Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 17, at 7:30pm when we will meet up, catch up, and discuss The Book of Lost Friends, by Lisa Wingate. BYO beverage and snacks, and join us on Zoom!  Registration is required in order to receive the meeting link, and there are two ways to do this. If you are on the HNN Book Club Facebook page, you may register there, or just send an email to the co-chairs at the addresses listed below.
 
Multiple copies of this month’s book are on reserve for HNN members at the Holliston library. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for pick up options. You may also want to explore the library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital versions of this and upcoming titles. Some selections may be available via the HOOPLA app.   
 
Looking ahead, we will take our usual December break. In January, start off the New Year with The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead, and in February we will read along with the annual One Holliston book selection. The March book is The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory, and the remaining months depend on recommendations by book club members. What’s your idea?
 

"Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie, Lavinia's former slave. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope. Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt--until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi river town. Augustine, Louisiana, seems suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything"-- Provided by publisher
 
Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

Join the Ladies' Escape Committee for our Annual Holiday Party on the evening of December 5, 2020.  We will have a virtual holiday themed party with a festive cocktail (recipe will be provided) and gift-giving component.  Please RSVP to Jen or Timea at the addresses below as soon as possible and include your residential address, if you want to participate in the gift-giving component.  We will randomly select another participant and provide you with their address until everyone has a "secret Elf/Santa" assigned to them.  Shop locally for your gift and secretly mail or drop it off to your assigned person with a clue about yourself.  We'll then share our gifts and clues at our virtual holiday party on December 5th!

Timea and Jennifer
Ladies' Escapes Co-Chairs
Timea Kovacs timusch@yahoo.com
Jennifer Mott hncladiesescape@gmail.com

This year has brought many alternate plans for so many of our HNN and community traditions, but our committees are up to the task.
 
The Thanksgiving committees have joined together to organize the 2020 Thanksgiving effort detailed in this newsletter. The Holiday Fundraising committees have been brainstorming ways to involve the community while raising funds for the HNN Grant Fund. And the HNN social committees are working hard to keep us all connected. All so busy, and we have just begun!
 
On that note - we are looking for volunteers to investigate and organize ‘Restaurant Days’ to benefit the HNN Grant Fund. ‘Restaurant Days’ are when a local restaurant donates a percentage of their sales for the day to a non-profit. If you are interested, please email hnnexecutiveboard@gmail.com.
 
Enjoy the fall!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Join us for  a VIRTUAL WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS' ZOOM PARTY on Sunday, October 4 from 7 to 8 pm. Let’s virtually get together and celebrate this terrific club we have in our beautiful town. Think about all the reasons why you joined the club and what you love most about it and share it with our new members. Just because were are social distancing, doesn’t mean we have to drink alone! Pour yourself a drink and join us via Zoom!
 
Please RSVP to Timea at timusch@yahoo.com, and the link will be sent to you prior to the event!

Join us Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30pm when we will meet up, catch up, and discuss this month’s book, The Girls with No Names, by Serena Burdick. BYO beverage and snacks, and join us on zoom! Registration is required in order to receive the meeting link. Please check out the Book Club Facebook page or the emails below to register.
 
Multiple copies of the book have been reserved at the Holliston library. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for pick-up options. You may also want to check the library website for instructions on using the Minuteman network to borrow digital versions or try the audio version of this title, which is available for instant download via the HOOPLA app.   
 

“Growing up in New York City in the 1910s, Luella and Effie Tildon realize that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. When the sisters discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen older sister becomes emboldened to do as she pleases. Her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has sent Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie's own escape seems impossible--unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on their tenuous friendship to survive.” From the MLN summary
 
Looking ahead to November, we will be reading The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate.
 
Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

We will host a show and tell for our kiddos, as the weather is getting cooler and going outside will be harder for us all. Everyone can show off their costumes and favorite toy and have some morning Halloween fun.
 
Saturday, October 31 at 930 am.
 
Shoot me an email and I’ll send over the Zoom info!

Julie
Children's Activities Chair
Julianne Catlin   juliannecatlin@gmail.com

Welcome to a new year for HNN!
 
