Youngsters today might have no idea what a phone book look like. But for Marie Smith and the Hopkinton Women’s Club, the term has a special meaning.

Smith was in charge of the Women’s Club phone book, a helpful reference for local residents and a major fundraiser for the organization. A few years ago, the book transitioned to a community register, primarily listing local services, and this year’s publication will be the last one.

“I’ve done it for 31 years now,” Smith said. “Times are changing. It’s not as easy to get advertisers. So I decided to hang it up.”

Three decades ago, Smith and other volunteers would go through the regional phone book looking for Hopkinton residents. It was a time-consuming chore, but the payoff was worth it.

“For many, many years, close to 20-something years, we would go through the Verizon pages, literally line by line, and look for Hopkinton and match it up with what we had in the past,” Smith said. “When people went to cell phones, there was no way we could keep up with that.

“Imagine Women’s Club members going to the cafeteria at the middle school with a ruler, highlighters and the Verizon phone books. We were cross-eyed by the end of the night. Then there were people who would call me and say, ‘This person moved out of town,’ or, ‘This person died.’ And I would say, ‘Thank you very much.’ That’s the only way we would know that information.”

Smith, also the club’s historian, said she traced the phone book fundraiser’s origins to 1976. At first it came out once every two years. Then it shifted to every year and became a major source of income.

“It was a huge fundraiser,” Smith said. “I’m still making thousands [with the register]. But I would make [around $15,000] years ago. Now we have other fundraisers. I’m in competition a bit with our golf tournament, the Boston Marathon runner. We’re looking for something else, or we just won’t give as much [to the community].

“People don’t understand how much we give,” she added, although declining to offer a specific amount. “It’s immense.”

Among those assisting Smith were her now-ex-husband, Dan, who worked in printing and yearbooks. Smith, who taught at the elementary and high school levels, also worked on yearbooks, so, “I had some knowledge of design,” she said. “At that time, we would work together on the designs. It was my summer job, even though I never got paid. I was a teacher for 48 years, and I couldn’t work on it during the school year.”

Smith said she’s especially appreciative of the local businesses who stuck by her every year.

“I’m just so gracious for the advertisers, who I have developed personal relationships with, even though I’ve never seen many of their faces, because I’d just call them up,” she said. “During the pandemic, I wrote a letter to the all the advertisers and told them we would not have a publication but we’d take donations, and we raised $3,500 that year. It was nice to have them reach into their pockets to help us.

“I just want to tell them how appreciative we are for their support throughout the years. I highly, highly appreciate it and am very humble about their giving.”

Smith said she plans to continue her efforts elsewhere with the Women’s Club.

“I’ve been in the club since 1990,” she said. “I absolutely love the Women’s Club, and I’m so proud to be a member of it. Sometimes things get worn out. I’m not worn out, I’m still active, but the publication is worn out. I always thought it was a great fundraiser. But it’s time.”

Interfaith gathering seeks understanding

Temple Beth Torah in Holliston hosted a “diverse group of neighbors and friends” on Nov. 3 for an interfaith gathering centered around the crisis in the Middle East. Area representatives from the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha’i and Sikh faiths were on hand to “engage each other on some tough but important conversations on the crisis in the Middle East and its impact for Israeli Jews and Palestinian Muslims, Christians and others,” explained Fr. Carl Chudy of the Metrowest Interfaith Community, which sponsored the event.

The group used the book “The Lemon Tree” by Sandy Tolan as “the vehicle by which we hoped to gather our different experiences of pain and hope considering the war in the Middle East,” Chudy shared.

Added Chudy: “This gathering of Palestinians and Jews, with the support of their co-religionists who are their neighbors and friends, is not an exercise in homogenizing distinct and painful histories, often driven by contradictory narratives and deep seeded bias. Instead, it is driven by something deeper and more profound, a need to listen and love in the search of a common ground to begin together, to be heard, and to begin to heal. It is what looms larger than our differences that beckons us all.”

Live4Evan hits another milestone

The Hopkinton-based charity Live4Evan recently announced the opening of its seventh apartment last month. Live4Evan assists families with children who are receiving medical treatment by “providing families with private, comfortable and fully furnished spaces to retreat to while being just minutes away from their child’s bedside.” The newest apartment, like the other six, is located next to Boston Children’s Hospital.

Writes the organization: “Together, we’re able to bring comfort and support to families during one of the most challenging times of their lives.”

Doyle part of holiday performance

Hopkinton’s Delaney Doyle is among the student musicians and vocalists who were lined up to perform in Belmont University’s annual concert tradition, “Christmas at Belmont Live from Nashville.”

A showcase of Belmont’s musical talent through an array of traditional carols, classical masterworks and seasonal favorites, this year’s event features performances from Belmont alumni Ashley Cooke, Cody Fry and Dwan Hill.

The event, held at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, was live-streamed for the first time through Amazon Music and is available throughout the holiday season via video on demand. For more information, visit belmont.edu/christmas.