june 2013 uc newsletter

7/28/2019 June 2013 UC Newsletter

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"Pinkster" is the Dutch name for Pentecost, an important festival in the Christian calendar cele-brated seven weeks after Easter, in May or early June. Because of its timing, Pinkster is also often

associated with the change of season, the blooming of flowers and the rebirth of life in spring. Infact, historian A.J. Williams-Myers, notes that the holiday was associated with the wild pink azalea

which commonly bloomed throughout the Hudson River Valley and was often referred to as thePinkster flower.

In the 1600s, Holland established New Holland in the area now covered by the states of New York andNew Jersey. The Dutch settlers brought the celebration of Pinkster to North America. They observedPinkster by attending church services and holding important church functions such as baptisms and confirma-

tions. Neighbors visited with one another and children colored eggs and indulged in sweets like gingerbread.

Though Pinkster may have originated in Europe with the Dutch, by the 19th century the celebration hadmorphed into a uniquely American event, blending European and African traditions. As Pinkster celebrationswere often rowdy affairs, the Albany Common Council, in the spring of 1811, banned Pinkster Day celebra-tions ostensibly because of rioting and drunkenness, declaring that no person shall erect any tent, boothor stall within the limits of this city, for the purpose of vending any spirituous liquors, beer, mead or cider,or any kind of meat, fish cakes or fruit, on the days commonly called Pinxter." Two centuries after the banwas put in place, in an effort to revive an important tradition from Albanys past, members of the Univer-sity Club petitioned the Common Council to repeal the prohibition and the ban was lifted on May 16,2011.

This years 3rd annual celebration will honorThomas Clingan who has served asAlbany County Clerk for nearly a quarter century. During his tenure, he led

efforts to protect and conserve historic documents dating back four centuries.

The featured speaker for the evening will be Stephan Bielinski, thedirector of the Colonial Albany Social History Project, a model commu-nity history program of the New York State Museum, an agency of theState Education Department through its Office of Cultural Education. Itwas launched in 1981 to further understanding of pre-industrial commu-nity life by studying the contributions of those who lived in the city ofAlbany during its formative years.

Tickets are $50, including cocktails & light fare from6-7 p.m. followed by a presentation by Bielinski. Pro-ceeds benefit the University Club Foundation. Reser-vations are required and can be made by calling 463-1151 or online at www.uclubevents.blogspot.com.

Make plans to head down to the Grille afterward fordinner and music with Geo Doody (details on page 3).

Support for educational programming presented bythe University Club Foundation is provided by AT&T.North Pearl Street circa 1800s

Thomas Clingan


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The first U.S. city clubs were estab-lished in the Colonies during the eight-eenth century. These were looselyformed men-only social clubs that metin lodges or taverns, where the mendrank rum and other alcoholic bever-ages and discussed the news of the

day. A wave of city-club building oc-curred in the mid-nineteenth century.Then as now, U.S. city clubs were or-ganized primarily to provide a placefor individuals with similar interests todine and socialize together.1

In 1890, applying for a charter for thePhiladelphia Country Club, John C.Bullitt wrote the following:

Most of the [clubs] subscribers areheads of families, the inducement to

whom is that they, as well as theirwives and sons and daughters, can

visit the club for the purpose of recrea-

tion and pleasure without encounter-

ing any person or anything which willin the least degree be inconsistent with

good behavior or good manners. 2

This statement aptly describes the his-torical essence of what private clubswere all about. Clubs today, however,face unique circumstances that did not

exist a century ago. Life is more com-plex and so are clubs. Traditionallyprivate clubs were exclusive, male,reserved, and quite formal; but, JohnG. Fornaro, chief executive of the As-sociation of Private Club Directors,notes that private clubs have been go-ing through an evolution for the past30 years. As our society has becomemore diverse and inclusive, so has clubmembership.

Today clubs tend to have a varied

membership, including many women,and offer a more casual, family-friendly environment. The most suc-cessful of them have eased restrictiverules and created a casual, comfortable

place for members and their friends,families and business associates toconnect.

The face of membership is not the onlything changing. Club boards have also

become more representative of society.

In fact, in 2010, Susanne Wegrzyn,president of the National Club Associa-tion, noted that 20 percent of membersand 6 percent of Club presidents werewomen.

The University Club is proud to be

among those progressive and respon-sive clubs that have changed with thetimes. A full five years before the Su-

preme Court upheld a law requiringthat most private clubs allow womeninto membership, the University Clubadmitted the first woman, Lois Wilson,to full membership. The followingyear, she was elected to the Board ofDirectors. She served from 1984-1990.

"When I was elected to the Board,Lois notes, the role of women in

Clubs was a national discussion topic.My election was covered by the TimesUnion, and even mentioned in their 25-year review of what happened in1984.

Three decades later,Lois remains a proudand loyal member ofthe University Cluband over the yearsmany women have

followed in her foot-steps, both by joiningthe club and by vol-unteering their unique

strengths and skills to the club throughthe board and various committees. To-day, more than a quarter of the clubsmembership is made up of women andthere are three women on the board ofdirectors.

In fact, on May 3, 2013, at the 112thAnnual Meeting, women reached an-

other milestone in the clubs history.

