Generations

Generations FALL 2020

DETROIT LAKES

Renaissance man COMPOSER, PIANIST, AUTHOR, SCIENTIST, HISTORIAN... PHLETUS WILLIAMS IS A MAN OF MANY TALENTS

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HOW ECUMEN RESIDENTS STAY CONNECTED IN THE COVID ERA, 'PEOPLE PERSON' DON BERG, AND MORE...INSIDE!

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Man of many talents, Phletus Williams A visit to Ecumen: How residents stay connected during COVID-19

Don Berg, a “people person”

15 Easy ways to keep your immune 19 system strong The long-term impact of the 20 pandemic on seniors Protect yourself from coronavirus fraud

Supplement to the Detroit Lakes Tribune August 30, 2020

511 Washington Avenue · Detroit Lakes, MN 56501 218-847-3151 · Fax 218-847-9409 · www.dl-online.com GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 3

Renaissance man

Composer, pianist, author, scientist, historian...

Phletus Williams is a man of many talents

By Vicki Gerdes | vgerdes@dlnewspapers.com

G

rowing up in the tiny town of Junior, West Virginia, Phletus Williams wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do with his life: His passions included science, music, literature and everything in between.

At one point, becoming a worldrenowned concert pianist appeared to be entirely within reach of this modern-day Renaissance man, who just turned 87 in August and now lives near Dunvilla.

After taking some early tutelage from his cousin, Zelma Richards, young Phletus took over her position as pianist for the local Methodist church.

“I played ‘Moonlight Sonata’ for her dad’s funeral,” he says — and after that, he played at every Sunday worship service and church choir performance until the day he graduated high school.

Looking to parlay his musical talent into a possible career, Phletus eventually sought out storied piano instructor Dulcie Johnson.

“She was on Broadway for many years,” he says of Johnson. “George Gershwin (the famed American composer) was her accompanist.”

Initially, Johnson was reluctant to take on Phletus as a pupil because of his lack of classical music training.

“I begged her,” Phletus admits, and after considerable persuasion, she agreed. Within two years, he had become so proficient that Johnson declared him to be her best student.

So enamored of his talent was Johnson that, while he was still a junior in high school, she took him on a trip to New York City, where he auditioned for the world-renowned 4 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

Phletus Williams, at his Fish Lake home in early August. Vicki Gerdes / Generations

Juilliard School as well as the told him, “would pave my way to Manhattan School of Music — and graduate school.” was accepted to both. At one point, he Sure enough, Phletus ended up earning his master’s degree in microwas even invited to perform a private biology and biochemistry from the concert in the glamorous home of University of Maryland, and also renowned opera star Paul Althouse. did some post-graduate work at Unfortunately, however, his George Washington University in mother was not impressed with Washington, D.C. his plans. She “put her foot down,” Phletus says, demanding that he return home and focus on a more conventional career path that did not involve moving to New York.

“Thus ended my dreams of being a concert pianist,” Phletus jokes, though music would continue to be a passionately pursued hobby throughout his life. In fact, he recently Recordings by Phletus.

Submitted Photo sat down and recorded some of his original musical compositions for a CD titled, “Sounds “I walked past the White House of the Ice Age,” as well as for a comevery day on my way to work,” pilation of the classical and contemhe recalls. porary pieces he performed during In 1959, Phletus accepted his first that teenage trip to New York, titled non-university job, as a researcher “Musical Memories.” with the U.S. Department of “I recorded both of those CDs in a Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland. single session,” Phletus says, noting “I loved it there,” he says — in fact, that the entire process took about he loved it so much that he would four hours. spend nearly four decades with the SWEPT AWAY BY SCIENCE USDA, doing the kind of groundHis musical aspirations temporarily breaking work that got him pubdashed, Phletus turned to another lished in both veterinary and medical passion, scientific research, and research journals. pursued a bachelor’s degree in “I published more than 100 microbiology and biochemistry from articles,” he says, some of which are Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, still publicly viewable via his author West Virginia. page on the Semantic Scholar website “I stayed with my old music at www.semanticscholar.org. teacher (Johnson) for another four Eventually, his work with the USDA years,” he says. brought Phletus to Fargo, where he When Phletus was a sophomore met and married his first wife. at Davis & Elkins, the college’s dean He spent 13 years there, and he offered him his first job, which he and his wife had three children

I published more than 100 articles.

– PHLETUS, on his four decades with the USDA, where he did groundbreaking work published in veterinary and medical research journals

together before they divorced, in part because she did not want to follow her husband to Ames, Iowa, where he had accepted a position as director of the USDA’s National Animal Disease Center. He held that position for 23 years.

In 1995, after 37 years with the USDA, Phletus retired; not long thereafter, he and his second wife, Sally (whom he married in 1980), moved to their current home on Fish Lake, near Dunvilla.

A remote location with few neighbors and frequent visits from the local wildlife, the couple’s home was originally built by Phletus himself, in an octagonal shape that was eventually altered and expanded by the inclusion of more octagonal additions. Though Phletus did not do all the work on the house himself, he did design much of it.

“I love it there,” he says, adding that he enjoys being “nestled in the woods,” surrounded by nature. “It’s so tranquil.”

