Columella frontispiece
We enjoyed a lovely Birthday Tea to celebrate Jane Austen's 236th birthday this past December. We all gathered at the Oswego Heritage House on December 11, 2011, in Lake Oswego. Lori Emch prepared a lovely tea menu. Several members amped up the festivities by dressing in period clothing, which is always a treat. Bill Boyd gave his final speech as Regional Coordinator -- thank you, Bill! Pauline Beard, one of our past Regional Coordinators, is the JASNA 2012 traveling lecturer for the Western Region, and we all enjoyed her short lecture on Columella, the 1779 novel by Richard Graves, and its similarities to Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1811). Pauline also delighted us by passing around a photo of her bull-riding while at the AGM in Fort Worth this past fall! All in all, a wonderful way to wrap up our 2011 activities. We look forward to a full slate of exciting activities in the new year; for more info, please visit our 2012 Events web page.