TTN/LI Chapter Newsletter
November 2019
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Dear Members:
This issue of our newsletter kicks off the holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving
and takes us through the new year. And what a year of celebration it promises to be!
As we turn the corner into 2020, “The Year of the Woman,” we have so much to look forward to! We begin celebrating with Women’s History Month and Equal Rights for Women. Also, 2020 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the founding of TTN in NYC by two women who wondered what would be next for them as they transitioned into another stage of life. Since that day, the organization has grown nationally with 14 chapters located throughout the country. Here on Long Island, we provide a strong sense of community in which we connect women with each other in various ways to promote learning, growth and socialization among our members, as well as assistance to those less fortunate.
What’s more, in 2020, we will celebrate the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the result of the Suffragette movement, and its lasting effects. Please remember to check the
events calendar on our website for listings of these special events.
On behalf of the Steering Committee, please accept my holiday wish that you and your families and friends have a healthy and happy new year.
Warm regards,
Marlene Gerber
TTN/LI Chapter Chair
P.S. You might want to keep your eye out for the possibility of yet another surprise event.
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“
There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there’s always a new place, always a new horizon.” Jack Nicklaus, champion golfer.
The women of TTN/LI are always seeking new places, or venues, in which to “fish” or hold one of our many scheduled events. As our chapter has grown to over 900 women today, the number and types of programs we offer has grown exponentially. Our organization-wide events vary from a lecture for 50 members with snacks to our annual luncheon for 300 and a full meal. Just this past fall, our programs included a discussion on ageism, workshops on navigating social security, transition, and resilience, a canasta tournament, a university day, and a Halloween “visit” to Long Island’s haunted mansions.
As you can imagine, finding the appropriate venue for each activity poses a huge challenge. Besides cost, our considerations include location, capacity, parking, and menus (if meals are part of the program). In addition to restaurants and caterers, we’ve used libraries, churches, town meeting facilities, and a VFW hall.
So here is our “ask.” We know our members are busy women who have full calendars. As you attend functions for personal events or as members of other organizations, consider whether the venue you are visiting might be appropriate for a TTN activity. You do not need to do any research, but if a place sparks your interest, email Lindsey Draves at
lpdraves@aol.com. We will do the research, and you will have the satisfaction of helping us find that “new horizon.”
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Periodically, TTN/LI members have an opportunity to participate in a broader national, or even international, program. On September 15, 40 members of TTN/LI met at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington to hear Margaret Atwood discuss her long-awaited sequel to
The Handmaid's Tale,
The Testaments. The live on-screen simulcast from London's National Theatre was broadcast to 1,300 theaters worldwide. Several actresses, including Sally Hawkins and Lily James, read excerpts from
The Testaments, which is set 15 years after the end of The Handmaid's Tale. Atwood discussed her long and distinguished career and why she waited 35 years after
The Handmaid's Tale to write
The Testaments. Atwood, speaking of the of recent move in many states in our country to restrict women's reproductive rights, said that "for a society that claims to value individual freedom, I would say to them, evidently you don't think this individual freedom extends to women."
The Handmade’s Tale became a symbol of the protest against such restrictions. The esteemed author also stated that everything that went into
The Handmaid's Tale or
The Testaments had a precedent in real life somewhere or sometime.
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Essex Bus Trip
Connect, Discover, Explore! This is the message TTN broadcasts to its prospective members in brochures and at our Connect Now get-togethers. Well, on Tuesday, October 15, 50 TTN/LI women embraced this motto wholeheartedly on our bus trip to Essex, Connecticut. The day was picture perfect (the Almighty is definitely a woman) as we headed north on I-95 to our destination. Our first stop was the famed Griswald Inn, which dates back to 1776, where we dined on a delicious lunch, served so efficiently that we still had time to “
Explore” the quaint town of Essex at our leisure.
Following lunch and a walk, we were ready for our main activity, the famous steam train and steamboat combination. At the Essex depot, we boarded the vintage steam locomotive, which passed through the Connecticut Valley with its beautiful views of the changing fall foliage. The train deposited our group at the boat dock along the Connecticut River, where we boarded the riverboat and cruised, impressed by the spectacular scenery. At every turn, we “
Discovered” ever more beautiful facets of nature in this lovely valley.
