2005 - 12/2005 Meeting

Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Updated: 10/27/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 06/01/08.

HOLIDAY PARTY / POT LUCK DINNER

Video: The Best of Dudley Do-Right, Volume One

Video: Whale Rider

MEETING SUMMARY:

Meeting Date: December 10, 2005.

Meeting Site: United Methodist Church, Waldwick, New Jersey.

Official Attendance: 16.

Meeting Program: Holiday Party. Pot Luck Dinner. Video Program.

Notes:

Meeting Memories:

Newsletter Account:

The Association's annual Holiday Party / Pot Luck Dinner was held on Saturday, December 10, 2005 at the United Methodist Church of Waldwick in Waldwick, New Jersey. This was the first time that the club held an event in this venue. Despite some early problems, things went pretty well even though attendance was rather light.

Several factors led to the selection of a new meeting site. To begin with, both of our normal facilities, The Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church and the Saddle River Valley Cultural Center were not available. The Church is being remodeled and the Center was otherwise booked. I have also been interested in having a fall back option for a while, and this seemed to be the proper time to explore one.

The Waldwick Church incorporated a number of desirable features. Most club members were familiar with the vicinity due to its proximity to Matthews' Diner (our normal post-meeting destination) and to that of the Webber / De Parto household. The Church is not too far from Upper Saddle River, close to mass transit (the Waldwick train station) and on a main road (Franklin Turnpike). It is also only a few blocks from a Stop and Shop and close by the home of Pam and Phil, this last point being particularly important to a function incorporating a pot luck dinner -- anything overlooked could be quickly obtained.

The building itself had desirable features in addition to its location. It has a large, well equipped kitchen and nice rest rooms. It is all on one floor. It has a large parking lot. Tables and chairs are conveniently situated. Pamela Webber was familiar with the Church, and Philip De Parto examined it before committing to its use.

Because the Pot Luck dinner requires a great deal of preparation, I state the need for set up assistance in the newsletter. Unfortunately, as the years have gone by, fewer and fewer people have been willing to step forward to help. A pair of unexpected angels in the form of Steve and Jim Spinosa rang my doorbell an hour before the start of the affair and said that they were here to give a hand. Halleluiah! They really pitched in to save the day.

Philcon, weather, illness, and other conflicts took a lot of our people away from the gathering, but those who made it had a good time. Chuck Garofalo brought meatballs. Elizabeth Marcus contributed a vegetable platter. Mike Piazza brought Sicilian piazza. Roy Greenberg brought shell pasta and mushrooms.

Pamela Webber brought vegetarian chili and London broil. Barry Weinberger added fried chicken. Steve Spinosa brought scalloped potatoes. Patricia Nash contributed acorn squash.

Bill Molendyk brought fried chick and cookies. Phil De Parto brought two rice dishes and string bean casserole. Ann-Marie and Josephine Brown brought an appetizer platter, chips and salsa. Samantha Shortino contributed donuts. Other people brought drinks, paper goods, and other foodstuffs.

We showed two videos in another room during the evening. The first was THE BEST OF DUDLEY DO-RIGHT, Volume One. The second was WHALE RIDER. The Jay Ward cartoon was pretty much a known commodity to anyone interested in viewing it. WHALE RIDER elicited a range of responses from "Not my cup of tea" to really loving it.

The physical layout of the meeting hall, with its row of table along the north and south walls, makes it ideal for the December meeting. It required far less set up / tear down than either of the Upper Saddle River facilities. We will almost certainly be there next December (we are also holding the January 2006 meeting there to see how it works for a normal meeting).

Our thanks to everyone who helped out, especially to Steve and Jim Spinosa, Greg Roman, Pamela Webber, Ann-Marie Brown and Samantha Shortino.