Complimentary
York County Edition | December 2017 • Vol. 18 No. 12
HONORED VOLUNTEERS KEEP MUSEUM ON TRACK page 4
special section: orthopedics & pain page 15
nutcracker collectibles page 24
Traveltizers
A Christmas Treat in Colonial America By Andrea Gross
So tangy with spices and sweet with molasses that they’ve become a traditional holiday treat, so fragile that they’re often called “glass cookies” because they’ll shatter if dropped, Moravian cookies hold a special place in the hearts and stomachs of millions of folks. But who are these Moravians, and how did their cookies become such an integral part of so many people’s holiday celebrations? To find out, my husband and I go to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, one of the two largest Moravian communities in the United States, the other being Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The town, located about 100 miles west of Raleigh, is both a thoroughly modern city of approximately a quarter million people and the
The Moravians appreciate gardens for their beauty but also because they provide food, medicines, and craft materials.
home of Old Salem, a living history site that is so well preserved it has been declared a National Historic Landmark. The modern city is known for its
Old Salem became known as a “merchant town” because so many of its residents were skilled craftsmen and women.
vibrant arts scene, culinary delights (many of which are Moravianinspired), and nearness to the more than 40 vineyards of Yadkin Valley. But for us, the draw is historic
Old Salem. It’s not as well known as Williamsburg or Sturbridge, and while today’s Moravians blend into the dominant population in a way that the Amish with their distinctive dress do not, Old Salem provides visitors with a close-up view of life in the mid-18th century. The Moravians are a religious group whose core beliefs are similar to those of other Protestant denominations, differing mainly in the details of specific rituals and practices. They left the old Central European countries of Bohemia and Moravia in the early 1700s and came to America seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity. After stints in Georgia and Pennsylvania, they arrived in North Carolina, where in 1766 they
Support the Troops This Holiday Season! Our troops deserve our help and to know they aren’t forgotten!
Keystone Military Families, a PA-based nonprofit, encourages you to brighten the holidays for our troops overseas by sending or sponsoring a care package! Below are just some of the items the troops have requested:
• Power Bars, cereal bars, trail mix, nuts, granola bars, and individual healthy snacks • Slim Jims and beef or turkey jerky • Small sewing kits and manicure kits • Sunscreen and Chapstick with sunscreen, Carmex, Blistex • Body wash and deodorant – men’s and ladies’ (small travel sizes) • Foot powder and foot cream for athlete’s foot • Hand sanitizer – small-size bottles to carry with them • Men’s and ladies’ calf-high socks or boot socks in black and white • Hand and foot warmers for cold nights
Monetary donations to help ship the packages are always needed, too! The cost for one box is $27-$77, depending on the destination.
Donations may be made to: Keystone Military Families 331 Main Street Shoemakersville, PA 19555
We need your help to make this happen!
For a full list and further information, visit KeystoneMilitaryFamilies.org, call (610) 698-2122, or email keystonemilitary@yahoo.com. 2
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Thank you to ARC Marketing Solutions and Brenneman Printing for the printing of the Christmas stocking notecards.
Sending 10,000 stockings to troops all over the world.
Registered 501c-3
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founded the town of Salem. They soon became known for their hard work, fine craftsmanship, business ingenuity, and their absolutely delicious, supremely delicate, paperthin cookies. Meanwhile, as the Moravian community flourished, the nearby secular city of Winston also became a thriving industrial center. In 1913 the two towns merged into a hyphenated whole, now known as Winston-Salem. As we walk through the business district of Old Salem, an interpreter, clad in a traditional outfit that shows how people dressed during the heyday of the community, explains that the main ingredients for the traditional cookies — molasses, ginger, and cinnamon — were hard to come by in the Old Country, but an experienced baker could stretch the dough into incredibly thin sheets. This literally made it go further and feed more. Why, some folks could roll the dough so thin that an inch-high stack would contain upwards of 16 cookies — a Christmas gift indeed! Many of the stores on the main street have two doors, one that
Moravians were — and still are — known for their culinary talents.
traditionally led into a sales area and the other that opened into the owner’s home. Highly trained volunteers are hard at work inside some of the buildings, where they demonstrate historic trades, such as woodworking and gunsmithing. Nearby is the Moravian Log Church, which was built in 1823 to serve Salem’s African and AfricanAmerican residents, most of whom were enslaved. In 1861 it was replaced by St. Philips Church, now one of oldest existing African-American churches
Moravians were — and still are — known for their culinary talents.
in the United States. It was from this new pulpit that a Union Army Cavalry chaplain read the Emancipation Proclamation to the congregants. Equally interesting is the Salem Tavern, a place to house “outsiders” as they passed through town on business. When it was built in 1784 to replace an older one that had been destroyed by fire, it was deliberately constructed without windows on the first floor. “After all,” says our guide, “the townspeople didn’t need to know
With 30 Years of Real Estate Experience • 2016 Realtor of the Year •2 014 President of Realtor’s Association of York and Adams County
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| Harrisburg, PA
For more on North Carolina travel, see www.traveltizers.com. Photos © Irv Green unless otherwise noted; story by Andrea Gross (www.andreagross.com).
Senior Real Estate Specialist
Your Choice. Our privilege. We believe the care a person receives makes a difference in his or her quality of life. Homeland’s expert team is dedicated to providing a continuum of At Home care services…from non-medical personal assistance to skilled nursing and rehabilitation, to compassionate hospice and palliative care.
what all those outside folks might be up to!” Today the tavern is a museum, best known as a sleeping spot for George Washington, who stayed there for two nights while making good on his campaign promise to visit every state if elected. Finally, we go to Mrs. Hanes’ Hand-Made Moravian Cookie Shop. It isn’t physically part of Old Salem — it’s 10 miles away — but culturally it’s as authentic as it can be. Owner Evva Foltz Hanes learned to make Moravian cookies from her mother, who in turn traces cookie-making in her family back six generations. Today Mrs. Hanes’ shop, employing the famed Moravian penchant for resourcefulness, makes cookies in a variety of flavors, from traditional ginger to crispy chocolate, and ships them all over the world. This is why people can happily enjoy Moravian Christmas cookies even in mid-July!
