President Joan Raum opened the meeting, hosted by Sue Storjohann at Peace Church, on November 24, by reading Abraham Lincoln’s declaration of Thanksgiving Day. Twenty-one members shared their family Thanksgiving traditions in response to roll call. Four members were excused. The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s report were read and approved. No correspondence was received. Old Business: All members applauded those who contributed to and constructed the lovely book tree at the City Center’s Festival of Trees. Hearty thanks to Marcia, Kathy, Avriel, Deb and those members who dug deep to provide enough books for the beautiful display. New Business: Members all signed a birthday card for Marge Grove’s 94th birthday. Her address at Southridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was shared. Joan reminded members that, for our Christmas meeting at Claire Handorf’s, members are to bring a wrapped book for the Social Committee’s activity. Claire suggested that members should car pool and assured us that Lynn’s concierge services will be available upon our arrival. Joan then distributed seasonal quiz sheets. The first was a simple-to-complex Thanksgiving Word Scramble. The second provided more thoughtful entertainment as members responded to multiple-choice questions about Thanksgiving facts. She closed the business meeting by reading a humorous verse “Black November, A Turkey’s Lament” by Steven Sultanhoff, PhD, in which Tom Turkey’s eyes are opened to his place in the holidays. Carol Kress, introduced by the Program Committee, presented “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers,” a personal family history of the Von Trapp Family Singers. In creating her book report, Carole included information from the musical THE SOUND OF MUSIC and an episode about Maria Von Trapp on the Biography channel. While the musical version of their life did convey many of the main episodes, the storyline of the musical compressed them so that they seemed to happen one after the other. Maria leaves the convent, teaches the children how to sing, marries their father and they flee the country at the outbreak of the war. Like the musical, the book starts with Maria’s last day in the convent, but time unfolds quite differently. The Baron’s fortune was lost before the family left Austria, and they arrived in the USA on borrowed money. In their new American lives, they were compelled to restart from the bottom of the ladder, digging themselves out of debt before they could think of a permanent home. The report answered the question of what happened to the family after their immigration to the United States. Our hostess, Sue Storjohann, marked our places with nut cups, colorful napkins, and truffles. Our main “course” was a delicious and decorative pumpkin roll, accompanied by coffee and choice of tea flavors.