News from The Whispering Pines Conference Center

January 2012

Greetings!

2012 is a monumental year for the URI W. Alton Jones Campus. We will be celebrating our 50th Anniversary throughout the year. Our upcoming monthly newsletters will give you a glimpse into our past, present and future.

Be part of our history... book your next event at Whispering Pines and enjoy the splendor and charm of our 2,300 acres of peacefulness, gourmet meals, cozy accommodations, comfortable breakout space and spacious conference rooms.

William Easton "Faddie" Louttit

The original owner of our property

In the late 1920s, William Easton "Faddie" Louttit and his wife Sophia Robley Louttit acquired several adjacent farms west of what is now Route 102 for about $5 per acre to establish Hianloland Farm, which by 1928 had grown to about 2,500 acres. Named for the rolling topography of the land, the property was intended to be a family compound, with a summer residence for Faddie and Sophia as well as homes for their children William Easton and Thomas Robley and their families.

Faddie Louttit had emigrated from Great Britain as a young man with the intention of working for a few years before returning home. Instead, he found a job in Boston and later arrived in Providence to purchase an interest in a local laundry. Over the years, he expanded the Louttit Home Hand Laundry, which grew and expanded even further into the Louttit Laundry, the What Cheer Laundry, Swiss Cleansing and the Stork Diaper Service, most of which continued operating successfully into the 1970s and '80s.

While the businesses and the Louttits were all based in Providence, many of the family members were sportsmen who enjoyed hunting and fishing. Hianloland Farm was acquired to serve as a weekend retreat in the country to allow the family to participate in these outdoor activities. But soon after the property was purchased and before a home could be built for Faddie and Sophia, the patriarch of the clan died of colon cancer.

Each month during our 50th Anniversary we will be featuring portions of the soon to be published book about the history of the W. Alton Jones Campus by Todd McLeish

"One of the best decisions I have made as an Executive Director of Sea Grant"

Barry A. Costa-Pierce

"Sea Grant has used the Whispering Pines Conference Center for so many important events over the last 10 years, from major international and national conferences, to important strategic planning, monthly staff and leadership retreats which have been invaluable to develop our marine programs. We use the Whispering Pines and Alton Jones because their leadership and staff is top notch; indeed, it is world class. They provide a comforting, friendly, can-do team in a peaceful, beautiful place with outstanding culinary delights that make the place very special for our high-flying, stressed, and highly accomplished group of professionals. Introducing our team and their network of people to Whispering Pines and Alton Jones has been one of the best decisions I have made as an executive director of Sea Grant."

Rhode Island Sea Grant

In the past year Rhode Island Sea Grant celebrated its 40th anniversary in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography. It was a time of commemorating and reflecting upon our many milestones in marine and coastal research, as well as recognizing the amazing talent we have in Rhode Island that make such accomplishments possible.

Read more...

Win a complimentary lunch and tour of Whispering Pines for you and 3 of your colleagues.

Go to our facebook page and tell us the name of the person who posted "Today is Our 5th Anniversary & we cannot believe our photographer's Storybook is still up & running! We look forward to bringing our two kids there someday!"

buffet

The first 10 people that reply to this email and answer this question correctly will win a complimentary lunch and tour of Whispering Pines Monday - Friday.

Dear Erin,
We are so happy we got to work with you for our wedding. You were professional, thoughtful, generous, and kind. Thanks for helping to make our wedding special.

Most thankful,
Heather and Dave July 3, 2011

Sophia-The-Squirrel is on facebook sophia the squirrel

Send a friend request to Sophia, she will keep you up to date on what is going on at Whispering Pines!

Recipe of the month:
Mussels with Portuguese Chorizo
4 servings - Simple Recipe

Ingredients

2 (5-pound) bags mussels
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spicy Portuguese chorizo, casing removed
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic , slivered
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle dry white wine
Parsley chopped, for garnish

Directions

Working, 1 at a time, scrub any grit from shells under running water. Discard open mussels that do not close with a few taps of the finger and any with cracked shells. Put the mussels in a bowl of cold water.

Heat the oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat and add the chorizo . Using a wooden spoon, mash the chorizo into chunks, so it resembles ground beef. Saute until brown, about 8 minutes. Remove chorizo to a bowl. In the same pot, add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute 3 minutes . Pour the wine in the pan and let it simmer and reduce. Pull the mussels from bowl and transfer them and the water to the pot, do not strain , leaving behind any sand and grit that has sunk to the bottom. Stir to coat. Add the chorizo back into the pot and cover. Cook over medium heat until the mussels open, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.