Pembroke Mini Reunion 2009

Joan Hoost McMaster writes: On a wonderfully bright and sunny August Saturday, members of the Pembroke Class of 1960 and their guests joined the Brown Club of RI's "All-Ivy" event at the Haffenreffer Reservation in Bristol for a very fast-paced and illuminating presentation titled "From Darwin to Dover" by Professor Ken Miller. More than one hundred guests were in attendance and enjoyed a delicious and complete Clamboil or Vegetarian Option dinner by Wallis Seafood of Barrington following Professor Miller's wonderful presentation. Lawn games or lazy strolls along the waterfront to King Phillip's Chair occupied guests in the afternoon. This was a truly fun and enjoyable event; kudos to Ginny McQueen for organizing this great occasion!

P'60 classmates and their guests included Noel Farnsworth Mann'60 and her son, Barbara Kurlanchick Shaffer'60 and her husband Charles Shaffer, Marjorie Logan Hiles'49, Deborah Kingman Ormsby'60, Becky Hill Eckstein'60, Elaine Decker'59, Betsy and Charles Champlin'60 and Joan Hoost McMaster'60. Caryl-Ann Miller Nieforth'59 and her husband Deck as well as Caryl-Ann's mother, Beatrice Wattman Miller'39 also joined our group.

Everyone is looking forward to our 50th Reunion! Many classmates who were unable to attend this year's event e-mailed that they will be here for our 50th!

Pembroke Mini Reunion July 2008

Joan McMaster writes: Ten of us, classmates and guests, gathered at the Henry Hornblower Visitor Center at Plimoth Plantation at 10AM on Friday, July 11th, and viewed a short and very informative orientation film about the history of Plimoth Plantation. The film was strongly slanted towards the Native Americans already occupying the area and the relationships that they developed with the Pilgrims over time as the Plimoth Plantation settlement grew. We then walked to and through the Native American settlement and interacted w/the Indians there as they demonstrated weaving, cooking and log-hollowing techniques of the era.

A trek up 27 wooden planks built into an adjoining hill revealed a wonderful view of Plymouth Harbor and surrounding areas. We arrived at Plimoth Plantation, the Pilgrim settlement, and were transported back into the daily life of farming, child rearing and educating, preserving foodstuffs for winter, and the harsh realities of life in the New World.

A Dutch Treat Luncheon in the Patuxet Cafe was refreshing. We then visited the Craft House where we encountered craftsmen employing 17th century wood-carving, metal-working and weaving techniques that were essential to the sustained life of the Pilgrim colony. Our time at the Nye Farm was enlightening as we learned about Heritage Preservation of the lineage of 17th century goats, cattle and other farm animals at Plimoth Plantation.

It was a fun day; thanks to everyone who participated! Please be thinking of ideas for our 6th Annual Mini-Reunion in 2009!

Alumni Leadership Conference, September 29-30 2006

Every fall hundreds of Brown's alumni volunteer leaders return to campus to strengthen and celebrate this vital leadership community and to bring home new ideas for their alumni roles.

Brown University's annual Leadership Weekend includes information sessions related to every specific area of volunteer activity.

The class of 1960 was represented at the conference by Barbara and Ed Nicholson, Mary Cervoni, Becky Eckstein, Joan Mcmaster, Deborah Ormsby, Jane Anderson and Jane Spiegle (not in photo).

We attended a forum on keeping lines of class communication open both in reunion and non-reunion years. The presenters discussed new software that has been developed to assist with this.

Sessions with senior university administrators were designed to provide the latest inside information on Brown's progress toward meeting the goals of the Plan for Academic Enrichment.

Our day included a tour of the newly completed Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences. This 169,000 square foot research center includes offices, laboratories, conference rooms, and an auditorium. It will bring together, under the same roof, professors and students of biology, medical science, and neuroscience.

Lines of Sight by artist Diane Samuels, which occupies 140 windows along a two-story pedestrian bridge within the building. This inscription reads

"What will be my fate? My crystal ball shows nothing but my reflection".

Touring while still constructing the Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Sciences

In addition to these learning opportunities, the Brown Alumni Association honors alumni who have provided distinguished service to the University and to society as a whole. Participants enjoy the opportunity to meet and network with many other alumni who share a commitment to Brown.

Becky Hill Eckstein '60 was a recipient of a Brown Bear Award. Becky joins a distinguished group of Brown women and men who have given unselfishly of their time and energy to the University. (see also news and notes page)

The awards were presented at a gala dinner in Andrews Hall. The refectory cuisine has changed a lot since 1960!

Pembroke Mini Reunion Saturday, July 15th 2006

Pembroke Mini Reunion, 2004

Joan Mc Master writes:

We missed those of you who weren't able to be with us this year but we had a fabulous day and a wonderful Mini Reunion on Saturday! The weather was picture-perfect! We gathered at the Newport Art Museum where we enjoyed the "Women in Golf" and the Newport Country Club exhibits before moving on to the Redwood Library where we inspected books from the 1700's and portraits of early American patriots and statesmen. Then we strolled Bellevue Avenue to the Newport Casino Tennis Hall of Fame where the 2006 Induction Ceremony was taking place: an unexpected bonus! Our delicious luncheon on the porch of La Forge Casino overlooked through open windows the Induction Ceremony so we had a front row seat: Gabrielle Sabatini, Stephanie Graf, and other luminaries were honored: Bud Collins and the Kentish Guards in full dress were there, too! We then sauntered down the hill to the Flyer catamaran at Long Wharf and boarded for a marvelous sail up and down the East Passage from Newport Harbor. We sailed south to Fort Adams, Hammersmith Farm, Castle Hill and Brenton Point on the Newport shore and Beavertail on the Jamestown shore. Then we reversed course and sailed north past the Bayview Inn on the Jamestown shore and the Naval War College on the Newport shore with Rose Island Lighthouse and Gould Island directly in the middle! We sailed under the Pell Bridge to the northern end of Jamestown where we again reversed course, sailed under the Pell Bridge again and returned to Newport Harbor: fabulous! On our return back up the hill, we stopped at the "Viking Tower": a round open-to-the-sky stone tower with many legs and arches. Little is known about the tower's origin, date and/or purpose. Periodically, Yankee magazine sends archaeologists to the site to evaluate this structure w/little knowledge gained. We had our picture taken at the tower and all agreed to do some Internet homework to see what we could learn about this mysterious structure.

Plans for future Mini Reunions are open: we did agree that selecting a particular weekend and staying with it is probably a good idea for classmates' future planning. Saturday, July 14th is the date of our 2007 reunion; we would welcome suggestions!

left to right: Linda Woodworth Keado, Ann Rogers, Debbie Kingman Ormsby, Joan Hoost McMaster, Jane Doane Anderson.