The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State MARCH 2018 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University–RAPS Post Office Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 Campus Public Safety Building second floor, Room 212 SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Rebecca Butterworth Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: Mon & Wed, 9 to 1 Tues, 9 to 2, Thurs, 9 to 3 Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents Doug Swanson Dawn White Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Steven Brenner Nancy Eriksson Charlie White RAPS Sheet Editor Eileen Brennan Website Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations Larry Sawyer Committees Awards Charlie White, Chair History Preservation Nancy Koroloff, Chair Membership Dawn White, Chair Scholarships Priscilla Blumel, Chair Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair Christine Meadows and opera students present on March 15 PSU’S SPRINGOPERA production, Albert Herring, tells the comic tale of Albert, the naïve greengrocer’s son unexpectedly crowned King of the May in a small town in Great Britain around the turn of the 20th century. Composed in 1946-47 by Benjamin Britten, the opera explores themes of social stratification, Victorian morality, and loss of innocence. Eric Crozier wrote the libretto, based on the novella Le Rosier de Madame Husson by Guy de Maupassant. At the Thursday, March 15, RAPS meeting, Christine Meadows, PSU Opera Program director will take us behind the scenes in a presentation titled “Benjamin Britten’s Truly Comic Opera.” Students will sing excerpts from Albert Herring as well as other pieces. Christine Meadows is a professional mezzo-soprano and professor of music at PSU. A native Portlander, she received her undergraduate training at Portland State and earned an M.M. degree in vocal performance from Indiana University. She pursued a successful career as a concert and opera soloist, singing with New York City Opera, the Dallas Lyric Opera, the Houston Opera, and the Portland Opera. Christine is well known for her inspiring work with students of opera, teaching them not just how to sing but how to move and act on stage. Many of her students have gone on to successful professional careers in opera. The March meeting begins at noon with a potluck lunch in 333 SMSU. At approximately 12:45 pm the group will move to 326 Lincoln Hall, where Christine will speak and the PSU students will perform beginning at 1 pm.
Co-President’s Message The travel bug cometh, and it bites hard 2018 wine tour with Scott Burns ON MAY 9TH Scott will lead a tour to the Tualatin Valley, visiting Cooper Mountain, David Hill, and Montinore Estate wineries. Enjoy a day with Scott, a retired professor of geology and well-known wine expert, and friends exploring what makes each winery special. Date: Wednesday, May 9. Time: The bus will leave from PSU at 9:30 am. Lunch: Bring your own lunch with nibbles. Tasting fee: Typically waived with wine purchase. Cost: $60 per person, which supports the RAPS Scholarship and covers the bus rental. Limit: 26 participants. Sign up now and look forward to a great day in May on our Wine Tour. Call Rebecca at 503-725-3447 or send a check to: Portland State University--RAPS Office, P O Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. You may also sign up at the RAPS General Meetings. 2 AROUND RAPS TERRITORY—the office in the Campus Public Safety building and board room in Simon Benson— we’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about the Italy tour set for this November. It’s a great opportunity to raise money for the RAPS Scholarship, it has a great itinerary, and it’s led by a great company, Collette. Yes, we’ve concluded that it’s pretty darn great. In fact, we were talking about the trip during our February board meeting when my mind began to wander—which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has ever been in a meeting with me. To make matters worse, I was chairing the meeting. I became so distracted that I actually skipped a topic on the agenda before Dawn White, tapping on the agenda sheet, jarred me back to the here and now. But it had been so pleasant wandering back to 1957, because that was the year I caught the travel bug. I was in first grade, and Priscilla, my much older (by 11 years) and tremendously sophisticated (I was in first grade, remember) sister, fresh out of high school, was preparing to spend a year in Europe. In my eyes, this was really big stuff. There was even a bon voyage party! The day before she left, we drove to San Francisco International and stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport. Her flight, which was to take her to New York City—the city where the “Today” show, with Dave Garroway, was broadcast. I watched it with my dad every morning!