After 40 Years, Wainwright Program Comes to an End

“Connections” has disconnected with Rye.

After 40 years of talking about a variety of subjects, always on Tuesdays at Rye’s Wainwright House, the long-running intellectual discussion program called “Connections” has finally run out of things to say.

The end of the line came Tuesday with the cancellation of the program. The adult self-study program has been a staple for local adult enrichment for several decades.

“Connections” was supposed to meet Tuesday at the Wainwright House for a conversation among like-minded individuals, according to co-founder Barb Kuhn, a former teacher.

“We were going to plan the upcoming semester, make new friends, design a flexible curriculum and decide who was going to research what,” added retired business executive Pamela Fernandes.

But when Kuhn and Fernandes started making the phone calls to members to see who was going to attend the scheduled meeting, they began to see the numbers simply weren’t there.

“We knew going in we were at a crossroads,” Kuhn said, who goes back to the founding days when the program was initially called SCOPE.

“We kept hoping word of mouth would get around, and there would be a last minute surge of interest, but it never materialized,” Fernandes said. "So we had to cancel at the last minute. I can't describe how sad that makes me."

Fernandes, who initially began attending a program called Learning in Retirement at Iona College, transitioned to the “Connections” program “because sessions were more informal and the curriculum was more flexible" she said.

She soon moved into a leadership role in the program, which met in the library at the Wainwright House. Members would share their life experiences, hear from guest speakers and occasionally attend field trips.

The program also was a way for people to forge new friendships. A typical “Connections” Tuesday included morning sessions, time out for coffee, tea and sandwiches in the music room from noon to 1 p.m. and afternoon sessions that stretched from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Attendees usually ranged in age from their 50s to 80s and came from all walks of life.

The people and faces kept changing, but one thing remained the same: Members designed and created their own programming on a wide-range of subjects, including history, literature, art, music, technology, science and various current topics.

“We called it conversation with like-minded individuals,” Fernandes said. “And we divided the year into ‘semesters’ where adults were encouraged to stretch their minds to new limits in a friendly, supportive atmosphere.”

One of their top volunteer lecturers was Rye’s William Davidson, a real estate attorney who had a penchant for music and history, according to long-time “Connections” member Lila Gross of Rye Manor.

Gross said Davidson would discuss topics ranging from “The Concerto” to compositions by greats such as Mozart, J.S. Bach and Beethoven. Members also studied topics like the “Foundations of Western Civilization” and attended a field trip to the Altiere Constantin Popescu, a stringed instrument company in Connecticut.

But the vitality of "Connections" began to wane when members moved or passed away. Gross said she’ll miss being part of the program.

“I can’t express how disappointed I am that there is no more ‘Connections,’” she said.

Kuhn and Fernandes echoed her sentiments, but canceling “Connections” seemed to be what they called the sensible move because membership was down, members either had moved or died, and the level of interest had declined in starting a new semester of the program.

At least for now, that is, Pam said hopefully.

“Maybe if word gets around,” she said, “who knows what could still happen?”