Idaho Senior Independent Jun/Jul 10

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The Once and Future Car: Bill Brown and the Reappearing Pontiac Chieftain By Cate Huisman Bill Brown was not looking for fancy wheels when he moved to Sandpoint with his family in 1958 - just a way to get to school and get around on Saturday nights. On a trip to Spokane with his dad the following year, he found a 1955 Pontiac Chieftain two-door hardtop that had come in on trade. It was attractive - baby blue and cream, with blue upholstery, whitewall tires, and an image of its eponymous Native American on the

steering wheel. The price was $750, and Bill worked that off filling sandbags for the Corps of Engineers to keep the Kootenai River from flooding nearby Bonners Ferry. In the years before Libby Dam was built, many young men were able to pay off their cars that way. Bill drove the car through high school, and then he was off to Pacific University in Oregon in the fall of 1962. His dad wouldn’t let him take the car to college until he got his first set of grades, but when those passed muster, he headed south in the Chieftain after Thanksgiving at home with his family. But the car did not make it. “The engine blew up,” Bill says, in Pasco, Washington. So Bill caught the train to school, and his dad made the four-hour drive to the Tri-Cities to rescue the vehicle. He got it back to Sandpoint where it sat behind the family’s Huron Street house for a

while. Then Bill left college and joined the navy, and his dad, tiring of its inanimate presence, sold it while Bill was in the service. For most people with most cars, that would be the end of the story. “I thought it was a cool car,” Bill says, and he tried to find it after his naval service. He found the man out on Selle Road to whom his dad had sold it, but that buyer had sold it again, and he did not remember to whom. Time passed. Bill started buying rental houses and opened the business he still runs, Bill Brown Rentals, on Second Avenue in Sandpoint. He got married, had kids, worked on the pipeline in Alaska for a couple of years, and finished his degree at Eastern Washington University. Then came Bill’s 40th high school reunion in 2002. “My thought was to find a car like the one I had in high school, fix it up, and drive it to my class reunion,” Bill recalls. So he started looking through the classified ads, and felt fortunate to find a 1955 Pontiac for sale at Dad’s Auto Wrecking just east of town. “I went to look at the car; it was the same make and model as what I had in high school,” Bill states. That was a good start, but things got better as he checked it out. There was a cigarette burn in the back seat in the same spot as one (Continued on page 14)

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Get Out Your Squeezebox!

Stop the Insanity

The Treasure Valley Accordion Bank is seeking new members. Last summer was the first year for the newly organized group, which is composed of seniors who as children learned to play the accordion. These musicians have had accordions sitting in closets for many years and are anxious to revive interest in the instrument. The goal is to share with others the music that was so popular when we were growing up. If you have an accordion in the closet and would like to play it again, call 208-402-1847. All ability levels are encouraged to participate. Ginger Purdy Boise

Is Idaho ready to care? We’re a grassroots coalition to stop the insanity of pain and long-term prison sentences, ruined lives, and families ripped apart for small amounts of marijuana. There are many resources that show that medical marijuana has legitimate medical uses for relief from nausea from chemotherapy, for glaucoma, and for relief from chronic pain. Readers can visit www.mpp.org and www. leap.cc to help you understand the issue. Please have an open mind as you learn about medical marijuana. In no way do we condone using or possession for people under 18. We are only interested in making the medical use of marijuana legal in Idaho. Cynthia Sanders Boise ISI

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Word Sounds English is a puzzling language Submitted by Julie Hollar Brantley Remember, the Brit’s would say, “You Yanks don’t even know how to pronounce English.� So, just how easy is English? 1. The bandage was wound around the wound. 2. The farm was used to produce produce. 3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4. We must polish the Polish furniture. 5. He could lead if he would get the lead out. 6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present. 8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum. 9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10. I did not object to the object.

11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. 12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. 13. They were too close to the door to close it. 14. The buck does funny things when the does are present. 15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. 16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. 17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail. 18. Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear. 19. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. 20. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend? Let’s face it - English is a crazy language! ISI

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Idaho Senior Independent A Barrett-Whitman Publication P.O. Box 3341 • Great Falls, MT 59403-3341 208-318-0310 • Toll Free: 1-866-360-5683 Fax: 406-761-8358 www.idahoseniorindependent.com email: idahoseniorind@bresnan.net The Idaho Senior Independent is published six times each year in February, April, June, August, October, and December by Barrett-Whitman, 415 3rd Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401 and is distributed free to readers throughout the state of Idaho. The mail subscription rate is $10.00 per year (6 issues). The Idaho Senior Independent is written to serve Idaho’s mature population of all ages. Readers are encouraged to contribute interesting material. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles, and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. All copy appearing in the Idaho Senior Independent is protected by copyright and may be reprinted only with the written permission of the publisher. Advertising copy should be received or space reserved by the 5th of the month preceding the month of publication.

Jack W. Love, Jr., Publisher/Editor Colleen Paduano Julie Crittendon Angie Erskine Rhonda Lee Sherrie Smith

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Contributing Writers Natalie Bartley Connie Daugherty Holly Endersby Clare Hafferman Cate Huisman Gail Jokerst Bernice Karnop Craig Larcom Liz Larcom Jack McNeel Michael McGough Dianna Troyer Š 2010

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When the Mill Whistle Blew: the Way It Was in Coeur d’Alene Country 1888-1955 by Larry Strobel; Museum of North Idaho, 2010 By Connie Daugherty Many of the details of our regional and local history reside in the minds and memories of current residents - details that are lost forever unless someone records them. That is exactly what Larry Strobel, a distant cousin of author Harriett Beecher Stowe, did in When the Mill Whistle Blew. While this is mainly a history of his own ancestral families, the Stowes and the Strobels, it is also a record of the development of the Coeur D’Alene area. Written in first person, this family history gives readers a sense of the time-consuming genealogy process as well as where and how information can be found. Reading these pages, you can understand the importance of census information as an historic resource. The book includes several old black and white photos from family albums and from the Museum of North Idaho. An index helps guide readers to specific aspects touched on in the book. Larry’s final product is more than a story of the ups and downs of his family’s history; it is a story of the nation and the westward movement as well as the development of this Northern Idaho region.

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“The Northern Pacific transcontinental railroad was completed in 1883 and this changed everything.” Moving west was suddenly a fairly easy prospect for Midwestern families - families like the Stowes of Mapleton, Minnesota. “In 1887 the news of gold and homestead land in Idaho territory was compelling enough to convince the Stowe family that the time was right to move.” That was the beginning of the Stowes in Idaho. George, who was a teenager when he stepped off the train in Coeur d’Alene, planted fruit trees on his land. He bought more land and planted more trees. “In a period of fifteen years George had turned forestland into… thriving orchard.” In 1926, an unusually warm February followed by a sub-zero freeze in March destroyed almost everything. “The ‘Apple King of North Idaho’… was shot out of the saddle…. There was nothing to be done except… start over.” And in true pioneer fashion, that is exactly what George Stowe did. The Stowes were in Idaho to stay. At this point in the text, Larry introduces the other side of his family. Another George - George Strobel - “appears in the 1900 census,” with his family. “[T]hey are living at Wardner, Idaho where George is employed at the Bunker Hill Mine.” Records also show that George and his wife, Celestia, applied for a homestead near Lane, Idaho in 1900 implying a move in that year. “The Strobel house was located several hundred feet from the riverbank and… became known as Strobel Meadows.” The family would move again in a few short years to Killarney Lake, and in justifying this move, Larry gives readers some insight into the history of northern Idaho. The Post Falls Dam was completed in 1906…. The dam had a major effect on the Coeur d’Alene River Valley… each high water was depositing mine waste and raw sewage from the Kellogg area on the once-fertile land.” It is in the next generation that Larry’s two separate sets of ancestors connect when “two of the shyest people in North Idaho,” Beulah Stowe and Earl Strobel, met and eventually married. Earl and Beulah are Larry’s parents and from this point in the book, the story continues with stories from Larry’s memory as much as from his research. “We were poor, but I didn’t know it,” he writes.

He provides detailed and entertaining examples of just how poor the family was presented in a matter-of-fact, not at all complaining tone. Many of these examples take place in the 1940s during World War II and will probably be familiar to readers who also recall those trying times. In the chapter titled, Childhood, Larry Strobel recalls specific memories of his own childhood while mixing in historic information about life in general in the Coeur d’Alene area. “The timber industry was what Coeur d’Alene was really about in those years,” he writes. He combines memories of learning to play the violin and of his father buying a new car with detailed description of downtown Coeur d’Alene in the 1950s. His description includes addresses and names of auto dealers, doctors’ offices, department stores, grocery stores, the hospital, fraternal organizations, and, “at least fifteen downtown taverns,” which had “poker games in their back rooms.” In the next chapters titled, High School, and Summer 1955, Larry continues to bring together area history and personal memories. Throughout these memory chapters, he mentions the mill whistles often. “The major mills all had steam whistles that blew, signaling the beginning and end of shifts…. When the mill whistle was silent, we had very little money. When the mill whistle blew… it was a sound of comfort, announcing all was right with Coeur d’Alene and the world.” In When the Mill Whistle Blew, Larry Strobel definitely gives readers an understanding of how a sense of place influences our lives. His book is as much a story of his beloved North Idaho region as it is of his family and himself, as he portrays the area with the same love and respect as he does the people. Larry Strobel is a fourth-generation Idahoan, born and raised in Coeur d’Alene. He spent twelve years as a member of the 560th Air Force Band and continues to play his French horn in area bands and orchestras. Larry’s keen observations, prodigious memory, and intense interest in local history all contributed to the writing of When the Mill Whistle Blew. He and his wife live in Coeur d’Alene where Larry serves on the Museum of North Idaho’s Board of Trustees. ISI

It is June and Father’s Day will soon be here – a time to remember our fathers and the important role they played in our lives… a different influence from our mothers’, but very important to our growth and maturity. Our winning Remember When submission reminds us how important fathers are. Thanks go to Pearl Hoffman of Los Angeles, California for her winning contribution, My Father’s Side of the Family. Pearl wins this month’s $25 prize. Remember When contains our readers’ personal reflections or contributions describing fictional or non-fictional events from some time in the past. Contributions may be stories, letters, artwork, poems, essays, etc. Photos may be included.

Each issue of the Idaho Senior Independent features the contribution(s) deemed best by our staff. The contributor of the winning entry receives a $25 cash prize. We look forward to receiving your contributions for our August/September 2010 issue. Mail your correspondence to Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403, email to idahoseniorind@bresnan.net, or call 1-866-3605683 or 208-318-0310.

My Father’s Side of the Family Submitted by Pearl Hoffman, Los Angeles, California I evolve from strongwilled, spirited ancestors. My grandparents had definite opinions about almost everything; especially what was right and what was wrong. They lived their lives with determination and raised their children with the strength of those convictions. My Mom and Dad relaxed my grandparent’s old-world parenting philosophy, and I was

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raised with the advantage of a more temperate credo. It may have been that my father was easy to please or, perhaps, I was an extremely obedient child, but I can’t remember any real difficulties between us. He was the most courageous person I’ve ever known. He walked life’s less than easy path with grace, tolerance, and humor. Now, when my memory sings the music of my childhood, the sound of my father’s quick laughter rings in my ears. Dad was a gentle “rule-setter.� Purposeful principles were his main parental concern. Honesty, monetary temperance, and always doing “the right thing,� were at the very top of his must-do list. The example he set and the lessons he taught me by his own unwavering ethics have become the tie that binds me to his memory. The honesty and responsible behavior training

I received from Dad has become an integral part of my adult psyche. The practice of monetary conservation seems to come naturally to me, and with very little effort I can, if necessary, pass frugality and go directly to cheap in a flash! But if, once upon a time, I managed to acquire some measure of courage, it must have oozed out of me on my way from there to here. Playing it safe is a skill I have honed to near perfection. When I am confronted with a doubtful outcome, my legs move faster than my brain. There have been times when I dreamed it would be nice if once - just once - I could do something strikingly brave, (like diving into a swiftmoving body of water to save a drowning kitten, even though I cannot swim), or, perhaps, I might display my remarkable honesty, (find a million dollars, return it to it’s rightful owner and firmly

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 5

refuse to accept a reward), or maybe commit some awesomely memorable deed (like putting an end to world hunger, then telling the King of Sweden to give my Nobel Peace Prize to someone more deserving than I). My parents would be so proud of me. In my mind’s eye I can see my Mom, who is in heaven, turn to my Dad, who is beside him, and I can hear her say, “How about that, Max? Take a look at our Pearly. She turned out to be an exceptional person.� “So?� my Dad would answer, with a casual shrug. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit. I always said she takes after my side of the family.� Happy Father’s Day, Dad. ISI

The flattery of wearing pants By Bill Hall One day years ago, a naturalized American was speaking to an assembly at my grade school when he produced a storm of naughty giggles from his young audience by declaring that, unlike those of us who were born here, he had arrived in the United States with his pants on. You can imagine how that gag made a bunch of grade schoolers fall out of their chairs with glee. We couldn’t have laughed more if he had told us belch jokes - a sure-fire source of hysterical laughter. Kids then and now are suckers for jokes that involve rude noises. We were suckers as well for remarks about coming to this country with your pants on. And the assembly speaker used his pants joke to make a flattering point. That was his jovial way of expressing his affection for his new country, saying that, unlike us, he had consciously chosen this place, our place, to make his home. I have thought about that man over the years every time I encounter an immigrant. You would think there wouldn’t be so many of us having a tizzy these days about immigrants, given the fact so many of us have parents and grandparents who signaled their approval of this corner of the world by arriving here with clothes on and bringing their genes along, the ingredients for constructing us. Similarly, it is strange that some people have a hard time getting along with in-laws given the fact that in-laws are people who have chosen ours as a family they wanted to join. They have generously said to us, “I would love to mingle our family’s genes with your family’s genes.� Granted, in-laws tend to join us mostly because they have an eye on some young pick of our litter, a son or a daughter who is attractive and lovable. And in truth, they will often fall for our kids whether they like the rest of the family or not. But more often than not, those who marry into our families take a liking sooner or later to most of their new relatives. Mother-in-law jokes and brother-in-law jokes are mostly just that – only jokes. For one thing, it is normal for a kid of yours, with many of your same tastes, to fall for someone who is quite a bit like his favorite family members, you included. Similarly, fathers-in-law commonly are fond of the wives of sons. And mothers-in-law are often a little bit in love with the husbands of their daughters. In-laws are people who come into your family in the flattering way – with their trousers on. But there is often more to a new family addition than mere flattery. Such was the case one day shortly

after the end of World War II when Uncle Jim, my father’s younger brother, came to visit, bringing along a woman named Ruby. He had met her one day, proposed the next, and they were married within the month. She was a striking, gregarious, and quite beautiful woman. There was a happiness about her that was the perfect antidote to the grim years of war we had all just come through. The whole family fell in love with her, as quickly as Uncle Jim did‌ especially my mother. My mother had four brothers and no sisters – until Ruby came along. She had always wanted a sister. Suddenly she had one. She and Ruby were as close as blood sisters until the day my mother died. I would not say what I will say next if it were not absolutely true and if my mother didn’t agree it was absolutely true: I will say that my mother was one of the great fried chicken cooks of all time. But Ruby’s fried chicken was even better! That’s no insult to my mother. To a kid who loved fried chicken, this is like saying Jefferson was a great president but Lincoln was even greater. We’re talking about the major leagues of chicken frying. Ruby dredged chicken pieces in flour with salt and pepper (and maybe other secret flavors), browned the chicken on the stove top in a cast-iron skillet, and then steamed the delicacy in the oven in a little water with the lid on. Ruby’s chicken made its own gravy, compelling you to lick your fingers repeatedly while making cooing sounds. Ruby died recently at 91. Thus we have lost a well-loved inlaw and our premier chicken cook. But my mother has regained a sister. Hall may be contacted at wilberth@ cableone.net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 83501. ISI

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Chuck Reynalds is still keeping the peace in Shoshone County Article & Photo by Jack McNeel The importance that law enforcement plays in the security and success of our society – fairness and predictability – is not lost on Chuck Reynalds, and he has mostly good memories of his years as Shoshone County Sheriff. Chuck has had numerous jobs over his lifetime but says being sheriff was the most enjoyable. “It’s one of the most unique jobs in the world and a hugely rewarding job if you do it correctly. The problem is that it’s a high stress job and if you do it well you are going to make some people angry. Overall it’s the best job I ever had.” Chuck began life in Hot Springs, Arkansas and eventually spent a couple of years at Arkansas State Teachers College before entering the U.S. Navy. Once in, he decided to make it a career and spent twenty years in the Navy, retiring in 1977 after serving all over the world. It was during that time that he discovered northern Idaho. He was assigned to Navy recruiting in Seattle and had four states. “One of my recruiting stations was Coeur d’Alene. I decided that’s where I wanted to retire.”

After retirement, Chuck worked ten years for the State of Idaho, finishing his career as the investigator for fraud covering the ten northern counties. Chuck moved to law enforcement when he moved to the Coeur d’Alene River where he started working part time as a reserve sheriff’s deputy and attended the police academy. People solicited Chuck to run for Sheriff. He was successful and served from November 1999 until November 2008. Asked about some of his memories, Chuck

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mentions the major cases. “The Dobson Pass murders, the Mowery case (one of the largest internet child-porn cases in the nation), the Tuggle rape and attempted murder, and the Calder murder/suicide where four were killed. Every major crime was solved except one hunting-season shooting death down near Roundtop. We believed we knew who did it but couldn’t prove it. “Then came retirement and what a shock… to be a shaker and mover all your life and then to be retired! You wake up and ask yourself, ‘What do I do today?’ You don’t have to go to work anymore.” Fortunately, he had his wife of nearly 48 years, JoEllen, whom he had met in Chicago during his Navy days. They have a son in California and daughter in Coeur d’Alene. “She’s been very supportive through my career. She has worked but is now also retired. She keeps busy volunteering with the senior center, the library board, and she quilts. We’ve been traveling a lot and staying active.” “We’ve always been community oriented. I’m a member of the Masonic Lodge, VFW, and the DAV. I’m on the library board foundation in Mullan. I volunteer for both the fire department and the ambulance. I was a volunteer fire chief over in Murray when I lived up the Coeur d’Alene River. I’m also a member of the Smelterville Lions. We had a chili feed at Pinehurst School recently where we served at their carnival.” “I’m working with the Mullan Foundation to do a mothers’ war memorial park. It will be next to the post office. It won’t be a very big project but it will be a nice one with a flag pole, a couple of plaques listing people and donations, and a couple of benches.” Chuck is also involved with search and rescue in the county. “I’m just the kind of individual that if someone needs something, I’ve always been one to step up to the plate and do it.” He says he gets calls from older people who have a concern, possibly about their children or something else, and simply want advice. “I go and visit with them and try to give advice on what they should do. I think they have a favorable opinion of me and trust me. It’s a trust they place in you.” Chuck also helps when someone needs a small job done. “I’m pretty good with my hands so if it’s something small I’ll go help them.” He even assists with a wrecker/towing service owned by a friend. “There’s no money involved. I go help him recover wrecks and the like. I’m a physical type of guy so I like the work.” Chuck was a hunter much of his life and has taken many elk, deer and moose, “But I began to feel sorry for the elk. Vietnam might have been part of it, I’m not sure. So I decided not to hunt

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anymore. I love to eat elk but I can get by without it.” He is now preparing for his 26th Bloomsday Run. Although he has quit running, he tries to walk the 7.5 miles in under two hours. He likes it for both the physical challenge and the energy that comes from all the competitors. “I try to do it with

my granddaughters. It’s a lot of pleasure for me.” “I’ve found that being busy and active keeps me healthy. I’m very fortunate. I don’t have any serious medical conditions. I’m physically able to do things others can’t. People are often surprised when they find out how old I am, and I think that’s a compliment.”

