Grand Rapids Timberline
NEWS FOR
AND ABOUT
AAUW GRAND RAPIDS
BRANCH
MEMBERS
EDITOR: Arlene Wheaton,
(218) 232-4989
MISSION: AAUW advances gender equity for women and girls through research education and advocacy.
President’s Message
Happy May! What a treat to have nice weather, daffodils blooming, and we don't have to wear winter coats!
We had the most enjoyable
and unique meeting in April. It was a good
time to see members who we have not seen in a year. Thank you to Julie Skallman and Marge Domish
for fun discussion questions (what was your most unusual job?, etc.).
Have you been able to
participate in the Zoom presentations from the Minneapolis branch? They have three speakers every Monday, and
many are from the University of Minnesota. I have heard many interesting topics
ranging from Earth Day to farming/where our food comes from to downsizing.
Check out "Exploring
Our Community" in the newsletter as we have several upcoming events. We will also have several summer programs
that will be listed in the summer newsletter.
We will be meeting at Forest Lake for our May 17th dinner and program. Do you have a friend or former member who you would like to bring as a guest? Just let Deanna know when you RSVP. It's $25.00 each for a delicious dinner.
See you in May!
Cyndy Agle, Co-President
Our New Board Officers for 2021-22
Co-Presidents: Cyndy Agle & Deanna Ensley
Secretary: Dianne Anderson
Treasurer: Julie Skallman (new, 2-year term)
Programs: Laurie Clausen (new, 2-year term)
May 17 Dinner & Program Meeting
Join us for our May
banquet and program at Forest Lake Restaurant Steakhouse (lower level), with Jan
Hill as Hostess.
*Social: 5-6 pm *Dinner 6-7 pm *Program: 7-8 pm
Entree choices: Basil Chicken, Breaded Walleye & Teriyaki Vegetables over Rice
Meal comes with fresh baked bread and salad. You do not need to order your meal
choice ahead of time.
Cost: $25.00
Please RSVP no later than May 7 to Deanna Ensley; call/text 360-333-0228.
TOPIC: Myths and Facts About Vaccinations
SPEAKER: Dr. Stacy Holl, Grand Itasca
Dr. Stacy
Holl is an Internal Medicine physician at Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital.
She earned her medical degree in 2011 from the Medical School at Des Moines University, Iowa. She came to Grand Rapids to practice in 2016 and has an interest in preventive care.
Dr. Holl will come with some facts about overall vaccination rates in our community. She will speak of resistance and support for vaccinations as well as efforts to educate people on the importance of protecting our children. She is coming prepared to answer any questions we have, so be ready to ask the expert.
From Cheryl Vogel, Treasurer
The annual
dues fee for the AAUW Fiscal Year 2021-2022 is $85 and is due June 30,
2021. Despite National AAUW raising
their dues, the total dues will remain unchanged. We reduced the local dues to make that
possible.
If you
pay your dues before or at our May 17th meeting, you will be
eligible to be in our traditional drawing for a refund of your dues payment. If you win the drawing, your 2021-2022
membership will be FREE.
You can
mail your dues to Cheryl Vogel, 20401 Mishawaka Shores Drive, Grand Rapids, MN
55744. My phone number is 763-229-8098,
if you have questions.
- Dual Members (whose primary Branch is in another MN town, will
pay their local dues to us and their national, state and local dues to the
other Branch.
- Dual Members (whose primary Branch is Grand Rapids) will pay
their national, state, and local dues to us and local dues to the
secondary Branch.
- Dual Members (whose primary branch is in another state) will pay state and local dues to us and national, state and local dues to their primary Branch.
Note: Of the $62 National Dues, $59 can be deducted on your income tax. State and local dues cover operational expenses, so they are not deductible.
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Connie
Anderson
Second-year member of AAUW
AAUW: I moved to Grand Rapids in August 2019. Marcia Anderson, who I'd met at a Duluth Fiber Guild event, invited me to the AAUW walking group in December. I joined AAUW in January 2020.
Education: I graduated from the College of St. Catherine with a BA degree in Library Science and Sociology. During college, I spent a summer session studying Swedish and Scandinavian Art History at Uppsala University in Sweden. A few years later, I returned and spent a fall quarter studying folk music at Wiks Folk High School.
Career: I spent my career in the libraries at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. I was a cataloger but did some acquisitions work also. After retirement, we moved to Duluth and I worked part-time for a year at the Kathryn A. Martin Library at UMD.
Interests: I enjoy weaving on my floor loom, genealogy, reading and cats.
Sunshine and
Caring
REMINDER: If you
or anyone you know in our Branch could use a word of encouragement, a sympathy
or get-well card or “thinking of you”, please notify Juliet Jones at kcjones50@yahoo.com
““Every day, we write the future… Together, we sign
it… Together, we declare it… We share it… For this truth marches on…
Inside each of us.”
