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Kalamazoo Area Newcomers Club September 2016 Celebrating 76 Years of Service Kalamazoo, Michigan

September 15th Luncheon Our first luncheon for the season is on September 15th, 2016 at 12noon (come early to get a seat so we can start right at 12noon) and is being held at Monelli’s on S. Westnedge (just south of Sam’s Club.) Nancy Rafferty from Schoolcraft will be our speaker. She is a lifelong resident of Schoolcraft, she taught grades K-12 as a media specialist. Nancy is a member of the Schoolcraft Historical Society. Her interest in history began by observing her mother Mary Jane Swartz who was the local historian and the author of “So I’m Told” the history of 19th Century Schoolcraft. Nancy will be speaking to us about the Underground Railroad. I had the pleasure of taking my grandson there last year and found it fascinating. I’m sure you will enjoy her narration of its history. (Kathy Walz, Program Co-Chair) Our meal choices are (please note that there are different prices depending on your choice): 1. Chicken Bruschetta: Chicken medallions sautéed with diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette, topped with melted mozzarella served with a side salad, redskin potatoes and vegetable of the day - $19. 2. Spinach Salad: Baby spinach, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, feta cheese, & pancetta bits with choice of dressing - $14. 3. Pesto Panino: sliced grilled chicken, bacon, gourmet greens, tomatoes, and pesto mayo on focaccia served chips and pickle - $14. Coffee, iced tea, soft drinks, and gratuity included. Please send your check payable to KANC to Jane Steimle, 7158 Hickory Point Drive, Portage MI 49024 to arrive by Saturday, September 10th. Please circle your menu choice or note in the memo section of the check.

Mail in Luncheon Registration Thursday, September 15th at noon at Monelli’s

Check your luncheon choice, make out your check to KANC, and mail to Jane Steimle. Choice 1 - $19, Choice 2 - $14, Choice 3 - $14

Member______________________________________1._______2.______3._______ Guest ________________________________________1.______2.______3._______

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Happy Birthday to all our September birthday ladies! The September birthday luncheon will be Tuesday, September 20th at 11:45 at the Olive Garden on Westnedge. Please RSVP to Nancy Draayer by email or cell phone. An email reminder will be sent closer to the event. Jane Curtain – 9/3 Nancy Draayer – 9/7 Nancy Jones – 9/8 Sharon Weaver – 9/10 Bambi Hamming – 9/14 Lois Loeffler – 9/19 Judith Roe – 9/24 Marge Davies – 9/26 Jane Hamilton – 9/26 Helen Watson – 9/26 Shirley Wise – 9/27 Shirley Carey – 9/29

September Birthdays!

Bear Hugs from Bambi! Joys of Friendship

Welcome everyone to another year of Kalamazoo Area Newcomers Club. We have another great year ahead of us with new luncheon venues and programs. Many thanks to the board members who put in much time in selecting and securing our venues and speakers. Your board is a great group of ladies who have a heart to make this year a special experience for you. Projects that the board will take on this year are updating the job descriptions and bylaws/constitution for the club. We operate within those structured guidelines and changes are made only with board approval. We update them about every five years to reflect changes in the club. This update will reflect results of the survey you completed. My words of encouragement will be provided in part from a Hallmark published book called Joys of Friendship, a Celebration of Girlfriends.

Friendship is ...a gift that can be opened every day, and it still holds lots of happy, sweet surprises. This warm-hearted and witty collection celebrates the ordinary, everyday moments that make our friendships so extraordinary. From laughing together to going on (and off) diets together, good friends always bring out the best in each other.

I hope you have a wonderful year with us.

Bambi Hamming President

Members ’ Corner Our deepest condolences to Mary Jo Day on the death of her husband John. Condolences also go to the family of long time member, Carolyn Mitchell. Grace Weaver has written a lovely remembrance of Carolyn, which will be printed in next month’s newsletter. We all hope Jabeth Wheeler is soon feeling better.

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On Monday, September 12th we will meet at the Parchment Save-a-Lot parking lot at 10am to bike the River Valley Trail. The parking lot is located at the northwest corner of Mosel and Riverview Drive in Parchment.

Bunco will be at the home of Joan Morand on September 7th at 9:30am. Please contact Joan by Sept.5th by either emailing her at morandoj@gmail.com or calling her at 345-1009. Bunco is an easy dice game. We always have a few laughs and you may even win some money. Please join us everyone is welcome!

Morning Bunco Marilyn Jauch – 372-7751

Out to Lunch Bunch Grace Weaver – 324-5776 Sharon Weaver – 327-4606

Hiking/Biking/Skiing Carol Beckius – 372-6950 Nancy Kelley – 375-0762

Friends, Food and Fun Carol Beckius – 372-6950 Marilyn Jauch – 372-7751

On Saturday, September 10th plan to join us at Bill & Carol Beckius' for a 6:30pm dinner. The focus will be "Family Favorites". Please call 372-6950 or e-mail cbeckius@chartermi.net by Monday, Sept. 5th so we know if you can or cannot attend.