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Being busy sums up Chuck’s life and his philosophy. “You play the hand that’s dealt you, genes, genetics, and lifestyle. There are two things you can do - keep your weight down and stay active. It’s been a helluva journey - to sum up my life - a good woman and good family. I have a lot of blessings.” ISI

Dewey and Donna Skaggs Are Advocates for Prichard Article & Photo by Jack McNeel Dewey Skaggs is not shy when he describes his neighborhood! “We’ve got a great bunch of people up here! This is probably the most wonderful community we’ve ever lived in and I lived much

of ith the th Washington W hi t my career with Parks Department in a lot of different places.” Dewey is talking about the town of Pritchard on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. Donna and Dewey Skaggs moved to Idaho in the summer of 2001 and settled in Prichard. “There aren’t a lot of people who make that a goal,” Donna says with a laugh although she knows others who have vacationed here then wanted to live here when they retired. They are both Washington natives - Dewey from Longview and Donna from Riderwood, a privately owned logging town. “Perhaps the only town built for loggers and their families rather than being a logging camp,” she explains. She was born, “in the first aid station there.” Donna also moved to Longview while still in grade school but did not meet Dewey until the early 1970s. Dewey began his career as a seasonal employee of the Washington Department of Parks, and continued to progress over the years until he retired as chief of visitor protection and law enforcement for the Department. Since “retiring,” Dewey has worked for law enforcement equipment suppliers, Glock firearms, and a holster manufacturer. He now works for Gunarama Law Enforcement out of Spokane. “I’m still travelling and selling but not full time. I cover parts of Washington plus Idaho and Mon-

tana.” This leaves time for both Dewey and Donna to volunteer a considerable amount of time to activities in and around Prichard. “We had been here a while, sort of fat, dumb, and happy, when one of our friends and neighbors f and shattered her knee. It was a horrible, bad fell w weekend - icy cold with many accidents on I-90. S dragged herself to the phone and called 911, She b nobody came. The lady’s husband returned but l later and did the same thing and again no one c came. That was before they instituted the fail-safe s system to make sure all calls were answered. Long s story short – she was finally taken to Spokane by h husband and got the knee fixed,” Donna says. her This incident provided the impetus to get them i involved in community activities. “When we heard the story my response was, ‘ ‘We’ve got to do something. This is not right.’ Nob body did anything so when that happens you have t do it yourself. We started bugging the fire chief to a about the next E.M.T. class and we became basic E.M.T.s along with others. It later occurred to me t that if I’m going to hang out with fire department guys I really need to know a little bit about what g goes on with the fire department,” Donna adds. It’s all volunteer, and next weekend we have a 3-day fire training class in Post Falls.” “We do training normally about six hours a month,” Dewey explains. “Then there’s the administrative part. Donna’s on the fire board. We do fund raising. That’s how we get our operating money.” Fund raising activities include such things as an auction, a potluck “because everything here is a social thing and there’s probably food involved.” They have a couple of big rummage sales every year, a keg float, and an ice cream social in July, “so there’s something for the kids.” The couple also works with the Coeur d’Alene River Preservation Committee. “It’s a grass roots organization. We look at what’s going on in the community and make recommendations to the county about changes needed on how the river is used and how properties around the area are used. We’ve been quite successful. We got

grant money and had a couple of students from the University of Idaho come up and do a study on the river. We’re in the process of reviewing that now. Hopefully there will be guidelines on how the basin develops, both land use and river use. For instance we recommended to the county and got an ordinance passed that keeps glass containers off the river.” Both Donna and Dewey are active in Our Savior Lutheran Church in Pinehurst. Dewey is a trustee and Donna is active with events. “We’re both in the choir. For anyone who’s

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known me very long – that’s going to come as a shock,” Dewey says laughing. “A church choir is sort of like home. They have to accept you if you volunteer,” Donna laughs. Donna and Dewey believe they are very fortunate to live in a community with so many active

participants. “A couple of years ago we put an addition on the fire hall and there were these 60 and 70 year old people up on this roof, two stories up! There are so many people here who are totally phenomenal and keep doing for this community.”

Dewey believes activity is beneficial to one’s health, noting, “I’m a firm believer in that you have to have a reason to get up in the morning. We’re starting to lose our friends. It makes you feel a bit vulnerable and makes you thank your Lord you’re doing what you’re doing.” ISI

North Idaho Adventures along I-90 Article and photos by Natalie Bartley Crossing westward from the Idaho/Montana border to the Idaho/Washington border, Interstate 90 offers unending recreational opportuties near the small towns just off the ribbon of highway. Consider the following outdoor and indoor options on your next westward journey. Ride or drive the Northern Pacific Multi-Use Trail. (Exit 0 and 69) Traveling through deep forests and down a steady incline from Lookout Pass to the town of Mullan, this 11.7-mile trail is known for its remoteness, scenery, and potential wildlife sightings. It is a continuation of the Union Pacific Railroad that served the Silver Valley. Mountain bikers, ATV drivers, and hikers use the old rail bed that is now a gravel road. The town of Mullan is also the eastern terminus of the non-motorized Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, a popular bicycling rail trail. For the downhill ride, take the I-90 Exit 0 at the Idaho and Montana border. Turn right off the ramp and right again into the Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area. Park in the large lot. Look for the signs directing you on to the trail. To drop a shuttle vehicle in Mullan, take exit 69 off I-90 east of Mullan. Turn north off River Street onto Second Street and into the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes western terminus parking. The Northern Pacific Mulit-Use Trail ends at the eastern end of the parking area. The trail is an asphalt road for about 3.0 miles until just before East Shoshone Park. Follow the signs at each intersection to stay on the road/trail, which turns into a dirt and gravel road as it heads up to Lookout Pass. Rent mountain bikes at Lookout Pass Ski and

Recreation Area, 208-744-1301, www.skilookout. com. For trail information, try the Friends of the Coeur d’Alene Trails Idaho Panhandle website at www.friendsofcdatrails.org. Experience Train and Mining History (Exit 61) With the entire town on the National Register of Historic Places, Wallace is the perfect place to learn about the mining and rail history of north Idaho. Once known as the silver capital of the world, visitors can drop underground on a 15-passenger trolley ride with a retired miner serving as a guide on the Sierra Silver Mine Tour. Bring a sweater as the underground temperature remains at about 50 degrees throughout the year. While in town, check out the Wallace District Mining Museum 208-556-1592; the Northern Pacific Depot Railroad Museum 208-752-0111; the Oasis Bordello Museum 208-753-0801; Sierra Silver Mine Tour 208-752-5151, www.silverminetour.org; and Historic Wallace Chamber www. wallaceidahochamber.com.

Swim, bicycle, and hike at Silver Mountain Resort (Exit 49) Located in Kellogg, Silver Mountain Resort offers gondola-assisted hiking and mountain biking. Cooler summer temperatures, colorful wildflowers, far-reaching views, and potential glimpses of big game are bonuses. Catch a ride on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through and including Labor Day, ascending 3.1 miles and gaining 3,000 vertical feet. Riders access nine designated mountain biking trails and 60 miles of hiking and biking trails. The paved Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is nearby for additional walking and bicycling on a smooth flat surface. Check the resort’s website for “Splash and Stay” specials such as the accommodations at Morning Star Lodge and Silver Rapids Indoor Waterpark package, for $49 per person for quad occupancy. The waterpark is an amenity available only with overnight lodging at Morning Star Lodge. Water slides, a lazy river ride, waves, and food services entice visitors to spend all day at the water park. Information: Silver Mountain Resort Mountain Bikers Full-day gondola ticket $35; One ride for hikers only $17; 800-204-6428 or www.silvermt.com. Bird Watching - Coeur d’Alene Lake (Exit 15) Watch for great blue herons, osprey, bald eagles, common mergansers, and American tree sparrows at Higgens Point on the east edge of Coeur d’Alene on the North Idaho Centennial Trail. Take exit 15 off I-90. Get on the Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive and go past the Rutledge Trailhead. Continue east another (Continued on page 26)

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Colorado: A Nature Lover’s Paradise Article & Photo by Gail Jokerst Anyone who has traveled through Colorado and taken the time to explore its byways would have to agree: the Centennial State is full of geological and biological wonders worth viewing. Whether you prefer to see the camera-grabbing sights from inside the comfort of your vehicle or on foot, you will find plenty to pique your interest in Colorado. Four destinations that should appear on every nature lover’s itinerary include Black Canyon

(Photo by B. James Jokerst)

of the Gunnison National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Dinosaur National Monument, and Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. With place names like Devil’s Lookout, Dragon Point, and Cross Fissure, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park announces to the world that it can legitimately lay claim to some of the West’s most rugged scenery. And it delivers on the primeval views, especially with sights such as the pink-and-white-striped Painted Wall. At 2,250 feet, it ranks as Colorado’s highest cliff. As the sun sets at this national park, a colorful glow washes over the region’s impressive ribbed walls inspiring artists and photography buffs to capture the fastchanging hues with paints and cameras. Aside from the colorful light show, the park puts on another colorful show with its resident raptors. Peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, and golden eagles are just a few of the avian stars that draw birders. Hoping to catch flashes of these agile critters riding air currents and landing on ledged perches high above the Gunnison River, visitors line up with binoculars across the steep chasm to watch falcons dart and swoop and eagles and hawks soar in space. While glassing the sky, they listen expectantly for the sound of raptor screams echoing off the rock walls. Named for its dark sheer cliffs, Black Canyon

has an outstanding auto drive that enables visitors to get a feel for the countryside. The park’s six-mile (one-way) Rim Drive includes ten overlooks. Each features a different panorama and interpretive signage. Drop by the visitor center before taking the drive to learn how the Gunnison River has carved a passageway through these massive rock formations and left behind such remarkable vistas. Named for the 19th-century Ute Indian chief Curacata, Curecanti National Recreation Area is part of the Colorado River Storage Project. As might be expected from a region containing three lakes formed by three dams, boaters, windsurfers, and water-skiers migrate here. But primarily, this is a Mecca for anglers on a quest for rainbow, Mackinaw, brown, and brook trout as well as kokanee salmon. Although water sports lure most people to this canyon land, hikers also have good reason to visit, Curecanti Creek Trail. From Pioneer Point above Morrow Point Lake, the trail descends two miles from the rim of the Upper Black Canyon of the Gunnison and follows Curecanti Creek. Starting in aspen groves, it gently switchbacks you down about 900 feet into a lush riparian gorge setting. At trail’s end, you will see the 700-foot spire called Curecanti Needle, which was the logo for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The hike takes you through different suites of wildflowers at each elevation level, which remind you why the town of Crested Butte hosts a popular wildflower festival celebrating phlox, clematis, larkspur, and other botanical delights each July. Heading back uphill, you may have to stop frequently to catch your breath. Don’t panic; it’s normal even for people accustomed to hiking who don’t happen to live 8,000 feet above sea level. Should a guided boat ride into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison sound tempting, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day you can hop aboard a launch for a 90-minute tour on Morrow Point Lake (prepaid reservations required). A park ranger will relate the region’s geology and wildlife along with its narrow-gauge railroad history. Located partly in Utah and partly in Colorado with an entry point in each state, Dinosaur National Monument showcases both desert and canyon country. The Utah side of this national monument is best known for its cliff face full of 150-millionyear-old fossilized dinosaur bones and its assorted petroglyphs and pictographs. A highlight not to miss is the Tour of the Tilted Rocks. Driving through this weathered landscape, you see layers of time exposed by wind, rain, and snow as well as the intriguing formations dubbed Turtle Rock and Elephant Toes Butte. You will find the 11-mile (one-way) ride even more enjoyable if you pick up a tour guide from the visitor center first. Be sure to stop at the interpretive

displays to discover more about the countryside and for intimate views of the wildflowers in bloom. If you’ve never seen petroglyphs or pictographs up close, this tour offers you the opportunity to change that. Considerably younger than dino fossils, these 1,000-year-old images of lizards and ancient people provide a vivid portrayal of early Native American art. The Colorado side of this national monument is best known for the Green and Yampa rivers, which merge at Dinosaur’s Echo Park. Harper’s Corner Scenic Drive, which is 32 miles one way, leads to a viewpoint 2,000 feet above the confluence. Rafters take advantage of both rivers and

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float down through the confluence ending at Split Mountain Boat Ramp, one of the stops along the Tour of the Tilted Rocks. Visitors to this national monument who enjoy walking will also appreciate having eleven hikes to choose from ranging from .4 to 8 miles (round trip). Most of these trails are classified easy to moderate. Two of the most unlikely sights in Colorado - a sea of giant sand dunes back-dropped by snow-capped mountains and a beach full of wading children and relaxing adults - greet you just outside of the very inland town of Alamosa. Both are considered highlights of a trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Unrestricted by trails and unconfined by brush, the dunes exude a sense of openness unlike any dirt or rock pathway you have ever trod. You can take off on foot across the dips and ridgelines of

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the ever-shifting sands of this 30-square-mile dune field and never feel hemmed in by civilization. Those familiar with the park will tell you the prime times to photograph North America’s tallest dunes come in the early morning or evening when low light drenches them in dramatic shadows. After the sun has warmed the countryside, you can cool off in Medano Creek, which starts its journey in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This braided creek changes shape continuously and is the best example in the world of the phenomenon known as surge flow. The sandy creek bed forms little ridges, which act as mini dams. When these dams break every 15 to 30 seconds, Medano Creek pulses in small waves. However, the creek runs only as long as a snow pack remains. Once it melts, the creek barely trickles until the next spring when the cycle begins again.

While this park has justifiably earned its reputation because of 650- to 750-foot high dunes and its rare Tiger Beetles, it also includes grasslands where elk, pronghorn, and mule deer roam and wetlands where pelicans, sandhill cranes, and salamanders gather. The unusual topography and varied wildlife make Great Sand Dunes a memorable destination for vacationers of any age. For more information: • Dinosaur National Monument – 435-7817700, www.nps.gov/dino • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – 970-641-2337, www.nps.gov/blca • Curecanti National Recreation Area - 970641-2337, www.nps.gov/cure • Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve – 719-378-6300, www.nps.gov/grsa ISI

The Country’s Best Aquariums: Chattanooga, Atlanta, San Diego Story by Andrea Gross & Photos by Irv Green There’s nothing I love more than watching fish swim lazily, effortlessly, gracefully among gently swaying sea grass. But snorkeling is not my thing. Instead I frequent aquariums, where I can immerse myself in marine life without submerging myself in water. Below are four of the best, each distinctive in its own way: The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga - the largest freshwater exhibit in the United States - The Tennessee Aquarium recreates the environments favored by the 40-plus percent of fish that live in rivers and lakes, and it does so in a most innovative way - by following a drop of rainwater as it journeys from mountaintop streams to the sea. Visitors first stop at an exhibit that replicates an Appalachian forest, replete with rhododendrons and azaleas. Trout and otters swim in the stream; a copperhead snake lies on the shore and birds sing in the trees. Various galleries show the stream as it becomes a river, which finally empties into the magical environment of the Flower Garden Banks

National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. Until May 2011 the aquarium is hosting a special exhibit, “Jellies: Living Art.” Jellyfish and art by world-renowned glass artists are juxtaposed in a display that pulsates with color and light. The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta - the largest aquarium in the world - While I’m charmed by delicate and beautiful in Chattanooga, I’m overwhelmed by “big” in Atlanta. This aquarium houses thousands of animals representing more than 500 sea creatures from around the world. There are white beluga whales from the arctic, manta rays from the tropics, and loggerhead sea turtles from the nearby Georgia coast. There are even some cute-as-can-be African penguins. The most exciting attraction is the Ocean Voyager Exhibit, which houses the largest fish species in the world, the whale shark. These behemoths, often weighing more than 30,000 pounds and more than 40’ long, are housed in a massive sixmillion-gallon tank. The actual viewing window is 63’ long, as high as a two-story building, and a reassuring two feet thick. All in all, this is about as impressive as it gets. The Birch Aquarium in San Diego - one of the largest oceanographic research facilities in the world - The Birch Aquarium is the public outreach center of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As such, its mission is to “provide ocean science education, interpret oceanography research, and promote ocean conservation.”

