Lebanon County 50plus Senior News June 2013 by On-Line Publishers, Inc.

Lebanon County Edition

June 2013

Vol. 8 No. 6

Made to Move Diver, Bicyclist, and Hiker Finds Health on Land and Sea By Megan Joyce Our bodies—no matter their age—are designed to move. Health professionals are continually extolling this wisdom to their patients for improved physical and mental well-being. In surprisingly varied ways, Bill Hager has built a lifestyle with this maxim at its center. Hager, a successful businessman with a local family history that’s generations deep, likes to keep most of his time anything but spare. Hager is an avid bicyclist, hiker, and scuba diver—not to mention magician and photographer. “I have found that, for myself, if I’m moving, I’m feeling better, and if I’m moving, I’m less convinced that I can’t do it anymore,” Hager laughed. Hager’s affinity for the sea and its depths began as a boy, born into a family that always loved the seashore. “There were a couple of shows on TV that really motivated me and turned on my imagination, and one of those shows was Flipper,” he said. “I had this dream that someday I would live in Florida and have my own dolphin, of course.” Fast forward a few decades, and Hager has dozens of scuba dives under his water-logged belt. In the 18 years since he got hooked on diving—after trying out a resort course on scuba diving while vacationing in Nassau— Hager has dived in locales such as Grand Cayman Island and the Turks and Caicos Islands, both in the Caribbean. He has also taken scuba courses both locally and on subsequent vacations, which culminated in his earning his advanced open water certification. please see MOVE page 15 Bill Hager astride his bicycle in front of Erb’s Covered Bridge near Rothsville, which is included in his bicycle club’s Covered Bridge Metric Century ride.

Inside:

Traveltizers: Follow the Gold page 8

How Health Insurance Marketplaces Will Help Early Retirees page 12

Such is Life

No More Patiently Waiting Saralee Perel ost veterinary practices have TVs in the waiting rooms. Just like in an elevator where nobody acknowledges the other, everyone stares at that TV. Our dog, Becky, is terrified at the vet’s. When I cuddled her the last time we were there, I could feel her shaking. I saw other dogs crying and trembling while their owners were trying to comfort them. But did I offer a treat from my pocket or even pet them? Nope. There aren’t many places where we’re more connected to each other than in waiting rooms. Yet when I’m in one, I keep to myself, hiding behind a magazine while pretending I can’t hear the voices of people sitting right next to me. But the thing is—basically we’re in these rooms for the same reasons. In my neurologist’s waiting room, we’re all sitting there with various forms of paralysis. And we don’t speak to each

other? Sheesh! On one visit, when I was wearing my awful, rock-solid, Darth-Vader-style neck brace, I actually turned away from anybody who was wearing the same brace, intentionally avoiding eye contact. Double sheesh! It’s not like we don’t notice these huge, dreadful appliances around our necks. Yet we handle this strong group connection by isolating ourselves from one another. Last week, I was in a dentist’s waiting room while my husband, Bob, was having a tooth extracted. This time I brought a book to use as a barricade.

Within a few feet of me, a young boy was crying. “I’m scared,” he said to his father. So what did I do? I kept reading. And then I had that moment. That once-in-a-lifetime moment. I made a change—one from which I will never return. I put my book down and whispered to them, “I’m the same way at dentist appointments. A friend taught me to massage the skin between my left thumb and forefinger whenever I’m anxious.” I showed them what I meant. Then I watched as the father cradled his son’s

hand and helped him to relax. “It’s working,” the boy’s dad said to me, as his son slowly stopped his rapid breathing and began yawning. The next time I’m in a waiting room, I will not miss the opportunity to connect with another who’s scared. Many are just as frightened as I am, just as lonely, just as needful for a human, or dog, connection. From now on, I’m going to try to break through the isolation and hopefully make it a tiny bit better—for patients, their families, their caregivers, their friends, for me, for Bob … and especially for Becky. Saralee Perel is an award-winning, nationally syndicated columnist. Her new book is Cracked Nuts & Sentimental Journeys: Stories From a Life Out of Balance. To find out more, visit www.saraleeperel.com or email sperel@saraleeperel.com.

is seeking an ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE On-Line Publishers, Inc. has an opening for a highly motivated person with a professional attitude to sell print and online advertising as well as niche events. The successful candidate should: • Enjoy building and maintaining your own long-term business relationships. • Be highly motivated, detail oriented, and able to multitask. • Have good communication skills. • Show a willingness to learn and grow in a fast-paced environment. We offer a competitive compensation plan with a benefits package that includes health insurance and a 401(k) plan. If you have sales experience and are interested in joining our growing sales team, please send your resume and compensation history/requirements to danderson@onlinepub.com. On-Line Publishers, Inc. • 3912 Abel Drive • Columbia, PA 17512 • 717.285.1350 www.onlinepub.com

June 2013

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Resource Directory This Resource Directory recognizes advertisers who have made an extended commitment to your health and well-being.

Emergency Numbers Poison Control Center (800) 222-1222 Food Resources Food & Clothing Bank (717) 274-2490 Food Stamps (800) 692-7462 Hope/Christian Ministries (717) 272-4400

Hearing Aid Services Hearing & Ear Care Center, LLC 200 Schneider Drive, Suite 1, Lebanon (717) 274-3851 Melnick, Moffitt, and Mesaros 927 Russell Drive, Lebanon (717) 274-9775 Hospitals Good Samaritan Hospital 252 S. Fourth St., Lebanon (717) 270-7500

Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging Meals on Wheels (717) 273-9262

Medical Society of Lebanon County (717) 270-7500

Salvation Army (717) 273-2655

Hotlines Energy Assistance (800) 692-7462

Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020

Environmental Protection Agency Emergency Hotline (800) 541-2050

American Cancer Society (717) 231-4582

IRS Income Tax Assistance (800) 829-1040

American Diabetes Association (717) 657-4310

Medicaid (800) 692-7462

American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association (717) 207-4265