Colleen M. Ryan was elected Presi-dent of the Board of Directors, makingher the first woman to hold that posi-tion.

Of this historic moment Ms. Wilsonsays, I am delighted that everyone is

accepting Colleen's election as a logi-cal step based on the outstanding lead-ership she has provided since she

joined the Board. Her election as Clubpresident is truly historic, because peo-ple are first lauding her accomplish-ments--and then remembering that sheis the Club's first female president."

Colleen was firstelected, in 2010, tothe position of Secre-tary on the Board.

The following yearshe was elected VicePresident, serving inthat post from 2011-2013. Of her new po-sition she says, It's truly an honor tolead the University Club into a newera and I'm so grateful for the women

before me who fought for Club admis-sion, and membership, and board ser-vice. When I was in kindergarten, fill-ing out my School Years memory book

with my Mom, one of the questionswas, When I grow up I want to be . Iwanted to be an astronaut, but that wasin the BOYS column. I'm glad to putanother title in the GIRLS column, butI'm also looking forward to the daywhen we're no longer celebrating'firsts' because gender, race, and creeddon't figure into decisions like these."

1 Ted E. White and Larry C. Gerstner, Educa-tional Institute of the American Hotel & MotelAssociation, 1994.

2

David Falchek, Times-Tribune.com, Febru-ary 17, 2013

Lois Wilson

Colleen Ryan


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Yes! I/we want to help the Club put its best seat forward:

$250 (6 chairs) $135 (3 chairs) $50 (1 chair) Other $______

Name: ________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________

Make checks out to the University Club of Albany Foundation & return to: Uni-versity Club of Albany Foundation, 141 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.Your donation is eligible for a tax deduction.

Donald Meserve

Tom & Peg Monahan

Sam Ostroff

Harold & Ruth Rubin

Colleen Ryan & Eric Hoppel

Kathy & Bob Sheehan

Jim Sheppard

Mary Sullivan

Gene Tobey

Gloria Vanderpoel

Harold Williams

Ed Wutzer

Donations keep coming in for the Chair Drive. We are SOCLOSE! Many thanks to those who have donated (doublethanks to Ed Wutzer who donated AGAIN this month!):

Warren Abriel

Sylvia Barnard

Brian Bush

Jim Davies

Bruce Dix

Jason & Meredith Helgerson

David Hochfelder & Ann Pfau

Michael Hurt

Jack Ingels

Amy Hines-Kramer

Ken and Ursula MacAffer

Carol Mattozza

The Club is theplace to be on June7th. First Pinkster,

then Geo Doody in the Grille Room!Join us for classic rock, R&B, andIrish Pub standards. The performanceis free as part of the Foundations

participation in First Friday. AlaCarte dinner available until 9 pm.Reservations Please! Call 463-1151.

Summer dining hours begin July 1st:

Lunch: Monday-Friday11:30-2:30 p.m.

Dinner: Friday from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Yoga will be on Mondays at noon.Tuesday evening classes will resumein September.

Welcome to the Beverage Buzz, a

new spot to keep you informed ofhappenings with the newly formedFood and Beverage Committee. TheCommittee was formed to supportour fantastic Club Staff in their en-deavors to provide enticing food and

beverage options for you, our mem-bers.

We have lots of new and excitingideas that will be rolled out in thecoming months. But to kick it all off,each month will feature a specialty

cocktail for you to enjoy. The monthof June will feature the RhubarbMargarita complete with tequila,Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice and,of course, freshly pureed rhubarb.Stop in and try one (or two).

To submit questions or comments tothe Food and Beverage Committee,

please contact Meredith [email protected]

Cheers!

*The fine print: Price includes light hors doeuvres, salad bar, a 1 poundlobster, sidesand dessert; beverages, tax and service charge additional. Filetmignon instead of lobster available upon prior request. Additional lobsters alsoavailable at market price, upon prior request. Please let us know your entrechoices when making reservations.


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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

2

Club Closed

3 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ noon

4 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ 4:30 pm

5 Lunch 6 Lunch 7PINKSTER 6-8 pm______________________

GEO DOODYGrille 8-10 pm

8

Club Closed

9

Club Closed

10 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ noon

11 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ 4:30 pm

12 Lunch 13 Lunch 14 Lunch & Dinner 15

Private PartyClub Closed

16

Club Closed

17 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ noon

18 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ 4:30 pm

19 Lunch 20 Lunch 21 Lunch

Lobster Party5:30-8:00 p.m.

22

Club Closed

23

Club Closed

24 Lunch & Dinner

Yoga @ noon

25 Lunch & Dinner 26 Lunch 27 Lunch 28 Lunch & Dinner 29

Club Closed

30

Club Closed

JULY 1

Yoga @ noon

2 Lunch 3 Lunch 4 Lunch

Club ClosedHappy 4th of July!

5 Lunch & Dinner 6

Club Closed

Officers: Colleen Ryan, PresidentNate Maloney, Vice PresidentTim Varney, SecretaryMatt Badalucco, TreasurerWarren Abriel, Past President

Directors: Mark BrognaKevin ClancyMeredith HelgersonJeffrey HillDavid Hochfelder

Geoffrey HoderathAmy Hines-KramerKen McCauleyFrank Nemeth

june 2013 uc newsletter

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