While that sounds very grand, the actual aquarium is small and intimate, focusing mostly on marine habitats of the Pacific coast. A prime attraction is the three living tide pools where visitors are encouraged to examine coastal creatures. But the best part of this aquarium is its setting on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the largest aquatic habitat of all. SeaWorld in San Diego - tops for its combination of entertainment and education - I would have skipped Sea World if I hadn’t been with my grandchildren, and that would have been a big mistake. Sure, it’s as much amusement park as aquarium, but it offers people of all ages an unparalleled opportunity to see marine animals up close. In addition to dynamic shows where whales leap out of the water and dolphins somersault in the air, visitors can see hundreds of penguins enjoying their arctic landscape or walk through a glass enclosed tunnel where they’re surrounded by fish. Sea World Educators are stationed throughout the park to chat with guests and give informal lessons while for an additional fee the true fish enthusiast can don a wetsuit for a “nose-to-bottlenose” encounter with a dolphin or a watery rendezvous with a beluga. Contact Information - Tennessee Aquarium: www.tnaqua.org; Georgia Aquarium: www.georgiaaquarium.org; Birch Aquarium: www.aquarium. ucsd.edu; Sea World: www.seaworld.com/sandiego. ISI

Rocky Mountain Parks of Canada Article & Photo by Jack McNeel Just north of our border is the largest concentration of national parks in Canada. Seven national parks plus additional provincial parks constitute one of the largest and perhaps most beautiful protected natural areas on the planet – and they are all within a day’s drive of northern portions of Montana and Idaho. In October 2009, we spent a week visiting portions of five parks, although one could easily spend a week at each location. The mountain peaks are magnificent, stretching high into the sky and often streaked with glaciers. At every turn in

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the highway, each vista seems more incredible than the last. Early fall is a good time to visit, when families with children have returned home leaving highways less busy and lodging less crowded. For winter sports enthusiasts, the cold and snowy season is beautiful as well, and the driving conditions are consistent with winter mountain driving conditions here at home. Preparation is key. Whether you are a hiker, skier, or photographer, the extensive and magnificent scenery is beyond words. Every day your visual senses are bombarded with a dynamic panorama of mountain peaks, lakes, rivers, forests, and glaciers. And there is always the chance that around the next curve you will see a bear, elk, bighorn sheep, or some other animal. The human presence in the Rocky Mountains dates back over 10,000 years. Native peoples used this area for food, shelter, and medicine while it held sacred and spiritual meaning to them. Young men pursued spiritual visions in this country and sought balance with nature. Visitors today feel some of that same reverence and awe just by being in such incredible surroundings hiking away from crowds on any of the innumerable trails. There are hiking trails for virtually everyone – from the short and easy to those more strenuous for overnight camping. Banff National Park, Canada’s first National Park, was established in 1885 around the thermal mineral springs that are an essential part of the tremendously popular tourist town of Banff. In summer, unique stores, a vast array of restaurants and motels, and a seemingly endless parade of tour busses bring visitors from around the world so the town is busy from early morning until late night. Things are somewhat quieter during the spring and fall shoulder seasons. Lake Louise, the Hiking Capital of Canada about half an hour north of Banff, is also noted for its beauty, accommodations, and trails. North across the North Saskatchewan River is where David Thompson, the explorer and map maker, crossed to the western side of the mountains in 1807 and hit the Columbia River for the first time. Here it flows north before swinging west and then south on its eventual run to the Pacific. At the time, Thompson did not recognize it as the Columbia and referred to it as the Kootenai River where he built the first trading post west of the continental divide. Jasper National Park is the largest and most northerly of the parks. Called the most scenic drive in North America, the Icefields Parkway stretches 143 miles along the “backbone of the continent” north from Banff. You can tour Athabasca Glacier in a Brewster SnoCoach, a massive bus designed for travel over the glacier. Of course you can hike with a guide should you prefer. The town of Jasper provides numerous lodging facilities and interesting stores and restaurants in a quieter, less touristy way than the town of Banff. Throughout the parks are rustic

cabins such as the Patricia Lake Bungalows on the shores of Patricia Lake, just 3 miles north of Jasper. Maligne Lake, 27 miles from the town of Jasper, is renowned for its beauty and accessible from the town of Jasper via the Maligne Canyon road past Medicine Lake. It is also noted as an excellent wildlife-viewing drive. Yoho, Glacier, and Mount Revelstoke National Parks all lie to the west of Lake Louise straddling Canada’s Highway 1. The scenery remains astonishing. Stop in the quaint town of Fields to visit the Yoho Visitor Centre and grab a meal, one of the few opportunities in Yoho N.P. A side road north out of Field leads to Emerald Lake, where The Lodge was voted one of the top two resorts in Canada in the 2009 Conde Naste Readers Choice Awards. Farther west, Golden, British Columbia provides lodging and restaurants for visitors and a variety of recreational opportunities in the area of the confluence of two of Canada’s impressive rivers, the Columbia and the Kicking Horse. Just beyond Golden are Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks. Each is relatively small compared to Jasper and Banff but offers a variety of historical attractions and hiking trails suitable for all abilities. Kootenay National Park is a principal entrance from the south for those traveling to Banff and Jasper. Radium Hot Springs, just inside the entrance, is a favorite destination for those seeking the warm, soothing, mineral waters. Kootenay N.P. offers hiking opportunities and a high probability of seeing wildlife – so much that one section of road has a reduced speed limit because several wolves have been hit by cars there. The final park in this region is Waterton Lakes N.P., the Canadian extension of Montana’s Glacier National Park and part of the International Peace Park. The townsite of Waterton is fun, funky, and sits on the shores of gorgeous Waterton Lake. Bighorn sheep and deer frequently browse through town and various hikes provide the opportunity to explore off the roads. Canadian National Parks charge an entry fee that can be paid as you enter each park, which may require sitting in line for a few minutes at peak travel times. Otherwise, an annual permit can be purchased in advance, and seniors receive a discount. Canada does not have a permit comparable to the Golden Age Passport of the United States. ISI

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The Sawbys Keep Their Edge In North Idaho By Cecil Hicks For nearly 40 years, north Idaho custom knife maker Scott Sawby has carved out a living specializing in quality folders. Today his folding knives with unique locking features are in such demand that he is working from a three-year backlog of customer orders. Prices for a Sawby custom knife range from $900 to $5,000. The top-of-the line cost includes more expensive handle material and gold engraving. Scott and his wife Marian both migrated west from Illinois and live and work a few miles north of Sandpoint in a forested valley in the shadows of the Selkirk Mountain Range - home to grizzly bears, the sole remaining herd of woodland caribou in the lower 48, and in recent years, wolf packs that have migrated into the region. What started for the couple as a typical relationship has evolved into an artistic partnership that has secured the reputation of Sawby Custom Knives. After he finished high school, Scott earned a degree in zoology from Utah State University in Logan, served in the U.S. Army in South Korea, returned to Utah State to attend graduate school,

a weeklong beginning knife engraving course in and worked as an ornithologist. While at Utah State, Scott and a friend, Steve Kansas taught by renowned master engraver Sam Mullin, started making knives as a hobby. As he Alfano. In September of 2001, Scott flew their homelearned the craft, Scott found he was more interbuilt RV-6A airplane to Kansas for the engraving ested in folders. “I’ve always been fascinated with the locking course, but the events of September 11 grounded mechanism of knives as opposed to a fixed blade.” Although he has made a few double bladed folding knives in the past, for the last couple decades he’s concentrated strictly on making single bladed knives. He also holds two patents on blade locking devices on his folders - a button-lock and a self-lock. Scott believes that a knife should be functional, convenient, and operable. This means that with his locking designs, a person can close the blade with only one hand. Scott moved to Idaho’s panhandle and with Mullin, they manufactured knives. As the knife business evolved, Scott and Mullin went their separate ways, with Scott’s enterprise becoming Sawby Custom Knives. Marian’s path to the knife business went through BradSawby Custom Knives are crafted by Scott and artistically ley University engraved by Marian. Fulltime knife makers, they make quality in Peoria, Illi- single-blade folders and work out of their shop and house in nois, where she rural north Idaho. [Photo by Cecil Hicks] earned a B.A. Degree in Speech followed by work on ad- private airplanes for some time, so he had to fly vanced degrees in history home on a commercial flight, leaving their airplane at the University of Ne- behind. Scott told Marian that he was not going to convada Reno and at Berktinue learning about engraving but he thought she ley, California. She and Scott met would enjoy it. When Sam Alfano had an opening in Sandpoint while Mar- in his October engraving class, Marian signed up ian was working as a for it. They both flew to Kansas, and Marian began high school teacher. They her instruction while Scott flew their airplane back married 20 years ago, to Idaho. About her first engraving class Marian says, “I but it has only been nine absolutely loved it. When I finished that first week, years since she took up engraving. Actually, Scott I ordered modern engraving equipment, which inwas the first to sign up for cluded a pneumatic hand-held engraver that cuts

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the metal and replaces the traditional hammer and chisel.” Over the next year and a half, Marian practiced her engraving techniques and took intermediate and advanced engraving courses and a week of private lessons from Alfano. Finally, she felt she was ready to engrave one of Scott’s finished knives. They took the knife to the next Solvang Knife Show in California where it sold for a substantial sum. Marian was hooked. She made a career decision to retire from teaching and work full-time engraving Scott’s knives. Marian spends many hours looking through a microscope engraving intricate designs and inlaying 24-karat gold, copper, or other metals onto each knife handle, which might be made from wood, stag, stone, mother of pearl, black lip pearl,

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 13

shell, or bones. This adds from $600 to $1,600 to the price depending on a customer’s wishes. Her work is in high demand. The couple averages about 70 finished knives a year all with five or seven inch blades, which they sell at knife shows, or through their website www. sawbycustomknives.com. Due to his background as an ornithologist and his interest in birds, Scott has named most of his knifes after birds with names like Skimmer, Swift, Kingfisher, Tern, Tanager, Kittiwake, Trogon, and Killdeer. In good weather Scott and Marian, both licensed pilots, occasionally will fly their side-by-side low wing two-seater RV-6A to knife shows. According to Scott, being a popular knife maker

has some drawbacks. He does not like to see the disappointment in people’s faces when they arrive at their knife show display table and see they have sold out. At a recent New York knife show, the Sawbys brought 13 knives, which sold out in 15 minutes. Their custom made knives are all crafted in their little shop in the woods, and who would have thought that a part-time knife-making hobby would turn into a lucrative full-time business that Scott and Marian Sawby could pursue from their home and workshop in the woods of north Idaho? For information on Sawby Custom Knives visit www.sawbycustomknives.com or call 208-2634171. ISI

Jean Peck Sets The Stage For Sandpoint the theatre would shore up that effort, so she saw that an antique-dealer friend had loaned her. It did By Cate Huisman Jean Peck did not know much about the the- helping the theatre as part of her job. When the not help that Tim Adams, then a weatherman for atre, and she certainly did not intend to become group trying to rescue the theatre asked her to KHQ-TV in Spokane and part of the show, played a producer. In fact, the whole concept appears to produce a show on its stage to raise funds, she a bit of a trick on her. “I’d never been on stage; and the audience have made her nervous, so when she produced hopped to it, even though she had never done was packed. He came over to me and fell flat on the first of her 33 variety shows for the Sandpoint anything like it before. “I did the first show and I was petrified,” says his face. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna die right stage, “I was scared to death,” she says. Nevertheless, something about the stage Jean. No wonder. For that first production, she did here.’” Adams had fallen on purpose to set up his next worked for Jean, who ended up starting Jean Peck not just produce; she went onstage and introduced line. As he got up and dusted himself off, he told the show, wearing an antique dress and straw hat Productions and producing shows to raise money for nonprofit organizations in Sandpoint for over 15 years. She retired in October 2009 after producing her last show, a fundraiser for veterans’ services. Jean grew up in Ohio and found herself at midlife somewhat reluctantly living on a 126-acre farm outside Cincinnati. Being evidently more entrepreneur than farmer, she decided to open up an antique business in one of the barns on the property, which she called Jean’s Place. One way she publicized the venture was by letting a local dinner theatre company borrow items from her antique collection to use onstage. She got some free publicity for her wares and free tickets and dinner for six with each show. But that was the closest she ever got to the stage… until she came west. In 1986, Jean decided to move closer to her daughter and new grandchild who lived in a town she had never heard of called Sandpoint. It is no Come see how Rockwood South Hill’s future expansion will take senior living to surprise that shortly after her the next level. Learn about our plans to build a new 10-story residential tower, The arrival, this animated and enSummit, featuring stunning views, numerous dining venues and an abundance of thusiastic individual was hired to be executive director of amenities and services. Sandpoint’s Central Business The Summit will compliment Rockwood South Hill’s 90 acre campus currently offering 165 independent living, Association. custom designed homes in a lovely, forested residential setting. The current tower, The Ridge, offers 105 “At the time, Sandpoint attractive independent apartments. Rockwood South Hill is the only not-for-profit “Accredited” full service was not known; now it is,” says community in Eastern Washington providing assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing if ever needed. Jean. There were “so many empty windows downtown when I moved here; I’d never Join us for an seen anything like that.” Informational Jean’s new office was on Presentation First Avenue, across the street from the historic but fading and Lunch Panida Theatre. “They were going to tear Call Toll Free it down and make a parking to attend. Seating is limited. Call today! lot out of it,” she remembers. “I said, we’ve got to do something with that theatre, and we The Ridge The Summit Forest Estates did. 2903 E. 25th Avenue Spokane, WA 99223 “My job was to promote the downtown,” Jean continues. She knew the renaissance of

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and the audience loved him. the audience, “I fell for her.” Another favorite memory is of the singer who got her out That show was four hours long, which was too long, but of a jam after a performer lost his voice from rehearsing too “the early shows were all booked, because they didn’t have much in the unheated theatre. anything like that here,” she says. As “It was one of my early shows. I she gained experience, she made sure didn’t know everybody,” Jean related. no show was more than two hours. But before she could worry very The first two or three shows raised long, another cast member volunteered money for the Panida, but soon other to cover the part. “I’ll never forget that organizations were asking Jean to do one; I was a wreck,” Jean says. shows for them too. She has produced Now Jean shares retirement with shows for the senior center, the food a fuzzy canine named Sasha, for whom bank, Wishing Star, Habitat for Huthere is a special seat near the door of manity, the fairgrounds, the historical the small historic millworker’s house society, and the animal shelter. One where she lives near the center of town. show helped send the high school The house’s décor is colorful like its choir to Hawaii to sing on the battleship owner, and it is filled with antiques from Missouri, and she produced one to buy her days on that farm in Ohio. mats for the cheerleaders at the high Over 15 years and 33 shows, “I school. was always on the telephone, people One of Jean’s favorite performers asking me if they could be in the show, was a World War II navy veteran who my asking them if they could be in the had taken up show,” Jean says. “I got to know everysinging at the body, and they knew me. age of 82. “On the street, people would ask, She put him ‘Aren’t you Jean Peck? When are you on stage in a going to do another show?’” navy uniform “I’m going to miss that,” Jean from the his[Photo by Juliana Lutz] says. ISI torical society,

The Once and Future Car: that had been in the back seat of Bill’s car caused when a friend flipped a cigarette out the window and it blew into the back seat. “I saw the cigarette burn and thought, oh my, this might be my car,” Brown relates. He copied the VIN from its metal plate in the driver’s side doorjamb, and asked the DMV to run a title history. Sure enough, one of them was Bill’s dad. So Bill had his car - not just a car like his; he had his car. The price had gone up - he paid $1,100 for it the second time, but that included another wrecked car for parts. The car was in pieces. Bill says, “The front bumpers were off, the paint was stripped off, and the motor was in the trunk.” With the Class of 1962 Sandpoint High School reunion just three months away, Bill says, “I kind of put everything else aside and just worked on the car.” Bill contracted out the mechanical and bodywork while he concentrated on finding missing parts and putting them together, including the interior bits and pieces and all the chrome, bumpers, and trim. There are now parts in his car from eleven

Continued from front cover other Pontiac Chieftains from wrecking yards in three different states. The backup lights turned out to be particularly elusive. Bill found only two in all those wrecking yards, plus one brand new from a dealer, which had sat in its box unused for nearly fifty years. “I restored the car in three months; that’s all I did. I worked seven days a week on it,” Bill relates. But the effort paid off. His wheels were ready not only for his high school reunion, but for Lost in the Fifties, Sandpoint’s annual celebration of all things old and automotive held each year in mid-May. Bill still drives the car he first bought more than a half century ago. In a notebook, he has pictures of it in 1959 and again in 2002, both before and after its restoration, a copy of his father’s original registration, and the ad that led Bill back to his car at Dad’s Auto Wrecking. He even kept the piece of upholstery with the cigarette burn, although the entire interior has been reupholstered. You can admire the Chieftain and see the notebook each May in Sandpoint at Lost in the Fifties. But do not even ask Bill if the car’s for sale. He is not going to let it go again! ISI

JUNE/JULY 2010

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 15

Still Alice: a novel by Lisa Genova Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, c. 2007, 2009 Reviewed by Bernice Karnop “Even then, more than a year earlier, there were neurons in her head not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them. Some would argue that things were going so insidiously wrong that the neurons themselves initiated events that would lead to their own destruction. Whether it was molecular murder or cellular suicide, they were unable to warn her of what was happening before they died.” Alice, an accomplished professor of cognitive psychology at Harvard University, is highly respected as a teacher and researcher. She is a sought-after speaker for international conferences. Her husband is also a Harvard research professor and together they have raised three successful children. But do a person’s accomplishments define who they are? At age 49, Alice notices some disturbing symptoms in spite of her excellent health. She becomes forgetful and disoriented in familiar routines and locations. Typical for women her age, she blames stress, hormones, menopause, or being busy. She worries about a brain tumor. Instead, she is diagnosed with something unfathomable - early onset Alzheimer’s disease. What sets Still Alice apart is that readers walk into this minefield with Alice. We watch Alzheimer’s progression from the inside out. Still Alice is not so much about the disease, but about the person who has it. Writer Genova, who holds a PhD. in neuroscience from Harvard University, handles the subject with tremendous sensitivity and respect. She also uses all the brutal honesty required in dealing with this irreversible condition. Alice and her family cannot believe that the diagnosis is correct but genetic testing turns up the presenilin-1 mutation. It is a dominant gene, endangering, not just Alice, but also her three

children, one of whom tests positive for it. It is comforting that today science is able to test embryos before pregnancy and implant only those who are mutation-free. Even as she wishes the technology had been available when she was having children, she realizes that if it had been, the embryo that was her smart and beloved daughter would have been discarded. Losses pile up. More than anything Alice wants to spend the undetermined number of good days she has left with her husband. He, on the other hand, has a hard time spending time with her. He responds scientifically with his considerable research skills, checking medications, clinical trials, and more. But his intelligence and education are no match against Alzheimer’s. Alice forms a small support group consisting of people who have early onset Alzheimer’s. They draw strength from each other as they share what is happening to them. She accepts an invitation to speak to a Dementia Care Conference. “When will I no longer be me?” she asks. “Is the part of my brain that’s responsible for my unique ‘me-ness’ vulnerable to this disease? Or is my identity something that transcends neurons, proteins, and defective molecules of DNA? Is my soul and spirit immune to the ravages of Alzheimer’s?” Lisa Genova researched Still Alice, her first book, extensively but it is much more than a scientific study. It is a novel and you will have trouble putting it down. People with Alzheimer’s and caregivers find it true to the disease and the Alzheimer’s Association endorses it. By telling Alice’s story in Still Alice, Genova promotes understanding of this devastating disease. Her writing shows great respect for persons with Alzheimer’s and lifts us all. I recommend this book to you. ISI

Driving Helpers for Drivers and Concerned Families By Jim Miller With more and more Americans driving well into their 70s, 80s, and beyond, there are many programs, tools and resources that exist today to help them and their concerned family members. Here are some good ones to check out along with a few tips. Still Driving - To help keep your loved one safe while she is still driving, see to it that she gets her eyes checked every year to ensure her vision is up to par, and that she is not taking any medications that could impair her driving. A few simple driving adjustments can also go a long way in keeping her safe, such as not driving after dark or during rush hour traffic, avoiding major highways or other busy roads, and not driving in poor weather conditions.

