19 minute read
Living 55 Plus
from Mankato Magazine
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Mckayla Kaardal (left) and Sara Duck.
Visiting Angels
By Katie Roiger
During the beginning of 2020, many vulnerable Minnesotans faced a gut-wrenching choice: Should they check into an assisted living facility to ensure that they would be cared for, or should they isolate themselves at home in the hopes that no contact would equal no virus?
The only thing more terrifying than a global pandemic that spreads from interpersonal contact, attacks the respiratory system, and shuts down national economies, is the idea of being unable to receive adequate healthcare the whole time it lasts. Kelly Simmons, the customer relations manager at Adara Home Health in Mankato, said that most of the people she chatted with were too concerned about contracting COVID-19 even to schedule themselves doctor’s appointments.
The fear was legitimate, considering that the coronavirus extracted a particularly heavy toll on the elderly and immunocompromised – the very community that needs the most interpersonal contact for care and monitoring. Families and friends were also impacted as they struggled to help their loved ones make difficult decisions. Many assisted living facilities had chosen to impose a ban on visitors in a carefully-considered tactic to keep possible COVID exposure to a minimum. This meant that many residents experienced a lengthy isolation from loved ones.
While nursing homes and care facilities implemented their own techniques to keep their residents healthy and engaged, home healthcare professionals like Simmons were working to spread the word about an alternative form of help. A longtime employee of Adara Home Health, Simmons was assisting the homebound long before social distancing made selfquarantining a global phenomenon.
When she joined Adara, Simmons said she was surprised by the range of services offered by the organization. In addition to skilled nursing care, the company could provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help clients of all ages navigate their homes and care for themselves as much as possible.
At Visiting Angels, Director McKayla Kaardal classifies the organization’s service options into three levels. The professionals in the companion service tier perform housekeeping duties but also take the companionship aspect literally, whether by offering to accompany their clients on a walk or drive them to the grocery store. The other two levels involve personal care, such as washing and dressing, and intensive care for any tasks involving a lift or an individual who has severe difficulties with mobility.
Duck said that one of the biggest perks of home care is that the professionals and clients frequently become close.
Home healthcare doesn’t have to be cost-prohibitive. Many services are completely covered by Medicare if an individual qualifies – a fact that many Southern Minnesota residents don’t know. Part of Simmons’ role as Adara’s customer relations liaison is to educate the community on the resources available to them. This task proved challenging during the early days of the coronavirus.
Fortunately, the new digital push helped to demonstrate to potential clients just how helpful home healthcare could be. Simmons’ team was instrumental in setting up appointments for those who wanted to qualify for homebound services.
“Instead of patients going to see their doctors [physically], because they do need doctors’ orders and we need documentation, we would help facilitate a virtual encounter with their doctor,” said Simmons.
Virtual appointments aren’t the only pandemic-driven change to the home healthcare field. While professionals always practiced careful hygiene around their clients, their daily uniform now looks very different during COVID. In some situations, Adara and Visiting Angels employees will wear protective gowns, masks, face shields, gloves and more to protect themselves and those in their care.
Besides providing great service, the goal of home healthcare workers is always to make sure that their clients feel safe.
Ultimately, the time spent on extra precautions are worth the effort for all involved. Professionals appreciate being able to still complete their jobs, and clients enjoy the freedom that comes from living at home.
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Diane and helpers at Market Bakery. Mankato’s Farmers’ Market
By Katie Roiger
Cinnamon rolls are the answer. What was the question?
Just ask Diane Dunham, President of the Mankato Farmer’s Market – or better yet, ask the cheerful It’s an event for her visitors, but it’s a full-time job for Dunham, who said that she started selling plants at the market as a retirement gig in 2009. The plants were popular among customers who swarm her booth in Best Buy’s parking lot every Saturday morning and Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. By the time she opens shop, Dunham has already put in a good 20-hour overnight shift with a crew of 3 to 4 part-time helpers just to get her delicious goods baked, frosted, and ready for sale.
The market experience makes the hours of prep time well worth the trouble.
“What makes it fun is seeing the customers running into friends at the market, getting a cup of coffee, or a pastry, or vegetables to take home,” Dunham said. “For a lot of people, it’s a regular Saturday event.” customers, but Dunham, who had managed a prison bakery in past years, said that she wanted to add something more. She began offering breads, scones, cookies, Danishes, flatbreads, and other treats, including the cinnamon rolls that became almost instant crowd favorites. Now, Dunham’s stand is strictly devoted to keeping up with the community’s sweet tooth. From the spicy, sugary scent of sweet rolls wafting over the tented stands, to the happy clamor of shoppers meeting friends and making purchases, the Mankato Farmer’s Market is just as much an event as it is a place to shop. Beginning the first Saturday in May and lasting until the final weekend in October, the Market attracts loyal families and curious newcomers with
Gulden Family Farm
its wide range of goods. As President, Dunham searches for new vendors to add to the Mankato roster.