Finally, our boat returned us to shore for a quick train ride back to the Essex train station, where our bus was waiting (sigh!) to take us back to reality and Long Island. On the ride home, an accident on I-95 unfortunately delayed our return trip, but our hosts on the Program Committee came prepared with multiple snacks and lots of water. The delay gave us quality time to “
Connect” with our fellow TTN/LI travelers. There was a lot of chatter, laughter, getting to know one another-all going on all around us as we relived a very special day for many of us in TTN.
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Canasta Tournament
125, 155, 180: What is the significance of these numbers? Well, as any card aficionado can tell you, these are the points needed to “meld” or put your cards down on the table and “open” when playing canasta. On Thursday, November 7, 80 TTN women honed their skills participating in our first canasta tournament which was held at Domenico’s restaurant in Levittown. After lunching on pizza, we were assigned to tables, where two of the women remained partners and stayed in place for the duration and two others partnered and moved to different tables after three sets. There was a lot of laughter and a considerable amount of competitiveness, as we kept score and vied for cash prizes that were awarded at the end to high scorers. The winners ($100 to each) were Marsha Sherman and Barbara Simon. Second place ($50 each) went to Rhonda Phillips and Eilene Terri. Congratulations to the winners (the rest of us had fun even if we didn’t win), and thanks to the Program Committee for another successful event.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Thursday January 30th - Celebrate the Music and History of the Beatles
- Thursday February 27th - Lunch and Presidential Trivia
- For more information and to register, go to the Events page on the TTN/LI website.
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Haunted Mansions
What is on your living room floor? Wood, carpeting, tile? Well, as many TTN/LI members learned on October 28 in the Ferguson Castle in Huntington, one of 600 Gold Coast mansions that existed on LI during the Jazz Age, the floor was composed of tombstones taken from grave sites out in the Hamptons.
The Contemporary Social Issues Committee (CSI) presented a program by noted historian, author, and parapsychologist Monica Randall on “Long Island's Most Haunted Mansions.” “Haunted” does not necessarily mean you can see or hear ghosts, as the word also is associated with the ill fate of some family members living in a particular home.
We learned about the many strange doings in places like the Farnsworth mansion, the Wordsworth House and the Woolworth Mansion. We learned more about ghosts than we perhaps ever thought we could know.
In summary, it was a very "enlightening" program. By the way, CSI has presented several programs at the Heritage House, but this was the first one where the microphone was making strange noises; even the wait staff in the room said they had never heard anything like that…mechanical issues or something else???
You Decide!!!
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Sherwood-Jayne House
Who knew Long Island history could be so captivating? But on October 4, over 40 TTN/LI women met at the Sherwood-Jayne House (circa 1730) in Setauket for CSI's Part II program presented by the Preservation Long Island Society to learn more about a Long Island historic treasure. The original owner of the 400 acre farm, William Jayne, was also known as "Big Bill The Tory," because he was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. The Jayne house remained in the family for over 200 years; it was never confiscated during the Revolution because Long Island was a Tory stronghold.
In 1908, Howard Sherwood, a New York businessman, bought the property to become "a gentleman farmer." The current home is restored to showcase much of its colonial history. Sherwood was a collector of American decorative arts and the restored home also reflects his love of those artifacts.
The setting, docents, and weather contributed to a very enlightening day as we learned more about colonial times and our Long Island history.
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On Monday, September 23, 53 Chapter members and 41 guests attended a Connect Now at the Presbyterian Church of Sweet Hollow in Melville. Attendees heard presentations from Marlene Gerber, Chapter Chair, Carol Levatino, Membership Services Chair, and several committee heads, all of whom described the events, volunteer projects, and opportunities for friendship available to TTN members. Not surprisingly, 29 of the 41 guests decided on the spot to join the Chapter! Thank you to all the volunteers who worked so diligently to make this event so successful!
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Health and Wellness Council
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The Health and Wellness Council provides workshops that are informative and empowering to help women make knowledgeable choices about their Wellness. On November 1, we hosted a workshop on Social Security and AARP, conducted by Marilyn Goldman. She provided essential Information about the ins and outs of both Social Security and Medicare, as well as describing many of the benefits offered to seniors by the AARP.