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PAGE 16 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

Self-Assess - To help you and your mom evaluate her driving abilities, a do-it-yourself assessment is a good way to start. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has some great resources on its Web site to help with this. Just go to seniordrivers.org and download “Roadwise Review,� a free screening tool that will test physical and mental

JUNE/JULY 2010

abilities that are important for safe driving. Then click on the “DriveSharp Calculator,â€? another short test, created by Posit Science that will rate crash risk. AAA also offers an online self-survey called the “Drivers 55-Plus Self Rating Quizâ€? that she can take at aaafoundation.org/quizzes, or call 800-3057233 and have them mail you the brochure. Also see aaaseniors.com and safedrivingforalifetime.com, two new sites dedicated W E A R E C O M F O R T K E E P E R SÂŽ to helping older drivers. Get Refreshed - Another option that can help tune-up your mom’s driving skills is a driver refresher course. AAA For over a decade, Comfort KeepersÂŽ S E R V I C E S and AARP both offer inexpensive older has been helping seniors maintain independent lives by providing in-home driver courses that may also earn her a care and safety. Like cooking, light discount on her auto insurance. To locate housekeeping, bathing or grooming. a nearby class contact your local AAA And our SafetyChoice ™ PERS and Transportation (aaa.com) or AARP (aarp.org/drive, 888Medication Management Systems means 227-7669). Most courses can be taken help is always available. in the classroom or online. Find a Pro - If you feel your mom – could use some extra help, get a professional assessment done by a driver rehabilitation specialist – they can cost several hundred dollars up to $1,000. They will evaluate her driving skills along ÂŽ

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with how well she and her car fit together, and provide recommendations and solutions based on her needs. To locate a trained professional, contact the Association of Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (driver-ed.org, 866-672-9466) or the American Occupational Therapy Association (aota. org/olderdriver). Keeping Watch - If you are concerned about your mom’s driving, a good way to keep an eye on her without impeding her driving is through the howsmydriving.com Senior Driving Program. This program puts a big How’s My Driving ID sticker on her back windshield so other drivers on the road can report improper driving, which can be e-mailed to you. A similar service is available at backseatguardian.com. Time to Quit - If you find that your mom’s driving is not safe anymore and she needs to give it up, the Hartford Financial Services Group and MIT AgeLab have a resource that can help called “Family Conversations with Older Drivers.� At thehartford.com/talkwitholderdrivers you can find worksheets for evaluating your mom’s driving, tips for talking to her about quitting driving, and what to do if she refuses to stop. ISI

Financial Help for Family Caregivers By Jim Miller To get paid as your parent’s caregiver there are several possibilities you should check into, and a variety of support services that can help, too. Here is what you should know. Caregiving for Pay - If your mom is eligible for Medicaid, you may be able to get paid a small amount by the government. In 15 states, Medicaid offers a Cash and Counseling program (see cashandcounseling.org) that provides direct financial assistance to their beneficiaries, and that money can be used to pay in-home caregivers. A few other states have similar programs for low-income seniors, even if the person receiving care does not quite qualify for Medicaid. To find out about these options contact your local Medicaid office or visit benefitscheckup.org - an online service that helps seniors and their families find and enroll in federal, state, local, and private benefit programs. Other Options - If she has financial resources of her own, find out if she can afford to pay you. If she agrees, it may be a good idea for both of you

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JUNE/JULY 2010

to draft a short written contract detailing your work and payment arrangements. Or, if your mom has long-term care insurance that includes in-home care coverage, in some cases those benefits can be used to pay you. Tax Breaks - The IRS may also be able to help you out if you can show that you pay at least half of your mother’s yearly expenses, and her annual income was below $3,650 in 2009 (not counting Social Security). If so, you can claim her as a dependant on your taxes, and reduce your taxable income by $3,650. Your mom does not have to live with you to qualify as a dependent. IRS Publication 501 (see www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf or call 800-829-3676 to get a copy mailed to you) has a worksheet that can help you. If your mom’s income, however, is over $3,650, you cannot claim her as a dependent. But if you are paying at least half her living expenses, you can still get a tax break if you are helping pay her medical and long-term care costs and they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. You can include your own medical expenses in calculating the total. See the IRS publication 502 (www.irs. gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf) for details.

Support Services - If you do not qualify for caregivers pay or a tax break, you can still get some financial relief through the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). This is a federally funded program that provides aid for specific caregiver needs like respite care or adult daycare to give you a break, counseling and support groups, and supplemental services including the purchase of medical supplies, SOS emergency response systems, and even home modifications. In addition to the NFCSP, you should also check into home delivered meal programs, volunteer companion programs, and even home and personal care services. These, too, can lighten your load. To locate all the various programs and support services near you, contact your Area Agency on Aging. Call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 to get your local number or visit www.eldercare. gov. Savvy Tip: The best Web resource to search for caregiver support services and programs in your area is the Family Caregiver Alliance at caregiver.org. When you get there, click on “Family Care Navigator,” or call 800-445.8106. ISI

With age comes wisdom... Submitted by Julie Hollar-Brantley Henry is 77 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, “Pick me up.” He looked around and could not see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, “Pick me up.” Henry looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog. Henry said, “Are you talking to me?” The frog replied, “Yes, I’m talking to you. Pick

me up, kiss me, and I will turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your woman!” Henry looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket. Then the frog said, “What? Are you nuts? Didn’t you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride.” Henry opened his pocket, looked at the frog, and said, “Nah, at my age I would rather have a talking frog.” With age comes wisdom. ISI

Wisdom Of Life A 98-year-old Mother Superior from Ireland was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable. They tried giving her some warm milk to drink but she refused it. One of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen and remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened it and poured a generous amount into the warm milk. Back at Mother Superior’s bed, the nun held the glass to her lips. Mother drank a little... then a little more. Before they knew it, she had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. “Mother,” the nuns asked earnestly, “please

The Bathtub Test Submitted by Julie Hollar-Brantley During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, “How do you determine whether or not a person is ready to move into a nursing home?” “Well,” he said, “we fill up a bathtub and then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the person and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.” “Oh, I understand,” I said. “A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup, correct?” “No,” he said. “A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a private or a semi-private room?” ISI

give us some wisdom before you die.” The Mother Superior raised herself in bed and as the nuns leaned closer whispered, “Don’t sell cow!” ISI

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After something of a real winter, summer is here at last and none too soon. This is the perfect time to take the warmth of the season and spread it to your heart with a new relationship. Isn’t it time to find that special someone to enjoy all the activities and events of this special summer season? Submit your reply today and who knows...? To those who wish to respond to any of these personal ads, simply mail your message, address, phone number, and/or email address to the department number listed in the particular personal ad, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. Your response, including your address, phone number, and/or email address will be forwarded to the person placing the ad. If you answer an ad in this section, there is no guarantee that you will receive a response. That is up to the person who placed the ad. Please make sure you submit your correct address plainly printed so you can promptly receive responses. Respond to the ads in this issue and also sit down now and prepare your ad for our August/September 2010 issue. There is no charge for this service, and your ad may bring a breath of fresh air to your heart as well. Responses to personal ads appearing in this column can be submitted at any time. However, to place a personal ad, the deadline for the August/September 2010 issue is July 10, 2010. SW ranch lady, located on the Idaho-Montana border would like to meet a fellow rancher with a large hay field. I am 60+, very attractive, raise cattle and horses, ski, hunt, fish, and enjoy taking rides. I am a hard worker, non-smoker, and a light social drinker. I would like to meet a well-educated, good ol’ boy with a sense of humor. He must be in good health and mentally stimulating. I want someone to ride into the sunset with. Please send photo of hay field. Reply ISI, Dept. 6201, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. SWM, 64-years-old would enjoy meeting a lady for friendship and companionship. Someone between 60 and 70 who likes country music, taking long rides, romantic evenings, giving and receiving massages, meeting people,

long walks, rides in the country, and holding hands. I am retired, 5’5”, and 180 lbs. I enjoy camping, fishing, cooking, and romantic evenings. Reply ISI, Dept. 6202, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. Single, Native American-Irish woman. I look 50, but am 61 years old. Very healthy, 5’2½”, 130 lbs. I live in northern Idaho, faithful Christian, traditional dancer, enrolled Assiniboine Sioux, published author, business owner, artist, musician, love all kinds of music, own and ride horses, do all fun activities, no smoking, no drugs or alcohol. Only committed Christian men please. Age, nationality, and looks do not matter. Reply ISI, Dept. 6203, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. SWM, 68, country gentleman who enjoys spending time in the mountains, camping, fishing, boating, and viewing wildlife and scenery. Looking for an attractive lady who is country oriented. Must be honest and have a good sense of humor. Common interests lead to good conversation. No smoking or excessive drinking. Photo would be appreciated. Reply ISI, Dept. 6204, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. SWW, 59 years young. I have a lot to offer, and am an honest, caring, loving country girl. Non-smoker. Love to travel, camp, fish, and all that goes with it. I work and live in south central Idaho. I will support most things - but not a man. Finances did that. Looking for SWM 58-65 non-smoker, no drugs, and who likes the outdoors. Reply ISI, Dept. 6205, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. SWM, 63, tall, retired, who attempts to meet life’s challenges with honesty, compassion, humor, and a positive attitude. Enjoy natural history, animals, travel, gardening, walks, geography, botany, country living, music, and romantic evenings. Seeking friendship/companionship with a like-minded lady. Reply ISI, Dept. 6206, c/o Idaho Senior Independent, Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403. ISI

Kids are very quick… Submitted by Julie Hollar Teacher: Maria, go to the map and find North America. Maria: Here it is. Teacher: Correct. Now class, who discovered America? Class: Maria. Teacher: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor? John: You told me to do it without using tables. Teacher: Glenn, how do you spell “crocodile?” Glenn: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L. Teacher: No, that’s wrong Glenn: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it. Teacher: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water? Donald: H I J K L M N O. Teacher: What are you talking about? Donald: Yesterday you said it’s H to O. ISI

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Square dancers set friendship and fitness to music

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 19

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By Dianna Troyer Instead of wearing sweat pants to exercise, Clare Gill picks out a taffeta petticoat, skirt, and lacy blouse from her closet and heads to a square dance or a round dance. The 85-year-old Rupert resident teaches round dancing classes or cues for dances six days a week to stay fit in a fun way. “Square and round dancing are so good for the body and the mind, and it’s so much more fun than jogging or walking on a tread mill,� says Clare, who has been dancing for six decades and teaching round dancing classes for 26 years. She teaches rounds Monday through Thursday, cues for a club in Colleen Winters, left, learns the ChaCha dance steps from Pocatello on Fridays and occasionally cues Clare Gill. [Photo by Bill Schaefer] for a club in Jerome on Saturdays. “I keep busy,� she says, “and I keep doing this because it’s the greatest exercise and isn’t jarring on the joints. I’d recommend it for anyone.� One of her students, Colleen Winters, 53, of Heyburn, wore a pedometer to a dance one evening. “In two-and-a-half hours, I had walked five miles.� Clare and Colleen will be among the 300 to 500 dancers participating in the Idaho State Square and Round Dance Festival June 11-12 at Minico SPOKANE High School in Rupert. The River Reelers, the square dance club Clare % 8 < 7 , & . ( H [ LW , 76 J and Colleen belong to, are hosting the state festival. 21/,1( U H H 3 D U N LQ ) “The Idaho Square Dancing Federation is divided into five sections, and we take turns hosting the festival,� Clare says. “It was our turn this year. The festival is like a big family reunion, a chance to visit with people we might only see once a year. We like to say square dancing is ‘friendship set to music.’ At one time, we had 2,000 to 3,000 dancers at the state festivals.� Clare would like to see attendance increase. “We aren’t getting as many younger dancers as we used to. They’re either busy with other activities or don’t have the patience to learn the movements,� she says. “It’s sad because they don’t realize the camaraderie and exercise they’re missing.� Colleen admits she was initially skeptical about square dancing due to unpleasant memories of being required to square dance during a ninthgrade physical education class. “It was the most hateful thing to do. I didn’t like the country/western music, and the dance movements were boring.� Despite those memories, Colleen agreed to try square dancing, when her dad, Dr. Don Pates, invited her to be a substitute partner while his wife was vacationing. “I started three years ago. Everyone was so welcoming and patient, and we had a live caller playing more than just country/western music. I enjoyed it so much, I kept coming back.� Clare’s passion for dancing began in the early 1950s, while she was living in Oregon. “I saw some people doing it, and it looked like a lot of fun. You didn’t need a partner, either, so I started dancing aircraft and from Original collections and haven’t quit. I met my husband, John, at a dance, and we were married for 25 wonderful WWI,

WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. years before he died in 1995,� Clare says. “We A wedding dress made from danced our way to happiness.� WWII Japanese parachute silk. In 1977, when she and John moved to the Trench art and sweetheart pillows. Mini-Cassia area, they began dancing with the

River Reelers. ! " Explore personal histories from the !. / In 1984, Clare began to teach round dancing, battlefield and the home front with us! “out of necessity,� she recalls, when a man retired, # ! # and a teacher was needed to replace him. # $ " # $ " We are also available as a venue" When Clare starts a new class, she explains for special events. Call for details! the difference between square dancing and round dancing. In square dances, a caller guides dancers See our website for our through dance steps and figures. In round dances, a cuer performs the job. ! "# # $ 2010 Summer Events “In the squares, you’re dancing as much with General admission: $10 % & ' "# your hands as with your feet. Four couples are in Seniors (65+) and Military: $8 ( ) " * "$ a square, and a caller moves the dancers around Kids between 5 - 12: $4 # + , - &' ) - (. in a pattern, and you change partners. If you do / 0 everything right, the dancers are in their origi nal position when the dance ends. If everything % & doesn’t go right, you laugh about it, and still have 0 1 fun.� '()*+,-*,++, 2*)33*'(% / She compares round dancing to ballroom

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PAGE 20 IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT

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dancing. “You’re dancing with your feet. You have the same partner, and everyone is doing the same movements at the same time.” Clare likes square and round dancing equally and invites anyone who is interested to take classes, which start every fall. In addition to weekly lessons, the River Reelers host dances twice a month on the first and third Saturdays at 7 p.m. at Round-A-Square Center, 215 West,

100 South in Rupert, a hall that Clare and John bought and renovated for dancing in 1982. “It has a cement floor, so we put a cushioned, floating wood floor on top of that, so it would be more comfortable to dance on,” Clare says. Colleen says after a dance or lesson ends, the music and dance steps often continue in her mind. “When I get home after dancing, I feel

energized. It’s hard to get to sleep right away. When I do close my eyes and start to drift off, I still keep hearing the music and picturing the movements. Other dancers say they have a similar experience.” For more information about the Idaho State Square and Round Dance Festival, visit www.squaredancing.com/idahofed. ISI

Where Are They Now - Pat Harrington? By Marshall J. Kaplan One Day at a Time’s favorite superintendent is still acting, still telling funny stories and still as vibrant as ever! Pat Harrington, Jr. was born on August 13, 1929 in New York City. His father, Pat Harrington, Sr. was a song and dance vaudevillian. Pat Jr. would hang out with his dad’s friends – crooner Bing Crosby and Irish actors James Dunn and Pat O’Brien. Eventually, Pat Jr. would follow in his father’s entertainment footsteps. After completing college and military service, Pat returned to New York City where he took a job at NBC during the day and began getting small parts in plays at night. He recalls his first break, “I loved speaking in different dialects – it started with my Dad and his Irish buddies. That was part of my act – different voices. Jonathan Winters saw me doing a character called, ‘Guido Panzini’ – an Italian immigrant, and got me a gig on The Jack Paar Show.” Many appearances on Jack Paar led to Pat’s becoming a member of the famous 1950s Steve Allen Show segment, “Man on the Street” comedy team – where Pat was part of a group that included Don Knotts, Tom Poston, and Louis Nye. The 1960s saw Pat become a prolific character and voice actor on al-

most every television show of the time, from McHale’s Navy to Get Smart and F-Troop. He was also the voice of Inspector Clouseau in the animated cartoon series, The Inspector. However, Pat’s greatest character was just around the corner. In 1975, Pat was cast as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider in Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time. His role as the sleazy, yet loveable handyman lasted 10 seasons and earned Pat a Golden Globe and an Emmy. His relationship with all members of the original cast continues to this day. He considers Valerie Bertinelli like a daughter to him. Over the past twenty years, Pat has continued to work steadily in character roles in both film and television. His personal life includes weekly Wednesday lunches with his buddies – including actors James Karen and Kevin McCarthy. He loves to golf, spend time with his second wife, his four children, and grandchildren. More recently, Pat and his writing partner, former Mork and Mindy director Howie Storm, are writing a play about two best friends – one Irish, one Jewish called, Jimmy and Sam. Surely, whichever of Pat’s unique characters that he brings to the stage will bring the house down! ISI

Utah Festival Opera Is The Place To Be! Just get in your car and start driving to Logan. Whether you plan for months or just come spontaneously on a whim, you will have the time of your life! The 23,000 patrons who attend our festival opera can tell you that once you come here, you will be ours forever. It changes your life, your heart, and your soul! You will see over 250 artists from around the United States and Europe employing their various crafts to bring light, understanding, nobility, and excitement to our summer festival. We will delight in the magnificent talents of eight hands on two pianos! We will hear again the voice of Marni Nixon (aka Audrey Hepburn’s singing voice in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Deborah Kerr in The King and I) at Musica Magnifica. We will thrill to the performances in our International Operatic Competition, as well as enjoy the stunning sounds of the Lerner and Loewe Concert, Carnevale Operafesta, and The Verdi Requiem directed by Dr. Craig Jessop (former Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.) Celebrate life right here with us. We will climb every Austrian mountain, join 18th century life in Paris, laugh hysterically at the antics of a barber in Spain, and roll the dice to see if you will make it to join the fun! For more information visit www.ufoc.org or call 435-750-0300. ISI

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Do you recall as a child playing the card game Authors where you had to match the author with the title of their work? What fun we had on cold evenings and what knowledge we gained. This month’s quiz is similar – match the quotation with the work. Congratulations to Marie Fish of Post Falls who is the winner of the $25 prize for submitting the featured quiz for this issue, How Well Do You Know Your Quotations? Congratulations also to Jean Thurston of Shel-

JUNE/JULY 2010

ley for submitting the correct answers to the 60s Entertainment quiz that appeared in the April/May 2010 issue. Jean is the winner of a $25 cash prize. Two $25 cash prizes are awarded from the “Contest Corner” in each issue of the Idaho Senior Independent. One prize goes to the person who submits the entry selected by our staff as the featured quiz or puzzle in the “Contest Corner” for that issue. Turn your creativity loose and send us some good, interesting puzzles! The second $25 prize goes to the person who

submits the correct answers to the featured quiz or puzzle from the previous issue. When there is a tie, the winner is determined by a drawing. Please mail your entries to the Idaho Senior Independent, P.O. Box 3341, Great Falls, MT 59403 by July 10, 2010 for our August/September 2010 edition. Remember to work the crossword puzzle in this issue and on our website www.idahoseniorindependent.com.

How Well Do You Know Your Book Quotes? Submitted by Marie Fish, Post Falls Below are 17 numbered literary quotations and 17 lettered books and authors. On a numbered sheet of paper, write the letter of the book/author that you believe matches the numbered quotation and email or drop them in the mail to us. The winner will receive a $25 prize. Have fun! 1. Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. 2. You go hunt ‘em up and tell ‘em Will Davidson sent yuh. Weary Willie. They’ll know who yuh mean. 3. It’s hard to be optimistic on the reservation. When a glass sits on a table here, people don’t wonder if it’s half-filled or half-empty. They just hope it’s good beer. 4. Cry ‘Havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war. 5. The better part of valor is discretion, in which better part I have saved my life. 6. When you call me that, smile! 7. Call me Ishmael. 8. And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted - Nevermore! 9. “Which road should I take?” she asked… “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t know,” Alice

answered. “Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” 10. Then Revere remembered his spurs. He wrote a note to Rachel, tied it to his dog’s collar. Soon the dog was back again with his spurs. 11. It was a matter of Indian pride to betray no yielding to terror or pain, but for the prisoner to provoke his enemies to such acts of violence as would soonest produce death. 12. I ben a-buyin’ pots en pans en vittles, as I got a chanst, en patchin’ up de raf’ nights when…. “What raft, Jim?” 13. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. 14. Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day. 15. At this sale, of course, I found myself in company with the old broken-down horses - some lame, some broken-winded, some old, and some that it would have been merciful to shoot. 16. If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied before they had me.