Medicare (800) 382-1274

American Lung Association (717) 541-5864 Arthritis Foundation (717) 274-0754 Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (717) 787-7500 CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400 Kidney Foundation (717) 652-8123 The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (717) 652-6520 Lupus Foundation (888) 215-8787

Housing Assistance & Resources Program (HARP) (717) 273-9328

Senior Centers Annville Senior Community Center (717) 867-1796

Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities (717) 274-1401

Maple Street Senior Community Center (717) 273-1048 Myerstown Senior Community Center (717) 866-6786

Insurance Medicare Hotline (800) 638-6833

Northern Lebanon County Senior Community Center (717) 865-0944

Legal Services Pennsylvania Bar Association (717) 238-6715

Palmyra Senior Community Center (717) 838-8237

Neurosurgery & Physiatry Lancaster NeuroScience & Spine Associates 1510 Cornwall Road, Lebanon (717) 454-0061 or (800) 628-2080 Office of Aging Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging (717) 273-9262 Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com

Senior Center of Lebanon Valley (717) 274-3451 Southern Lebanon County Senior Community Center (717) 274-7541 Veterans Services Governor’s Veterans Outreach (717) 234-1681 Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771

Retirement Communities StoneRidge Retirement Living (717) 866-3204

PA Crime Stoppers (800) 472-8477 PennDOT (800) 932-4600

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Recycling (800) 346-4242 Social Security Information (800) 772-1213 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (800) 827-1000 Housing Assistance Hope (Helping Our People in Emergencies) (717) 272-4400

Simply mail this form and $15 for an annual subscription to: 50 plus Senior News • 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Or, subscribe online at www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com! Name: _______________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________ City:__________________________State: _____ Zip: _________________

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June 2013

Salute to a Veteran

They Took a Bullet from His Leg 18 Years after Combat

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50plus Senior News is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community. On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature. 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. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.

June 2013

Robert D. Wilcox erald Cramer grew up in Harrisburg. He had always been the kind of guy who had looked for where the action was. He had, for example, hitchhiked to the West Coast through the northern states, and then returned the same way through the southern states. He had left with $60 in his pocket and came back with $6 and change. Wanting to fly, he applied to the Navy but found that he was colorblind. So he enlisted in the Army while a senior in high school, and then completed a semester at Dickinson College before being called in. At the time, he was raring to go … never guessing that he was to be grievously wounded in combat or that he was to be awarded a Purple Heart with three Battle Stars. He took his basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and then was assigned to the 87th Division. When he learned that he was to ship out of New York on the Queen Elizabeth, he figured things couldn’t get much better than that. He was to go on the largest ocean liner ever built, with luxurious amenities and a peacetime crew of 1,200. What he found when boarding in New York, however, was that all the amenities had been exchanged in wartime for a refitting to carry 10,000 troops jammed into every spare inch of space on the great vessel. Not that it mattered a lot, because the ship, cruising at 26 knots, made the crossing to Scotland in a mere 4.5 days. She was so much faster than the German u-boats that she sailed without a convoy, zigzagging her way across the sea with only her great speed to protect her. Cramer later learned that, by the end of the war, the Queen Elizabeth had carried more than a million troops to the warzone in the course of sailing 500,000 miles. Arriving safely in Scotland, the division moved south to England, where they joined General George Patton’s Third Army and staged for movement to France. Reaching

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LeHavre, France, on Nov. 28, 1944, they joined the VIII Corps that played a key role in exploiting the breakout from the Normandy beachhead. They surged into Brittany and then across northern France. Bypassing Paris, they liberated large chunks of territory. When the 101st Airborne Division was besieged at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, the Third Army was quickly turned north to successfully relieve the division.

Staff Sergeant Gerald Cramer, after leaving the Army in 1946.

Cramer shakes his head as he tells of the fighting at the “bulge.” “It was so cold,” he says, “that lots of men lost toes and feet from freezing. I poured rifle oil over mine, and that seemed to insulate them enough.” The Third Army successfully sealed off the western end of the “bulge” and moved on through Luxembourg. In the first week of February, they pushed through the vaunted Siegfried Line into Germany. And that’s where Cramer’s war ended. On Feb. 28, 1945, he was a staff sergeant leading a dozen or so men toward Germans who were in a wooded area ahead of them. Suddenly, fire from a German machine gun ripped him with bullets

that took out his right eye, broke ribs in the right side of his chest, and hit his right leg. As the Germans were driven back, he remembers one of his buddies who came to recover him saying to another, “I think he’s dead.” “That’s when I managed a moan to let them know that, at least, I was still alive.” They moved him to a field hospital, then to a hospital in Belgium, and finally to a major hospital in England. The hospital in Belgium patched up his ribs, using 32 sutures to close the wound. They removed his right eye and took skin from his neck and leg to reconstruct the eye socket. In England, they decided that the eye socket would look more normal if they used skin from his mouth. So the surgery was done and he was fitted with a glass eye. He was then flown back to the U.S. and admitted to Valley Forge General Hospital for further recuperation until he was discharged from the Army in July of 1946. He adds, “They thought it better not to take out that bullet in my right thigh. But, over 18 years, it had migrated to just behind my right knee, making it hard for me to bend my leg. So they took it out. But,” he says, feeling his left thigh, “I still have a piece of shrapnel here.” After he was discharged, he went back to Dickinson College and earned his degree. He worked in a hardware store his dad owned in Carlisle. Then, in 1951, he moved to York to help his dad run City Floors, which he managed for 40 years. He’s a much-honored veteran in York and makes it a point to take part in many veterans activities. He’s always aware, of course, of how close he came to sacrificing his life in the service of his country … and is thankful for the skilled Army surgeons who permitted him to enjoy so many more years of an active life. Colonel Wilcox flew a B-17 bomber in Europe in World War II.

