College Club of Buffalo Monthly Newsletter

The College Club of Buffalo Buffalo, NY 14222 716-885-4404 Mission Statement The College Club of Buffalo is a community of women who promote the advancement of education through programming, scholarship endowment, charitable activities, and social interaction.

May 2019

Greeting College Club Members,

It’s May, the lovely month of May. I believe that is a line from a Camelot song. Hopefully it will be a lovely month. Here are a few interesting facts about the month of May. Truth be told they come from Google. May is the fifth month of the year. There are 31 days and three notable holidays that are observed during the month: Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day. Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for the "fifth of May," is the celebration of Mexico's vic- tory over France in the Battle of Puebla. Mother's Day is the celebration of mothers. It was made an official holiday in 1914 and is observed on the second Sunday in May. Memorial Day is the celebration of the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. It is observed on the last Monday in May. Other events during the month include May Day, Haitian Heritage Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. We will have two very interesting speakers. May 6 will be Cheryl McDonald from Explore Buffalo and May 13, will feature Marilyn Deighton from Niagara University’s Theater Department. Our Wednesday entertainment will feature Valerian Ruminski from Nickel City opera. The Opera La Traviata by Verdi will be performed on May 24 and 26 at the Villa Maria College Theater. Monday, May 20 is the bridge/scrabble luncheon. Movie nights are Thursday, May 2 and 16. There are the other three bridge days and the blanket brigade takes place on the second and fourth Thursdays. Please remember that we are still collecting baby items for Harvest House. We are very busy and I thank you for all your time and effort you give to the College Club. I do ask that you support our lunches and evening entertainment. Please remember we must have 15 for our caterer. Tom’s menu selections have been wonderful. Happy Mother’s day to all you fine ladies; be you a mother, step-mother grand- mother, aunt, godmother or simply a supportive friend. In friendship, Betty

Officers and Board President…Betty Kulpa; 1st Vice President…Beverly Thomas; 2nd Vice President...Mary Ellen McGowan Treasurer…Lillian Gondree; Assistant Treasurer…Carolann Besch; Corresponding Secretary and Newsletter Editor…Rosina Alaimo; Recording Secretary...Pat Krims Directors: Bonnie Botsford; Nancy Davidson; Barbara Kuvshinoff; Mary Vacanti

1 Monthly Bridge Activities

Party Bridge Duplicate Bridge: May 1 May 8

Duplicate Bridge is the 2nd Wednesday of the Party Bridge is the 1st Wednesday of the month. month at 10:45 AM. Please be on time. $25.00 is due, paid to Nancy Thomas. Please sign up for this event with Since play begins at 11:00 AM, plan to arrive by 10:45. Bring your smile, your quar- Call Clare if you cannot play. Otherwise you are ter and your lunch. Goodies will be provided. Mark expected to be there. Desserts are welcome— Just your calendar; Make a sandwich; Bring Mike’s bridge les- let Clare or Betty know what you plan to bring. If sons, if needed!!!! you cancel the morning of bridge you will be ex- pected to provide a sub..

Dear Duplicate Players, Please realize that if you do not come, and we don’t have complete tables, we can’t play Duplicate. This is what occurred this past week, and we ended up playing Party Bridge. Also, if players leave ear- ly, we can’t have a fair score. Before resuming Duplicate for next year, we will have a meeting to ensure that everyone is partnered. Bridge Luncheon: I will be hostess for the May game and provide des- May 20 sert. 12 noon $17.00 Fondly, Bev

Lunch is served at 12:00. Sign-up sheet is available at the Kitchen Bridge Club. Please reserve your seat at a table and for lunch by the Friday before the event. If you need to cancel, call Ca- May 29 mille Beecher (at 862-9517). This is important both for an 11:30 AM Lesson accurate lunch count and to insure that we have 4 players 12:15 PM Play Bridge per table.