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17. Cause I’s wicked, - I is. I’s mighty wicked, anyhow I can’t help it. A. Julius Caesar – William Shakespeare B. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger C. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll D. The Virginian – Owen Wister E. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven – Sherman Alexie F. Moby Dick – Herman Melville G. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell H. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien I. Paul Revere and the Alarum – by Esther Forbes J. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens K. The Whoop-Up Trail – B.M. Bower L. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe M. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain N. The Raven – Edgar Allan Poe O. Henry the Fourth – William Shakespeare P. The Deerslayer – James Fenimore Cooper Q. Black Beauty – Anna Sewell ISI

Answers to “How Well Do You Know 1960s Entertainment?” Submitted by Nancy Sievers, Blackfoot 8. Mr. Ed 1. Gunsmoke 9. Clampett 2. Steve McQueen 10. Star Trek 3. The Man From Uncle 11. West Side Story 4. Hole-in-the-wall Gang 12. Fred Flintstone 5. Dr. Kildare 13. Darrin 6. Hawaii Five-O 14. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 7. Mary Poppins 15. Cartwright ISI

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By Julie Hollar Brantley There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which are not sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers do not fing, grocers do not groce, and hammers do not ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? ISI

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Across 1. “I ___ Miss You,” Keith Anderson single 5. This famous country lady was named after the pop song “Route 66” 10. Popular song 11. Third in the family 12. And so on... 13. Leonard Cohen song “___ Your Man” 14. “How Can I Try to __ Better?” Taylor Swift in “The Outside” 15. Starbucks order 16. George ___, he was married to Tammy Wynette 17. Game arbiter

19. Cowboy ___, he is a prominent performer of “hick-hop” 21. Time period, for short 23. Ace __ spades 24. __ Toro preceder 25. “Stand by your ___” 26. Lee ___ Womack, “I Hope You Dance,” singer 28. ___ Loveless, she sang a duet with Bob Segar in 2006 30. “Johnny B Goode” by Judas ____ 32. ___ Bruce, he penned the song “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” 33. ___ Black, “A Better Man” singer 35. “Crossfire” singer initials 36. Stylish 37. ___ T. Hall, he was part of the Kentucky Travelers 40. Poke fun at 41. Bristle 43. Rich’s partner 45. Scale note 46. David Allan ___, he was part of the countrymetal band, Rebel Meets Rebel 47. “I am __ lonesome I could cry” 49. ___ Buxton, she co-wrote Keith Urban’s “Single Boy” 50. Mister, politely 52. “___ Back,” The Lost Trailers hit 53. “___ Day,” Rascal Flatts tune

Down 1. “You Look Good In My ___,” according to Keith Urban 2. Faith’s leading man 3. Technical department

Oxymorons Submitted by Julie Hollar-Brantley 1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks? 2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand? 3. If a word were misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know? 4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words? 5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is whack? 6. Why do “slow down” and “slow up” mean the same thing? 7. Why do “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing? 8. Why do tugboats push their barges? 9. Why do we sing “Take me out to the ball game” when we are already there? 10. Why are they called grandstands when they are made for sitting? 11. Why is it called after dark when it really is after light? 12. Doesn’t expecting the unexpected make the unexpected expected? 13. Why are a “wise man” and a “wise guy” opposite? 14. Why do “overlook” and “oversee” mean opposite things? 15. Why is phonics not spelled the way it sounds? 16. If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it? 17. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting? 18. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? 19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right? 20. Why is bra singular and panties plural? 21. Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead? 22. Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase? 23. How come abbreviated is such a long word? 24. Why do we wash bath towels? Aren’t we clean when we use them? 25. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle? 26. Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one? 27. Christmas - What other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

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4. Debt security 5. Gretchen ___, Grammy Award-winning singer of “Redneck Woman” 6. ___ Gritty Dirt Band, American country-folkrock band 7. Never to a poet 8. National Trust, abbr. 9. Roy ___, he may be the “King of Country Music” 14. Johnny Cash’s, “A ___ Named Sue” 16. Jar 18. Endless times 20. “I ___ between the lines of words you can’t disguise” Alison Krauss 22. Bonnie ___, her album Nick of Time, won three Grammy Awards 25. “__ Kind of Woman, ___ Kind of Man” 27. Compass direction 28. Exercise class 29. ___ Clark, Canadian country singer who’s debut single was “Better Things to Do” 30. Pub order 31. Dr. helper 34. “Drink, Swear, Steal and ___” Country Blend 35. “But he’s such in other things that will __ him so free” Jim Capaldi from “Man With No Country” 38. Overweight 39. Mine, in Madrid 40. Country singers Gracin or Turner 41. Nashville ___, USA Network’s country music show 42. Heart problem? 44. ___ Allen, he’s “Learning How to Bend” 48. Zeros 49. Florida is in the __ of the US 51. Infrared, for short

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U.S. Navy B to Headline Idah

Celebrating 75 years

208.612.8552 www.idahofallszoo.org

This summer the sky will rumble as the Blue Angels Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron headlines the Extreme Blue Thunder air show at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. The team’s F/A-18 jets tear through the sky, executing graceful aerobatic maneuvers in such close formations that there is little margin for error. The show is an awesome aerial demonstration of both the jets’ and pilots’ capabilities. These $21 million-dollar jets can reach speeds just under Mach 2, which is almost twice the speed of sound. The Blue Angels have not performed in the Idaho Falls area since the Arco air show seven years ago. Winning Idaho Falls a spot on the exclusive schedule was no easy feat, since the Blues only perform at 35 shows per year. In fact, Idaho Falls’ show is the only Blue Angels performance in the Intermountain Northwest this year. The Extreme Blue Thunder air show will be held over two days at the airport July 24-25, and will feature performances by such notable pilots as Kyle Franklin, Matt Younkin, Greg Poe, and the Air Force Demonstration Team, as well as a P-51 Mustang demonstration, a Heritage Flight, and a parachute demo. Kyle and his wife Amanda Franklin and Matt Younkin are all third generation pilots who come from well-known families in the aviation community. Kyle is the son of legendary air show pilot Jimmy Franklin, Matt is the son of legendary air show pilot Bobby Younkin, and Amanda, being Matt’s sister and Kyle’s wife, ties the two families together. Kyle Franklin performs an astonishing air show act in Jimmy Franklin’s original Waco Mystery Ship. This fast, loud, low, and aggressive act includes an inverted flat spin and many outside aerobatics. Kyle and Amanda also perform a wing walking show, with Amanda riding the lower wing and even the crow’s nest through loops, rolls, tailslides, and hammerheads. Reaching speeds in excess of 180 mph and sustaining up to five positive and three negative Gs, this is a demanding routine. Matt Younkin’s Beech 18 performance is likely the most unusual act on the air show circuit today. The Beech 18 was never designed for aerobatic flight; but Matt takes the plane to new heights. The performance is almost a mirror image of the one his father Bobby pioneered and flew for over 15 years. The Extreme Blue Thunder Air Show will offer a day of fun for the entire

JUNE/JULY 2010

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Blue Angels o Falls Air Show family, featuring kids’ activities, concessions, static displays, souvenirs and more. “We’ve been able to line up an amazing group of performers and static displays. There is truly something for everyone at the show,” said Ann Riedesel, Idaho Falls Air Show chair. Tickets are $15 in advance for adults and $20 at the gate; kids ages 6-10 are $10 advance and $15 at the gate; children 5 and under are free; and active military with ID will be admitted free. Tickets are available online at www.idahofallsairshow.com, as well as at all 10 Idaho Westmark Credit Union locations. Westmark has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the air show. “We can’t say enough about Westmark,” said Riedesel. “They have been on board supporting the show from day one and their generous cash donation, along with all of their volunteer efforts, has helped make the show possible.” A number of area companies and individuals have also stepped up to sponsor the event. An experienced board of directors is organizing the air show. An event of this caliber requires many helping hands, and staff of nearly 45 community volunteers has been working hard to make the show a success. They have been coordinating everything from developing show collateral and advertising, to contracting with performers and securing sponsorships, to organizing logistics and safety for a show that is expected to draw over 20,000 spectators over the weekend. The Extreme Blue Thunder air show has made a commitment to support the local community. In addition to the tourism and commerce that the show is expected to bring to the area, the board has chosen local companies to manage concessions, provide air show rentals, and create the air show advertising. A local non-profit will also receive the proceeds from the show. “A show like this has the opportunity to have a substantial economic effect in the community, and we’re proud to say that we are fulfilling our goal to do so,” said Riedesel. The Extreme Blue Thunder website, www.idahofallsairshow.com, includes information about show times, tickets, performers, static displays, family activities, and sponsors. ISI

25th Anniversary Burley: July 28-30, 2010 Rexburg: July 31-August 7, 2010 Blackfoot: August 3, 2010

Fill Fill the theHart Hart

$3 Bleachers $10 Red Seats

Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce 127 E Main Rexburg ID, 83440 208-356-5700/1-888-463-6880

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North Idaho Adventures - Continued from page 8 4.5 miles, paralleling the trail, towards Higgens Point to the large parking areas at the end of the road. There are plenty of waysides to stop at to picnic, rest, use the bathroom, and enjoy the peaceful scenery. Marina parking is at the end of the road, and requires a day-use fee. The paved trail continues about .25 mi. more, uphill to Higgens Point, where

a park sits at the top of the knoll. On the side of the trail before you climb up the final hill, there are two viewing scopes, which are great for bird watching and gazing at the boating activity on the lake. At the flat top of Higgens Point, take in panoramic views of Blue Creek Bay, Wolf Lodge Bay, and Beauty Bay. Foot trails lead off the point, down to the beach, and back to the paved trail.

Information: North Idaho Centennial Trail www.northidahocentennialtrail.org; and North Idaho Information www.fyinorthidaho.com. Natalie Bartley is a Boise-based author of the newly released Best Easy Day Hikes Boise guidebook and the Best Rail Trails Pacific Northwest guidebook, available at outdoor retail shops and bookstores. ISI

Summer activities along the International Selkirk Loop Article and photos by Natalie Bartley For uncrowded experiences, take a drive on the North America’s only designated multi-country scenic loop this summer. The International Selkirk Loop National Scenic Byway travels 280 miles through Idaho and Washington in the United States, and through British Columbia in Canada. The Selkirk Mountains serve as the anchoring theme and constant scenery. Twelve different highways provide access to the Selkirk Loop. Excursions off the main loop are identified as Super Side Trips, which highlight themes and each town’s natural beauty, music, arts, and special events. Below are snapshots of a few of the activities along the scenic byway between Idaho and British Columbia. Allow a minimum of two to three days for the Selkirk Loop and a few detours. Access the Selkirk Loop in Idaho at Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille, at the junction of US 95 and 2. Check out the restaurants, and shops. After refueling, head north on US 95/2 toward Bonners Ferry, the official location of International Selkirk Loop Headquarters. It is the best place to gather information. A few miles north of Sandpoint is Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Starting on June 25, this ski resort converts to a warm weather playground, and the Great Escape Quad ski lift starts transporting visitors to the top of 6,400-foot Schweitzer Mountain. The scenic

ride provides a panoramic view of your upcoming road trip below. Two countries and three states are visible from the summit. A single adult ride costs $10, and seniors pay only $8. The lift runs until early September and provides access to over 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Heading north, th highway becomes the Id Idaho 1, and after the C a n a d i a n b o r d e r, H Highway 21. Creston, B British Columbia is a about ten miles north o the border and is of th gateway to the Orthe c chards Galore Super S Side Trip on Highway 3 heading east. This ro route is a cornucop of fresh fruits for pia s snacking and locally m made wine for gift giving. Farms offer “pick-your-own” and roadside fruit stands. Raspberries, strawberries, peaches, apricots, nectarines, and apples are in abundance, depending on the month. Reconnect with the Selkirk Loop south of Creston. West of Creston, on Highway 3, is the 17,000-acre, Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area and Interpretation Center that is open May through October. Watch for any of the 265+ bird species in the area by using one of the two viewing towers or while canoeing in the wetlands. If you can tear yourself away from fresh fruit, wine, and wildlife, more adventures are ahead. North of Creston on Highway 3A, the Selkirk Loop travels beside the 90-mile long Kootenay Lake, the third largest lake in British Columbia. Talk about incredible scenery! Look to the west, where the Selkirk Mountain Range serves as a backdrop to the glittering lake. Further north on Highway 3A, the road ends at the ferry terminal at Kootenay Bay. Another Selkirk Loop highlight is riding the free ferry across the width of the lake to Balfour at the entry to Kootenay Lake’s West Arm. Departures occur frequently during the day. The ferry takes all types of vehicles, offers food service, and lasts about 40 minutes. From Balfour, the Selkirk Loop heads south

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on Highway 3A towards Nelson, British Columbia. Alternatively, head north on Highway 31, for a detour on the North Kootenay Lake and the Silvery Slocan Super Side Trip. After a chilly morning ferry ride, we warmed at the Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort about 12 miles north of Balfour along Highway 31. The outside pool affords views of Kootenay Lake while you soak in the warm healing waters. One unique feature of the hot springs is the cave where visitors wade or float on their stomachs through this u-shaped grotto in near total darkness. Built in the 1920s, the pool and caves were renovated in later years. Overnight accommodations include complementary passes to the hot

springs, which are open year-round. Once back on the Selkirk Loop south of Nelson, the scenic byway continues south on Highway 6, then becomes Washington 31 and 20, and ultimately returns to Sandpoint via Idaho 2. Border Crossing Information: Bring your passport - you will need it at the border crossings. Pets must have current rabies certificate issued within the past 36 months. You can read in advance about border crossing requirements at www.britishcolumbia.com/ information/details.asp?id=4; www.cbp.gov; and www.passportinfo.com. Detailed information on the International Selkirk Loop is available in a 64-page Travel

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Guide at visitor centers, www.selkirkloop.org, or 1-888-823-2626. Learn about: • Kootenay Lake Free Ferry Schedule at www.balfourcanada.com. • Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort at www. hotnaturally.com or 1-800-668-1171. • Schweitzer Mountain Resort at 1-800-8318810 or www.schweitzer.com. Natalie Bartley is a Boise-based author of the newly released Best Easy Day Hikes Boise guidebook and the Best Rail Trails Pacific Northwest guidebook, available at outdoor retail shops and bookstores. ISI

Rules of Golf – Some for Seniors... Some for Real? By Tait Trussell Considering that golf is often called the most frustrating game on earth and is played according to a 264-page rule book, why are more than 37 million men and women - many over 65 - spending scores of millions of dollars a year on the game? Could it be the thrill of seeing a drive take flight from the tee box and land in the center of the fairway, or sinking a 25-foot putt? Neither is always true, because the average golfer shoots over 100. Golf has been played since its origin in Scotland in the 11th century. And, according to a National Golf Foundation study, there has been a 5 percent rise in the number of rounds played each year. Seniors have a large advantage over the pros in one respect. They have a chance to shoot their age – considered one of the most difficult feats in the game. Obviously, no 25-yearold or even 45-year-old professional has a chance of shooting that figure in the regulation 18 holes. But a golfer who is 75 or 80 has a fair chance of shooting his or her age on occasion, if he is a good golfer. “It’s an exciting day when and if it happens,” related Arnold Palmer, one of the gods of the game. “I remember the day I first did it in a tournament - on my 66th birthday in the Champions Tour event in Seattle in 1995, and it was touch and go right up to the last putt. It’s been easier every year since then,” the aging Palmer added with a chuckle. Compared with most sports today, golf is a genteel game, where players are expected - if they break a rule - to call it on themselves. Meaning they usually have to take an extra stroke or sometimes two strokes depending on the severity of the violation. Among the 34 main rules of the game, for example, Rule 32-2 on Disqualification Penalties says, “A competitor is disqualified from the competition for a breach of a host of regulations, including undue delay or slow play under rule 6-7,” which says, “The player must play without

Seniors have a large advantage over the pros in one respect. They have a chance to shoot their age – considered one of the most difficult feats in the game. Obviously, no 25-year-old or even 45-year- old professional has a chance of shooting that figure in the regulation 18 holes. undue delay and in accordance with any pace of play guidelines that the committee (local golf committee) may establish. Between completion of a hole and playing from the next teeing ground, the player must not unduly delay play.” Then a variety of penalties is listed for a breach of rule 6-7, including references to other rules. Or, “Every player is entitled and obliged to play the ball from the position where it has come to rest after a stroke, unless a rule allows or demands otherwise (Rule 13-10). Some rules are so onerous and complex, that many golfers are unfamiliar with, or overlook, them. A few golfers carry a copy of the rules book with them and dispute a violation by their competitor - usually in a friendly manner. But many rules are broken by the scratch player. For example, many golfers take a mulligan, or second drive, on the first hole, if their first drive goes array. A former college fraternity brother and fellow golfer has taken this to the limit. He jokingly suggested that “fantasy golf” be allowed. According to his theory of such a game, “When you don’t like your shot, plop down another ball and hit it. If you do not

like that, plop down another ball. Eventually a ball will go where you want it to go. Do not score any of the lousy balls. They must have been faulty in their manufacture.” Other latitudes are as extreme. Golf rules for seniors should be modified, according to one humorist, as follows: “Rule 1.a.5: A ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and placed in the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. The senior should not be penalized for tall grass that greens keepers failed to mow. “Rule 2.D.6 (b): A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The senior must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there. Rule 6.a.9 (k): There is no penalty for so-called “out of bounds.” If penny-pinching golf course owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The senior golfer deserves an apology not a penalty.” Yes, it is easy to see how changing the rules could change the game. ISI

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Museum of Idaho presents: From Wolf To Woof: The Story of Dogs The Museum of Idaho is going to the dogs... lots of dogs - along with wolves, coyotes, foxes, and other members of the canine family. The Museum trots out its 2010 exhibit season with Wolf To Woof: The Story of Dogs, a traveling exhibit created by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and presented by Wonderworks Exhibits Company. This exhibit, which will be at the Museum through September 11, 2010, is the largest and most comprehensive exhibit ever created to explore the history of dogs and their role in human society. Dogs are some of our oldest friends, but why? Why have humans formed such close relationships with dogs and not with one of the other species sharing the planet with us? Why not horses, cows, pigs, or chickens? Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs uses multi-media displays, artifacts, photomurals, and dioramas that explore how our relationship evolved and what makes it so unique. Special interactive hands-on areas let visitors guess what dogs are saying in a “howling area,” test their nose against a dog’s great sense of smell, or climb into an avalanche scene to see what it is like to be saved by a search and rescue dog. There are four themed sections in the exhibition, each focusing on a different aspect of how dogs have evolved and the roles they have played in human lives over the centuries. Dogs come in all shapes and varieties, and section one illustrates the amazing versatility of dogs and how their appearance has changed through time, both naturally and with the help of humans. It also addresses the geographical origins and history of select domestic dog breeds, many species of wild canines, as well as extinct canine relatives. The first domesticated dogs would have earned their keep as hunters, pack animals, and guardians for their human companions. Gradually, different breeds began to evolve based on need and environment. However, scientists cannot agree on exactly

how this process took place. Perhaps early humans found and adopted wolf puppies, with natural selection favoring the survival of those who adapted to human society. Or perhaps dogs domesticated themselves. Human settlement inevitably creates human refuse dumps, which would have been an easy source of food. Perhaps over time, succeeding generations of wolves became accustomed to being around humans. However it happened - once dogs discovered a warm fire and a regular food

supply, and once humans discovered a bed warmer and companion - the bonds have strengthened over the centuries. Today, the domestic dog comes in a mindboggling array of shapes, sizes, and colors, from tiny Chihuahuas to Giant Mastiff, some 400 recognized breeds in all. And that does not begin to count today’s popular designer breeds, or Heinz 57 varieties. Since there is a little wolf in every dog, section two explores why dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, foxes, and their kin do the things they do, and how and when they behave in different ways. Genetically, the DNA makeup of wolves and dogs is almost identical, but selective breeding of dogs over the

centuries for certain characteristics has given them the different physical and personality traits that make one breed different from another, and sets them apart from their wild relatives. Section three explores the skills dogs have that help humans. From their incredible sense of smell to their stamina, the abilities of dogs have made the lives of humans a lot easier and they have become involved in all aspects of everyday life. Dogs have served as hunters, herders, guards, and warriors, as well as companions. They can help cheer people up, assist people with disabilities, sniff out bombs and drugs, find lost people, and warn their owners of an oncoming seizure. The fate of many wild canines also depends on humans. As human population has grown, pollution, hunting, and habitat destruction have altered the environments that wild canines need to survive. Some have learned to adapt, like the coyote, who has found a niche even in large cities like Los Angeles and New York, but they, along with other wild canines, still need human help in order to continue surviving. Special items from the Yellowstone Wolf Project, including radio collars, skulls, and pelts, will highlight the effective but still controversial efforts to reestablish the wolf in Yellowstone National Park and the on-going efforts to provide an environment where humans and wolves can co-exist. During the course of the exhibit local animal shelters, veterinarians, and the Humane Society will participate with an adoption wall, and events are being planned with local kennel clubs, the Yellowstone Wolf Project, and local veterinarians. Located at 200 N. Eastern Avenue, Idaho Falls, Idaho, The Museum of Idaho is open Mon-Tues 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Wed.-Sat. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., closed Sundays and holidays. For more information, visit www.museumofidaho.org or call 208-522-1400.