Couples Bridge will meet on Saturday, September 24th at 7pm. We will be playing at the Bridge Center again. Give me a call if you are unable to play. Thanks.

Couples Bridge Linda Zeter – 381-7971

Special Interest Groups Art and Interior Design

Jabeth is no longer able to run this group. We are looking for a new coordinator. If you are interested, please contact Lois Loeffler – 372-0038 or email her at loisloeffler@gmail.com.

The Out to Lunch Bunch will meet on Wednesday, September 14th at 12noon at Otsego’s Lynx Grill located at 900 Lincoln Road. It has a beautiful view overlooking the golf course. Go north on US-131, take exit B-49, which goes west on M-89 towards Allegan. Staying on M-89 the golf course will be visible on the left. Turn left onto Lincoln Road. We have a special menu to choose from with something for everyone. For reservations please call or email Sharon or Grace at the numbers shown above or email swcats@sbcglobal.net or gawleo@att.net no later than Monday, September 13th. All members are welcome or invite a friend to join us. Let’s celebrate the beginning of OTLB. We hope to see everyone to enjoy good food and the scenic view.

Our first New Member Coffee

Morning is scheduled for September

21st at 10am at Jane Vandrè’s home. If

you know someone who might be

interested in becoming a member,

please call Jane at 614-738-4620, so

she can issue an invitation.

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Special Interest Groups

We are planning a potluck and program planning meeting on Wednesday, September 28th at 11:30am. We need someone to volunteer to host this event. Please contact Lois Loeffler – 372-0038 or email her at loisloeffler@gmail.com. When we have a location Lois will send out an email.

Garden Group Patricia Niewoonder – 207-4270 Lois Loeffler – 372-0038

Consumer File Box Lois Loeffler - 372-0038

Diners Club Joan Wille – 271-4177

Diners Club will meet at 6pm on September 17th at Bravo’s on Portage Road. Please let Joan know if you’d like to join us by calling her at 271-4177.

This is Newcomers’ own “Angie’s List” and it’s FREE. Our members make recommendations of businesses or service providers that have done good work. Please consider making a recommendation or two of persons or businesses that have pleased you recently.

Sit & Stitch Charlotte Hosking – 372-2430

We’ll meet on Friday, September 2nd at 1pm at the Water Street Coffee Shop on Centre Street (across the parking lot from Lo Do’s). I realize this is the Friday of Labor Day Weekend, but if you’ll be in town, come join us for some stitching (of whatever kind), and a few laughs. We’ll also meet on Friday, September 16th at 1pm at Stitching Memories on Portage Road (near Fields Fabrics).

Community Service Bernie Hagon – 623-4115 Elaine Varricchio – 303-6130 Linda Kubinski – 324-3068

If you are looking for a rewarding venue, this Special Interest group is for YOU! Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 13th at 10am at Cafe Meli located at 5200 Portage Road. At this time you will hear about agencies in our area that are looking forward to our services of baking, sewing, cooking and more! Please join us and learn what we are all about!

Parade of Homes Another year of hosting a home for the Kalamazoo area Parade of Homes was a huge success! Almost 27,000 visits were made to the 20 homes hosted by volunteers like us, the KANC! As a result of volunteering to host a home for the Kalamazoo Builders Assoc., we earned $375.00! This money will be added to our treasury and disbursed to a worthy cause in our community.

I need to give a big “THANK YOU” to my helpers: Horst & Rita Achenbach, Bob & Marilyn Jauch, Barb Perkovic, Marge Davies, Candice Hill, Mindy Hamilton, Elaine Varricchio, Sharon Weaver, Diane Goodwin, Bambi Hamming, Janet Leonard, Marcia Hokin, Paula & Keith Aldridge, Linda & Steve Kubinski and my husband Jim Hagon. Each of you did a great job of showing up on time, selling tickets, getting your daily report to me in a timely manner and giving out your smiles to all of our guests! THANK YOU! Bernie Hagon...Chairperson

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Marathon Bridge Dawn Rice – 679-4404 Jeanne Shewchuk – 216-3961

Afternoon Bridge Judy Hobson – 629-4050

Our eight teams are set! The first Marathon Bridge match of the season will be held on Monday, September 19th at Fieldstone Grill. We will meet for lunch at 11:30 and start play immediately following. If you are not available, please find a sub to play with your partner. Also, please let your match partners know if you will not be eating lunch. If you have questions or are interested in subbing in this group, we would love to talk with you!

