What a beautiful day for a hike! 7 Smith alums met up at Pulgas Ridge near Woodside and had a lovely time climbing up the ridge and finding some very funky purple algae.

On Sunday, October 9th we gathered to celebrate Mountain Day with an easy out-and-back hike on the Schilling Lake Trail located above the town of Woodside in the Thornewood Preserve. And extra special thanks to Donna Dong ‘13 (and her husband Will) and Indira Deonandan ‘08 for providing delicious sandwiches and drinks after our stroll through the woods.

The Annual Meeting of the Smith Club of the Peninsula was held on Sunday, September 26 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

What an amazing in-person gathering for the Smith College Club of the Peninsula Annual Meeting 2021! An ENORMOUS thank you to Joy Silver '96 for offering up her beautiful home and backyard, and for proving an unbelievable spread of quiche, scones, finger sandwiches, and desserts. 24 members gathered on Joy's back patio, reviewed the club's previous 12 months, and planned for the upcoming year.

Another book club tradition continued in August. We enjoyed a movie based on a book: Nomadland based on the book by Jessica Bruder, directed by Academy Award winner and Mount Holyoke graduate Chloé Zhao. .

We gathered at Ludwig's Biergarten in Mountain View for beer, food and socializing. Fröhlichen Freitag - Happy Friday!

We met in person for this recurring opportunity for local Smith Alums to gather, network, get assistance on resume writing, and have a cocktail. Hosted by Donna Dong ‘13.

On Thursday night, April 22nd, we gathered via zoom to hear from Lisa Blanchard, the founder and Executive Director of the Grateful Garment Project (TGGP), a non-profit organization that provides victims of sexual violence the clothing and other resources they need to reclaim their dignity and begin the healing process. The group works with hospitals, shelters, law enforcement and other nonprofits to meet victims’ immediate needs after a crisis, and support their ongoing needs along their road to recovery.

For its April book, the book club set a precedent (we believe) by selecting a poem, in honor of Poetry Month. On April 21, eight of us met to discuss Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” a retelling/ reimagining of some Native American legends.

On April 17th for the second time, a small group met in a virtual setting to play board games together. Donna Dong '13 guided us through Lucky Numbers, Can't Stop, and Love Letter. There was no previous experience required to have a great time!

Throughout the month of March we reached out to our members and alums in an effort to gather clothing and other items for the Grateful Garment Project (TGGP), a local non-profit that provides victims of sexual violence the clothing and other resources they need to reclaim their dignity and begin the healing process. The group works with hospitals, shelters, law enforcement and other nonprofits to meet victims’ immediate needs after a crisis, and support their ongoing needs along their road to recovery.

As a club, we were able to donate nearly 650 items of clothing, plus toiletries, books, food, and comfort items to the Grateful Garment Project, far exceeding expectations. Your participation and generosity was overwhelming.

A bumper crop of Smithies—thirteen—Zoomed together on Wednesday, March17th to discuss “The Dry” by Jane Harper. We all enjoyed this Australian murder mystery with its evocative scene-setting and well imagined central characters, although we weren’t entirely happy with the author’s choice of interpolated back-flashes to illuminate the mysteries of the past. We talked about the pros and cons of small towns and the desperation of this little community suffering under extended drought and heat. Most of us plan to read more of Harper.

Eight of us gathered on Wednesday, Feb. 17, to discuss “Childhood” by Nathalie Sarraute. We all enjoyed this unusual memoir, which combines impressionistic memories with an innovative structure in which a second voice interrogates the author. We appreciated the evocative details that illuminate moments in her childhood; descriptions of the individuals and relationships that shaped her; a glimpse of a circle of Russian ex-pat intellectuals and revolutionaries; and Sarraute’s exploration of the power, and limitations, of language. And we admired the perceptive, resilient young Nathalie.

On Sunday, January 31, 2021 we gathered virtually to celebrate the local students who have applied to Smith to matriculate in the upcoming 2021/2022 school year. We had 12 prospective Smithies join us as we told stories of our time at Smith and answered questions to the best of our ability. It was great fun to meet these excited young students and to share our enthusiasm for Smith College with them.

At our meeting on Wednesday, January 20th, eleven of us discussed a pair of American classics, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Both present wrenching pictures of the life of enslaved people, with Douglass’ having the sting of reality. Stowe’s writing is saccharine and emotional, intended to move the reader and to move the national discussion; in crisp, unadorned prose, Douglass contributed to the abolitionist cause and also moves us to admiration for him. Stowe writes passionately about the hypocrisy of northerners and the Christian church; both emphasize how the institution of slavery dehumanizes owners and undermines otherwise decent people. The two books complement one another and worked well as a pair.

On Sunday, December 6, 2020 we celebrated our annual cookie exchange in the best way that we could: by reimagining it as Zoom gathering where we decorated our own gingerbread houses! Some folks decorated, some sipped hot beverages and chatted, and one intrepid Smithie Laura Selznik '68 was live-baking a gingerbread house from scratch -- including turrets -- as we watched in wonder.

On Sunday, November 22, Smith College Club of the Peninsula Student Care Packages Co-Coordinators Christine Hoffman '14 and Trang Le '20 recruited additional club members to help finalize the distribution of this semester's student care packages: a personalized bookmark and a "cookie-in-a-jar" that the students can use to make warm cookies at home and feel the love.

On Saturday, November 21, a few Smithie warriors gathered via Zoom to throw down in a highly competitive virtual scavenger hunt from our individual homes. It was clear from the beginning that these women came to win as they rearranged their laptops, desktops, and tablets to ensure the optimal placement for fast retrieval of whatever items the game master requested.

Nine of us, meeting on Wednesday the 18th, found plenty to talk about in Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. We found this suspenseful book difficult to read at times but appreciated what it shows us: four motherless siblings who are hurt but coping, resourceful, and tightly bound to one another; a different view of Hurricane Katrina, in rural Mississippi; a community in poverty that has not become degraded or defeated.

On Wednesday, Oct. 21, ten of us discussed “The Moment of Lift” by Melinda Gates. As usual, there were mixed opinions. All admired Gates and her evident commitment and passion for beneficial change, particularly for women, and we came away with respect for the Gates Foundation…

On Friday, October 2nd we had a cocktail hour for Young Alums right after the Grace Hopper conference, and we discussed what it's like to be job hunting during these times. Afterwards, we connected on Linkedin, and started planning some peer portfolio reviews. Come to the next Young Alum happy hours to join the conversation!