― Amanda Gorman,
“Believer’s Hymn for the Republic
** INTEREST GROUPS **
Groups that are not currently meeting due to COVID-19 issues:
*Bridge: Group is on hiatus.
*Public Policy: Not meeting at this time.
*Exploring
Our Community
Choose from four
upcoming activities…attend one or all four!
1) First Friday Art Walk, May 7
This will be the First First Friday event at the MacRostie in over a year due to the pandemic. Event hours are 4:00-7:00 pm, along with other venues. See May 2 Grand Rapids Herald Review, page 9A.
Many AAUW members also are subscribers so will receive an email of all the happenings going on in town that evening. Well worth a stop as the gallery has been totally reconfigured and has such a new look, warm, welcoming and much less cluttered. Usually, Barb Popkin (former AAUW member) sponsors the May First Fridays, and is teaming up with Brewed Awakenings to provide refreshments. Please, if you attend, send Barb a THANK YOU…she is so very supportive of our community. Her address is 705 NE 6th Avenue, Grand Rapids, MN 55744.
2) GRAND RAPIDS: North Country Trail Hike,
Thursday, May 13
We will hike a section of the North Country Trail running along the Prairie River and through woods north of Grand Rapids. At 1:30 pm, meet at the parking area east of the Prairie River dam on 61. Be ready to hike about 3 miles and wear long pants with socks to pull up as protection from ticks. In addition, use Permethrin as a tick repellent. The North Country Trail, when completed, will be the longest hiking trail in the US, extending 4700 miles from North Dakota to Vermont. In addition to learning about the Minnesota section, particularly through Itasca County, Art Norton will talk about the geological aspects, and Gayle Coyer will comment on the flowers and plants. Spouses and friends are welcome to join us. RSVP by Tuesday, May 11, to Jan Bilden at jpbilden@gmail.com If you wish to carpool, meet at the Presbyterian Church at 1:00 pm. Also, you may want to bring coffee and a chair for "social' after the hike.
Directions from Jan Bilden: Drive north from Grand Rapids on 38. Turn right onto 61. Before the bridge over the Prairie River there is a large paved lot on the right near an old building. We will hike from there to the North Country natural surface trail.
3) EVELETH: Tour of Ice Hockey Hall of Fame &
Meal Out, Thursday, May 27
Location is 801 Hat Trick Ave, Eveleth, MN, 218 744 5167. Admission is $7.00, hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Carpool from Juliet Jones' at 12:30 p.m, 454 Trout Lake Rd (County 21), go 1/2 mile turn right on the Prairie River side; park across from the travel trailer. After touring the Hall of Fame, we will have a late lunch/early dinner at The Whistling Bird in Gilbert, a taste of the Caribbean, 101 N Broadway Ave, 218 741-5030. RSVP to Juliet Jones at kcjones50@yahoo.com by May 20 so we can reserve enough space.
Since we will eat early and the end of May, no one needs to drive back in the dark. Those who wish to drive alone and not do both events, feel free.
4) AITKIN: Art Center tour and lunch, Thursday,
June 3
Tour the Jacques Art Center, 121 2nd St. NW, Aitkin, 218 927 2363, contact person is Pamela Andell. Time to tour and enjoy the gift shop.
Lunch at the Block North Brew Pub, 302 Minnesota Ave N, Aitkin, 218-928-8090, two blocks from the Jaques.
Meet at Zion Lutheran in Grand Rapids to carpool
at 9:30 a.m. Tour of the gallery will start at 11:00 a.m. opening time. Lunch reservations
will be for 12:30 p.m.
RSVP to Juliet Jones: kcjones50@yahoo.com by Thursday, May 27.
LITERATURE –
Monday group
The Monday Morning Lit Group will meet on Monday, May 3, at 9:30 A.M. at the Forest Lake Restaurant to select our books for the next few months. Contact is Nancy Salmi, 218-326-3147 or nsalmi@earthlink.net
LITERATURE –
Wednesday group
Not meeting at this time. Contact is Vicki Holmstrom, agiledog5@aol.com or 245-2294.
**NEW Writers Group
Emilie Zasada and Marilyn Rossman would like to start a Writers group. If anyone would like to join us they can call and we will set a date and a "safe place” for doing and changing and catching up on what we “think we should be writing for and who and catching up on the past few years or remembering the past for our families, etc. Our last group was about 6 or 8 of us, and we had a good time remembering and exchanging comments on the current year, which we hope will change and be healthy. Call or email: Marilyn Rossman, 326-6775, mbro@paulbunyan.net or Emilie Zasada, 326-4909, emiliezasada@mac.com Emilie will be traveling the first two weeks in April so an email would be good for connecting with her.
