Northwest Boomer and Senior News Portland Metro Edition July 2016 by Northwest50Plus

Growing Gardens PORTLAND-METRO & VANCOUVER EDITION JULY 2016 • FREE!

It’s more than a community garden; the nonprofit helps the ‘food insecure’ Courtesy photos

Above, Growing Gardens is a nonprofit organization that helps low-income older adults and families learn how to grow their own food and live healthier. Below, Lynn Fitch is development director for Growing Gardens. By MAGGI WHITE

“The people we help are incredibly enthusiastic because their children eat better, they meet their neighbors, they enjoy sharing with others ...”

BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

Lynn Fitch has been a development director for nonprofits for 35 years, but a similar position at Growing Gardens has stolen her heart. Her passion for this Portland nonprofit stems from the knowledge that so many living in poverty – including both families and older adults — are learning how to grow their own food and eating healthier. Growing Gardens, which is celebrating its 20th year in helping the hungry and “food insecure,” also facilitates friendships among neighbors when the recipients share their bounty with oth-

~ Lynn Fitch Growing Gardens

History book Page 7

INSIDE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

SEE WHAT’S COMING UP THIS MONTH Page 11

1-877-357-2430 • nwboomerandseniornews.com

ers. “When you learn how to garden and produce your own food it’s a long-term benefit as opposed to handing someone a food basket,” Fitch says. “The number of people who are food insecure is not going to get smaller. One in every seven families in Oregon needs to grow their own food. It is important for their health, for the environment and it is all organic.” Growing Gardens teaches those eligible for Food Stamps how to grow produce in their backyards or in containers. Hundreds of volunteers, including master gardeners, devote countless hours to the task.

See GARDENS p. 2

HEALTHY VIBES

TAI CHI HELPS STOP FALLS Page 16

ARMCHAIR TRAVELS

MONTICELLO: BACK OF THE NICKEL Page 12

Oregon’s oldest & largest boomer and senior publication

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

GARDENS CONTINUED FROM P. 1

The volunteers install two garden beds for families and then support them with seeds, starts, tools, compost bins, workshops and mentoring for three years. Of those who receive help, 86 percent continue the practice after the help has moved on. “The people we help are incredibly enthusiastic because their children are eating better, they meet their neighbors, they enjoy sharing with others, their nutrition and health are better and they become more active,” Fitch says. A grant allowed Growing Gardens to reach more neighborhoods this year, she says, by providing funding to hire neighborhood organizers. The positions were filled by those who had learned to garden through the nonprofit, and now are mentors and parttime supervisors who reach out to involve others. “It has been very successful,” Fitch says. For one, Growing Gardens has expanded its presence among Latinos by providing a bilingual staff, workshops and childcare. All of its materials are translated into Spanish, and it even provides culturally-appropriate seeds and starts. Volunteers also help immigrants, seniors and those in wheelchairs.

Courtesy photo

Many times, the gardens are planted in tall containers so that a person who can’t bend over can still reach the plants and do their own gardening. “It is something to watch something grow and then you can eat that cucumber,” Fitch says. “Sometimes it is transformational.” Either way, Growing Gardens starts by installing either ground beds or raised beds, or five-gallon buckets for container gardens. Volunteers provide planting instructions in both the spring and fall. Participants are taught how to compost, can tomatoes and many other garden-related experiences. “We don’t go and set them up and leave,” Fitch says. “Gardening is a lot of work. It is really important to support the people we help. Gardening is a lot more about being self-reliant and it is

very empowering to know you can grow food for your family. It builds confidence.” She says it’s therapeutic when friendships develop; it helps with stress reduction, and inspires conversations with people who have never interacted before. “Sharing is gratifying,” Fitch says. Even assisted living developments have contacted Growing Gardens which does some fee-for-service projects to bring in needed funds to operate. In addition to home gardens, Youth Grow provides experiential learning opportunities for children to connect with nature. They provide after-school and summer education for children, help

The Pythian Home Makes Retirement Living Carefree!

✓ Very affordable apartments ✓ Perfect location–near a grocery store and doctors ✓ Private pay options starting offices at $1045 for one bedroom apartment (one meal incl. ) ✓ Housekeeping, laundry, and other amenities available ✓ Subsidized studios available ✓ 24-hour on duty security staff Call today to arrange ✓ Pets welcome with deposit your personal tour ✓ Emergency pull cords in and lunch. every apartment

Pythian Home Retirement Center

3409 Main St, Vancouver, WA

360-696-4375

www.koprc.com

teachers use gardening as a learning tool as well as other benefits. Children learn where food comes from. In the future, Growing Gardens hopes to create support for school gardens in all Portland Public Schools by funding a garden coordinator and educator positions, to fully integrate learning gardens in the core curriculum. Among the benefits of these programs are spending time outdoors, increasing children’s interest in eating fruits and vegetables, and saving food costs, which should lead to a decrease in the number of emergency food boxes. Future plans include expanding bilingual volunteers beyond Spanish, and developing home gardening support in affordable-housing communities. “I believe we strengthen ties of parents and children and help make good neighborhoods,” Fitch says. “We teach about pollination, bees and worms, and build a lifelong appreciation of where food comes from.” She also sees eating vegetables and fruits as a way to decrease obesity in children.

Giving inmates a chance Growing Gardens’ Lettuce Grow program is in the prisons and juvenile detention system. Its horticultural classes provide a way for inmates to gain skills they can use when they are released.

SANDRA G. STONE ATTORNEY AT LAW

Trusts, Wills, POAs Estate Administration Probate Home/Hospital Visits Available Convenient Location 150 SE 80th Ave Portland Call for appointment

503-257-7457 SENIOR DISCOUNT

Vol. 18 - Number 7 Oregon’s oldest & largest 50+ publication Publisher David Thouvenel dthouvenel@nwseniornews.com Managing Editor - All Editions Michelle Te mte@nwseniornews.com Graphics/Production - All Editions Pam Cooley-Newberry pcooley@nwseniornews.com Accounting - Barb Calvisky bcalvisky@nwseniornews.com Circulation Bob Buhrer - knotphc@msn.com

The Oregon Department of Corrections recognizes Lettuce Grow as one of the most successful and costeffective programs offered to inmates. Those who participate have a recidivism rate of 8 percent as opposed to 30 percent in Oregon. Additionally, vegetables raised in the garden are served to inmates at mealtime. Prisoners report less stress and anger when they are allowed to go outside and produce something. “I think they become better human beings,” Fitch says. In two juvenile detention centers, Growing Gardens is installing beds and working on a curriculum for young offenders. Officials in the state of Washington hope to expand their pilot programs. Gardens in prisons also help the families of those who are incarcerated because prisoners can provide food for their families who have been negatively impacted.

Fundraising Growing Gardens needs an annual budget of approximately $700,000 to operate. Fitch says there are many volunteer opportunities for ages 18 and older. Chef’s in the Garden is an annual fundraiser that provides a series of six dinners in beautiful private gardens “that most people will probably never see,” Fitch says. See Growinggardens.com for more information. Tickets are $150. Fitch, an avid gardener, shares her bounty with neighbors and family. From her own orchard she makes persimmon jam and her popular pepper jelly as well as tomato chutney. She likes to get creative, saying her chutney is “so good on toast” or poured over baking chicken. ■

In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels. ~Dodinsky

4 Editions serving Boomers and Seniors: Linn-Benton, Marion-Polk, Metro Portland and Lane 4120 River Road N., Keizer, OR 97303 503-304-1323 / 1-877-357-2430 FAX 503-304-5394 Email: nwsn@nwseniornews.com Subscriptions: $22/year Visit us online: NWBoomerandSeniorNews.com

Northwest BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS is published monthly and locally owned and operated by Eagle Newspapers, Inc. The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Northwest Boomer and Senior News. Any use of all or any part of this publication is prohibited without written consent of the publisher. This publication is printed using soy-based inks on paper with post-consumer recycled content. No VOCs are released into the atmosphere.

