Fellow OLLI Members build da Vinci’s Cam Hammer

A class from an OLLI in southern Oregon recently built a replica of a cam hammer that Leonardo da Vinci drew up 513 years ago. The 26 OLLI members initially had a class that explored da Vinci’s experiments and accomplishments. After the class, they partnered with a program called ScienceWorks at a local museum to build a replica of the first cam hammer. Cam hammers were used by blacksmiths to more effectively work metal into shapes without using as much physical energy as required by hand. The partnership with ScienceWorks marks one of the first partnerships an OLLI chapter has made with local scientific organizations. The OLLI members were even able to get some grants from the National Science Foundation to help in completing the project.

You can read the full article here: click to read full article

What do you think about this project? Do you think we should be partnering with scientific organizations in our community?

OLLI in the National Spotlight

If you didn’t catch it, our local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Yavapai College was featured in CNN Money Magazine. An article on the best places to retire in America featured Prescott as fourth out of twenty-five communities, and the online version placed a link to our website where readers could go for further information.

You can view the online article here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1009/gallery.best_places_retire.moneymag/4.html

There is also a longer article in the print version of the current issue of Money Magazine on page 113. After the article hit the newsstands, ABC15 out of Phoenix came up to interview Dennis Garvey, the Dean of the Division of Lifelong Learning, as well as Matt and Roseann Lukaszewski, two lovely OLLI members.

You can view the video clip on our homepage at http://www.yc.edu/olli.

What do you think about Prescott as a retirement community?

OLLI Around the Nation – OLLI Follies

While our OLLI is constantly growing and has more classes and thing to do than you can shake a stick at, I bet you’ve wondered what other OLLIs are doing around the country.

The OLLI at the university of Southern Maine just held its first OLLI Follies. Apart from having a fantastic name, the event allowed about 50 OLLI members to let their talents be known in a series of variety shows. Over 21 acts included musicians, actors, poets, singers, and dancers.

The OLLI follies skits were so contagious some even made their way to Youtube. This clip is a veritable OLLI anthem that any member can enjoy.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH-NzmaWO4Y&feature=player_embedded]

If this video has sparked your interest, Anne Cardale, the wonderful Communications Director at OLLI’s National Resource Center, has created a web page where she will upload more OLLI videos in the future. You should bookmark the web page (http://usm.maine.edu/olli/national/videos.jsp) and check back often.

Annual Business Meeting Wrap-up

We want to thank everyone who attended our annual meeting on June 8th, 2010. We hope you had an enjoyable experience and a good meal from the catering staff at the Prescott Resort. Special thanks go out to Marge Rubin, the Social Committee Chair, and Hal Freedman, the Governing Council Chair, whose efforts made the meeting run as smoothly as it did.

Here is the business meeting PowerPoint presentation for those who would like to review what was discussed.

You can also enjoy these photos we snapped. Looking Good OLLI!

OLLI Summer Announcements

Summer Session

Don’t forget to register for summer classes. Summer classes run from June 14 through July 26, 2010. You can view the catalog by clicking on this link: OLLI Summer 2010 Catalog. There are currently 27 great classes to choose from with three field trips, so don’t miss out.

Unfortunately, class number 28, Coffee Break with Chef Asta, had to be canceled and is no longer being offered for the summer session.

Summer Hours and Construction

Yavapai College has new summer hours starting the week of the May 17th that the OLLI office will follow. The office will be open from 8AM- 5PM Monday-Thursday and closed on Friday. Summer hours will run until Friday August 13th.

If you haven’t noticed already, there is a bit of construction going on around the entrance to the OLLI office. The construction is scheduled to take three weeks and should be finishing up by June 4th. The map below details the construction zone and available parking. You can reach the office by parking in the lot to the north of building 31 or by continuing around the loop in parking in the indicated “Open Parking” spaces.

building 32 construction zone map

Annual OLLI Meeting

• What: OLLI’s annual membership meeting
• When: Tuesday June 8th, 2010  10:30AM – 1PM
• Where: Prescott Resort, 1500 E. State Rt 69
• What: Discuss the future direction of OLLI, hear updates, meet the new OLLI governing council, socialize with OLLI friends
• Cost: FREE to members and lunch provided!

