Past Programs

Support South Haven Scott Club’s major fundraiser by donating items in good condition and attending the sale to take advantage of some incredible bargains. Proceeds will help us maintain our Michigan Historic site and continue to provide a rich variety of programs and events.
 
Donations accepted:
Tuesday and Wednesday, May 26th & 27th between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Sale:
Thursday and Friday, May 28th and 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 30th from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

By Claire Odland

During the Field Museum’s conservation project in Peru’s Cordillera Azul National Park, Claire was invited to join an expedition to the upper Amazon to collect traditional textiles. How could she possibly refuse? This invitation sparked the story she will share with us – the adventure, the people on the river, their art and way of life – illustrated by a documentary film, Shipibo: The Making of our Memories.

Claire has spent many years traveling and has wondered why people in some cultures, like parts of Mexico, Bhutan, or India, continue to wear distinctive, and often costly, styles of dress. Her curiosity led her to volunteer, eventually becoming a Research Associate at Chicago’s Field Museum. Over the span of 25 years, with three books, two films, and five journeys to the Amazon, Claire says, “I can truly say it was the most rewarding work of my life.”

Noon at Senior Services, 08337 M-140, South Haven
NO ZOOM
RSVP Required. Send an email to info@scottclub.org

Join us for a wonderful lunch and entertainment by the Lighthouse Connection Quartet. The Lighthouse Connection Quartet sings four-part harmony, primarily in the barbershop style of music. Using contemporary arrangements, they perform a variety of music, including patriotic, spiritual and ballads. They love sharing their joy of singing with community groups throughout southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana.

We will call our Annual Meeting to order at noon. Our Board of Directors will be elected and installed during the meeting. After this short meeting, we will enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by Senior Services.

By John Wemlinger

John Wemlinger has become a master of the military romance, winning writing awards for nearly all of his seven novels. He often tells his readers, “The good news is today anybody can publish a book. The bad news is today anybody can publish a book.” Find out what he means as he talks about the why he writes and how.

John Wemlinger is a retired U.S. Army colonel and a veteran of the Vietnam War where he was a helicopter maintenance officer. In retirement he has become an award-winning author of seven novels writing about what he knows best, the military and its culture. He sits on the board of directors of the Michigan Library Foundation and he and his wife, Diane, reside in Onekama, Michigan.

By David Benac, Ph.D.

Rainforest Radicals presents the first history of one of the most innovative and successful environmental organizations of the late twentieth century. Rainforest Action Network (RAN) emerged in 1985, when it took over a fledgling effort to protect rainforests from transnational corporations funding the expansion of tropical cattle ranching. It excelled at using nonviolent, civil disobedience in dramatic campaigns that captured the attention of the public, media, and RAN’s corporate adversaries. As a result, two decades later rainforest conservation went from a niche academic topic to a fixture in American popular culture, the rights of Indigenous people had gone from ignored or romanticized to at least considered in discussions of the management of their ancestral homelands, and RAN had scored a series of victories over some of the planet’s largest corporations.

David Benac is an environmental and public historian of the post-WWII United States. His research investigates grassroots environmental action, popular perceptions of nature, the science of ecology, and the philosophy of ecocentrism. Rainforest Radicals: A History of Rainforest Action Network and Transnational Organizing (University of Nebraska Press, 2026) explores the radical environmental movement of the late twentieth century and international coalitions of grassroots groups devoted to supporting indigenous rights and environmental protections. Dr. Benac also works as a consulting historian, writing land-use histories for land-management entities.

By Tom Hoatlin

Tom will explore disability awareness and sensitivity through storytelling and guided discussion. He addresses respectful language and outdated terms (including “handicap”), etiquette, service and therapy animals, accessibility protocols, visible and invisible disabilities, inclusion, marginalization, and real-life experiences. The program is designed to help able-bodied people feel more comfortable interacting with people with disabilities, while including appropriate humor and audience participation through Q&A and shared dialogue.

Tom Hoatlin has more than 25 years of experience providing services for people with a wide range of disabilities. As Director of Development for 25 years at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living he conducted and presented many tailored Disability Awareness and Sensitivity Training and educational workshops to the non-profit’s constituents ranging from elementary students to residents and physicians as well as faculty and staff at the University of Michigan. Tom also served as the Chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Board at the University of Michigan and served many years with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation’s Peer & Family Support Program. As the Midwest Regional Representative, he coordinated a peer-to-peer mentoring and support program for people with new spinal injuries and their families in the five Great Lakes states.

Open House Celebration from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. – All Welcome!

Join the Scott Club in celebrating completion of the Lift Project. This project involved constructing a shaft and installing an elevator-style lift to move between the ground level and upper level at the South Haven Scott Club, a Michigan Historic Site. The lift is a wheelchair lift that is ADA compliant with an ADA hands-free emergency phone. It accommodates a person in a wheelchair with one more person, or a total of three people standing. Previously the only access between the two levels was a steep, narrow staircase.

Come over and try out the new lift, take a tour of the Literary Hall upstairs, and enjoy light refreshments. If you have never been inside the Scott Club-take this opportunity! If it’s been a while, come and see this latest significant improvement. Use either the main entrance on the corner of Phoenix and Pearl Streets or enter on the ground level, east side of the building.

Scott Club is grateful to the many donors and volunteers who helped make this project possible, ensuring Scott Club programs and concerts are fully accessible to all.

By Pat Ingalls, President, Michigan Flywheelers Museum

This program will be at the First Congregational Church
651 Phoenix Street, 1:00 p.m.
No Zoom for this program

What’s new at the museum? Pat Ingalls will present the history of the museum and give updates on their latest projects. The current project is building the Black River Railroad that will include the restored #902 House of David steam engine going all around the museum property! Come and join us to find out about this wonderful museum that we have right here in South Haven.

The location of this program will depend on the progress of the lift construction at Scott Club. If necessary, the program will be held at the First Congregational Church, 651 Phoenix Street. Check back here, or on our Facebook page for updated information.