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Central Breeze June 2020 1

Central Breeze Altrusa International of Central CT, Inc.

Volume 20, Issue 6 June 2020

Presidential Prose

Dear Altrusa Sisters,

I hope you and your families are healthy and

safe. This year brings many new beginnings

and doing things differently, but does not

change our mission to serve our communities.

We had a wonderful “virtual” installation of officers that Pat

Jackowski planned and Linda Ring executed. Pat challenged us to

look at redefining our traditions. She gave each officer a special

word: flexibility, longevity, harmony, fortune, peace, luck, hope and

a word for our members, support. These words, I believe will carry

us through this year.

Thank you to our newest officers, Lynne Havlicek as Vice President

and Bonnie Laput as Director.

Our next business meeting is June 10th 2020

Stay well,

Jamie

Altrusa International of

Central CT, Inc.

P.O. Box 2532

Middletown, CT 06457

[email protected]

President

Jamie Santaniello 860--986-4911

Vice-President

Lynne Reilly Havlicek 860-306-5110

Secretary (Interim)

Kathleen Didato 860-836-7611

Treasurers

Edna Liberty (General) 860-614-3817

Cathy Boone (Foundation)

860-754-6972

Directors

Bonnie Laput 860-894-2122

Tiffany Shaffer 860-817-4899

Elsie Mathews 860-841-9375

Past President

Hilda Schmidt 203-592-4819

Newsletter Editor

Elsie Mathews 860-841-9375

Meetings

2nd and 4th Wed.

Wadsworth Glen

starting at 6:30 pm.


.

;

Altrusa Reminders

June 10: Business Meeting at 6:30 pm

Virtual Meeting

June 24: Program Meeting at 6:30 pm

TBD

Save the date!

District One Workshop

Nashua, NH

November 7-8, 2020

International Convention

Quebec, Canada

July 21-24, 2021

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

MEMBER BREAKFAST MEETINGS

7:00 a.m. Networking 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast Program at Sheraton Hartford

South Hotel on 100 Capital Blvd in Rocky Hill,

CT

June 23– PGA Tour Professional- speaker to be

announced. To be held virtually (8:00-9:00am).

EVENTS

June 11—Governor Ned Lamont and

Commissioner David Lehman Virtual Luncheon

for an in-depth discussion on re-opening

Connecticut (noon -1:00pm)

Business After Work postponed Next one is

scheduled for July 20, 2020

www.middlesexchamber.com

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Happy Birthday Wishes No club members have a June birthday

.

Altrusa Accent at Upcoming Meetings

Resuming in September


Altrusa Club News

How I spent my quarantine … by our club members

How I Spent my Quarantine—We were in Florida in March when the world started to

fall apart and changed our plans to drive home a week early. Many adventures on

the way and on the night before we got back, found ourselves in a hotel with only

two other guests and only able to order a delivery pizza for dinner (but we still had a

cold bottle of wine in the cooler so it wasn’t all bad). When we got home our

daughter took over any shopping or errands that we needed for the first 2 months..

We’ve spent a lot of time gardening, Bob especially, and the garden is beautiful and

the vegetables are starting to come in. I went through an early face mask project,

making them for family members with what I had in the stash and am gearing up to

make lighter weight ones using materials that I bought from Linda R. Cooking has

become a near obsession and we’ve had many inventive meals with ingredients

from the pantry and the freezer and internet and the New York Times cooking

section. I Zoom a lot with my library work group, my book club, Altrusa and the

Gilead Board (which still takes up a lot of my time with committee meetings and

fundraising). Wish the house were cleaner, but somehow I never seem to get around

to that.

Cathy Boone

During the pandemic,

I have been doing

lots of walking with

my husband,

cleaning out 20 years

of files from my work

as a consultant, and

finding some family

treasures (pictures

and letters) in boxes

buried deep in

closets.

Jennifer Kensel

I have been mowing my yard front, sides, and back as

well as hoeing, weeding and planting. I also volunteer at

my church on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday at our food pantry.

