News from
Academy for Lifelong Learning of Cape Cod, Inc.


May 2021

Looking Forward
beach_POV.jpg
In This Issue

  • President's Message
  • Annual Meeting
  • Report on Fall Courses


  • June Calender's Writing
  • Special Events Recap
  • Summer Activities

ALL Contact Information
The ALL Office at Cape Cod Community College is closed.
We'll continue to work from home this summer.

Feel free to contact us:
E-mail: lifelonglearning@capecod.edu
Telephone 774-330-4400 (please leave a message)

The online fall semester catalog will be available in early August.
balloons_flying.jpg
We're looking forward to ALL's fall 2021 semester!
President's Message

The focus of this newsletter is “looking forward”, so it behooves me to talk a bit about the near-term plan for ALL. As I mentioned in the March newsletter, the ALL board decided that the Fall 2021 semester will only be on Zoom. That decision was based on information available at that time. While I hope that our membership has by now been fully vaccinated, and despite the Cape’s recently improved risk status, there has been little clear indication of major changes in the overall environment or the prospects for reaching herd immunity in the near future, and the rise of new COVID variants reinforces that call. These factors are all critical to our ability to offer a safe social and educational environment for our members.

The College’s plans for this fall semester, for those classes not meeting remotely on Zoom, include limited class sizes and social distancing in conformity with CDC guidelines. The College will be using spaces such as the cafeteria for study, and food service will be significantly scaled back.

With the prospect of limited classroom space on CCCC’s campus, we looked into using classroom space at Bridgewater State’s Cape Cod campus in South Yarmouth. This location was well received by our members but, unfortunately, space is no longer available there because another educational entity has agreed with BSU to take over most of the usable space for daytime use.

Looking out to the Spring 2022 semester, we are considering the idea of some sort of mix of on-line and in-person classes, though the logistics might be daunting. Stay tuned….

Jim Lathrop
ALL President

Annual Meeting on Zoom
May 19, 10:30 a.m.

We did not hold an annual meeting last year because of the pandemic and we had not widely or fully adopted Zoom. This year we will hold an informational meeting that we hope will be helpful to the membership and the board.

This meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 19, at 10:30 a.m. and will be held on Zoom. Our Zoom license limits us to 100 participants, so members will need to pre-register by e-mail.  ​We will soon send details in a subsequent e-mail. That e-mail will include the Annual Report and instructions for registering for the meeting. The Zoom access link will be sent to registrants the day before the meeting.  

The ALL Board

Curriculum Committee Report on Fall Classes
school_supplies_desk.jpg
Coordinators – both new and returning have come to the fore with great courses for the fall semester and we thank them for sharing their talents with All of us. As of the end of April, we are in the process of final editing. You will be receiving the on-line catalog in early August. Registration opens on Monday, August 23, 2021 and courses (via Zoom) will begin the week of September 13, 2021. We have so much to be thankful for – and so much to look forward to. Happy Spring!
Miriam Kronish
Curriculum Committee Chair

ALL Coordinator's Book to be Published

This is part of an ongoing series of stories about Academy for Lifelong Learning coordinators and classes. If you have something to share, please let us know.
books_laptop_apple.jpg

June Calendar has been a member of the ALL faculty for more than ten years and is currently offering "Telling Stories" each semester. She serves as Editor of Reflections, "an annual collection of members' creative work". Her novel The Friendship Quilts will be published later this year.
___________________________________________


Over the years I have been part of several writing groups. I have come to believe almost everyone has stories to tell, either personal experiences or family stories.
I also feel that most people will profit from some guidance and thoughtful input from others who have had experience writing memoir or fiction. In mature years, since writing classes in college, I have profited from professional groups especially playwrights. I continue reading and learning from many writers’ groups, now mostly on the internet. I keep abreast of new genres: flash fiction and creative nonfiction, prose poetry.

Since joining ALL I have taught a number of what I think of as skills classes, under various names. Currently my class is called "Telling Stories". Cape Cod is a haven for creative people with broad life experiences and serious taste. My classes uncover a range and depth of personal stories. Knowing these people and hearing their life stories has been a great pleasure. Taking part in Peter Saunders’ "So You Want To Be a Poet" opened new horizons for me as I hope my classes will for others.

Brief autobiography: I was encouraged to write in high school. Not much encouraged in college. Later as a new mother, I had the urge to publish; my first national publication was in Baby Talk, soon after I had an article on snow shoveling in Yankee Magazine. My life took an exciting turn when I was accepted at the O’Neill Playwright’s annual conference. I was encouraged to moved to NYC. I spent 20+ years as an off-off-Broadway playwright. I was invited to two other national conferences. I published a travel book, Phantom Voices in Tibet in 2003. Since moving to Cape Cod I saw a couple of plays done by the CCCC's drama department. Another was produced in Sandwich last year and another will be Zoom-produced by Eventide later this spring. Meanwhile my novel, The Friendship Quilts, will be published later this year.

June Calender

THANK YOU ... For Making our Recent
March and April Zoom Events so Special!