“We picked up a cheese vendor this year!” Dunham said. Besides the anticipated array of seasonal produce and bakery items, the Market’s vendors hawk crafts, home décor, and beauty supplies.
The two biggest requirements for new recruits are simple: They have to live within 40 miles of Mankato, and they have to grow or make the majority of their wares themselves.
A few booths down from Dunham, longtime vendor Barb Page makes a habit out of offering the unexpected and whimsical. Page, whose love for pottery began during a high school elective, reconnected with her passion for clay creations when her friend group planned a pottery class activity. From that day on, it was official: Page and pottery were a match made in heaven.
Page’s earthenware selection for sale typically includes a variety of bowls, mugs, teapots, and candle and succulent holders. She is locally famous for her Minnesota coffee mugs that feature a clay cutout in the shape of the state. Most of her pieces are covered in colorful glaze, then fired in a kiln at the Saint Peter Art Center.
On a good week, Page can create 10 or 11 mugs, but the type of firing she chooses for each piece can affect how long it takes.
“If I do wood firing, it’s an even longer process,” Page said. “I do it in an outdoor kiln made out of brick and it’s a community effort. It’s a three-day process of constant firing and there’s a number of people taking shifts because you have to throw wood in every five minutes. I did some a few weeks ago when it was really hot outside, and that was brutal!”
No 100-degree outdoor temperature can stop Page from creating her pieces, and hardly any inclement weather can stop the Market from operating. Rain or shine, heat or chill, the vendors will open their stands and enjoy chatting with whomever visits. Only when conditions pose a safety threat, such as lightning or tornado sightings, will the Market close early. Its Facebook page keeps the community informed of changes.
When snow and sleet make outdoor gatherings uncomfortable, the Mankato Farmer’s Market opens its winter stands in Drummers’ Garden Center off of Victory Drive. Year-round products, like Page’s pottery, are staples of the colder months. She also features her family’s creations at her booth: Her son-in-law crafts leather goods, another son sells photography, and Page and her daughter make stenciled dish towels among other gift items.
“We call ourselves the Melting Pot –
we brainstormed the name, and that’s what we came up with, because we’re a little bit of everything,” said Page.
Page isn’t the only one for whom the Market is a family business. Vice President Tim Guldan owes his start to his mother, who showed up in the early 1990s with a card table, strawberries, and some fresh kohlrabi. Now, as Guldan likes to joke, the Guldan Family Farms shows up at the market with the alphabet of produce: Everything from asparagus to zucchini.
For Guldan, who has been visiting the stand since he was very young, the Market feels like home.
“I grew up at the farmer’s market – I was one of the little runts running around the lampposts and climbing into trees,” said Gulden. “One of my favorite memories was claiming my own tree at Madison East [where the Market used to be held]. There was this purplish tree that was right behind our stand and it’s still there. Whenever I drive down Madison Avenue, I say, ‘There’s my tree!’ I bet there’s not another kid in Mankato who’s spent as much time in that tree as I did.”
Nowadays, Guldan’s focus is running his family’s booth rather than climbing the nearby shrubbery. A schoolteacher during the fall and spring semesters, Guldan spends the warmer months getting the farm’s 50 or so varieties of produce ready for sale and he has plenty of help. His kids and wife often come to the Market to help with sales, and his parents still pitch in when they can.
“In passing a few years back, I had mentioned to someone that, because a lot of our board was up for reelection, that I wasn’t all that interested in it due to the amount of time it could entail, I would be willing [to be a board member] if no one else was,” Guldan said. “I wasn’t able to make the next meeting and it turns out that when no one said that they were interested in the Vice President role, another person said, ‘Well, Tim said he would do it!’ My dad, who was at the meeting, said ‘Sure, nominate him!’”
The unexpected nomination was almost nine years ago, and Guldan still enjoys helping to promote and expand the Market in addition to his sales duties. He, Dunham and Page all said that the community aspect of each Market is what keeps them excited to set up shop every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
“To me, it’s all about the relationships between the customers and growers,” Guldan said. “This past Saturday, I had my head under the table filling something, and I heard a voice, and I instantly knew who that customer was. We have so many of those relationships where people have said that they remember me from being that little pipsqueak in the corn trailer, watching me grow, and now seeing my toddlers and son filling that role that I had when I was younger.”
The friendship also extends to from seller to seller. Guldan and his fellow vendors make a point of hitting up each other’s booths for goods and often choose to trade a bundle of radishes for a log of goat cheese or to make similar swaps.
