Updated 8/21/08
Our History - established in 1940, at a time when neither of the colleges in Oneonta, NY met the standards required to have their graduates recognized as members of the Association, the branch has served the women of the community in a variety of ways over the years. Beyond the popular teas, bridge clubs, and general meetings of the forties and fifties, the women offered small scholarships for girls who graduated from Oneonta High School and went on to four year colleges.
In the sixties, the women worked with the local Huntington Library to improve presentation of the children’s books and to create reading rewards programs to provide an incentive for children to participate in reading beyond their school work.
In the seventies, Oneonta Branch sponsored the first rural Reading Is Fundamental program in the nation. Starting by offering books to all of the second graders in four elementary schools plus St. Mary’s Catholic school, they raised money to buy books and were successful enough that in four years they were providing books four times a year to children in second through fifth grades, with a special distribution in early June that included the first graders, so they’d have a book to take home and read over the summer.
Other community offerings included programs on nutrition, how to buy shoes for children, selecting appropriate toys, all presented for parents of children in the Head Start program.
More recently, we have collected health and cosmetic items to augment what is available in the local Family Service facility, decorated Christmas trees that are raffled to benefit Hospice and Family Service, and for a number of years we have had a joint program with the local League of Women Voters, usually a Saturday brunch or luncheon with the two groups alternating in making arrangements for food and inviting a speaker.
Our Branch Structure – as the size of the branch has diminished for a variety of reasons, a general restructuring has taken place. In the mid-seventies the branch had about 130 members, with an estimated 34 under the age of 40, 26 over the age of 60, and 65 in the 40 to 60 age range. At that time there were 20 officers, including representatives for Community, Education, International Relations, and Fellowships; topic Chairmen for the Bicentennial and the 21st Century; plus chairwomen for legislation, publicity, a music group, and a reading group.
In 2007 there are 40 members, many of whom have retired from their professional careers. The branch is governed by a Leadership Council with an Executive Secretary, Vice-President for Membership, one person who serves as both Recording and Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, one person who oversees the Educational Foundation program, two people who coordinate publication of a newsletter (only twice a year as opposed to four times a year in the seventies), and coordinators for two book discussion groups.
Because so many of the members are now part of the winter “Snow Bird” exodus from Oneonta to warmer places, no meetings are held from December through February.
Programs – As the average age of members has increased, and with decreasing attendance at meetings, an experiment to determine more popular meeting times indicated that except for programs connected to meals – the September covered dish dinner and the May banquet – more members were likely to attend morning meetings. The attendance rates jumped from about eight or ten to nearly 20 for morning programs.
Some of the most interesting topics have been presented by local writers, talking about their experiences living in up-state New York . Since one of the book discussion groups generally arranges this kind of meeting each year, it provides both a group of willing workers and their experience with some of the material covered by popular authors in the area.
The branch has long shown interest in environmental concerns, and one of our members has created a special character, Auntie Pollution, who makes occasional visits to keep us up to date on new legislation, improved conservation practices, and local activities.
Occasionally, we invite specialists on banking, health issues, or one of the recipients of our scholarship for persons returning to college after an interruption in their education to speak to us. A program on identity theft and one presented by a young woman who had served with her national guard division in Iraq both provided us with new points of view about our world.
Contacts – For more information about the branch and its meetings please contact either Virginia Pence , Executive Secretary, at pencevw@stny.rr.com or 607-432-5171 or Scott Fielder, Membership Vice President, at scottfielder@stny.rr.com or 607-638-5436.
Description of members – During the summer board meeting to create meeting topics and plans, the assembled members recommended that a good description of our branch is the following: we are older women, more sedate, but absolutely fascinating; we welcome members of all ages, points of view, and enthusiasms. We all endorse the general purpose of the American Association of University Women.
General Program for September 2008 through May 2009 –
September 15th, Monday, 6:00 pm covered dish dinner at St. James Episcopal Church, Oneonta NY. Harry Pence will discuss “Knights and Daze at the Opera.” These will not be reviews of opera plots, but rather stories of what can go wrong, that the audience never knows about, or creative solutions to problems that arose during rehearsals and staging in the early years of Glimmerglass Opera.
October 28th, Mark Simonson, Oneonta’s official historian, will review the Oneonta City Centennial including the early years, the families who contributed to the growth of the city, and the celebrations this year. The meeting will be at the Greater Oneonta Historical Society Building at 1:00
November 17th, Monday, at 10:00, we’ll have a tour of the Foothills Performing Arts building at 10:00. This is an opportunity to see what is in store for the community as the site is developed for offices, performance areas, and meeting rooms.
Spring brunch with the League of Women Voters is set for Saturday, March 7th, at Hartwick College. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Margaret Drugovich, the new president at the college. Meeting time is set for 10:00 am, but the room for the brunch has not yet been determined. Call V. Pence at 607-432-5171 for details in February.
April 21, Tuesday, is the date for a repeat performance by Jim Atwell. He has graciously agreed to return to Oneonta and read from his book about life in Fly Creek. The program will be at the First United Methodist Church, 10:00 AM.
Donna Coyne will make arrangements for our May banquet, and those details will be presented early next year.
AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.