Bloom

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Bloom celebrating Valley women

Soci al ser vice

Wilhelmina J o h n s o n ta lk s Harrisonburg through the years

S pr i n g 2 0 1 5

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Making A Difference In Our Community “With your oral health being an integral part of your total well being, Dr Hall together with Dr. Dean are committed to making a difference in serving their patient’s needs.”

David C. Hall, DDS and Curtis G. Dean, DDS

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INSIDE BLOOM

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Get your point across Christina Kunkle offers a five-step guide to making your voice heard without losing your cool.

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16 A woman with a mission

Wilhelmina Johnson shares her experiences with desegregation, Social Services and People Helping People. your BEAUTY

your RELATIONSHIPS

With wild colors making a comeback, stylists dish on dye jobs.

Psychologists, lawyers talk keeping priorities in line during divorce.

page 5 your TABLE

your HEALTH

Welcome spring with seasonallythemed cocktails.

The great debate: To vaccinate children, or not?

H

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Aleda Johnson discusses how physical separation adds to the challenge of maintaining a relationship.

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12). And, after the recent measles outbreaks, pediatricians weigh in on the vaccination debate (“A community divided,” page 22).

Our cover girl, Wilhelmina Johnson, is one of the area’s most influential volunteers and while she has dedicated her life to helping others, the task hasn’t always been an easy one.

Wilhelmina took time out of her still busy schedule to share her experiences with desegregation, Social Services and People Helping People (“A pillar of the community,” page 16).

To each of you readers, thank you for your support during the past two years as Bloom editor. It’s time for me to move along in my journey, but as I pass the torch to Kyleen Kendall, know the magazine will be in wonderful hands!

Thanks for reading, and keep Blooming!

Kate Kersey Editor

Bl oo m S t a f f Kate Kersey, editor

Matt Gonzales, staff writer Aleda Johnson, staff writer Katie King, staff writer Hannah Pitstick, staff writer

Kim Roberson, account executive

Bloom is a publication of Rockingham Publishing Co., Inc. Copyright © 2015 Rockingham Publishing Co., Inc. 231 S. Liberty St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 For advertising information, contact Kim Roberson at 574-6224 or kroberson@dnronline.com.

thinkstock.com

ello, ladies! Spring is sprung in our beautiful Valley, and with the red bud blossoms comes the Spring 2015 issue of Bloom.

Looking to update your style this spring, but not in the market for a new wardrobe? Try changing up your tresses! Stylists at area salons discuss the recent resurgence of wildly-colored hair (“To dye for,” page 5).

For those entertaining as the weather warms up, bartenders serve up suggestions for spring cocktails (“Sips of the season,” page 10).

Communicating effectively and keeping your cool can often pose a challenge, something many of us experience first-hand. Christina Kunkle offers a five-step guide to getting your point across and keeping your emotions in check (“Making your voice heard,” page 14).

Most, if not all, of us know a family affected by divorce. Sometimes, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s most important in the process, but experts offer reminders (“When things fall apart,” page

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Long-distance love

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ARTICLE BY ALEDA JOHNSON

Stylists weigh in on color your BEAUTY

To

dye A

for

thinkstock.com

s springtime rolls around, bright colors mirroring those of blooming flowers become more popular. This year, instead of finding a place on clothes, these colors are showing up on heads in the way of bright hair.

Hollywood elite such as Nicole Richie and Nicki Minaj have been sporting colorful tresses for years; Katy Perry rocked lavender locks at this year’s Grammy Awards. And the trend is finally hitting mainstream.

The possibilities are as broad as the rainbow when it comes to picking the right hue, and the ways to color are numerous, depending on how permanent the client wants the dye.

According to Cindy Lam and Leah Kaufman of Foilz Hair Studio in Harrisonburg, about 20 percent of their clientele ask for this colored hair trend, with shades of blue and purple being the most popular.

And it’s not just one type of person trying it out.

“We see professionals, cheerleaders, nurses, students, even older women,” said Lam, who has been coloring hair for almost 25 years. “So many people are doing it now; it’s not one clique of people.”

Brandi McLain, who has worked as a cosmetologist at The Studio Hair Salon and Day Spa in Harrisonburg for 13 years, said she mainly sees James Madison University students who ask for the color change.

The shades of colors vary as much as the women who wear them, from neon to pastel hues.

“Blue and purple are probably our most popular,” Lam said. “Usually, women want bright, vivid colors, but a few will

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go for the pastels.”

Another option for those who do not want to dye their entire head a bright color, is to dye panels or do an ombré effect. Ombré starts with one color at the top of the head and fades to another, making it look as though the roots are growing out, according to Kaufman, who has been a hairdresser for 13 years.

For example, some start with natural hair color and gradually fade to a shade of purple at the bottom.

Hair chalk is perfect for women who want to try out the trend for a day or play with color without any lasting damage to strands. The chalk is applied to the outside surface of hair and usually only lasts a day, depending on the condition of the hair.

“And as long as your hair isn’t compromised, meaning

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Courtesy Photo / The Studio Hair Salon and Day Spa

Brandi McLain, who has worked as a cosmetologist at The Studio Hair Salon and Day Spa for 13 years, says the colors clients want their hair dyed vary in shade as much as the women who wear them.

you don’t flat iron or bleach it to pieces, the chalk will shampoo out on the first shampoo,” McLain says. “But

when the hair is porous, sometimes you can find the chalk working [its] way into the hair, and you could have

results for a couple days.”

While some may be tempted to do a quick dye job on their own out of a box, Kaufman offers some advice: “Don’t,” she admonishes.

“It will cost you a heck of a lot more for you to come in and have us correct it. Have a professional do it. Period.”

Which makes sense once Kaufman describes the process of dying hair these bright colors.

