Don’t miss our summer
luncheon!
Every
summer, La Causerie holds a luncheon for ALL of its members. While the luncheon
is scheduled this year at a French restaurant (and on Bastille Day, no less),
we want Spanish and Italian students to participate, too. Please plan to come.
Cost: $24
Menu: Choice of
entrée: Croque Monsieur, chicken crepes
or spinach and cheese quiche, plus dessert and wine or soft drink
Marty Shaffer retires
after 18 years of teaching
More than
30 people attended the retirement party held at noon on May 12 for retiring
Spanish teacher Marty Shaffer. Marty’s
18 years of service to La Causerie were fondly acknowledged by her students who
shared some stories of their work with her.
Marty’s contributions to the club were also recognized by La Causerie
President Inez Pennington who presented her with a certificate that awarded her
with a lifetime membership in La Causerie.
Word on the
street is that Marty may return as a French student.
July
14 Summer luncheon at Aixois
Café. Details provided above (with more
to come).
August 1 Online registration available (target date).
Sept. 8 Enrollment party. Come see your friends, even if you’re already enrolled.
Sept. 22 First day of classes for 2006- 2007 school year.
La Causerie
now has a phone number and mailing address (separate from the church):
(816)
361-5300
6320
Brookside Plaza, #253, KC, MO 64113
Thanks to retiring Board
members Cerise and Thad
Thad Carver
and Cerise Harris have recently retired from the Executive Board after many
years of service. These energetic and
generous volunteers have worked hard on behalf of our club and we owe them a
great deal of thanks. We honor and
thank them in this newsletter with the personal profiles below.
Cerise
Harris was spurred
to learn Spanish by the birth of two grandchildren—a boy born in Peru and a
girl born in Ecuador. She joined La
Causerie in 1997 to study one of the languages these grandchildren would learn
in their early years. Now her three
daughters, son and six grandchildren all reside in the U.S. But Cerise continues to enjoy studying
Spanish because she believes that learning a foreign language is a good mental
challenge. This is not a surprising attitude for this 20-year art teacher
veteran of the Raytown School District.
During her
nine years at La Causerie Cerise has served on the Executive Board for four
years, two as assistant vice president (hospitality) and the two as secretary.
She was attracted to La Causerie because of its daytime hours and flexibility
(“learn at your own rate, come when you can, no tests”). But soon became a true fan because of the
people. “I really enjoy the interesting
people you meet at La Causerie,” she says.
She has
lived in Kansas City since she was three years old, attending Avila (undergraduate)
and Baker (masters) after graduating from Central High School. Cerise has been married to Ronald Harris for
47 years.
Besides her La Causerie activities, Cerise is very involved in Master Gardeners
of GKC. A master gardener, Cerise grows mostly day lilies and hostas and
belongs to the MO-Kan Day Lily Society.
When asked what her favorite plant is she says, “I like them all.”
This year
Cerise took on a huge responsibility to serve as chair of Garden Tour 2006—“A
Gardener’s Journey” taking place on June 16 and 17th in 10 gardens
along the eastern I-70 corridor. You’re invited to attend and enjoy the results
of her work. For more info call Cerise.
Like many
La Causerie members, Cerise loves to travel. Her favorite trip was a three week
excursion to Greece and Italy with two of her daughters. Second best trips were to Peru and
Ecuador. Word is she’s heading to China
later this year.
Thanks
Cerise, for your many contributions to La Causerie.
Thad
Carver joined La
Causerie in 1998 upon retiring after 33 years as an attorney and bank trust
officer. He wanted to revive French
beginnings dormant for about 45 years.
The boarding school he attended at age 14 required students to study a
foreign language, so he took three years of French during high school. “It was the school's thinking that the study
of a language not your own is a broadening experience that opens the door to
the literature, customs and culture of another people. The study has a
practical aspect as well.” He furthered
his studies with a year of French in college.
He learned about La Causerie from a co-worker’s wife and dropped in at First
Lutheran Church to get more details.
His earlier French instruction emphasized grammar and the written word. So he values La Causerie’s focus on
conversation, speaking and understanding of language.