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Pennsylvanians over 50 are invited to audition for the eighth annual PA STATE SENIOR IDOL competition at one of these locations:

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4751 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111

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June 2013

The Search for Our Ancestry

DNA Soup Angelo Coniglio ast December, I bought a DNA kit from Ancestry.com, the online subscription site for genealogic records. As a subscriber, I was able to purchase the kit for a reduced price of about $100. A week after making the purchase online, I got the kit. I had to partially fill a small tube with about 5 cc of my saliva and return it. In late January came an email from Ancestry.com, saying that my test had failed because I hadn’t submitted enough saliva. I was sent another kit, put twice as much sputum in it, and sent it back. In two weeks, I got another form email, saying the same as the other: my test had failed and they were sending me another kit! I asked around with others who had had, or had heard of, similar experiences, and it was suggested that the next time, I

chew a little on my inner cheeks before filling the tube. I did so for the third kit, submitted it, and last week got another email from Ancestry.com, saying their analysis would take six to eight weeks. I had hoped that by now, I could give some personal comments on DNA testing, but that will have to wait until I receive results. I’ve heard that such “rejection” is not uncommon with any of the venues that offer DNA testing. I previously spoke of the DNA in the chromosomes of the cells of all human beings: 22 paired autosomes (shared

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June 2013

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from mother and father), which essentially contain a complete genetic record, with all branches of a person’s ancestry at some point contributing a piece of his or her autosomal or shared DNA (auDNA). I also mentioned the 23rd pair, the sex chromosome pair, which, in women, has two X chromosomes: one from the father, one from the mother. In men, rd the 23 chromosome has only one X from the mother, and from the father, a Y chromosome that contains paternal or Y-DNA. In addition to the DNA in chromosomes, a special type of DNA exists called mitochondrial DNA, maternal DNA, or simply mtDNA. It is handed down only from females. A male receives mtDNA from his mother but passes none to his children. mtDNA mutates very slowly (approximately every 50 generations), so it is valuable in genealogic analyses. A chromosome is a single piece of coiled DNA, while mtDNA has a circular shape. Both contain the material that controls the inheritance of eye color, hair color, and many other human characteristics. The contents and arrangement of these elements define any human as an individual, and the similarity of certain elements can be used to determine how closely two different donors of DNA are related. A grasp of these concepts is necessary in order to understand how DNA testing can provide genealogic information. The testing can be done on shared DNA (auDNA), on paternal DNA (Y-DNA), or on maternal DNA (mtDNA). The

type of DNA that is used determines which genealogic information may be found, and to an extent, how reliable the results may be. In early DNA testing, geneticists stained the appropriate chromosomes or mitochondrial DNA to be viewed under a microscope. This reveals a banding pattern that appears on the stained specimens. These bands mark the location of genes on each chromosome, and when displayed in drawings called ideograms, they allow visual comparison of DNA from different species but are not refined enough for genealogical analyses. Modern testing of DNA is more complicated. The genetic material is put through a succession of chemical and mechanical processes until the DNA is removed and sequenced by computer. This gives the order of the nucleic acid building blocks in the DNA or the degree of repetition of a particular sequence. These sequences and groups are genetic markers and are compared to those of the DNA of other individuals to determine the closeness of their relationship. The closer the relationship, the greater the match between markers. Over the generations, the genetic material passed down from a particular ancestor can be so dispersed, or so modified by mutation, that the DNA match is minor or inconclusive. I want to thank my grandnephew D.J. Valint, a graduate student and instructor in biology at the University of Buffalo, for his help in making a complex topic more understandable. Write to Angelo at genealogytips@aol.com or visit his website, www.bit.ly/AFCGen. He is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia), based on his genealogical research of Sicilian foundlings. See www.bit.ly/ruotaia for more information, or order the book at www.amzn.to/racalmuto.

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The Squint-Eyed Senior

Why We Need More Grandkids Theodore Rickard hat’s all this talk about Social Security running short of money? It seems to have something to do with “the fiduciary.” “The fiduciary” sounds very important to me, but it also sounds like something to do with Wall Street, and that makes me pretty skittish about it in view of what’s happened over the past few years. I have learned the gist of Social Security’s problems via a seriously bald pundit on TV. Seriously bald men, I believe, should be taken seriously. Jokesters and other trivial people always seem to have full heads of hair. Anyway, the concern is that there are too many people drawing Social Security and not enough people paying it. That situation, I can see, could have dire consequences. I have broached this subject with the treasurer of our fiscal family unit, she of the lifetime spousal appointment as family comptroller.

“I’m sure they’ll straighten it out, dear,” was her response. And the more I thought about it, she was probably right. Again. For example: The year that two of the grandkids were old enough to spend the summer working as lifeguards, they got great suntans—which will delight the local dermatologists a few years from now— and read a lot of trashy novels. Nobody drowned. The paychecks were deposited at the local bank to provide funding for the next year’s freshman college expenses. These turned out to include spring

break, which pretty well wiped out the funding. I remember their father’s remarking about this with considerable emphasis at the time. Then as the future rushed upon them, at the end of the year, and before spring break, each of the lifeguards got an official form that summarized their year’s income and withheld taxes. One could call this the “wage-earner’s great awakening.” Their father—who hadn’t yet discovered the educational necessity of spring break and was still speaking to both of them—explained what FICA actually meant. Just what the initials do

stand for escapes me for the moment. I’ll bet it did him, too, but he also let drop that the FICA tax was what paid Social Security checks to Grandmother and Gramps every month. This proved too much information, in my opinion. I won’t say it really changed the children’s attitudes, but they’ve been looking at us kind of funny ever since and, sometimes, rather askance or even snootily, I think. Since then, I have been doing some head counting. Each of our adult children has a job. Most of their spouses have jobs also. Since none is behind bars, we can assume each is paying up the tax. Also, the older of their offspring have jobs. And, likewise, they are at large. Even aside from the suntanned and dermatologically at-risk lifeguards, several of the other older grandkids have at least part-time or summer employment. please see GRANDKIDS page 10

Have a lifestyle change on the horizon? Let this be your guide. “We had a great day and had many opportunities to speak to the attendees concerning our Summer at the Beach program as well as chartering coaches. It was also great to hear ‘thank you’ from those who rode the shuttle!”