Advertising Executives Portland/Metro/Vancouver Edition Joan Riley: joan4freedom@comcast.net Tamara Hollenbeck: tamarahollenbeck@yahoo.com

Marion-Polk/Coast Edition Clark Seeley: cseeley@nwseniornews.com Jack Wallrich: jackwallrich@comcast.net Dan Holz: beachcombernow@gmail.com

Linn-Benton Edition Clark Seeley cseeley@nwseniornews.com Jack Wallrich: jackwallrich@comcast.net Lane Edition Jo Schechter josuccess@comcast.net Contributing Writers: Maggi White, Pat Snider, Grace Peterson, Barry Finnemore, Deb Allen, Mary Owen, Dan Christopher, Vanessa Salvia

When will you speak up?

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

By MAGGI WHITE BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

Today’s world is full of controversies, and most everyone has an opinion about one issue or another. There are even TV shows about unsuspecting people who observe a situation of questionable ethics and are followed with a camera to see whether they will speak up or walk away. The issue, says Portland State University philosophy professor Alexander Sager, is how we speak up for perceived wrongs. “We live in a society where ethics is often involved but not treated in a serious manner,” he says. “It’s important to think carefully about the context.” There’s a tendency, Sager says, to view those who speak up as “heroic” individuals, like leaders of social movements who speak out but end up in prison, tortured or executed. “They display extraordinary courage — maybe even rashness — rather than ordinary courage that we should all aspire to,” he says. What he’d like to see is the creation of a society, and organizations within that society, where speaking up is the norm. “How can we build a society where people not only feel an obligation to point out wrongdoing when they see it, but where this is well received? Often, we tend to consider people pointing out unethical action as a personal attack on the system … we label them as troublemakers.” But speaking up can reshape a society, Sager says, especially in politics, where ethical comments are made, but they have very little

to do with ethics at all. Politicians speak in sound bites, and discourse remains at a superficial level. “You don’t see individuals discussing policies and the ethics behind them,” he says. “Speaking up means you go beyond an opinion, you give reasons why your ideas have value, instead of attacking (another person),” he says. “It requires listening, reason and discussion. In this society, it is almost not worthwhile to speak up because people are not willing to consider different perspectives. Yet, speaking up is critical in preserving a democracy.” He believes modern society has allowed a dangerous type of culture to prevail — the culture of assertion, appearances, talking at people, but not to them. This type of behavior gets away from a democratic culture in which we make decisions based upon reason. “There has to be a receptivity to the other person, of taking their perspective, allowing ourselves to be persuaded and possibly hearing what we hadn’t considered before,” Sager says. “Instead we talk louder, we have attitude, winning the point is more important than reason. The goal of the community should be to figure out what to do, how we want to live, what society we want to work toward, instead of being forced to back down.” The culture, Sager says, hasn’t socialized us to have fruitful disagreement, “even if the end result is that I understand the issue better, even if I still don’t agree.” He believes the problem starts in the educational system, where students too often are taught to keep

their opinions to themselves, and don’t feel a responsibility toward others. “Too often our education system teaches children to keep quiet,” he says. “Knowing the explicit curriculum tells you very little about what children learn in school.”

See SPEAK p. 4

RELAX R RELA ELA AX ORE AX OREGON. O REG GON. ON. Y YO YOU OU UH HA HAVE AV AVE VE EO OPTIONS. PTIONS.

a f a m i l y of c o m p a n i e s

OREGON SENIOR LIVING & C OREGON CONTINUING ONTINUING CARE FFor or full location det details ails visit: www www.avamere.com/oregon ww w.avamere.com/oregon

Alexander Sager is a philosophy professor at Portland State University. He says ethics need to be treated more seriously in our society. File photo

1 - 87 7 7 - AVA M E R E ((282-6373) 2 8 2 - 6 373)

Our culture needs to encourage better critical thinking skills

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

SPEAK CONTINUED FROM P. 3

He believes the whole structure of the classroom environment, especially standardized education, needs an overhaul and new incentives based on more than just tests. “No topdown revolution ever did much for the people,” he says of rethinking the current education system. What’s needed, Sager says, is sustainable social change that the people will support. In issues such as affordable housing or homelessness, what he sees is reaction, but little solution. “There is not enough interaction between opposing forces,” he says. “We say we are doing things but there is no effective dialogue at the street level. There are slogans, or doing something to do something.” In addition to his college classes, Sager also speaks at local libraries through the Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project, particularly

Photo illustration

Are you willing to speak up and say something when you see an unethical situation? about this topic. “We have to ask, ‘What is the purpose of education?’ before we fix the issues facing us,” he says. “It is not clear that people want real solutions.” When speaking to one par-

ticular library group, he asked them about the most significant thing they remembered from their education. “It wasn’t tests,” he says. “It was relationships, projects. Basically, communication and relationships … it was the human ele-

ment that was transformative.” For him, that transformative element was a professor in Montreal, Canada, who convinced Sager to attend graduate school and pursue academic work. “This professor was wellknown, the author of several books,” he says. “Nonetheless, he would have open office hours at one o’clock and you could talk with him about anything for hours. He took you seriously and treated you as an equal. I had never even thought about graduate school until his influence.” Looking back on those influences and decisions, Sager believes, “The only way to change the culture is through communication. We do not need force, threats or violence to change our world. Our revolution should have a positive effect not from opinions but speaking out and offering a reasoned solution.” Sager has been teaching a “philosophy of children” class in which he discusses the benefit of teaching children how to agree or disagree. “Young children often ask ‘why,’ they are natural philosophers,” he says. “They want to understand and are curious. Too many adults shut down philosophical questions with, ‘Because I told you so.’ That might be okay if the child is in danger but what the child is doing is searching. It is not good to shut down communication.”

Of note

Sager will be teaching classes on the philosophy of life and death, and business ethics, in the summer. This fall, he begins a yearlong sabbatical. He has edited a collection of articles on utopia and has written a book on migration that deals with the freedom of movement in the broadest sense, including gated communities, financial districts, racism, income, and the field of limited opportunities for some, including gender and education. He has been published in numerous prestigious philosophical publications and is active in developing the PSU philosophy department’s K-12 philosophy activities, including the Oregon High School Ethics Bowl. He said testing through school to push for A, B or Cs, without communication as to why these answers are correct, asking students to defend their answers, doesn’t teach critical thinking. “These are close-ended standards,” he says. ■

e Com s tU i s i V y! Toda

We’re Always on the go... Weekly Excursions in our Luxury Bus! 503-646-0635 Retirement Living at its Very Best!

Some of the largest Studios,1 & 2 Bedroom apartments in the area.

Visit us online anytime at www.BeavertonLodge.com

Call or Stop by Today... We would love to show you around!

Call on one of our Executive Sales Reps to inquire about advertising.

Joan Riley Reach her:

503-487-6260 DIRECT (10am-6pm) 503-422-9696 MOBILE (msg 24/7)

Joan4Freedom@comcast.net

12900 SW 9th St. Beaverton, OR 97005

Reaches the 50+ Market in Oregon and SW Washington

A true connection

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

■ Two Gates women talk about their long-time passion for horses, riding and performing

Earn entries daily July 1-30

By MARY OWEN

SATURDAY DRAWINGS July 9, 16 & 23

BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

Riding horses has been Luella Kimsey’s passion since she was “knee-high to a grasshopper.” She lived and breathed horses while growing up in the Washington countryside. Her father, Lou Pierce, rode his trick horse, Tiny, in the circuit back in the day. He also made saddles and was a wrangler in Hollywood westerns, often driving stagecoaches in the movies. “Her mom died when she was little,” says Kimsey’s niece Sue Benjamin, of Turner, whose similar passion for horses started with the first carrot fed to one while she was still in diapers. “Aunt Luella would tell me she could ride that old horse bareback straight up the hill,” Benjamin says. “She rode it to school, rode in rodeos, rode for fun.” Kimsey castrated her first calf when she was 8 years old, and four years later helped her uncle drive a team of horses — a Bay and a “flea-bitten Grey that was very nervous” — to pull machinery to harvest corn and then haul it to town. “I had to stand on a crate to harness them,” Kimsey says, smiling. “I got to ride for fun after all the work was done. I lived near Renton then. I milked three cows before

Drawing winners play the game for Free Play or an off-road vehicle!