Office: (717) 793-9678 Cell: (717) 309-6921 2525 Eastern Blvd. York, PA 17402 Paula1159@aol.com
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Cover Story
Honored Volunteers Keep Museum on Track Corporate Office
3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Phone 717.285.1350 • Fax 717.285.1360 Chester County: 610.675.6240 Cumberland County/Dauphin County: 717.770.0140 Berks County/Lancaster County/ Lebanon County/York County: 717.285.1350 E-mail address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Donna K. Anderson
EDITORIAL
Vice President and Managing Editor Christianne Rupp Editor, 50plus Publications Megan Joyce
ART DEPARTMENT Project Coordinator Renee McWilliams Production Artist Lauren McNallen
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Account Representatives Matthew Chesson Janette McLaurin Jennifer Schmalhofer Angie Willis Cheena Wolferd Gina Yocum Events Manager Kimberly Shaffer Marketing Coordinator Mariah Hammacher
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50plus LIFE 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.
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and a half years, and in By Jackie Chicalese 2017, received the same honor. History is an integral O’Brien volunteers facet of culture and three to four hours a day, identity, and two area four or five days a week, men are promoting at the museum. the preservation “I feel I just naturally and education of flowed from career to Pennsylvania history those volunteer activities,” through their O’Brien said. “It’s rather volunteer work at the like they are extensions Railroad Museum of of what I’ve been doing, Pennsylvania. except more fun.” Like many, Douglas Regarding O’Brien’s G. O’Brien and James 2016 Volunteer of the “Stu” Jack Jr. developed Year acknowledgement, an interest in railroads Patrick Morrison, as children. Despite museum director, noted both men pursuing O’Brien, left, and Jack on a GP-30, of which that O’Brien “has unrelated professions more than 900 were built in a year and a half always demonstrated — as a broadcaster and in the 1960s. GP stands for “general purpose”; a friendly and helpful air separation manager, the train was designed to handle virtually any attitude toward visitors respectively— their assignment, and its styling was an attempt to and his peers, as well as interest in trains did not move away from the boxy silhouette of earlier a real dedication to the wane as they matured. general-purpose diesels. museum’s collection and After 30 years of its mission.” broadcasting in New “I believe everyone has a duty to contribute some York City, O’Brien and his wife retired from city life in 2014, returning to his wife’s hometown in Central time in fields where they can bring their talents and skills to bear,” O’Brien said. Pennsylvania. For O’Brien, this encompasses his role as caretaker O’Brien was already familiar with the Railroad of a large HO-gauge model railroad layout. Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. In the years “Until I arrived, there was apparently no one to prior to their retirement, he and his wife toured the look after it,” O’Brien said. museum often, making four or five visits per year. The railroad runs five trains per day, six and a half “I think I’ve known since the late 1980s that I wanted some association with the museum,” O’Brien days a week, 52 weeks a year, amounting to about 2,000 hours annually — roughly the amount of said. hours most model railroaders run in a lifetime. Similarly, Jack and his wife, both natives of New Due to the complexity of the mechanical parts, as York state, transferred to southeast Pennsylvania in well as physical demand, the trains at the museum 1976. require regular maintenance. Once Jack retired, he began researching different “We’re always hopping,” O’Brien said. “Tracks and museums and service organizations with which he wheels need to be kept clean for maximum electrical could become involved. After reflecting on his train commutes into New York City as a worker, his Lionel contact, gears need to be lubricated, solder joints break and need to be repaired — and we like to trains as a child, and his work building a model improve and enhance the layout with new and better railroad for his sons in his basement, Jack had an scenery, more working track, and so on.” answer. Along with railroad maintenance, O’Brien is also “The Railroad Museum was a natural choice since qualified to lead educational tours of the museum, I have had a lifelong fascination with trains,” Jack which displays over 100 locomotives and cars from said. the mid-19th and 20th centuries. As an organization, the RRMPA aims to preserve While O’Brien oversees the mechanics of the and exhibit railroad history, as well as educate the RRMPA, Jack manages museum information. public on the significance of railroads in the nation’s He spends roughly half of his volunteer time in history. O’Brien has been volunteering at the RRMPA for the museum library. There, he researches old railroad photos that have been given to the museum. four years, and in 2016 was named Volunteer of the Year. Jack has been volunteering for roughly three please see VOLUNTEERS page 6 www.50plusLifePA.com
Social Security News
Is it Medicare or Medicaid? By John Johnston
A lot of people have a difficult time understanding the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. Both programs begin with the letter “M.” They’re both health insurance programs run by the government. People often ask questions about what Medicare and Medicaid are, what services they cover, and who administers the programs. Medicare Let’s start with Medicare, the national healthcare program for those aged 65 or older and the disabled. You pay for some Medicare expenses by paying the Medicare tax while you work. The Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services is the agency in charge of both Medicare and Medicaid, but you sign up for Medicare A (hospital) and Medicare B (medical) through Social Security. You can apply for Medicare online from the convenience of your home at the link on our website: www. socialsecurity.gov/medicare. If you’re already receiving Social
