Anna Curtis has lived in Everett three months. She and her husband left New England to escape harsh winters and blistering summers. In moving to this place she calls "fabulous," Curtis left good friends behind.
Meta Cook came to the Northwest 20 years ago from Colorado. She was transplanted to Oregon and then to Everett by her husband’s job. "I fell in love with the area and still love it today," she said.
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of being a lunchtime speaker for the Everett Area Newcomers Club. Curtis and Cook were both there.
I’m not sure what I expected — all newcomers, I guess. The group’s name doesn’t tell its entire story.
Had I thought much about women who get together regularly for lunch, for outings, for book discussions and card games, it would have occurred to me that a club calling itself Newcomers would develop into longtime friendships.
The luncheon at the Sno-Isle Vocational Skills Center Bistro in south Everett was Curtis’ first meeting. "I found them online," said Curtis, 56, whose lovely accent reveals her ancestry. She and her husband Robert are natives of England.
They came to New Hampshire 19 years ago when her husband was with an American company. They became U.S. citizens in 1999.
"We’re not the sort to stay put in one spot. We like the adventure," Curtis said. The couple has three grown children. Their move here coincided with her husband’s retirement. "I do miss my friends in New Hampshire. I knew we’d have to start all over again."
Cook, 67, knows all about starting over.
She found the Newcomers Club, which has about 80 members and meets the second Thursday of each month, quite by chance. In the 1980s, she was out walking and met another walker who was in the group.
Cook enjoys the club’s book group. And she hopes Curtis will come to the Newcomers again.
To any woman looking for connections in the community, Cook would say: "Don’t hesitate because you’re new and don’t know anyone. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the whole point."
Lois Robertson had lived in Hawaii 40 years before she came to Everett in 1991. A retired registered nurse, she moved here to take care of her grandchildren.
"I didn’t know a soul," said Robertson, who lives near Silver Lake. She spent lunchtime Thursday making easy conversation with friends Bobbi Nelson and Helen Youngblood.
For Edith Fleischer, who moved to Everett from Southern California in 1978, the club offered great support after her husband died in 1983. "Meeting all these friendly people was a godsend to me. I’ve been an active member ever since," Fleischer said.
The book group was born when Colleen Casler, 66, joined the club about 13 years ago. At her first Newcomers meeting, the Everett woman got up to introduce herself, mentioning that she’d been involved in a reading group in Spokane. Immediately, she was drafted into starting a book club here.
The monthly book is chosen by a vote. "It’s a democracy," Casler said. Their current selection is "A Fine Balance," by Rohinton Mistry, a tale of ordinary lives in the midst of political turmoil in mid-1970s India.
If books don’t suit members, Robertson said they can choose from activities ranging from bridge games and movies to trips to see the capitol building in Olympia.
They’re all women, and like it that way. "We had a man come once. We never saw him again," Robertson quipped.
And they have no problem with the fact that their name is a bit deceiving.
"One you join," Robertson said, "you can stay as long as you want."
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com
The Everett Area Newcomers Club is open to all women wanting to get acquainted with the area and make friends. Members come from Everett, Mukilteo, Mill Creek and Marysville. The club has luncheons, a book group, outings and other activities. Call 425-379-5095 or go to www.newcomersclub.com/wa.html.
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