Grand Finale Saturday, July 30 Someone is guaranteed to win a Jeep!

Courtesy photo

Luella Kimsey, now 87, started riding horses when she was very young and shares her passion with family.

school and after.” She married her first husband and had five children. Photos of her and all five children on her horse were passed around, and a smile slipped the corner of her mouth at the memory. “I would sidestep my horse, Top, to the front porch,” she says. “I’d put three kids behind and two in the front and go riding. “I had five kids in four years, not to mention a husband,” she adds, reminiscing about her Hamiltonian mare. “I could get on her and it was just me and her. Everyday I’d run a mile bareback, my long hair flung out in back of me. My cousin used to say, ‘I hate you.’”

The memory draws a chuckle from Kimsey and those gathered on the porch while yellow jackets buzz around, a rooster crows, and horses nicker in the paddock. “Horses was always my thing,” says Kimsey, 87, who now lives in Gates with her cowboy hubby, Bud, a mere 74. “She was a ‘cougar’ when cougars weren’t even in yet,” says Bud, obviously enthralled with his wife. Bud’s father was a hobo who rode the trains. He and Luella married in 1969 after her first husband died. The two traveled to Reno in a blizzard in a two-horse trailer. “Married that same night,”

See HORSE p. 6

STARTING TO THINK

ABOUT MEDICARE?

member. r.. *Must be 21+ Players Club member See Players Club for details.

I-5 to to Exit 88 • Rochest Rochester er • 1-800-720-1788 • lucky luck luckyeagle.com yeagle.com

All In One Mobility Sales - Installations - Service - Rentals Curved & Straight Stair Lifts. 3 Working models on display Walk-in bath tubs & Barrier free showers

503-255-5005 OR: 165310 Stair Lifts & Platform Lifts WA: ALLONOM920KA Walk-in Baths & Roll-in Showers Patient Lifts & Home Elevators Scooters, Lift Chairs, Wheelchairs

Call or Visit our Showroom Today

:H FDQ KHOS \RX H[SORUH DOO \RXU RSWLRQV Deep Water Tub

Platform Lifts

Great information, without any obligation.

Walk-in Tubs Installed Start at $8,000 Over 60 Scooters, Lift Chairs, Wheelchairs & Walkers on display

FamilyCare Health | 866-225-2273 familycareinc.org

866-225-2273 www.familycareinc.org

FamilyCare Health is an HMO and PPO plan with a Medicare contract and a contract with the 2UHǨRQ +HDOWK 3ODQ 0HGLFDLG (QUROOPHQW LQ )DPLO\&DUH +HDOWK GHSHQGV RQ FRQWUDFW UHQHZDO Y0103_ADV_00241 ACCEPTED

Over 12 shower & bath units on display

All In One Mobility 12833 NE Airport Way Portland, OR 97230

www.AllinOneMobility.com Without freedom, no one really has a name. ~Milton Acorda

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

HORSE CONTINUED FROM P. 5

Bud Kimsey says. “Our honeymoon was on the ranch.” His new wife owned a Palamino gelding back then, and always wanted to barrel race. She got to do that and much more. Stories about the old days fill the warm air. “One night a rooster came at the kids,” Benjamin says. “Luella just whipped it around by the neck, tossed it to her son, and said, ‘Get it ready for the pot. It’s dinner tonight.’” The Kimseys also raised domestic rabbits in their barn and ran a small dairy at night by lantern “to keep the bats away.” During their time together, the two belonged to a drill team, performing “24 maneuvers in a very short time.” The couple loved attending “game night” on Fridays at the Salem Saddle Club. “My favorite game was handing the bean bag from one to another,” says Bud, of a relay that caused his horse

Courtesy photos

Above left, Sue Benjamin has also loved horses from a very young age, something that strengthened her relationship with Luella. Above right, Sue Benjamin and friend Teri Thomson at Arlington. to slide right out from under him when the bean bag was thrown his way. Laughing, he adds, “I slid across 25 feet of sawdust. I had sawdust in my shorts the rest of the night.” Benjamin, 58, and her friend, Teri Thomson, plan to

ride with Kimsey after she has knee surgery. Benjamin and Thomson are members of the Canyon Riders Drill Team, performing at the Santiam Canyon Stampede this July and in other events. They also ride with the 40 Something Cowgirls and want Kimsey to join their group. She tells them she’s thinking about it. Both Kimsey and Benjamin love performing.

“It’s something I’d always wanted to do,” Benjamin says. Although her horse had never performed in her 23 years, with lots of practice, sometimes three times a week for three hours each time, the two are living Benjamin’s dream. Her first horse was a white pony named Casper, which she rode after her chores were done. “As I got older, I traded

Tualatin Village Inn

503-620-2515

17070 SW 72nd Ave • Tualatin, OR

Woodburn Estates & Golf

Casper to some family friends for another white horse, only a bit bigger, named Tug Fire,” she says. “Every day after school, I’d clean house, cook dinner, do the dishes and homework, and once that was all done, I was free to ride him as much as I like as long as I was home on him before dark. “I told him everything, and that horse loved me with every ounce of his heart,” Benjamin continues. “And I loved him, too.” Many years and four daughters later, she married her current husband, Robert Benjamin. The couple bought two horses, a mother and daughter that actually were descendants of singer Wayne Newton’s Arabian horse, Naborr. Today, she still rides Bella, the daughter, most of the time without a saddle. “I just feel the connection to the horse better that way,” she says. “The connection I have to horses is not one I can really put into words. I think anyone that has this passion would say the same thing. That’s why my aunt and I understand each other so well, because we just ‘know.’” Riding Bella lets the rest of the world simply fade out, Benjamin says. “I am at peace because it feels like only Bella and I are in existence,” she shares. Kimsey agrees. “I love riding horses,” she says. “It makes me forget everything, de-stresses me. When I’m on a horse, it’s just me and the horse.” In her spare time, she likes to embroider, crochet and make outfits for her collector dolls. She raises seven chickens and a Great Pyrenees puppy. Still, horses are never far from her mind. ■

Not just a home...

A LIFESTYLE

Homes ranging from $100,000 - $200,000

100% Financing with USDA Rural Loan Program

Call the Experts...

503-981-6000

www.mccullyrealty.com

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

The flower of Camas

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

Photo by Barry Finnemore

Virginia Warren, shown here holding one of the many scrapbooks she has made about Camas and Washougal, speaks proudly of the area where she grew up and lived. She enjoys talking about the area’s history to local groups and at the Two Rivers Heritage Museum.