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June 2013

Traveltizers

Travel Appetizers: Stories that Whet the Appetite for Travel

Follow the Gold By Andrea Gross I enter my hotel room, open the drape, and there it is—Colorado’s Pikes Peak, one of the world’s most famous mountains, outlined against the setting sun. This is the very same view that greeted Katharine Lee Bates when, after a day atop the 14,000-foot granite mound, she penned the words to “America the Beautiful.” As I look out the window of our hotel, the Hilton Antler (called the Antler Hotel in Bates’ day), I’m similarly inspired but less talented. Fortunately, my husband captures the scene with his camera. Long before Bates wrote about the “spacious skies,” the mountain had energized other Americans. As the easternmost big peak of the Rocky Mountains, visible for 100 miles, it was a beacon for gold prospectors as they set forth on the last, and longest-lasting, American gold rush.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote the words to “America the Beautiful” while looking at this view of Pikes Peak.

Dahlonega Square is rich with historic buildings that house restaurants and boutiques.

A tour of Consolidated Gold Mines takes folks back to the first major gold rush in American history.

Locals try to strike it rich at the Crisson Gold Mine in Dahlonega.

Where it All Began – Georgia, 1826 We begin our Gold Route Tour 1,500 miles from Pikes Peak in the small towns west and north of Atlanta. Both the Cherokee and the Spanish found nuggets of Georgia gold as early as the 16th century, but the real rush didn’t begin until the mid-1820s. We learn this while watching a film at Villa Rica’s Pine Mountain Gold Museum, which is built on the site of an old gold mine. Afterward we walk a 3-mile trail that’s dotted with old mining equipment. Interpretative signs tell us that the equipment was abandoned when a man who was out hunting deer 100 miles to the northeast quite literally tripped over a golden rock. Within a year, 15,000 men left Villa Rica to go to the new site, Dahlonega, which gets its name from the Cherokee word for “yellow.” The town has a charming main square, a museum located in a historic courthouse, two gold mines, and, best of

ONE GIANT STEP FOR MANKIND! This may not be the same story you’re thinking of. This one’s about a young, itinerant engineer with job assignments in two states: Decorah, Iowa, and Lancaster, PA.

The step he is considering is marriage! Bob Hansen is smitten by two young women in Iowa, and one in Lancaster, PA. But he has to find a full-time job and decide which of the three young women to pursue.

Pick up or order Choices and Decisions at Masthof Bookstore – 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543 ($13.95 plus 84¢ tax and $4 shipping) 610-286-0258 www.Masthof.com

— or — Available on Amazon.com in paperback or Kindle Use a gallon of gas and take a beautiful 9-mile trip through Amish and Mennonite farm country on Route 23 between Blue Ball and Morgantown. This stretch of road, which follows an old Native American trade route, was declared “The Conestoga Ridge Road Heritage Byway” in the fall of 2012. Stop off in Morgantown at the Masthof Bookstore (first road after Old Village Inn) and pick up a copy of Choices and Decisions and a local history book.

June 2013

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all, a place where we can—or so we fantasize—strike it rich. After touring the underground Consolidated Gold Mines, we head to Crisson Gold Mine, where we find several locals panning for gold. “I come every weekend,” one confesses. “It’s fun, but I’d be better off playing the stock market.” We leave without investing in a gold-panning experience. For more information, visit www.villaricatourism.com and www.dahlonega.org. The Rush in the West – California, 1849 The Dahlonega rush paled in comparison to the one that took place in California in the late 1840s. On Jan. 24, 1848, a man named James Marshall was building a mill for Captain John Sutter when he spotted a gold rock. News traveled fast, and soon an estimated 300,000 people headed west to try their luck and test their skill. The old mill is long gone, but there’s a replica in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park near Coloma, along with other reminders of gold rush days: a store mill, a 19th-century school, and two stores that are reminders of the Chinese who helped settle the area. Later we drive south on Highway 49, which links old mining towns filled with

Mining is still big business near Cripple Creek, Colo.

A narrow-gauge train through Colorado’s mining country is an excellent way to learn the history of the area.

Pine Mountain Gold Museum in Villa Rica’s Stockmar Park features an old water wheel.

quaint bed-and-breakfasts and awardwinning wineries housed in restored gold-era buildings. After about two hours we reach Columbia State Park, where costumed actors show us how folks lived during the golden days. We visit period-specific stores, see blacksmiths at work, and take a ride in a stagecoach. For more information, visit www.coloma.com and www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com.

Pikes Peak or Bust – Colorado, 1859 Not long after disheartened prospectors abandoned California, gold was found in a Colorado creek. More than 50,000 ever-hopeful men, urged on by the slogan “Pikes Peak or Bust,” raced to find their fortune in the Rockies. The nearby towns of Cripple Creek and Victor became go-to, get-rich places. We begin our tour at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, where we’re

crammed into an elevator for a twominute ride that takes us 1,000 feet underground. A guide lets us experience what it was like for the miners by turning off the lights and turning on the drills. The darkness is oppressive, the noise deafening. Although I believe him when he says that conditions are better now, I still cross “miner” off my list of possible second careers. To learn more about the history of the area, we board a narrow-gauge steamengine railroad for a 45-minute ride through rocky hills covered with spindly pines and abandoned mine structures, some of which sit atop mines that are as deep as the Empire State Building is tall. Many folks estimate that these hills still hold more than $6 billion of gold. In the meantime, as trucks and drill rigs race around the stepped walls of the vast caldera where the mineral is hidden, Cripple Creek is almost as well known for its casinos as for its mining. It seems that the search for gold takes many forms. For more information, visit www.visitcripplecreek.com and www.pikes-peak.com. Photos © Irv Green unless otherwise noted; story by Andrea Gross (www.andreagross.com).

