December 2007 WN Newsletter

Note: History Maker of the Year nomination form will be found at the end of the newsletter.

Our December Program
This year our traditional Christmas Pot Luck Dinner and Get Together will be at the Shadow Lake Clubhouse, 3200 Price Road, at 6:00 p.m. on December 13. Please remember to bring canned goods for us to donate to C.O.N.C.E.R.N. Please come a little early if you are able to assist with setting up the tables. ALSO,
MUTUAL Girl’s Club has had some bad luck as of late. The building was flooded and can use any help folks are able to provide. If you can, please bring a $ donation to our pot luck or mail a check to them.

Heads Up! Cinema Sundays return!!
During the month of January we do not have a program but celebrate the new year quietly on the second Sunday afternoon of the month with the first of usually three of four Cinema Sundays running from January thru March or April. Join us on January 13 at 2:00 p.m. the home of Dave and Joan Dreisker. Bring yummy snacks to share! The film we will watch is
The Bostonians, a 1984 Merchant Ivory film, based on Henry James' novel of the same name with Vanessa Redgrave playing a 19th-century Boston woman dedicated to the suffrage movement.

Welcome New Member(s)!
Kathryn C. Reese


December Book Group
We will meet at the home of Carol and Cassandra Nagel at 3:00 p.m.
on Sunday, December 9 and the book we will discuss is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is a true account of one woman’s journey to Italy, India and Indonesia searching for inner peace after her divorce. It is available in paperback. [Note: The date has been changed from the first Sunday to the second Sunday because Dec. 2 is the day of the Bartlesville Choral Society’s performance of “Messiah” at the BCC, 2:00 p.m.. Try to come see this concert if you can!]


December WN Board Meeting
Our December Board Meeting will be on December 11 at 1:00 p.m. at the Bartlesville Public Library.

Our December Birthdays(s)
Jan Dreiling—December 7


Thank You!!
Thank you to Kathryn Reese for her generous donation to Women’s Network!

Dues Reminder
Please remember to pay your dues for the 2007-2008 year. The amount is $20. Send a check to our WN Treasurer, Jerry Fries, P.O. Box 417, B’ville 74005
Request to Our Members
To our members who are unable to attend the December potluck, please contact Judy Buys to arrange a time to pick up your 2007-2008 Women’s Network Yearbook at 766-0347 (residence) and 214-6327 (mobile.)

Remember . . .
Sue Lauffer is with her husband, Don, at the Mayo Clinic until the middle of Dec Hope Lodge, 411 2nd St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901

Quotation of the Month:
"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

-- Oren Arnold
*More*

WOMEN’S NETWORK
HISTORY- MAKER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FORM

This award will be presented in March during our annual National Women’s History Month celebration.

Nomination Deadline: Friday, January 18, 2008

Selection Committee: President Elect, Chair: Janice P. Dreiling and committee

Nominations should be e-mailed to jpjudge@aol.com
If e-mail is not available, please call 333-3119 and advise.

History-Maker of the Year Award Criteria:

May be nominated by a member of Women’s Network or by any Bartlesville resident.
Nominee must not be a member of current Women’s Network Board.
Nominees should be/have been:
Advocates/pioneers devoted to improving the human condition.
Advanced the status of women either by example or direct action.
The basis for nomination can be a single achievement or the cumulative
activities of a lifetime.

YOUR NAME:

ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE:
E-MAIL ADDRESS:

NOMINEE’S NAME:

ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE:

REASONS FOR NOMINATIO N: (take as much space as you need.)

January 2008 WN Newsletter

Note: History Maker of the Year nomination form is included below.


**A very BIG and sincere thanks to Odie McReynolds who hosted our annual Christmas Pot Luck on December 13 in the clubhouse at Shadow Lake! A wonderful time was had by all! Thanks to Odie and her daughter, Linda Mathews, who provided the delicious ham.**

January Happenings
During the month of January we do not have a program but celebrate the new year quietly on the second Sunday of the month with the first of usually three of four Cinema Sundays running from January thru March or April beginning January 13 at 2:00 p.m. the home of Dave and Joan Dreisker. Bring yummy snacks to share! The film we will watch is “The Bostonians,” a 1984 Merchant Ivory film, based on Henry James' novel of the same name with Vanessa Redgrave playing a 19th-century Boston woman dedicated to the suffrage movement.
Also, there will be no board meeting this month.