Viriginia Warren has the southwest Washington city in her back pocket

By BARRY FINNEMORE BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

Virginia Warren has lived in Camas nearly all of her 91 years, and cultivated deep roots in the southwest Washington city. She frequently shares her vast knowledge and love of Camas through local history talks and tours. And while it might seem she knows virtually all there is to know about the city, the fact is she still enjoys researching its past and always comes across something new. “You’re never too old to learn,” she says. Warren, who moved to Camas as an infant with her family and today lives in a neighborhood bordering Washougal, has led historical tours of both cities. These days, she gives local history talks at the Camas Public Library and, through the Two Rivers Heritage Museum in Washougal, leads bus tours that highlight local history. She believes it’s important

to keep local history alive. Not only is it fun to learn about, but it instills pride among residents. Warren says it’s a rewarding way to give back to an area she considers “a great place to live.” As a girl, Warren spent time with friends playing hide and seek, climbing trees and making igloos on snowy winter days. “We got together and made our own fun,” she says. Her family, including an older brother and sister, moved a few times around Camas, eventually settling in a twostory home in the country. Today, that home would be part of downtown Camas. Her father worked for the paper mill for nearly four decades; her mother worked from home, and in Henry Kaiser’s shipyards during World War II. As a child, Warren learned to play the clarinet and was a majorette in the high school band, marching in Portland’s Rose Festival parade. She graduated from high school in 1944, and immedi-

ately after supported the Allied war effort, helping drive convoys of military vehicles in the San Francisco Bay area. She and other women drove the vehicles in need of repair off the ships, to repair lots, then back again. After a year, she returned to Camas, where she became a beautician until she started a family with her husband, Bob Holland. Warren’s history talks and tours cover everything from the Camas paper mill and the Pendleton Woolen Mills site, to the pioneers who settled Camas and Washougal. She recalls a community in which she grew up where everyone knew almost everyone else. Rarely did her family venture to Vancouver or Portland because “we had everything here,” she says, citing downtown Camas clothing and grocery stores. Because of her long history in Camas, Warren oftentimes has personal ties to subjects featured in her talks and tours.

See CAMAS p. 8

17819 NE Riverside Pkwy, #E, Portland, OR 97230

503-491-1214 / 1-800-NEPTUNE www.NeptuneCremationService.com

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

Knowing when to hang up the keys Readers Write

By DANIEL LACY

There is a rite of passage that most of us have gone through, that time of independence that beckoned and called our name. It caused our parents grief, but it gave us the ability to explore things on our own and, for most of us men, meant we could take Tina Goza to the prom without our parents tagging along. We got our license and we started driving. The evolution of the automobile has been nothing less than monumental. As technology has enveloped the world the modern-day car has changed — from carburetors to fuel injection, drum to disc brakes, and now cars that “see” what is out there, apply steering and brake assistance in order to protect “themselves” and the occupants inside. These machines are amazing. They almost don’t need us. Therein lies the potential for a problem. Driving does still need our attention, so the question is, are we giving it all we have? When I started driving (before it was strictly legal for me to do so) cars were basic. AM radio was the standard and power steering was a luxury for those able to afford it. Seat belts had just been added and safety glass, well, you didn’t want to find out if you had it. Driving took effort and our full attention. Today, with all the giz-

mos, physical effort is not as much in demand. It doesn’t take much to push the brakes or to turn the wheel, but the fact that we are going fast, with greater ease, puts a premium on the aforementioned items. And then we miss something. My daughter lost a friend the other day. A missed stop sign killed both people in the car. It was an instant end. It happened quickly. I was pulling out from my neighborhood recently, be-fore the sun was up. I looked both ways, then looked again. But as I pulled out to make a left turn, I almost took out a car moving from my right. I never saw their lights because they were hidden in my A-pillar (the post at the side of the windshield). I completely missed them, but the truth is, I “missed” them when I didn’t see the car. That event woke me up. I’m in my mid-50s and I’ve driven cars, race cars and motorcycles. I know

what I am doing. Yes, I am good at the craft but I also recognize that I am not as good as I once was. It is a statement that is true for all of us as we get older. Is it time to think about putting up the keys? I don’t know. For myself, I have told my kids that if I can’t back up without turning my head around then it is time for me to stop. And no, that doesn’t mean I am using a backup camera as a crutch. But there is a time when we all need to think about saying when to stop. Gauge yourself. Are you putting as much attention into driving as is necessary? That is, are you driving or “riding” your car along? Are others pointing out things you are missing, or are they apprehensive about riding with you? Maybe we should all start paying attention to when to say when. ■ Daniel Lacy is the executive director of Bob’s Auto Cafe, a nonprofit auto shop in Tualatin.

Celebrating the Art of Life

Vancouver Pointe Senior Village Where the adventure begins! Join us for a Luau, July 29, 2016! Enjoy Hawaiian Hors d’oeuvers from 2:00-3:00 P.M. Live entertainment at 3:00 P.M. by oom Rouland Espe and his hula dancers. Limited, Large 2-Bedr Stay for dinner, $12 per guest, 2-Bath Apartment FREE for ages 65+, Please RSVP Homes Available!

4555 NE 66th Ave., Vancouver, WA 360.693.5900 | info@VancouverPointe.com

www.VancouverPointe.com

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

Adopt me

CHARLES Charles is the Oregon Humane Society’s Cat of the Month. This handsome softspoken 7-year-old red tabby is the favorite gentleman of many OHS staff and volunteers and is looking for the perfect home to call his own. He loves to play and pounce on toys while also enjoying some quiet snuggle time with his family. Charles would probably do better in a single cat home. He isn’t particularly fond of small children and may hide when they are around. Charles is declawed and will need to go to a home where he can be an indoor only cat. He has diabetes and will require long-term care and a medical consult will be provided prior to adoption so you can learn about caring for him. You can meet with Charles at the Oregon Humane Society, 1067 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, 503-285-7722. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; adoptions end one-half hour prior to closing each day. As a senior cat, Charles has a special senior adoption fee of $15 which includes neuter, microchip ID, collar and OHS ID tag, initial vaccines, courtesy veterinarian exam, and plenty of post adoption support. Availability is subject to prior adoption. Every Tuesday the Oregon Humane Society offers an adoption special for people age 60 and up. A select group of approximately 20 pets (cats and dogs) will be available for adoption to seniors at no charge. OHS recognizes that a pet not only can make you feel young at heart, but pets may help keep you healthy. Researchers have documented that living with pets is associated with lower blood pressure and less anxiety. The pets are selected are a good fit for a mature household. If a perfect match cannot be found among the 20 free pets, all other pets at the shelter will be $50 off the listed adoption fee (only for individuals 60 years of age or older). This special cannot be combined with other offers. ■

CAMAS CONTINUED FROM P. 7 Among them is Charlie Farrell, a businessman who, among many endeavors, developed a theater in Camas where Warren watched Saturday matinees as a youngster and during high school worked as an “usherette.” “I ran down the hill from school, worked in the drugstore from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., and walked to the theater, changed into my uniform, started the popcorn machine, studied, then helped people to their seats,” Warren recently said. She often mentions the paper mill during conversations, likely because she worked there at the same time she worked at the theater. After her husband Bob died, she married Wendell Warren, and he worked at the paper mill as well. She refers to the mill as an economic keystone for early Camas – when it was owned by Crown Zellerbach, it had almost 3,000 employees. Barbara Baldus is active in the Camas community, has known Warren for 25 years and calls her a “community treasure.” Baldus serves on the Camas Public Library’s gallery board and is board secretary of the Downtown Camas Association. She says that awhile back she started to document the history of Fourth Street, traditionally Camas’ main shopping street. It was fun, she says, to have

Of note

Warren is poised to lead another bus tour, set for 10 a.m. Aug. 4. The tour, which costs $25 and begins and ends at the Two Rivers Heritage Museum, includes lunch at Columbia Ridge Senior Living. For more details, please contact the museum at 360-8358742. in common a fondness for local history. Warren is “the collective memory of this town,” Baldus says. Warren, who has three sons, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, says in preparing for talks and tours, she makes a point to connect with other longtime residents from time to time to research historical facts, and refers to history books about Camas and Washougal. In addition to leading talks and tours, she’s compiled 11 large scrapbooks of Camas and Washougal history. When not leading tours, Warren walks three to four miles on weekdays. Five years ago, she and some girlfriends started a birthday tradition in which they hike up Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge and celebrate at the top with a cup of champagne. ■