FRANCINE SEGAN'S MARCH TALK BROUGHT US BACK TO THE FOOD OF ELIZABETHAN TIMES 

On March 22, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. noted food historian and engaging speaker, Francine Segan, entertained 65 ALL members with an online presentation on “Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Peacocks and Pageantry”. Attendees were amused by anecdotes about the elaborate presentations and curious customs involved in the feasts of Elizabethan times.

Francine spoke of the gilded crusts and outrageous ornamentation of meat pies and of cookies in the shape of the guest of honor. Pre-baked crusts covered dishes of live birds which were gently cut open to release the birds to fly about the dining hall. She also gave some historic background on cooking and customs. How does one bake without a clock or a thermometer? Where do our customs of making a toast and clinking glasses come from?  Why shouldn't we put our elbows on the table? And so much more!

Jean DeVincentis


GINA POOLE'S APRIL TALK
BROUGHT US BACK TO THE
MUSIC OF THE SIXTIES 

On April 26, 2021, at 2:00 p.m., Gina Poole gave a Special Event presentation on Zoom entitled: “SING OUT! Music and Movements” to approximately 25 ALL members and friends. Gina gave a brief survey of protest songs and their social movements, mostly focusing on the sixties. Included were some of the songs, along with the singers and songwriters. Protest songs speak of hope, freedom, and love. Gina began with a few short poems that referred to music, including one by Emily Dickinson. We did a bit of group singing (chanting) with an African-American Spiritual, and there was a multiple-choice quiz about songs and songwriters, followed by a short lecture which included information about Billy Holliday, Marian Anderson, Sam Cooke, “We Shall Overcome”, and “March, March” written in 2020 and performed by The Chicks. Gina’s event ended with some questions and comments from the audience. Thank you, Gina, for your spirited presentation which gave us joy and something to ponder, especially as we live in these challenging times.

Diane Hoover
Special Events Committee Chair


Oh, The Places We Can Go!
rainbow_sandals_ocean.jpg

There is light at the end of the tunnel! Yay! Governor Baker has relaxed many of the COVID-19 restrictions and most of us are now vaccinated. Spring is here; summer is coming and all is right with the world. Well, I know, I’m being very optimistic, but things are getting better. We’ve been mostly on Zoom or Facetime, staying indoors, wishing to see family and friends and just hoping to get back to some semblance of “normal.” Don’t throw out that box of masks yet, but think about the things you can do now. I’m sure I haven’t thought of everything, but here are some suggestions:

  • Eat out rather than take out.
  • Visit a museum : JFK, Cape Cod Museum of Art, Maritime, Whydah Pirate, Natural History, just to name a few  
  • Art Galleries are everywhere and so are antiques shops.
  • Take photos at Cape lighthouses.
  • Catch a Cape Cod Baseball League game.
  • Take a whale watch – I have never been on one!
  •  A ghost tour is actually fun and you will learn a lot of history.
  • Take in a movie at a drive-in theater.
  • Walk the Cape Cod Canal, sit on a bench and watch the boats and ships as they travel though; sailboats, barges, Coast Guard ships, and behemoth container ships that glide noiselessly onto their destinations.
  • Browse the Atlantic Spice Company store in Truro.
  • Check out a food truck, a flea market, estate sale, or farmers’ market.
  • Have coffee and a delicious pastry at a bakery.
  • Go to a wine tasting at one of the Cape Cod wineries: First Crush in Harwich, Cape Cod Winery in Falmouth, Truro Vineyards.
  • Or raise a glass at Cape Cod Beer, Naukabout Brewery and Taproom, Barnstable Brewery and soon at Tree House Brewing Company.
  • Or do a “Happy Food Tour” of the wonderful ice cream shops on the Cape.
  • A day trip to Martha’s Vineyard might be fun.
  • Picnic at the beach.
  • Keep watch – there might be a tall ship at Mass Maritime this summer.

My last suggestion is Heritage Gardens and Museums in Sandwich. The gardens are abloom all summer- check out the Rhododendron Festival in May, Hydrangeas in July -so many posies and so little time. There is always a new exhibit – this year there will be a Wampanoag Wetu, an early Native American dwelling to be built on the grounds. Don’t forget the Shaker antique car barn – there is a new addition this year.

And you can skip down memory lane by taking a ride on the carousel. Remember that you don’t have to walk everywhere at Heritage, they have shuttles to take you to the various exhibits. Plus there are benches and chairs around the gardens so you can relax and enjoy the view.

Whatever you do, enjoy and be safe!

Dianne Tattersall
ALL Vice President and Hospitality Committee Chair

ALLways Welcomes Comments and
Suggestions about the Newsletter
Please address your comments or suggestions to lifelonglearning@capecod.edu

We appreciate all our readers, with special thanks to ALL members who contribute their articles and photographs to our newsletters. 

Academy for Lifelong Learning of Cape Cod, Inc.
Cape Cod Community College
2240 Iyannough Rd 
West Barnstable, Massachusetts 02668
774-330-4400
lifelonglearning@capecod.edu