WWURA NEWS
Welcoming retired WWU Faculty and Staff and others
January 2021
President’s Notes
This past Tuesday, January 5th, the Board held their monthly meeting. Very positive discussions: the Holiday Party was deemed a fun and successful event and we decided to hold another similar Zoom activity in February, Lina’s fundraising efforts were very successful (Baklava sales were $364 ) (although for some of us it broke our dieting resolve), and several members also stepped forward with donations in support of the Association.
I believe with the advent of the Covid vaccine there was a sense of the future lightning-up and perhaps our ability to return to some WWURA events with per- son-to-person contact in the foreseeable future. It is certainly important to recognize the efforts of Suzanne, Peggy, Chris, and Lina in planning, Burl and Sylvia performing, and every- one’s sharing stories or special articles in making the Party so much fun. We left the meeting on a high note…
And then Wednesday the US Capital building was attacked…for me personally that was a devastating event. I’ve spoken in past columns about higher education and the academy’s responsibility in educating student to be involved citizens. I had spoken at the Board meeting about organizing a Zoom event regarding that responsibility and our current political situation but decided to hold off. However after Wednesday’s events I’m thinking that it might be of interest to the membership. Please let me know via email if you are interested, would be willing to help organize or lead discussion, or any other thoughts about the possibility of such a discussion group.
As always…please stay safe!
Kevin
(360) 733-8145
For Your Calendar
Around the World Travelogue Part II
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
4:00 p.m. via Zoom
WWURA world travelers, David Carroll and Susan Donnelly, dazzled us in November with the first stops on their trip around the globe. Don’t miss Part II of their adventure, which they will share via Zoom, January 20th at 4:00 PM. Check your email one or two days before to get your link to their stories from Rapa Nui (Easter Island), French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Sumatra!
Feel free to invite friends to the presentation. It’s not necessary to be a WWURA member.
Zoom Valentine Party in February
- Writers Group -
Bomber Escort Cover, by Burl D. Harmon
November 17, 2020
The other side of bombing Axis targets embraces the fighter escort planes. From May to October 1944, I flew 38 combat missions, protected by pursuit planes, the P38 twin-engine attack craft and later the P51 fighter planes, piloted by the intrepid 332nd Black Squadron, Tuskegee Airmen.
For the first part of my Italian mission, the P38 flew cover for our bombardment groups. As we approached the target, we were constantly harassed by German aircraft. The escort cover had limited protection, though, hampered by lack of maneuverability, requiring a seven-mile circle to engage the enemy fighter planes.
About half way through my tour of duty, the Army Air Corp deemed the P38 fighter cover planes too slow, cumbersome and ineffective, replacing them with the sleeker, more agile P51, a single engine plane manned by one pilot. The situation changed dramatically once the Black Squadron daredevils began their dive-bombing and strafing missions against the German attack planes.
The all-black squadron served with distinction in World War II from May 1943 through June 1945. The fabled “Red Tail” presence in the 15th Air Force raised the morale of bomber crews, who often requested to be escorted by these fighter pilots. Without a doubt, I am alive today because of their heroic efforts.
My admiration for the Tuskegee airmen grew out of the realization that the Jim Crow laws, still extant during this period, had outlawed African Americans from becoming pilots. In 1941, fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military and only twelve African American had become officers. By 1945, more than 1.2 million African Americans were serving in uniform on the Home Front, in Eu- rope and the Pacific, including thousands of African American women in the women’s auxiliaries.
The National WWII Museum, located in New Orleans, honors the contributions of the Tuskegee airmen in World War II by highlighting some of their exceptional achievements. I will be forever awed by these intrepid pilots.
“The Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties between May 1943 and June 1945 [and lost only 250 bombers]. Bomber crews often requested to be escorted by these “Red Tails,” a nickname acquired from the painted tails of Tuskegee fighter plane, which were a distinctive deep red. Sixty-six Tuskegee Airmen died in combat, having the lowest loss records of any escort fighter group… In all, the Tuskegee Airmen earned eight purple hearts, fourteen Bronze Stars, three Distinguished Unit Citations, and 96 Dis- tinguished Flying Crosses.”
Despite the P51’s excellent cover, our crew had a near-death experience with a group of Focke-Wulfs, who whizzed over our plane at speeds of up to 350 miles per hour. I paraphrase my navigator who report- ed what the waist gunners, who could see the action, told him about the destructive attack on the bomber just ahead of us.
