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 Each month they are given topics to write about
specifically for their club meeting and when they get together they
share what they have written. They garner support and encouragement
from one another at the end of the readings.
The group also has members who are working on long term projects and
talk about progress and obstacles in their work.
They are a casual group, people who came together as strangers that
are now close friends with a great deal of respect for one another.
They welcome new members with open arms and are always there to
cheer the accomplishments.
This month founding member Rebecca Johnson had plans to celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the club. It was to be a reunion of the
membership with press invited. Johnson and the other members were
looking forward to sharing stories of their 20-year history and
raising awareness for the club. However, coronavirus brought our
community to a standstill.
For now, Johnson was happy to accept the invitation to write about
the club and how it came to be.
The following is Johnson’s review of 20 years with the Lincoln
Writer’s Club
2000-2020 Review of The Lincoln Writer’s Club
By Rebecca Johnson
My husband and I moved to Lincoln at the end of Oct. 1999. One of
the first things I did was to look for a writer’s group I could
join. I checked the library, the Oasis Senior Center, and the
newspaper for information. When I found out there wasn’t one in
Lincoln, I was disappointed. I told my husband, and his simple
response was, “I guess you’ll just have to start one.”
After the initial shock wore off, and all the reasons why I couldn’t
start a writer’s group, (like - I had no idea how to go about it)
went away, I started to think really hard just what it would take,
and if anyone else would be interested. I had a meeting with Richard
Sumrall, Lincoln Public Library District Director. He was most
helpful in my endeavor. I made posters, hung up flyers, and
contacted the newspaper. I pulled out my resources from my book
shelves and wrote down what my goals were.
On June 6th 2000, the first meeting of the Lincoln Writer’s Club was
held in the Pegram Room of the Library. I sat there waiting for that
first person to show up, my stomach turning summersaults, when Fay
Stubblefield and Olive Goodman (with her daughter, Alice Geriets)
walked in. Then someone else walked in, then another. Before long, I
realized I wasn’t the only one interested in writing. The chairs
started filling up, my stomach settled down, and I welcomed
everyone.
There were 10 people who signed up to attend, and 15 showed up. With
the success of establishing the Lincoln Writer’s Club, I gained the
confidence to try a writer’s group at the Oasis Senior Center.
At the first meeting of the Oasis Memories Class, not one person
showed up. I waited, and waited. After forty five minutes, one of
the workers felt sorry for me and offered to come in and listen to
my spiel. I said that was ok, and I gathered up my papers, and went
home. I was disappointed, but not defeated. I worked at a nursing
home, I knew seniors. Sometimes it took a while to convince them it
wasn’t going to be work. It was going to be fun.
The next week I had two brave souls, who told two other brave souls
to come. Word of mouth was my best advertisement. We ended up with
seven dedicated members who wrote many family stories, and had a
great time doing it.
I started the Christian Village Writer’s Club in 2007. They, too,
were reluctant at first, but they trusted me, and those meetings
turned out to be some of the best memories for me, and them. They
were able to produce a memory book for each of their families, full
of precious family stories. It was because of them, I too, was able
to do the same for my family. I am proud of all my writer’s groups
and their accomplishments.
All were represented at our 10 year anniversary in 2010, including
Lincoln Writer’s Club, Oasis Memories Class, Christian Village
Writer’s Club, family members, media, and friends.
Our 20th anniversary is being postponed, due to the Covid-19
Pandemic. As I write this we are still in quarantine. I’m reminded
of my nursing home resident’s stories of the 1918 flu pandemic.
Watching the news every morning to see how many more
people contacted the virus, how many have died, how many are
recovering has been on my front burner. On my back burner has been
writing a summary of another 10 years of The Lincoln Writer’s Club.
Being home for over a month, I now realize I can keep up with both
burners.