Getting [re]settled

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

Volunteers help refugees from war-torn countries

By MARY OWEN

BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

As an organization rooted in social justice, Catholic Charities is expected to resettle 50 refugees in Salem by September. “Almost all refugees we have helped resettle are in the Portland Metro area,” says Jennifer Barischoff, Salem and Keizer Refugee Services program coordinator. “A year or two ago, we were concerned about the tight housing market in Portland, and started exploring Marion County.” Salem also has more entrylevel jobs and offers refugees fleeing from areas of conflict and persecution a calmer environment, Barischoff says. In the past three years, Catholic Charities has resettled 1,032 refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Iran and other countries torn by violence, most recently Syria. The organization only resettles refugees handpicked by the federal government and vetted via a rigorous screening process conducted by the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and multiple intelligence agencies. “Several are here now,” Barischoff says of the refugees coming to Marion County via the organization. “One extended family from Iraq is in West Salem. A fam-

Photo by NWBSN staff

This Somali family came to the United States from a refugee camp in Ethiopia, where they had been living for eight years. They recently settled in the Salem area, assisted by Catholic Charities. The family has 11 members, including (above) Aian, her husband Abdi, two of their children Mahad and Abdi Fatah, and Aian’s mother Farhiya, who has five other school-age children.

ily of six from the Democratic Republic of Congo is in Keizer.” Most of the refugees are families, and about 40 percent are children under 18 accompanied by their parents, she says. “Some are single,” she adds. “One coming is a 24year-old single woman. Another coming with her son is reuniting with her husband.” To assist future refugees, Barischoff says Catholic Char-

ities has laid a lot of ground work over the past 18 months, including meeting with local employers, employment agencies, government officials and agencies, and programs to provide ESL training. “We will provide extensive training for job readiness,” Barischoff says. “We will also have English as a second language programs.” Additionally, Catholic Charities will provide a team of six volunteers for each family to

assist with issues related to health care, job coaching, government assistance programs, transportation, academic tutoring, language training and cultural navigation, she adds. “Several churches are interested in ‘adopting’ families,” Barischoff says. “Their teams will welcome the refugees at the airport, help set up apartments, and work with their caseworker. We still need interpreters who can speak French, Arabic, Farsi,

Swahili and other tribal languages.” Catholic Charities’ funding comes from the Match Grant program, a partnership between U.S. Catholic Charities and the federal government. Oregon’s Refugee Case Services Project, a public/private partnership between the Department of Human Services and voluntary agencies, including Catholic Charities, provides cash assistance and case services for a period of eight months after U.S. arrival. To educate and engage people in Catholic Charities’ outreach, lay volunteers Paul Wilson, a community activist from Turner, and Bill Hayden, president of the Salem chapter of the United Nations Association, organized a refugee forum at the Salem Public Library. More than 300 people filled the library’s auditorium. “We expected about 40 people, but it turned out rather rapidly that we were getting a lot more interest than we thought we would,” Wilson says. “People want to do more about refugees in their midst than we first thought. “We welcome anyone interested to come to these meetings,” he says. For more information on Catholic Charities efforts in Salem, call Barischoff at 503719-2726 or email her at JBarischoff@CatholicChari tiesOregon.org. ■

HEALTHY LIVING DIRECTORY NAME & LOCATION

ComfortCare Dental www.comfortcare.net Milwaukie

503-653-8320 Oregon City

503-557-3747

FamilyCare Health 825 NE Multnomah St., Ste. 1400, Portland, OR 97232

503-222-2880 800-458-9518 (TTY/TDD 711) www.familycareinc.org

Prime Geriatric Dental Care 11400 SE 37th Ave. Milwaukie, OR 97222

503-PRIME-55 503-774-6355 www.PrimeGeriatric.com

SERVICES OFFERED

Complete Family Dental Care We focus on prevention and provide a variety of procedures for our patients. Services include: Preventive exam and cleaning, basic filling, crown and bridge, root canal, perio surgery, extraction, implant and denture. We have Mobile Dental Van servicing the senior population in Assisted Living Facilities. Our patients are like family to us.

Based right here in Oregon, FamilyCare Health is an HMO and PPO plan with a Medicare contract and a contract with the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid). We offer six Medicare Advantage plans.

Local matters when it comes to your health. Call us or visit our website to learn more about FamilyCare Health.

Compassionate Quality Care for the Whole Family Our office offers a 30-40% senior (55+) discount for patients without insurance. Services include all regular dental procedures. We also offer mobile dentistry and come right into your home or care community. Services include: exams, digital x-rays, cleanings, fillings, simple extractions and denture work. If you can’t get out, we will gladly come to you!

CHI WALKING

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

Movement technique helps improve overall fitness, reduces injury

By VANESSA SALVIA BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

Keith McConnell has spent most of his life running. After moving to Oregon 10 years ago, he became a running and walking coach for older adults training for longdistance events. But what sets him apart is his use of a method developed by Danny Dreyer, and published in his books “Chi Walking” and “Chi Running,” that helps older adults train for marathons and halfmarathons without pain and injury, and that improves their overall level of fitness. McConnell, now 72, started running as a child, and then ran to train for the various sports in which he was involved. “I just enjoy the freedom of it and the flow and, particularly in recent years, trail running,” he says. “I really enjoy the natural side of it and the hills here in Eugene, and especially since I learned and now teach chi running and chi walking, I find the hills to be a really fun part of training rather than being something to avoid. With the techniques you learn through chi walking you can really work with hills and enjoy them.” McConnell, who worked as a psychologist in California until moving here, now runs a few times a week. He ran the Boston Marathon in 2006 at the age of 61. “That was an accomplishment,” he says, with emphasis. “When I was younger I was not in the league to meet the qualifying times because I’m not a fast runner competitively. But as you get older, with every five-year age group the time to qualify gets a little lower, so if you stay fit and you hit 60 or so, you might actually be able to qualify.” When McConnell began running marathons, he found his joints getting very sore, which meant he had to stop running occasionally and lose training time. He ran, but limited himself out of fear of experiencing a serious injury. “When I discovered ‘Chi Running,’ I thought, ‘Well, if this works I should still be able to do these things,’ so I did a few more marathons and that’s when I qualified for Boston,” he says. “It made a difference, not only in not getting injured but also the recovery.” He also hasn’t had any serious injuries and has stayed fit enough to participate in running events when a lot of people his age have given up on that kind of activity. “I feel fortunate to still be able to do those things,” he

Photo by Vanessa Salvia

Coach Keith McConnell (far left) leads his group — training to walk half of the Eugene Marathon — through a series of exercises and stretches, including ankle rotations. says. About 12 years ago, McConnell attended one of Dreyer’s workshops, and he was instantly hooked. “It just made sense,” McConnell says of the model based on some tai chi techniques of core strength and alignment to maintain a body’s “flow.” He has been teaching it ever since. According to Danny Dreyer’s website, “chi,” (also spelled “qi” or “ch’I”) is defined as “energy or life force” in Chinese philosophy. His books utilize the principles of tai chi, a system of movements that strengthen the body to optimize the flow of energy and reduce the use of force for moving forward, which reduces the risk of walking or running injury, while maximizing the benefits of mindful movement and healthy living. He says practitioners don’t need to know anything about tai chi to benefit from his techniques, just approach it with simple exercises and practices. “When your structure is aligned with good posture and your muscles and joints are relaxed, chi energy will flow through your body in an unobstructed life-giving

way,” Dreyer writes. “It is amazing how well our body responds to proper care even if we’ve neglected it or been abusive for a long time. This is part of the function of chi.” Dreyer takes a holistic approach to using the large muscles in your body; for example, using more than just your leg muscles to propel forward. “You’re working as a total unit, a total holistic mindbody person,” McConnell says. “So when you’re running or walking you’re using your whole body and you’re leaning a bit more with gravity so you don’t have to depend on your leg muscles and your joints and such. Then your form is better and you’re less likely to introduce stress and strain into your joints and tendons. You’re less likely to get an injury and if you do you’re more likely to recover quickly.” After moving to Eugene, McConnell made running and walking his primary activities. He teaches some classes through the University of Oregon’s physical activity program and privately through the Eugene Running Company, on his own and through a local community center.