Walking & Talking group
We walk Tuesday afternoons at 1 PM. The locations
change from week to week but will be in the Grand Rapids area. We walk in
places that allow us to walk together but maintain safe distancing. The group
is open to new members interested in walking. If you’d like to join us, send
your email and cell number to Karen Karls at k.karls@yahoo.com You will receive an email with the weekly walk location.
Members walk when they can or want to; no need to RSVP. We generally walk for about one hour. If the weather is really dreadful, we may cancel, and we’ll let you know. However, we are a hardy group of women who value the fresh air and exercise as well as the companionship.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Oct. 2: AAUW Fall Gathering in Brainerd
Note: It was held it in Grand Rapids in Fall 2018. The six northern branches of Ely,
Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, Brainerd and Grand Rapids make up the Northern
Conference.
Hibbing AAUW Annual Used Book Sale: Rescheduled to February 2022 due to the pandemic and the unavailability of the Hibbing Armory this spring.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
From
Juliet Jones
Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, one of her best, depicts so vividly and what incredible odds were stacked against regular folks from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, escaping not only the Great Dustbowl, but also the Great Depression! Truly a book we all should read. Courage, determination, loyalty and love of family and friends...the themes that never alter in our lives.
Scholarship Committee
Report
From Helen Albrecht & Kathleen Spencer
American Association of University Women (AAUW) scholarships were established
with the belief that education is the gateway to equal opportunity for women.
Our scholarships focus on non-traditional female students who are seeking to
complete their academic goals. Currently, two scholarships are provided through
the AAUW Grand Rapids Branch: the Itasca Community College (ICC) Scholarship
offered through ICC Foundation, and the AAUW Anniversary Scholarship offered
through the Grand Rapids Area Community Foundation (GRACF).
Women
who are eligible must be 25 years of age or more, with a minimum GPA of 3.25.
Other criteria for eligibility include:
For
the ICC Scholarship, the prospective applicant must be working toward an AA
degree at ICC.
For
the AAUW Anniversary Scholarship, the applicant must have completed a minimum
of an AA degree or its equivalent, and planning to complete a certification
program, a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree, or a post-graduate degree.
Preference
is given to a student not eligible for financial aid.
We
are happy to announce the AAUW Scholarship
recipients for 2021-2022:
There
were five ICC Scholarship applications for the upcoming academic year. This
year’s scholarship was awarded to Cassidy
Christensen, a single mother with one
child and is from International Falls. Cassidy is an incoming freshman at ICC and
her program of study will be Practical Nursing.
There
were four applications for the AAUW Anniversary Scholarship administered
through GRACF. This year’s scholarship was awarded to Aimee Love from the Grand Rapids area. She has two children and is currently
working as a school social worker at a charter school in Warba. She will be
continuing her Master of Social Work program at the University of North Dakota.
A big thank you to Jan
Bilden and Karen Karls, who
stepped up to help with the review process as well as the administrators of the
scholarship programs Charles Black (ICC), and Brianna Spry and Susan Lynch
(GRACF).
AAUW Grand Rapids, MN Branch General Meeting
Minutes
April 19, 2021
The Grand Rapids branch met at the United
Methodist Church on April 19, 2021. Thirty-one members attended. Fund-raising
activities included Travel Treasure, which raised $41 and the annual book sale,
which collected $101. A social hour and a
box lunch from Jimmy Johns preceded the business meeting.
Cyndy Agle, Co-President, presided over the
business meeting. Members were reminded to register for the state’s May 1st
virtual meeting by April 30. Plans for
the May 13th North Country Trail event were discussed; two members, Jan
Bilden and Gayle Coyer, will lead the event. A drawing for a free membership
will be held at the May meeting. Members
who have paid dues by then will be eligible for the drawing.
Election of officers was held. Julie Skallman was elected Treasurer and
Laurie Clausen was elected as Program Committee Chair. The scholarship
committee announced two scholarships were given this year. Cassidy Christianson
from International Falls received $1000.
She is an ICC Student. Amy Love
from Warba also received $1000. Both
recipients are young mothers working to advance in their chosen fields of
study.
The spring dinner will be held on May 17th at
the Forest Lake Steakhouse. Marilyn Rossman and Emilie Zasada announced they
would like to revive a Writers group.
Anyone interested can contact either Marilyn or Emilie.
At the close of the meeting, Julie Skallman
chaired our program, which was a question & answer format for individual
members to share personal stories as a “Get to Know Each Other” activity.
Minutes respectfully
submitted,
Diane Anderson, Secretary
Websites
for local, state and national AAUW information:
Our Grand Rapids AAUW blog: http://grandrapidsaauw.blogspotcom/
MN AAUW website: http://aauw-mn.aauw.net
National AAUW website: www.aauw.org
ADVANCING EQUITY FOR
WOMEN & GIRLS
– FOR MORE INFORMATION
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION www.aauw.org
AAUW MINNESOTA www.aauwmn.net
