Who could resist an English Country Dance to celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday? Not our North Coast group, who gathered at the Twinsburg library. Including our guests, there were 36 present to frolic to live music provided by Toad in the Hole, and cake provided by our hospitality coordinator Caroline Chesebrough. Local English Dance caller Carol Kopp paid us a return visit to call the dance figures. Besides some exciting new young faces from the Mansfield area, our guests included one Country Dance group from Gates Mills, Ohio and another from Broadview Heights. With the help of these more experienced dancers, our skills are improving! -submitted by Beverly Faust Toad in the Hole - our musical accompaniment JASNA members Tom Sudik and Ursula Baker (center) lead down the middle, while Helen and Katie Arendt wait to take their next step.

Attendees met at President Garfield's monument at Lakeview Cemetery at 10am to begin the walking tour. We were guided through some of the best and most interesting monuments in the cemetery, and instructed in the various symbols and meanings of the different styles of monuments. Our tour included the interiors of the Garfield Monument as well as Wade Chapel, which is decorated with a fabulous Tiffany glass mosaic. Walking Tour Pat's Introduction The group then made their way to Nighttown Jazz Club, where they were welcomed by our RC Pat Fernberg, who delivered an opening that encapsulated the spirit of the event. Carrie Bebris entertained the group with stories of killing off her characters (she liked killing Henry Crawford so much that she did it twice!) and read the local essay contest winner's obituary of Mrs Bennet, ( available here ) to the delight of us all. Tim Bullamore opened the speakers' portion of the event with a thorough, informative, a...

Lakeview Cemetery Tour Conference at Nighttown

Our December observance of Jane Austen's birthday was postponed this year due to a rather nasty snow storm. (One that would make even Mr John Knightley tremble!) However, the promise of cake lured us once again to our favorite meeting place, the Solon Library, for a belated birthday celebration and a fabulous presentation on Sense & Sensibility by member Charla Coatoam. Unlike Marianne, we were able to temper our passions and wait until the discussion was over to pounce on the refreshment table. We thoroughly enjoyed the conversation - topics ranged from the different temperaments of the sisters to the scandalous behavior of Mr Willoughby. We were divided in our opinions of Marianne as a spoiled child, or as a misunderstood teenager; however, there was not one among us willing to give Willoughby more of a break than to admit that he was most likely not the worst offender among the gentlemen of his class. The birthday toast was made with the traditional sparkling grape juic...