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A tomato is the fruit of peace By Bill Hall I have discovered a tomato that reminds me of a book about World War II. People my age and older have been haunted all our lives by the Second World War. Thus we are astonished at how unimaginably different relations are between the United States and Japan today. The start of that war is unusually sharp in my mind because the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is the first memory of my life. And now, in later years, the Japanese have repeatedly invaded my thoughts in pleasant ways. Warm events keep bringing me into contact with Japan, though I have never been there. The connection began with a Sunday dinner on December 7, 1941. Our family was at the home of fellow farmers when a bulletin came on the radio. I was 4½ years old so I don’t remember the words. I remember only that my parents were so visibly distressed that we immediately headed home, without eating dinner. From that day forward the war would involve me personally on a daily basis. The war involved everyone on a daily basis, young and old, civilian and soldier – not like the wars of today that the politicians have made relatively painless for the populace, a foolish move if we are to sort out the unnecessary wars from the truly desperate ones. Today’s wars are fought almost entirely by members of the military and their families. The rest of us concern ourselves mostly with selfish things, things like pushing politically for cuts in our taxes – and paying no new taxes for our expensive wars. That book I recently read, Goodbye Darkness, is about World War II, about combat troops fighting in the Pacific and dying by the thousands every day. The author is William Manchester (who died at 82 in 2004), an American marine who was in the thick of those savage island battles. He was seriously wounded but survived to

come home and write amazing biographies on Winston Churchill and Gen. Douglas McArthur. He has said of the two leaders, “Actors who have tried to play Churchill and MacArthur have failed abysmally because each of those men was a great actor playing himself.� For those who went through that war, there is no erasing the memory of its brutality. But another, astonishing Japan has emerged as the decades have rolled by. A civilized new Japan has developed, a nation now made up largely of people born since the war ended. After the savagery of a previous generation, the Americans and Japanese have found friendship today, a development that was unimaginable 65 years ago. Things changed rather quickly as the bleeding stopped. I was a young reporter when I had dinner one night back in the 1960s with the Japanese pilot who flew the lead plane in the attack on Pearl Harbor. He had become a Christian minister and was flying around our country trying to save souls. Not many years thereafter, I met and married my wife, a woman in charge of teaching English to international students, including many Japanese. They were good-natured kids and mostly oblivious, so far as I could tell, to the errors of their great grandparents. Today, I find myself rooting for and admiring Ichiro Suzuki, the Japanese all-star right fielder playing for the noble Seattle Mariners. One night, our family attended a Mariners game where a family from Japan with a small boy sat next to us in the right-field seats. Ichiro drove in the winning run, and that small Japanese boy high-fived me. He was about the age I was when that Pearl Harbor bulletin ruined a Sunday dinner. And now, almost as a symbol of humanity’s better nature, I have discovered a great Japanese tomato. Each spring for years now, I have planted the gold standard, Early Girl, an almost perfect

blend of sweet and sour. Each year, I also plant other varieties. But they never equal Early Girl – until last summer. A local nursery sold me a momotaro, a mediumsized, dark pink Japanese tomato that is a tad tastier than an Early Girl. It’s hard for a tomato gardener to hate a country that can do that. Somewhere deep in the bones of human beings there remains a hope that we can one day learn to resist our periodic lethal binges. Therefore, because the people of Japan and of America have proven the potential for constant peace, some power has now awarded them a great tomato. There are few honors more gratifying, healthy, or delicious than that. Hall may be contacted at wilberth@cableone. net or at 1012 Prospect Ave., Lewiston, ID 8, (OSPICE )$3R)ND PDF !83501. ISI

Play on Words Submitted by Julie Hollar A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months. A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal. Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking. We’ll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply. When the smog lifts in Hollywood, UCLA. The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it. The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground. The dead batteries were given out free of charge. If you take a laptop computer for a run, you could jog your memory. A dentist and a manicurist fought tooth and nail. What is the definition of a will? It’s a dead giveaway. A bicycle can’t stand alone - it is two tired. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. A backward poet writes inverse. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your Count that votes. I’m tired of sit-ups. The waist is a terrible thing to mind! A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. If you don’t pay your exorcist, you can be re-

possessed. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress. Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner. When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully covered. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France the result was Linoleum Blownapart. You are stuck with your debt if you can’t budge it. He broke into song because he couldn’t find the key. A calendar’s days are numbered. A lot of money is tainted – ‘taint yours, and ‘taint mine. A plateau is a high form of flattery. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end. ISI

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How to Organize and Remember Your Medications By Jim Miller of Savvy Senior Dear Savvy Senior, My mom and dad could sure use some help keeping up with all their medications. Between the two of them, they take 11 prescription drugs and that does not include all the vitamins or over-the-counter medicines they take. Their kitchen counter literally looks like a pharmacy. What can you recommend that can help them keep up with their medicine? Pill Tracking Patty Dear Patty, Anybody who juggles multiple medications can relate to the problem of forgetting to take a medication, or not remembering whether they already took it. Here are some solutions that can help. Medication Helpers - Getting organized and being reminded! This magic combination can help your parents stay on top of their medication regimens. And with all the self-help products and tools that are available today, it is easy to do. Today, there is a bevy of inexpensive pill organizers and medication reminders on the market that are incredibly helpful, and the best place to find them is at www.epill.com (or call 800-549-0095). This is the granddaddy of medication helpers that offers dozens of different pillboxes, vibrating watches, beeping pill bottles and pagers, and even dispensers that talk to you. Forgettingthepill.com is another good resource to check. And for some unique medication management products, consider the following: • Talking pillbox: For $70, MedCenter (www. medcentersystems.com; 866-600-3244) offers a neat product that organizes a month’s worth of pills and alerts you up to four times a day when your medication is due. • Smart pillboxes: These are small, fit-inyour-hand, high-tech, portable devices that chime or beep when it’s time to take your medication; let you know which medicine to take at that particular time; how to take it; and will remind you if you missed a dose. They can even be set up to alert a caregiver if desired. To learn more see the Med-eMonitor (www.informedix. com; 888-582-4480; $30/month rental fee) and MedSignals (www.medsignals.com; 866-9659200; $200 purchase price). Prepackaged Meds - Another way you can simplify your parent’s medicine consumption is by prepackaging their individual doses, and there are various ways to do it. One is with DailyMed (www.dailymedrx.com; 800-973-1955), a pharmacy dispensing service that provides, sorts, and organizes prescription drugs, vitamins, and over-the-counter medications into individual, single-dose packets that are labeled in large print with the day and time they need to be taken. The cost for DailyMed is $15/month,

not including medication costs. Or if you want to do it yourself there is Dose Guardian ($200; www.doseguardian.com; 804-726-5448), an easy-to-use home device that lets you do the organizing and packaging right at your own kitchen table. If your parents are in need of comprehensive medication assistance, consider EMMA ($10/ day rental; www.inrangesystems.com; 814940-1870), MD2 ($745; www.epill.com/md2. html; 800-549-0095) or CompuMed ($900 or $100/month rental; www.compumed.com; 800722-4417). These are sophisticated, homebased machines that will not only remind your parents when it is time to take their medication, it also dispenses exactly what they need to take and will report to a caregiver if they miss a dose. Reminding Services - If forgetfulness is the main problem, there are electronic services available today like OnTimeRx where you can have your parents called, e-mailed or paged for all types of reminders – daily medications, monthly refills, doctor and dentist appointments, or other events, for $10 to $30 a month (407-8438966; www.ontimerx. com). CareCalls (www. parentcarecall.com; 888-275-3098) is another service that offers medication reminders, wake up calls, and more over the phone, along with caregiver alerts if your loved one does not answer within three tries. Send your senior questions to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. ISI

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Periodontal Diseases May Aggravate Pre-Diabetic Characteristics 54 Million Americans Have Pre-Diabetes Periodontal diseases may contribute to the progression to pre-diabetes, according to a new study that appears in the March issue of the Journal of Periodontology. Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not

high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. The American Diabetes Association estimates 54 million people in the United States have prediabetes, and a significant portion of those people will develop Type 2 diabetes within 10 years. Researchers from Denmark investigated if having periodontal diseases can influence prediabetes and contribute to the progression of diabetes. They found that having periodontal disease could cause someone to develop prediabetic characteristics, and probably disturb the glucose regulation of a non-diabetic who has pre-diabetic characteristics, contributing to the progression of Type 2 diabetes. The study, conducted with rat models known to exhibit prediabetes characteristics, is believed to be the first to evaluate the relationship between periodontitis and pre-diabetes. “This study found that having periodontal diseases could alter the metabolic conditions that would probably lead to the progression to pre-diabetic characteristics and Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Carla Pontes Andersen, Department of Peri-

odontology at the University of Copenhagen. “We have known that people with diabetes are more susceptible to periodontal diseases and have more severe disease,” said Dr. Preston D. Miller, Jr., President of the American Academy of Periodontology. “This breakthrough research shows having periodontal disease may aggravate pre-diabetes which is a precursor for diabetes. These findings underscore the importance of taking good care of your teeth and gums: it may be a simple way to prevent diabetes, or to prevent the progression of diabetes.” To assess your periodontal health visit www. perio.org and click on “Assess your gum disease risk.” To check if you may be at risk of developing diabetes, visit http://www.diabetes.org/risk-test. jsp. Visit the AAP website, www.perio.org for a referral to a periodontist and free brochure titled Diabetes & Periodontal Diseases, or call 800/ FLOSS-EM (800-356-7736) toll-free. The American Academy of Periodontology is an 8,000-member association of dental professionals specializing in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth and in the placement and maintenance of dental implants. Periodontics is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association. ISI

Get Protection With Shingles Vaccine By Jim Miller The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone age 60 and older should get a shingles vaccination. Here is what you should know. Pesky Virus - Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful and itching skin rash that affects more than a million Americans each year. It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox (varicella-zoster). What happens is the chickenpox virus that most people get as kids, never leaves the body. It retreats into the nerve cells near the spinal cord where it lies dormant, with the possibility of re-emerging decades later. In the U.S., one out of every three people will develop shingles during their lifetime. While anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles, it most commonly occurs in people over age 50, and the risk increases with age. In fact, about half of those who reach 85 will have suffered a bout of shingles. Those with a weakened immune system are also vulnerable. Nasty Rash - Shingles is a nasty rash and more! Early signs include pain, itching, or tingling before a blistering rash appears several days later, and can last up to four weeks. The rash typically occurs on one side of the body, often as a band of blisters that extends from the middle of your back around to the breastbone. It can also appear above an eye or on the side of the face or neck. In addition to the rash, more than one-third who get shingles go on to develop serious complications such as post-herpetic neuralgia, a severe nerve pain that can last for months or even years. If it occurs on the face, it can affect vision and hearing, or cause brain inflammation. And according to a recent study, shingles can also raise the risk of stroke by around 30 percent in those who get it. Get Vaccinated - The only vaccine for shingles, Zostavax, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006 and has proven to be very effective. While it is not foolproof, Zostavax will prevent shingles in half the people who get the shot, and it will be a much milder case. Everyone, age 60 and older that has had the chickenpox, including those that are not sure they have had it, should get vaccinated. Even if you have already had shingles, you still need the vaccination because reoccurring cases are possible. The only people, ages 60 and older, who should not be vaccinated are those who are allergic to gelatin or neomycin, have a weakened immune system, or take high doses of steroids. You also need to know that the shingles vaccination is covered by most insurance plans including Medicare, but only if you have a Part D prescription drug plan. If you are not covered you can expect to pay between $150 and $300 for the one-time shot. For more information or to locate a vaccine provider in your area, talk to your doctor, visit Zostavax.com, or call 800-672-6372. Also

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note that if you are uninsured and cannot afford this vaccine, Merck, the maker of Zostavax, offers a vaccine assistance program that provides the shot free of charge. Call 800-293-3881 or see merck.com/merckhelps/vaccines for details. If You Get Shingles - While there is no cure for shingles, it is usually treated with antiviral medications that can help speed up the heal-

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 33

ing process and reduce the pain, severity, and potential complications of the attack. Acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), or valacyclovir (Valtrex) are commonly prescribed. Your doctor will decide which of these medicines might work best for you, but you will need to act quickly because these medicines work best if you start taking them within the first 72 hours after you get

the rash. It is also important to note that no one can catch shingles from you, but they can catch chickenpox if they have not already had chickenpox or had the chickenpox vaccine – but only by direct contact with the rash. So if you have shingles, stay away from babies and kids who have not had the chickenpox and pregnant women. ISI

Taking Care of Your Diabetes? High Blood Pressure? Protect your Kidneys Too! Do you know how well your kidneys are working? You have probably never given it a thought. Those amazing bean-shaped organs in your back have “got your back,” ridding your body of drugs, toxins, water, and wastes, and regulating important body chemicals and hormones. Like sight, or movement, or taste, the gifts your kidneys give you usually are taken for granted - until they are lost. Twenty million Americans have some form of chronic kidney disease, or CKD, a condition that can lead to kidney failure and even death. Currently it is the ninth-leading cause of death in this country, and it is challenging to treat well because many people do not realize they have it until it is well advanced. Are you at risk? Anyone can get CKD, but if you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you should be tested. Ask your doctor if you need a urine albumin test, which measures protein in your urine or a blood creatinine test, which measures a by-product of protein breakdown in your blood. These two tests give a good indication of whether you may be in trouble; creatinine results can be used to measure your GFR (glomerular filtration rate), which gauges the degree of possible damage if kidney disease has started. The good news is there are things you can do to slow and maybe even stop the progression of CKD. If you have diabetes, the secret is no secret: do all those things your physician has rec-

ommended. Take special care to keep your blood sugar, blood pressure, and lipids at recommended levels. Lose weight. Exercise. Do not smoke. Also, if you have high blood pressure, make sure your doctor considers prescribing one of two blood-pressure medications. ACEIs and ARBs (stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers) have a protective effect on your kidneys. If you are not diabetic and your high blood pressure is a factor in your CKD, these medicines will work for you too, as well as all those good lifestyle changes addressing weight, cholesterol, and exercise. To find out more about CKD, visit the National Kidney Foundation’s Web site, www.kidney.org, or contact the Montana Diabetes and CKD Partnership at 800-497-8232, ext. 5885. This material was prepared by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. ISI

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By Jim Miller There are several ways the new healthcare reform law will affect people on Medicare and those planning for their retirement years. Here are some of the key changes you should understand. Drug Benefit Boost - If you are one of the 27 million people who has a Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan, healthcare reform has just upgraded your coverage. People that fall into the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole will get a $250 rebate to help pay for their medications this year, and a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs next year. By 2020, the coverage gap will be eliminated. That means that people who now pay 100 percent of their drug costs once they are in the doughnut hole will pay 25 percent. Currently, people fall into the doughnut hole

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  

once they hit their $2,830 annual limit. Then they have to pay $3,610 out-of-pocket for drugs before prescription coverage picks up again at $6,440. Free Screenings - In addition to the prescription drug plan improvements, Medicare’s preventive services will also be beefed-up under the new law. Currently, traditional Medicare covers a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” physical, but only to new beneficiaries within the first 12 months of enrollment. And, they pay 80 percent of most health screening costs with you footing

the bill for the remaining 20 percent. But starting next year, Medicare beneficiaries can get free annual wellness exams and preventive tests, like screenings for high blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers. Dis-Advantaged - The news is not so good for people who have a Medicare Advantage plan. These are plans run by private insurers and are an alternative to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). Many of these plans offer extra benefits that Original Medicare does not provide like free eyeglasses, hearing aids, and even gym memberships. These extra benefits, however, come at an extra cost. Studies have shown that Medicare Advantage plans cost the government 14 percent more on average than Original Medicare. That is why the new healthcare law will cut around $135 billion in subsidies over the next three-to-six years to the private insurers who

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offer these plans. What all this means is that the 10 million people that have Medicare Advantage can expect their premiums or copayments to increase, or their extra benefits to be reduced, or both, over the next few years. Keep in mind that if you are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, you can switch to Original Medicare and join a prescription drug plan any time during the open enrollment period, which is now between January 1 and February 15. To help you compare your Medicare Advantage plan with other plans in your area or with Original Medicare, visit www.medicare. gov/mppf or call 800-633-4227. And to evaluate Part D prescription drug plans, see www.medicare.gov/mpdpf. Long-Term Care - Another prevision in the healthcare reform law that older workers approaching retirement should know about is the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, which is a voluntary long-term care

IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT PAGE 35

insurance program available through employers. Starting next year, workers can set aside money from their paychecks to pay for services and supports that many will need in their old age or if they become disabled. This program is meant to help offset the high costs of home-based care, assistedliving facilities, and nursing homes. Those that pay into the program for at least five years will receive an average cash benefit of no less than $50 a day when they need it. The details of the program, including the eligibility requirements, premiums, and a mechanism that allows people to purchase insurance if they are self-employed or if their employers decline to participate, are being ironed out. Savvy Tip: For more information visit healthreform.gov along with the Medicare Rights Center Web site at medicarerights.org. ISI

New Survey Finds People are Concerned About Skin Cancer Yet They May Not Understand the Risks of Sun or Indoor Tanning When it comes to tanning, dermatologists have long suspected that most people need an attitude adjustment. Now, results of a new survey by the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) confirmed that the majority of people still idolize the bronzed look of a tan despite wanting to protect themselves from skin cancer. The Suntelligence: How Sun Smart is Your City? online survey polled more than 7,000 adults nationwide to determine their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward tanning, sun protection and skin cancer detection. Twenty-six cities were ranked based on respondents’ answers to several questions in each category. “Our survey highlighted the contradictory feelings that many people have about tanning – they like the way a tan looks but are concerned about skin cancer, which is estimated to affect about one in five Americans in their lifetime,” said dermatologist Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. “What they may not realize is that no matter whether you tan or burn, a tan from the sun or tanning beds damages the skin and can cause wrinkles, age spots, and skin cancer. The challenge is changing the long-standing attitudes about tanning to correlate with people’s knowledge about skin cancer.” In examining the survey data, Dr. Draelos noted that 72 percent of all respondents agreed that people look more attractive with a tan. In addition, more men than women (76 percent vs. 68 percent, respectively) agreed with that statement. Similarly, 66 percent of all respondents agreed that people look healthier with a tan. Once again, more men than women (70 percent vs. 62 percent, respectively) agreed with this statement.