—was early the next day. In New York she would board MS Gripsholm, a new Swedish-American liner, for the crossing to Gothenburg. Over the next months I received several postcards—of the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, of the Munich skyline, of pigeons fluttering around Piazza San Marco in Venice. It was fun to get cards from so far away, and I still have a couple of them. But it was at San Francisco airport, staring at that beautiful, four-engine Lockheed Constellation—for a seven-year-old, I knew my airplanes—when everything changed. I knew where that big plane was going, and I really wanted to be aboard. I was so jealous of my big sister. The travel bug didn’t bite me as much as it chomped down and never let go. I made my own post-high school trip to Europe a few years later. It would be another 20 years before I made it overseas again, but getting married, buying a house, and having a baby take their toll on a travel budget. Barbara and I have been making up for those home-bound years ever since, traveling as much as we reasonably can. And we’ve been known to stretch “reason” every so often. We can worry about the budget when we get home. Speaking of which, the 2018 Swanson travel budget is already shot, well spent on the Far East (last month) and Eastern Europe (next month). But for those of you who are weighing the RAPS Italy trip, well, I envy you, and I encourage you to pursue it. I know where that big plane is going, and I really wish I were aboard. —Doug Swanson
RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE BOOK GROUP did not meet in February due to a snowstorm. In email communications, we agreed to postpone our meeting until March. On March 20, we will discuss Jodi Picoult’s Plain Truth, and will meet at the home of Gwen Pierce, 512 SW Maplecrest Drive, in Portland. This is an older novel by an author many of us have liked, set in Amish culture. It is, according to the back cover, “a riveting story of a murder that shatters the picturesque calm of Amish country and tests the heart and soul of the lawyer defending the woman at the heart of the storm.” Email Gwen at gwen-pierce@comcast.net or call her at 503-246-9632 to let her know whether you will be there. In April we plan to read Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, the story of two young people who leave the conflict of their homeland and settle in the West. We will meet at the home of Eileen and Steve Brennan. The Book Group meets the third Tuesday of every month at 1:30 pm. New members are always welcome. And we welcome suggestions of books that are interesting to read and full of issues for discussion. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUPmeets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 pm. We try to finish up by 4 pm. We meet in Smith Center, usually on the second floor, but sometimes on the third floor. Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming meetings: Tuesday, March 6, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, April 3, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, May 1, in SMSU 294 Tuesday, June 5, in SMSU 294 I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. The RAPS Bridge Group members are very friendly and are always looking for new players. If you wish to join us, please contact Steve Brennan, 503-646-6297. My email address is the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. —Steve Brennan Hiking Group THE MARCH HIKE will explore Oregon’s history and take place at Champoeg State Park. This will be a carpool hike. We will meet on Tuesday, March 27, at 9:00 am in the souteast corner of the Gateway Transit Center parking garage at 1249 NE 99th Avenue in Portland. Champoeg State Park is located along the Willamette River, and is the site of a historic vote where settlers adopted a provisional government alligned with the United States rather than Great Britain. The park features hiking loopsand the Champoeg Heritage area. Lunch will most likely be at the park cafe. The February hike had a dozen participants who explored George Rogers Park and the Old River Road in Lake Oswego. If you plan to hike in March, contact Larry Sawyer at 503771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. For more details about this hike or future hiking plans in 2018, please consult the RAPS hikers’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPSHikers —Larry Sawyer In February, RAPS Hiking Group members enjoyed the historic buildings and the natural beauty along the Old River Road in Lake Oswego, including seasonal waterfalls and winter vegetation. —-Photograph by Eileen Brennan 3 RAPS Scholarship donations December 15 through February 1 Priscilla Blumel in memory of Graham Conroy Scott Burns Carol J. Gerity Anne-Grete Morris in memory of Major Morris Pat Squire