First, she pre-lightens the hair to get it to a specific shade that will hold the correct color. Sometimes, this takes a few tries because hair goes through certain stages of color when pulling out natural color, according to Kaufman.

“You have to get to the right shade,” she said.

“If you get to a pale yellow and put blue on it, it may come out teal, so you have to get to the right level before

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you start adding color.”

Once the hair is pre-lightened, the colorist will blow dry it because the color must be applied to dry hair, where it usually sits for 30 minutes before it is washed and dried again.

The condition your hair is in will also determine how long it takes to color tresses.

McLain reminds customers that hair is a protein filled with melanin, and it’s the melanin that is changed during the dying process. Once the melanin is lightened using bleach, the holes in the strand are plugged with the appropriate color.

“How far we can take you before we damage your hair is what becomes the obstacle,” McLain said. “You can only prelighten the hair as far as the hair will let you.”

How much damage a strand can take depends on the porosity of the hair, its thickness and texture. Finer hair has a smaller diameter, which makes it hard to force larger dye molecules into the strand, according to McLain.

“If the hair is really damaged, you have this open top cuticle layer,” she

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said. “If we put the color on it, and then can’t get the cuticle layer to seal back down, the color will fade more quickly.”

And while the trendy colors may be fun, Lam cautions that these unnatural colors fade faster and require more upkeep than natural-colored tresses.

She recommends blow drying hair because while it is wet, the pigment won’t hold as well.

Using shampoo and conditioner specifically for color-treated hair will help the color stay, as well as not washing the hair every day.

For those with finer hair who think they have to wash it daily, Lam insists you can train your hair to not need to be washed every day to help keep the color.

“Your body gets used to how you wash your hair, like when you change your skincare routine,” she said. “It just takes patience and lots of dry shampoo.”

When a woman decides to go back to her natural color, Lam and Kaufman reiterated that it’s best to get it done professionally, because it can be very difficult to pull out fashion colors.

“One of the [stylists at Foilz] fixed a

girl who had gone to another salon and wanted lilac purple hair, and they gave her dark magenta,” Kaufman said. “The girl was not happy, and one of our stylists used a color remover — which isn’t damaging to your hair like bleach is — to pull out all the wrong color and deposit the correct color.”

But the easiest way to prevent this from happening is to communicate with your colorist, Lam said, especially when you’ve had your hair colored before. It’s never a good idea to tell your hairdresser that you haven’t colored your hair.

When the hairdresser pre-lightens hair, the old colors may come through and leave bands of different colors that may not always come out.

“You may think it’s a simple lift and deposit, but it’s not,” Lam said. “It depends on what they’ve got underneath the [current color], and letting us know helps us prepare for it.”

When in doubt, all three colorists said coming in for a consultation is the best way to decide if a new trend is for you.

“You can come in and talk about what’s on your hair and what we think it would

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take to get there, if it’s something that we need to do in steps,” Lam said. “It’s always a good idea to get recommendations.”

In addition, your colorist should assess your hair’s condition to determine if it can handle the damage that comes from coloring.

McLain said that the colorists at The Studio work to recondition the hair and strengthen the bonds, so hair feels healthier after the appointment.

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“I’m not willing to damage someone’s hair to give them hair color, so setting up a consultation before to have a realistic idea of budget, timing and upkeep is important,” McLain said. “Maybe if the results are unrealistic, it will give you enough time to think of something else to do with your hair.”

Aleda once added pink streaks to her hair that were supposed to last four weeks, and instead stayed for two years.

“

It will cost you a heck of a lot more for you to come in and have us correct it. Have a professional do it. Period.

“

2015 Spring Bloom:

— Leah Kaufman, on DIY hair dye

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your TABLE

Sips of the season ARTICLE BY KATIE KING PHOTOGRAPHY BY NIKKI FOX

For t he Kentucky Derby Sparkling Juleps In a champagne flute, combine a dash of bitters or bourbon with a splash of mint simple syrup, fill with sparkling wine and garnish with sprig of mint.

Mint Simple Syrup In a heat-proof container, pour basic simple syrup over 1 cup (loosely packed) mint leaves. Cover and let cool. After 2 hours, strain out the mint. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

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odka and tequila may be popular spirits, but Paul Gunderson, bar director at CubanBurger, says he’s breaking up with both liquors this spring.

“I’m done with vodka, and I’m done with tequila,” he declared. “Everybody does tequila and vodka, but we’re a Cuban restaurant, and I’m trying to promote rum.”

To celebrate springtime, Gunderson says he’s been offering a rum-based special each week.

Among his favorites: the Canchanchara, which is considered to be Cuba’s signature drink.

“It’s one [Cubans] would drink during the Ten Years’ War, as kind of a necessity to get through it,” he explained.

Concocted with just rum, honey and lime, Gunderson says the libation is simple yet refreshing, making it an excellent option for the warmer months.

Though the recent Oregon transplant doesn’t have all the upcoming drink specials planned out, he expects many will include an ingredient or two from the Harrisonburg farmers’ market.

“I want to promote locality, and use local ingredients,” he said. “It makes a difference in the flavor and in how people perceive it.”

Amanda Cannon, coowner of Food.Bar.Food, agrees that using fresh, seasonal ingredients can “absolutely” make a difference in the taste of a drink.

Each spring, the former bartender looks forward to picking up fresh strawberries and rhubarb at the farmer’s market or Friendly City Food Co-op.

“For years, I’ve done a variation on a rhubarb and strawberry cocktail in the

spring,” she said, explaining that the tart rhubarb perfectly complements the strawberries’ sweetness.

When it comes to spring holidays, however, Cannon keeps a few other special recipes up her sleeve.

For Kentucky Derby parties, Cannon suggests serving a sparking julep in a champagne flute.

“The real classic cocktail for that is a mint julep, but that’s a pretty strong drink” she said, explaining that it contains only bourbon and mint.

“That’s not something I could drink all afternoon,” she added, laughing.