I have celebrated two birthdays this week of my great

grandchildren. One turned twelve and the other ten. My

day is quite full. I wash two loads of clothes twice a week

and hang them outside on the line then I bring them in fold

them and place them in their respective places. I go to the

grocery store just about every other day just to get out of

the house. I take my husband for rides on the back roads just to see the sites. I watch my shows at night and then

go to bed at 11:30 extremely tired. Next day, I start all over

again. Whew!. Virginia Townes

During the pandemic, I have been very grateful to be able to work

from home which I am actually enjoying very much particularly now

that the weather is so nice! In addition to this, my activities have

mainly been focused on couple of things including house projects

like settling into my "new-ish" space and “Cheer Visits and service

projects”. A friend of mine posted a video on FB of her daughter's

teacher coming to their yard with a "Cheer Sign" to say hello and that

she missed her students. I loved the idea and decided to make my

own. I have done some socially distanced outdoor visits with the

sign and it always goes over well.

Michelle Fine

I participated in Church phone tree and car parades for

some of our members. I cleaned out cabinets and closets.

Plus, I Reconnected with friends I had not spoken to in

years. Hilda Schmidt


Altrusa Club News

How I spent my quarantine … by our club members (continued)

I have continued to work throughout the pandemic,

providing mental healthcare to patients with mental

illness who have been negatively impacted by Covid-19.

My co-workers look a little different working from home. I

enjoyed participating in the cards for nursing home

residents, which allowed me to be creative!

Jamie Santaniello

In March I was angry and afraid of what the future

held. In April I was able to accept that the pandemic

had changed the life I had known. In May I

celebrated my first Mother's Day in forty years by not

having to go to work.

All that has happened has given me time. Time to

listen to the birds and water the plants. Time to walk

with my husband and time to think.

Retirement was forced on me by the COVID19

pandemic and it scared me. Now, these months

later, I find that I am better for it.

Lynne Lynne

Reilly Havlicek Reilly

Havlicek

What better way to spend a my 65th birthday, Mothers

Day, our 44th Anniversary, our Church Festival and our

weekly Family Sunday Dinners then by Social Distancing

and staying home since March 13th? All this because of

the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our Italian family celebrations are

much different, much smaller and we have been using

ZOOM. We get together with a weekly online meeting; we

catch up, laugh, cry, sing and dance. There is always a

way!

Patti Deegan

I have been working full time (from home) through many

daily videoconferences with colleagues around the globe

as we work aggressively toward a vaccine against COVID-

19. In the limited spare time, I have planted my flower

garden and done my grocery shopping on-line.

Elsie Mathews

"Pretty old!" Pretty o!d!" That's what they're telling

my husband and me Soooooo we're 'hunkering

down' here at home for an indefinite time celebrating

our 60 years of marriage. What am I (we) doing?

We're encouraging our "not so old" family and telling

them to stay away from us, except through glass

doors.

I yummily cook, play the piano, garden,

read/watch the media and try to catch cultural gems

being streamed! All the while I try to keep up with my

e-mails and push myself to exercise.. My husband, a

retired physician, feels bad that he can't be out there

helping by using his medical skills as he did in the

long past polio epidemic.

I was frustrated last evening because the opera

"Die Fledermaus" which I was instrumental in

bringing the Connecticut Lyric Opera here

to Middletown to perform had to be canceled

(postponed).

And then the Middletuners seniors chorus, which I

conduct...their Spring concert schedule for local

nursing homes and residences was canceled. I

lovingly prepared for both, but this is what I didn't

do!!

Barbara Arafeh


Altrusa Club News

How I spent my quarantine … by our club members (continued)

My Covid-19 deal is I have been working

normal hours now in "Covid Free" Hospital

but not a Covid Free Hospital Campus. I

have no symptoms, so far all is good.

Tiffany Shaffer

Still working full time, but now,

from home. Charlaine Ogren

COVID-19 situation hasn't changed my life

too much... I am immune compromised,

and used to self-isolating. Ralph does our

grocery shopping, and God Bless USPS,

UPS and FedEx delivery people. They are

my link to the outside world!!! But

seriously, Ralph and I were in Mask

Production Mode for several weeks. We

made over 125 masks and donated all to

family, friends, neighbors and charity.

