WWURA NEWS
Welcoming retired WWU Faculty and Staff and others
February 2021
President’s Notes
Thursday, February 4th, was an interesting, heart- warming, and challenging day for me. First the heart- warming part; I went to the mailbox to find a small envelope…inside was a heart-shaped invitation to the WWURA Valentine’s Day Party.
Someday, hopefully in the near future, we’ll be back to meeting face-to-face but for now we have to reach out and “touch” each other via Zoom. Building on the success of the December Holiday Party the planning group displayed their creative juices in developing the invite…and planning the event. Too cute!
The Thursday appointment for the first Covid 19 vaccine shot was both challenging (because I’m still nervous around needles) and interesting… after watching innumerable TV reports of people receiving their vaccines, I was finally able to navigate the online reservation system to schedule an appointment. The advice I can give from my scheduling experience is to be persistent and avoid frustration in trying to work with overloaded scheduling programs…check back often because the vaccine availability is ever-changing and try to book an appointment in the early morning or late night when not so many people are online.
There was a productive Board meeting this week with significant discussion surrounding the history and goals of the Annual Retirement Dinner. There will not be a face-to-face event this spring but the President’s Office and the Board are discussing what type of activity might occur this year and in the future.
There was also discussion on the potential to reenergize the WWURW travel program of years past. People talked about WWURA history, their travel experiences and potentials of bringing back a broader program.
If you have any thoughts about either the Retirement Dinner or the travel programs, please share with me or another Board member. Your participation is important.
Please stay safe…and keep outreaching to others in our continuing challenging environment.
Kevin
(360) 733-8145
For Your Calendar
WWURA Zoom Valentine Party
💗 Saturday, February 13th at 4:00 PM 💗
Decorate yourself and your surroundings as you like. Plan to enjoy music and poetry. Plan to make a toast. Bring stories and memories…romantic or fun
A Zoom link will arrive in your email the day before. We hope to see you!
WWURA’s next travelogue
March 17th at 4:00 PM
David Carroll and Susan Donnelly will present the third and final leg of their global travels
Details in the March WWURA Newsletter.
- Writers Group -
Addendum to Burl Harmon’s Story in the January 2021 Newsletter
Burl Harmon was Technical Sergeant Flight Engineer on the B-24, Liberator, a bomber. The P51 was a single engine fighter plane, operated by a single pilot, and which flew cover for the B-24’s. The airplane in the photo on page 4 of the January 2021 newsletter is a B-24.
Burl served as Tech Sergeant in the Army Air Corp from March 1943 to October 1945. He is currently completing his book , “Combat Missions,” to be published in January. Burl will be 97 years old in February and remembers every detail of these missions.
Interest Groups
BOOK GROUP
We will meet February 16th at 2:00 pm on Zoom to discuss This Tender Land by William Krueger. Lina will send a link for Zoom.
- March’s book is Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal, discussion leader-Minda Rae Amiran.
- April’s book is White Too Long by Robert Jones.
Donna Moore
360-733-5769
OPERA GROUP
Metropolitan Opera streaming: Update on Metropolitan Opera streaming dates:
February:
- 6th: Ariadne auf Naxos –1988
- 7th: Tosca – 1978
- 8th: Das Rheingold – 2010
- 9th: Ernani – 1983
- 10th: Barber of Seville – 1988
- 11th: Masked Ball – 1991
- 12th: Akhnaten – 2019
- 13th: Les Troyens – 1983
- 14th: Die Walkure - 1989
CBC Radio is playing operas of the MET from previous years. Start at Saturday 1pm PST. King FM broad- casts Seattle productions 10 am on Saturdays.
Radio broadcasting of operas: the following stations offer opera each Saturday:
CBC Radio 2 at 105.7 (starts at 1 pm with Ben Heppner). King FM (98.1) at 10:00 am (try computer if your radio/stereo does not connect). Note: Metropolitan Opera 2020-2021 season is cancelled.
Evelyn Ames
360-734-3184
WRITER'S GROUP
Troy Faith Ward, 425-299-4924, troyfaithward@gmail.com.
Meets twice a month. The groups are kept small so there is time for reading and critiquing each other's work.
