The Six and Twenty Club met at the home of Mary Ann Raizk on March 8. President Cindy Crosthwaite called the meeting to order. Members answered the roll call with quotations. Secretary Cindy Petrich read the minutes of the last meeting.
Raizk began the program by introducing the book that she is passing to the group this year, “Tom Lake,” by Ann Patchett. It was a New York Times best-seller for 2023. It is a story about family, love, and growing up, set during the pandemic year of 2019, where the almost grown children land back at the family’s cherry orchard to help on the farm, juxtaposed with flashbacks of their mother’s youth and theatrical beginnings in a movie and summer stock.
To tie in with the theatre theme of the book, Raizk introduced her husband, David Raizk, who told about the beginnings of the Summer Festival of the Arts at Wilmington College. Raizk related that he and several of his classmates at Wilmington High School became interested in speech and drama because of a charismatic teacher, Randy Bolton, who ignited a flame in them to perform. Bolton was a student of Hugh Heiland at W.C. and carried on Heiland’s legacy of fine theatre to WHS students.
After a few years of college at Wilmington, several students decided to begin a summer theatre program. Raizk, Steven Haines, Becky Heiland, John Borrowman, and Anne Carr were the founders of the program, along with the help of professor Robert J. Haskins. They started with some money raised with an ice cream social held at the courthouse and about $500 given by community members. Wilmington College donated the facilities of Boyd Auditorium.
In the first season in 1971, the group presented five plays, patio musical concerts preceding the plays, four musical programs, four community art shows and theatre workshops for youth. In 1973, the group received a grant of $2,000 from the Ohio Arts Council. This rich program has continued for over 50 years. Many in the club had attended or participated in the summer festival and a discussion of the events was enjoyed by all.
A successful passing of books was completed by the members. Mrs. Raizk invited the group to the tea table decorated in spring colors centered by a yellow kalanchoe plant and miniature daffodil bouquets. They enjoyed a variety of candies, nuts and hummingbird cake while they socialized.