Though he did enjoy his new surroundings, Phletus found retirement to be less than stimulating after years of working long hours at a challenging job, and fell into a deep depression brought on by a lack of direction for his future.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he says. “I disliked being a homebody.”

After a few years of searching, he found his inspiration.

ENTER NIMUUÉ

It was in the early 2000s that Sally Williams first became intrigued by a local archaeological phenomenon known as the Glacial Minnesota Woman. When Sally gave her first presentation on the prehistoric woman at the Pelican Rapids library, Phletus found himself quite inspired by the story.

The mysterious young woman, whose skeletal remains were found GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 5

by construction workers near Pelican Rapids in 1931, has since become something of an obsession for the couple — in fact, they even gave the woman a name: Nimuué, which means “Lady of the Lake.”

“When we first decided to retire, we retired to Minnesota, and we’d drive past a monument that was established in her honor,” Sally says in a 2017 Detroit Lakes Tribune article about Nimuué.

The monument, considered a historical marker, marks the spot where Nimuué’s remains were found and was what sparked the couple’s interest in the first place.

They would take their grandkids and visitors to see the monument, but realized that there wasn’t much information available about it, or the woman it represented.

Nimuué’s remains were first called the “Minnesota Man,” Sally explains, and the name was officially changed to “Minnesota Woman” in 1976, but there wasn’t much information available other than that.

“Interest was on other things,” Sally says. “People were thinking about survival and economics and other things.”

After visiting local, regional, state and national libraries, Phletus explains, the couple’s basement is now full of files and old newspaper clippings about the ancient remains — and they’re still searching for more answers, along with fellow historical buffs who formed the nonprofit Glacial Minnesota Woman Organization, or GMWO. The GMWO focuses on promoting the legacy of Nimuué by increasing knowledge and awareness of her story, while treating her with respect and dignity. The organization’s volunteers plan activities like “Unveiling Nimuué” each year, to help visitors and residents identify this area as a site contributing to the state’s archaeological history, and to develop knowledge of the ice age that formed the land in western Minnesota.

What they know so far: Nimuué’s remains were discovered by a construction crew working on Highway 59 near Pelican Rapids.

6 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

“It was quite a historical adventure,” Sally says. “The repairmen were out there and you might want to know that most of them were from Detroit Lakes, and that many of their descendents are still here.”

On that sunny day in June of 1931, one of the men working at the construction site, Carl Steffen, noticed the sun glinting off something in the silt and began to dig. Sally explains that he soon exposed the edge of a shell and, after that, a skull.

“He was very, very meticulous,” she says, “so he was the perfect man to discover this skeleton. He took the skeleton and the bones and, with the help of some of the other workers, they laid the bones out in anatomical order on the side of the road.”

Nimuué was found with a daggerlike item and a shell that is typically found in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Sally, in addition to other items that may have been in line with a medicine woman at the time.

“We’ve speculated about why she had that shell with her,” she says.

“Was it here because of trade that her people had done or was it used to communicate with others?”

It was determined that the bones should be sent to the University of Minnesota, where archeologist Dr. Albert Jenks had recently reported having a premonition about an important skeletal discovery looming on the horizon — adding another layer of intrigue to the story, Sally

This bronze sculpture by artist Marcella Rose was unveiled on June 18, 2017. The sculpture is called “Spirit Rising” and is a depiction of Nimuue, the Glacial Minnesota Woman.

Submitted Photo

says. Unfortunately, rain filled the bones with silt and some bones disappeared overnight, before they could be transported.

Her skull, Phletus says, was also covered in motor oil.

Therefore, Nimuué’s bones were not only exposed to the elements but also, to further complicate any testing, archeological practices at the time were not what they are today, Sally explains.

“Another thing that happened that has kind of disturbed archeologists is that the bones were scrubbed,” she says. “Perhaps Clorox was used on them and then they were shellacked.

They didn’t know all of the procedures to use, and that caused a lot of problems later when they wanted to retest the bones.”

In wasn’t until 1976, according to Phletus, that the skeleton was determined to have belonged to a 15- or 16-year-old woman who had borne no children — hence the name change from “Minnesota Man” to “Minnesota Woman” — and that she was considered to be Minnesota’s first human skeleton from the glacial era.

Early researchers and scientists also determined that Nimuué had been healthy at the time of her death and had perfectly aligned teeth.

However, no other skeletons were found around Nimuué, and she didn’t appear to have been buried purposefully, implying

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GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 7

that she may have been traveling alone at the time of her death.

“She carried around these medicinal tools,” he says, “but where was her family?”

Despite the number of years that have passed and the technological advances that have come about since the initial discovery of Nimuué, the exact age of the bones and a specific cause of death have yet to be determined. It is assumed, due to the position of her body, that she may have drowned or been killed in a landslide, Phletus says.

“She was a solo being in a tough environment,” he explains, his tone affectionate. “I look at her as being a very intelligent and compassionate person.”

Overall, there are still quite a few questions surrounding Nimuué’s life and death — and Phletus and Sally show no sign of slowing down in their quest for those answers.

In fact, their quest took a slightly dramatic turn in 2017.

UNVEILING NIMUUÉ

The story of Nimuué’s life, death and modern-day rediscovery formed the basis of an original theatrical work,

“Unveiling Nimuué,” which made its debut at Detroit Lakes’ Historic Holmes Theatre on Sept. 21, 2017.

