Past Events
The two major annual events of the Association are the HOLIDAY LUNCHEON, held each December at the historic Glen Echo Country Club for the past several years, and the SPRING LUNCHEON AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. Typicaly attended by 75 or so retirees, they include a business meeting, comments by the Chancellor and sometimes by an invited guest speaker. The Spring Lunch was sponsored by Chancellor George and Professor Barbara Harbach for many years, and more recently by Chancellor Sobolik until June 2022. In summer 2022, the Retiree Association was admitted as an Affinity Group of the UMSL Alumni Association and that partnership now funds the Spring Luncheon .
Other recent events are listed below:
On Thursday March 30, 2023, 18 members toured a St. Louis landmark, the Chatillon–DeMenil Mansion in Benton Park. The home was constructed, starting in 1848, for the pioneer Henry Chatillon, and then enlarged to its present form by prominent St. Louis businessman Nicolas DeMenil from 1855 to 1863. Its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places described the DeMenil house as the finest example of Greek Revival architecture in the Midwest. The tour was followed by a lunch at the Lemp Mansion. The invitation is shown here and the group at lunch here. More details are found in the Spring 2023 Newsletter.
On October 20, 2022, RA members enjoyed A Visit to the St. Louis Zoo. Twenty-two members were treated to a guided tour of the zoo and especially, a Curator of Primates presentation and tour of the newlybuilt Primate Canopy Trails.
On Wednesday May 25, 2022 at Defiance Ridge Vineyard, at 1:00 pm, about fifteen of us enjoyed lunch and conversation.
On Monday February 28, 2022, from 1:00 - 2:30 pm Dr Danielle Lee (SIU-Edwrdsville) and Dr. Zuleyma Tang-Martinez , Professor Emerita, Biology, UMSL,jointly made the presentation:
“Genius in the Margins: African-American Scientists of St. Louis Past”.
On Friday September 24, 2021. Dr Patricia Parker - (E. Desmond Lee Professor of Zoological Studies; Director of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center: Department of Biology, UMSL; Senior Scientist, St. Louis Zoo) presented the following talk via Zoom, 2:00-3:30 pm.
On Thursday, November 7 2019, at 12:00 noon in103 Anheuser Busch Hall on the UMSL North Campus, Dr. Charles Schmitz, retired Dean of the College of Education presented a photo-enriched talk about his recent trip to Antarctica with National Geographic . Schmitz, and his wife Liz, spent over two weeks traveling by ship to the Antarctic continent while documenting the trip with photographs and interviews. Twelve members of the Association enjoyed an excellent presentation. Here is a photo of Charlie during the talk and here is a picture of the whole group.
Tour of the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site:
Eighteen RA members and guests were on-hand as the UMSL Retirees Association hosted a luncheon and tour of Cahokia Mounds in Illinois on Saturday, October 19, 2019. Activity Committee Co-chairs, Zuleyma Tang-Martinez and Helene Sherman led the group for a Mexican luncheon at Ramon's El Dorado at noon in neighboring Collinsville, Illinois followed by a historical film and guided tour of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site at 2 pm. The RA tour group viewed displays of archeological discoveries and a number of exhibits, described by a tour guide, providing historical context. Some ambitious RA members even made it to the top of the largest historic landmark, Monks' Mound, from which the Gateway Arch was viewed
Tour of the Soldiers′ Memorial Military Museum:
About 17 retirees took a tour of the renovated Soldier's Memorial in downtown St. Louis on Thursday, July 18 ,2019, followed by a lunch afternoon at The Docket restaurant across the street. Docent Lon Zimmerman provided an excellent tour of the buildings, the history of the Memorial and a deep-dive into the WW I galleries. Thanks to David Ganz for organizing this tour and keeping everyone on schedule. Here are pictures of the group at the entrance, the group getting organized, looking at an exhibit and an exhibit describing the treatment of Germans during WWI.
