1 In League... A century of community service A quarterly newsletter November 2013 – January 2014 Wilson Farm Tour Wednesday, November 13 • 10:30 am 10 Pleasant Street, Lexington, MA With the approach of the holiday season, we invite you to join us for a tour of Wilson Farm in nearby Lexington, a popular destination for purchasing produce, meats, cheeses and baked goods. Our guide for this visit will be Heather Aveson. She’ll give us a tour of this local farm (and its animals!) and the floral area where they create their striking arrangements. In addition, we’ll visit the greenhouses where 20,000 poinsettias await purchase for the holiday season. Heather will share her knowledge of poinsettias and their care with us. Founded by Irish immigrants, Wilson Farm has been in operation at its present location since 1884. James Alexander Wilson, W.M. Wilson, and brother-in-law George Reynolds came to Lexington from Enniskillen, Ireland. Here they were able to buy 16 acres of land and rent some of the surrounding fields for farming. Today the farm has expanded from 16 acres to 33 acres in Lexington and to 500 additional acres in Litchfield, New Hampshire. This year Wilson Farm celebrates its129th anniversary. Our tour will begin at 10:30 am at Wilson Farm on Pleasant Street, just off of Massachusetts Avenue. For those who may need transportation, we will meet you at exactly 10:00 am at the Alewife T Station (the Red Line). Those who prefer to go directly to the farm, please meet us there at 10:20 am. To reserve your place on the tour, contact the League office at 617.253.3656 or [email protected] by Friday, November 8. If you need carpooling assistance, please make your request at that time Holiday Wreath Making Wednesday, December 4 9:00 am to 11:00 am Student Center, 20 Chimneys (W20-306) When Carl Taylor Compton and his wife Margaret lived at the President’s House (1930–1949), the League began making the three large evergreen wreaths to hang above the doors at the 77 Massachusetts Avenue entrance. Today, the holiday tradition continues. New and experienced wreath makers are needed this year to help with the greenery design and assembly of these wreaths. League member Brenda Blais will serve as guide through the process of making the wreaths on their 4-ft and 5-ft wooden frames. Brenda will be ably assisted by several seasoned volunteers. Never done something like this before? This is a wonderful opportunity to learn and a fragrant way to begin the holiday season. Please contact Brenda Blais at [email protected] or 617.253.6852 to learn more and volunteer. Come and help for as long as your time permits.
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In League... A century of community service
A quarterly newsletterNovember 2013 – January 2014
Wilson Farm Tour
Wednesday, November 13 • 10:30 am10 Pleasant Street, Lexington, MA
With the approach of the holiday season, we invite you to join us for a tour of Wilson Farm in nearby Lexington, a popular destination for purchasing produce, meats, cheeses and baked goods. Our guide for this visit will be Heather Aveson. She’ll give us a tour of this local farm (and its animals!) and the floral area where they create their striking arrangements. In addition, we’ll visit the greenhouses where 20,000 poinsettias await purchase for the holiday season. Heather will share her knowledge of poinsettias and their care with us.
Founded by Irish immigrants, Wilson Farm has been in operation at its present location since 1884. James Alexander Wilson, W.M. Wilson, and brother-in-law George Reynolds came to Lexington from Enniskillen, Ireland. Here they were able to buy 16 acres of land and rent some of the surrounding fields for farming. Today the farm has expanded from 16 acres to 33 acres in Lexington and to 500 additional acres in Litchfield, New Hampshire. This year Wilson Farm celebrates its129th anniversary.
Our tour will begin at 10:30 am at Wilson Farm on Pleasant Street, just off of Massachusetts Avenue. For those who may need transportation, we will meet you at exactly 10:00 am at the Alewife T Station (the Red Line). Those who prefer to go directly to the farm, please meet us there at 10:20 am.
To reserve your place on the tour, contact the League office at 617.253.3656 or [email protected] by Friday, November 8. If you need carpooling assistance, please make your request at that time
Holiday Wreath Making
Wednesday, December 4 9:00 am to 11:00 amStudent Center, 20 Chimneys (W20-306) When Carl Taylor Compton and his wife Margaret lived at the President’s House (1930–1949), the League began making the three large evergreen wreaths to hang above the doors at the 77 Massachusetts Avenue entrance. Today, the holiday tradition continues.
New and experienced wreath makers are needed this year to help with the greenery design and assembly of these wreaths. League member Brenda Blais will serve as guide through the process of making the wreaths on their 4-ft and 5-ft wooden frames. Brenda will be ably assisted by several seasoned volunteers.