A second writing group has started and is accepting new members. Meets twice a month. Call Bill Smith 360-920-6390, billsmith1545@yahoo.com if interested.
COOKING FOR ONE (OR TWO)
My Japanese Friend’s Chinese Cooking
The story of this month’s recipe begins in 1960, when President Kennedy sent Harvard professor Edwin Reischauer to Japan as our new ambassador. Dr. Reischauer, the son of missionaries, had grown up in Japan and, as a Harvard professor, writer, and researcher, was uniquely qualified for the job. Accompanying him was his wife, Haru Matsukata, daughter of a well-regarded Japanese political family.
The Reischauers had resided in the embassy only a few days when they realized that something had to be done about the meals, which were apparently abysmal. For help they turned to their long-time friend Imu Ichiura, a locally renowned and creative cook, inviting her to give lessons to the somewhat embarrassed embassy chefs. A surprise in all this was Haru’s preference for Chinese…not Japanese… cooking. Thus, Chinese became the focus of the cooking lessons. Fortunately, it was Imu’s specialty.
In addition to cooking, Imu…along with her architect husband…had helped to found an international school which, over the decades, has grown in both size and reputation. It was Haru’s sister Tane who became Nishimachi School’s first principal and its founding director.
Two days before the Reischauers arrived in Tokyo, I landed there myself as the new second grade teacher. I had asked if I might live with a Japanese family my first year on staff, and Tane placed me with the Ichiuras. On occasion, the Reischauers were invited to dinner as an escape from the pressures of embassy life, and I would be asked to join. The menu was frequently Chinese.
The recipe that follows was one I learned to make during the three years I lived in Japan. Although I long ago misplaced Imu’s cooking instructions, it is similar to one that the Reischauers enjoyed when they visited.
- Suzanne Krogh
Fried Chicken with Walnuts for One
¼ pound white meat chicken, cubed
½ egg white, unbeaten 1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup walnuts
1 teaspoon white wine or vermouth Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon cornstarch mixed with ½ tablespoon water
Instructions
- Mix egg white and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add chicken and cover with mixture. Save to one side. Cover walnuts with cold water in a small pot. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain, washing off skin residue. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- In about a half inch of oil, over medium heat, cook walnuts. With a slotted spoon, remove them as soon as they change color. Do not overcook. Save to one side.
- Remove oil from pot, then add back in about 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, over medium heat. After chicken changes color, add wine, sugar, and soy sauce. Cook a few more minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the walnuts and cornstarch mixture. Mix well, cooking a few minutes longer. Serve with unsalted rice.
Tips
- This is not a quick and easy, basic recipe. Prepare it some evening when you have time, patience, and may- be a bit of courage.
- When their daughter Makiko was ready for first grade, the Ichiuras and three other sets of parents asked Tane to start a school where their children could learn English. Perhaps you have met Makiko, because she has lived in the Bellingham area since the late 1980s. She has given up on my Japanese cooking lessons.
Meet Some of Our Newest Members
Cathleen Adams
Tamara Belts
Tamara Belts came to WWU as a History major, and after graduating spent 42 years as a WWU librarian. Born in Bellingham, she grew up in different parts of the County, but returned to Bellingham as a freshman. During her last twenty years at WWU she was the Special Collections librarian, responsible for ten kinds of collections of books or other materials that are too delicate or rare to circulate. Now, in retirement, Tamara belongs to three different book groups, including ours, all of which meet on Tuesdays. Yet she still finds time to walk or hike five or six miles a day.
Lorie McNeill
Carol Rice
Many of us already know Carol from numerous ALL classes, as well as a fellow traveler on WWURA trips abroad. Traveling was a central part of Carol’s life when she worked for both UNICEF and USAID, part of the Foreign Service. Planning and managing Maternal, Child Health, and Family Planning pro- grams, she has lived in Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and many other Asian Countries. While Carol grew up in California, she often visited relatives in Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest, and hoped to someday live here. Happily, she found her perfect home 15 years ago while visiting friends in Birch Bay Village.
Catharine Shornick
About Western Washington University Retirement Association
Email: mal.iaap@clearwire.net
Website: https://www.wwu.edu/wwura/
Phone: (360) 733-6052