Security retirement benefits when you reach age 65 or are in the 25th month of receiving disability checks, we will enroll you automatically. Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) and Part D (prescription drug) plans are available for purchase in the insurance marketplace. Social Security administers a
program called Extra Help to help people with low income and low resources pay for premiums, copays, and co-insurance costs for Part D plans. You can find out more about Extra Help and file for it at www.socialsecurity.gov/medicare/ prescriptionhelp. Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publishes Medicare and You, available online at their website at www.medicare.gov/ medicare-and-you/medicare-andyou.html. This publication is a user’s manual for Medicare. Medicaid Each state runs its own Medicaid please see MEDICARE page 27
At Your Fingertips Helpful numbers, hotlines, and local businesses and organizations eager to serve you—all just a phone call away. Animal Hospitals Community Animal Hospital Donald A. Sloat, D.V.M. 400 S. Pine St., York (717) 845-5669 Automobile Sales/Service Gordon’s Body Shop, Inc. 10 Mill St., Stewartstown (717) 993-2263 Coins & Currency Steinmetz Coins & Currency 2861 E. Prospect Road, York (717) 757-6980 Energy Assistance Low-Income Energy Assistance (717) 787-8750 Entertainment Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre 510 Centerville Road, Lancaster (717) 898-1900
www.50plusLifePA.com
Funeral & Cremation Services Cremation Society of Pennsylvania Serving Lancaster County (800) 720-8221
Hearing Services Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (800) 233-3008 V/TTY
Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020
Home Care Services Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services Hanover: (717) 630-0067 Lancaster: (717) 393-3450 York: (717) 751-2488
Alzheimer’s Information Clearinghouse (800) 367-5115 American Diabetes Association (800) 342-2383 CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400 The National Kidney Foundation (800) 697-7007 or (717) 757-0604 Social Security Information (800) 772-1213 Healthcare Information Pennsylvania HealthCare Cost Containment (717) 232-6787
Housing Assistance Housing Authority of York (717) 845-2601 Property Tax/Rent Rebate (888) 728-2937 Insurance – Long-Term Care Apprise Insurance Counseling (717) 771-9610 or (800) 632-9073 Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com
real estate Berkshire Hathaway Paula Musselman (717) 793-9678 (Office) (717) 309-6921 (Cell) Self-storage U-Stor-It (717) 741-2202 – Dallastown (717) 840-9369 – York Services York County Area Agency on Aging (800) 632-9073 Veterans Services Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771 Volunteer opportunities RSVP of the Capital Region (443) 619-3842 Not an all-inclusive list of advertisers in your area.
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VOLUNTEERS from page 4
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“Many of the photos have to be sorted and identified by railroad, equipment type, location, dates, etc., prior to being stored digitally and made available online,” Jack said. Morrison said Jack “is consistent, disciplined, and extremely hardworking” with “an uncanny ability to read people, provide a high level of attentiveness to their individual questions and interests, and really make a connection with them.” In addition to his research for the museum, Jack spends time in the cab of several locomotives, educating visitors on the technical workings of the trains, how the trains were crewed, and the advancement in equipment technology. “I do ‘pretend trips’ with [visitors], showing them how to operate the locomotive, how to make it go forward and back, how to stop it, how to blow the whistle, etc.,” Jack said. For both men, the museum provides an opportunity for them to pursue responsibilities they find interesting and engaging. “I’m doing precisely what I want to do, rather than what someone else wants me to,” O’Brien said. “I genuinely enjoy the tasks I’ve undertaken.” Not only are both volunteers able to assume duties of their own volitions, but they are also able to pass their passions on to visitors. “When it is all said and done, I get to share what I have learned about railroads with all of our guests,” Jack said. Along with the personal benefits they enjoy while volunteering, all the positive public interactions they
experience motivate O’Brien and Jack to continue their museum work. One memorable encounter occurred while O’Brien was sitting down to work on layout. “Out of nowhere, a 3-year-old boy climbed in my lap and asked what I was doing,” O’Brien said. “He very politely sat there while I worked, with grandparents and other visitors snapping away [on their cameras].” Jack recalled a “pretend trip” that mesmerized a young lady. A man observing told Jack he had made the woman’s day with his demonstration. “Of course, his remark made my day, too!” Jack said. The volunteers’ main goal is to provide a pleasant, educational experience for all visitors, and to encourage them to return. “When I see smiles leaving RRMPA, I know I’ve helped out,” O’Brien said. “It is a labor of love,” Jack added. “And I have 50 new grandchildren every day that I am out in our display hall. What can be better than that?” For more information on the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, call (717) 687-8628 or visit https:// rrmuseumpa.org. Cover photo: Doug O’Brien, left, and Stu Jack are the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s Volunteers of the Year for 2016 and 2017, respectively. They are pictured with the museum’s working replica of the “John Bull” locomotive, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad for display and operation at the 1939/1940 World’s Fair in New York. The original 1831 John Bull is in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Thank You, Volunteers! On-Line Publishers, Inc., and 50plus LIFE would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all of the volunteers who donated their time and efforts at our 2017 50plus EXPOs and the Veterans’ Expo & Job Fairs. Because of your assistance, we were able to bring the contents and the mission of 50plus LIFE to life for the residents of Central Pennsylvania!