Next project is cleaning out closets!!!

Linda Ring

You guessed it!

Bobbie Tundermann

Time to Think

Eyes open wide, out the window I stare, wondering how long this

Covid-19 will fare.

Calling friends up to hear their fears, remembering gatherings in past

years.

Holding travel plans in the shredder, asking myself “When will times

be better”.

Praying for medical staff every day, and front line workers in the

month of May.

For families working at home with stress, teaching their children in

chaos and mess.

People with parents in convalescent places, not able to hug or kiss

their faces.

This is a time of great regression, when the value of life is our deepest

possession.

We are facing change far beyond measure, when a simple touch is a

past pleasure.

Graduates unable to mark completion, frozen in time for a future

season.

Working from home, or not at all, watching our economy take a steep

fall.

When will the window scene change outside to bring a halt to this

surreal ride. Ellen Paris

5/14/2020


Altrusa Club News

Central CT Installation 2020 Pat Jackowski prepared a beautiful Installation ceremony for our last meeting by Zoom. Unfortunately, she was

called away, so she asked me to Install our new officers.

The Ceremony had us take a look at the way the world is changing.

We are faced with looking back on old traditions while moving forward forging new traditions and paths to service.

Tonight’s installation challenges us to redefine our tradition without losing its importance and honor those who

have been elected for their leadership.

The words of our Altrusa theme - “Leading to a Better Community” - are very powerful. They describe not only what

we do in our clubs and communities throughout Central CT, but they also describe what we do worldwide as an

International service organization. As our Altrusa leaders and members serve our communities, our actions lead to

better communities. Service is the key to our work in Altrusa and our leaders are our key adding vitality to “make it

happen” in our clubs.

Each of us is keenly aware of the effectiveness of words. For each of you tonight, I would like to not only remind

you of your commitment to service and recognize your leadership in our club, but I would also like to give you a

special word for the next year.

We thank Kathy Burns who has done an outstanding job as Director years 2018 -2020. Her word is Flexibility. As a

Director, you have been flexible to the needs and wants of the membership while adhering to the mission and

ideals of Altrusa.

For Immediate Past President, Hilda Schmidt: Your word is Longevity, because that is what your office, and that of

all past presidents, represents to our club - the longevity of Altrusa.

Directors for the years 2019-2021 Elsie Mathews and Tiffany Shaffer and new Director Bonnie Laput year 2020-

2022; as Directors, your special word is Harmony. Harmony also represents friendship and amity, which you will

give and receive on this board of directors.

Treasurers: Edna Liberty, Club Treasurer and Cathy Boone, Foundation Treasurer,

Your special word, of course, is Fortune, for not only are you the keeper of the monetary fortune ofour club, but your

leadership in our financial affairs will be a fortune to our club, just as our service is a fortune to our world.

Interim Secretary :Kathleen Didato: Your special word is Peace, for it is peace that we can feel as Atrusans in

knowing that our heritage is preserved through your diligent efforts.

President-elect Lynne Riley Havlicek: Your special word, as you make wonderful plans for our future, is Luck. We

not only wish you luck as you plan your journey as President, but we, as Atrusans, promise our support in your

planning efforts.

President: Jamie Santaniello: Your special word is Hope. Hope is the fuel that drives all of us in Altrusa - hope for a

better tomorrow for our communities in which we live.

Finally to the Members of Altrusa International, Inc. of Central CT, you are life of this Club. You make service

happen in our community. Your special word is Support. As Mamie L. Bass wrote and these words were adopted at

Altrusa” 4th Convention in 1921 and are still true today,

“Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Atrusans must be good for some thing. Each member must be

doing the piece of work that is hers in a way that puts her in the front ranks of accomplishment.”