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June 2013

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325 Wesley Drive • Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 717-766-0279 • www.bethanyvillage.org

2015 North Reading Road • Denver, PA 17519 717-336-5501 • www.coloniallodgepa.com

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 100 Assisted Living Residence: Yes Private: 100 Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: Yes Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 70 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: 1-bedroom suites; secured memory support neighborhood; skilled nursing – The Oaks.

Health Fee-for-Service Available: No Alzheimer’s Care: No Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: No Comments: Beautiful environment, rural setting yet within walking distance of area shopping and community services.

Brandywine Senior Living at Longwood

Garden Spot Village

301 Victoria Gardens Drive • Kennett Square, PA 19348 484-734-6200 • www.brandycare.com

433 South Kinzer Avenue • New Holland, PA 17557 717-355-6272 • www.gardenspotvillage.org

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 70 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: Yes Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 86 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: Yes Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: Yes Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

On-call Medical Service: No Health Fee-for-Service Available: No Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: At Brandywine Senior Living – life is beautiful!

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: No Comments: Ideal for people who relish independence yet welcome caring assistance. Live with Opportunity.

Chapel Pointe

Homeland Center

770 South Hanover Street • Carlisle, PA 17013 717-249-1363 • www.chapelpointe.org

1901 North Fifth Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102 717-221-7727 • www.homelandcenter.org

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 53 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: No Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: No Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 50 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: No Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: Yes Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: Yes Part/Totally Refundable: Yes Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: No Respite Care: No Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: No Pets Permitted: No

Health Fee-for-Service Available: No Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: Exemplary care in a caring, beautiful environment has been provided for more than 140 years. Our continuum includes a hospice program.

This is not an all-inclusive list of agencies and providers. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services.

GRANDKIDS

from page 7

The way I figure it is this: If Social Security taxes total 13 percent, divided between employer and wage earner, as we have been told, it takes only eight workers to pay us just as much as they are earning, doesn’t it? (Eight times 13 percent equals 104 percent if you remember to carry the two.) Since there are a lot more than eight in our family—not counting the idly frolicking grandparents—what’s the

June 2013

problem? We recipients are no longer straightening teeth, feeding teenage weightlifters, and funding a lot of expensive etcetera, so the numbers should work out pretty well. In fact, we should be living pretty high on this deal. But knowledgeable financial people continue to insist that Social Security is in dire straits, fiscally speaking. Clearly, then, not everybody has eight or more workers out there, funding their fair

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share. Besides which, there are our grandkids’ other grandparents out there, someplace. We both send and receive Christmas cards with/from them. We aren’t close enough to ask if they are receiving Social Security checks on a regular basis, but it’s just about a sure thing that they are. So it’s obvious that we, the more mature portion of the population, must

think seriously about the future. We must be fiscally responsible. However, as politicians battle heatedly over all sorts of proposals, nobody even mentions the obvious. More grandkids. Just don’t tell the fathers. They get kind of testy about money sometimes. A collection of Ted Rickard’s family-fun essays is titled Anything Worth Knowing I Learned from the Grandkids. It is now available in paperback on Amazon.com.

www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com

Assisted Living Residences/Personal Care Homes Homewood at Plum Creek

Mennonite Home Communities

425 Westminster Avenue • Hanover, PA 17331 717-637-4166 • www.homewood.com

1520 Harrisburg Pike • Lancaster, PA 17601 717-393-1301 • www.mennonitehome.org

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 98 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: No Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: Yes Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 165 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: Yes Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: Yes Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: No Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: No Comments: Excellent care in a lovely environment. Call to schedule a visit.

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: No Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: No Comments: Supportive, encouraging environment. Various room types and suites available. Secure memory care offered.

Lakeview at Tel Hai Retirement Community

Normandie Ridge Senior Living Community

1200 Tel Hai Circle • Honey Brook, PA 19344 610-273-4602 • www.telhai.org

1700 Normandie Drive • York, PA 17408 717-764-6262 • www.normandieridge.org

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 100 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: Yes Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Total AL and/or PC Beds: 55 Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: Discover a vibrant community of peers where you can enjoy life and loved ones can relax.

Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: No Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: No Comments: Private or shared living in spacious rooms with private baths. Friendly staff assist where needed to help maintain your independence.

This is not an all-inclusive list of agencies and providers. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services.

Farmers Market Program Returns in June The Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging will again be the distributing agency for the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) checks in 2013. The purpose of the FMNP, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, is to provide to seniors resources in the form of fresh, nutritious, unprepared fruits and vegetables from farmers markets and to expand the awareness and use of farmers markets and increase sales at such markets. Program highlights for 2013 are as follows: Eligibility – Eligible persons must be Lebanon County residents and must be 60 years of age or older during 2013. Income guidelines are $21,257 for one person and $28,694 for two people. When picking up checks, persons must show proof of residence and age. Proof of income need not be shown; it is a “selfdeclaration.” www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com

Proxy Forms – If an eligible senior is unable to pick up their own checks, they may have an authorized person, a “proxy,” pick up checks for them, provided the senior completes and signs the official proxy form. The proxy signing the proxy form must be the same person picking up the checks and signing the check register for the senior. Completed proxy forms, limited to four per person, must be brought to the distribution site by the proxy in order to receive checks for the eligible senior. Blank proxy forms will be available at all distribution sites in advance.

All distribution times will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. except Maple Street (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

June 25 – Northern Lebanon Senior Community Center, 135 N. Lancaster St., Jonestown

June 6 – Maple Street Senior Community Center (first-floor auditorium), 710 Maple St., Lebanon

June 27 – Willow Terrace Apartments, Eighth and Willow streets, Lebanon

Benefits – Eligible persons receive four $5 checks for a total benefit of $20 one time during the program year.

June 13 – Annville Senior Community, 200 S. White Oak St., Annville

June 10 – Townehouse Apartments, 1111 Reinoehl St., Lebanon June 12 – Palmyra Senior Community Center, Palmyra Interfaith Manor, 101 S. Railroad St., Palmyra

Timeframes – FMNP checks can be used June 1 through Nov. 30, 2013.