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When asked whether they believed that sun exposure is good for your health, 60 percent of all respondents mistakenly agreed with this statement. Analyzing the data by gender, more men than women (62 percent vs. 58 percent, respectively) incorrectly thought that sun exposure is good for your health. “Various reports touting the potential health benefits of sun exposure for vitamin D production are misleading people to believe that exposing oneself to UV radiation – which causes cancer – to prevent another disease is somehow beneficial,” said Dr. Draelos. “In fact, the Academy does not recommend getting vitamin D from any form of UV exposure because UV radiation from the sun and tanning beds can lead to the development of skin cancer. Getting vitamin D from a

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healthy diet, which includes naturally enriched vitamin D foods, fortified foods and beverages, and/or vitamin supplements, is a healthier alternative because it provides the exact same benefit without the skin cancer risk.” Dr. Draelos added that despite their positive attitudes about tanning, the majority of respondents expressed strong opinions on protecting themselves from skin cancer. For example, 75 percent of all respondents said they would do anything possible to prevent skin cancer. Furthermore, 80 percent of respondents expressed concern about skin cancer and feel it is important to protect themselves. “When it comes to preventing skin cancer, actions speak louder than words,” said Dr. Draelos. “So while it is encouraging that most

people are concerned about skin cancer and want to reduce their risk of developing it, clearly more work needs to be done to change attitudes on tanning. If a person likes the look of a tan, he or she should consider using a self-tanner but use sunscreen with it.” Visit www.melanomamonday.org to take the Academy’s Suntelligence survey, as well as to find out how to perform a skin self-exam, download a body mole map, or find free skin cancer screenings in your area. The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations. For more information, contact the Academy at 1-888-462-DERM (3376) or www.aad.org. ISI

Be Wise About Your Eyes: Proper Care and Treatment Will Have You Seeing 20/20 They come in all different shapes, sizes, and mixtures of colors - and many of us take them for granted, until something goes wrong. Our eyes serve as windows to the world, but as we age, we face an increased risk of forming complicated eye problems such as macular degeneration and glaucoma. Experts agree that by the time you hit middle age, the best way to preserve eye health is to see a specialist regularly. “It’s important to be proactive in maintaining your sight and preventing damage,” said Seenu Hariprasad, MD, chief of vitreoretinal service at Weiss Memorial Hospital and associate professor of ophthalmology and visual science at the University of Chicago. “We recommend visiting an eye care professional every two years for a check-up, which will help to detect any hidden diseases like glaucoma.” To best protect your vision, follow these Healthful Hints from the experts at Weiss Memorial Hospital: • Stop Smoking. Aside from all the other damage that smoking causes, it also increases the risk for macular degeneration, cataracts, and other eye diseases. • Wear Sunglasses. In addition to being a great fashion accessory, sunglasses protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays, which can cause macular degeneration and cataracts. Do not forget to protect eyes in the cold winter months too. • Eat Right. Carrots have long been the rumored eye health food, but the truth is dark, leafy vegetables actually make the difference. Try kale, spinach, and green leaf lettuce to improve your vision. Fish and seafood will also help to bring about a sharper image. • Watch Eye Makeup. It is not just food and medicine that carry an expiration date, eye makeup older than three months should also be thrown out. Discontinue use immediately if it appears to be making your eyes irritated and red, and avoid sharing eye makeup. ISI

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Living Wills: Planning for the inevitable By Jim Miller Creating a living will is one of those things most people want and plan to do, but rarely get around to actually doing. Less than 30 percent of Americans currently have one. Contacting your lawyer and preparing one now, gives you say in how you want to be treated at the end of your life. Advance Directives - To adequately spell out your wishes regarding your end-of-life medical treatment you need two legal documents: • A “living will” that tells your doctor what kind of care you want to receive if you become incapacitated. • And a “medical power of attorney” (or healthcare proxy) that names a person you authorize to make medical decisions on your behalf. Do-It-Yourself - Today, there are several free or low-cost resources to help you write your advance directive, and it takes only a few minutes from start to finish. Here are some good places to find help: • Caring Connections: A resource created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization that provides free information and statespecific advance directive forms with instructions on their website (www.caringinfo.org) that you can download and print. Or, you can call 800-658-8898. • Aging with Dignity: An advocacy organization

that offers an easy-to-use legal document called “Five Wishes” that covers all facets of an advance directive. Five Wishes is legally valid in 40 states and costs $5. To get a copy, visit www.agingwithdignity.org or call 888-594-7437. • Online resources: For under $15 websites like www.legacywriter.com and www.uslegalwills. com can create a living will and medical power of attorney for you by asking you questions and inserting your answers. Once you’re finished, you simply print it out (or they can mail it to you) and sign it with two witnesses present to make it legal. You may also need to get it notarized depending on the state you live in. Or, if you’re looking for a little extra help, try www.legalzoom.com. This site works like the others but will then have a specialist review your answers for completeness. • U.S. Living Will Registry: This is a nifty service that electronically stores your advance directive and organ donor information and makes these documents available to your family or healthcare providers 24 hours a day via the Internet or telephone. The cost to register is $125. See www. uslivingwillregistry.com for more information. Multipurpose Planning - If you are looking for a comprehensive estate planning tool “Quicken Will-

Maker Plus 2010” (www.nolo.com; 800-728-3555) is a top resource that uses computer software to create state-specific living wills, as well as property wills, trusts, and many other documents. Savvy Tips: To insure your final wishes are followed, be very thorough when you create your living will and medical power of attorney documents and give copies to your family and doctor. And don’t forget to review your advance directive every few years and update it when necessary. If you would rather use a lawyer to draft your advance directive, look for one who specializes in estate planning and healthcare related matters. ISI

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Those “Legal Entanglements” of Marriage Offer Considerable Benefits over Just Living Together By Jonathan J. David, Senior Wire Dear Jonathan: My wife died a few years back. I have been seeing a woman for some time now whose husband is also deceased. Since we get along great, we have decided to move in together and live as husband and wife without the legal entanglements of being married. We have no secrets and completely trust each other, and have decided that if either one of us dies, that person’s estate will be divided between the one of us who survives and the decedent’s children. Can we accomplish this with a will or do we need something more? Do you have any other recommendations? Jonathan Says: Making out a last will and testament is a good idea because if either one of you dies without having made a will, the survivor would not be entitled to any of the decedent’s assets under state law. This would be true no matter how long you have been together. On the other hand, if you were to have been married only a few months and then one of you died, the survivor would be entitled to a share of that person’s estate under state law. Besides stating how you want your estate to be distributed on death, you will want to include

who is to act as the personal representative or executor of your probate estate. Probate is required any time you die leaving assets in your name alone. If it is your intention to have your partner act in that capacity, then you will most certainly want to name her in the will. It is also a good idea to name a backup to act if your partner is unable to act for whatever reason. It would also make sense to add an incontestability provision that basically states if anyone contests the will, they will lose whatever share they have as a beneficiary under the will. Typically, this type of provision is not enforceable if a person has a legitimate reason to contest the will; however, if you want to discourage people from contesting the will, this type of provision might serve you well. Besides a last will and testament, I recommend that each of you prepare a durable financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney wherein you name each other as agent in case either of you is

Health, life and other insurance plans for Medicare Beneficiaries and mature adults. Mark Lee

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incapacitated. By doing this, you are formally stating that you want your partner to represent you if you cannot act on your own behalf. This avoids involving a court for the purpose of naming someone (who could be someone other than your partner) to act on your behalf as your attorney-in-fact or agent in financial and healthcare matters. If you would like to avoid probate at your death, then you may want to consider setting up a trust in conjunction with your will and re-titling your assets in the name of that trust. With a trust, as with a will, you would name who you want to receive your assets upon death. One of the differences between a will and a trust is that a trust is a private document, whereas a will is a public document. Further, before the assets can be distributed pursuant to a will, the estate needs to be probated. However with a trust, since probate is not required, assets can be distributed more quickly. Please keep in mind that there may be some gift tax ramifications if you decide to set up a joint trust with your partner as opposed to each of you setting up your own individual trusts. Going back to your comment that you want to avoid the “legal entanglements” of marriage, you should consider the benefits of being married. First a surviving spouse by law has certain

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benefits that a surviving partner does not. For example, as previously indicated, a surviving spouse is an heir of the decedent spouse’s estate. So if for some reason a will is not made, the surviving spouse would be entitled to a share of the decedent spouse’s estate; a surviving nonspouse partner is not entitled to any portion of the estate. Further, a surviving spouse has priority under the law to act on behalf of the other spouse in certain capacities, which may include, acting as personal representative of the decedent spouse’s estate, as guardian or conservator for a disabled spouse, and in some cases, even acting as the disabled spouse’s agent or patient advocate absent a written durable financial power of attorney or healthcare power of attorney. An unmarried partner has none of those rights. Third, a surviving spouse has other benefits such as the right to receive social security benefits, being covered under the other spouse’s health insurance plan, and being named as a beneficiary under the other spouse’s retirement plan. Further, only a surviving spouse can rollover retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401ks, to his or her own retirement account. An unmarried partner has none of these benefits. Fourth, if spouses have a combined estate worth $4 million dollars or more, they can enter into tax planning arrangements to minimize or eliminate the estate tax that would be due at the

second death. This type of tax planning is not available to non-spouses. Finally, although non-spouses can enter into gifting arrangements between them, the amounts of the gifts they can make to each other is limited and if the gifts are in excess of $12,000 per year, a gift tax is incurred and a federal gift tax return must be filed; spouses, on the other hand, can give to each other as much as they want in the way of assets, gift tax free, and without the filing of a federal gift tax return. I realize your question was not as to whether you should marry, but I felt you should have at least a general understanding of some issues you should consider if you decide not to get married. I recommend that you meet with an estate planning attorney in your area to review these issues in more detail, as well as the various tax ramifications to you and your partner if you remain unmarried, so that the two of you can make an educated decision as to how best to proceed. Good luck. The information contained in this column is not to be construed as legal advice or legal representation and should not be relied upon as such. Further, the information provided is not state specific and certain laws and customary practices will vary from state to state. If legal advice or legal representation is desired, please consult with an attorney in your locale. ISI

Look Out! Puns Below 1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi. 2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian. 3. She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still. 4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption. 5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work. 6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery. 7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering. Take five minutes 8. Two silk worms can to learn how one hour ca an n

had a race. They ended up in a tie. 9. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 10. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said, “You stay here, I’ll go on a-head.” 11. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me. 12. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.” 13. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned, to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.” 14. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium, at large. 15. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran. 16. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion. 17. When you’ve seen one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall. 18. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d dye. 19. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis. 20. Santa’s helpers are subordinate Clauses. ISI

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Alan Paylor hang glides from King Mountain By Dianna Troyer mountain, where roads snake up the slope to three After launching his hang glider from King launch sites. Mountain in central Idaho, Alan Paylor touched “Normally, the highest an aircraft that does not down six hours and 139 miles later north of Wis- have a transponder device, such as a hang glider, dom, Montana hoping he had logged a winning can fly is 17,999 feet,” Alan explains. “But when we flight. have a competition, we call the FAA in Salt Lake The Idaho pilot was not disappointed. He had City to activate an altitude waiver of 23,000 feet placed second in the 2005 King Mountain Hang and to close a 10-mile by 15-mile square area of Gliding Championairspace here,” Alan ships and hopes to says of the Big Lost log a winning flight River Valley. again this year at Unusual geology the championships and intense microscheduled July 19meteorology create 24 near Moore, a powerful thermals at small farming town King Mountain, makin central Idaho. ing it world-renowned “Pilots from among paragliders throughout the U.S. and hang gliders. Hot and all over the world air from the Snake come, some from River Plain flows up as far as away Euthe valley between rope and Australia,” 12,000-foot-high says Alan, who lives mountains, creating With King Mountain in the background Alan Paylor holds his tronear the base of an ideal flying corphy from placing second at the 2005 King Mountain Hang Gliding King Mountain. “We ridor. Championships. [Photo by Dianna Troyer] should have about From April to No100 pilots, plus their support crews.” vember, Alan flies as often as six times a week, Besides flying competitively, Alan, 52, teaches whenever the wind blows about 10 to 20 miles hang gliding, sharing insights from his 27 years per hour. If the wind is too robust, 40 to 50 miles of soaring. He is the only hang gliding instructor per hour, which can happen at King Mountain, it in Idaho certified by the U.S. Hang Gliding and is unsafe to fly. Paragliding Association. He also operates a fullBy the time Alan is perched on the slopes of time flying store adjacent to his home. King Mountain with his 100-pound competition Alan first became infatuated with flight in 1983, glider or his 60-pound recreational glider, ready when he was stationed with the U.S. Air Force in to launch like a bird, he has checked and doubleGermany. checked his gear: helmet, radio headset, apple “A bunch of us were watching TV, when a com- and power bar tucked mercial about hang gliding came on, and we all into a chest pouch, mitts thought we should try it. I’ve been flying ever since. to grasp the metal steerIf you’re the type of person who likes extreme roller ing bar, camera, cell coasters, you’ll like hang gliding. It’s definitely an phone, survival kit with adrenalin rush.” signal mirror, global poAlan, who describes a typical flight as “dream- sitioning system, warm ing with your eyes open,” has been happily ad- ski suit and a harness dicted to hang gliding and hopes never to find for carrying his gear and a cure. Certain his fascination with flight would to protect against frigid afflict him for a lifetime, he retired as a ground high altitude temperaequipment technician from the U.S. Air Force in tures. 1998 and moved to Moore, so he could be near When Alan is aloft, King Mountain. he often cruises down“I heard about King Mountain when I was sta- wind and downrange to tioned at Mountain Home Air Force Base. There Challis, the valley’s faare only two places in the U.S. where the Federal mous “milk run” named Aviation Administration allows hang glider pilots because it can be so to fly at 23,000 feet - King Mountain, Idaho, and easy. The 70-mile run Sandia, New Mexico,” says Alan, smiling from can be as fast as 45 minflying memories as he glances out his living room utes or as slow as two to window past numerous wind socks toward the four hours, depending

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on wind speed. As Alan’s glider gobbles up mile after mile, he loses track of time and appreciates scenery few people can even imagine. “Sometimes, I’ll share a thermal with a golden eagle,” he says. Temperatures plunge as his altitude increases. “It can be 80 degrees on the ground and 30 degrees at 17,000 feet with a 40 below zero wind chill factor. If it gets too cold, I’ll slowly glide down. It may take about 40 miles, but it’s all part of the game.” He advises people who are interested in hang gliding to plan to spend about $899 initially. “That’s what I charge for the cost of all the equipment and unlimited lessons,” he says. “I’ll work with people until they’re comfortable and competent. Everyone’s motor skills and coordination are a little different, but generally, it takes 7-10 days to learn. Each lesson is about four to six hours, depending on a student’s fatigue level.” Some people are happy flying short distances recreationally on weekends. Others, like Alan, are

committed to flying as long as they can. Alan’s longest time in the air is more than nine hours. He cherishes the camaraderie of other pilots, who share his aerial passion, such as Frank Gillette, an 82-year-old retired hang glider and farmer who lives near Declo in southern Idaho. Frank discovered King Mountain after he started flying in 1972. Frank and other hang gliders had launched from the Big Southern Butte, and thermals carried them to King Mountain, where Frank noticed a road going up the mountainside and realized it would provide great access to ideal launching sites. Alan’s countless flights from King Mountain are not only recorded in his log book, they are forever imprinted in his memory, where he can replay them to help him cope during winter when he is grounded and to remind him that a new flying season will come again. For more information about the King Mountain championships in July, visit www.kingmountaingliders.biz. ISI

Jet boat racing quenches Glen Dilworth’s need for speed By Dianna Troyer To demonstrate his point about the uselessness of seatbelts and a windshield, jet boat racer Glen Dilworth slides behind the steering wheel of Summer Thunder, his 18-foot long, 2,000-pound competition jet boat with a lightning bolt and racing call letters of CJ 171 painted along her side. He pulls away from the dock at the Burley Golf Course Marina into the Snake River, where he will race June 26-27 in the Idaho Regatta, and navigates a lap, rocketing to about 90 miles an hour on the backstretch. The boat’s colors of yellow, orange, red, purple, and blue, with a yellow lightning bolt graphic on a white background become a blur. After a few laps, he pulls back into the dock, grinning. “It’s such an adrenalin rush,” says the 62-year-old Burley resident who has been racing 33 years, has won

numerous trophies, and has been awarded three patents for jet boat parts he invented. Remembering to prove his point, he explains, “You don’t want to be strapped in by a seatbelt if your boat happens to end up upside down in the water.” Besides, the G-forces keep him firmly tucked in place. As for a windshield, it would ruin the jet boat’s aerodynamics, and the helmet he wears protects him from the breathtaking wind. “Some of the faster boats have capsules, seatbelts and on-board air supply,” Glen says, “but if the boat goes down, you need rescue personnel there quickly.” Glen has needed rescue personnel. Once, an unseen underwater obstacle caused an accident. “I hit something in the river, which broke part of the pump and bent the turn rudder. I struggled driving the boat down the back straightaway. Through the last corner of the race, I was leading the pack and didn’t want to stop, because I only had a quarter of a mile to go. As I came out of the corner, the boat veered to the left hard. I corrected to the right, which exposed the broken pump that let a stream of water go straight down, blowing the back of the boat out of the water. The bow stuffed, so the boat stopped, but I kept going. The impact of slamming into the water didn’t hurt nearly as much as my legs hitting the steering wheel. I have a rubberized cover on my steering wheel, and it burned a line right through my jeans as I slid by.” If that was not traumatic enough, his boat sank. Glen watched a roller from the rescue boat go over the side of his boat, causing it to disappear, as personnel plucked him from the river. “I hauled the boat back up, dried it out, changed the oil at the shop, then came back to win the next day.” Another time, he separated his shoulder. “I’ve been hurt, but you learn from your mistakes.” Glen does not make too many mistakes. His competitive nature and skill have earned him countless trophies and (Continued on page 42)

