Come for the Programs . . .
* During the pandemic shutdown, meetings moved online with Zoom. We resumed in-person meetings in June 2022 and have continued to offer "hybrid" access by Zoom. Please request a link by sending email to [email protected]
Meetings start at 9:30 AM with coffee and socializing. At 10:00 we sit down, sing a song or two, and hear a few jokes & announcements. The day's invited speaker starts at around 10:30. Visitors are asked to arrive by 10:00 AM.
Note: For the present, in-person attendance requires two Covid vaccinations plus a booster, and face masks must be worn. Please read our full policy on Covid protocols here: www.covid-protocols.pdf
Programs consist of stimulating talks by people such as past governors, mayors, politicians, physicians, Nobel Prize winners, judges, professors, historians, scientists, authors, economists, journalists, financial advisors, medical specialists, conservationists, etc. The following Q&A is lively. Put on your business casual attire or jacket & tie (or something more casual from May to September) and attend a meeting with us. All visitors are welcome. Admission is free.
Stay for the Friends*
After the meetings, many members join together to have lunch at various local restaurants.
In addition to the weekly meetings, there are activity groups for golf, bridge, hiking, trips, computer help, tennis and more.
* Or, as one member put it recently, "Come for the Jokes, Stay for the Talks", since we start each meeting by singing a few songs and enjoying a few jokes :-)
Policy on Weather Cancellations
During very bad weather or when the NPPC is unavailable to us, our meetings simply move online with Zoom. We will post a notice at this website and send an email to members.
For more information, contact:
On Retiring – A Stimulating Road Ahead
Where will you find a sense of purpose and satisfaction? How will you find mental stimulus and a sense of community? Click on this PDF file to consider an answer to these questions.
Donations to Old Guard are welcome and greatly appreciated (although they are not tax deductible).
May Program Chair: Ian Lutes
- May 2 – "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Community Recycling" -- Speaker Melissa Harvey is the manager of Somerset County’s Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. She designs and implements special recycling programs in the county. She will cite China’s decision to stop accepting our recyclables, and the resulting impact on marketing and on how our recyclables (plastics, glass, paper, batteries, etc) are handled. She will discuss recycling markets and shredding/collection events for batteries and electronics throughout Somerset County, and give future projections for recyclables. [no video]
- May 9 – A Hidden Child -- My Experience Hiding from the Germans in WWII" – Maud Dahme is a World War II Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands. Separated from her parents at age six, she went into hiding with her younger sister during the German occupation. The two were placed with a family they had never met and had to understand an alias-family background in case they were ever questioned by the authorities. Their parents went into hiding at a different location. When it was feared the Germans would find them, they moved to another family and continued hiding until the war ended. Maud will relate all this and her eventual emigration to the US. [video]
- May 16 – "Fusion Energy: Progress and Prospects" – Dr. Nathaniel Ferraro, principal research physicist and deputy head of the Theory Department at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, will explain fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, which offers an opportunity for clean, safe, and plentiful energy on Earth. The way atoms combine and release energy produces no greenhouse gasses, avoids the risks of nuclear fission, and promises to provide an unlimited source of reliable, dispatchable power. However, the process requires sustaining fuel temperatures of 100 million degrees. Learning how to do that economically and reliably has challenged scientists and engineers for decades. Promising advances have emerged lately, causing a spike in investment from private industry, realignment of the goals of the US fusion program, and a commitment from the US executive branch to a “Bold Decadal Vision” for developing fusion energy. [video]
- May 23 – "International Education -- In Search of World Peace" – The Institute of International Education (IIE) was founded in 1919 to prevent war through international educational exchanges. So what happened? The Institute today administers the Fulbright Program on behalf of the US Department of State, as well as other prestigious scholarship programs for multiple governments, foundations, and corporations. Grantees of these programs have won 105 Nobel Prizes in all fields and three of IIE's trustees have won the Peace Prize. Nevertheless, world peace continues to elude us. What's ahead? Why do some believe that higher international education is our best investment toward making the world a less dangerous place? Dr. Allan Goodman, CEO of IIE, will address these questions. [video]
- May 30 -- "Cable-Laying on the High Seas" -- Captain Carl Winter will share his experiences as commander of an ocean-going telecommunications cable-laying ship on the high seas following mapped routes with previously determined bottom terrain. He will explain the use of ploughs to bury the cable (it’s not just laid on the bottom) and how they accommodate reefs. Modern ships can lay up to 125 miles/day up to six miles deep for 8,000 miles without stopping. Cable companies keep their cable laying operations private except to port authorities, municipalities, and shipping companies. Captain Carl will discuss national security risks to cables that are relatively fragile and that can be damaged or intentionally cut. [in-person & on Zoom – for access: [email protected]]
June Birthdays emcee -- Colin Fowlis
For speaker photos, visit us on facebook
For an archive of videos of past meetings,