Never done something like this before? This is a wonderful opportunity to learn and a fragrant way to begin the holiday season. Please contact Brenda Blais at [email protected] or 617.253.6852 to learn more and volunteer. Come and help for as long as your time permits.
The Chorale will again present a wonderfully varied program of music under the direction of its inspired director, Kevin Galiè, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 838 Massachusetts Avenue, Central Square, Cambridge. The centerpiece of the concert will be the lovely Magnificat of Nicola Porpora, sung with string ensemble and organ. This highly international chorus will be singing in Latin, Spanish, Russian, Hebrew, and, of course, English, performing works by such composers as Glinka, Elgar, Grassi, Arresti, and Orrego-Salas.
The concert is free and will be followed by a reception. Directions and parking suggestions will be posted on the Chorale website: web.mit.edu/ womensleague/womenschorale/.
Ordering information for the Women’s Chorale’s first professionally-recorded CD can be found on its website: web.mit.edu/womensleague/womenschorale/.
The Ayer Mansion Visit
Wednesday, December 11 • 11:00 am 395 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Last fall we invited you to visit Boston’s Church of the Covenant to view the beautiful stained glass windows and electric lantern created by the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.
This December we invite you to view another Tiffany treasure here in Boston. The Ayer Mansion in Back Bay is a rare surviving example of the residential work of designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, one that exemplifies his remarkable versatility — in stone and glass mosaics, graceful metalwork, custom furniture, and stunning stained glass windows, to name a few of his talents. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 2005.
The Ayer Mansion is one of only three surviving Tiffany residential commissions. Built between 1899 and 1902 for Ameri-can businessman and art collector, Frederick Ayer, the Ayer Mansion stands alone as the sole example of a house designed from its inception by the artist. It is an unusual Tiffany work in that it
contains exterior as well as interior mosaics. While Tiffany is known to have designed dozens of interiors during his 50-year career, he rarely undertook exterior ornamentation. His own house, Laurelton Hall in Oyster Bay and the Ayer Mansion are the only two known exceptions. Today only the Ayer Mansion survives.
Please join us as we experience this rare Tiffany gem and learn about the owners, their decision to hire Tiffany as the exterior and interior designer for their new Boston home, and Tiffany, the designer.
Our tour begins at 11:00 am. To reserve your place on the tour please contact the League office at 617.253.3656 or [email protected]. If you would like to travel to the house together with a group please let the office know when you reserve your place on the tour. The group will meet in Lobby 10 at 10:15 am to travel by bus across the river to Commonwealth Avenue and then walk a short distance to the house. The admission fee is $10.
MIT Women’s Chorale Holiday Concert
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Thursday & Friday, December 12 & 139 am to 5 pmLobby 10
Come to browse! Come to shop!
You may just find the perfect gift for a relative or friend! Knitted scarves, hand-made cards, jewelry of all types, specialty gifts and more, may be found for sale at the annual Holiday Craft Fair sponsored by the MIT Women’s League Community Crafters.
If you are a crafter and would like to sell your creations at the fair, log on to the Women’s League website at web.mit.edu/womensleague and go to “Get Involved,” then to “Community Craft Fairs,” and then to “Application.” Under Community Craft Fairs, you will also find a link to the “Community Craft Fairs Policy.” All applications will be reviewed by the MIT Women’s League Craft Fair Committee, appointed by the MIT Women’s League Executive Board.
Groups meet weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. Contact the above women to learn more about their groups.
Notable12/11Book Discussion:The Hare With the Amber Eyesby Edmund de Waal
1/22Book Discussion:Margaret Fuller, A New American Lifeby Judy Kann
MIT Women’s League Community Craft Fair
Since 1998, the Women’s League has organized the Daffodil Days campaign at MIT for the American Cancer Society and raised over $420,000. This past year MIT raised over $36,000 for cancer research, treatment, and education. Each year the project has expanded to reach more departments, labs, offices, and individuals on campus and we look forward to that phenomenon happening again!
In late January information packages will be mailed to the coordinators in the participating offices, labs and departments. Shortly thereafter, the new campaign will begin and you may place your order for Gifts of Hope, Bears and Bunches, and daffodil bouquets. All will be delivered in mid-March. If your work area is not currently participating in the campaign but would like to do so, please contact the League office at 617.253.3656 or [email protected] to make arrangements for a coordinator.
