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Senior Living
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Written by Larry Mazzeno
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Tuesday, 21 June 2011 14:34 |
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One thing Reedville Fishermen’s Museum Director Katrina Lawrimore has learned in two years on the job: running a local history museum takes lots of volunteers. So when you ask her about the importance of having seniors volunteer there, she doesn’t mince words. “Without them, we wouldn’t have a museum.”
The Reedville Fishermen’s Museum isn’t the only place you’ll find seniors in abundance. Whether at national attractions like George Washington’s or Robert E. Lee’s birthplace, or ones with a local focus, seniors are the mainstay of volunteer programs at virtually every historical site along the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore.
“Our senior volunteers are always going full speed ahead, doing whatever it takes to make the museum successful,” Lawrimore says. Volunteers run the gift shop, repair the museum’s watercraft, care for buildings and grounds, serve as docents, build exhibits, and even serve as crew aboard the museum’s boats.
Betty Mountjoy, a transplant from Hyattsville, Maryland, has had more than a dozen jobs from fundraising to curating for the Museum’s collection and serving on the Board. Mountjoy began as a docent and found herself fascinated with the region’s maritime heritage and impressed by fellow volunteers. “I am amazed at the quality and expertise of the retirees I work with,” she says enthusiastically.
Camille Bennett, executive director at Irvington’s Historic Christ Church, says seniors bring a sense of commitment and real-world experience to their volunteer work. “They enjoy each other’s company, like dealing with visitors and are eager take on any task that needs doing.” They are also quite willing to share their personal resources and promote the organization to the next generation, keys to sustaining any historical site’s long-term viability.
“I think seniors’ volunteer work is mutually beneficial,” Bennett says. “They certainly are important to the organization. But being able to volunteer lets them feel they are continuing to contribute and provides opportunities to keep their professional and life skills sharp.”
Historic Christ Church benefits from its proximity to Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, the continuing care community just two miles away. Clark Schumacher, one of several RWC residents who volunteer at the church, is fascinated by the architecture of the building that has been designated one of the 100 most important existing Colonial American structures. “I learn something new every time I go over to the place,” he says.
Schumacher’s neighbor Pam Key helps out with administration. Her husband, Dr. Marcus Key, is involved in historical research. “I’ve been doing research all my life,” says the retired public health service official who spent his career investigating occupational and environmental diseases. He discovered quickly that his skills were easily transferrable. His team just finished mapping out the location for every resident of Christ Church parish between 1730-1750, and now is trying to identify the site of Church Landing, a spot on the upper reaches of Carter’s Creek that may once have provided water access to the church.
Like many seniors, Pennsylvania native Nancy Newlin volunteers at several local historical sites. In addition to working at Historic Christ Church, the former teacher has been on the board at the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington and now handles a number of jobs there, including management of special events that bring in revenue for the enterprise. The work occasionally spurs her to reverie. “When I’m here I sometimes wish I could turn back the clock and experience the adventure of traveling by steamboat up and down the Bay.”
Ann McClintock, who was born near the old steamboat pier in Weems, volunteers at the Steamboat Era Museum for another reason. Her grandfather, Archie Long, was a renowned steamboat captain, and she grew up hearing stories about the days when steamboats connected the region to urban centers. When she heard of plans to create a museum dedicated to the steamboat era she came forward to lend a hand.
McClintock is at the museum as many as four days a week. “I love giving tours to young people,” she says, “because so many have no idea about the region’s heritage.” They also may not realize how lucky they are to be hearing about it from a living link to the area’s glorious past.pl
http://www.rfmuseum.org/ |
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Written by Larry Mazzeno
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Wednesday, 04 May 2011 16:54 |
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Two decades ago the Greatest Generation discovered that the region along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay was a great place to retire. More recently, Baby Boomers ready to hang up their work clothes and enjoy a leisurely lifestyle in idyllic surroundings began arriving by the dozens. “Born heres” who’ve reached retirement age are proving no less eager to kick back and relax right at home.
The presence of so many seniors in an area once populated largely by farmers and watermen has led to numerous changes to the business climate in the region. Some of the differences are obvious. Retailers are ordering products that seniors want to buy. Restaurants are modifying menus to serve foods that appeal to a more mature clientele, and many have adjusted their hours to better accommodate the lifestyles of these customers. It seems that savvy business owners and organizations are discovering that it pays to cater to a population that has the time (and money) to spend pursuing activities that help keep them young and engaged in their communities.
Nowhere is the shift in focus more noticeable than at the YMCA. “We’re no longer a ‘one size fits all’ organization,” says Mark Favazza, executive director of the Northern Neck Family Y in Kilmarnock. “Our goal is to serve the needs of individuals and families in our local area. Today that means offering a number of fitness activities and wellness programs geared to older adults.”
On any given day you can find seniors on the Y’s indoor courts playing pickle ball, a racquet sport that contains elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. They flock to classes such as Zumba, a peppy exercise routine featuring Latin music. They seem to love the Y’s new “Fit Links” program, which allows them to track their progress on the fitness equipment. “It’s like having a personal trainer in a computer box,” Favazza says. Fitness assessments and health fairs draw crowds of older adults who want to learn how they can remain healthy and enjoy retirement.