Heads Up!
Susan Murphy, Director of Martha’s Task, will be our speaker for the February program. We will meet at NOON on Thursday February 21 in the upstairs meeting room at the B’ville Public Library. Susan’s story is inspiring to all who hear it as she shares how many women’s lives are being changed “one stitch at a time” by learning to sew and thus finding their way out of poverty here in B’ville. You won’t want to miss it.

Welcome New Members!
Kathleen Rutledge

January Book Group
Due to an ice storm that wracked our part of Oklahoma in December, our book group was sensibly cancelled and we will attempt to discuss Eat, Pray, Love on January 6
at 3:00 p.m. at the home of Carol and Cassie Nagel.

Our January Birthdays
Becky Wallace, January 28

Birthdays to be noted
If you would like your birthday to be noted in the WN newsletter, please contact Marilyn Blumer at: coppernod@bartnet.net or by calling 337-0646 or 918-519-9245. Only the month and date will be published—not the year!

Membership Changes/Corrections
Email change for Kathi Swanson:
kathi@kathiswanson.com

Dues Reminder
Please remember to pay your dues for the 2007-2008 year. The amount is $20. Send a check to our WN Treasurer, Jerry Fries, P.O. Box 417, B’ville 74005


Request to Our Members
To our members who were unable to attend the December potluck, please contact Judy Buys to arrange a time to pick up your 2007-2008 Women’s Network Yearbook at 766-0347 (residence) and 214-6327 (mobile.)

Lost and Found
A nice Rubbermaid container w/lid for hard boiled eggs, two pot holders w/a snowman on them and a dish towel w/teacups on it were left at the Xmas. Potluck. Marilyn Blumer will bring them to book group in Jan. and the general mtg. in Feb. OR you can call her at 337-0646 to claim them.

Quotation of the Month
"Alone time is when I distance myself from the voices of the world so I can hear my own."
—Oprah Winfrey
*More*


WOMEN’S NETWORK
HISTORY- MAKER OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FORM

This award will be presented in March during our annual National Women’s History Month celebration.

Nomination Deadline: Friday, January 18, 2008

Selection Committee: President Elect, Chair: Janice P. Dreiling and committee

Nominations should be e-mailed to jpjudge@aol.com
If e-mail is not available, please call 333-3119 and advise.

History-Maker of the Year Award Criteria:

May be nominated by a member of Women’s Network or by any Bartlesville resident.
Nominee must not be a member of current Women’s Network Board.
Nominees should be/have been:
Advocates/pioneers devoted to improving the human condition.
Advanced the status of women either by example or direct action.
The basis for nomination can be a single achievement or the cumulative
activities of a lifetime.

YOUR NAME:

ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE:
E-MAIL ADDRESS:

NOMINEE’S NAME:

ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE:

REASONS FOR NOMINATION: (take as much space as you need.)

November 2007 WN Newsletter

Our November Program:

Our November meeting will take place on November 15, 7:00 P.M. at the B’ville Public Library in the meeting room upstairs.

Our speaker will be Lisa Beeman, Director of Community Development. Her topic will be “The City Planning Process and the Status of City Planning in Bartlesville.”

Please send questions for Ms. Beeman to answer during her presentation. All questions should be sent to Sandra Waldo at scwaldo@cableone.net or call Sandra at 918-336-1210 by 5 p.m., Friday, November 9th.

Heads Up! Our Annual Christmas Potluck will be on Thursday, December 13, 6:00p.m at the Shadow Lake Club House, 3200 Price Road. Contact Sarah Winn at 333-3695.

Welcome New Members!

Mary Lou Mannschreck

Judy Sutton

Bridget K. Wood

November Book Group

Sunday, November 4, at 3:00 at the home of Carol and Cassandra Nagel.

We will be discussing Look Me in the Eye – My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robinson. The book is available at Amazon.com for approximately $17.00 including shipping.

Carol and Cassie Nagel have a copy of it on tape if anyone wants to borrow it.

November WN Board Meeting

Tuesday, November 12, 1:00 p.m. at the B’ville Public Library.

Our November Birthdays(s)

Ann Cleary—November 23

Birthdays to be noted
If you would like your birthday to be noted in the WN newsletter, please contact Marilyn Blumer at: coppernod@bartnet.net or by calling 337-0646 or 918-519-9245. Only the month and date will be published—not the year!