CONGRATULATIONS to our 2020-2021 Board!! Linda Ring and Pat Jackowski


Middlesex Community College

Scholarship 2020

On May 27, Hilda and I attended Middlesex

Community College Foundation virtual

scholarship awards ceremony. The

Foundation awarded 86 scholarshipstotaling

$82,000. The $500 Altrusa International of

Central Connecticut Scholarship was awarded

toQuiana Jones of Meriden. The scholarship is

awarded to a non-traditional student who

shows leadership in community service. We

have not yet received any information about

Quiana, but will request a brief bio andalso

hope to hear from her.

The Altrusa Foundation’s scholarship was the

first one listed in the presentation and is also

the first one listed on the website for the

Awards Ceremony. The MXCC Foundation

extended its thanks to all of the scholarship

donors and its congratulations to the students

who received awards.

Cathy Boone

Altrusa Club News

Virtual Poetry Recital Project

A small group of Altrusans met with the Russell Library staff to discuss a possible VIRTUAL Poetry Recitalng!

The librarians have experience using ZOOM to host a live feed to Facebook. We will be contacting this year’s

poets to assess their interest. The tentative date for the live-stream event is Saturday, July 25th at 2 pm.

Please plan to join us! Stay tuned for more information as details solidify.

Linda Ring

Small Kindnesses

by Danusha Lameris

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk down a

crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by.

Or how strangers still say “bless you” when someone

sneezes, a leftover from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we

are saying. And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your

grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up.

Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other. We want to be

handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the

person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile

back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down

the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-

up truck to let us pass. We have so little of each other, now.

So far from tribe and fire. Only those brief moments of

exchange.

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting

temples we make together when we say, “Here, have my

seat,” “Go ahead-you first,” “I like your hat.”

Submitted by Cathy Boone


Altrusa Club News

Spreading a Little Sunshine…

I put out a call for members to make cards to distribute through United Way to seniors to help United

Way spread some Cheer…

You got out your fancy papers, scissors, glue guns, etc…

And DELIVERED over 100 Greeting Cards to Gladeview Rehab Residents in Old Saybrook. That was a

quick project… only 4 weeks from proposal to request, execution and delivery!!!

Thank you for your support. You are ALL ALTRUSA AWESOME!

Linda Ring


Altrusa Club News

I received a call from Charles G. inquiring if we had any information on Ozella Evans, a former Altrusan. I

learned that she was President of our club from 1981 to 1983. That was before my time in Altrusa, but we have

members who remembered her. I then learned that she co-sponsored Jennifer Kensel! Jennifer was kind

enough to reply to Charles with a lovely story for Ozella's video memorial. Jennifer also included a speech she

wrote for the 25th anniversary of our club. It is enclosed here with her permission. Even back in the early 80's

we were an awesome club!!! Take a look....

Linda Ring

Altrusa Club of Middletown, Inc.

25th Birthday Party - September 23, 1981

Do you know us? We're the Altrusa Club of Middletown, and we've been around for 25 years. It's hard to believe

you wouldn't know us.

After all, we've covered Middletown pretty well, having held our dinner meetings at Rico's Restaurant and the

Meadowbrook, from the Downey House to the Gelston House, and in between, the Monte Green and the

Brownstone. We've conducted our business in the hallowed halls of the Catholic Charities Building, First Federal

Savings Bank, Gahan Motors, Brownstone Travel, the Middletown Bulletin and Garvin Ceramics. Not to mention

the numerous Altrusans who opened their apartments, houses and cottages to us over the years - where we've

had everything from pot luck dinners to luaus.

And we haven't confined ourselves to Middletown. We've covered District One from Canada to Bermuda,

Burlington to Bangor, Worcester to Portsmouth, Laconia to Boston. We've traveled to International Conventions

throughout the United States and Canada -and even to England.

If you haven't run into us in any of those places, then surely you've seen us at your front door! After all, we've

sold calendars, Christmas ornaments, torte pans, antique Sears and Roebuck catalogues, Avon products, candy,

jewelry, cakes, breads, cookies, pies, cakes, cakes and more cakes - until we got smart and started having bake-

less cake sales

We're very social - always attending parties: Rubbermaid parties, Dutch Maid parties, Tupperware parties,

theater parties, card parties, wine tasting parties, and Christmas parties - each year's better than the one before.