[to top of second column] |
The past 10 years of the Writer’s Club have also been
very enjoyable. We gained some new members and have maintained an
average of 10 attendees at meetings. Our dedicated members today
include the original five members, Alice Geriets, 2000, past
secretary; Rebecca Johnson, 2000, founder; Bruce Huskins, 2001;
Marge Hamilton, 2003; and Evelyn Belcher, 2003; plus later members,
Deb Harmon, 2010, past secretary; Barbara Stroud-Borth, 2012; Judy
Lumpp, 2012; Lois Grohmann, 2013, present secretary; Betty Agee,
2015; Catherine Carkulis, 2019 and Manuel Villarreal, 2019.
From 2000 to 2004, we met at the Lincoln Public Library. Due to
shortened evening hours at the library, we met at Einstein’s Coffee
House for a while, then moved to Lincoln College, where we have been
happily meeting ever since.
The Alumni room is a wonderful place to meet, and we feel safe and
secure going to the parking lot after dark. The students have been
kind and helpful towards our older members with opening doors and
escorting them into the building, and the security guard checks in
to see if we need anything.
Throughout the years, we have entered many writing contests, and
many members have been published in several magazines and
newspapers. We have attended writer’s conferences, enjoyed many
guest speakers, and judged children’s writing contests for Abraham
Lincoln’s birthday. We have been featured in the Courier’s Lifestyle
twice, Lincoln Daily News and New Herald News.
Several members including Marge Hamilton and Betty Agee have written
books, and some are still working on theirs.
We hosted a member’s quilt show, which featured old family quilts,
and lots of family stories to go with them. We have maintained a
book at the library with meeting information, copy of minutes, and
member’s stories.
We have had four dedicated secretaries in the past twenty years of
our club’s existence. I couldn’t have written this review without
their detailed note-taking. I am extremely thankful for Alice
Geriets, Fay Stubblefield, (passed away 2016), Deb Harmon and Lois
Grohmann.
To my best recollection, former members, and writers, who have spent
time with us include: Olive Goodman, Hazel Werth, Joe Dilillo, Skip
Scudder, Pat and Tony Hunt, Lisa Kuhlman, Lois Leonard, Celia
Milslagle, Beth Stephens, Nick Adcock, Araceli, Teresa Lukin, Bob
McCue, Carol Meyer, Milayla Meyer, Gloria Reed, George Theobald and
daughter, Desiree; Joan Schmidt, Joyce Leesman, Jake Day, Arsenio
Inion, Paul Ayers, Rebecca Newell, Sandy Richardson, Susan Spenser,
Autumn Shaffer, Mary Bentz, Kathy Papesch, Willard Emmons, Esther
Will, Margaret Albright, and Fernola Gamble, plus the members of the
Oasis Memories Class, and the Christian Village Writer’s Group.
Several have moved, and many have passed away.
The LWC is made up of a variety of writers with a variety of genres.
There’s poetry, fiction, nonfiction, mystery, song writing, and
family genealogy. Several of our members have written family stories
to pass on to their loved ones.
Each month a different member chairs the meeting, and has writing
suggestions for the next meeting. It’s a good way to write in a
different genre we normally wouldn’t do. But there’s always Writer’s
Choice if we want to pick our own subject.
Most agree, writing is therapeutic. We look forward to getting back
to our meetings at LC, and as always, all are invited to attend.
In our writing group, we have shared laughter, and we have shared
tears. We have felt comfortable enough to share ourselves with each
other. We have learned from each other, and we have helped each
other grow as writers. We have shared rejection notices and we have
shared letters of excitement.
People come and go in our group. Each one contributing something
when they make that first visit, and taking something with them when
they move on. I personally thank each and every one of them.
I also want to thank my husband and my family for their continued
support. If it wasn’t for them, and my fellow writers, none of this
would have happened.
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LDN wants to congratulate the club on their 20 years
of success, and looks forward to helping the club celebrate this
milestone further when they are once again able to meet together.
In the meantime, we wish the writers well, encourage them to stay
strong, stay healthy and keep writing!
[Nila Smith/Rebecca Johnson]
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