Our first meeting of the new chapter year, held on September 14, 2004, got us off to a stunning start. It was held at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut. Originally built in the 1860s for the banker and railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood, this building went through several owners and at one time was slated for demolition. Saved by local preservationists, the mansion was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971. Recently, Paramount Studios paid for some additional renovations in order to use the mansion in some scenes for the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives. We were certainly a livelier bunch than those Stepfords, as chapter members seized the chance to catch up with old friends and share the latest buzz about events in our professional and personal lives. What a lovely setting to mingle and chat!

The dedicated staff at the Mansion has done a marvelous job in recapturing the home’s former splendor. We benefited greatly from the presence of one of the Museum’s docents. She led our group on two organized tours, and then stayed to answer the many questions people had about the house and its owners. How else would we have known that those large silver urns were designed to store carving knives? Or that the two-foot high statues of Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood were examples of statuary that the landed gentry gave each other as party favors on special anniversaries?

If you have never been to the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, use this link to take a glimpse at what you’ve been missing: http://www.lockwoodmathews.org/