An RSVP registration by June 2nd is required by calling 928-717-7634. We hope to see you there!

OLLI’s Fearless Field Trip Facilitators

When you look in the inside back page of the OLLI learning group schedule to see what trips or events are available; do you ever wonder who those field trip facilitators are? Well, wonder no more. We are Peg Boyce, Louise Schloss, Tina Leydon, Jerry Burress, Joe Rafti, Clark Engle and other members who have organized field trips on occasion. We love traveling and we are an adventurous group, stimulated by our curiosity. While our combined travel experiences have probably touched nearly every continent, we also have a great interest in the natural and cultural beauty of Arizona and our neighboring states.

Some of the field trips we have facilitated have been to the Phoenix Art Museum to see The “Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Masters” and other shows, the Challenger Space Center in Peoria, several Broadway musical plays including “The Phantom of the Opera” at the Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, Basha’s magnificent Western and Native American Art Museum, live opera beamed from the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York to Scottsdale, the Riordan Mansion and the Arboretum in Flagstaff, and Prescott area events and museums.

We are constantly checking the newspapers and other media to keep up on what events are coming to the Phoenix area and other parts of Arizona. While we are satisfying our own curiosity we hope to discover events and places that will educate and entertain our OLLI members and friends.

Should you have a suggestion for a day trip please notify the OLLI office, and if you would care to become a field trip facilitator, we say, “Welcome Aboard!”

Submitted by Jerry Burress

Tina Leydon

Jerry Burress and Joe Rafti

Peg Boyce

Clark Engle

Japanese Gardens and Wrigley Mansion

Photo by Chris Shovel

On March 18, with two big Masters Touch buses and a truly beautiful day, approximately 90 OLLI members and friends left from the YC campus for a long-anticipated trip to the Japanese Gardens and the Wrigley Mansion in Phoenix. Thanks to all the recent moisture to Arizona, the roadside wildflowers were beginning to appear and the ground itself looked as if it had just been transported from the Emerald Isles.

We arrived at the Japanese Gardens, and were promptly divided into four groups, each with a knowledgeable tour guide. Our guide, Diane, explained the Ro Ho En engraved on the lovely entrance gate and the purpose of Japanese gardens for people everywhere as a place of peace, tranquility, beauty and centering of the mind, away from their hectic lives and schedules. While the gardens are only 3 acres in size, they represent all world zones as one slowly progresses through them. The pond in the center has marvelous schools of Koi fish in pinks, yellows, silvers, and some even with blue markings, all hoping to be fed by us. These are both donated and ‘home-grown’, in all sizes, and beautifully exotic. As we walked, the art of bonzai was explained, and the wide variety of trees pointed out. There is an authentic teahouse, and the elaborate tea ceremonies and traditions were described. With several delightful bridges, lovely waterfalls, and tranquil areas, this truly is a quiet haven in the midst of Phoenix busyness. And we actually drove under the gardens when going through a tunnel on the way to the Wrigley Mansion – amazing!

With beautiful floral landscaping and a view to die for, the Wrigley Mansion overlooks the Biltmore Hotel and the homes within the Biltmore grounds. This was the smallest of the five Wrigley homes (at 16,850 sq. feet!) and a 50th wedding anniversary present in 1932 from William Wrigley, Jr. to his wife Ada. In 1992, it was purchased by Geordie Hormel. Originally, he only wanted to buy the priceless oak Steinway player piano (one of only two) in the living room, but found that Mr. Wrigley had willed that all furniture must stay with the Mansion – so he bought it all! The tour included various rooms, with intricate ceilings in Art Deco patterns and colors, Catalina tiles (from Wrigley’s own Catalina Island factory), and verandas with wonderful views, including Camelback Mountain. After the tour, our group had a delicious lunch in an upper dining area overlooking the main dining hall and with panoramic views of Phoenix.

After lunch, we boarded our buses and headed back to Prescott. This was a very enjoyable trip, and our thanks to the OLLI people who scheduled and worked on it.

Submitted by Pat Beaugrand

You can find out more about the Japanese Gardens by following this link:  http://www.japanesefriendshipgarden.org/

You can find out more about the Wrigley Mansion by following this link: http://www.wrigleymansionclub.com/