June 17 – Myerstown Senior Community Center, 59 N. Ramona Road, Myerstown

Eligible Food – FMNP checks may only be used to purchase produce grown or produce that is able to grow in Pennsylvania. FMNP checks may not be used at grocery stores.

June 20 – Stevens Towers Apartments, 10th and Willow streets, Lebanon

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July 9 – Washington Arms Apartments, 303 Chestnut St., Lebanon July 11 – Poplar Terrace Apartments, 605 S. Eighth St., Lebanon Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging cannot guarantee checks to eligible seniors at each distribution site. Checks are handed out on a first-come, firstserved basis. Eligible seniors are welcome to attend any distribution site to receive checks. If an eligible senior resides in one high-rise, for example, he/she may go to any other high-rise or any senior center to receive checks.

June 2013

Savvy Senior

How Health Insurance Marketplaces Will Help Early Retirees Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about the new Obamacare health insurance exchanges that begin next year? I am interested in retiring early at age 61, but I need to find some affordable health insurance until my Medicare benefits begin in a few years. – Ready to Retire Dear Ready, The new health insurance exchanges—also known as Health Insurance Marketplaces—that begin in 2014 will be a welcome benefit to millions of Americans who need health insurance, especially uninsured baby boomers and pre-Medicare retirees who often have a difficult time finding affordable coverage. How It Will Work As part of the Affordable Care Act,

starting Oct. 1 you will be able to shop and compare health insurance policies in your area and enroll in one directly through your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace website. The policies will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. You’ll also be happy to know that federal law dictates that Marketplace insurers cannot deny you coverage or charge you higher rates based on preexisting health conditions, and they can’t charge women more than men. But, they can charge older customers more than younger ones—up to three times more.

11th Annual

Sept. 18, 2013 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. York Expo Center Memorial Hall East 334 Carlisle Avenue, York

17th Annual

Every state will have a Marketplace, but each state can choose how it will operate. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia will run their own state-based Marketplace, seven states will partner with the federal government, and 26 states will offer federal Marketplaces. Pennsylvania is among the latter. The differences between federal and state programs will be subtle. You will be able to access each state’s Health Insurance Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov. The policies available through these Marketplaces will be sold by insurance companies and will provide a package of 10 essential benefits, including emergency services, hospital care, lab services, prescription drugs, doctor visits, preventive care, and rehab services. To make shopping and comparing a little easier, the health plans will be divided into four different levels— bronze, silver, gold, and platinum—each offering similar benefits but with a different cost structure. The bronze plan will have the lowest monthly premiums but have highest out-of-pocket costs, while the platinum plans will have the highest premiums but the lowest deductibles and co-payments. The Marketplaces will also offer a tollfree hotline to help you choose a plan

that meets your needs and budget. These helpers aren’t associated with any particular plan, and they aren’t on any type of commission, so the help they give you will be completely unbiased. Costs and Tax Credits Prices will vary depending on where you live, your age, and the health plan you choose. Exact cost structures for most Marketplaces will be released within the next few months. To help make coverage affordable, sliding-scale tax credits will be available if you earn less than 400 percent of the poverty level—that’s $45,960 for a single person and $62,040 for couples. These tax-credit subsidies will provide immediate savings off your monthly premiums. To find out if you qualify, or to see how much a tax credit will reduce your monthly costs, you’ll need to submit a Marketplace application in October or when you decide enroll. In the meantime, you can calculate your potential tax-credit premium savings by using the Kaiser Family Foundation calculator at http://healthreform.kff.org. Click on “Interactive Features” and then scroll down to “Subsidy Calculator.” For more information on the Health Insurance Marketplaces, including a checklist of things you can do now to help you choose a plan, visit www.healthcare.gov/marketplace. Jim Miller is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior Book. www.savvysenior.org

14th Annual

NEW LOCATION!

Oct. 24, 2013 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Carlisle Expo Center 100 K Street Carlisle

Nov. 6, 2013 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Spooky Nook Sports 2913 Spooky Nook Road Manheim

June 2013

www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com

(Just off Rt. 283 at the Salunga exit)

Limited Sponsorship Opportunities Available 717.285.1350 717.770.0140 610.675.6240

Visit Our Website At:

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Art and Antiques by Dr. Lori

Appraising Thomas Jefferson’s Desk Dr. Lori uring a recent episode of H stretcher? It is a reinforcing piece of Discovery channel’s TV show wood that connects the legs of a chair or Auction Kings, I appraised a sofa to form the shape of the letter H. Federal-period writing desk that was once The Hepplewhite-style feet are simply owned by President Thomas Jefferson styled and straightforward. They may be from his country estate of Poplar Forest a rectangular spade foot (like the garden near Lynchburg, Va. tool) or in the shape of an arrow (as if I described the desk as Hepplewhite in the arrow is shot directly down into the style, relating to the designs of the British ground) at the bottom of the leg of a cabinetmaker, George Hepplewhite. Like chair or sofa. On heavier pieces of President furniture like a Jefferson, many desk, chest, or of us currently tall case, own examples bracketed feet of Hepplewhite are common. furniture today, One of the both original most and characteristic reproductions. traits of In its day, Hepplewhite Hepplewhite furniture is the was often use of intricate referred to as inlays of “city furniture.” contrasting George woods and burl Photo courtesy staff of www.DrLoriV.com Hepplewhite veneers. Dr. Lori on the set of Discovery’s Auction Kings (died 1786) was Hepplewhite with President Thomas Jefferson’s a London pieces may be Hepplewhite slant-top writing desk. designer and made of cabinetmaker. sycamore His famous guidebook, The Cabinet veneers, birch, or rosewood. Satinwood, Maker and Upholsterers Guide, was maple, and mahogany are also standard published in 1788 after his death. woods that are found on Hepplewhite The guidebook sparked a period of furniture. Decorative motifs include urns, popularity for the furniture designs feathers, geometric shapes, shields, known as Hepplewhite style from 1780 ribbons, swags, and leaves. to 1810. Hepplewhite furniture was Many manufacturers reproduced especially popular in American states Hepplewhite-style furniture in the 1900s, from New England to the Carolinas following in the formal footsteps of the during the Federal period. Federal style. One of the most popular pieces in the Today, Hepplewhite furniture Hepplewhite style is the dining-room commands high values at auction for its sideboard or buffet. In the early 1800s, a classical lines and formal look. A sideboard was a new furniture form. reproduction Hepplewhite sideboard can Hepplewhite sideboards are often bowcommand a few thousand dollars on the shaped, Bombay-shaped, or serpentine open market whereas a good, original (curved). In the late Victorian period, example of Hepplewhite furniture can circa 1870s and ’80s, Hepplewhite bring $50,000 to $75,000 at auction. reproductions came to the market. One of the distinguishing traits of true Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, awardHepplewhite furniture is a consistency of winning TV personality, and TV talk show host, Dr. Lori presents antiques appraisal formal design. Hepplewhite pieces events nationwide. Dr. Lori is the expert typically have straight legs that may be appraiser on Discovery channel’s hit TV show square or tapered at the bottom (or at the Auction Kings. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, foot). www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, or call (888) Also, an H stretcher is common on 431-1010. Hepplewhite chairs and sofas. What’s an

