It's the most wonderful time of the year! We had a delightful event at the home of Joy Silver '96 (THANK YOU, JOY), welcoming many of our newly matriculating Smithies and catching up with a few current Smithies who are in the area for the Summer. Every year this event is such a special moment for the new students to experience a taste of the lasting connection that Smith offers, and for alums to meet these promising, brilliant young people at the beginning of their Smith journey.

At this month's meeting of the book club we discussed Destined to Witness by Hans Massaquoi, a true tale of how the author came of age as a black child in Nazi Germany. The son of a prominent African father and a German nurse mother, Massaquoi fell under the Fuhrer's spell as a young schoolboy and was crushed to learn that, as a black child, he was ineligible for the Hitler Youth. This true account of his lonely struggle for survival is brimming with courage and intelligence.

Professor Jon Caris, Director of the Smith College Spatial Analysis Lab, presented to a group of local Peninsula Bay Area alums and their guests us at Channing House in Palo Alto, educating us on his work in drones, the history of drone usage at Smith College and throughout the world, and developing a drone code of ethics at Smith.

We danced, y'all! Our very own Appalachian princess Amy Gardner '92 taught us the Boot Scootin' Boogie, the Cowboy Hustle, Texas Two-Step and more! You can listen to the workshop playlist on Spotify HERE, and listen to the at-home practice playlist HERE.

Six of us gathered via Zoom on May 17 to discuss “The Years,” a memoir by Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux. This book is noteworthy for its format: no chapter divisions, the use of “we” or “she” instead of “I,” and an unusual style of depicting history that we variously saw as impressionistic, reportorial, archaeological, insightful, and boring. We appreciated the way Ernaux was anchored in her family as the world around her changed immensely, and admired many of her turns of phrase.

What a gorgeous day for a hike! We met early at the Robert Kirkwood Entrance and enjoyed this mild-to-moderate 3-mile loop with some elevation, good shade, and amazing views.

What a beautiful day to meet some new and potential Smithies. THANK YOU to all those alums who joined us to answer questions, field concerns, and share personal experiences to TEN newly admitted students and their parents. Half of the students had already accepted their Smith College offers, and the others were still weighing their options. An extra, enormous THANK YOU to Donna Dong for opening her home and hosting this event for the 25 people who showed up, far surpassing our expectations!

A group of us met at Nirvana Soul in Cupertino on a lovely Saturday to assemble these sweet little care packages for the 25 Peninsula Bay Area students currently on campus at Smith. We stuffed small glass jars with candy and an origami craft and included a note on the gift bag to let the students know that we're back home rooting for them. As a club we gather for these micro-volunteer events twice a year -- a great way to meet your fellow local alums and be involved in the club without a big time commitment. Keep an eye out for the next one this Fall!

This month we met virtually via Zoom and we had an excellent turnout with 12 Smithies in attendance. We had a good discussion of “The Dictionary of Lost Words,” a 2020 historical novel by Australian author Pip Williams based on true historical events surrounding the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the suffrage movement for women’s voting rights, and World War I. Most of us enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

12 of us met in San Francisco at the Dandelion Chocolate 16th Street Factory Location for a private tour of an active bean-to-bar chocolate factory, featuring a guided walk-through of the Dandelion chocolate-making process, and plenty of samples. We learned about Dandelion's single-origin chocolate making, and its startup roots, and we snacked our way through fresh cacao pods, roasted cocoa beans, molten chocolate, chocolate bars, and hot cocoa. A delightfully tasty day!

Eight of us met on Wednesday the 15th at the home of Diana McDonough to discuss two books by Helene Hanff: “84, Charing Cross Road” and “The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.” Thanks again for hosting us, Diana.

Not to put too fine a point on it, we loved these books. We laughed at Helene’s sometimes raucous sense of humor, we were touched by the warmth of the various English people who welcomed her on her visit to London, we were in awe of her knowledge of books and her reverence for her favorite authors. We lamented the demise of letter-writing (and then listened in amazement as one member recounted her email relationship with her reed-maker). We recommend these books to all.

We met up at Sweet55 in Palo Alto’s Town and Country Village shopping center for a sweet and festive Galentine's Day celebration! After perusing the gorgeous chocolates and more at Sweet55, we nestled in at Douce France across the way for a lovely afternoon of hot drinks and siblinghood.

On Wednesday, January 18th, Jan Collins hosted 10 of us for a discussion of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. We endorsed the opinion of many experts that this is a true classic, one of the great American novels. We discussed the protagonist’s character, development and relationships; the setting and its historical basis; but mostly we loved the writing: animated, with vivid images and psychological insights, a combination of dialog in dialect and elegant narrative passages, memorable lines.

On Sunday, December 4th we gathered at the home of Joy Silver to celebrate our 15th year of exchanging cookies, recipes, and harrowing stories of holiday shopping and travel plans.

On Wednesday, November 16, eleven of us gathered at the home of Ann Freeman for a rare in-person meeting. One of the themes of “Intimacies,” by Katie Kitamura, is shifting perceptions, and our discussion illustrated this theme: we held varying views of the protagonist, of the man she is involved with, of their relationship, of the author’s flow-of-consciousness style (many commas, minimal periods), and of the ending. We found the range of intimacies depicted in the book thought-provoking, particularly the way the protagonist, an interpreter, forms a kind of intimacy with a criminal defendant. Thanks so much for hosting us, Ann!

We tried something new, and what a delight! Ellen Dong '22 led us through two separate dance combinations to some excellent music, and the results were... varied. Judge for yourself when you watch the video.

Twice per school term we put together care packages for the current Smithies from the Peninsula Bay Area. Our student care package coordinator Trang Le '20 led us through making stenciled Smith notebooks and an enthusiastic letter of support for the students to receive in time for finals!

On Wednesday October 19th, eight of us discussed “The Last Kings of Shanghai” by Jonathan Kaufman. We found the book interesting and enjoyable, with the research well integrated into the stories of men—and a few women—who contributed significantly to the development of modern China. We viewed the Sassoons and Kadoories as individuals with mixed emotions: admiration for their resourcefulness, ability to survive, willingness to take risks, and good works—including saving some 18,000 Jews during World War II—while deploring their involvement in the opium trade. We felt the writing was journalistic; another writer might have made the book deeper and might have explored some themes more thoroughly. But we were all glad we’d read this account of Chinese history that we were mostly ignorant of.

A few of us took a long drive and a less-long hike in Portola Redwoods State Park. Our intrepid hikers climbed over downed trees and forded a shallow creek in an exciting day of waterfalls and redwoods.

Our Young Alums headed out to San Francisco to check out the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate Park. It was a beautiful day to picnic and relax. Elvis Costello was the highlight for our club members.