February

We begin Black History Month with a look back to 1957 when nine black teenagers "integrated" Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hoping for an equal education as their white counterparts, they didn't anticipate the firestorm that awaited them. Each day they endured physical, mental, and emotional turmoil at the school, while later their lives were threatened by angry mobs (even the KKK) when they returned home. Their bravery was honored decades later, in 1999, when they received the Congressional Gold Medal by President Clinton. In the second hour, we will meet Melba Pattillo Beals. From the day she was born, Melba fought for racial equality. Knowing the way to better herself was through education, she ultimately secured a PhD in International Multicultural Education that led to becoming a college professor. Along the way, however, she made her mark in the television, radio and literary fields. This is truly a remarkable woman.

Having joined ICL in 2004, Eunice considers herself one of the old-timers. During her tenure, she has served one year as Social Services Director and six years as Co-Director of Membership Services, not to mention doing luncheon centerpieces for a composite total of 7 years. Her real claim to fame, however, is that she is the mother of 2010 JEOPARDY winner.

We are now two years in to a global pandemic that has fundamentally altered the lives of just about everyone.  This presentation will discuss what we currently know about the broad and ongoing mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Special attention will be given to how specific populations, including older adults, younger adults/college students, communities of Color, children, parents, and essential workers experience disparate mental health impacts.  And because of the complex intersection of these many categories, we will discuss the ways in which COVID highlighted and exacerbated long-standing inequities for marginalized populations.

Don Thomson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and is the Director of Bishop Wellness Center, the student health and counseling center at Willamette University. He serves on numerous campus committees designed to broadly support the overall health and wellness of students. He has also served two terms on the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists and was both Board Chair and Vice-Chair during that time.

Wayne will present information on the discovery of Prosopagnosia; the Anatomy and Physiology; Symptoms; and Mitigations. Marje, Wayne's wife, will be joining him in a discussion of what it is like to live with someone with prosopagnosia.

Wayne was employed as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist for over 40 years. He had an irregular college experience with credits from 4 universities plus Nuclear Medicine school. Wayne also managed to obtain 48 trimester hours of biology credits in his first two years. Between ICL and streaming The Great Courses, he has expanded his education. Wayne's prior ICL presentations include Portland Street Art, The Physics of Whitewater Paddling, The Oregon Newt and Western Gartwer Snake Arms Race, as well as topics on Physiology, Evolution, and the Mating Rituals of Birds. Marjorie's professional background was as an Early Childhood/Early Elementary teacher and Child/Family advocate lasting over 30 years. My experience in the use of patience and humor has enabled Wayne and I to have a "mostly" bump-free life together, living and growing with Prosopagnosia.

In Western Europe, the fighting of World War I began on August 2, 1914, when Germany occupied Luxembourg, then invaded Belgium. The German battle plan was to envelop the French army in a pincer, and it almost worked. But the French and British opened up a 30-mile gap between two German armies, which then retreated northward and dug in. The battles that stopped the German advance came to be known as the Miracle on the Marne, but for the participants, there was nothing miraculous about it. The British Expeditionary Force was essentially destroyed, and it would take England some 20 months to again field an army large enough to make a difference to the western front. At the time that WWI broke out, Gustave Theodore Holst was the director of music at the St. Paul's Girls' School in west London. Although he was nearly 40 years old, Holst immediately volunteered for military service. He was mortified when he was rejected on medical grounds. But if he couldn't fight, he could at least compose. Among his most personal and haunting works is the one he wrote in August 1919. Entitled Ode to Death and set for chorus and orchestra, the work was motivated by the waste and futility of war and dedicated to the memory of friends and colleagues who had died in battle. The text is by the American poet Walt Whitman. The words are exquisitely calm and accepting. Holst's setting of these words is likewise luminous and mysterious.

Dr. Robert Greenberg in his lecture series, MUSIC AS A MIRROR OF HISTORY. San Francisco Performances of Holst: Ode to Death.