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It Was 50 Years Ago Today
‘Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)’ Randal Hill
When John Fred misheard the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper album track of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” — he thought Paul McCartney was singing “Lucy in disguise with diamonds” — he decided to create a send-up of the Fab Four’s work. Before long, he and fellow musician pal Andrew Bernard were filling notebooks with such pseudopsychedelic lyrics as “Cantaloupe eyes come to me tonight” and “Lemonade pies with a brand new car” and “Cross your heart with your living bra.” (Thank you, Playtex, for that last inspiration.) John Fred Gourrier was born in 1941 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The son of one-time Detroit Tigers third baseman Fred Gourrier, young Fred was a standout athlete at Catholic High School. He also loved Southern R&B — rhythm and blues — music and, at age 15, formed a blue-eyed soul group with several classmates. They called themselves John Fred and the Playboys, named after Hugh Hefner’s popular magazine. Late in 1958, they cut a bouncy single called “Shirley” with Fats Domino’s band in New Orleans. Issued on Baton Rouge’s Montel Records label, “Shirley” began receiving airplay throughout the South, and the teenage Playboys toured whenever their school schedule
permitted. Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” above such But when Coincidentally, it was John Fred nonsense. Dick Clark But Fred and His Playboy Band’s goofy novelty invited the that knocked the Fab Four’s “Hello prevailed, lads onto Goodbye” out of first place on the assuring his American Billboard chart. skeptical Bandstand, When “Judy in Disguise (with pals that leader Fred they were Glasses)” hit worldwide, John Fred declined and His Playboy Band toured both sitting on the offer. America and the U.K. In England, a potential Why turn they met Paul McCartney and John smash and down such Lennon, who both loved the parody. that “Judy” “Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)” a golden Wordplay-loving Lennon even joked offered a John Fred and His Playboy Band opportunity? that, when he went home that day, ticket to the December 1967 Fred had big time. he was going to sit down and write a a basketball similar fun song. Despite game scheduled at school that day. He said he would call it “Froggy in the Playboys’ objections, “Judy in After “Shirley” failed to break Disguise (with Glasses)” was recorded. a Pond with Spectacles.” nationally, the Playboys disbanded It featured a cacophony of brass, to concentrate on their schoolwork. strings, piano, sitar, bass, drums, and Randal C. Hill is a rock ’n’ roll historian who lives at the Oregon coast. He may be Fred eventually earned an education guitar. And gasps and moans. And reached at wryterhill@msn.com. degree from Louisiana State College ascending strings that matched the but soon found that the music world held more interest for him than did Stories of ordinary men and women the classroom. called to perform extraordinary military service. He re-formed John Fred and the Playboys and signed onto the Paula From 1999–2016, writer and World War II Records label in Shreveport. However, veteran Col. Robert D. Wilcox preserved the when California’s Gary Lewis and the firsthand wartime experiences of more than Playboys burst onto the music scene, 200 veterans through Salute to a Veteran, his the Louisiana fellows became John monthly column featured in 50plus LIFE. Fred and His Playboy Band. Eventually Fred brought “Judy in Now, for the first time, 50 of those stories— Disguise (with Glasses)” to his band, selected by Wilcox himself—are available to only to find that most of the members own in this soft-cover book. hated it. After all, they groused, theirs Simply complete and mail this form with your payment was a respectable R&B outfit and
to the address below to order Salute to Our Veterans. On-Line Publishers • 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512
Name_ _______________________________________________________ Address_ ______________________________________________________ City_______________________________ State_ ____ Zip_ ______________ Phone_ _____________________ Email______________________________ Number of copies_ ______ (Please include $20.80 for each copy) Credit card #______________________________________ Exp. date________ Signature of cardholder_________________________________CVV #________
Or send a check made payable to On-Line Publishers, Inc. You can also order online at www.50plusLIFEpa.com! www.50plusLifePA.com
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Dear Pharmacist
7 Common but Strange Reasons for Insomnia
Suzy Cohen
I’m cranky if I don’t sleep, are you? There’s more violence associated with people who have insomnia, which doesn’t come as any surprise to me. The start of daylight saving time in March is always associated with a small spike in heart attacks, according to two different studies from the American Journal of Cardiology (2013) and the New England Journal of Medicine (2008). Research published in New England Journal of Medicine shows an increase in car accidents in those first few days after the time change. Interestingly, a 2015 study published in The Review of Economics and Statistics estimates a 7 percent decrease in robberies after DST goes into effect, saving $59 million in social costs. Fascinating that the burglars are too tired to rob people if they lose sleep. This research is just so cool, and it got me thinking about the reasons people don’t sleep. Here are some other reasons you don’t get normal shut-eye. These
Do you have an ear to the ground? Would you like to see your name in print? 50plus LIFE is looking for
Local Liaisons We want to include your neighborhood news in 50plus LIFE— but we need your help! We’re looking for volunteers to serve as our designated Local Liaisons in Central Pennsylvania. If you seem to always know what’s happening in your community and would be willing to send us brief stories, event info, and photos, email mjoyce@onlinepub.com for more information.
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are seven common or unexpected causes for insomnia: 1. Taking thyroid medication at night. It should be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach because that’s when you usually produce it. When you pump out thyroid hormones (or take a pill), you naturally feel more energized and refreshed, so take the medicine first thing in the morning to mimic your own body’s rhythm. 2. Methylation. This is a chemical pathway in your body that produces and breaks down neurotransmitters such as epinephrine (which is stimulating) and melatonin (which causes sleep). If your methylation pathway is cramped, it could trigger insomnia as well as seizures, agitation, combativeness, panic attacks, and other “stimulating” issues. 3. Quinolinic acid. This is a neurotoxin that is made in our brains, and we can produce too much of it for a variety of reasons. Ironically, you can do it to yourself by taking certain sleep supplements, such as tryptophan. Too much quinolinic acid contributes to insomnia, depression, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. 4. Fluoride. Drinking tap water or taking certain fluoride-containing antidepressants, medications, or vitamins can harm your pineal gland. That’s bad because your pineal gland makes melatonin, your main sleep hormone. If you think fluoride is impacting your melatonin levels, which wane as you age, think about a supplement. 5. Prescription medications. Stimulating pharmaceuticals could keep you tossing all night. Among the worst offenders are albuterol, steroids, modafinil, metoclopramide, antidepressants, pseudoephedrine, ciprofloxacin, and others. 6. Chronic pain. Only 36 percent of chronic pain sufferers get regular good sleep, compared to 65 percent of people without pain, according to a 2015 Sleep in America poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. 7. Allergies. Your environment matters. Itchy eyes, sinus congestion, and frequent sneezing from dust or pollen allergies can keep you awake. To improve sleep, keep your bedding and pillows as allergen-free as possible. Get a clean new bed and buy a zippered bedbug mattress cover immediately. Consider changing from a down comforter to an organic cotton blanket. Close the windows if the pollen count is high. Shower before bed. Remember to change daytime clothes before hopping into bed, and regularly change sheets and pillowcases. Clean your fan blades of accumulated dust. This information is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat your disease. For more information about the author, visit SuzyCohen.com
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Volunteer Spotlight Radio Host Connects Listeners with Community Leaders Bill Stockwell is the RSVP York the conversation, listeners come Volunteer of the Month. away with a better understanding After graduating from Emerson of how these organizations College in 1962, he spent serve their community and how nearly four years at to contact them to commercial television volunteer. stations WGAL and By the conclusion WTPA. of 2017, Stockwell will Having have broadcast more subsequently served than 100 programs on in manufacturing, different subjects. government, and sales Stockwell also cofields, he wanted to chairs a ministry to apply his talents and prisoners at the York experience when he County Prison. retired. He has interviewed Stockwell the mayor of York, Bill Stockwell volunteers through the county coroner, RSVP at WYCOdirector of Veterans FM, a community service, Affairs of York County, the nonprofit radio station in York. president of the York Literacy He developed a program that Council, the commander of the commenced airing in November local flight of the Civil Air Patrol, 2015. It is broadcast at least six the president of York County times weekly. United Way, the CEO of York Stockwell enjoys interviewing County Economic Alliance, and leaders of organizations and many more. groups that people have heard of For information about but whose benefits to the York RSVP volunteer opportunities community listeners might not be in York County, call (800) familiar with. 870-2616 or send an email to By drawing his audience into programdirector@rsvpcapreg.org.