On the other hand, a sparkling julep consists mainly of champagne or sparkling wine, but still includes a dash of bourbon and mint to capture the Kentucky Derby spirit.

Meanwhile, for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Cannon suggests sticking with a classic margarita, but says making your own fresh sour mix can drastically improve the taste.

“You can really adjust the levels of tartness and sweetness, and avoid all of the preservatives and chemicals that are in [some storebought] mixes,” she explained.

When it comes to the drink rims, Cannon says to let your imagination go wild.

“You can make a basic margarita mix and then get really creative with the rim,” she recommended.

Katie is looking forward to her favorite spring cocktail: a madefrom-scratch strawberry mojito.

Amanda Cannon, co-owner of Food.Bar.Food., says using fresh, seasonal ingredients can “absolutely” improve a drink’s flavor.

For Cinco De Mayo Fresh Sours Combine 1 cup lime juice, 2 cups lemon juice, 2 cups simple syrup and 2½ cups water Flavored Rims Combine 2 tablespoons coarse salt and 1½ teaspoons chili powder for a smokey rim.

Citrus salt can be made with lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit zest. Preheat oven to 225 degrees, in a bowl, mix together ½ cup coarse salt and 1 tablespoon citrus zest. Spread on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, bake for an hour. Let cool before storing in airtight container.

Vanilla Bean Sugar Salt In a small bowl, combine ½ cup coarse salt and ½ cup turbinado sugar with the seeds from one split vanilla bean

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S

ARTICLE BY MATT GONZALES ILLUSTRATION BY NIKKI FOX

ay you meet the person of your dreams. For years, you date before becoming engaged.

You marry, move into a home of your own and eventually begin a family together.

Maybe things are wonderful from the start; maybe they aren’t.

For at least one in two marriages, however, cloud nine dissipates.

The thoughtful conversations that shaped the relationship turn to arguments. Those fun, spontaneous dates on Friday nights are lost and forgotten.

The romance falls to the way-side, making the arrangement seem more like one between roommates, than partners.

Perhaps you decide that divorce is the most practical solution, although you know the process will likely be long and arduous.

According to simplypsychology.org — a site that provides academicstyle psychology information —

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Keeps the kids in mind divorce is the second most stressful event an individual can endure during a lifetime, trailing only “death of a spouse.”

And in the Rockingham County, it’s not uncommon.

According to statistics from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Circuit Court, on average, 940 marriage licenses were issued and 427 divorces filed per year from 2010-14.

Those totals do not take into account unmarried couples who split or those who are separated.

And divorces can be particularly difficult when children are involved — not only for the parent, but for the children, as well.

“I’m very concerned about the impact of divorce on kids,” said Harvey Yoder, licensed marital and family therapist and licensed professional counselor at Family Life Resource Center in Harrisonburg, noting the lingering effects the process may have on a child.

Yoder said many of his adult clients

deal with anxiety issues and depression stemming from events that occurred during their childhoods; this includes witnessing the dissolution of their parents’ marriage over time, or being subjected to the complications and the back-and-forth nature of divorce.

He recently had in a conversation with a young adult whose parents divorced when she was a child. She shared the difficulties that accompanied packing her suitcase each week and the dread of the “point of exchange.”

“A McDonald’s served as the dropoff place where they met,” explained Yoder.

“And she told me, ‘I still can’t stand the sight of a McDonald’s’ because it’s a reminder of that weekly occurrence.”

Impact on children

Often, whether intentionally or not, divorce inflicts emotional distress onto children involved.

According to children-and-divorce.com,

Dana Cornett, a Harrisonburgbased divorce attorney, says “Parents should try as hard as they can to leave children out of what’s going on between each other,” in the case of divorce.

your RELATIONSHIPS

When things fall apart

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on alternating birthdays and holidays.”

The “traditional” plan he mentioned dominated custody agreements for decades. The primary parent has three to four times the amount of contact with the child as does the under parent, according to divorcesupport.com. The other parent, as noted by Rosemond, visits the child occasionally, which may include holidays and vacations.

The problem with the traditional approach, Yoder explains, is that one parent may feel a loss of empowerment compared to the other. Their right to effectively train or discipline their child has essentially been stripped away, and said individual is relegated to the role of a “fun uncle” who comes around every so often.

“I think it’s also in the best interest of the child to have an optimal amount of time with each parent,” he added.

Based on her first-hand experience, Brandy Somers agrees. The Rockingham County resident was in a 10-year relationship that yielded a seven-year marriage, two children and a divorce.

She considers the divorce an “intense” time for both of her children — who were 2- and 5-years-old at the time.

Somers and her ex-husband share a joint-custody agreement, in which the children see their father MondaysWednesdays and their mother ThursdaySunday, modifying one week a month for the children to spend a full weekend with each parent.

The arrangement, she says, has worked out well for her children, as they regularly spend time with each parent and were able to remain in their schools.

While she admits to missing the kids while their father has them, she acknowledges sharing custody is in the best interest of the children.

“My children are emotionally close to both me and their father,” explained Somers, 33. “I feel my children have adapted beautifully and love both of their homes for different reasons.”

According to statistics from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Circuit Court, on average, annually, from 2010-14, 940 marriage licenses were issued and 427 divorces were filed. kids — specifically those between the ages of 12 and 17 — are 35 percent more likely to need psychological help within a year of the divorce, score lower on tests at school and struggle to get along with their peers.

The high school dropout rate of children of divorced parents is nearly two times higher than that of children whose parents are not, according to the site.

Family psychologist John Rosemond feels these emotional setbacks can be avoided, even in light of a divorce. In order to do so, however, one must avoid emotional disruptions.

The nationally-syndicated author of “Living With Children” wrote a piece outlining one potential disruption: joint physical custody.

