Ellen Swallow Richards

Ellen has worked hard all fall, so she stayed home this week while Joyce took a short trip down to Greenville, SC and Bob Jones University.  She went at the invitation of the new FACS Student chapter.  They requested that she talk about Hire Education:  How to Position Yourself for the Best Job Offer.  The students are so enthusiastic about family and consumer sciences and the career and job possibilities that this major offers.  This new chapter is led by three of the most mature young women I have met in a long time.  They are all articulate, responsible leaders for this group and it was so exciting to spend time with them.

L to R:  Joanna Guilliams (VP), Charity Guidinger (Pres),  Joyce Miles,  Rachel Croom (Secretary.)

This group is so exciting to work with and I know they will go far in their own leadership quest as well as promote the values of family and consumer sciences in many ways that we can all be proud of.

The conference opened with a luncheon speech by AAFCS President, Marilyn Swierk.  The afternoon was filled with great Educational Sessions and we all learned so much.  I was particularly interested in learning how to date family photos by using costumes, hair styles and jewelry.  The evening culminated with a banquet.  Alberta Hill, long time member of AAFCS and a Past President attended and we all were pleased to see her. Alberta celebrated her 91st Birthday the day before our conference.  We should all be so fortunate to maintain the health and energy that Alberta has.

Ellen is truly a jet-setter as she moves from upstate New York and Lake Placid  last week to Washington State this week.  We were met last evening by long time friend and FACS colleague, Roxanne Trees and later joined by none other than AAFCS President, Marilyn Swierk.  The three of were all in New York last week and have to regale each other about our myriad of travel challenges in the last week. Joyce and Ellen were treated to a most gorgeous site from the plane window.  We thought it was Mt. Ranier, but later Roxanne set us straight that we were seeing Mt. Galcier.

Joyce and Marilyn are still on Eastern time, so are ready to retire early.  Ellen finds out later that Marilyn and Roxanne stayed up much later as they had their own slumber party.

The next day, Roxanne was our gracious host as she transported us across the beautiful Cascade Range and into the Wenatchee  Valley and the joint conference with WAFCS and WA FACS Educators. As you can see, snow is already accumulating in the higher elevations.

We had to stop along the way to sample the famous Wenatchee Valley apples. The owner said we were the second most interesting visitors he had had that day.  We asked who beat us out for first, and he said the female deer hunter who just had to stop to show off her trophy.  We all decided that coming in second was just fine! Marilyn is on the left with Roxanne in the middle, along with the orchard owner. He said snow is in the forecast and they will soon be closing for the season.

The conference starts tomorrow with 265 registered.  What RICH CONVERSATIONS we will hear as they share experiences.

What a fun day we have had.  Early this AM , we visited the Apple Cotlett Factory in Cashmere which is close to where we are staying.  Here they make the famous candies from the various fruits.  We were able to tour the actual factory assembly line and see the candies in production.  For safety and cleanliness reasons, we all had to wear a full hairnet when we entered the factory itself.  Marilyn and Roxanne were particularly fashionable as they posed all ready for the tour.

Since we were in Lake Placid with all the Olympic History, we had our own torch ceremony where we passed the torch from the first decade of the century to the current and last decade of out association.  Joyce represented Ellen Richards for the first decade and Marilyn Swierk represented the  President in the new century. We had an official Olympic torch and ended with the lighting of the Betty Lamp inside at our celebration banquet.

Our new friends at the Lake Placid Library were so excited about the Ellen DVD that NYAFCS Conference Chair, Shirley Ware, had given them that we wanted to make sure they had a nice photo of our Dear Ellen.  Bob made a quick trip over to the library on Friday while the conference was in session and presented them with this framed photo.

We know they will cherish this and use it to make known the accomplishments of Ellen Richards, including the founding of Home Economics in Lake Placid in 1909.

I always knew that Ellen was indeed in Lake Placid in 1899, but what a joy it was to actually see that she was entered in the Guest Registry for 1899 at the Lake Placid Club.  We found her name in the LPC Archives at the Lake Placid Library.

  This week is one that many of us have been anticipating for a long time.  We are returning to the place where it all began 100 years ago.  The New York Affiliate of AAFCS has invited us all to participate in their celebration of our 100th Birthday.  Many of us have been celebrating all year long, but this one is indeed special as we return to our roots.  The tiny little Adirondack town of Lake Placid doesn’t seem to know what to do with all the questions about the Lake Placid Club and what life was like here 100 years ago.  A few of the villagers know a little bit about the history of the Lake Placid Club, but not too many know a thing about Ellen Richards and what her contemporaries accomplished in subsequent visits to the Club from 1899-1908 as they met to eventually form the American Home Economics Association. This first photo is a lone hemlock tree, possibly what we call a “witness tree.”  Is is possible that this tree was a witness to these meetings 100 years ago.  It stands on the property where the LP Club once stood.  The original building burned in 1992 as a result of arson.

A lone chimney stands as a sentinel, watching over the land that once held the prestigious Lake Placid Club.

Today, this sign is at the entrance of the current Lake Placid Club property which is a time share.

The famous boathouse where Ellen met and conducted the business of the Lake Placid Conferences is long gone.  In its place is this lovely Boathouse Restaurant close to the same spot as the original.  Inside are a few relics from the original Chapel which Annie Dewey had built on the grounds of the LPC

Today was a great day in Indiana.  We are back in our home state (Joyce and Bob) and took time out to spend a day with Ellen at Ball State University.  We have been to over 30 venues with the “Ellen Show” and this was a super event.  We were scheduled for the entire day with a precision that Ellen would have loved.  We spoke to a class early in the AM, and then a second class and a great reception hosted by the FACS Education students.  For lunch, we were treated to great hospitality at the home of Sue Whittaker, along with several faculty members.  We enjoyed much rich conversation about our work with family and consumer sciences through the years. We enjoyed the dialogue with the students about our history as well as their future in the work place.  Below are photos of some of the FACS Students at Ball State.

Nancy Thompson, FACS Ed Faculty, along with the President of the student organization, Ashley.