Scrabble: Kitchen Bridge is played on the last Wednesday of each month. Play begins at 12:15; If a lesson is planned, the A dedicated group of scrabble players will play on lesson will begin at 11:30. Remember to bring a lunch the 3rd Monday of the month. They promise to and a quarter. Treats will be provided. play quietly so as not to distract the bridge players! Hallie will call potential players to confirm. We welcome new players. Join us—the more the merrier—-oops—we’ll be silent, I promise. Call Hallie Howell at 885-4190 if you wish to sign up or if you cannot play.

2 Cultural, Literary, Educational, and Social Activities

Book into Movie Night 1st Thursday Evening of the Month

The next meeting for Reading between the Wines is Thursday, May 1st at 6:30 PM. The group will discuss To Kill a Mockingbird based on the book by Harper Lee.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Horton Foote is based on Harper Lee's 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. It stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary Badham as Scout. To Kill a Mockingbird marked the film debuts of Robert Duvall, William Windom, and Alice Ghostley.

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and was a box-office success, earning more than six times its budget. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Peck, and was nominated for eight, including Best Picture.

Fun Movie Night May 16th at 6:30 PM

This evening you will enjoy a wonderful vintage film.

With great dialogue and broad, acid-tongued characters, this film is funny, sophisticated, and delightful to watch. THE WOMEN was a ground-breaking movie in 1939. It's about women, written by women, with an all-female cast (not a single man appears on-screen). The movie takes a brash look at the lives and manners of a group of gossipy, catty "friends" in New York City. They're rich; they're self-centered. Some are social- climbers; some are saintly. Its simple plot is accompanied by a number of fully drawn set pieces evoking the world of the very rich in 1939: the beauty salon, the exercise studio, department store fitting rooms and, though the rest of the movie is in beautiful black-and-white, a lengthy fashion show in bright Technicolor that dazzles with the fabulous costumes of the day.

The stellar cast, which includes Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Fontaine in addition to Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, bring charm and wit to the already sparkling written word.

New Newsletter monthly feature! Our College Club family is very important to us. We meet for lunch, for Bridge, for book clubs, for entertainment and for dinners. And yet, we don’t know very much about each other. We are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts. We have children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews that are “bragworthy.” Heck, we have pets that are “bragworthy.” So, with your help, I would like to use this space for us to brag! For instance, as a tease, do you know that Betty Kulpa has a very good reason to brag about her son? Do you know that Lillian Gondree and I have been friends or over 50 years? So, my email is [[email protected]]. Feed me your “brag” and I will print it! Deadline for inclusion in the March newsletter is February 9th! I want to hear from you! **I haven’t heard from anybody! Does this mean that there is no interest in this type of information? I’ll give it one more month—if your silence is very loud, I will abandon the idea.

3 Monthly Program Dinner: Wednesday, May 16th

Our monthly program dinners are scheduled for the- 3rd Wednesday of every month. The cost for the dinner is $25.00. Reservations must be made by noon on the Monday before the dinner by calling Carolann Besch at 883-4482. AND, if you must cancel, you MUST call Carolann with that information to avoid being charged for your dinner. **Reservations and cancellations must be made with Carolann Besch at 883-4482.

Wednesday, May 15—Cost $25.00 Dinner Menu: Salad 5:15 PM Wine And Hors d’oeuvres Chicken Marsala OR Seared Scallops 6 PM—Dinner and Program Brownie Cheesecake Program: Nickel City Opera Speaker: Valerian Ruminski

Nickel City Opera Founder and Artistic Director Valerian Ruminski brings his passion for opera to Western New York audiences through NCO, but he also has a long and acclaimed history as a professional opera singer and performer.

“I want to break the notion that opera is stuffy and only for the rich,” said Ruminski. “The sto- ries are timeless and the music will stick with you. Our shows are very ‘come as you are,’ wheth- er it’s in an evening gown or jeans. We want audiences to walk away being proud they can expe- rience such quality entertainment, right in their own backyard.”