The script for the theatrical presentation was a collaboration between the Williamses and longtime local actor/director Doug Schultz, as well as local writer and actor Lynn Hummel.

Backed by a musical score created

by Phletus especially for the event, the presentation was a success for all involved.

The script has essentially been sitting on a shelf collecting dust since then, but next summer, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the discovery of Nimuué’s remains, the Williamses are planning a special evening performance of “Unveiling Nimuué,” as well as related art and historical exhibits, programs and activities throughout a two-day commemorative event, tentatively scheduled for June 18-19, 2021 at Fair Hills Resort on Pelican Lake.

The GMWO is inviting area artists to consider submitting an original work of art to be exhibited as part of the tribute celebration. The piece should portray the artist’s vision of Nimuué and/or her life and

Jennifer Winn of Arvig, along with Sally and Phletus Williams, directors of the non-profit Glacial Minnesota Woman Organization (GMWO), stand next to the Minnesota Woman monument near Pelican Rapids after Arvig presented a check for its sponsorship of the GMWO event, “Unveiling Nimuué,” which took place Sept. 21, 2017 at the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes.

Submitted Photo

8 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

environment during the ice age. The medium used is the artist’s choice, and can include everything from basketry, fiber art and pottery to sculpture (wood, glass or metal), painting, music and poetry/prose.

For more information, including an invitation letter, application form, and information about Nimuué, email skmwms40@gmail.com.

MORE ADVENTURES, OF THE LITERARY KIND

Though Nimuué has been a big part of Phletus’s life over the past decade or so, his renewed passion for research and writing has taken many other forms, as well.

In 2010, Phletus decided to enter a short story competition held as part of Detroit Lakes’ annual Polar Fest celebration.

Aspiring writers were asked to submit fictional stories of 1,000 words or less, telling the story of “The Legend of Polar Pete,” the festival’s mascot.

Phletus got such positive feedback from his submission that he decided to turn it into a children’s book, titled “Peter the Polar Bear.”

“Peter the Polar Bear” was published in 2011 by Minion Editing & Design of Fergus Falls, and is now available for purchase at the Becker County Museum in Detroit Lakes, and online through the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

He has continued to sell copies of the book not only during the annual Polar Fest celebration, but at assorted book signings.

“I’d never written a book like this before,” Phletus says.

He decided to give it a try after attending some writer’s workshops and getting positive feedback from his instructors.

He met with members of the White Earth Band of Chippewa to learn more about Native American folklore, and also drew on his love of astronomy (he has his own observatory that he built next to his home in Dunvilla) to lend authenticity to his tale.

“I would like to see people build on this story and make it into a true local legend,” Phletus said at the time the book was published. “I’m excited

for Detroit Lakes, that we now have a story that represents Polar Fest.”

His book contains references to such Polar Fest staples as the “Freeze Your Buns” 5K run and the “Winter Plunge,” also known as the Polar Fest Plunge, which is a fundraiser held each year to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Detroit Lakes.

It even has a glossary that explains the origins of these terms, as well as some of the Native American place names and mythology that are used in the story.

After his book was published, Phletus was approached by his 12-year-old granddaughter, Ella, who said she had read his book — and it inspired her to do some writing of her own.

“That just blew my mind,” he says.

“We talked for over an hour.”

The following Christmas, Ella presented her grandmother, Sally, with a hand-written collection of poems that she had composed herself.

“I think that’s profound,” Phletus says, adding that it served as further inspiration for him to write more books.

Phletus with his children’s book, “Peter the Polar Bear” at a book signing at Otter Coffee and Ice Cream. Tribune File Photo

His second work of fiction, “Echos in a Pelican’s Pouch,” is currently in the works, and he has plans for a couple of other nonfiction works, as well: The first, “Tidbits of Wonderment,” is a collection of stories about his own life, while the second, “My Beloved Companion Trees,” is more focused on nature and his favorite trees.

In addition, he is heavily involved in researching his family’s genealogy, which he plans to turn into a

book for his family to enjoy long after he’s gone.

“I remember my Grandpa always said, ‘You can do anything — you’re a Williams,’” he says, and with all the latest advances in DNA research, “I decided I wanted to know if I really am (a Williams).”

What he found is that he is directly related to one of the men who signed the original Declaration of Independence — John Hart — as well as to a Revolutionary War soldier named Joseph Williams.

“The Williamses have been a part of this country’s history since at least the 1680s,” Phletus says.

Ultimately, Phletus’s goal is to finish all his projects by the time he’s ready to move on to the next great adventure.

“I just turned 87 on Aug. 3,” he says. “Hopefully I’ll be around long enough to finish everything I’m working on.” 

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Perham Living 735 Third Street Southwest Perham, MN 56573 218-347-1800 GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 9

Hallway Bingo and window visits Outside-the-box thinking helps nursing home residents stay connected and combat isolation

By Marie Johnson | mtjohnson@dlnewspapers.com

I

t’s not all bad.

Undeniably, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought more than its fair share of challenges to people all over the world. It has sickened populations, tested the limits of hospitals and healthcare workers, and created feelings of isolation and loneliness because of the social distancing it necessitates.

