tops evolved from the owner's memory of childhood tree houses. Originally, night viewing of animals at the waterhole occured only when there was moonlight-now, spotlights are used nightly. Peg's question was-how does one deal with historic preservation if you don't want your home to be on their preservation list. One suggestion-attend meetings where the issue is discussed.

There being no committee reports, no new business or announcements, the meeting was adjourned to meet with Mary Lillian Moore in March.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Seiler

(Minutes "executed" without benefit of electric typewriter during snowstorm-2/23/87-when power failed)