A native of Cheektowaga, N.Y., Valerian Ruminski is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and of SUNY-Buffalo. A true basso cantante, his bold and powerful vocal lyricism and remarkable coloratura have garnered him many accolades. An excellent musician and creative interpreter, he has performed with many of the great opera companies in the US and abroad including The , , Dallas Opera, , , Miami Opera, Minnesota Opera, , Opera Ireland, Opera de Montreal, Opera de Monte Carlo,

Dr. Seuss Quotes on Life

 “They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!”  “I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends. ...  “Teeth are always in style.”  “Don't give up. ...  “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.

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Program Luncheons

This month we have three program luncheons planned: May 6th and May 20th. We will be closed on May 27th in observance of Memorial Day. Our tasty lunches are catered by Chef Tom O’Keefe and served by Jerimiah.

**Lunch is served at 12:00 PM immediately followed by the program.

Carolann Besch is our very capable luncheon reservation manager. Please sign up with Carolann by phone (883-4482) or at the Club by noon on the Friday immediately before the luncheon so she has an accurate count for the caterer. The cost of the luncheons is $20.00. We encourage you to pay by check.

Monday, May 6 Luncheon Menu: Salad Speaker: Cheryl McDonald Shrimp OR Chicken Kebobs Program: Working Women at the Turn of the Century with rice Before retiring in 2011, Cheryl worked as a human resource manager at Cappuccino Crème Brulee Chicago Title for twenty years. After retirement she took a training program to be a Buffalo tour guide; that led to being a founding member of Explore Buffalo. Cheryl now works in the Explore Buffalo office two days a week, serves on the Volunteer Committee and Marketing Advisory Committee, and gives the Delaware Avenue Mansions Tour. In a previous life, Cheryl served as the president of the General Federation of Women’s Club-Aurora’s Women’s Club for two years. Recently, Cheryl won the Explore Buffalo Best of “Booffalo” Costume Contest for her costume as Lafayette Square! The thing that Cheryl loves most about Buffalo is obviously the people.

Description: The influx of Irish immigrants and the Industrial Revolution changed the lives of women, especially single women, between 1870 and 1920. Although it was the Gilded Age in Buffalo, not everyone was a millionaire living on Delaware Avenue. What kind of work were women doing and where were they doing it? From domestic servants to ground-breaking professionals, hear the stories of Buffalo's working women - their struggles and their successes.

***May 13th (There will be a Board Luncheon Menu: Meeting at 10:00 AM for all officers and board of directors.) Salad Stuffed Shells with Meatballs Luncheon program speaker: Marilyn Deighton from Birthday Cake—Tropical Cake Niagara University

Marilyn holds an MFA in costume technology from the Uni- versity of North Carolina School of the Arts. Currently, she teaches stagecraft, costume construction, pattern drafting, corsetry, dancewear, supervises the student workforce in the costume shop and is the Draper/Tailor for all of the theater department’s productions. Previously, she was a lecturer and Draper/Tailor at the University of Maryland – College Park and an Assistant Professor of Costume Technology at the University of Mississippi. Professionally, Marilyn has been the Costume Shop Director for Paper Mill Playhouse in their New York City Costume Shop, Costume Director for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Costume Shop Manager for North Carolina’s Shakespeare Festival and a freelance Men’s Tailor for The Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage and Wolf Trap Opera in the Washington, D.C. area. In addition, she was a tailor for the Broadway version of Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk designed by Paul Taswell and a draper for the Robert Altman film “Cookie’s Fortune” starring Glenn Close and Julianne Moore. She has designed and built over 200 productions in the Florida Tampa Bay area for various Dinner Theatres and community theatres. In 2011, she created the costumes and unique lightweight fat suits for the French-language touring company Le Theatre de la Chandelle Verte’s production of La Farce de Maitre Pathelin. Marilyn has designed and built the costumes for 1776 that was performed with the Eight O’clock Theatre at the Largo Performing Arts Center in Largo, Florida.