In our last follow-up to a Greenberg lecture (Oct.14) we listened to Rimsky-Korsakov's most famous composition, Scheherezade, performed by a wonderful Spanish orchestra with very little verbal introduction from me and with only the wretched commercials breaking the mood. Extended musical compositions, like poetry, are best served in their entirety, in order to fully understand and enjoy the composer's plan. We're going to do the same thing with Holst's most famous and popular composition, The Planet's (1918). Both Holst and Rimsky-Korsakov were most clear that they didn't want these compositions excerpted or the order of the movements changed. For that reason, and even more, because The Planets lasts for just over 50 minutes, I will give only the briefest introduction to the work. However, there will have been extended program notes sent out in advance, which for maximum enjoyment you should download and refer to during the performance.

Solveig Holmquist has been a member of ICL since 2012. She is the Music Coordinator for the Curriculum Committee.

Timeline and Listening Guide for this presentation - open and print.

An examination of the strange and complex interrelationships between these three concepts.

Peter Harmer, PhD., MPH., FACSM, is a professor in the Department of Exercise & Health Science at Willamette University and a Senior Associate Research Scientist at Oregon Research Institute (ORI). His particular areas of interest are sports medicine and elite athletes (particularly in fencing) and fall prevention in older adults. He was the Chief Medical Officer for the US Fencing Association for 13 years and a member of the Medical Commission of the International Fencing Federation for 16 years, where he served as the medical supervisor for 13 World Championships. His 30 year-long collaboration with Fuzhong Li, PhD, at ORI has focused on novel exercise programs to combat falls in older adults, a major public health issue. Their current research is aimed at ameliorating cognitive decline and fall risk in this population through a unique exercise protocol.

This substitute program was from a DVD educational series (Wondrium.com) "In the Footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh” and was just over 1/4 of the total of the complete presentation.

Wayne had this program ready to go on a moment's notice.

Wayne Wallace has been a member of ICL since January 2015.

History is full of domino effect events – a seemingly unrelated event creates other events later that create other events and so on.
This is a brief and fun history of some of those that led to Paris becoming known as the City of Lights, the City of Love, the world’s fashion center, haute cuisine…and much more.

GwenEllyn Anderson has had a long love affair with all things French. This was only enhanced after studying and working there in college as a children's camp counselor and later as an American Leader for the Experiment in International Living. She continues her connection by taking classes, hosting the local French Conversation group, writing a monthly newsletter for the group, and participating in other French discussions in the area. She has taught "French for Travelers" and "Planning Your Trip to France" through Chemeketa's Community Education. She travels back to France regularly (preCOVID) to visit her friends and to update her slang. Delving into France's history feeds her obsession.

If you ask just about anyone you meet in the Western world how their "soul" is doing, they'll at least know what you're talking about: the thing that goes to heaven (or hell!) when you die. Where does that idea come from? Did Moses believe it? (No.) Did Jesus? (No.) Who, then, came up with the idea, and when did Christians and Jews first begin to accept it? The answer might surprise you.

Dr. Patterson received his BA from Yankton College, his MTS at Harvard, and his MA, PhD at Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Patterson researches the origins of Christianity, especially those texts and traditions marginalized by the biblical canon and those hidden histories and traditions that have been lost along the way. He has written extensively on the Gospel of Thomas and is an authority on the historical figure of Jesus. He came to Willamette University in 2010.

Annually, the Department of Housing and Urban Development takes a count of homeless in the US. This information is used to determine the need for housing in various regions and therefore the federal funds made available to them. Establishing as accurate a count as possible is extremely difficult. Robert Marshall from the MWVCAA and Lisa Trauernicht, Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance, will explain the process and results of this year’s count, taken this last January.

Robert Marshall is a Program Manager with Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency’s ARCHES Project. The ARCHES Project is a leading provider in Marion and Polk County, helping individuals and families navigate from homelessness to stable housing and self-sufficiency. Robert leads the organization's outreach and coordinated entry efforts. A team of professionals tasked with ensuring equitable access to the regional Continuum of Care’s Coordinated Entry system, resource navigation to services within the community, building human connection, and meeting people where they are.

Born and raised in the Willamette Valley, Robert possesses the heart of a servant leader, dedicating over five years of volunteer service to the citizens of Marion and Polk County. In 2015, Robert was called to a greater level of servitude and enlisted in the military. Shortly after enlisting, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Robert returned home to the Willamette Valley in the fall of 2019 and found that his life experiences, dedication, and passion for helping others called him to the frontlines of the homeless epidemic in the community.