Please help the MIT community support the American Cancer Society. Together we are helping people stay well and get well, finding cures and fighting back against a disease that has taken too much.
Daffodil Days 2014
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ConnectionsNovember 14 December 19 January 9
Meets from 4 to 6 pm on the second Thursday of each month during the Academic Year.
Connections is an informal open house with conversation and light refreshments. Held monthly in the Emma Rogers Room(10-340), these occasions offer opportunities for the League to meet newcomers as well as stay in touch with members.
Join us and bring a newcomer or colleague with you for conversation and camaraderie. You meet the nicest people!
Come when you can and stay for as long as you wish.
Normally held on the second Thursday of each month, the December Connections will take place one week later — December 19 — to accommodate the Emma Rogers Room calendar.
MIT spouses&partners, a long-time campus partner of the Women’s League, released a digital cookbook earlier this year as part of its annual fundraising campaign. The cookbook, titled Global Flavors: Recipes from MIT spouses&partners, is a collection of thirty-five favorite recipes from the program’s Cooking Group, one of its oldest interest groups.
The cookbook was a gift to donors of the “MIT Fund for Family Support/MIT Spouses & Partners”. The contributions were used to fund program services and over 200 activities a year; including free childcare, career development workshops, weekly Wednesday meetings, social networking events, and various interest groups.
Program Manager Jennifer Recklet Tassi put together the cookbook along with Elsa Tian, a veteran member and retired MIT employee. “I collected a lot of old recipes from the Cooking Group. The recipes before the time of computers were handouts; I still have them,” Ms. Tian said.
New International Cookbook Released by MIT spouses&partners
Toshiko Imai, an MIT spouse from 1997 to 2001, and also the founder of the Cooking Group, contributed the Japanese Pork Beer Stew recipe for the cookbook. “I have learned and enjoyed many international dishes through the Cooking Group that I started. I still cook some recipes I learned and keep in touch with some of the former members,” she said.
The range of dishes, as vibrant and diverse as the MIT community itself, includes Brazilian Pork Roast, Egyptian Zalabia (fried dough), French Dauphinoise Potato Gratin, Indian Button Tikki, Indonesian Laksa Ayam (chicken noodle soup), Israeli Mejadra (rice with lentils), and Italian Spinach Gnocchi, to name but a few. Over a dozen volunteers participated in this project; among them recipe testers, editors, a professional food photographer, and a graphic designer.
MIT spouses&partners, originally named MIT Wives’ Group, has been supporting spouses, partners, and families in collaboration with the Women’s League since 1971. Marlyse Lupis, a former
Chair of the Women’s League and also an MIT spouse, recalled her memories when she moved from Australia in 1997. “The welcome, companionship, words of encouragement and invitation to see Jennifer should I need anything or just for a chat made an enormous difference to my first months at MIT. The weekly meetings provided me with a place to go to regularly and meet others in my situation,” Ms. Lupis said.
Popular Women’s League programs enjoyed by spouse members include English Conversation Class, Furniture Exchange, Japanese Tea Ceremony, and Middle Eastern Dance. The League also co-sponsored T-shirts for spouse volunteers of Fall 2013 orientation events.
MIT spouses&partners is a Community Wellness program at MIT Medical. It supports the significant others of MIT student, researchers, staff, and faculty to navigate life at MIT and its surrounding communities. To learn more, visit its website at spouses.mit.edu/ and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mitspousesandpartners.
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Email update
If you have become an email user and would like to receive our notes and reminders or if your email address has changed, please advise the League office at [email protected].
General Information
The MIT Women’s League newsletter is published four times during the academic year. The deadline for the February–March 2014 issue is January 6. All items should be sent to the Women’s League office.
Please call the League office for a hard copy of the newsletter and for answers to questions you may have. The office can also arrange for your membership.
Transition House, our Cambridge neighbor, provides emergency shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Under its protective wing, the women receive counseling and get training to prepare them to “transition” into permanent housing. These women work hard to rebuild their lives and regain their independence. Many have risked everything to find safety for themselves and their children.
To help them make this enormous change in their lives, the Women’s League collects donations from the MIT community each month to assist Transition House. Since women passing through this program arrive with only what they can carry with them, the Transition House needs are on-going for specific items.
With their recent move to new but smaller office space, they have requested the following items over the next few months.
• New blankets and comforters
• Gift cards to CVS and Target
• T passes (added value Charlie cards)
Your donation can be left at the Women’s League Office, Room 10-342.