The arrangement, in which the child spends about half of his or her time living with each parent, typically occurs when the parents live within a relatively close proximity to each other. In this situation, as exemplified with Yoder’s client, a child may spend a few days with one parent, pack their bags and then spend the next few days with the other.

The repetitive cycle in which the child is shuffled back and forth can potentially last until the child is 18 years old, says Rosemond.

“Going from one home to another every few days, which many if not most [custody agreements] mandate, is disruptive,” wrote Rosemond, adding that courts often rule in what he considers to be the “best interest of the parents,” rather than that of the children.

Joint custody, he says, may also lead to a lack of consistency with respect to rules, responsibilities, expectations and enforcement, as the child is being parented by two separate parents, often with contrasting philosophies.

“The proactive solution is the traditional arrangement,” he explained, “where one parent has primary custody and the other has the kids every other weekend, a month or so during the summer, and

Mistreatment

Dana Cornett, a Harrisonburg-based divorce attorney, shares Rosemond’s concerns regarding the way children are treated during the divorce process, al-

though she feels the mistreatment stems from the parents involved, rather than the courts.

In many instances, she says one party resents the other because the relationship ended, leading to the wounded party to limit the visitation rights of the other parent.

“It happens too often,” Cornett admits, noting how some parents take into consideration the effect a custody arrangement has on child support.

She says the “No. 1 reason” parents treat their child as “pawns” is in the hope of gaining more child support, or to avoid payment through custody or visitation rights.

“Parents should try as hard as they can to leave children out of what’s going on between each other,” she advises.

The pain of that mistreatment can linger after the divorce, as well.

Both Rosemond and Cornett mentioned parents who use their children to gain a glimpse into the other party’s home. In some instances, parents have their child record what the other parent is doing during visitations.

“Do not use a child as a private investigator into what’s going on in the other parent’s home,” said Cornett.

“Don’t tell little Johnny who their soon-to-be ex is dating now or how many men Mom is seeing either.”

One area woman, who asked her name be omitted in order to protect her family, shares two children with her exhusband, to whom she was married for eight years.

Upon divorce, he moved to a different state and on with his life. Though he has since remarried, and “sometimes” spends additional time with his children during summers, she makes it a point to avoid speaking ill of her ex-husband in front of their children, as she finds it damaging to the child’s psyche.

“Children see themselves as extensions of both parents,” she explained.

“If one parent is ‘bad’ then the child thinks he’s ‘bad,’ too.”

Yoder suggests parents always keep the best interest of their children above anything else, even if their pride is at stake.

“It’s not about the couple anymore,” said Yoder.

“It’s about the child.”

Though his parents are still together, Matt sympathizes with those whose are not.

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Christina Kunkle’s five steps to

W

Making your voice heard

e all just want to be heard. We want our voices to count for something, to be noticed, to be understood and accepted for who we are, and to know we are not all alone in this world.

Yet, speaking up is hard to do! Many women — myself included — struggle at times to express our thoughts, emotions, problems or conflicts in ways that allow us to feel seen and fully supported.

Perhaps, as children, we were told “Nice girls don’t argue”; that we should be “seen and not heard”; to say “Please” and “Thank you,” but never something that would hurt someone’s feelings; to “Smile and keep the peace, at all costs.”

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Or maybe an alcoholic or abusive adult dismissed, mocked or ignored what we had to say.

So now, instead of using our voices, we retreat into silence. We candy-coat our anger with “I’m fine,” when a spouse asks what is wrong.

We may pretend we aren’t crushed by a co-workers’s rude remarks or the dismissal of our ideas in the boardroom. Or, we swing to extremes, exploding with rage (and a few choice words) in a moment of misunderstanding.

Emotions are “energy in motion” and need to be expressed constructively. When we suppress our real feelings, they don’t disappear or go away; they transform into something else — self-doubt, resentment, anxiety, addiction, depression, perfectionism or physical illness.

Life is too short to waste precious energy on mixed messages that leave us disconnected. The understanding we crave lies on the other side of real communication, which requires the guts to be honest with ourselves and each other.

It takes courage to be vulnerable, to withstand someone being mad at you, to work out difficulties in relationships and to not blame someone else for your feelings, but to instead take full ownership of your reactions.

I can reassure you through personal experience that the rewards for that courage are worth every ounce of discomfort.

Here are five tips to make yourself heard that I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to!

No 1. Have Your Own Back — Practice being your own best friend. When love and validation come from within, you will not look outside as much or as often for approval.

No. 2. Be Clear — Recognize what is true for you, and say it in a respectful and direct way. People can’t read your mind. Ask for what you need then don’t change it, mix it up, water it down or apologize.

No. 3. Keep Your Power — Stay calm, grounded and strong. Don’t act like a crazy person in order to be heard! No one can take your power unless you give it to them.

No. 4. Less Talk, More Action — If you’ve said the same thing over and over, it’s time to stop repeating yourself and stand behind yourself. Show with your actions what your words have been attempting to communicate.

No. 5. Don’t Settle — Look for ways to break old patterns of miscommunication, and speak the truth even when it hurts. Don’t give up or shut down. It is possible to create a new level of relationship with the people with whom you work, who you love and care about.

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Put pen to paper: Write

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“

“

2015 Spring Bloom:

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

every detail about the circumstance, with specific points.

What have you already tried that clearly doesn’t work?

Decide on one action that would help you the most right now, and declare to

— Robert McCloskey

make your move within 24 hours.

Share your plan and ask a trusted friend or family member to hold you accountable.

As Danielle LaPorte said “We all just want to be seen and heard. No exceptions.”

So, let’s find our voices, and speak up for the best and highest good of all.

Christina Kunkle is the founder of Synergy Life and Wellness Coaching LLC. Visit synergylifeandwellnesscoaching.com

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A pillar of the community

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Wilhelmina Johnson discusses her experiences with Social Services, People Helping People, desegregation t’s a Thursday evening in 1956, and Wilhelmina Johnson and a few friends are sitting around the television at Louvina Temple’s house to watch their two favorite programs.