Dues Reminder
Please remember to pay your dues for the 2007-2008 year. The amount is $20. Send a check to our WN Treasurer, Jerry Fries, P.O. Box 417, B’ville 74005

New 2007-2008 WN Yearbook: Request to Our Members
To our members who are unable to attend the November program and the December potluck, please contact Judy Buys to arrange a time to pick up your 2007-2008 Women’s Network Yearbook. Judy’s phone numbers are: 766-0347 (residence) and 214-6327 (mobile.)

Membership Changes/Corrections
Linda D. Herndon, Dist. 2
Washington County Commissioner
400 S. Johnstone Ave., Rm. 201
Bartlesville, OK 74003
918-337-2820 Cell: 918-331-5119
lherndon@countycourthouse.org

Quotation of the Month:

"Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."
—George Washington

October 18, 2007 ~ monthly meeting

Women’s Network is presenting a panel discussion on the scope and range of social problems of women in Bartlesville. Panel members are professionals who counsel or refer women to services. The panel members will discuss what they consider the greatest needs in Bartlesville, including needs that are not being met.

The program will take place Thursday evening at the Bartlesville Public Library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the second floor meeting room. The meeting is open to everyone.

• The panel will be moderated by Katherine Reese, minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Bartlesville.
  The four panel members include
• Special Judge Kyra Franks Williams
• Barbara Turner, Executive Director of Family Crisis and Counseling Center (FCC). FCC helps to reduce and eliminate violence in family and similar relationship through intervention and prevention by providing shelter, counseling, education, advocacy, and by changing society's attitudes and systems which permit and promote violence. Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Center is a division of FCC. Ms. Turner has been with FCC for 13 years.
• Shelly McSparin is the Director of Social Services at the Salvation Army. Ms. McSparin counsels and receives requests for assistance with utility payments, housing, food, and prescriptions.
• M’liss Jenkins is the Director of Social Services for the Washington County Health Department and recently participated in a state of the county health report and transportation needs survey.
• 
  For more information about Women’s Network or this meeting, contact Women’s Network president Sarah Winn at 918-333-3695.
  
  

Mary O'Toole reviews Ulysses

Women's Network member Mary O'Toole, former editor of the James Joyce Quarterly, will review Joyce's Ulysses on Thursday, Oct. 18 at noon in the upstairs meeting room of the Bartlesville Public Library. The event is part of the BPL's Banned Books Week series.

At 7 p.m., same date, same place, Women's Network will present a panel discussion on issues and resources affecting women in Washington County. We encourage anyone interested to attend.

Unveiling of the Ruth Brown statue in Bartlesville Public Library

Speech by Mr. Gene Winn, retired librarian, on the occasion of the unveiling of the statue of Miss Ruth Brown, his predecessor at the Bartlesville Public Library. Miss Brown was fired for ostensibly being a communist sympathizer. In fact, she was fired for her civil rights activities such as trying to integrate the public library, going with African-American friends to downtown soda fountains in (vain) attempts to be served at the counter, and helping to form the first CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) group south of the Mason Dixon Line. Bartlesville Women's Network raised funds to commission the statue, which was created by artist Janice Albro.

Memorial celebration of Miss Ruth Brown, Bartlesville’s famous librarian

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12 February 2007

FROM: Women’s Network, Bartlesville, OK

Joan Dreisker, Chair, Women’s Network Miss Ruth Brown Memorial Project

918-336-3288 dbionnet [at] aol.com

WHAT: Memorial celebration of the life and work of Miss Ruth Brown, Bartlesville’s famous librarian -- in conjunction with Women’s History Month and the Oklahoma Centennial Year.

WHEN: Major event: Sunday, March 11, 2007, 2 p.m. - Unveiling of the bronze bust of Miss Brown.

Five other events (see page 2) will be held at 7 p.m. in the preceding week: March 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

WHERE: Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone, Bartlesville, OK

WHY: Miss Ruth Brown was Bartlesville’s librarian for over 30 years, from 1919 to 1950, when she was fired for allegedly being a Communist. This was during the McCarthy era when the fear of Communism caused a backlash of censorship and repression and the Jim Crow segregation laws that denied blacks equal access were still in force. In reality Miss Brown lost her job because of her determination to promote equal rights for blacks, not only at the library but also at churches and businesses. Fearless champion of intellectual freedom in a fearful world, she was ahead of her time in her quest for truth and justice.

As a librarian, she believed in universal access to the wisdom—and the foolishness—of the ages. As an activist for civil rights, she relentlessly challenged the racial taboos and legal inequities of her time, stating that she “simply wanted to live as a Christian in a democracy.”