That all affects everyone, but people living in nursing homes and other group care facilities are among those most impacted. Strict safety

10 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

restrictions have kept outside visitors out, and severely limited in-house gatherings, at these facilities for months now in an effort to protect the vulnerable residents inside.

But even as these restrictions threaten to create a cold, solitary atmosphere at nursing homes, residents’ care workers and loved

ones have been doing all they can to make every day warm and friendly during these unusual times.

With a little creative thinking and outside-the-box organizing, Ecumen in Detroit Lakes has made it possible for residents to continue to see their loved ones’ faces, and hear their voices, through window visits,

Top: Otto Evenson and Ralph Krauss, who live in The Madison, an independent housing unit at Ecumen in Detroit Lakes, say they’ve been spending as much time outside as possible during the pandemic, including tending to this flower and vegetable garden in the Courtyard.

Marie Johnson / Tribune

I think we’re lucky. We can get outside.

We walk pretty well ... Some people are a lot worse off than we are, I guess.

– OTTO EVENSON, resident at The Madison

Zoom calls and outdoor Connection Stations. The residents have continued to play games together, like hallway Bingo and socially distanced dominoes. They’ve continued to listen to their Sunday sermons, thanks to in-room TVs, and they’re still getting their gardening in.

Otto Evenson and Ralph Krauss, for example, who are both in their 90s and live at The Madison, one of Ecumen’s independent living facilities, say they’ve been getting outside every day this summer, and they’re frequent tenders of the flower and vegetable garden in Ecumen’s Courtyard.

“This was an awfully good year for strawberries,” says Evenson. “They bloomed like crazy.”

Krauss, who has a room on the first floor, feels fortunate to be able

to visit with his brother and sister-in-law on his outdoor patio.

Evenson, who has a deck on the second floor, doesn’t have that visiting option: “I’m pretty much tied to my phone,” he says. “I call my nieces and nephews and grandsons in Fargo, and then I’ve got a few friends around here who are all on ‘the outside.’”

Ecumen resident Betty Leach holds a puppy in the CourtHe chuckles at referring yard. Puppies were brought over one day by a resident’s to the world beyond family to bring some cuddles and cheer.

Ecumen as “the outside,” Submitted Photo but that’s how it feels to him these days as he and A former teacher and school the other residents continue to have administrator in Fargo, Evenson had limited contact with anyone who a long career in secondary public lives outside the facility. education. He came to Detroit Lakes Even inside, face-to-face after retirement, and has lived here contact is very limited. The for about 20 years now. residents are not supposed Krauss lived in Ada, Minn., since to be visiting each other 1949, working at the natural gas in their apartments right line there for almost 30 years. now, communal dining When his wife passed away, he says, has been off the table since he sold everything and moved to mid-March, and games The Madison. That was about four and activities are strictly years ago. socially-distanced.

It’s been strange since the “You don’t see many pandemic hit, the two residents people, because our hallsay, yet they consider themselves ways are pretty empty,” fortunate to have a roof over their says Krauss. heads and few financial worries.

“One of the things “We’ve got this Courtyard here to we miss most of all is sit in the sun,” says Krauss. “It’s nice.” the dining room,” says “I think we’re reasonably content, Evenson. “We had four comparatively,” Evenson adds. “I people usually, who would think a lot of people are discontent visit with you during your nowadays, especially if you lose your meal. Eating alone is not job and your house ... I think we’re my cup of tea. After my lucky. We can get outside. We walk wife passed away, that was pretty well. Some people (in the always my toughest time, nursing home) can’t walk ... Some Ecumen Detroit Lakes resident Lee Ferber celebrated her eating. I never ate people are a lot worse off than we 95th birthday with her family outside her window. by myself.” are, I guess.”

Submitted Photo

GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 11

Detroit Lakes Detroit Lakes

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12 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

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STAYING ENGAGED AND CONNECTED Peter Fritch-Gallatin, the Chaplain and Life Enrichment Coordinator at Ecumen in Detroit Lakes, says combating isolation has always been a goal of Ecumen’s, since long before the pandemic. Some residents have very few family members or other visitors, so providing enrichment activities and daily human contact with someone other than their regular nurse is an important priority.

That daily connection continues to be a vital part of Ecumen’s approach to isolation during COVID-19, as a lack of in-person visitors now extends to all residents. Every resident is visited every day by someone other than their usual nurse, FritchGallatin says, even if it’s only for a minute, and from six feet away.

In some cases, those visits are conducted online. Ecumen’s Stay Connected Program has put iPads into the hands of residents, who, with help from staff, can schedule Facetime or Zoom video conferencing calls with their friends and family members. The technology’s not for everyone, Fritch-Gallatin says, but for those who utilize it, it can be a handy tool for staying in touch.

“One son set up a Zoom visit with his mom here, and then sent it to his kids, as well, so there were like six people on the Zoom call, and his mom was just ecstatic to be able to see the grandkids,” recalls FritchGallatin. “Those connections are great when people are thinking outside the box … and they can all be on the same call at the same time.”

The Stay Connected Program also includes a Virtual Volunteer component, which matches volunteers with residents for regular video conferencing chats. A similar Spiritual Care component connects residents with their pastors or chaplains, another feature that enhances quality of life for the residents.