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Strawberry Cream Tarts By Pat Sinclair Fresh strawberries at their peak of flavor are the centerpiece in these elegant but simple tarts. Save a few of the best berries to use as a garnish on each tart. Strawberries are available year round, but nothing compares with the flavor of locally grown, fresh berries, so I can hardly wait to make this in the summer berry season. Makes 4 Ingredients 1 1/3 cups flaked sweetened coconut 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 3 tablespoons cold water 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed Directions Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly spray four muffin cups in a 12-cup muffin pan. Combine the coconut and butter in a small bowl. Press about 1/3 cup into four muffin cups, covering bottom and pressing up sides. Press firmly. Coconut may extend slightly over the top. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until coconut is crisp and browned. (Cover pan loosely with foil to prevent over browning if necessary.) Cool on a wire cooling rack. Gently remove cups from pan. Combine strawberries and sugar in a medium bowl; let stand for about 15 minutes or until juicy. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a microwaveable cup. Let stand for one minute until the gelatin is thoroughly moistened. Microwave 30 seconds or until liquid is clear. Mix well. Stir in lemon juice. Add gelatin to strawberries. Cool to room temperature or until the mixture mounds slightly when stirred. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into coconut cups, mounding over top. Chill several hours before serving.

Cook’s Note: I have also prepared this recipe in parfait glasses. Instead of making individual tarts, I toasted the coconut on a baking sheet in a 325-degree oven. Watch carefully, as it can turn dark and bitter very quickly. Once the strawberry filling begins mounding, alternate layers of coconut and cream in dessert cups or parfait glasses. Garnish with sliced berries. Copyright by Pat Sinclair. Pat Sinclair announces the publication of her second cookbook, Scandinavian Classic Baking (Pelican Publishing), in February 2011. This book has a color photo of every recipe. Her first cookbook, Baking Basics and Beyond (Surrey Books), won the 2007 Cordon d’Or from the Culinary Arts Academy. Contact her at http://PatCooksandBakes.blogspot.com

50plus SeniorNews

June 2013

Calendar of Events

Lebanon County

Senior Center Activities

Lebanon County Department of Parks and Recreation All events held at the Park at Governor Dick unless noted.

June 1, noon to 1 p.m. – Timelessness of Governor Dick and Mt. Gretna June 2, 1 to 4 p.m. – Music on the Porch: Bluegrass and Country Music Jam June 23, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. – The Year in Wildflowers

Maple Street Community Center – (717) 273-1048 • 710 Maple St., Lebanon June 2, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. – Bus Trip: Baltimore Pops Concert, Lunch at Inner Harbor June 14, 10 a.m. – Summer Picnic at Coleman’s Park Pavilion No. 8 June 26, 4 p.m. – Carpool to Red Lobster Harrisburg

Lebanon County Library Programs Annville Free Library, 216 E. Main St., Annville, (717) 867-1802 Lebanon Community Library, 125 N. Seventh St., (717) 273-7624 Matthews Public Library, 102 W. Main St., Fredericksburg, (717) 865-5523 Myerstown Community Library, 199 N. College St., Myerstown, (717) 866-2800 Palmyra Public Library, 325 S. Railroad St., (717) 838-1347 Richland Community Library, 111 E. Main St., Richland, (717) 866-4939

Programs and Support Groups

Free and open to the public

If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.

What’s Happening? Give Us the Scoop!

Myerstown Senior Community Center – (717) 866-6786 51 W. Stoever Ave., Myerstown June 5, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Bus Trip: Ehrhardt’s Sam Club, Private Eye, & the Case of the Motorcoach Murder June 13, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Bus Trip: Gettysburg Bicentennial Anniversary Tour June 27, 12:30 p.m. – Fourth of July Party at Maple Street Center Northern Lebanon Senior Community Center – (717) 865-0944 335 N. Lancaster St., Jonestown – www.jonestownpa.org/senior.html Palmyra Senior Community Center – (717) 838-8237 101 S. Railroad St., Palmyra June 12, 10 a.m. – Farmers Market Coupon Distribution June 14, 11:30 a.m. – Father’s Day Luncheon at Red Lobster June 19, 10:45 a.m. – Phone Scams Consumer Education and Discussion Southern Lebanon Senior Community Center – (717) 274-7541 Midway Church of the Brethren, 13 Evergreen Road, Lebanon

Please send us your press releases so we can let our readers know about free events occurring in Lebanon County!