Louvina had been complaining of a toothache all evening and was taking a medication called Stanback, a newly released drug that came in a small envelope, for the pain. Between the two shows, Louvina announced that she was going to walk to her mother’s house on Rock Street to pick something up, and as

she stood up from her chair, she fell backward onto the floor and began shaking uncontrollably.

“Oh my goodness, what’s wrong?” Wilhelmina cried.

The group called the doctor and when he arrived, he asked what happened, checked her pulse and announced, “Well, she’s dead.”

Apparently, she had accidentally taken too much of the new drug.

Temple was the mother of four children, including a 13-month-old girl.

After her death, the kids were separated: The eldest son went to live with an uncle in Maryland, one

daughter remained in Harrisonburg with her aunt, while the infant and another son went to live with her husband’s uncle in Ohio.

“That was one of the worst things that I ever experienced in my life,” Wilhelmina says, as she sits in her living room thinking back on that night. “I never got over how those kids were broken up and how they had to live after that happened.

“That was one of the things that made me a much better mother; my kids would get my attention, and I would be there for them all the time.”

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Almost every wall in Wilhelmina’s Myrtle Street home is covered floor-toceiling in framed family photos: wedding photos, school portraits of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and one photo of all eight of her adult children when they were back in Harrisonburg for a school reunion from Alaska, Texas, Maryland and the other places they’ve scattered to since childhood.

One wall at the foot of the staircase, though, is devoted to the many certificates and awards she’s received over the years for her career with Social Services, involvement in numerous charitable organizations in town and her role with People Helping People, an organization that connects people in need with funds from area churches. The award wall hit capacity a few years back, so a few frames rest on the floor at its base.

Wilhelmina can talk about the work she’s done for the community, but every conversation seems to arrive back at one topic: her eight children, whom she considers her greatest accomplishment.

Her second youngest, Carol Raymond, remembers how the house used to run like clockwork, despite the fact that Wilhelmina had a full-time job with Harrisonburg Social Services on top of raising eight children.

“Everyone in the neighborhood knew what my dad’s whistle meant,” she says.

“We could not be late for dinner and we had to have our hands washed and be ready to say grace.”

Wilhelmina traces her nurturing nature back to her own parents. She was born Wilhelmina Tutt, the eldest of five girls, on Oct. 21, 1928, in Luray, to Edith and William Tutt, both cooks in the then newly-opened Mimslyn Inn, a luxurious hotel owned by the wealthy Mims family.

Wilhelmina sometimes worked with her mother, who was a pastry chef, and says that’s where she learned how to bake.

Most everything was segregated at the time, including the churches, schools and neighborhoods, but Wilhelmina says she didn’t experience too many instances of racial violence, aside from the times white kids would spit at Wilhelmina and other black students out the bus window on their walk to school. The black school in Luray only went to the ninth grade, so when Wilhelmina graduated, she lived with family friends in Harrisonburg to finish high school at the Lucy F. Simms School.

As Wilhelmina walks through the halls

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of her old high school — now the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center — she points out what hasn’t changed about the building, which now houses the Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, among other organizations. Several renovations have been completed over the years, but the same red lockers remain and the gymnasium looks much like it did the night of Wilhelmina’s

junior prom: the first and last time she drank alcohol or smoked a cigarette.

Before the dance, Wilhelmina recalls, one girl’s mom hosted a pre-party where Wilhelmina was talked into tasting an alcoholic drink. She wore a pink floorlength dress, and as she walked up the stairs to the school, she stepped on the bottom of her dress, ripping it.

She immediately ran to the bathroom

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in a panic.

“One of the girls stooped down and we tore the whole bottom part out of the dress, so you couldn’t even tell,” she says, laughing. “I never drank any more ever since.”

The Simms School closed in 1965, when the schools in town were integrated, and Wilhelmina’s oldest sons were among the first students to move to Harrisonburg High School.

Her husband, Edgar, who died in 2003, feared that integration of the schools would mean the loss of his job.

But his fears proved unfounded.

“My husband had worked for the Wagner Chevrolet Company and the owner had moved here from Detroit,” she says. “I remember going there one day and he asked me, ‘Wilhelmina, I know you’re going to let your kids go to the high school,’ and I said, ‘Yes I am, but my husband thinks he might lose his job.’ And he said, ‘No way.’ ” Though integration in Harrisonburg went relatively smoothly compared to other areas, the process was not without issue.

Wilhelmina remembers a school superintendent who stated that he wanted all black athletes’ uniforms sterilized when they were finished playing, and a social room at the school where the black kids couldn’t go.

“A wonderful lady at the school encouraged us to come to a PTA meeting one night and express our feelings,” Wilhelmina recalls. “I went up to the front of the room and said, ‘My kids do not need their suits sterilized. They are here to go to school and get an education and not be involved with crazy stuff going on.’ So, finally the superintendent was dismissed of his job.”

Social Services

In 1969, after all of her children were born, Wilhelmina saw an ad in the paper for a job with Harrisonburg Social Services. She only had her high school diploma at the time, but after completing the required test, she received the top score out of all 32 who took the exam.

In October 1969, Wilhelmina went to work as a social worker aide at the municipal building. Aside from the janitor, she recalls being the only person of color to work in the building.

“At the time, there was segregation going on and we had a city treasury man

OPPOSITE: Wilhelmina stands in the hallway of the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center, where she attended high school while it was the Lucy Simms School.

that informed my boss that he didn’t want any black people in the building.

He said the only black person that needed to be in the building was the janitor, but my boss stood up for me and everything worked out fine.”

One of her primary responsibilities as an aide involved removing children from abusive environments.

Just weeks into her job, a distressed mother attacked Wilhelmina verbally.