Another benefit of buying local in a community-driven organization is knowing exactly where each lettuce, strawberry, or ear of sweet corn was sourced. The vendors encourage questions about how their products were grown or produced. The open communication between seller and buyer contributes to a fiercely loyal consumer base.
To enhance their customers’ overall experience, the board members often try to find entertainment options for Market days.
“We have music nearly every Saturday, and sometimes two musicians – one at one end of the Market and one at the other,” Dunham said. “We always have something for the kids. Right now, it’s a take-and-make project. Before COVID, we had a gal that did glitter tattoos for them, or sometimes a balloon tier. That person is a paid employee and is funded by the vendors.”
The idea of giving back to the customers stems from an overall feeling of gratitude for 30-plus years and some recent record sales, especially during the COVID crisis. Page, Dunham and Guldan all agreed that their stand activity stayed unusually high throughout the pandemic.
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Travel options opening up
By Katie Roiger “My late husband Philip proposed to me by showing up in my garden and asking me if I liked to cruise,” said Ann Clark. He certainly knew the way to her heart. The Southern Minnesota resident has explored the globe and enjoyed its wonders for years. Her happy memories from past trips include standing on the Great Wall of China and taking in a ballet in St. Petersburg.
After nearly a year of cancelled trips and quarantine measures, Clark is already making travel plans for the next several months. She isn’t alone in her wanderlust. Thanks to lightened health and safety restrictions, thousands of Americans have come down with serious cases of the travel bug. “I think next year [2022] will be a huge travel year,” said Amber Pietan, founder of the award-winning Amber Pietan Travel Agency. “People are already booking for March and April, and the most popular destinations are almost three-quarters full.”
The sudden surge of tourism is a far cry from the past 12 months’ activity. The Amber Pietan Travel Agency was forced to close entirely for several months during 2020, shrinking from a team of five to a one-woman band. Pietan has come through the shelter-in-place time period with new tips and tricks to share with her post-quarantine trekkers.
The biggest concern still facing the tourism industry is safety. Even with COVID-19 vaccines readily available, worries about contracting the virus are still high. Although airlines have ceased requiring that middle seats on aircrafts be blocked to preserve social distancing, they still require masks to be worn at all times, except when guests are enjoying their mid-flight bag of pretzels.
As of January 2021, if you are flying outside of the United States, the CDC mandates a COVID-19 test 72 hours before your return to America. A positive test will mean a prolonged stay in the foreign country that could last as long as 10-14 days.
Frequently, the best way to ensure safety is to be proactive. Besides following the rules set by the CDC, travelers can go above and beyond to protect themselves and their families.
“Before COVID, I had lots of travel agent friends who used to bring hand sanitizer with them on airplanes, and they would wipe down their seats and seatbelts and tray tables, all of that stuff,” Pietan said. “I would just consider still bringing all of that with you even though things are starting to loosen up.”
Hotels and other destinations are also making changes to promote health safety among their patrons. Many have staff on hand to their guests’ temperatures upon arrival. Hand sanitizer stations are as common as that welcoming lobby coffeepot.
Streamlining service to involve less unnecessary interpersonal contact is also becoming mainstream.
“I went to Jamaica in January [of 2021] and they were still serving buffets, but instead of serving yourself, you go up to the buffet, point to what you want, and one person with a glove will grab that spoon tong or fork and get it for you,” said Pietan.
These and other safety-conscious initiatives are contributing to the travel boom as people become more and more comfortable about dusting off their suitcases. Would-be voyagers should consider locking down their flights and accommodations as soon as they can. Not only does early planning save money in the long run, it also ensures that you can schedule your vacation on or close to your ideal date. According to Pietan, two-bed rooms in many resorts are already booked for the fall.
The Boy Scout’s “Be Prepared” motto is a good slogan to live by when it comes to prepping for foreign travel.
“Don’t wait to apply for your passport,” said Pietan. “Right now, they’re taking four to six weeks [to receive after initial application].” While this is an improvement over the months-long COVID timeframe, no one wants to get excited for a European vacation and be foiled by expired documents.
Pietan’s number-one advice for navigating the post-lockdown world is to invest in travel insurance for major vacations.
“I’d say 99.9 percent of my clients buy travel insurance since COVID started,” Pietan said. “You can cancel for any reason [CFAR], and that’s big right now. That was a huge lesson throughout COVID because a lot of people canceled because they just didn’t feel comfortable and you had to have the CFAR to be able to get your money back. Most people just got vouchers.”
Packing, planning, and preparing will frequently get you where you need to go with minimal fuss, but if you have concerns or a completely stress-free experience, Pietan recommends utilizing your local travel agents. Whether your dream trip is a cruise down the Mediterranean or a spa in Mexico, their job is to take care of all practical matters so that you can go straight to the business of having fun.