“COVID-19’s challenges and impacts have been extensive for our residents, their families and our team members,” says Shelley Kendrick, President and CEO of Ecumen, in a press release. “This virus has caused many in our greater

communities to experience loneliness and isolation. That impact is especially felt by the older adults that we serve, who have deeply missed their regular in-person visits from family and friends as a result of the necessary indoor visitor restrictions. For those who are more compromised with health challenges, it has been even harder.”

The onset of warmer weather, and the ability to meet outside with less fear of spreading the virus, has helped bring some social activities back for nursing home residents. At Ecumen, most of the residents visit the outdoor Courtyard daily just to sit, walk, and visit with other residents.

There’s also the opportunity to arrange a scheduled visit in the Courtyard with outside friends and family, at new Connection Stations. Funded in part by a $5,000

Resiliency Grant from the West Central Initiative Foundation, these stations are three-sided, woodframed plexiglass booths. They enable residents to interact with people in person, with no masks needed — a detail that can make a big difference in a person’s ability to communicate if they’re hard of hearing or have dementia and benefit from lip reading.

For those who can and do wear masks, outdoor visits and open-window visits are allowed between residents and outside guests who mask up, or at least they were at the time this story went to press in early August. Fritch-Gallatin, along with Charles Newland, the community relations manager for Ecumen in Detroit Lakes, say the restrictions and rules passed down by the state change at a rapid pace.

Detroit Lakes residents Glenn and Adrienne Stearns visited with Glenn’s uncle, Marshall Benson, at Ecumen in Detroit Lakes in mid-July to help Benson celebrate his 97th birthday. Benson’s family members were able to interact with him face to face, without masks, via Ecumen’s new Connection Station. Tribune File Photo

GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 13

At first, when the pandemic hit around mid-March, the restrictions seemed to get more and more strict. But as of late summer, the changes were mostly moving in a freer direction, with some limited communal dining set to return soon, as well as some limited communal games and activities.

“About two or three weeks ago, the Department of Health opened up life enriching activities for 10 residents or less at a time, so we have now been doing some live Bingo,” says Fritch-Gallatin. “They had been doing hallway Bingo, where they would sit at their door and play that way but they couldn’t congregate.

Now they can have 10 people or less.

I’ve also been doing Bible studies with 10 people or less.”

The life enrichment staff has come up with a way for residents to play cards and dominoes, with two to three players at a time who stay six feet apart from each other. Staff helps move the dominoes and place

Ecumen resident Hellen Wippich gets a visit from a loved one, through the glass, about one week after visitor restrictions were put in place in Minnesota’s nursing homes. Submitted Photo

cards on the table for those in play.

Ecumen has also hosted some movie nights, with residents seated six feet apart and watching a larger screen than usual.

“As the pandemic started and the state started shutting everything down and putting lots of restrictions on everything, we started thinking outside the box,” FritchGallatin says. “We know that isolation has been an issue, but as the state opens up their restrictions, we’re really trying to be innovative with things like the Connection Station and Courtyard visits.”

As Chaplain, FritchGallatin says residents have shared concerns about the pandemic with him. Most often, they comment on how much they miss their grandkids, and they ask, “When do you think this is going to be over?”

This photo of Sunnyside Care Center residents playing “To try and explain hallway Bingo went viral online this spring, after being posted that to some people to Sunnyside’s Facebook page. It has since reached almost 4 million people around the world. Sunnyside is an Ecumen with cognitive impairmanaged skilled nursing facility in Lake Park. Other efforts ments, it’s hard for there to beat the COVID-19 blues have included a Christmas in them to understand July event, regular donut deliveries and other treats, a Hawaiian that this might be themed party, hallway cards and other games and activities. awhile,” he says. His Submitted Photo 14 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

response is to reassure them, “as a Chaplain, that God’s got this. We’re going to be faithful people of God moving forward, and we believe God will protect us during this time. I believe that comforts the people I’m chatting with.”

Despite some confusion and unhappiness with the restrictions and fears for the future, FrichGallatin says, “I don’t know anybody who is really depressed because of this (pandemic). I would say, unless family members live really far away, I think everybody’s been connecting with their families.”

“There are a lot of people who do understand why the precautions are in place,” adds Newland. “Because we care for such a vulnerable population ... I think they understand why we’re doing it, it’s just not always easy to take. It was tough there for a while, especially when the stay-athome order was in place ... but we just kind of adapted.”

As the pandemic goes on, they say, they’ll continue to adapt. If things go well and the number of COVID-19 cases in Minnesota drops, then the restrictions will continue to relax and things will start heading back to the old normal. And if not, well, the residents will continue talking to their family over Zoom, and playing hallway Bingo with their fellow residents, for a little longer. 

Protect yourself from coronavirus fraud

R

estrictions implemented to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 have saved untold numbers of lives. The world has adjusted to such restrictions, and some parts of the world have relaxed measures as case numbers have declined.

As communities begin returning to some semblance of normalcy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned people against letting their guard down. While many of those warnings pertain to the importance of continuing to practice social distancing as economies reopen, advisories also include notices about fraud schemes related to COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General has advised the general public about scams involving Medicare fraud. Such schemes are targeting Medicare beneficiaries in an assortment of ways, including through text messages, social media, telemarketing calls, and even door-to-door visits.