YCAAA Honors Volunteers of the Month For their service and dedication to York’s older adults, John Cassel, Connie Nelson, Greg Brenneman, and Janelle Klinedinst are York County Area Connie Nelson Agency on Aging’s volunteers of the month. Cassel, of Springettsbury Township, volunteers by delivering New Horizons John Cassel newspapers. Cassel attributes his history of volunteerism to a variety of experiences as a U.S. Navy veteran, along with serving as a local schoolteacher for 33 years. Nelson, of Dover, helps by bundling the New Horizons newspaper for delivery, providing general office assistance and also serving on the volunteer banquet committee. Nelson helped with the Heart and Hands gift shop, and she believes this experience contributes
to her desire to volunteer with YCAAA. Brenneman, of York Township, states that his previous career and military Janelle Klinedinst background have always involved assisting people. This journey of helping continues with the privilege of volunteering as an APPRISE counselor, as well as with special Greg Brenneman events. Klinedinst, also of York Township, previously worked as a home health aide for senior citizens, providing daily care needs. Klinedinst helps with APPRISE, special events, and general office assistance. She also has four children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. For more information on volunteering with the York County Area Agency on Aging, call (717) 771-9610.
Do you know a 50+ volunteer who gives selflessly to others? Tell us what makes him or her so special and we will consider them for 50plus LIFE’s Volunteer Spotlight! Submissions should be 200 words or fewer and photos are encouraged. Email preferred to mjoyce@onlinepub.com or mail nominations to 50plus LIFE, Volunteer Spotlight, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512.
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Assisted Living Residences/Personal Care Homes The listings with a shaded background have additional information about their center in a display advertisement in this edition.
Bethany Village — MapleWood
325 Wesley Drive • Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 717-766-0279 • www.BethanyVillage.org Total AL and/or PC Beds: 100 Assisted Living Residence: Yes Personal Care Home: 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
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: One-bedroom suites; secured memory support neighborhood; skilled nursing – The Oaks.
Colonial Lodge Community
2015 North Reading Road • Denver, PA 17519 717-336-5501 • www.coloniallodgepa.com Total AL and/or PC Beds: 70 Assisted Living Residence: No 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: 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: A veteran-approved “home for heroes” facility, all in a beautiful, rural setting.
Homewood at Plum Creek
425 Westminster Avenue • Hanover, PA 17331 717-637-4166 • www.homewood.com Total AL and/or PC Beds: 92 Assisted Living Residence: No 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
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: Excellent care in a lovely environment. Call to schedule a visit.
Mennonite Home Communities
1520 Harrisburg Pike • Lancaster, PA 17601 717-393-1301 • www.mennonitehome.org Total AL and/or PC Beds: 150 Assisted Living Residence: No Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: Yes 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: No 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: Supportive, encouraging environment. Various room types and suites available. Secure memory care offered.
The Hickman Friends Senior Community
Pleasant View Retirement Community
Assisted Living Residence: Yes Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Semi-private: Yes SSI Accepted: No Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes Alzheimer’s Care: Yes (in early 2018) Respite Care: Yes
Total AL and/or PC Beds: 96 Assisted Living Residence: No 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
400 North Walnut Street • West Chester, PA 19380 484-760-6300 • www.TheHickman.org Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: Nonprofit personal care community with new building opening in early 2018. Includes secure dementia care. Call to schedule a personal tour.
Homeland Center
1901 North Fifth Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102 717-221-7727 • www.homelandcenter.org Total AL and/or PC Beds: 56 Assisted Living Residence: No Personal Care Home: Yes Private: Yes Private Pay: Yes SSI Accepted: No Short-term Lease: No Entrance Fee/Security Deposit: No Part/Totally Refundable: No Outdoor Areas: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes Health Fee-for-Service Available: Yes
Respite Care: Yes Social Programs: Yes Housekeeping/Laundry Service: Yes Transportation (Scheduled): Yes Personal Car Permitted: Yes Pets Permitted: Yes Comments: Providing exemplary care in a beautiful environment for more than 150 years. Our continuum includes a hospice program, therapy services, home care and home health services, and 24-hour medical staffing. All-private rooms with full baths and kitchenettes.
544 North Penryn Road • Manheim, PA 17545 717-665-2445 • www.pleasantviewrc.org 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: *Three-year private pay spending. Maintain independence in an enriching and supportive environment; now offering respite stays.
Sacred Heart Villa
51 Seminary Avenue • Reading, PA 19605 610-929-5751 • www.sacredheartvillapa.org Total AL and/or PC Beds: 100 Assisted Living Residence: No 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: Yes Outdoor Areas/Fitness Center: Yes Medication Management: Yes On-call Medical Service: Yes
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: Located on 20 pristine acres. Offering amenities including homecooked meals; professional, licensed staff; and personalized care.