Of note

Keith McConnell, 541-870-2328, drkeithcoach.com

On a Sunday this spring, McConnell’s running group met at Oakmont Park by Oakway Center, where he led the runners through a training program for the Eugene Marathon. They did six stretches and warm-ups, including ankle rotations and a demonstration of how to land safely on your foot. McConnell showed the runners how to do hip joint circles, focusing on the details of each movement and an awareness of how the joints move and line-up with each other. He also spoke of the 5 B’s, techniques that are key to chi walking: ball, buckets, bent, back and butterfly. McConnell demonstrates how imagining that you are holding a large “ball” in front of your body helps keep your core engaged. When you carry heavy “buckets,” your shoulders are down. Keep your elbows “bent,” and moving “back,” and pretend that you are holding a “butterfly” in each of your hands so you

don’t clench your fists and crush it. Suzanne Lyon, 65, is training for her ninth halfmarathon, and has taken McConnell’s training two other times. She started walking when she was 59, and likes that she can count on McConnell to keep her motivated. “I couldn’t find anyone else that would stay consistently with the program,” she says. “This is a mindful program based on chi, so it’s more about balance and focus. When I first started (walking), I had blisters and my knees hurt. Since I’ve been chi walking I haven’t had any walking injuries at all.” Lyon now walks yearround and is about to start running using the same technique. Myrna Wheeler joined the group when it started last May. “I am a long-time runner with a long-time chronic hamstring injury,” she says. “I’d heard about this being pain free so I thought (that) if it works, I’ll try it. I started walking and am getting back into running.” Robin Forster, 64, is a long-time member of McConnell’s group. This is her fourth year training with him and has walked and run two marathons with other coaches. “When I quit smoking it was like, ok, now what?” she says. “I wanted more skill development because chi running is more technical. It’s awesome. It’s the only thing I’ve found that keeps me healthy to run because before I found this I was seeing my chiropractor every single week to keep my body going so I could do a half marathon. The other way of running is real hard pounding. This is a great technique for those of us over 50 who want to do some exercise and Keith’s real gentle.” By the time adults reach their 60s and 70s, their bodies are more fragile and, adults are mentally more frightened about walking and running because they’re concerned about balance issues, he says. “The very thing they’re afraid of is made worse by tightening and overusing muscles,” McConnell says, “instead of working on their posture and their balance and the ease of walking. When I do these classes at the senior center they learn to relax more and be more comfortable as they walk and then it’s a healthy reinforcement because then they’re more likely to go and do it.” ■

Voices in Verse: Open mic poetry, 10:30 a.m., Cedar Mill 23 Library, 12505 NW Cornell Road,

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

June 28 Aushi Mizani grand opening, 4 to 6 p.m., 500 W. 8th St., Suite 215, Vancouver, Wash.

Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Music Mondays: Night Folk, 25 6:30 p.m., Arts Plaza, 401 NE 2nd St., Gresham.

Hot-Shot Gallery opening, 6:30 p.m., Sherwood Center for the Arts, 22689 SW Pine St., Sherwood. 503-625-4ART.

30 (through July 24) “West Side Story, the Legendary Musical,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Deb Fennell Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Road, Tigard. $30+. Broadwayrose.org.

JULY

Bring your historical objects to 2 a temporary pop-up museum, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Overlook Park, Ridgefield, Wash. 360-993-5679.

(also July 3) Independence Day Weekend, noon and 2:30 p.m., Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, 207 N. Railroad Ave., Yacolt, Wash. Bycx.com.

Poetry Moves: Poems on the Bus, a public reading of student poems, 10 a.m. to noon, Esther Short Park stage area, Vancouver, Wash.

International folk dancing, 3 p.m., Marshall Center, Vancouver, Wash. $1. 360-216-6264.

Oregon Music Hall of Fame inductees and scholarship recipients announced, 5:30 p.m., Tony Starlight’s Showroom, 1125 SE Madison St., Portland.

Song Circle, 6:30 p.m., Cedar Mill Library, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043. Garden Party, noon to 2:30 p.m., Washington County Museum, 120 E. Main St. $100/ $120 by July 5. 503-645-5353.

Morgan Alexander, noon, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland.

The 13 Senate, acoustic folk pop,

Tom Clark artist’s reception, 5 to 8 p.m., Sequoia Gallery and Studios, 136 SE Third Ave., Hillsboro. 503693-0401.

Stump City Soul, 6:30 p.m., Stella Olsen Park, Sherwood. Musiconthegreen.net.

John Nilsen and Swimfish, noon, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland.

Prime Timers Dining Club, 6 p.m., Heidi’s Restaurant, 1230 NE Cleveland Ave., Gresham. 503-936-5861 or PrimeTimersDning@aol.com.

6:30 p.m., Stella Olsen Park, Sherwood. Musiconthegreen.net.

Logan Brill, 5 to 7 p.m., SW Main St., between Broadway and Park, Portland. Free.

(also July 15) AARP Smart Driver Class, 4:30 p.m., Mount Hood Medical Center, 23700 SE Stark St., Portland. 503-663-2228. Open mic featuring Tessara Dudley, 7 p.m., Angst Gallery, 1015 Main St., Vancouver, Wash. Nu 15 Shooz, 7 p.m., Lajos

Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, 5 to 7 p.m., SW Main St., between Broadway and Park, Portland. Free.

Songwriters in the Round, 6:30 p.m., Cedar Mill Library, 12505 8 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Coriolanus, Shakespeare in the Parks, 6 p.m., Lajos Balogh Performing Shell, Marylhurst University, 17600 Hwy. 43. Free.

Music Mondays: Charles Patton Band, 6:30 p.m., Arts 11 Plaza, 401 NE 2nd St., Gresham.

Eastside Bluegrass Series: Great Northern Planes, 7:30 p.m., Freedom 4 Square Church, 660 SE 160th Ave., Portland.

David Benoit, 7:30 p.m., Winningstad Theatre, Portland. $30/$35. Portland5.com.

Balogh Performing Shell, Marylhurst University, 17600 Hwy. 43. Free.

(also July 17) Train Robbery Special, noon and 2:30 p.m., 16 Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, Yacolt, Wash. Bycx.com.

Writers Mill, inspiring gathering for those who love to write, 1 p.m., Cedar Mill Library,

12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Music Mondays: Swingali, 18 6:30 p.m., Arts Plaza, 401 NE 2nd St., Gresham.

Opening reception for Ann Durley exhibit, 5 to 8 p.m., Currents Gallery, 532 NE Third St., McMinnville. 503-435-1316.

CALM: Coloring and Listening Moments for Adults, 6:30 p.m., Cedar Mill Library, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Teresa Topaz, noon, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland.

Garden Tour and Neighborhood Nature Walk, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Stenzel Healing Garden, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Portland. thazen@lhs.org. Gardening for Bees, present20 ed by OSU Extension

Master Gardener, 6:30 p.m., Cedar Mill Library, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Ben Rice, blues/rockabilly, 6:30 p.m., Stella Olsen Park, Sherwood. Musiconthegreen.net.

Kathryn Claire and Big Bridges, 5 to 7 p.m., SW Main St., between Broadway and Park, Portland. Free.