When perpetrating such frauds, scammers seek beneficiaries’ personal information, which they then use to fraudulently bill federal healthcare programs, potentially leaving their victims on the hook for costly unapproved tests related to COVID-19.

The CDC notes the importance of being aware of such schemes. Awareness can help consumers avoid being victimized by scammers, and the following are some additional measures people can take to protect themselves from COVID-19-related fraud. ▶ Do not share personal account information.

Scammers need their victims’ personal information to perpetrate their schemes. The CDC cautions beneficiaries to be suspicious of unsolicited requests for their Medicare or Medicaid numbers. ▶ Do not take callers or visitors at face value. Unsolicited callers or visitors requesting Medicare or Medicaid information should be met with extreme caution. Be suspicious of any unexpected calls or visitors offering COVID-19 tests or supplies. Compromised personal information may be used in other fraud schemes. ▶ Never click on links in emails or text messages. Do not respond to, or open hyperlinks in text messages or emails about COVID-19 from unknown individuals. ▶ Ignore offers or advertisements for COVID-19 testing or treatments on social media sites. Offers or ads for testing are one of the ways scammers are accessing personal information. Only a physician or other trusted healthcare provider should assess your condition and approve any requests for COVID-19 testing.

Consumers who suspect COVID-19 fraud can contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or visit Justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm to file a complaint.

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GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 15

‘I’m a people person’ Longtime DL Letter Carrier, salesman and self-taught woodworker Don Berg has always put people first

By Nathan Bowe | nbowe@dlnewspapers.com

D

on Berg of Detroit Lakes turns 92 this fall, but he is already celebrating a different milestone — 55 years in sales with Fergus Falls Monument Co. It’s been a family company through several generations, but current company owner Ryan Welle says, “55 years ago, Don Berg was one of the first outside salespeople they brought in.” His territory included Detroit Lakes and Lake Park, where Berg was born in 1928. He went to country school at Lake Park for three years.

16 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

“That was right in the Great Depression,” Berg says in a telephone interview. “There was no money at all — you worked for food.

All you got was something to eat.”

He drove a team of horses and worked in the hayfields when he was eight years old. “Everybody helped everybody else because nobody had a dime,” he recalls.

He means that literally. There were things he longed to do that cost 10 cents, but his family really didn’t have a dime to spare.

“The kids today wouldn’t believe that,” he says with a laugh.

Young Berg went to school in Hawley from grades four through 11: “My father farmed there. He was one of the best farmers in the county,” he says.

The farm wasn’t big, but the family raised cattle and stuck with it, even through the hard times of the mid1930s, when cattle had a negative value — farmers had to pay the stockyards to take the animals, Berg says.

By the early 1940s his family had 90 head of cattle, and those animals were worth something: The market had bounced back.

“We had the equity to buy a 1941 John Deere tractor,” he says. “The bank loaned us the money.”

HIS PARENTS WERE ORPHANS

His parents, Palmer and Olga Berg, shared an unusual family history — they were both orphans.

“My mom and dad both grew up orphans,” he says. “Dad grew up in the Lake Park orphanage — he was the first of three children when they

started it in the late 1800s. He was one or two years old when he went in, and at age 18 they made him foreman of the farm there.”

The orphanage was located a few miles west of Lake Park, and the buildings are still there.

Olga was three when her mom died. A family took her home after the funeral, but never adopted her, and she stayed with them until she was 18.

Four of her brothers were sent to the Lake Park orphanage, and in 1917 one of them started a farm of his own. Olga was 18 and came to cook for him. That’s how Palmer and Olga got to know each other. They were married in the fall of 1918.

BUILDING GOOD WILL IN THE AIR FORCE In his early 20s, Don Berg served in the Air Force from 1950 to 1954, including 27 months in Frankfurt, Germany, with a military air transport group.

“It was kind of like a civilian airline, only we hauled troops or dignitaries,” he says.

Until then, he had never been out of Minnesota, unless you count Fargo, and he balked in August of 1952 when he was thrown in charge of a Middle East mission to help stranded pilgrims travel to Mecca, a mission that involved coordinating six C-54 transport planes.

“I said, ‘I’m just a farm kid, I can’t do it,’” Berg recalls. “But I had to learn it and learn it fast.”

He was entrusted with the mission in part because he was from Minnesota.

“Anybody from the Midwest in the service, they knew you knew how to work, we have a little better work ethic,” he says.

He spent a week in Beirut and oversaw the safe transportation of 3,700 people to Saudi Arabia.

Since then, the Minnesota farm kid has traveled extensively.

Left: Don Berg displays his copy of the 1952 Life magazine article telling the story of one of his Air Force missions, the Beirut-Jiddah Airlift, in which nearly 4,000 stranded Muslims were brought by military aircraft from Beirut, Lebanon, to Jiddah in Saudi Arabia, as part of their pilgrimage to Mecca. Tribune File Photo

“I’ve hit every state in the United States,” he says. (Okay, maybe not New Hampshire, he’s not sure about that one). And he has traveled through much of Europe, as well.

A LETTER CARRIER THROUGH AND THROUGH

Another milestone Berg will mark this year is that on Nov. 3, he will have been retired for 36 years from the U.S. Postal Service. He worked out of the Detroit Lakes Post Office for about 25 years.

“I had the downtown mail route for 14 years, I knew everybody,” he says.