Who said Altrusa was all work and no play?

Along the way we've assumed many different roles. We've been fashion models, auctioneers, truck drivers,

candy makers, rummage sellers, and flea marketers. And we put on the best dances and shows that Middletown

ever saw. Remember hundreds of balloons, selling and re-selling carnations, Gay Paree and the parade of

Presidents' wives?

We've raised thousands and thousands of dollars in the past 25 years. Dollars that can be seen in the rose

window in the chapel at Middlesex Memorial Hospital and tiles at the YMCA, in the books in the library at Long

Lane School and games at Connecticut Valley Hospital. Dollars that were heard from the carillon at Long Lane

School and the Middletown High School Band on its way to Vienna 72. Dollars that have enabled us to bring

smiles to the faces of Special Olympics participants, grants-in-aid students and Founders Fund Vocational Aid

awardees, American Field Service students, Girl Scouts, and the many students who have receive our

scholarship awards - now up to $1,000 per year. I guess all those long hours and late nights of hard work were

worth it.

(continued on next page)


Altrusa Club News

25th Birthday Party (continued)

We've also learned that service doesn't need to cost anything. We've run the elevator at Middlesex Memorial

Hospital and set up their first Language Bank. We've played thousands of games of Bingo at Connecticut

Valley Hospital, the Monday Night Club, and convalescent homes. We've greeted and bid farewell to

hundreds of foreign visitors through Middletown as part of Project International. Our nimble fingers have

created ray favors for shut-ins and dressed dolls for the Salvation Army. We've collected everything from

magazines and cards to soup cans and coupons. We've walked for mankind and marched in parades.

We've adopted grandparents and played at the Children's Home. We've worked to support battered women

and senior citizens. We sponsored the first Mini White House Conference for the Aged, founded the

Middletown Council of Service Clubs, and started our very own ASTRA Club. We have maintained a unique

and supportive relationship with our sister service club in Middletown – the Soroptimists - by holding joint

meetings annually. We've perpetuated our ideals by giving the Marion Thayer Service Award to young people

active in our community. We like to think that in our service to the community we've always been ahead of

our time.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed. We've received Altrusa awards for membership, service, and

attendance at District Conference, to name a few. Our Fog Lifter (which I'm told got its name from a powerful

drink!) won the newsletter competition for so many years at District Conference that we were awarded a

permanent first place. One of our shining accomplishments was hosting the silver anniversary conference of

District One Altrusa in Hartford last May. And there are not many clubs in Altrusa that have been honored by

having one of their own, such as our Loretta White, serve as a District Governor.

We've certainly had our ups and our downs. There are a few things we might not want to be reminded of,

such as: the career night we sponsored when not one student showed up, The year we almost put Easter

Seals out of business by reorganizing and "cleaning out" their card files, the x-rated chocolate candies that

we made to order, the time we cleaned out the library at Long Lane School - only to be told that you couldn't

throw out state property, all the chocolate cakes that melted in the sun at the flea markets at the Frank

Davis Resort, the year that nobody wanted to be corresponding secretary because the two previous ones

had taken maternity leaves while in office (they were part of our "babyboom" - five babies in one year), the

Christmas party that almost got Sybil Garvin evicted from her apartment because the singing was too loud,

Loretta White having all her visitors to Catholic Charities stuffing Altrusa envelopes to keep them out of

trouble, all the undelivered mail from Altrusa International to the three consecutive club presidents who

moved into new houses at the same time they took office, the suppers of mints and peanuts on card party

nights, and all those chocolate eclairs.

The Altrusa Club of Middletown has been all this and more during the past 25 years. What we've done has

been with the help of our dear Altrousers, our families, our friends, all the people in the community, and

Altrusans everywhere.

Jennifer Kensel

In Memory of Ozella Evans


.

Altrusa International of Central CT, Inc.

P.O. Box 2532

Middletown, CT 06457

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Altrusa Community News

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