On Monday, September 12th we will play at Susan Lushin's home at 1pm. On Friday, September 23rd we will play at Jeanne Shewchuk's home at 1pm. The location may change to a restaurant for bridge per the hostess’ decision and she will notify the players of the location. Always confirm with the hostess that you plan to play that day. Subs are always needed or if you interested in playing, please call Judy Hobson. All levels of play participate in this group.

Special Interest Groups

Kalamazoo  Area  Newcomers  Club  –  Membership  Renewal  

Name__________________________________________________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________________________________________________

City________________________ State______ Zip________ Phone_________________ Cell__________________

Email_______________________________________ Spouse__________________ Birthday: M _______D______

Choose One: For Mailed newsletters: $25.00 dues_______ Or For Email newsletters: $20.00 dues________

Please complete this form and return it with a check made payable to KANC to Linda Kubinski, 7799 Derby Court, Kalamazoo, MI 49009

Membership and Directory News – 2016-2017

Below is the abbreviated form for renewal. If

you know of a new member wishing to join have

them print the full form from our website.

Daytime Euchre

A lot of interest was shown in starting a daytime Euchre group, but we don’t have anyone to chair it. If you and/or a friend are interested please contact Special Interest Group chair, Rita Achenbach at 353-6832 or email her at opara1@aol.com. Wouldn’t it be fun?

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Special Interest Groups Book Nook

Jane Steimle – 324-9051 President: Bambi Hamming –

375-9871

Vice-President: Bev Slayter – 216-3426

Secretary:

Lois Loeffler – 372-0038

Treasurer: Sharon Weaver – 327-4606

Historian/Publicity:

Mindy Hamilton – 817-705-5572

Hospitality:

Jane Vandrè – 614-738-4620

Luncheons:

Lori Miller – 978-6536 Shirley Wise – 375-0848

Membership/Directory:

Linda Kubinski – 324-3068

Newsletter: Charlotte Hosking –

372-2430

Programs: Carol Hutton – 373-3980 Kathy Walz – 345-8030

Reservations:

Jane Steimle – 324-9051

Special Interests: Rita Achenbach – 353-6832

KANC Board Members

2016-2017

Book Nook meets the third Monday of each month at 10am at Kazoo Books located at 2413 Parkview, Kalamazoo, just west of Oakland Dr. Turn on Book Alley off Barnard Ave. for plenty of parking behind the store. Come join us for great discussions. New members are always welcome! September 19, 2016, The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman Discussion leader: Lois Beaudrie Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800’s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel’s salvation is their maid Adelle’s belief in her strengths, and her deep, life-long friendship with Jestine, Adelle’s daughter. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frederick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists in France. October 17, 2016, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger Discussion leader: Jane Steimle On the surface, Ordinary Grace is the story of the murder of a beautiful young woman, a beloved daughter and sister. At heart, it’s the story of what that tragedy does to a boy, his family, and ultimately the fabric of the small town in which he lives. Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, it is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. November 21, 2016, The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant Discussion leader: Jane Vandrè

Addie Baum is the Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie’s intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can’t imagine—a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture, and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her “how did you get to be the woman you are today?” She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she once was.

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!!!!!!!

!

September 2016 ! !KANC Calendar of Events Sunday' Monday' Tuesday' Wednesday' Thursday' Friday' Saturday'

! ! ! ! 1! 2! 3!! ! ! Sit & Stitch

1pm at Water Street Coffee on

Centre St.

!

4! 5! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10!! ! Bunco

9:30am at Joan

Morand’s

Board Meeting 10am at Jane

Vandrè’s

Friends, Food & Fun

6:30pm at Carol & Bill Beckius’

11! 12! 13! 14! 15! 16! 17!! Biking

10am – South Haven

Afternoon Bridge

1pm at Susan Lushin’s

Community Service

10am at Café Meli!

Out to Lunch Bunch

12noon at Lynx Grill!

KANC Luncheon 12noon at Monelli’s

Sit & Stitch 1pm at Stitching

Memories

Diners Club 6pm at Bravo’s

18! 19! 20! 21! 22! 23! 24! Book Nook

10am at Kazoo Books

Marathon Bridge

11:30am at Fieldstone Grill

Birthday Luncheon

11:45 at Olive Garden

New Member Coffee

10am at Jane Vandrè’s

Afternoon Bridge 1pm at Jeanne

Shewchuk’s

Couples Bridge 7pm at Bridge

Center

25! 26! 27! 28! 29! 30! !! ! Garden Club

11:30am Potluck & Planning

location TBD

! See Special Interest pages

for further details!

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Kalamazoo Area Newcomers Club 9410 Oakview Drive Portage, MI 49024

Visit our Website! Kazoonewcomers.com

You can also find us on Facebook!