“It was only the second time I was ever referred to as black with the ‘n’ word” she recalls.

That would just be one of many unpleasant encounters that came with the job.

In ’69, she and a coworker took three abused children from their mother, the fourth of whom she had hidden beneath a blanket. Luckily, Wilhelmina saw the child stir before they left.

While transporting kids to and from foster homes, Wilhelmina would talk with them, and many became like family.

“I run into kids all the time that I knew when they were younger and they have never forgotten me,” she says.

“Sometimes, the kids just needed someone to listen to them.”

“

I’ve learned to appreciate each day as a gift from God, and what I do with that day is my gift to God and others.

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2015 Spring Bloom:

Her daughter Carol remembers other kids in the neighborhood spending a lot of time at their house when she was growing up.

“Whenever we are somewhere and someone sees her, they always make a point to stop and say hello,” she says.

In addition to working with foster

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kids and organizing programs for them, part of the job involved contacting area ministers when people needed financial assistance to pay bills.

“I was given that job at the office and that’s how I got to know all the ministers in the area, and that’s how People Helping People got started,” she says.

Wilhelmina’s social services job was rewarding and frustrating; she wrote a letter of resignation three times, withdrawing the first two before resigning in 1992.

People Helping People

On a windy morning in April, Wilhelmina visits the headquarters of People Helping People, located in the activity center of Muhlenberg Lutheran Church.

A small group of people are seated outside of the office, waiting for a volunteer to help them find affordable housing, employment or assistance paying utility or medical bills.

“Wilhelmina was the first director of People Helping People,” one-time director Jackie Wells tells the group of volunteers in the office.

“Oh, I should stand up; I won’t salute, but I’ll stand up,” jokes Ed Parker, a volunteer, as he reaches to shake Wilhelmina’s hand.

“I have cold hands,” she warns.

“That’s OK, warm heart,”

When it was founded in 1992, Wilhelmina Johnson served as the first director of People Helping People.

After six years in the position, she stepped down to work as a volunteer.

he quips.

“You showed a lot of foresight in getting this all started,” Wells tells her.

Before People Helping People, those in need often went from one church to another in search of assistance.

Wilhelmina knows because connecting those people with ministers from area churches was often her responsibility.

In 1992, a group of minsters decided it would be easier to

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have one organization to which area churches could send monthly donations, and where volunteers could screen the applicants. When the director position opened, organizers immediately thought of Wilhelmina. She held the position for 6 years before stepping down to work as a volunteer.

Wells says the volunteerrun program has grown enormously in the past 20 years, with more than 1,800 families

receiving assistance annually.

“It’s part giving them information, and part helping them keep their water and electricity on,” Wells says.

“One of the ways we fundraise is through personal contributions, so we write personal thank yous to everyone who donates, so that people know their contributions are appreciated and they know where the money goes.”

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Wilhelmina would likely still be a volunteer with People Helping People if her husband and mother hadn’t fallen ill in the early 2000s. To this day, she helps send underprivileged kids to summer camp, care for her two handicapped neighbors and is heavily involved with her church.

“In a month or so, kids will start knocking on my door wanting to know if they can go to camp,” she said.

“Every year I say I’m gonna quit, and I keep on doing it,” she says, shaking her head with a smile. “It’s hard to say, ‘No,’ sometimes.”

Wilhelmina is in good health, considering all she’s given of herself over the years.

She teases her two neighbors sometimes, saying, “When you go to bed every night, ask the Good Lord to let me get up

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the next day, so I can take you to do things.”

Wilhelmina’s phone rings three or four times an hour, sometimes it’s one of her kids, other times a neighbor or friend from church. This time, it’s her friend Doris Allen, who stops by to drop off her new book, “The Way It Was, Not the Way It Is.” The work focuses on the way Harrisonburg was for African Americans in the 1930s and ’40s. Allen graduated high school a year ahead of Wilhelmina, but the two became better acquainted as adults.

“It’s hard to describe Wilhelmina because she’s been a busy bee,” Allen says. “She’s been on a lot of committees and helped a whole lot of community people along the way who were in need.”

Looking back on her life, Wilhelmina insists that she has no regrets.

Wilhelmina holds a photo of her and her husband, Edgar, at their 50th wedding anniversary. A World War II veteran, he died in 2003.

She has been religious all her life, so she doesn’t view death as the end, but she has seen enough of it in her time to appreciate every day.

“You do what you can to keep yourself going,” she says.

“We just never know about life, so I feel blessed each day that I can wake up and move around. I’ve learned to appreciate each day as a gift from God and what I do with that day is my gift to God and others.”

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I

your HEALTH

A community divided: To n December 2014, dozens of vacationers learned that Disneyland, “The Happiest Place On Earth,” breeds more than just cheerfulness and memories.

Measles — a fever and red rash-producing viral disease spread by air or through direct contact— rippled through the Anaheim, Calif., resort during the week of Dec. 14, infecting an estimated 40 individuals, according to the California Department of Health.

Many of the tourists unknowingly carried the virus back to their hometowns. One-hundred seventy-six individuals spanning 17 states and the District of Columbia — 113 of whom are California residents — have been linked to the disease from January 1-March 13, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though the outbreak is widely believed to have been exacerbated by the Disneyland incident, there have been more reported cases of the measles in the last 15 months than in the years from 2008-13 combined, according to the CDC. These recent outbreaks have since reignited a highly controversial debate: vaccinating children.

Both sides of the argument

Many in the pro-vaccine crowd, the overwhelming majority, feel the Disneyland outbreak could have been avoided altogether.

“This should have never been a problem,” said Dr. Jamie Hutton, pediatrician at Mountain Ridge Pediatrics in Harrisonburg. “But we have too many people [who] don’t vaccinate.”