A people person, he was head of the local chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the union that represents letter carriers across the United States.

“I became the secretary-treasurer of Branch 1317 of the NALC in 1964, and president in 1966,” he says.

He served in the local union for 18 years, and served at the state level for 14 years.

“I went to four national conventions — Chicago, San Francisco,

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Don Berg with another Detroit Lakes resident, Pam Gulseth, in June. The sale of the Gulseth memorial marker was handled by Berg, who has been in the business over 50 years. Submitted Photo

Portland and St. Paul,” he says. “I was a member of the Letter Carriers for 55 years.”

FAMILY MEMORIES

Berg’s wife, Marian, worked for the state union auxiliary.

“It worked out good,” Berg says.

“We were both connected,” and they traveled to union events as a family.

The state convention was held in Detroit Lakes once in the 1970s and once in the 1980s, and their daughter, Barb Berg, attended both of them.

“All the old timers knew her,” he says with a laugh. “Because she grew up going to the conventions — until she was in her teens she came along to the conventions.”

Both his daughter Barb and his dad Palmer were big Twins baseball fans, and when they all went to a game

together, “they’d be arguing about Harmon Killebrew’s batting average,” he says with a laugh. “They’d have a little feud going between them about who knew more.”

Barb, who is married but kept her maiden name, is a registered nurse in Minneapolis. Berg’s second daughter, Cindy Irving, is retired from State Farm Insurance, where she worked at the national headquarters in Bloomington, Ill. Marian died in 2008 of Parkinson’s Disease and Don now lives at Lincoln Park apartments in

I had the downtown mail route for 14 years, I knew everybody.

– DON BERG

18 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

Don Berg, in his Letter Carrier days with the U.S. Postal Service. Submitted Photo

Detroit Lakes, where there are “too many rules,” designed to protect residents from COVID-19, “but we have to stay safe, we have to use common sense,” he says.

KEEPING BUSY

Berg is a self-taught woodworker who has made hundreds of ornaments, plaques and other artwork for friends and family since he began his hobby decades ago.

“It’s pretty amazing,” says Welle, the owner of the monument company. “He makes diamond willow walking sticks for people at his assisted living.”

As for selling monuments, Berg says he has sold a few this year, by word of mouth.

“The monument company has treated me very, very good,” he says.

“It’s funny, they won’t let me quit — I get a couple sales every year.”

And it hasn’t been just about the sales. At times he found himself helping and advocating for people who had just lost a spouse, were on their own for the first time in their lives, and needed guidance in all sorts of ways.

“I’m a people person, and I took the time to get out and talk to them,” he says. 

A

healthy immune system is vital to fending off or recovering from illness.

Harvard Medical School says diet, exercise, age and psychological stress may affect immune system response. Certain lifestyle choices can promote a strong immune system. ▶ Get adequate sleep. Doctors believe sleep and immunity are closely tied. A study of 164 healthy adults published by the National Institutes of Health found those who slept fewer than six hours each night were more likely to catch a cold than people who slept for more than six hours. Aim for adequate rest each night to keep your body in top form. ▶ Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables supply the powerhouse antioxidants that are essential for protecting a body against free radicals. Free radicals may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Serve fruits and/ or vegetables with every meal to ensure you’re getting enough antioxidant-rich foods.

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▶ Consume fiber and fermented foods. Fiber can help feed the gut microbiome, which is linked to a robust immune system. The microbiome also may prevent harmful pathogens from entering the body through the digestive tract. Data also suggests that eating more fermented foods can further strengthen and populate healthy bacteria in the gut. ▶ Exercise regularly. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day, advises the American Heart Association.

Thirty minutes of exercise each day can go a long way toward keeping the body healthy. The U.S. National Library of Medicine says physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. Exercise causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells, which circulate rapidly and may detect illnesses earlier than they would if you do not exercise. Body temperature also rises during exercise, which could naturally prevent bacteria from growing. ▶ Try to minimize stress. According to Simply Psychology, when people are stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced, making people more susceptible to infections. The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system. Limiting stress through meditation and breathing exercises, or trying to remove stressors from one’s life, may help.

GENERATIONS FALL 2020 | 19

Telemedicine will be in greater use in the postvaccine world.

However, only 62% of people over 75 use the internet — and fewer than 28% are comfortable with social media, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

Photo by Pexels

More virtual visits, less travel How seniors will be impacted by COVID-19 for years to come, even long after a vaccine is made

By Bruce Horovitz | Kaiser Health News

I

magine this scenario, perhaps a year or two in the future: An effective COVID-19 vaccine is routinely available and the world is moving forward. Life, however, will likely never be the same — particularly for people over 60.

That is the conclusion of geriatric medical doctors, aging experts, futurists and industry specialists.

Experts say that in the aftermath of the pandemic, everything will change, from the way older folks receive health care to how they travel and shop. Also overturned: their work life and relationships with one another.

“In the past few months, the entire world has had a near-death 20 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

experience,” said Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave, a think tank on aging around the world. “We’ve been forced to stop and think: I could die or someone I love could die. When those events happen, people think about what matters and what they will do differently.”

