The Six and Twenty Club met on Dec. 4 for our last meeting of the year — on Zoom, since we were unable to gather in-person for our traditional holiday meeting due to coronavirus restrictions.

President Mindy Henson gaveled the meeting to order and 23 members answered roll call. The benefit of our virtual method of meeting allowed Mrs. Fayanne Saunders and Mrs. Kim Vandervort to join us from out of town. We welcomed Mrs. Ann Kuehn, Honorary Member, who is returning to active membership in the club in 2021.

The program for the day centered around holiday music. A game of “Name That Tune/Carol” was led by Mrs. Barbara Leeds. She played several measures each of a variety of 20 holiday tunes plus six bonus pieces on her piano. Members penned their answers to the identification game, and the titles of the pieces were announced at the end. Ms. Karen Buckley was the winner, correctly identifying all of the tunes. For her prize, Ms. Buckley was asked to select a favorite Christmas carol that Mrs. Leeds would video record while playing it on the piano then send to her.

During a brief interlude, Mrs. Henson announced that she had created a list of virtual holiday and cultural opportunities with suggestions from Mrs. Lorie MacDonald and Mrs. Kathleen Blake. The list included concerts, Christmas tree raising and holiday light shows, and museum and author book discussions, which was emailed to all of the members following the meeting.

The highlight of the day was a wonderful music concert. Mrs. Leeds commenced with a solo piano performance of the well-loved “Carol of the Bells.” To the delight of the members, Mrs. Leeds was joined for the remainder of the concert by her granddaughter Lucy Dennis, daughter of son Luke. Miss Dennis’ clear and beautiful soprano voice, accompanied by her grandmother, brought smiles to all.

Together, Mrs. Leeds and Miss Dennis performed an original composition of “There’s a Song in the Air” by Steven Haines. Steven was a favored guest of the Six and Twenty Club for many years, presenting musical and theatrical holiday programs that were always interesting, thoughtful, joyous, and meaningful. We were deeply saddened by Steven’s passing this fall, so the club was touched to have this piece of his musical legacy as part of our holiday celebration.

In a year filled with much angst, disappointment, and sorrow due to the pandemic, the members of the Six and Twenty Club ended their meeting year on a high note, relishing the afternoon’s beautiful holiday music and each other’s company in a “new, old-fashioned way.”