CDC studies show that a relatively small percentage of American children

go unvaccinated each year. During the 2013-14 school year, for instance, 95 percent of children were vaccinated prior to kindergarten, which includes two doses of the MMR vaccine — which aims to prevent measles, mumps and rubella.

That same year, less than one percent of Virginian children went unvaccinated.

Parents who choose not to have their children vaccinated are those to whom Hutton alludes. The decision to allow children to go unvaccinated, she said, can have a substantial impact on society and compromise the herd immunity — the large segment of the population unaffected by a given disease.

While there are no federal requirements mandating the vaccination of children, all 50 states require certain vaccinations to enroll students in school. Some states, however, allow exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical beliefs.

In California, for instance, individuals can be exempt based on medical, religious and philosophical beliefs. Virginia, on the other hand, allows only for medical and religious exemptions.

“Ultimately, parents have to make a choice when it comes to vaccinations,” said Dr. Megan Imholt, pediatrician for Valley Children’s Clinic in Harrisonburg.

“But I strongly, strongly recommend having your child vaccinated.”

Many pediatricians share this sentiment. Vaccinations, as Imholt explained, protect children against harmful or deadly diseases, such as measles, meningitis, hepatitis and the chicken pox. The chances of contracting serious infections, such as pneumonia, bloodstream and respiratory complications, are greatly reduced.

Many of the diseases that vaccines target give way to more serious effects,

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such as a lowered immune system — leading to secondary bacterial infections — or, in the case of measles, secondary pneumonia, explained Imholt.

“I can tell you in the Shenandoah Valley, we’ve had recent cough outbreaks,” said Imholt, noting she has admitted children to the hospital due to complications, which can be fatal for infants.

“And that’s in our own community.”

So, why do some parents refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated?

One reason may be due to the perception that vaccination requirements, or the pressure to have their children vaccinated, takes away from a parent’s right to choose what they feel is best for their own children. A parent has the right to dictate what is injected into their children, some opposed to vaccinations say.

It is a sentiment with which some physicians, particularly those within the American Chiropractic Association — which champions drug-andsurgery-free remedies and supports an individual’s right to freedom of choice — sympathize.

“It should be the parents’ right to choose,” said Dr. Jonathan Claar of Shenandoah Chiropractic Neurology Clinic in Harrisonburg. “If we take away that choice, we start to lose part of our freedom.”

Claar, who maintains a neutral stance on vaccinations, said that the debate is a broad topic that deals with a gray area many may not acknowledge.

As he points out, some parents may be in favor of certain vaccines and against others. For instance, they may approve of vaccines A, B and C, but refuse the injection of vaccine D, due to their own research or knowledge of the serum.

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vaccinate children, or not?

“People think that you’re either provaccine or anti-vaccine, but there are people in the middle who would like to pick and choose a little more,” he explained.

Potential hazards

Helen Bruce, of Harrisonburg, touched on the misconception that those who question vaccines are “ignorant and don’t understand science,” in a recent letter to the editor published in the Daily News-Record.

“There is no excuse for a parent who wonders why a child is being subjected to over nine doses in one visit, questions it and still allows the child to be injected with the toxic chemicals that all vaccines contain,” she wrote in the opinion piece, which published April 1.

Her words convey apprehension some parents feel concerning the ingredients of a given vaccine.

While Bruce did not specify the “toxic chemicals” to which she made reference, there are a number of components that have caused alarm in some circles.

For example, the presence of aluminum as an adjuvant in certain vaccines — such as the Hepatitis A and B immunizations — makes some parents wary, as the chemical element can cause neurological harm if used in excess.

Yet, according to a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, the amounts of aluminum in vaccines pose an extremely low risk of side effects.

As the study indicated, aluminum is a critical component to the structural integrity of the vaccine. Its purpose is to increase the immune response to the antigen, which stimulates the immune system in the creation of antibodies.

Moreover, the amount of aluminum in a single injection, according to a num-

ber of area pediatricians, is miniscule.

“We get more aluminum by drinking a can of soda than we do by having an immunization,” explained Hutton. “And since it is a heavy metal, it does precipitate to the bottom of the vile; so when it is drawn up, most of it is actually left in the bottle.”

Rumors circulating that vaccines can lead to the development of autism in children, due to the presence of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. The rumor spread in 1998, when an English medical journal produced an article suggesting a correlation between the MMR vaccination and autism.

It was later discovered that the author, Andrew Wakefield, manipulated the data in the article. Wakefield has since been stripped of his medical license by the UK General Medical Council for ethical violations.

Yet that hasn’t prevented a host of individuals, including celebrities, from suggesting a link between the two still exists.

Multiple outlets, including the CDC and Autism Speaks, have contradicted the claim. The CDC in particular has researched the topic and is conclusive in its hypothesis: There is no link between receiving vaccinations and the development of autism.

This is not to say vaccines are entirely safe. According to the CDC, all vaccines do carry a risk of life-threatening complications, though only about one per million children is affected. Effects such as seizures, coma and permanent brain damage may be associated with the DTaP and MMR vaccines, though this has yet to be confirmed, due to the infrequency of such reactions.

However, a possible risk still exists.

Claar claims that his office has encoun-

tered patients who have experienced neurological demise due to effects from unspecified vaccines, before emphasizing the ample-sums of documentation substantiating the injuries caused by vaccinations.

“There are a number of cases that go unreported, as well,” he added.

According to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a database that monitors reported claims of adverse reactions to vaccinations, more than 10 million vaccines per year are given to children nationwide prior to their first birthday, most frequently between two and six months of age.

The system states that infants are at greatest risk for adverse situations, which include high fevers, seizures, and sudden infant death syndrome. There has been no concrete evidence, however, that vaccinations have caused these effects, or if they merely happened by coincidence.

More research needed

As Hutton says, vaccines are employed to protect children from harmful diseases, and dubs them “one of the best developments in modern medicine,” as well as one of the greatest health developments of the 20th century.