Alzheimer’s: Everything You NEED to Know, But Alzheimer’s: Everything You NEED to Know, But Have Been Afraid to Ask This event, planned by Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, held Friday, April 5, 2019. 1:30 to 3:30 PM; Room 001 Anheuser-Busch Hall, was essentially an updated repeat of the very successful one we held in Spring 2014. A picture of the speakers is available. From left to right: Ray Long, Volunteer Speaker; Dr. Zuleyma Tang-Martinez, (program organizer and contributor), Biology Department, UMSL; Dr. Ann Steffen (moderator and contributor), Psychology Department, UMSL; Theresia Metz, an educator/volunteer with the Alzheimer's Association - St. Louis; and Andrea Denny, Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine.
Fall foliage tour including a visit to the historic Daniel Boone Home on Wednesday, October 24. 2018. The group lunched at Defiance Ridge Winery and also enjoyed some of the scenic foliage drives nearby with optional stops at various local wineries. Here are some pictures. The whole group assembled, the front of the Boone House presentation during the tour and a view of the beautiful location. About 15 retirees attended the event.
Tour of the Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum and lunch/tour of the recently restored 1800s Firehouse, now the Brick River Cider House. Held on June 1, 2018, this was organized by Wendell Smith. About 15 members took the tours and attended lunch. Learn more about the event and view of the assembled group and members by the Willaim Clark memorial.
Tour of the "Headlines of History" exhibit at the Mercantile Library on the UMSL campus, took place on Friday May 18, 2018. Organized by Wendell Smith and Michael Murray, the event had approximately 25 in attendance and most attended an optional lunch which followed at the Ferguson Brewing Company, 418 S. Florissant Road. See details and photographs.
Visit to the St. Louis History Museum to view the Civil Rights Exhibit was held on February 21 2018. About 25 members toured exhibit ″#1 in Civil Rights: The African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis.″ The tour was arranged by Chuck Korr and facilitated by Gwen Moore, a curator at the museum and former UMSL colleague who provided a narrated tour. See details and photographs.
Fall Foliage and Winery Tour held on Nov. 2 2017. A group of 15 retirees met at the Weldon Spring Interpretive Center in St Charles Co. and after refreshments, a brief slide show and a guided tour of the museum, proceeded to the Wine Country. The group visited Mount Pleasant and Montelle Wineries. After lunch at the latter overlooking the Missouri River and the beautiful countryside, the group headed home at about 3:00 pm. The event was planned by Wendell Smith, Steve Spaner and Grace Kennedy. See details and photographs.
Chancellor Emerita Lecture Fri. Sept. 29. 2017. In the David Ganz Lecture Theatre in the Anheuser-Busch Business Building, Dr. Blanche Touhill presented a lecture on the First 50 Years of UMSL History to about 30 retirees. The event was organized by Wendell Smith and David Ganz.
The Symposium: Alzheimer’s, Everything You Need to Know, But Have Been Afraid to Ask was held on Friday, April 14, 2017 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, in 336 SSB. Organized by Zuleyma Tang-Martinez and Wendell Smith, speakers included presentations on 1) Basic information about Alzheimer’s and other related dementias - what it is and how do you recognize it; 2) Caregiver stress and coping skills; 3) Support and resources offered by the Alzheimer’s Association; 4) An overview of research conducted by the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Washington University, one of the world’s leading Alzheimer’s research programs. About 30 retirees and campus colleagues enjoyed an excellent symposium.
Visit to the Museum of Transportation preceded by lunch at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 1755 Des Peres Rd on Friday December 16, 2016. This was organized by Wendell Smith and 15 UMSL retirees were joined by 5 retirees from St. Louis County. See details and photographs.
Great Streets Project and University Square Update presented by Betty Van Uum, Assistant to the Provost for Public Affairs and Economic Development, on Friday, April 1 2016 during a lunch meeting on campus attended by several retirees.
The topic of fall gathering on Sept 18, 2015, ″ Natural Bridge-Great Streets″, was presented to about 10 retirees by Betty Van Uum, Assistant to the Provost for Public Affairs and Economic Development and organized by Lol Barton.