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rings, yet those prizes and the years they were awarded do not matter much to him. What matters is how racing satisfies his innate need for speed. “If you’re in this for the money, you’re in the wrong sport.” He is proof that the driver’s skill, not the size of the engine, wins a race. “You just have to know how to handle a jet boat and make it work to its maximum. If you don’t, you can spin out in corners or stuff the nose into the water.” Glen’s skill and patented jet boat parts help him beat competitors who race boats with bigger engines than his boat. “I get a kick out of beating drivers with bigger engines. We do it all the time. Summer Thunder’s is 496 cubic inches, and most boats in the competitive jet class are 515 cubic inches. I run the smaller size, because it was cheaper to build than the bigger engine. Several years ago, I ran a 461-engine against boats with 500-cubic-inch engines. In that boat, I had a sixyear win streak. I made the jet pump work more

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racers go down river with the current, so you get efficiently, so it made the boat run faster.” He explains how a jet boat runs and the parts some pretty fast times. Racers from throughout the he invented to make a boat run faster. A water U.S. and their families love coming here, because pump on the back of the boat provides propulsion. it feels like home.” Competitors race in several classes, dependWater is sucked into a jet unit, and an enginedriven impeller shoots the water out of a jet nozzle. ing on the size of the engine, type of hull, and drive system. Classes are pro stocks, competition jets, A driver controls a boat by directing the nozzle. One part Glen invented is a scoop that loads super stocks, nostalgic flat, 2.5-liter stock, and water to the blades of the impeller to make the boat cracker box. In the K-boat class, anything goes, go about five miles per hour faster than it would and drivers pick the size of their engine, fuel type, a and shape of hull. without the scoop. In each heat and Another part is a t the final race, drivconcave ride plate e ers complete four under the pump that 1 1¼-mile laps, speedhelps stabilize the iing around the oval boat and makes it ccourse in about six go straight. “It’s bam minutes. In the Grand sically something N National endurance for the boat to sit e event, racers log 20 on.” l laps in about 15 minIn response u utes. to competitors’ deJet boats are not mands, Glen manutthe only vehicle Glen factures and sells h has raced. “Before his parts worldwide tthe boats, I raced through his busi[Photo by Kimberly Dilworth] sstock cars. I was goness, Jet Dynamics. o tires every weekend and ing through about ttwo t and d jjett skis. ki He also builds jet boats “I just sent some parts to Portugal,” says Glen, fixing the dents in the car. After going with Don to who credits his wife, Kathy, for inspiring him to the boat races, I thought I’d give it a try and raced design the patented parts to make a boat faster for the first time in 1977. The only tires I had to and more stable. “She told me, ‘You better stay in worry about were the ones on the boat trailer.” To Glen, racing boats is more thrilling than racthe boat if you want to win. It’s too hard on me to ing cars because the track changes with each lap. watch you get thrown out.’” On June 26-27, Glen will compete with 60 other “I’m nervous before I get into the boat, but once racers from throughout the U.S. in the Idaho Re- the motor fires, I am ready to make a warm-up lap. gatta, an event he and another racer Don Moyle, When seven other boats line up for the start, it’s an organized in 1975. Glen, with his mechanical skills, adrenalin rush. In the first corner, the boats are so was traveling all over the western U.S. with Don, close, you can almost reach out and touch them, and water is flying from the sides and back of each who was racing. “We realized we had a better course for a race boat. If you didn’t get a good start, water is trying here in Burley than in many other places,” Glen to blow your helmet off coming out of the corner. “As the race progresses, the boats spread out, says. “We have a paved parking lot and grass for spectators. Plus, on the backstretch of the course, so if you’re in the back trying to move up, it takes a lot of skill. It’s challenging, too, if you’re up front, trying to stay there for four laps. The five-mile race is over in six to eight minutes.” Although Glen’s favorite race is the Idaho Regatta, he travels to several other competitions throughout the West, or he lets his son, Joe, race Summer Thunder. As for the Idaho Regatta, he hopes Summer Thunder with her lighting bolt and CJ 171 along her side will cross the finish line first. ISI

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Optimism, good health keep centenarian going Leona Jones to celebrate 104th birthday in June Article & Photo by Dianna Troyer If Leona Jones gets her wish, she will not have a big party to celebrate her 104 th birthday on June 21. “We had a big party when I turned 100, and th t was jjustt fifine, b ’t want any fuss made that butt I d don’t over me,” says the Almo resident, as she relaxes in her rocking chair in the tidy gray house where she has lived for decades. She is petite, with cloud white hair, alert brown eyes, and a spontaneous smile. “I’m not sure why I’ve lived this long,” says Leona, who was born and raised in Almo, where her parents Henry and Julia Eames helped run what is now called the Tracy General Store. “I just kept busy and worked my whole life: helped with branding, rode horses, herded sheep, irrigated, whatever needed to be done. And I ate good food I raised in my garden. I’ve been here a long time.” As Leona reminisces about living through a century of change, she deftly weaves two balls of yarn around two coat hangers, a hobby she learned when she and her late husband Oscar wintered in Yuma and St. George after they retired. Leona and Oscar, a teacher and rancher, tempered their hard work with entertainment and a sense of humor. They went to local dances on Saturday nights, played card games with neighbors, performed in plays, or watched the horse races in Burley. Her daughter, Patricia Eguilior attributes her mother’s longevity to her sense of humor and positive outlook. “She loved everybody and never had a bad or critical word to say about anyone,” says Patricia, who lives in Caldwell and visits monthly. “She could make the best of any situation. I learned my values from her.” Leona, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says her spiritual faith has grounded her, too, and has been a source of comfort. Her son Bill, who also lives in Almo and checks on her daily, says her siblings lived long lives, too. “She stayed away from alcohol and tobacco, so that might be why she has lived so long. The air here is so pure and clean, so maybe that contributed, too. We’re not sure why, but we’re glad she’s still here.” Leona is still active for her age, has no major health issues, and watches a little television. She has always been self-sufficient and independent. “I mowed my lawn until I was 94, then I got someone else to do it. Until I was 101, I drove into Burley once a week to get my hair done, but Bill finally decided I shouldn’t be driving anymore.” Although Leona no longer drives to visit people, plenty of folks come to visit her. Besides Bill’s checking on her daily, grandchildren often drop by, too. She has eight grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, and 22 great, great grandchildren. Leona has always been surrounded by a large family. “I was the 12th of 13 children,” she says. In 1906, when she was born, folks relied on fourlegged horse power, not car engine horsepower, for transportation. Food was stored in an icebox. People relied on wind chargers to provide limited electrical power for batteries or a few light bulbs. “That was just the way everybody lived,” Leona says. After completing the eighth grade in Almo, Leona and her girlfriends went to high school in Albion, where they lived during the week. “I had two years there, and then I worked for my brother at the Golden Rule Store in Oakley,” she says. Later, she lived with her sister in Ogden, where she sold tickets at a movie theater. She also worked at a café in Salt Lake City.

In 1929, after Leona’s dad died, she returned home. On Sept. 27, 1930, she married Oscar Jones, who had also grown up in Almo and had earned a teaching certificate from the nearby Albion State Normal School. After Leona and Oscar were married, he taught at schools in Oakley, Moulton, Strevell, Naf, Bridge, Almo, and Malta. After the school year

ended, Leona and Oscar always moved back to Almo, where their son Bill was born on Aug. 25, 1931. Three years later, on Feb. 22, Patricia was born in Naf. In the family photo album, Leona, an attractive and energetic brunette, smiles up from the pages as she hugs Bill and Patricia, rides a horse or cradles lambs and puppies. Leona still remembers when electricity first

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came to Almo in about 1940. “Even before the power lines were strung here to the house, I bought a refrigerator from the Montgomery Ward catalog. It still works,” she says of the 70-year-old appliance. Bill says the refrigerator needed minor maintenance a few years ago, and the repairman was stunned to see it still functioned. “He said refrigerators aren’t made like this anymore.” For most of her life, Leona could be counted on to help during the family’s seasonal cattle roundups. “I fell from a horse when I was 80 and broke my hip. After I healed up, I rode again, until I was

85. Then it was time to ride the range in a pickup.” After Oscar retired from teaching and ranching, Bill began managing the family cattle operation in Almo. Bill still helps his son, Rod, who now runs the ranch. In 1991, at age 88, Oscar died of natural causes. No matter what changes have happened in Leona’s life, one thing has remained constant: her family’s love for her. Does Bill wonder if he will live to be a centenarian like his mother? “I’ve never thought about it,” he says, smiling. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” ISI

Extra Tips For The Garden By Clare Hafferman Having suffered a gardening injury that required “bone glue” and left me with a discouraging list of instructions - don’t bend over, don’t twist, and don’t pick up anything weighing more than two pounds, I tried to adjust mentally without too many bad words, and fill in time doing extra reading and embroidering tea towels for future sales at the market. If you cannot bend over, it helps to have a second hobby. My reading was a bonus because I discovered some good things I had not known about and hopefully you have not seen them either. The first item might be one that is just in time because predictions have been made that this might be a summer of grasshopper predation and another round of bad forest fires. We will know about both by the end of August. There is a commercial deterrent for grasshoppers, but if you do not apply it at the start of the season when the insects hatch, it is useless later on. This homemade solution is to stir up two different batches and say, “Take your last jump

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here!” Pour into a bucket, l cup of molasses, l cup of Canola oil, 1 quart of water, and 5 lbs. of wholewheat flour. You can buy the flour cheaper in the health food section of your grocery store. Stir things together and let them sit overnight. Stir again. Drop big spoonfuls where you want the hoppers to find it-preferably away from your garden. If they are already chomping down, then lay spoonfuls from the site to maybe a strip of grass where you deposit a mound of mush. The second attractant consists of using a plastic milk jug to mix up one cup of molasses, half a cup of Canola oil, and nine cups of water, stirred up. Take empty clean tin cans, bury them up to the rim in your garden and fill each can halfway full of this liquid. Check daily and throw any trapped insects into the compost pile and fork it over. Be glad you have discovered these remedies. The next disclosure was something I have wanted to know about for some time. If you decided to extend the life and productivity of your garden space, exactly when could you plant seeds that could be harvested in the fall or in some cases, left in the ground until spring? Because I have a small area for vegetables, I would like to see it do double duty, and because I am going to be relegated to one 4’ x 4’ garden box, I am curious to see what can come out of that. I am listing the number of vegetables and three kinds of flowers that you can plant twice and the number of years these seeds are supposed to be viable. I know of one variety of tomatoes, named Polar Gem, developed in Alaska for short season summers, that a friend gave me in 2005 and I have planted the seeds since then and saved seeds because they are open pollinated. They are medium-sized, good tasting, and productive plants. Beans - direct sow one week after the last spring frost; make the last planting 10 weeks before the first fall frost. Seeds are viable for three years. Broccoli - direct sow one week before the last spring frost; plant fall crop 8 to 10 weeks before the first fall frost. Seeds are viable for five years. Carrots - direct sow one week before last spring

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frost; make last planting 10 weeks before the first fall frost. Royal Chantenay is a good choice. Seeds are viable for three years. If you put a thick mulch over the row, some gardeners leave carrots to be picked in a mild winter or left until spring. Lettuce - direct seed three weeks before last spring frost; last sowing six weeks before first fall frost. Seed is viable for three years. Swiss chard - direct seed as soon as ground can be dug in the spring. Plant the first two weeks in July for fall harvest. Fordhook giant was the recommended variety. Seed is viable for three years. Spinach - direct sow four weeks before last spring frost; make last sowing six to eight weeks before the first fall frost. Types recommended were tyee, bloomsdale, and melody. Squash - direct sow one to two weeks before last spring frost. Make last sowing ten weeks before first fall frost.

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Marigolds - start indoors four weeks before the last spring frost. Direct seed outdoors three weeks after the last spring frost. Nasturtiums - direct sow beginning one to two weeks after the last spring frost. Make additional plantings until 10 weeks before the first fall frost. Zinnias - Start indoors three weeks before the last spring frost. Direct sow outdoors two weeks after the last spring frost. The idea of double duty can also be applied to attracting beneficial pollinators who will increase your production of flowers or vegetables. If you have a border of flowers or can dig up a new strip, here are some pollen plants that bring in the “police force” to watch over our blooming friends. They include fall-blooming Asters, baby’s breath, buckwheat, caraway, coriander, dill, fennel, cosmos, daisies, feverfew, goldenrod, lavender, lemon

Balm, marigolds, mints, parsley, sunflowers, alyssum, thyme, and yarrow. Besides the beneficial pollinators and insects, there are a couple of methods to attract butterflies for viewing. These flying spots of color need both larvae food for their caterpillars and nectar to sip as adults. Dandelions, lupine, clover, and alfalfa aid some larvae, as do aspen, willow, wild cherry, ash, and elm trees. Dill weed attracts swallowtails and mourning cloak butterflies lay their eggs on weeping willows. Butterflies appreciate finding wet dirt and sand if you put some on top of pebbles or gravel in a shallow terra cotta pot liner. One book said to add a tiny pinch of salt to the mixture. I hope all this information will be useful and that you read it while you can still bend over and dig! ISI

Smart Remodeling Is A Good Investment (NAPSI) - During the mid-2000s, inflated real estate values and low-interest loans often contributed to homeowners “supersizing” new homes with numerous upgrades and leveraging generous lines of equity credit. Those days are distant memories as home sales continue to decline and foreclosures continue to rise. Today, remodeled kitchens, new pools, and elaborate landscapes serve as reminders of how far the market has fallen. Some remodeling projects, however, perform very well in good and bad times. The “2009-10 Cost vs. Value® Report” from Remodeling magazine, in cooperation with the National Association of Realtors®, makes a strong case for “smart” projects that deliver cosmetic and utilitarian value. In addition to holding their value, these projects increase a home’s curb appeal, giving the seller a significant edge in a buyer’s market. Fiber cement siding - designed to closely resemble wood but being fire, moisture and impact resistant - may be the best example of smart remodeling. Since first being included as part of the report in 2005, fiber cement siding has held its position as the top-ranked return on investment for projects costing over $1,200, demonstrating consistent value even when the housing market has not. In fact, its 83.6 percent return for 2009-10 beats out foambacked vinyl siding, kitchen and bath remodels, decks, and even window and roof replacements. The average cost of a fiber cement

siding project is approximately $13,300, according to the report. “The economy always impacts the kinds of remodeling projects homeowners undertake,” said Paul Gentzel, repair and remodel business manager for James Hardie Building Products. “The ‘Cost vs. Value Report’ shows replacement projects or practical improvements that extend the life of a home and add to its exterior appearance are even more valuable when home sales are down. “Fiber cement siding products are engineered for climate and dramatically upgrade a home’s exterior appearance,” said Gentzel. “That kind of remodel is valuable to both the seller and the buyer.” To read the entire “2009-10 Cost vs. Value Report” from Remodeling magazine, visit www. remodeling.hw.net/2009/costvsvalue/national.aspx. ISI

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Downsizing In Later Life – Making The Move To A Smaller Home By Lynn Pribus First it’s a little apartment, next a “starter” home, and then a house big enough for children. Eventually, for any number of reasons, it is time for smaller quarters, but knowing what to buy is not always easy. “It’s crossing a threshold,” says Sue Ronnenkamp, author of a guidebook called Living Transitions: A Step-by-Step Guide for a Later Life Move. “It’s letting go and preparing for a different phase of life.” That “letting go” often involves reducing possessions. While we routinely acquire and dispose of items from strollers to golf carts, it is a different matter in later life for a number of not-always-recognized reasons. It is Hard to Part with Things It is easy to dispose of some things, but not others because of an emotional impact. “The starting point of the emotional impact,” says David J. Ekerdt, PhD, director of the Gerontology Center at the University of Kansas, is ‘Why have we kept this?’” Some things, he notes, are functional or give us pleasure. Others represent memories. The big platter recalls Mom’s presiding over the Thanksgiving turkey with all the family there. Dad’s old film camera represents wonderful trips to faraway places. Parting with these things is like giving away pieces of our selves. In addition, many people feel a moral responsibility to their family archives, preserving old photos, medals, diaries, citizenship papers, and similar memorabilia. Getting Started Begin early, urges Linda Hetzer, co-author with Janet Hulstrand of Moving On; A Practical

Guide to Downsizing the Family Home. “When it’s time to do it, it’s almost too late to start and most people have no clue of the enormity of the project.” She advises starting with things that do not have an emotional impact. “One kitchen drawer is a good thing to go through. Clear off a shelf next and soon you’ll find yourself building momentum.” Another tactic is to give to-be-inherited items - a special teapot or certain painting - when you can still see people enjoy them. Even if you will not move soon, consider the future. If you are replacing furniture, for instance, consider how it might fit in your new home. When the Time Comes to Move After gifting friends and family members with family treasures, the next step is usually selling things. Some people find it painful to see strangers handling and haggling over their belongings while others enjoy meeting the individuals who are “adopting” items. Hold a garage sale, or engage a professional for larger items. There are also on-line auctions such as eBay and you may find a local business that deals with eBay for you. Many people enjoy donating items to charities. (Intuit markets a useful software program that keeps track of donations of both cash and items, providing IRS-accepted values for everything from books to belt buckles.) Throwing things away can be the hardest of all. In fact, Professor Ekerdt reports that many people give things to their children, knowing they will be discarded. Tough decisions need to be made, but Professor Ekerdt says, “Right down the line, all the people I’ve talked to are really happy they were able to complete the process.” While they miss some things, he adds, they are pleased with an easier way of life. “Lightening your load is freeing,” affirms Cheryl Perlitz, a Chicago woman who once surveyed about 1,000 people who lived to be 100. “By far the most common trait,” she reports, “was their ability to go through change with an optimistic attitude.” She admits that moving is a difficult threshold to cross. “For a while you are between two doors – the door that was and the one that will be – but you can find a whole world of possibility.” Resources There is a wealth of information on downsizing including how to get things appraised, pointers on selling, where to donate, and more. These books include useful checklists and each is worth reading. Living Transitions: A Step-by-step Guide for a Later Life Move, by Sue Ronnenkamp. www. livingtransitions.com. Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home, by Linda Hetzer and Janet Hulstrand. www.movingonthebook.com ISI

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