100-year book club.Byline: SECOND SUNDAY BOOK CLUB By Karen McCowan The Register-Guard REEDSPORT - Saxophone saxophone, musical instrument invented in the 1840s by Adolphe Sax. Although it uses the single reed of the clarinet family, it has a conical tube and is made of metal. jazz by the author set the scene as members of the Gardiner Woman's Literary Club discussed last month's Register-Guard Second Sunday Book Club selection, ``The Color of Water  This article has no lead section.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. .'' Host Vendy Lockard played James McBride's latest CD, "The Process," for her club's discussion of the black musician's bestselling memoir memoir History or record composed from personal observation and experience. Closely related to autobiography, a memoir differs chiefly in the degree of emphasis on external events. about his white mother. She also served chocolate silk pie as a nod to the book's black-and-white theme. But then, the members of this club have had a long time to get such thematic details down: The group celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Members believe it is the third oldest, continually meeting book club in Oregon, behind Coquille's Jolly Girls of the West (founded in 1899) and the McMinville Shakespeare Club (1900). No founding members of the Gardiner club survive, of course, but Margaret Schafer, 95, has been in the group for 60 years. Like Lockard did last month, Schafer recalls playing music as part of the first discussion she led for the group in 1945. "At the time, we were studying artists," she recalled. "I can't remember who I gave a program on, but I know I used a record as part of it." From the beginning, club members kept a detailed record of their topics and activities, including a 1912 straw vote straw vote n. An unofficial vote or poll indicating the trend of opinion on a candidate or issue. Also called straw poll. Noun 1. on women's sufferage (``Motion carried''). Some of their discussions remain current today, such as a 1907 debate on leaving "In God We Trust" off U.S. coins. Over its century-long life, the club has included multiple generations of the same families. Two mother-daughter duos are among members today. The group has a membership limit of 15 ``simply because our living rooms don't hold more than that,'' said Kristen Zetzsche of Reedsport. There are no such space limits when The Register-Guard selects a local book group each month and allows our readers to vicariously vi·car·i·ous adj. 1. Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another: read about mountain climbing and experienced vicarious thrills. 2. join its discussion of a chosen book. If you read last month's selection, "The Color of Water," you can compare your reaction to those of the Gardiner club, below. The discussion On the significance of the book's title: It was his mother's answer when he asked, `What color is God?' It was such a profound answer to give to a child ... It made me think about water - how the color is determined by what it reflects, what it contains, how deep it is, and how it's viewed. The angle at which you view water changes the color ... He was trying to find himself, as a black man having a white mother. The process of this book was his coming to terms with his color, her color. On his mother's experience as a Jew Jew Any person whose religion is Judaism. In a wider sense the term refers to any member of a worldwide ethnic and cultural group descended from the ancient Hebrews who traditionally practiced the Jewish religion. in the South: The problems between the Jews Jews [from Judah], traditionally, descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, whose tribe, with that of his half brother Benjamin, made up the kingdom of Judah; historically, members of the worldwide community of adherents to Judaism. and Christians seem like problems of race, it certainly made her feel like a minority and an outsider growing up in a Christian community, the names she was called and the horrible things they said to her as a Jew. That might have helped her understand the black community living next to her father's store. ... It was shocking how biased people were in that particular time period. They were really against intermarriage in·ter·mar·ry intr.v. in·ter·mar·ried, in·ter·mar·ry·ing, in·ter·mar·ries 1. To marry a member of another group. 2. To be bound together by the marriages of members. 3. , between blacks and whites and between the faiths. You like to think it's not that bad now, but there's still a lot of it out there ... It probably depends a lot on where you live and who you're around. If there were a lot of minorities around you, it would be easier than somewhere like here in Reedsport. On his mother's use of physical punishment and the family's poverty: Her style of parenting as far as the belt didn't set well with me, but, hey, I don't have 12 kids ... It was a different time; it was what she had been raised with, so it's what she did ... Finding out your parents' history makes you see them and their parenting skills in a different perspective. I remember learning things about my mother who'd been very closed later in life, and I really understood where she was coming from. I could finally see things she had overcome ... I can't imagine the food situation in that house, having to hide the food, even when everyone else knew all the hiding places. Really, it was whoever got there first. You would think they suffered from malnutrition malnutrition, insufficiency of one or more nutritional elements necessary for health and well-being. Primary malnutrition is caused by the lack of essential foodstuffs—usually vitamins, minerals, or proteins—in the diet. ... Rather than spend money on food, she scraped together money for the subway subway: see rapid transit. subway Underground railway system used to transport passengers within urban and suburban areas. The first subway line, 3. and took her children to museums and whatever other free cultural things she could find ... Education and culture, for her, were a way to be free. They were things she didn't have growing up ... Her style of mothering made me feel good about my housekeeping; her children turned out well, despite all that chaos! On his focus on the love, rather than the dysfunction dysfunction /dys·func·tion/ (dis-funk´shun) disturbance, impairment, or abnormality of functioning of an organ.dysfunc´tional erectile dysfunction impotence (2). : I was really so pleased to see his great respect for his mother. It seems like so often in stories you read now, there is not that respect of parents. Certainly this woman could have been the object of great derision and ridicule and put-down put·down or put-down n. Slang 1. A dismissal or rejection, especially in the form of a critical or slighting remark: "Such answers were, perhaps still are, a . . . . But he calls her `Mommy' to the end. There's great affection there. She obviously did something right ... At the same time, it wasn't a sanctified sanc·ti·fy tr.v. sanc·ti·fied, sanc·ti·fy·ing, sanc·ti·fies 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate. 2. To make holy; purify. 3. portrait of her. He told her story warts and all - her bow-legged walk, the chaos, the times when she wasn't lucid because of grief. But he still managed through all of those warts and weaknesses to paint a very honoring portrait of his mother. SECOND SUNDAY BOOK CLUB HOW IT WORKS What is the Second Sunday Book Club? It's a vicarious vicarious /vi·car·i·ous/ (vi-kar´e-us) 1. acting in the place of another or of something else. 2. occurring at an abnormal site. vi·car·i·ous adj. 1. book group. Each month, we pick a different real local book group and allow Register-Guard readers to piggyback piggyback 1. A broker trading in his or her personal account after trading in the same security for a customer. The broker may believe the customer has access to privileged information that will cause the transaction to be profitable. 2. on its selection. Then, on the second Sunday of each month, we'll print a compendium com·pen·di·um n. pl. com·pen·di·ums or com·pen·di·a 1. A short, complete summary; an abstract. 2. A list or collection of various items. of comments from Register-Guard readers and from the featured book group's members. What's the next book? ``Crescent'' by Diana Abu-Jaber Diana Abu-Jaber is an author and a teacher at Portland State University. She was born in Syracuse, New York. Her father was Jordanian and her mother was American, descended from Irish and German roots. At the age of seven she moved with her family for two years to Jordan. . It's a slight departure from our regular format. Instead of selecting a private book group, we join in with this year's communitywide Readin' in the Rain program. How do I participate? If you've read the book, join an open Readin' in the Rain discussion at 2 p.m. today at the Eugene Public Library, 100 W. 10th Ave. Or, if you prefer, weigh in electronically by March 2 on The Register-Guard books forum: www.registerguard.com/blogs/books/ When will the wrapup appear? It will be published on the Books page March 12; or you can read comments online as they are posted. More about Readin' in the Rain: Author Diana Abu-Jaber will visit Eugene for several events. For a schedule, go to www.read-rain.org. CAPTION(S): The Gardiner Woman's Literary Club celebrated its 100th year of existence this year. The Reedsport club this year (above) and the club in 1907 (top). |
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