My Volunteer Life

When Durell Godfrey came to my house for a dinner party a couple of years ago, little did I know what would ensue. As a former editor at Glamour magazine, an artist who has published coloring books, a photographer for The East Hampton Star, and a fashionista, she is always chic.

I knew she volunteered at the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society, and I asked her if her blazer or Stubbs and Wooton shoes came from their thrift shop. “Yes,” she replied, “everything I’m wearing.”

She went on, “I can put my hand into a plastic bag and determine if the sweater is one-, two- or three-ply cashmere. Why don’t you come by for a tour?”

Before I knew it, I was volunteering in the LVIS bookstore once a week. If I could find the right book for a customer, arrange the travel section alphabetically, or discuss the best ruins to see in Sicily with a classics professor from City College, I was a happy bibliophile. I probably bought more books than I sold.

I was pleased to be a part of large group of women who helped the community by raising money for generous annual scholarships for local kids, taking care of trees, maintaining the public parks, and feeding the resident duck population.

What I really wanted was my own green apron with my name on it.

I coveted it and was envious every time I saw an LVIS member wearing one. My motives weren’t totally altruistic. I was giving back but also hoping for that apron. But first I had to put in two years as a provisional member before I could be considered for full membership — and the green apron.

In June 2012, I heard that the Parrish Art Museum was looking for docents to train for the new museum opening in Water Mill. I had an interview with Cara Conklin-Wingfield, head of education at the Parrish.

My training began at the old museum on Jobs Lane. It was a thorough and rigorous orientation of the museum’s collection. Chief Curator Alicia Longwell showed us slides and gave lectures. We had homework.

As a docent at the Parrish Art Museum, I gave tours for new exhibits as well as private corporate evenings. I loved telling stories about Fairfield Porter and his lover, poet James Schuyler. Porter’s wife, Anne, said, “Jimmy Schuyler came to dinner and stayed 10 years.”

One evening, a bank had a cocktail party for its high-net-worth clients at the museum. This bank had an art advisory division, so we gave tours to a rarefied level of collector. They knew their art. A patron had a small Alan Shields in her New York City apartment.

“We have a Louise Nevelson at home,” one art aficionado said, as we admired a black Nevelson assemblage.

Another time, Opus One Winery held a tasting and tour event for its East End sommeliers at the museum. I asked the host if I could I join the tasting if I gave a good tour. He said, “Yes.”

At the tasting, I met the marketing director, and she said if I was ever in California she could arrange a private tour of the vineyard. My daughter lives in California, not far from Opus One’s vineyard in Napa. A tour was arranged.

Opus One, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, is a spectacular wine. We saw rows upon rows of oak barrels that are used only once before being sold to other wineries.

My love of art comes with nice perks.

I helped organize Christmas parties for the docents with classical music and delicious food catered from Schmidt’s. One year, I decided to change it up and got a local gospel choir to sing in their long white robes. Their finale of “Amazing Grace” was so dramatic, it brought the house down.

I trained two new docents who are launched and successfully giving tours. It was a pleasure to share my enthusiasm for the collection and its artists. I encouraged my two new protégés to use their life experiences to connect with their audience.

Years ago, my first foray into volunteering was with the Southampton Historical Society, where I was on the board for 10 years. While there, I organized architectural walking tours on Sundays in July and August for six years. We had a regular following.

We explored ranch style, Queen Anne, post modern and, of course, shingle style. Sometimes the architect would focus on a single house or sometimes on a whole street. One architect did a top-to-bottom walk along Ox Pasture Road and told lively stories of the houses and of their denizens.

Anne Surchin, co-author of “Houses of the Hamptons, 1880-1930,” toured the art colony where William Merritt Chase’s students lived during his summer painting workshops. Roger Blough talked about the Dune Church with its Tiffany windows, and Brian Brady invited us inside a house he designed that had camel-colored cashmere curtains. I had never seen cashmere drapes before.

Architect Siamak Samii focused on the parking lot behind Main Street and shared his innovative ideas for improvements. With a few landscape architects in the mix, we got an education of architectural style inside and out.

I have loved all my volunteering experiences. It feels good to give back. I got much more than I gave.

My green apron is in the mail.

Note: LVIS is planning a Mini Fair, June 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will take the place of the usual fair in July. There will be a plant sale, LVIS merchandise sale, including the new cookbook, with Florence Fabricant signing copies, chances, buckets, and an exciting silent auction. A food truck will be in the front of the house. This will be a good way to give members and community a focus in the age of COVID. Join us.