Joanne Sampsel, Charter Member

A Tribute to Joanne Sampsel

As most of you know Joanne Sampsel passed away this month.  Joanne was one of the original book club members. Memories being what they are at our age....it is comforting to know that we can rely on the Written Word (Linda’s Official List) to keep track of what our brains cannot.   Joanne's first book choice was "Deceptions" by Judith Michael and the second year she picked "Pastures of Heaven" by John Steinbeck.  The third year of Book Club she hosted our first Christmas "Snack Tasting" get together.  As Karen was reminiscing, she recalled that Joanne always was working at home and/or outside the home.  She never was idle. Debbie remembered that Joanne listened to Books on Tape while she ironed. 

It has been suggested we donate a book on tape to the library in her memory.  She was very creative, and the idea of selecting a book on tape seems appropriate.  This tribute celebrates both her pleasures of quilting and cooking and her creativity of participating in Book Club in a way that she could work and enjoy the written word at the same time.

The book “Friday Night Knitting Club” by Kate Jacobs was mentioned. I contacted the library and they already have this book on tape.  Another one of Jacobs books is “Comfort Food” and this is one the library needs.  Open to other suggestions.   

In the meantime let me/Karen Massey know if you would be interested in donating toward this memorial.

Submitted by Karen Massey

Joanne Sampsel was in our book club at the outset, although she dropped out after about a year, as she was not a reader, but a dear friend and neighbor for those of us in the Foster Village subdivision.
She was also a charter member of St Elizabeth's. She passed away on 4-26-12 after a three year battle with cancer.  She was 59.
Submitted by Gloria Hannon

May Meeting at Gloria's Home

WOW's May's meeting was held May 22nd at Gloria's house.  Also, in attendance were Barb, Sharon, Linda, Angie, Karen M., Debbie, and Joyce.   The book, "Gods & Kings" by Lynn Austin was set in Jerusalem during the time of King David's grandson, King Ahaz's reign, although the book is primarily about his son, Hezekiah's, growth to manhood, and ultimate investiture as King.
Lentils and barley, multigrain rolls (bread was a very important food at that time), dates, olives and kosher grape juice were served to help transport us  back to the culture described in the book.
We had a lively discussion about the characters described in the book.  Some members brought their Bible, and several commented on their having read the passages used by the author to set the book.
We had conflicting views about Uriah.  Did he start out with good intentions or not?  Was Abijah weak or strong? Linda brought a chart of Jesus' genealogy, and we find that Hephzibah becomes the mother of Hezekiah's son and heir, Manasseh.  How could this be?
We agreed on Zechariah's character, especially at his ability to explain Yahweh and faith to his grandson.  We all liked Shebna, the tutor.  We all disliked King Ahaz.
We read passages from the book, talked about Hezekiah's terrible losses, and our own losses, and finding God's peace even amidst those losses.
Even though we couldn't find a set of reading discussion questions for this book, our group managed to maintain a lively discussion about  "Gods & Kings" throughout the meeting.
Submitted by Gloria Hannon

April Meeting at Barb's House

Our April Meeting was at Barb Thomas' house. We reviewed the book, Molokai. Our group dined on special Hawaiian dishes served by our favorite cook, Barb!  This was a very interesting book. We realized we had not thought much about leprosy before reading this book.We discussed how difficult life must have been for the people with the illness who had to live on the island. We also discussed the illness itself and the quilt the people left behind felt. Several members talked about visiting the island on their next visit to Hawaii. Everyone liked learning more about this topic through this very interesting book.