Older adults are uniquely vulnerable because immune systems tend to deteriorate with age, making it harder to battle not just COVID-19 but all infectious diseases. They are also more likely to suffer other health conditions, like heart and respiratory diseases, that make it tougher to fight or recover from illness. So it’s no surprise that even

in the future, when a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available — and widely used — most seniors will be taking additional precautions.

“Before COVID-19, baby boomers” — those born after 1945 but before 1965 — “felt reassured that with all the benefits of modern medicine, they could live for years and years,” said Dr. Mehrdad Ayati, who teaches geriatric medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and advises the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. “What we never calculated was that a pandemic could totally change the dialogue.”

It has. Here’s a preview of postvaccine life for older Americans:

MEDICAL CARE ► Many doctors instead of just one. More regular remote care will be bolstered by a team of doctors, said Greg Poland, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the Mayo Clinic. The team model “allows me to see more patients more efficiently,” he said. “If everyone has to come to the office and wait for the nurse to bring them in from the waiting room, well, that’s an inherent drag on my productivity.”

► Time to learn telemed.

Only 62% of people over 75 use the internet — and fewer than 28% are comfortable with social media, according to data from the Pew Research Center. “That’s lethal in the modern age of health care,” Dychtwald said, so there will be a drumbeat to make seniors fluent users of online health care. ► 1 in 3 visits will be telemed.

Dr. Ronan Factora, a geriatrician at Cleveland Clinic, said he saw no patients age 60 and up via telemedicine before the pandemic.

He predicted that by the time a COVID-19 vaccine is available, at least a third of those visits will be virtual. “It will become a significant

part of my practice,” he said. Older patients likely will see their doctors more often than once a year for a checkup and benefit from improved overall health care, he said.

It will become a significant part of my practice.

– DR. RONAN FACTORA, geriatrician, on telemedicine

► Drugstores will do more vaccinations. To avoid the germs in doctors’ offices, older patients will prefer to go to drugstores for regular vaccinations such as flu shots, Factora said. ► Your plumbing will be your doctor. In the not-too-distant future — perhaps just a few years from now — older Americans will have special devices at home to regularly analyze urine and fecal samples, Dychtwald said, letting them avoid the doctor’s office.

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TRAVEL

GATHERINGS ► Forced social distancing.

Whenever or wherever large families gather, people exhibiting COVID-like symptoms may not be welcomed under any circumstances, Ayati said.

► Punch up the Google Maps. Many trips of 800 miles or less will likely become road trips instead of flights, said Ed Perkins, a syndicated travel columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Perkins, who is 90, said that’s certainly what he plans to do — even after there’s a vaccine. ► Regional and local travel will replace foreign travel.

Dychtwald, who is 70, said he will be much less inclined to travel abroad. For example, he said, onetime plans with his wife to visit India are now unlikely, even if a good vaccine is available, because they want to avoid large concentrations of people. That said, each year only 25% of people 65 and up travel outside the U.S. annually, vs. 45% of the general population, according to a survey by Visa. The most popular trip for seniors: visiting grandchildren. ► Demand for business class will grow. When older travelers (who are financially able) choose to fly, they will more frequently book roomy business-class seats because they won’t want to sit too close to other passengers, Factora said. ► Buying three seats for two.

Older couples who fly together — and have the money — will pay for

► Older folks will disengage, at a cost. Depression will skyrocket among older people who isolate from family get-togethers and large gatherings, Ayati said.

“As the older population pulls back from engaging in society, this is a very bad thing.” all three seats so no one is between them, Perkins said. ► Hotels will market medical care. Medical capability will be built into more travel options, Dychtwald said. For example, some hotels will advertise a doctor on-site — or one close by. “The era is over of being removed from health care and feeling comfortable,” he said. ► Disinfecting will be a sales pitch. Expect a rich combination of health and safety “theater” — particularly on cruises that host many older travelers, Perkins said: “Employees will be wandering around with disinfecting fogs and wiping everything 10 times.” ► Cruises will require proof of vaccination. Passengers — as well as cruise employees — will likely have to prove they’ve been vaccinated before traveling, Factora said.

HOME LIFE ► The homecoming. Because of so many COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, more seniors will leave assisted living facilities and nursing homes to move in with their families, Factora said. “Families will generally move closer together,” he said. ► The fortress. Home delivery of almost everything will become the norm for older Americans, and 22 | GENERATIONS FALL 2020

► Public restrooms will be revamped. For germ avoidance, they’ll increasingly get no-touch toilets, urinals, sinks and entrances/exits. “One of the most disastrous places you can go into is a public restroom,” Poland said.

“That’s about the riskiest place.”

in-person shopping will become much less common, Factora said. ► Older workers will stay home. The 60-and-up workforce increasingly will be reluctant to work anywhere but from home and will be very slow to re-embrace grocery shopping. “Instacart delivery will become the new normal for them,” Dychtwald said.

EATING/SHOPPING ► Local eateries will gain trust. Neighborhood and smallmarket restaurants will draw loyal customers — mainly because they know and trust the owners, said Christopher Muller, a hospitality professor at Boston University. ► Safety will be a bragging point. To appeal to older diners in particular, restaurants will prominently display safety-inspection signage and visibly signal their cleanliness standards, Muller said.

They will even hire employees exclusively to wipe down tables, chairs and all high-touch points — and these employees will be easy to identify and very visible

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