To no one’s surprise I’m sure - this year will start off a little differently than usual due to COVID-19. There may not be those face to face social activities like Dinner Club until 2021 - but with a little creativity and the help of technology - we can have some virtual or socially distant Ladies Escapes and Children’s activities. Book Club has already selected books for the fall months, so they are well on their way.
 
With many of our in-person fundraiser family events on hold, we will also be putting our heads together to still involve the community while raising funds for the HNN Grant Fund, which gives back to town and community organizations like the Public Library, Parks & Recreation, Community Farm, Holliston Police and Holliston Fire, to name a few of our previous recipients. Of course, you can always contribute directly to the HNN Community Grant Fund here at https://hollistonnewcomers.org/Donate or mail a check to  Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors, PO Box 6586, Holliston MA 10746 (identify it is for the Grant Fund).
 
With it being so hard to get out and meet people these days, HNN is a great way to connect with your neighbors and the community. Look for announcements in the newsletters, on Facebook, and in your inbox for future HNN events. Plus, if you would like to be more involved, check out our fundraising, civic, and member activities here at https://hollistonnewcomers.org/HNN-Board-Members or email hnnexecutiveboard@gmail.com.
 
We look forward to our new year of fun!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Looking for fun ways to keep kids connected these days. If you have any thoughts, requests or ideas, please let me know! We can all work together to share resources of what things our kids having been loving playing with or watching/doing during these past few months at home. Keeping them happy and busy is key!

Any favorite games or toys? Shoot me an email with the name (maybe Amazon link?) and age group, and maybe we can help each other keep busy and give good recommendations for new things to change it up at home!
 
Stay healthy and safe everyone!

Julie
Children's Activities Chair
Julianne Catlin   juliannecatlin@gmail.com

We will meet up, catch up, and discuss this month’s book, The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett. Please BYO beverage and snacks, and join us on Zoom! Registration will be required in order to receive the meeting link.
 
At our initial meeting, we will populate a list of future reads, so please bring your book ideas from your own wish list, or perhaps titles others’ have recommended. We would also like to fine-tune a regular meeting day, as Tuesdays present a conflict for some. So let’s see if another day of the week will work. Co-chairs Cindy and Sue welcome your ideas and are happy to answer any questions returning or new members may have. Reach us at the emails below.
 
Multiple copies of the book have been requested for reservation at the Holliston library and, hopefully, they will be able to obtain some for us. You can also reserve directly from your own Minuteman library account online or using one of their apps. Check out hollistonlibrary.org for instructions on using the Minuteman network to place book reservations and to borrow digital and audio versions.  While there, find instructions for expanding your online borrowing options by creating a Boston Public Library account. 


"At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Cyril's son Danny and his older sister Maeve are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another.”

Cindy and Sue
Book Club Co-Chairs 
Cindy Carr   carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton   hncbookclub@outlook.com

As summer approaches and there are just a few virtual events in June, HNN’s year of activities comes to a close.  We started off with a bang last fall helping our community through Thanksgiving Baskets and Thanksgiving Senior Meals, while the community also had some fun with our Great Pumpkin Trail Walk and Gingerbread House Decorating Party. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, two of our traditional fundraisers, Princess & Superhero Party scheduled for April and Touch-A-Truck scheduled for June, had to be canceled. This was not only sad that our community missed out on attending these fun events, but this also meant that the HNN Community Grant Fund would be missing out as well. But with a little planning and a lot of support from our local businesses, HNN introduced a new online fundraiser - A Prize A Day for the Month of May. Thanks to Beth Ng. Pamela Pinter Parsons and Bo Yai, who joined me in pulling this new fundraiser together!

The HNN membership social calendar had some adjusting to do as well. After a series of fun get-togethers in the fall, HNN went virtual.  We ‘Zoom’d’ to our monthly board meetings, Book Club get-togethers, Ladies ‘Night In’ social, and a Saturday morning children’s playdate. Thank goodness for technology!

We look back on this year of ups and downs knowing that with some adjustments - and a bit of creativity - HNN was still able to accomplish our mission of giving back and bringing people together. I want to thank the Executive Board and all our committee members who helped to make that possible.

HNN will be ramping back up in the fall; until then we hope the summer brings you a lot of fun in the sun!

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com