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42 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2023 Our Book Club selection for May 9 is e Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. Here is a brief description from Amazon.com: "Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side and understood more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star. But she kept a secret more shocking than her heritage or her marriage: she was a scientist. And she had an idea that might help the country fight the Nazis and revolutionize modern communication … if anyone would listen to her. A powerful book based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist, e Only Woman in the Room is a masterpiece that celebrates the many women in science that history has overlooked." Our meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am in the RCN Room #3, and someone volunteers to lead the discussion about the book we have chosen for the month. For more information, or to get your name on our mailing list, please contact me at michelesrosen@gmail. com. ~ Micki Rosen Book Club In the month of May, we celebrate two major holidays: Mother's Day and Memorial Day. Do you know how these holidays originated? Let's take a look into the moment in history. It is said that in the U.S., Mother's Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908. Three years after the death of her mother, Ms. Jarvis held a memorial ceremony for her mother and all mothers at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church on May 10, 1908. The day acknowledges the sacrifices mothers make for their families. Mother's Day became an official holiday in the U.S. in 1914 under President Wilson who signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day. The next holiday is Memorial Day. The Memorial holiday was originally called Decoration Day. It is unclear where the holiday originated. It is believed many communities had some form of recognition after the Civil War ended. The earliest documented celebration was in Charleston, South Carolina by a group of formerly enslaved people less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. However, by May 30, 1868, Decoration Day was widely observed and Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of former union sailors and soldiers) proclaimed it as a day of remembrance of those who died in service of our country. In May 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson officially declared Waterloo, New York as the official birthplace of Decoration Day where it had been celebrated on May 5, 1866. It was as a community-wide event. All businesses were closed and the citizens of Waterloo decorated the graves of the sailors and soldiers with flowers and wreaths. Congress recognized Decoration Day as a federal holiday in 1938, and the name "Memorial Day" became more commonplace after World War II. However, the federal government did not officially adopt the name until 1967. In 1971, Congress enacted the "Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be commemorated on the last Monday of May." Lastly, May also recognizes National Teacher Day (3rd), Africa World Heritage Day (4th), National Malcom X Day (28th), World Cultural Diversity Day (21st), National Senior Health and Fitness Day (25th), and National Smile Day (31st), just to name a few. Remember the date: Juneteenth Celebration on June 17 from 4 to 8 pm at The Lodge's Loggia area. Tickets will be on sale from April 17 to May 25. Tickets are $30 per person. For more information about the Juneteenth event, please contact Ms. Brown at (626) 589-9791. ~ Jocelyn Doucette At our April event, we were entertained by Karen Belcher whose "Name that Tune" game was challenging and a lot of fun. Thank you Karen for the time you put into your presentation making our club meeting so enjoyable. On May 13, our club is planning a bus trip to San Diego's "Little Italy." Barbara Dipoma sent an email to our club members in March inviting us to purchase bus tickets for this all day trip. The cost of the tickets was $54 a person, and reservations, at the time of this writing, have sold out. If you are interested in the "Little Italy" bus trip and have not purchased tickets, please contact Barbara Dipoma to check on any cancellations. The "Meatball vs. Matzo Ball" annual competition and social event is tentatively scheduled for June. Once the date is confirmed, a notice will be sent out to the members of both clubs so that our calendars can be blocked for the date and time of the event. We have had a lot of fun and camaraderie during and after this event, so please plan to attend. The Italian American Club is open to all residents of Four Seasons. You do not have to be Italian to join our group or come to our meetings. We would love to have you come visit with us. To all our members and everyone in Four Seasons, we hope we will see you soon at one of our meetings. Non Vedo L Ori Di Vederti Presto (Looking forward to seeing you soon). ~ Barbara Dipoma, (805) 377-2616 and Jerry Monahan, (951) 212-8898 Italian American Club African American Cultural Club

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