In memoriam: Ethel Lindemood Lawrence, 1925-2018 Professor Lawrence’s teaching career included three years in the Army, in Germany, and 32 years at Portland State, which she joined in 1964. After retiring, the Lawrences moved to Tigard, then to Salem, and finally to Silverdale, Washington, in 2008, to be near their children. Professor Lawrence is survived by two sons, Randall Lawrence, and wife, Jan, and Richard Lawrence, and wife, Jill Maloney; a daughter, Renee Lambert, and husband, Steve; grandchildren Karlyn Nance and husband, Tom; Noel Lawrence and partner, Randy Rassmussen; Laura Lambert and fiancé, William Van Otten; and Stephanie Tribble and husband, David; and great-grandchildren Connor and Emilia Nance. A memorial service was held in Silverdale on February 24. —Doug Swanson Photo credit: PSU Archives Digital Gallery In memoriam: Grover William Rodich, 1929-2018 GROVER RODICH, professor emeritus of business administration and a former assistant dean of the School of Business Administration, died February 3 in Arizona. He was 89 years old. Professor Rodich was born in Long Beach, California, on January 7, 1929. He received bachelor’s degrees from Oregon State University in 1951 and the University of Oregon in 1953. He began his career directing elementary school and high school bands, and in 1963 he obtained a master’s in musical performance (clarinet) from California State University, Sacramento. Professor Rodich joined Portland State University in 1966 after completing an MBA at Oregon State. In 1973 he received a Ph.D. in industrial management from the University of Oregon. He taught management courses at PSU until he retired in 1990, when he and his wife, Nancy, moved to Arizona. Professor Rodich was a charter member and past president of the California Band Directors Association, and performed as clarinetist and clarinet soloist with bands and orchestras in Oregon, California, Colorado, and Illinois. He was concertmaster and soloist with the Sun City Concert Band, and he was founder and conductor of the Mellow Winds, a clarinet choir. Professor Rodich is survived by his wife, Nancy; his brother, Lynn, and sister, Karen; children Susan, Lorraine, Donald, Bruce, Scott, Linda, and John; and 10 grandchildren. Services were held in Sun City, Arizona, on February 10. Remembrances may be sent to the Sun City Concert Band, attn: Mellow Winds, 9559 W. Willowbrook, Sun City, AZ 85373. —Doug Swanson Photo credit: PSU Archives Digital Gallery 4 ETHEL L. LAWRENCE, associate professor emerita of mathematical sciences, died January 19 at age 93. Professor Lawrence was born January 2, 1925, in Longview, Washington, to Harry and Grace Lindemood. She grew up in Klamath Falls and Eugene, where she attended the University of Oregon. She graduated in 1946 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. While at UO, she met Herb Lawrence, and the couple married in 1946 after he returned from service in World War II. The Lawrences were married for 65 years, until Mr. Lawrence’s death in 2011.
Upcoming RAPS spring events MARCH (Thursday, March 15) Annual Spring Potluck, followed by “Benjamin Britten's Truly Comic Opera, Albert Herring.” Presentation by Christine Meadows and PSU opera students; 333 SMSU. Five performances of Albert Herring are scheduled between April 20 and 29, including matinees on April 24 and 29. Tickets can be purchased by calling the PSU Box Office at 503-725-3307 or going to this link: https://portl andstate.universitytickets.com/user_pages/category.asp?id=39 APRIL (Monday, April 16) – note departure from Thursday pattern – President’s Luncheon, hosted by President Rahmat Shoureshi; SMSU Ballroom. MAY(Thursday, May 10; please note the changed date and room) “The Importance of Norms: Trump vs the Press.” Presentation by Christopher Shortell, professor of political science and department chair, followed by Annual Ice Cream Social; 296 SMSU. 5
On Thursday, March 15, please join the RAPS monthly gathering to share a Potluck Lunch and to hear about PSU’s upcoming production of Benjamin Britten’s comic opera, Albert Herring, from Christine Meadows, PSU Opera Program Director, and the talented students in the cast. Please bring a salad or dessert to share. Main dishes and beverages will be provided. The potluck starts at noon in 333 Smith Memorial Student Union. After lunch we move to 326 Lincoln Hall, where the program with Christine and the opera students begins at 1 pm. Questions? Please contact Nancy Eriksson email at nan254@hotmail.com or phone at 503-913-7200 or Rebecca Butterworth, RAPS Office Manager email at rapsmail@pdx.edu or phone at 503-725-3447 6
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