This is not an all-inclusive list of agencies and providers. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services.
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The Beauty in Nature
Hawks in Winter Fields Clyde McMillan-Gamber
Wintering flocks of horned larks, house sparrows, starlings, rock pigeons, mourning doves, and other species of birds are adapted to eating grass, weed seeds, and bits of corn in extensive fields in southeastern Pennsylvania during winter. These same birds also pick chewed, but undigested, bits of corn from livestock manure spread on top of snow when other foods are buried by snow. Field mice aren’t abundant in those fields because of annual plowing, discing, and harvesting. But mice are common along roadside shoulders and banks in cropland. There they feed, make nests, and raise young among roots of tall grasses and weeds. At least six kinds of hawks wintering in southeastern Pennsylvania—including American kestrels, merlins, peregrines, Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, and northern harriers—prey on mice and birds in open farmland. Kestrels, peregrines, Cooper’s, and red-tails nest locally, and all these diurnal raptors make croplands more interesting in winter. Kestrels, merlins, and peregrines are all fast-flying falcons that perch on roadside poles to watch for prey. They all have tapered, swept-back wings for swift flight. Smallest of the falcons, kestrels are about the size of blue jays. They hover into the wind as they watch for mice along grassy roadsides.
Photo by Greg Hume
Photo by Greg Hume
American kestrel
Red-tailed hawk
Merlins are darker and a bit bigger than kestrels. They catch small birds, such as horned larks and various sparrow species, by ambush and their speedy flight low to the ground in open country, including agricultural areas. The crow-sized peregrines mostly snare rock pigeons, mourning doves, and starlings in midair over open country. Peregrines dive through the air at 180 miles per hour and hit their victims with their chests. The birds are stunned or killed and drop to the ground. Peregrines swing around in the air, grab their victims in their claws in midair, and fly to a perch to consume their catch. Peregrines and merlins
reduce competition for food between them by catching different-sized prey. Cooper’s hawks traditionally
are forest dwellers that prey on birds. But some Cooper’s have adapted to catching birds in farm country, perhaps giving peregrines competition. Cooper’s are swift flyers, able to chase down their feathered victims. Red-tailed hawks soar over farmland to watch for mice and other rodents. When prey is spotted, they dive swiftly to snare it. Northern harriers flap and soar slowly into the wind close to the ground in farmland to watch and listen for mice and small birds. When victims are spotted, they abruptly drop to the ground to snare them in their claws. Hawks wintering in farmland prey mostly on mice and birds, doing so in different ways. And they make local fields more interesting in winter.
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Soldier Stories
Robert Naeye
Army Nurse Found Voice, Strength to Care for Vietnam’s Wounded
in return for college tuition support. After graduating from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1964, Thompson was sent to Fort Sam Houston in Texas to learn how to become an Army nurse. As she recalls, experiences, Another Kind of War Story. “Texas in summer is unlivable.” TICKETS • GROUP PARTIES • GIFT CERTIFICATES She specialized in neurology and psychiatry but also learned to Get your shopping done with just one click or call. march, salute, “and be afraid of other GIFT CERTIFICATES officers.” Available in ANY dollar amount. They get to choose the show and the date. She performed tracheotomies on SEASON MEMBERSHIPS goats to learn the lethal effects of Gives you up to 25% off each ticket. A great gift different ammunition. She also had for your parents, spouse or even the boss. to go through a gas chamber with TICKETS a mask, and came out with a severe Now on sale for EVERY show. Don’t wait to book. cough and burning eyes. She entered the Army as a second lieutenant. Two days before her wedding, she received orders to go to Vietnam. After sailing across the Pacific on a troop transport ship, she arrived May 3 – June 17 January 5 – February 3 February 8 – March 17 March 22 – April 28 in Saigon in October 1965. When she reached her field hospital in a defoliated area, there was just one general-purpose tent and no bathrooms, food, or running water. The only thing in abundance was dust. “I thought, ‘This is not going to be September 20 – November 10 November 15 – December 31 June 21 – August 4 August 9 – September 15 fun,’” she recalls. Thompson later helped set up a CLICK OR CALL TODAY and finish tent for 500 people. It was time to go all of your shopping! to bed at 10:30 p.m. when a sergeant Lancaster, PA DutchApple.com • 717-898-1900 asked her and several other nurses
Books about war are generally filled with tales of sacrifice and courage in mortal combat. But sometimes they neglect the heroism of those who served in support roles. And that is particularly true of nurses. I recently had the great honor to meet two Central Pennsylvania nurses who served in evacuation hospitals during the Vietnam War: Ann Thompson and Linda Goodhart. Although neither one fired a shot in anger, they experienced firsthand the horrors of war, while healing and comforting wounded and sick civilians and combatants. I will tell Thompson’s story this month and Goodhart’s story in 50plus LIFE’s February issue. Thompson grew up in Madison,
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South Dakota, a town of about 5,000 near the Minnesota border. She signed up for the Army Nursing Corps in 1962, before she had even heard of Vietnam. She committed to three Ann Thompson, right, with Linda Goodhart, years of who also served as a nurse in Vietnam. Thompson, Goodhart, and three other nurses military co-authored a book on their wartime service
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to dig a trench around the tent. The nurses were utterly exhausted, so they refused. But two hours later it rained heavily and water flowed into the tent. Welcome to Vietnam. After helping to build the 93rd Evacuation Hospital at Long Bien, she was driven about 10 miles to another hospital in an unescorted vehicle, while being shot at. The Army even stationed ammo dumps right next to her hospital, making it a legitimate target for enemy fire. Thompson quickly realized that her training in Texas was woefully inadequate for the rigors of wartime medicine. There were no rules on how to run an Army hospital, and the most competent people weren’t necessarily the ones making decisions. With no well-established frontlines in Vietnam, Thompson often treated severely wounded soldiers right off the battlefield. Making matters worse, enemy Viet Cong guerillas were all around. “You didn’t know if the little old lady over there will kill you in the morning or at night,” says Thompson. Thompson vividly recalls one tragic story involving a soldier named George Rodriguez. He came to the hospital with a large, ugly wound running down his back. He didn’t want to return to combat, but Thompson and her colleagues patched him up, and he was sent back to the meat grinder. “His pleading eyes haunted me,” recalls Thompson. Rodriguez returned to the hospital three weeks later. But this time he was missing both arms, and his eyes were like those of a dead man. He asked if his wounds would keep him from fighting again. “I had to go outside and throw up in the mud because I was emotionally exhausted,” says Thompson. Besides tending to the wounded for 12-hour shifts, six days a week, the nurses had to treat patients suffering www.50plusLifePA.com