Privately Owned Centers Senior Center of Lebanon Valley, Inc. – (717) 274-3451 • 710 Maple St., Lebanon

Email preferred to: mjoyce@onlinepub.com help you get the word out! (717) 285-1350

Let

Annville Senior Community Center – (717) 867-1796 200 S. White Oak St., Annville June 8 – Historic Old Annville Day June 14, 12:30 p.m. – Patches Creamery Ice Cream Carpool June 18, noon – Lunch at the Jigger Shop and Mini Golf at Mt. Gretna Lake & Beach

Washington Arms – (717) 274-4104 • 303 Chestnut St., Lebanon

Book Review

Towpath Adventures and Towpath Mysteries By Jack and Judith Woods

he Erie Canal played an important part in the westward expansion of the United States. The Towpath Tales are stories of a boy who worked as a mule driver on the Erie Canal in the early 1840s. In the first book, Towpath Adventures, 12-year-old Jonathan Hamilton is invited to work for a season as his uncle’s helper on a newly acquired canal boat. Jonathan finds himself helping escaped slaves on this Underground Railroad that travels on water, as well as in a tornado while lost in

June 2013

the woods in central New York. In the second book, Towpath Mysteries, Jonathan is two years older for his second summer on the canal boat. He finds answers to some perplexing questions. What are men doing in the graveyard at night? Who is the stowaway on the canal boat? Jonathan becomes aware that a girl is attracted to him. Of course, he is attracted to her, much to the amusement of his friend. In Towpath Treasures, the third and final book of this series, not yet

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published, an older Jonathan is pondering what lies ahead for him—how he will make a living as an adult and determining what is really important in his life. The books are available for purchase on www.towpathtales.com or locally by mail at Towpath Tales, 11 Jordan Drive, Ronks, Pa. 17572. About the Authors To fill the void left when the last of their four children left home, and as avid fans of our country’s history, teachers Jack

and Judith Woods decided to write a book. Their research started at the library of the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, N.Y., where the authors found a missionary’s diary that told of the plight of many of the youngsters who worked on the canal in this time period. Some of these true stories are woven into the book. Traveling the canal from Albany to Buffalo, they learned more about the lives of the people who worked and traveled on the Erie Canal. www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com

“I didn’t have to become a master diver to feel safe, but I did feel more secure in the water if I had the advanced open water certificate,” he explained. “You know more about the sport and things like how to navigate under water.” Of his many dives, there are a few that rank as his favorites. One occurred in the water off Providencialis Island. Hager was scuba diving with a group at night, taking underwater photographs, when he finally had his own long-awaited Flipper experience. A lone dolphin was spotted swimming around their boat, a rare sight that excited the divers. At night, dolphins feed and are not usually visible; moreover, they normally travel in pods, not alone. “Suddenly, everybody’s flashlights were pointed toward me … It turns out the dolphin had come in on this night dive and was resting itself vertically against my tank, nuzzle down,” Hager said. In the water again two days later, Hager heard a dolphin’s telltale clicking sound—and saw the same dolphin swimming alongside him for a few seconds before bolting ahead. “Then it came back! It does a 180 and swims right back to me and puts his muzzle right up against my mask,” Hager recalled. “And it was absolutely fantastic. So I got to have my Flipper fantasy realized.” Hager stays active on dry land as well. He is a past co-president and current board member of a local chapter of the Road Runners Club of America, a national organization that includes runners, hikers, and walkers of all abilities and ages. Hager only began hiking and running a decade ago when his physical therapist recommended the sport as a way to ward off his recurring back problems. “There are runners at all different levels. You don’t have to be a marathon runner or a winner of a 5K race to join,” said Hager. “There are a number of people who just walk, but they belong to the club and participate. “Plus, I found that running, hiking, and bicycling on a regular basis—it actually reduced the aches and pains that we sometimes develop when we get to be this age,” he added. “I had more energy, less pain, and felt much better.” Hager’s legs are also kept in motion through his membership in a local bicycle club. He hits the open road during the warmer months, often traveling 15 to 30 miles per ride, and when the weather turns cold, he heads indoors for spinning classes at a gym. Hager enjoys the solitary freedom of bicycling, where he can grab his helmet www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com

and take off on his own. He sometimes performs what is called a “utility ride” that accomplishes a chore by biking instead of driving, like returning a rented movie. But Hager also benefits from biking with a companion, which pushes him athletically and enhances his social life. “I learn a lot from talking with people,” Hager said. “For those of us who are entering their senior years, I’ve always found that when I ride bicycle with someone who’s better than I am, I have a better ride.” Hager participates in three or four formal bicycling events per year, either riding in the event or volunteering his time to help with setup and other support activities. “I don’t consider myself an expert or an athlete, but my claim to fame on the bicycle is that the summer before last I rode the Dream Ride. I rode to raise money for UDS [United Disabilities Services] service dogs,” said Hager. “And I broke my record to do that. [My record] had been a 40-mile bike ride, and I rode 100 miles that day. Of course, I trained for it—you don’t go from 40 miles to 100 overnight.” A healthy brain is as important as a healthy body, and Hager keeps his mind’s eye sharp through his keen interest in photography. And he maintains his mental and social health by realizing yet another childhood dream. “My father was an amateur magician; he belonged to a local magician’s club,” Hager said. “After he died, I found his old, dusty magic bag upstairs—boy, I had fun with that.” For the last 25 years, Hager has moonlighted as a professional magician. He performs his comedic magic show to local, national, and international audiences. Although he is not yet retired, Hager views the coming years through the wise lens of an old neighborhood friend, a man in his 80s who advised him not to retire from his life when he retires from his job. He took those words to heart, and now, decades later, Hager has used them to form the basis of his life philosophy. “It’s one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from anybody,” he said. “And that’s why I’m involved with people. I sit on two boards of directors, I’m an avid photographer, I belong to a couple of clubs—[socializing] with people is what keeps the energy going for me. “You can only experience your own life, but you can enjoy numerous life experiences by mixing it up with other people, and that’s what’s tremendously valuable for me.”

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2013

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