(also July 21) EV Roadmap 9 Conference, 2 World Trade Center, 25 SW Salmon St., Portland. Evroadmapconference.com.

Dacia, 7 p.m., Lajos Balogh 22 Performing Shell, Marylhurst University, 17600 Hwy. 43. Free.

noon, Pioneer 26 Supraphonics, Courthouse Square, Portland. Conjunto Alegre, Latin salsa, 27 6:30 p.m., Stella Olsen Park, Sherwood. Musiconthegreen .net.

Garcia Birthday Band, 5 to 7 p.m., SW Main St., between Broadway and Park, Portland. Free. Luau 29 Celebration, 2 to 3

p.m., Vancouver Pointe Senior Village, 4555 NE 66th Ave., Vancouver, Wash. 360-6935900. (through July 31) Fifth Annual “Kaleidoscope,” Gallery Theater, 210 NE Ford St., McMinnville. 503-472-2227.

Ronnie Robins and the Rhythms of Brazil, 6:30 p.m., Cedar Mill Library, 12505 NW Cornell Road, Suite 13, Portland. 503-644-0043.

Quarterflash, 7 p.m., Lajos Balogh Performing Shell,

Marylhurst University, 17600 Hwy. 43. Free.

(also July 31) Mid-Summer 30 Weekend Steam Trip, noon and 2:30 p.m., Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, Yacolt, Wash. Bycx.com.

Send your calendar items to: Calendar, 4120 River Road N., Keizer, OR 97303 or email mte@nwseniornews.com by the 6th of the month for the following month’s publication.

Northwet Oboe Seminar now accepting applications

The 23rd annual Northwest Oboe Seminar now is accepting applications. The seminar is scheduled for Aug. 20 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Portland. It’s designed for intermediate to advanced oboists and is devoted to all aspects of oboe performance. It is directed by Victoria Racz and this year will feature Earle Dumler. The fee for the seminar is $100 and includes a T-shirt, minor instrument repairs, dinner and accompanist. Applications are due by July 31. Visit oregonchamberplayers.or/oboeseminar, or call Racz at 360-696-4084.

Monticello:

Back of the nickel

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

By PAT SNIDER

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS

While Thomas Jefferson’s reputation may be taking a beating in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” — where he is portrayed as a bit of a dandy and member of the landed gentry — his many accomplishments have earned him a lasting legacy as one of the great figures of American history. He authored the Declaration of Independence; served as our third president, first secretary of state, vice president, minister to France, and governor of Virginia; founded the University of Virginia; and was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase. His range of skills and interests is equally impressive: architecture, gardening, music, science, philosophy, archeology, French food and wine — a true Renaissance man. He has an impressive monument in Washington, D.C., dedicated to him, he’s one of four presidents enshrined on

Photo by Pat Snider

Monticello is Thomas Jefferson’s famous home, shown here from the west, which is also known as “the nickel view.” Mount Rushmore, and his face is on the front of the nickel. On the back of the nickel, is his beloved hilltop estate, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia. As one of America’s first and finest architects, he began building Monticello (Italian for “little mountain) in 1769, but with

frequent redesigning, refining and enlarging, it wasn’t fully completed until 1809, four decades later. Jefferson had lived in Paris for five years and was greatly influenced by European design and taste. When it came to drawing plans for his home, he rejected the British Georgian-style popular in

America at that time, and turned to the Italian architect, Andrea Palladio, for inspiration. The exterior is constructed of local bricks, with a columned portico, and domed roof; inside, are more than 30 rooms reflecting his ideas and inventions. He called it the curiosity of the neigh-

borhood. The surrounding 5,000 acres provided a venue for Jefferson to indulge his interests in botany and gardening, He planted groves of native and “exotic” trees, fruit orchards, berry gardens, vineyards, and a 1,000-foot, terraced vegetable garden. He enjoyed experimenting with varieties of plants and kept meticulous records. When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, his debts were over $100,000. Some of the house contents and much of the plantation (including slaves and equipment) were sold at auction in 1827. In 1834, the property was purchased by Uriah Levy, a naval officer and great admirer of Jefferson’s ideas, especially on religious tolerance. Upon his death in 1862, he bequeathed Monticello to the federal government, however, the Confederates seized and sold it during the Civil War. After years of litigation, the contested property was returned to the Levy family,

See HOUSE p. 14

ANY A N Y WAY W AY U SAY S AY IT IT you’ll find it easy to fit in here with 30+ special interest groups a beautiful park-like campus and delicious comfort food with flair

Packages as low as $1,550 per month

Call (503) 255-7160 today to be our guest for lunch and a tour. EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

www.ParkviewRetirement.org www.ParkviewRetirement.org Independent Retirement and Assisted Living

Seniors Senior iorrs our concern co ~ Christ our motivation! motivation!

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

Memory Care

Utilities Included

Planned Activities

Transportation

Housekeeping

LOCATION

Asst. Living/RCF/Foster Care

COMMUNITY

BUY-IN MONTHLY RENTAL No. of Units

Independent Living

RETIREMENT LIVING CHOICES

“No Buy-In”

Avamere at Bethany

16360 NW Avamere Court Portland, OR 97229 503-690-2402

Avamere at Sherwood 16500 SW Century Drive Sherwood, OR 97140 503-625-7333 Patty Odenborg www.avameratsherwood.com

Avamere Living at Berry Park Retirement Living Apartments & Cottages 13669 S. Gaffney Lane Oregon City, OR 97045 503-656-7614 www.avamerelivingat berrypark.com

Beaverton Lodge 12900 SW 9th St. Beaverton, OR 97005 503-646-0635 www.beavertonlodge.com

Retirement Assisted Living Memory Care Call for pricing details.

● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Studio: $3550 1 BR: $4277 2 BR: 4949

55 Assisted Living 24 Memory Care

●

● ● ● ●

98 total units

“No Buy-In”

Studio: $1765-$1825 1 BR: $2075-$2395 2 BR/1 BA: $2575-$2995 2 BR/2 BA: $2795-$2895 2nd Occ.: $395/mo.

●

● ● ● ●

121 Units

“No Buy-In”

Creekside Village Retirement Residence A “Family Felt” Environment 5450 SW Erickson Ave. Beaverton, OR 97005 503-643-9735 www.creekside-village.com

Knights of Pythias Retirement Center 3409 Main Street Vancouver, WA 98663 360-696-4375

Call Lori Fiorillo to schedule your personal tour with complimentary lunch

Privately owned & operated by Knights of Pythias, a not-for-profit organization

Pacific Pointe Retirement Inn at King City

11777 SW Queen Elizabeth King City, OR 97224 503-684-1008 www.pacificpointe.net Call for FREE lunch & tour Come check us out!

Parkview Assisted Living (at Parkview Christian Retirement Community) 10801 NE Weidler St. Portland, OR 97220 503-255-7160 Linda Williams

568 sf, 1BR/1 BA + Lg storage closet 801 sf, 2 BR/1 BA + Lg storage closet 808 sf, 2 BR/2 BA + XL closet & pantry

●

● ● ● ●

120 Apts.

“No Buy-In”

Subsidized Studios & One Bedroom Apts. Private pay rates ● starting at $1045

● ● ● ●

(incl. 1 meal)

166 Units

“No Buy-In” Apartments Studio, 1 BR - Lg or Sm, 2 BR - Lg or Sm, 2 BR Cottages Call for rate information.

●

● ● ● ●

114 Units

No “Buy-In”

Not-for-Profit Studio: $2590 1 BR: $3080

63 Apartments

Did you know that Avamere at Bethany offers dementia care in our Arbor Community? Our staff is proud to provide a high quality of care to each resident, recognizing the uniqueness of each individual. We also offer assisted living apartments where residents can start out independent and as their needs grow we grow with them. Bethany has 8 condo cottages that are independent living with all the perks of living insde the community. Call today to schedule your tour!

