3 The RAPS Sheet February 2021 MARCH Thursday, March 18 Christine Meadows, PSU Opera Program director, and Chuck Dillard, assistant professor of music and theater, give a virtual presentation showing the results of a project begun in fall 2020: two productions of Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act opera, The Old Maid and the Thief. One production features an all-male cast, the other all-female. APRIL Friday, April 23 The President’s Annual Luncheon for Retired Staff and Faculty, hosted by PSU president Steve Percy, is scheduled to be held in the PSU Ballroom. This meeting will be converted to a Zoom event if the pandemic prevents an in-person gathering. MAY Thursday, May 20 Maryhelen Kincaid, project leader, gives a presentation on “The Vanport Placemarking Project: Remembering and Honoring Vanport’s Significant Cultural History.” The May meeting’s traditional ice cream social may be deferred. Upcoming RAPS events RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE RAPS BOOK GROUP met on January 19 to discuss Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese American Family by Lauren Kessler. There was much to discuss in this account of the immigration of a Japanese family to Oregon around 1900: their life and struggle to become established merchants and orchardists in Hood River, then the experience of the internship of the Japanese on the West Coast and their scattering as they returned after the war. We had an interesting discussion of the tension between assimilation into a new culture and the retaining of old traditions. There was more discussion and disagreement than usual, but we all agreed that we admired the work ethic and determination of these families, and we pitied the Japanese immigrant wives, without friends in a new land, and kept at home by tradition and caring for large families. A few members had been to Japan, and their observations enriched the discussion. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 16, at out usual 1:30 time, and again by Zoom. We will discuss Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde. The story, of the friendship between a boy who feels he doesn’t belong and an elderly neighbor, was recommended to us by a member of another group as a book “that makes one really feel good.” We are looking forward to discussing it. The RAPS Book Group meets the third Tuesday of each month, traditionally in the homes of various members. Currently we are using Zoom for our meetings. Any RAPS member is welcome to join the group. —Joan Shireman Bridge and Hiking Groups BRIDGE GROUP AND HIKING GROUP activities have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mystifying RAPS mystery solved! HAVE YOU RECENTLY MAILED a gift to the RAPS Scholarship Fund, and then heard nothing more? No “thank you” from RAPS. No “thank you” from the PSU Foundation. No response, period. “What is going on?” you undoubtedly asked yourself. “They haven’t even deposited my check!” An alert RAPS member brought the mystery to light, resulting in three RAPS Board members launching a hardhitting investigation and one of our co-presidents leaping into action. It turned out that the mailroom was holding the mail, because the RAPS office, like many PSU offices, was closed due to the pandemic. Pat Squire, our steadfast co-president, picked up the mail and carried the checks to the Foundation, and they were subsequently deposited. And now that we know what happens to mail when the office is closed, we have arranged to have it picked up weekly. We have also decided to ask you to send your gifts directly to the Foundation rather than to the RAPS office. So we offer our apologies to those of you whose gifts were not acknowledged. We will get letters to you as soon as possible. And know that we are indeed grateful for your gifts to the scholarship. Please send any contributions to the PSU Foundation, 1600 SW 4th Ave., #730, Portland, OR 97201. Checks should be made out to the PSU Foundation, and identified as intended for the RAPS Scholarship fund.
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