5 Membership Information Nominating Committee Ex-Officio: Camille Beecher Chair: Kathy Kubala Members: Kathy Howels, Bev Thomas, Elaine K, Mary Ellen Shaughnessy The Nominating Committee works hard to insure that the College Club has good leadership. If asked to stand for office, please say YES!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please welcome Claudia Walsh to the College Club! Please add her contact information to your directories.

Claudia Walsh 837-4044 836 Parkside Ave [email protected] Buffalo, NY 14216 Medaille/Buffalo State Retired Buffalo Teacher Enjoys gardening Birthday Is March 7 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are you planning a special event such as a wedding shower, a baby shower, a birthday celebration , a retirement celebration? Do you dread the high costs of booking a restaurant? Do you dread the work involved in using your own home? Well, the College Club has the solution for you.

You can book our gracious house and have your celebration catered. Many of our members have done this and they have had great reviews. Just think about it: no heavy cleaning; no shopping; no cooking; no clean-up!

Just select the date; send the invitations; drive up; greet your guests; no fuss; no mess! And the savings are huge! The College Club’s gracious living room

Call our House Manager Susan Davis at 885-4404 for information and availability.

6 The Blanket Brigade Goes On!

A group of your fellow Club ladies started a “blanket brigade” to further our involvement with the babies at Harvest House. We met at the Club on the 2nd Thursday of April. We brought our yarn, our knitting needles, our crochet hooks. We brought a sewing machine and an iron and a variety of fabrics. If you do not have a particular skill, you can still help by cutting fabric squares, pinning squares, ironing seams, etc. Also, yarn and pieces of quilting fabric (child appropriate designs, please) are welcome. We even offer simple tutorials. We had such a productive and fun morning that we are doing it again on April 25th. All are welcome! Come and join us. This is another chance to help those less fortunate than we are and have fun at the same time! Mark your calendars—May 9th and May 23rd.

The Buffalo Federation of Women's Clubs has issued a philanthropic challenge to all of its' member clubs, including the College Club of Buffalo. BFWC is calling on all its' clubs to donate new or very gently used Dr. Seuss books in an effort to collect and distribute 1000 Dr. Seuss books by March of 2020. All books are to be donated locally in the Buffalo and WNY area. College Club members can take part either by bringing in books and giving them to Barbara Kuvshinoff or Betty Kulpa OR by donating funds ($5 per book). Any donation checks for the Dr. Seuss challenge should be made out to BFWC with Dr. Seuss/CCB in the memo line. BFWC will track donations from each of its' member clubs and post monthly updates toward the collection total, so let's make College Club of Buffalo proud and plan to donate either books or funds toward this initiative! For more information, call Barbara Kuvshinoff at 553-5722.

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Just a reminder that we have a website where you can find pictures, newsletters, information and other wonderful “stuff” about our College Club. Your monthly newsletter is either sent to you via US mail or via your email address. But sometimes we misplace things. Now, if you have access internet access, you can go the College Club website and find newsletters dating back to 2016. You can find our calendars and sometimes corrections or updates to the newsletters. Just copy and paste the following web address into your email browser and enjoy! https://collegeclubofbuffalo.com/ 7

May 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 10:45 AM 6:30 PM Book into Party Bridge Movie Night

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12:00 PM 10:45 AM 10:30 Program Duplicate Blanket Lunch Bridge Brigade

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 10:30 Board 5:15 PM Wine 6:30 PM Mtg And Hors Fun Movie 12:00 d’oeuvres Night Program 6 PM—Dinner and Program 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 12:00 noon 10:30 AM Bridge Blanket Luncheon Brigade

26 27 28 29 30 31 Memorial 11:30 Lesson 12:15 Play Day Kitchen Closed Bridge

Happy Birthday to all our birthdays!

May 4………..Rosina Alaimo

May 5………..Marcia Bergmann

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