Avamere at Sherwood offers assisted living apartments and semi-private memory care suites. Amenities include: 24 hour care services available to residents, on-site ● ● ● ● ● ● Nurse and LPN available during the week and for immediate consultation, activities, housekeeping, 3 nutritious meals and snacks everyday, transportation available to medical appointments.

No “Buy-In”

No Buy In! Studio, 1 Bedroom & 2 Bedrooms: Rates starting at $1903/month 2 Bd cottages: $3525/month

AMENITIES

● ● ● ● ● ●

Stop by Avamere at Berry Park today for a visit of our newly remodeled community. We offer housekeeping, laundry, 3 meals/ day in our beautiful dining room, transportation services, movie theatre, billiards lounge and a variety of activities here and off-site. Signature Home Care services are available on-site at affordable monthly rate providing you the independence you want, but assistance that you need. We can’t wait to welcome you home!

Some of the largest retirement apartments in the area. Pet-friendly, nonsmoking community. Two sets of onsite managers, front door video cameras - visible from residents’ TVs, indoor spa, mineral/saline pool, senior water aerobic classes, scheduled transportation, weekly shopping trips & excursions. Beautiful walking paths & raised bed gardens, satellite TV & much more.

There’s “No Place Like Home.” That’s why Creekside Village is where you’ll want to hang your hat. We serve 3 fantastic home cooked meals a day by our seasoned chef. 24-hour onsite emergency response. A walk around our beautiful grounds with a greeting from our creek side ducks makes for a pleasant experience. Just blocks from the Elsie Sturh Senior Center, Beaverton Library, and Beaverton Farmers Market.

Our non-profit organization offers very affordable housing. Amenities include meal program, housekeeping, laundry service, beauty shop, fitness center, art room, library, and a secured courtyard, 24-hr. security, secured entrance, emergency pull cords in each apartment. There are planned activities & weekly shopping trips at no cost. Stop by for a tour and lunch any time!

All-Inclusive - Enjoy freedom from cooking, cleaning, yard work & home maintenance! Walk to shopping, banks, post office, pharmacy & medical offices or use our scheduled transportation. Beautiful grounds & walking path, activities, 24-hr. staff & emergency call system. Great food, staff & residents! Executive Director has been at Pacific Pointe for 20 years. On-site health care agency should you need it. Reasonable rates.

The perfect balance of independence & support can be found here. In addition to spacious private apartments, we offer a full menu of personal support services, 24-hr. friendly care-giving staff & a full time RN & LPN nursing team. A variety of activities, outings, fitness, wellness & faith-based services, all promote friendship & a sense of community. Call today for a personal tour & complimentary lunch.

PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION

NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • JULY 2016

HOUSE CONTINUED FROM P. 12

who then turned it over to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in 1923 to be used as a memorial to its founder. The Foundation continues in its mission to preserve Monticello and educate the public about Mr. Jefferson. Visitors to Monticello arrive at a large center below the house featuring several exhibits, videos, cafe and gift shop, before being shuttled to the house for a timespecific, guided tour. Only the first floor is available for touring but it includes the entrance hall, a hodgepodge of items representing Jefferson’s wide-ranging interests in science as well as an unusual seven-day clock of his invention. The tour moves on to his study, library, and bedchamber with his alcove bed open on

Photos by Pat Snider

Thomas Jefferson was a Renaissance man, with a wide range of skills, including tending to this 1,000-foot garden. Left, Jefferson’s grave marker in the family cemetery at Monticello. both sides. (Did you know Jefferson slept sitting up?) The dining room pops with bright yellow paint and has a Jefferson-invented, dumb-

waiter pulley in the sides of the fireplace for delivering wine from the cellar. Visitors are free to stroll around the grounds and take

in the sweeping views of the rolling foothills of the Virginia Piedmont. Two additional guided tours are available: Slavery at

Monticello, and Gardens and Grounds. The family cemetery is located in a thick grove of trees, downhill from the house and includes the simple, granite obelisk marking the final resting place of Thomas Jefferson. Before his death, he listed the three achievements he was most proud of and wanted inscribed on his tomb: author of the Declaration of American Independence; author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; and founder of the University of Virginia. Noticeably missing are all his years of public service, including president of the United States. Creating Monticello is missing as well. It is a masterpiece of classical architecture and the only American private home inscribed on the World Heritage List. The only home on an American coin. ■

Memory Care

Utilities Included

Planned Activities

Transportation

Housekeeping

LOCATION

Asst. Living/RCF/Foster Care

COMMUNITY

BUY-IN MONTHLY RENTAL No. of Units

Independent Living

RETIREMENT LIVING CHOICES

No “Buy-In”

Parkview Christian Retirement Community 1825 NE 108th Ave. Portland, OR 97220 503-255-7160 Linda Williams

Not-for-profit

Rent plus services as low as $1550 per month!

● ● ● ● ● ●

109 Retirement 63 Assisted “No Buy-In”

Royalton Place

5555 SE King Road Milwaukie, OR 97222 503-653-1854 www.royaltonplace.com

Summerfield Retirement Estates An All-Inclusive Retirement Community 11205 SW Summerfield Drive Tigard, OR 97224 503-388-5418

Vancouver Pointe Senior Village

4555 NE 66th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98661 360-693-5900 Info@VancouverPointe.com www.VancouverPointe.com

Whispering Pines Senior Village 525 N.W. 6th Avenue Estacada, OR 97023 503-630-6460 adavis@voaor.org www.voaor.org

Studios start at $2850 1 Bedrooms: $3363 Memory starts at $3660

● ● ● ● ● ●

Call for more information. 59 Assisted Units 28 Memory Units “No Buy-In”

Studio 1 BR/1 BA 2 BR/1 BA 2 BR/2 BA Call for more information

●

● ● ● ●

153 Units

“No Buy-In” Studio 1 BR

1 BR+ Den

●

● ● ● ●

2 BR/1 or 2 BA Cottages

“No Buy-In”

62 one bedroom/ one bath units Rent based on 30% of income (income limits apply)

●

● ●

AMENITIES Located in a quiet neighborhood near medical services, shopping & banks, our 6-acre parklike campus provides single-level courtyard apartments amidst landscaped walking paths. A full calendar of activities & outings, incl. faithbased services, promotes friendship & a sense of community. Entree choices galore, fresh salad bar & dedicated staff make meal time a joy. Stop by for a personal tour & complimentary lunch. Small pets welcome. 24-hr. staff. Daily well-being checks.

“People Who Care...Caring for People”TM Our philosophy of service at Royalton Place Assisted Living encourages an active and independent senior lifestyle that supports residents’ privacy and dignity. Royalton Place provides Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Respite services. Our senior housing environment provides full-service senior living with resort-style amenities.

Our beautiful grounds are surrounded by quiet, quaint neighborhoods to provide peaceful and safe living. Living at Summerfield has it’s perks—including membership to the Summerfield Golf & Country Club! The golf course, clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis courts, exercise equipment & library are all available to our residents. Onsite managers, 24/7/365; pullcords in every apartment.

Choose from beautifully designed independent living cottages or apartment homes with kitchens, spacious bathrooms and 24-hour emergency call system. Three chef-prepared meals daily, all-day dining in our Bistro, scheduled transportation, weekly housekeeping, monthly social calendar filled with many events and adventures.

Whispering Pines Senior Village, located on the beautiful Clackamas River, offers subsidized independent senior housing (62+); spacious community room with fireplace & kitchen facility, planned activities, landscaped grounds, garden areas available for residents, 24hour on-site laundry facility. Propertypaid utilities include water, sewer, trash & electric.

JULY 2016 • www.nwboomerandseniornews.com