from fungal Dakota, and infections, I didn’t say snakebites, bad words. and malaria. But I found To prevent my voice in this dreaded Vietnam,” she disease, they says. “When gave soldiers I came home, orange pills nobody was to take once interested a week. But in my voice, the pills but years sometimes later people made the are finally soldiers interested in sick, so what I have Ann Thompson, right, backstage at the they’d stop to say. People Bob Hope Christmas Special in 1965. taking the are listening medicine to nurses, and come down with various forms corpsmen, and soldiers.” of malaria. Thompson shares many of her And like all those who served in Vietnam experiences in a 1993 book Vietnam, Thompson had to endure she co-authored with Goodhart extreme heat and humidity. When and three other nurses. This book, she returned to Washington, D.C., Another Kind of War Story, is available on leave during a hot September, she through Amazon. had to wear wool sweaters and socks Robert Naeye is a freelance journalist to stay warm. living in Derry Township. He is the “I think in war you get tired of being afraid, so you give that up,” she former editor-in-chief of Sky & Telescope magazine. says. “We learned a lot about patience and rules, and we learned a lot about breaking those rules. “The mission was to always smile and say to our patients, ‘You’ll feel better tomorrow, and here, have some morphine.’ We never ever said, ‘I’m too tired or too hungry or I’m too angry’ to a wounded soldier because they were the most important part of our mission.” Thompson takes pride in the medical advances that resulted from the war. These include the development of a triage system that is currently used in hospitals all over the Locally RN Owned & country. And Penn State Hershey’s Nationally Known Life Lion is a direct descendant of Bathing and Dressing Assistance Medication Reminders medevac helicopters in Vietnam. Errands • Shopping • Light Housekeeping And, as she says, “We did malaria Meal Preparation • Friendly Companionship studies out the yazoo.” Flexible Hourly Care • Respite Care for Families Despite all the tragedy she saw firsthand during her year in Vietnam, Specializing in dementia care for Thompson says this experience made adults and their families her stronger. And it prepared her for a 30-year VisitingAngels.com postwar career in psychiatric nursing York at the area Veterans Administration 717-751-2488 Hanover hospital. Although she has officially 717-630-0067 retired, she still does volunteer work Lancaster there. 717-393-3450 “I was a shy little girl from South Each Visiting Angels agency is independently owned and operated.
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April 9, 2018 NEW C LO ATION!
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wyndham Hotel York 2000 Loucks Road, York
This event is FREE to attend. Veterans (of all ages) and the military community and their families are invited to join us!
The Expo brings federal, state, and local agencies together with area businesses to provide information and resources to veterans and their families.
The Job Fair brings veterans and spouses who need jobs together with employers who can benefit from this rich source of talent to aid their organizations.
At the Expo
Veterans Benefits & Services Medical/Nonmedical Resources Products and Services Available Support/Assistance Programs Education/Training Services
At the Job Fair
Employers Job Counseling Workshops Employment Seminars Resume Writing Assistance Hosted by:
Sponsor & Exhibitor Opportunities Available
www.veteransexpo.com (717) 285-1350 www.olpevents.com
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I Saw Grandma Kissing Santa Claus I saw Grandma kissing Santa Claus My Grandpa was nowhere to be found. As I watched the two misbehaving, Outside, deer were lurking ’bout the ground.
Ms. Senior Pa. Takes 4th in National Pageant is nothing I could Peggy Kurtz have changed at Keller, of Ephrata, the moment of came in fourth competition. I place at the 2017 met 36 wonderful Ms. Senior America women who are pageant, held at talented and Resorts Casino in beautiful, inside Atlantic City Oct. 15-19. and out.� Carolyn Slade Keller, 2011 PA Harden, of New State Senior Idol Jersey, took home winner and 2017 Ms. the top honor. Pennsylvania Senior Donna Vincler, of America, performed Photo credit: Rene Green “Summertime� from Peggy Kurtz Keller performed Tennessee, earned Porgy & Bess during “Summertime� for the talent first runner-up; Lee the pageant’s talent portion of the national Ms. Se- Ann Brill, of New nior America pageant in Atlan- York, was second portion. tic City in October. runner-up; and The annual Sharon Parry, of competition included Wyoming, took third runner-up. 37 state-level winners vying for the “I feel that my mission for the next national title. “I had the best time! I truly lived year is to promote this wonderful opportunity to other women who my philosophy of life last week!� have reached the age of elegance,� Keller said soon after the pageant. Keller said. “I did the best I could do—there
While the two were lovingly hugging Underneath the hanging mistletoe, They acted like they knew each other. As if they’ve been friends from long ago. While remaining hidden from his view, Santa lay our presents on the floor. Then, he kissed my Grandma one more time ’Fore disappearing out the front door. Even after I crept into bed, I never told Grandpa what I saw. Somehow Santa knew all I witnessed. For he left me this note I, now, recall. “From the corner of my twinkling eye, Instead of you being fast asleep, I noticed you on the stairway hiding. But, now, can this secret will you keep? “Since your Grandma is the best I know, And whose love for you is not amiss, I always make sure when I am here, Your Grandma gets a Christmas Eve kiss.� Written and submitted by Michael J. Smajda
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Orthopedics & Pain Special feature