As it has all over the country, the growth in the senior population has led to a building boom in retirement communities of all stripes. “Over 55” developments and assisted living facilities have opened in a number of communities, affording seniors a chance to enjoy life while others take care of household chores or provide help to those who need assistance with daily living activities. One of the earliest to open, and still one of the finest, is Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury outside Irvington.
“More than twenty-five years ago several visionaries in our community saw the need for a continuing care facility to serve both the local population and the ‘come heres’ looking for a place to spend their retirement years,” says RWC president Stuart Bunting. The business model has proven highly successful, as people are able to enjoy independent living or receive assistance and even nursing care if they need it without leaving the community.
Of course, not every business has found it necessary to make changes. The menu at Lee’s Restaurant in downtown Kilmarnock “is about the same as it’s always been,” says Jerry Lee, who manages the 70-year old establishment with his brother. The crowd that frequents Lee’s seems happy to patronize a place that serves old favorites. Jerry Lee thinks he knows why. “Folks feel comfortable knowing they can get the same food they did when they were kids.” Maybe that, too, is a way of staying young.
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Written by Larry Mazzeno
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Monday, 26 April 2010 12:38 |
Staking a Claim in Paradise
Retirement Living on the Northern Neck
Julia Putney-Brandt of Weems stops her Ford F-150 behind two cars at a red light in Kilmarnock. “Oh, look!” she chuckles. “A traffic jam!”
Welcome to retirement living on the Northern Neck.
Brandt and her husband Bill moved to Weems in 2005 from Richmond. For years before that, they spent weekends here on their boat, moored at Yankee Point. When it was time to stop working and start enjoying life on their own terms, deciding where to live was a no-brainer.
The Brandts are typical of thousands of seniors who are choosing to make their home on the Northern Neck. Retirees are finding the area perfect for continuing their active lifestyle. Some move into places that were once their vacation homes. Some build new houses, scaled to fit their new lifestyles. Others find spots in communities that take care of all the household maintenance.
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Read more...
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Written by Larry Mazzeno
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Tuesday, 27 July 2010 09:01 |
So Much to Do. . .So Little Time
Retirement Living on the Northern Neck
People retire to the Northern Neck for lots of reasons. Gordon Charlton moved here to be closer to his son. Jim and Marjory Willis wanted a smaller home away from the city. Alan Christensen came so he could live beside his boat. So did his twin brother Chris.
Once they got here, these retirees discovered that “moving to the country” didn’t mean settling for life in a rocking chair.
Instead, Northern Neck seniors are busy taking advantage of the many opportunities they have to pursue their passions. Look around. You’re likely to spot them dining at area restaurants, boating on the region’s waterways, shopping in antique stores, visiting historical sites, attending community theater performances and musical events, stopping by local farmers’ markets, wandering through local art galleries, joining neighbors for outdoor concerts on town squares or at Belle Isle State Park. They’re bicycling down country lanes or working out at the local YMCA …The list could be extended, but you get the picture.
Many continue to work at something they love. Dr. Marty Stonequist, a retired musician, offers private lessons to a dozen students each week. Bob Butler, who spent his career developing shopping centers, builds intricate made-from-scratch models for five different museums on the Northern Neck. Chris and Alan Christensen are involved in the Northern Neck computer user’s group. Alan’s wife Mildred is active in a local garden club and the White Stone Women’s Club.
And of course, many retirees work at organizations which rely heavily on volunteer support to keep their doors open. Check out the halls of Rappahannock General Hospital, or the grounds at Historic Christ Church outside Irvington, and you’re bound to spot retirees helping these important community resources run effectively. Quite a few retirees are active in local churches. Schools and youth groups rely on them to serve as mentors for youngsters who benefit from their experience.
Seniors are the lifeblood of community libraries. “We couldn’t run the library without our retirees,” says Northumberland Public Library director Jane McQuade. “Volunteers do everything – work the front desk, catalog and shelve materials – they even weed the flower beds.” Their efforts allow libraries to operate with fewer paid staff and still provide valuable service to their patrons.
Sometimes retirees spot a job that needs doing even when no one has thought to ask them. That’s been the case for several older members of the Rappahannock Yacht Club, who several years ago formed the “Tuesday Beavers” group to perform much needed maintenance at the 75 year old facility.
“We know today’s seniors want to keep active,” says Stuart Bunting, president of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, a continuing care community located outside of Irvington. “Older adults enjoy keeping physically fit, and they want to keep their minds active as well.” That’s why RWC has opened its fitness programs to seniors from the community and routinely schedules presentations to bring in speakers on topics of current interest. Recently retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, former commander of Central Command, spoke to a packed house in the RWC community center.
“The worst advice anyone can give you is that getting to retirement age means you’ve earned the right to sit in a rocker all day long,” says RWC resident Bob Butler, who has a colorful way of describing his fellow retirees’ penchant for staying active. “RWC has several rockers … but you hardly ever see anyone sitting in them.” pl
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Senior Living