We welcome suggestions for future topics. Contact Leslie Fischler with your ideas at
Lesbob462@aol.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Wednesday, March 5: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction presented by Dr. Joseph Diamond
- Wednesday, May 13: Weight Management: Surgical and Non-Surgical Options presented by Dr. Heather McMullen and Christine Santorum, RD
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Community
Volunteer
Committee
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To honor the dedicated volunteers from TTN/LI,
Island Harvest has included TTN as a sponsor of their annual Turkey and Trimmings Collection Campaign. Throughout the year our members donate their time, energy, and creative abilities to further Island Harvest's efforts to feed the needy on Long Island. Activities include: food rescues, preparing supply bags for each collection site, collecting food outside of supermarkets, and aiding in registration at their golf outing and Taste of the Harvest.
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Child Abuse Prevention Services of Long Island (CAPS/LI) is a new collaborative agency with TTN which educates school children from grades 2-12 on the topics of bullying, cyber-bullying, child abuse and neglect, and for older grades, avoiding sexual aggression and preventing date rape, Two volunteers are paired and give 45 minute interactive presentations in the classroom. CAPS provides detailed, professional training in six hour workshops. For more information or to volunteer, contact Dania Smith at
danias100@aol.com.
The
#hatnothate project that took place in public schools in October was an overwhelming success, with CareToKnit donating 700 hats. The women of TTN Stitchers knitted and crocheted 38 blue hats for this cause. Each hat has an important message. "Never be a bully. Be kind to all you know." The hope is that the message resonates and participating children will wear their hats often.
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The women at the Community Volunteer Committee were busy on October 24 making Halloween Trick or Treat bags for the 350 children who live in the
Brentwood Homeless Shelter. On October 30 a TTN group went to the shelter to help with a Halloween Party for these children.
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TTN members put together centerpieces and raffle baskets for the
Hope for Youth 2019 Heroes for Hope Gala. We all had fun being creative and our services were much appreciated. Our next activity for Hope for Youth will be wrapping holiday gifts for the children in foster care and for teens who reside in group homes.
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Our Community Volunteer Committee has many other opportunities. To learn more about our initiatives, click on this
link.
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Check our
Website
fo
r More Info & to Register for all Events
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- Sunday, December 8 - Women in Transition Workshop
- Friday, January 24 - Communications Committee Tech Workshop SOLD OUT
- Thursday January 30th - Celebrate the Music and History of the Beatles
- Thursday February 27th - Lunch and Presidential Trivia
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WELCOME! NEW MEMBERS TO OUR TTN FAMILY
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Cathleen Andrews
Lisa Arian
Karen Bahar
Joan Blank
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Louann Delgado
Karen Fazekas
Sherry Fitzgerald
Adrianne Kauder
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Rhoda Mark
Donna Plotkin
Janet Scalzitti
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Sharon Shapses
Ruth Steinberg
Lorraine Vernola
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GMAIL users: To see the rest of the newsletter, please scroll down and click on "View entire message"
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Lisa Amico
Candice Becerra
Pauline Chiarelli
Marilyn Confessore
Zoe Ann Deeds
Barbara Drossman
Claudia Erckert
Pilar Ferrari
Shelley Frumberg
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Judy Gentile
Cynthia Glassgold
Regina Goutevenier
Robin Gunsher
Jeanne Heend
Marsha Jaffe
Lori Kessler
Ann Koch
Sherrie Kusinitz
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Linda Leonard Book
Phyllis Lido
Christine Matis
Maureen McMahon
Patricia Morgese
Alexandra Mosca
Sheryl Palley-Engel
Carol Pertchik
Cheryl Prensky
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Maureen Quinn
Fern Rubin
Kathy SanFilippo
Susan Silverman
Jody Steifman
Susan Venoker
Sandie Wasley
Bobbi Zorn
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Robyn Albeck
Leslie Bedford
Carole Berglie
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Sara Casale
Jean Confessore
Deborah Fleischer
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Rosemarie Giorano
Anita Maraventano
Regina Rule
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Millie Schrof
Marla Seiden Leff
Lorraine Spadafina
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FOLLOWING
are links to information we think you will want to know more about.
CLICK and you will be directed to the corresponding page on the TTN website:
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Check out our TTN National website fo
r a list of relevant RESOURCES
:
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Membership dues come to about $8/month or $2/week
... less than the cost of a latte! What a bargain!
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