Current Events Club: A Forum For Ideas, Interests, And Lunchtime Discussion

By Nancy K. Crevier

There are book groups for mothers and daughters, men’s book groups, fiction and mystery book groups. There are readers who get together to discuss nonfiction, book groups that meet in the morning, and book groups that meet at night. But so far as they know, the Newtown women who meet monthly to discuss current events are the only group in town of their kind.

The Current Events Club is the brainchild of Tracy Van Buskirk, a senior credit analyst for NewMil Bank in New Milford. There was a tendency, she felt, when women gathered, to not discuss current events in depth.

“I wanted to meet with other intelligent women to discuss subjects beyond kids and local issues,” she says.

She did not have to look far for inspiration. Her mother-in-law, Betty Van Buskirk, had been a member of a current events club in Fairfield for more than 30 years. “Time Club” was formed by a group of housewives right after World War II. The women met every other week over lunch, often bringing their mending to work on while they discussed world events.

In 2001, Ms Van Buskirk contacted several women whom she thought had an interest in the world around them. The women, ranging in age from 40 to 65, took her up on it. The group’s membership has fluctuated over time, but generally consists of six to eight women, a number they find manageable.

Karen Pinto, a local pottery instructor, artist, and stay-at-home mom, was looking for intellectual stimulation from the outside world, as was Denise Kaiser. Dr Kaiser, who translates German books on medieval history and is vice president of the C.H. Booth Library Friends of the Library, heard about the Current Events Club through Ms Pinto.

“It was a chance,” she says, “to talk about what was going on in the world and country with a group of people, not just one on one.” It is not just intellectual stimulation, though, she stresses. “There’s a social aspect that’s important. A side benefit is that as membership evolved, I got to meet new people.”

Claudia Kraich and Wendy Leon-Gambetta are stay-at-home mothers who appreciate the opportunity to exchange ideas and hear other people’s perspectives. When they heard about the group, both thought it would be fun to research timely topics in a low-key situation. Another member, coordinator of adult programs at Booth library Kim Weber, has always been interested in current events.

She says, “I find it exciting to be able to talk about something other than children and schools. It’s nice to have a little bit of a base on complex issues.”

The newest group member is Julie Stern. As a teacher of humanities at Western Connecticut State College, she “loves the idea of people who want to be informed.”

As with their prototype Time Club, it is the hostess’s responsibility to choose the topic of discussion,  one to two weeks in advance of the meeting. The list of topics they have debated is impressive.

“We met for the first time in August 2001,” says Ms Van Buskirk, “just before 9/11.” That catastrophe colored the focus of their second meeting, as well as future discussions, with the women researching the history of Afghanistan and the 9/11 Commission Report. They have deliberated the ethics of cloning, the state of the foster care system, prescription drug costs, and alternative energy cars. Voting technology, genetically engineered plants, and campaign finance reform are other subjects that have come under scrutiny over the past three years.

The discussions are lively, with differing views backed up with well-researched facts. Whether the opinions are liberal or conservative, no one is discouraged from expressing her thoughts. It is not a forum to change one another’s perspectives; it is a place to consider ideas and receive feedback, and to learn, according to these women.

Following in the footsteps of Time Club again, the Newtown club meets at lunchtime. Members bring their own lunch, so that the hostess does not get hung up on entertaining — but unlike the Fairfield ladies, so far no one has darned any socks.