Thad has
served as treasurer for the past two years and we have all benefited from his
attention to detail and his care in managing the club’s finances and
investments. During his tenure, his responsibilities
also included managing the important (and then-manually complicated) enrollment
process.
But, don’t
think that Thad’s talents are limited to bean counting and administration. A couple of years ago he wrote the French
department skit called, “Martha and the Tarasque of Tarrascon,” based on a myth
that appears in the poetry of Frederick Mistral, French Provençal poet. He also
played the lead role in another skit about a French shepherd whose dog dies,
then miraculously comes back to life. Thad
recruited one of his West Highland White Terriers, Angie, to play the role of
the dog. Not surprisingly, Angie was a hit. “After all, not every day do you
see a dog come back life,” quoth the shepherd.
Thad is also a gardener, traveler and grandpa.
He took the formal studies required to become an Extension Master
Gardener and now applies this knowledge of horticulture to his own garden and
shares his talents with others. He
works as a volunteer in public gardens in Johnson County (like the Shawnee Indian
Mission) and answers questions on the Master Gardener Hotline. Thad and his wife Jane have three children,
Jon, Tom and Amy. But, according to
Thad, “Only one grandchild: get busy children!”
Thad enjoys
traveling to France and putting his French to use and plans to attend a week
immersion class at Concordia Language Villages this fall in Minnesota (along
with two other La Causerie friends). He
suggests that we lobby Jacques Chirac to offer a "Blue Light Special"
to make travel to France a bit more affordable for La Causerie members.
”What I appreciate most about La Causerie goes back to my boarding school's
reasoning concerning the importance of studying a foreign language,” says Thad.
“You meet people from all over the western world at La Causerie. If
you pay attention, you can begin to see the world though the eyes of others.”
Thanks,
Thad for the energy, enthusiasm and care you brought to your work at La
Causerie.
Publicity Committee
Update
Thanks to
the many members who have agreed to spread the word about La Causerie at public
places around town. We are NOT yet ready for you to do this, so hold tight to
any materials you have been given. We
want to launch this PR effort after all book selections, curriculum details,
schedule and such are pinned down and on the website.
Dalene has
made an email distribution list for the Publicity Committee and will be in
contact with everyone that way. If you
did not receive any materials yet, she will take care of that, too.
La
Causerie artist recognized
Our own Anita Toby Grow has a painting in a new juried
exhibition of women artists from Kansas and Missouri. The show, open from June 2 – July 14, 1006 at the Carter Art
Center at Penn Valley Community College, is presented by the Greater KC Area
Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in partnership with
Friends of the Carter Art Center.
Anita paints under the name of “Anita Toby” and should be
proud of having been chosen by jurors Philomeme Bennett, Mary Beth Moley and
Ellen Goheen.
The
Palatable Pair
Several of us really liked a dish that Linda Rei brought to
the Spring Fête. It was topped with a tasty chutney that she got from a local
business called The Palatable Pair.
You, too, can make this dish by shopping at www.palatablepair.com (or check the site
for stores that carry their products). We understand that Linda actually helps
the owners prepare their chutneys.
Club Leadership
Need help,
have questions or suggestions? Contact
these La Causerie officers, department chairs and program chairs.
Officers
President Inez
Pennington (Chair, Website)
1st VP Linda Rei (Chair, Membership)
2nd VP Veronica Bergonzoni (Chair,
Hospitality)
Treasurer Linda
Lyon
Asst. Treasurer Mary
Lew McCarty (Chair, Textbooks)
Secretary Joan
Daniels (Chair, Programs)
Asst Secretary Dalene
Bradford (Chair, Publicity/Newsletter)
Language
Department Chairs:
Wish List
Got
Livrets? Our Historian is looking for
copies of the Livret from the year 1997-1998 and any from the years 1989 –
1995. These are missing from our
archives and we really want to complete our records. If you were a member then
(and a saver now), please check for these RARE EDITIONS and consider donating
them to the club for posterity. It’s OK if they have markings in them.
La Causerie
would like to own the following:
If you know
of anyone willing to donate these items, let Inez know.