She and her friends established the Committee on the Practice of Democracy in Bartlesville in 1946. This was the first CORE affiliate group—the Congress of Racial Equality—south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Miss Ruth Brown is nationally recognized as the first librarian in the U.S for whom the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the American Library Association requested a field investigation—carried out by other brave Oklahoma librarians.

We honor her spirit. Her actions here helped changed minds and laws and reshape the future. Miss Ruth Brown was a righteous woman.

The memorial celebration at the Bartlesville Public Library features a week-long series of informative events, culminating on Sunday, March 11, 2 p.m., with the unveiling of a bronze bust of Miss Brown by local Native American sculptor Janice Albro. The bust was made possible by the donations of more than 200 “Friends of Miss Brown” who wished to bring her back to the library. A special lobby display designed by Cindy Bray of Barking Dog Design Group of Dewey, OK will highlight Miss Brown’s life and work. In addition, Miss Brown’s 1948 Chevy, which is being restored by Duke Epperson of Duke’s Accessories (also in Dewey) will be on hand. The unveiling ceremony on Sunday afternoon will feature music by members of Bartlesville’s Greater First Baptist Church choir. This celebration is partially funded by a grant from the Allied Arts and Humanities Council of Bartlesville.

This memorial event is the Oklahoma Centennial Year contribution of Women’s Network, in collaboration with the Bartlesville Public Library, to celebrate Women’s History Month. This project began over a year ago, and to date more than $25,000 has been contributed by those who wished to honor the life and work of our famous librarian, Ruth Winifred Brown, whose name is known and respected in library schools across the nation. Funds contributed beyond the cost of the bust—and future contributions—are being used to endow a scholarship for Bartlesville Public Library employees who wish to pursue a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences. The first recipient will be named at the unveiling ceremony.

A series of programs to honor Miss Brown will take place at the Bartlesville Public Library during the week before the March 11th unveiling, as follows:

1. Tuesday, March 6, 7 p.m.

The Johnstone Irregulars reading group: Discussion of The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship and the American Library, written by Dr. Louise S. Robbins, Director, School of Library and Information Studies, University of Wisconsin. Robbins did extensive research in Bartlesville for the book, which was published in 2000 by the University of Oklahoma Press. Odie McReynolds, an original member of Miss Brown’s 1946 Committee on the Practice of Democracy, will lead the discussion.

2. Wednesday, March 7, 7 p.m.

Movie: Storm Center, starring Bette Davis. This 1956 film is very loosely based on the McCarthyism aspects of the Ruth Brown story, but don’t expect to see anything familiar. The “Ruth Brown episode according to Hollywood” is not set in Oklahoma, the librarian is married with a family, and none of the civil rights issues are addressed at all. However, the inspiration for the film, according to the screenwriter, came directly from Bartlesville, thanks to a letter to the editor published in The Saturday Review, written by a member of the ousted library board about the situation here.

3. Thursday, March 8, 7 p.m.

“Telling the Story of Miss Brown”: Bartlesville's international storyteller Fran Stallings brings to life Miss Ruth Brown's years in Bartlesville, her tumultuous dismissal and its aftermath in a vivid narrative based on oral history interviews and Louise Robbins' book.

4. Friday, March 9, 7 p.m.

“The Legal Aspects of the Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown”: Retired District Judge Janice P. Dreiling will review Robbins’ book with a focus on Bartlesville in 1950 and also the lawsuit Ruth Brown filed against the City of Bartlesville which went all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

5. Saturday, March 10, 7 p.m.

“Responses to the Resurrection of Miss Ruth Brown”: Author Dr. Louise Robbins will discuss what she has learned since the publication of her book. Robbins began her library career in Oklahoma, starting out in 1981 as a school library media specialist at Byng School, just north of Ada, where she lived for 24 years. Robbins has lectured widely in the United States and abroad, and her historical research, focusing on libraries and intellectual freedom during the McCarthy period, has won numerous awards and has even won her a spot on an Oklahoma Library Association centennial list of 100 Oklahoma Library Legends.

All of these programs are free and open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. at the Bartlesville Public Library.

For more information, please contact:

Joan Dreisker, Chair, Women’s Network Miss Ruth Brown Memorial Project 918-336-3288 dbionnet [at] aol.com or

Joan Singleton, Director, Bartlesville [Oklahoma] Public Library

918-337-5353 jsinglet [at] bartlesville.lib.ok.us

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