By Janet Hewitt, Guest Blogger
Joan Kugler first signed up to be a Smithsonian Associates volunteer in 1974. To say those were the Before Times is a major understatement: It was before Metro. Before the Ripley Center. Before the National Air and Space Museum touched down on the Mall. And just two years after the pandas arrived at the National Zoo.
So, yes, it was a while ago, in a different Washington.
There’s no doubt Joan has seen a lot in her 45 years as a volunteer. She remembers when programs were held in Baird Auditorium in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. And the Discovery Theater was in the Arts and Industries Building.
She says, in those early days there were fewer programs, fewer volunteers and fewer staff, but everything was “the same high quality.”
During her time as a volunteer, she’s served under nine Smithsonian Secretaries, starting with S. Dillon Ripley and coming right up to the present day with Secretary Lonnie Bunch.
On October 14 Joan was presented with a special 45-year service pin by Volunteer Coordinator Jenna Jones. It is a special pin design since Joan is the first volunteer to hit the 45-year service mark under Jenna’s tenure. She is the only volunteer at the Smithsonian Institution to receive this pin.
Joan promptly attached the new pin to her volunteer badge with its bling and other hardware from her many years of service.
Actually it is a 45-years-and-counting pin, since Joan told Jenna at the lunch, “I’d still like to do daytime programs.” And Jenna’s response was, Associates may have to put in an order for a 50-year service pin to cover Joan’s future contributions.
Joan has logged 271 program assignments and 881.55 volunteer hours--just since September 2013, which only covers eight of her 45 years as a volunteer.
It was always a family affair for the Kuglers. Her husband Bill was an active Associates volunteer before she joined. And Sallie Holder, a family member by marriage, has been an active Associates volunteer since 1993. Sallie cut the cake at Joan’s recognition lunch and offered anecdotes to confirm that Joan’s true and enduring passion is, indeed, opera.
Joan doesn’t even try to debate the point. She recalls that the first Associates program she ever did was an opera series. “It always comes back to opera,” she says.
Joan’s story is unique. Elegant and diminutive, she rocked a leopard-print facemask secured by a gold neck chain when we first met her at lunch. She seems timeless and smart as ever. She speaks three languages (Spanish, French and “a little German”) and earned a degree in Romance Languages from the University of Cincinnati. She was born in New York City, but refers to herself today as “a nomad” having lived many places, including Germany. She also is ex-CIA. (See what I mean about unique.)
It’s hard not to admire this lady who has bridged so many transitions in Washington’s cultural evolution. The wry smile and the elegant silver-topped walking stick were just the outer trappings of someone who has lived a uniquely fascinating life, pursuing passions that begin and end with opera.
So it should come as no surprise, that when we ask her to name her favorite Associates program of the last 45 years, it all comes back to opera. She says, without hesitation, it was a master seminar on Richard Wagner’s The Ring. Her eyes lit up as she remembered it.
The program lasted over a weekend and included two evenings, plus dinner at the German embassy. To make it even more dramatic, a blizzard descended on the DC area, leaving snow and the unique chaos that any wintry mix always brings to this city. But every speaker showed up, except an elderly man from Canada, Joan recalls. And judging by the size of the audience, they all came too, she says.
“It was just so special,” she says.
But it hasn’t just been about opera. The Kuglers brought their kids to many Associates programs. One of their favorites was a fossil hunt to Calvert Cliffs. The program gave attendees the chance to hunt for fossilized shark teeth. Joan’s 13-year-old daughter found what they hailed as the “world’s smallest shark’s tooth.”
Joan remembers the pride it brought her daughter when the program leader encouraged her to go up and down the bus aisle sharing her find (the size of a fingernail clipping) with her fellow fossil hunters.
And through the years, many other experiences like that have kept Joan coming back for more over four+ decades.
Perhaps, this brief exchange at her anniversary lunch sums it up best. Jenna said, “I want to be you when I grow up.” And Joan’s instant reply was: “Be my guest.”
It’s been a pretty great ride. So why not share the joy?
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