“There’s a bogey at 4 o’clock, and I’ve counted: four shoots out.” What he left unsaid was that six didn’t get out. I had the sinking feeling we must be next in line for buckling up our parachutes and launching into the air.
The crew never talked about the incident in an attempt to wipe it from our minds.
I still have a vivid memory of the thought of going to the back of the plane and bailing out. The recollection leaves me inwardly cringing at how close I came to plunging over German territory.
Interest Groups
BOOK GROUP
We will meet January 19th at 2:00 pm on Zoom. We will be discussing The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Discussion leader - Donna Moore. Lina will send a link for Zoom.
February’s book is This Tender Land by William Krueger March’s book is Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal
Donna Moore
360-733-5769
WRITER'S GROUP
Troy Faith Ward, 425-299-4924, troyfaithward@gmail.com.
Meets twice a month. The groups are kept small so there is time for reading and critiquing each other's work.
A second writing group has started and is accepting new members. Meets twice a month. Call Bill Smith 360-920-6390, billsmith1545@yahoo.com if interested.
OPERA GROUP
Metropolitan Opera streaming:
Renee Fleming week:
- January 11-17
- Figaro (1998)
- Thais (2008), Rosenkavalier (2010)
- Armida (2010—includes 7 tenors) Capriccio
- Rodelinda (2011)
- Rusalka (2014).
CBC Radio is playing operas of the MET from previous years. Start at Saturday 1pm PST. King FM broad- casts Seattle productions 10 am on Saturdays.
Radio broadcasting of operas: the following stations offer opera each Saturday:
CBC Radio 2 at 105.7 (starts at 1 pm with Ben Heppner). King FM (98.1) at 10:00 am (try computer if your radio/stereo does not connect).
Note: Metropolitan Opera 2020-2021 season is cancelled.
Evelyn Ames
360-734-3184
COOKING FOR ONE (OR TWO)
When WWURA member Pat Clarke was just four years old, her sweet face and blonde curls con- vinced her mother that she was a shoe-in to be the “next Shirley Temple”. Conveniently, Pat’s grandmother and great-grandmother lived in Los Angeles, with easy access to dance classes, elocution lessons, and Shirley Temple-style hair dressers. For an entire year, Pat began her days with her grandmother’s curling iron and ended them with her great-grandmother’s wonderful cooking.
Once the year ended, it was time for her big interview, and world-famous dancer Gene Kelley was assigned to see how Pat measured up. She remembers what he said: “So. Do you want to stay here in Holly- wood and be in movies?”
And she remembers her answer: “No. I don’t. I want to go home to Spokane.
In less than a minute, an entire year of training and hair curling proved to be a waste of time as she was quickly ushered out. As far as Pat can recall, her great-grandmother’s recipe for cooked apples was the one good thing to come from the experience. The recipe below is, she believes, the authentic, great-grandma- approved version.
- Suzanne Krogh
Great-Grandma Martha’s Apple Bake for One
1 medium apple
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon melted butter or oil of your choice
1 tablespoon raw oats
½ teaspoon artificial sweetener or sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cinnamon, oil, and oats.
- Peel the apple, cut it in thin slices, and mix with other ingredients.
- Arrange the slices in a pie pan and sprinkle with the sweetener.
- Cover the pan with foil.
- Bake about 20 minutes. Test with a fork. Apple slices are done when they are soft.
Tips
- To retain more vitamins, don’t peel the apple.
- This is a good recipe for a toaster oven, but set the temperature at 325 degrees and check for doneness after 15 minutes.
Baklava
Need a gift for someone special during the year? Lina Zeine has said that if anyone wants to give a gift of Baklava during the year, she will make her scrumptious Baklava and donate the revenue to WWURA.
You can order in increments of 1/2 dozen at $2.00 a piece. A full tray contains 48 pieces = $96.
You may call or email Lina to place an order and agree on a delivery time, then send a check made out to WWURA to Treasurer Norm Lindquist at 1819 Olympic Place, Bellingham, WA 98229.
Lina: 360-734-7408, lzeine@comcast.net
About Western Washington University Retirement Association
Email: mal.iaap@clearwire.net
Website: https://www.wwu.edu/wwura/
Phone: (360) 733-6052