“There have been more Nobel Prizes awarded for vaccines than anything else in modern medicine,” she added. “We’ve saved more lives with vaccines than we’ve saved with any other medicine developed.”

Yet research remains ongoing. Scientists across the globe are constantly looking to improve the vaccinations, as advocates and opponents continue to plead their respective cases.

As Claar said, “more research needs to be done on the topic.”

Matt probably won’t be visiting Disneyland anytime soon.

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Going the distance

W

COLUMN BY ALEDA JOHNSON

Reporter talks love across state lines

e’re sitting together in his dorm room, just having begun our junior year of college.

He finishes telling me how happy I make him as he threads his fingers through mine and asks me to be his girlfriend.

My inner 12-year-old giggles at the formality of it, blushes and nods. He hooks his pinky finger with mine, and his inner 12-year-old asks, “Pinky promise?”

Sounds like the perfect relationship, right? What could I possibly have to complain about?

Well, that relationship becomes a lot less perfect when you’re loving from three states away.

And I’ve had it happen not just once, but twice in my life with two different guys.

I fall in love with the perfect guy — Guy

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No. 1 with a balloon and Guy No. 2 with a pinky promise — and then we are geographically pulled apart by a life event that can’t be helped.

The first time, it was college; the second time, my career.

Now, don’t get me wrong, LDRs have warm, fuzzy parts just like normal relationships.

I still have someone there for me when things go wrong, we have dinner together and he makes me laugh.

I had the opportunity to see lots of new places visiting both guys and having them visit me. I fell in love with a new city, made friends from different backgrounds and became a Bruins fan.

Reunions are usually like scenes from a movie. The happy couple jogging toward each other through airport

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baggage claim with smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.

Cue the upbeat montage with couple sipping the same milkshake with two straws and making breakfast together during their weekend in paradise.

All joking aside, it really is an amazing feeling.

But what the audience never sees in the movies are the couple’s heartbreaking goodbyes before going through airport security or getting on a bus, knowing their 48 hours in paradise are over, and they have another month to go before they see each other again.

So, why waste time with a guy I only see once a month?

Why put myself through this?

I guess you could say I’m a glutton for punishment, but

For Halloween one year, Aleda and Guy No. 2 dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert, the chimney sweep.

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really I just know that he is completely worth it — they both were.

LDRs take a lot of work though, and it took some time for me to adjust.

The person who said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” was full of bull. Absence makes the heart grow clingy, suspicious and pained, when not handled properly.

After a few years of making silly mistakes, I’ve found the keys to having a successful LDR are trust and communication. This should be true of any good relationship, but when done at a distance, it becomes even more critical.

It is very easy to get jealous of him delaying or canceling Skype dates because he’s going out to dinner with new friends, especially if any of them are of the opposite sex.

And giving him the silent treatment equates to literally freezing him out of your life. He gets no chance to stand outside your window holding a boombox over his head to make up with you.

Communicating my feelings was hard

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at first, but I had to tell the guy like it was. When I was really feeling the distance or worried about a new girl classmate he started mentioning, I had to open up about it.

For instance, Guy 1 pledged a fraternity our freshman year of college. Anyone who is familiar with the process knows that this time can be very stressful on the guy and the relationship, especially with the rituals that are followed: phones getting taken away, Facebook accounts being deleted, long nights at the frat house.

After one particular instance when I didn’t hear from him for almost 48 hours with no warning, I put my foot down.

Without crossing into “psycho girlfriend” territory, I simply told him that he had to give me a heads up when that was going to happen again. I could survive prolonged silence, but he was living in a shadier part of Boston at the time, and I was concerned something had happened to him.

“

The person who said, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ was full of bull. Absence makes the heart grow clingy, suspicious and pained, when not handled properly.

“

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But communication can’t be onesided.

I expect the guy to talk to me when something is bothering him, so we can work through it together. Guy No. 2 is great at this, but Guy No. 1 not so much.

Lack of communication — and his unfaithfulness — ultimately led to the end of my relationship with Guy No. 1.

Maturity is also a big factor in whether an LDR will work or not. The

biggest difference between my two LDRs was how committed we both were to making it work.

With Guy No. 1, he had warned me that he didn’t know if he could handle an LDR. While I still loved him, there was always a twinge of gloom in my mind because I was wondering how he was faring or if he could still handle this, which, in turn, made me cling.

We knew we were together for the

next year, but both of us were too concerned with surviving college to worry about marriage or careers.

With Guy No. 2, I know that we will be together for the long haul, and we have a plan — however general it may be — that gives us something to work toward.

And to those who give me that sympathetic look and tell me I’m crazy when I tell them about my current LDR, I tell them that it has its upsides.

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Though her first long-distance relationship ended poorly, Aleda decided that Guy No. 2 was worth a second attempt.

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Your 20s are supposed to be about exploring new things, having a little fun and finding yourself. This is the time in our lives when we are finally cast into the real world sans net and must learn to swim.

What I’ve found from being with Guy No. 2 is that the distance affords us a chance to be together and still learn how to survive on our own during this period of our lives. We are not dependent on each other, like many couples who stay together after college and live together immediately.

I have to sign up for a retirement plan, make friends in a new city and pay my bills all on my own.

And yet, when I have a rough day at work, he is only a

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text away from making me feel better.

The virtual hug is enough to help me get over it without getting overly upset.

We have learned to be two independent people who love each other, but can survive on our own. We want to be together; we don’t need to be together.

That may not sound very romantic to some, but I think it demonstrates a healthy relationship that will continue to flourish when we are living in the same state — and hopefully under the same roof.

Both of us know that no matter difficult it may be, how many times we Skype, or how many hours we spend in the car, we can pull through because we’re on the same page, and we love each other.

Pinky promise.

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