WOODS HOLE WOMEN
of
A Certain Age

A Snapshot in Time

Introduction

When looking at photos of teen-age girls, one wonders what they will be like when they get older. Looking at the women in this exhibit one wonders how their lives were lived. In this group of 115plus, we sense the character that comes with having lived a life, and wonder about the accumulation of each set of experiences.

The definitive requirement for being in this exhibit was that the women be age 75 in 2013. As to the Woods Hole identity, the connections come from living here, working here, or just having a self-defined sense of attachment to a town which itself has been described as "more like a state of mind".

This exhibit is a snapshot in time. Some of the women have died, but we have their photos; their spirit is representative of the others who came before. Taken as a whole, these women offer the viewer an accumulated vitality, warmth, wisdom, wit and comfort level with life. Perhaps that comes from having lived long enough to acquire a burnished patina, plus the great good luck from having partaken of the ambiance of Woods Hole; contributed to it, and, drawn from it.

This exhibit is an homage to women, to the beauty of age and to the spirit of Woods Hole.

Joan Pearlman, photographer
Sally Caspar, photographer
Margaret McCormick, Woods Hole Library
Jennifer Gaines. Woods Hole Historical Museum

Web Editors: Dicky Allison, Colleen Hurter and Jim Green

Table of Contents Click on any of the names below to see a photo and an autobiography
Robin Ackroyd Jean Adelman Nina Allen Helene Anderson Ellie Armstrong Denise Backus Millicent Bell Beth Berne Olive Crowell Beverly Gloria S. Borgese Frances Buehler Joan Burstyn Barbara Burwell Julie Child Ann Cleary Jewel Plummer Cobb Bobby Colburn Betty Cook Judith Cooper Alice Cooperstein Sally Cross Elizabeth Davis Mia De Weer Doris Epstein Joan Finkelstein Gladys Friedler Ruth Gainer Violet Gifford Mary Goldman Phyllis Goldstein Ann Goodman	Anne Gordon Muriel Gould Jean Halvorson Hanna Hastings Oliveann Hobbie Eleanor Hodge Frances Huxley Megan Jones Freda Kaminer Joan Kanwisher Phyllis Kuffler Nancy Lassalle Barbara Little Laura Livingstone Joyce Lorand Zella Luria San Lyman Winnie Mackey Annemarie Mahler Sondra Marshall Ann Martin Natalie Mather Jane McLaughlin Polly Montgomery Marjorie Moore Sava Morgan Wisty Moseley Ann Nelson Kathy Newman Ada Olins	Joan Pearlman Pamela Pelletreau Bertha Person Molly Potter Prue Reynolds Jeanne Ripps Alison Robb Esther Rowland Andrea Rugh Amelie Scheltema Flora Schiminovich Brooke Schoepf Cecily Selby Deborah Senft Cynthia Smith Susie Steinbach Judy Stetson Joyce Stratton Ann Stuart Mary Swope Freddy Valois Joanne Voorhis Betty Wall Mary Walsh Margie Ward Naida Weisberg Ellen Weiss Ann Weissmann Bea Wittenberg Ellen Wyttenbach

The Photographers

Joan Pearlman

I began taking pictures of women over age 75 in the Woods Hole community about eight years ago, soon after I got my first digital camera. I had no goal in mind, but with my camera focusing me, I started to experience the special moment when one knows something right has been captured. The choice of women who were "of a certain age" adds the patina. En masse, a sense of vitality, wit, wisdom, and honesty shines through, along with a comfort level that comes with age.

Sally Caspar

When I look at the faces of these extraordinary women, my heart brims with admiration. Many are my friends. They make living in Woods Hole an adventure. They set a high standard for enjoying life to the fullest. Woods Hole women are fearless, ageless. Their spirits do not die. I aspire to become one.