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Ask a Foot & Ankle Surgeon: Why Does My Heel Hurt? Dr. Michael T. Ambroziak, DPM, FACFAS One of the most common questions I am asked by my patients is, “Why does my heel hurt?” While there can be many reasons for heel pain, we as foot and ankle surgeons categorize heel pain into four major causes: plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, bursitis, and nerve pain. Diagnosing the specific issue depends on the exact location of the pain and how the pain affects the mechanical movement of the leg. The most common cause of the heel pain is plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the band of tissue (the plantar fascia) that extends from the heel to the toes. When patients suffer from this ailment, the fascia becomes irritated and then inflamed, resulting in heel pain or pain in the arch of the foot. Plantar fascia pain is a telltale sign there are mechanical issues going on in how the foot works. We typically treat plantar fasciitis first with nonsurgical strategies, such as stretching exercises; rest; shoe pads and footwear modifications; orthotic devices; night splints; and injection therapy. While most patients respond well to conservative treatments, some require surgery to correct the problem. Achilles tendonitis, or the inflammation of the Achilles tendon, can also be a cause of heel pain. We often see this “overuse” condition in our athletic patients who play highimpact sports, such as basketball or tennis. They often have a sudden increase of repetitive activity involving the Achilles tendon, which puts too much stress on the tendon too quickly, leading to micro-injuries. To treat Achilles tendonitis, we often immobilize the foot with a walking boot or cast and also use physical therapy, orthotics, and ice to help repair the tendon. If the tendon is severely damaged or if nonsurgical treatments don’t work, surgery may be necessary. Another cause of heel pain commonly seen is bursitis, where the “fat pad”
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of the heel exhibits redness and swelling from inflammation of the small, fluidfilled sac inside the heel, called the bursa. The bursa, which protects the heel from friction, can become inflamed from repetitive motion or irritation from shoes. In the case of bursitis, the heel and the toes are most often affected. Treatment may include resting the foot, applying ice, and anti-inflammatory drug therapy, padding, and corticosteroid injections to reduce the inflammation and relieve pain. Surgery may be necessary if conservative methods do not provide relief. Finally, a somewhat less common cause of heel pain is nerve pain. When the nerves are involved, it feels more like a burning or electrical pain shooting or radiating down the foot from the heel, typically toward the toes. A patient will often tell me their heel “burns.” There are medications that may help with nerve pain, but in this instance, the patient tends to need nerve decompression surgery, a procedure to help “un-trap” the nerve causing the pain. These patients often have several misdiagnoses before they visit with a foot and ankle surgeon to correctly remedy their pain. Whatever your heel pain, I always encourage people to see a foot and ankle surgeon for a proper diagnosis. We specialize in only the foot and ankle, and our training helps us effectively get to the bottom of what is ailing our patients. To find a foot and ankle surgeon near you, visit FootHealthFacts.org, the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons’ patient-education website, or talk with one of the specialists included in this special section. Dr. Michael Ambroziak, DPM, FACFAS, a foot and ankle surgeon with offices in Bay City and West Branch, Mich., is board certified in foot surgery by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. Ambroziak is a fellow member of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeon and a diplomat, American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
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Savvy Senior
Jim Miller
Exercises that Help Ease Arthritis Pain and Stiffness Dear Savvy Senior, What exercises are best suited for seniors with arthritis? I have osteoarthritis in my neck, back, hip, and knee and have read that exercises can help ease the pain and stiffness, but I don’t know where to start, and I certainly don’t want to aggravate it. – Stiff and Achy Dear Stiff, Many people who have arthritis believe that exercise will worsen their condition, but that’s not true. Exercise is actually one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis. Proper and careful exercises can help reduce joint pain and stiffness, strengthen muscles around the joints, and increase flexibility. Exercise also helps manage other chronic conditions that are common among seniors with arthritis, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Here are some tips to help you get started. Recommended Exercises Determining exactly which types of exercises are best for you depends on the form and severity of your arthritis and which joints are involved. It’s best please see EXERCISES page 18
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EXCERCISES from page 17 to work with your doctor or a physical therapist to help you develop a personalized exercise program. The different types of exercises that are most often recommended to seniors with arthritis include: Range-of-motion exercises: These are gentle stretching exercises that can relieve stiffness as well as improve your ability to move your joints through their normal range of motion. These exercises should be done daily. Strengthening exercise: Calisthenics, weight training, and working with resistance bands are recommended (two or more days a week) to maintain and improve your muscle strength,
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which helps support and protect your joints. Aerobic exercises: Low-impact activities, such as walking, cycling, swimming, or water aerobics, are all recommended three to five times per week to help improve cardiovascular health, control weight, and improve your overall function. It’s also important to keep in mind that when you first start exercising, you need to go slow to give your body time to adjust. If you push yourself too hard, you can aggravate your joint pain. However, some muscle soreness or joint achiness in the beginning is normal. To help you manage your pain, start by warming up with some simple stretches or range-of-motion exercises for five to 10 minutes before you move on to strengthening or aerobic exercises. Another tip is to apply heat to the joints you’ll be working before you exercise, and use cold packs after exercising to reduce inflammation. If you’re experiencing a lot of pain while you exercise, you may need to modify the frequency, duration, or intensity of your exercises until the pain improves. Or you may need to try a different activity—for example, switching from walking to water aerobics. But it you’re having severe, sharp, or constant pain or large increases in swelling, or if your joints feel hot or red, you need to stop and see your doctor. Exercising Aids To help you exercise at home, the Arthritis Foundation offers a variety of free online videos (see www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/exercise/videos) to guide you through a range of exercises. Or there are arthritis exercise DVDs you can purchase through the Arthritis Foundation Store (www.afstore.org). Also see Go4Life (www.go4life.nia.nih.gov or call (800) 222-2225), a National Institute on Aging resource that offers a free exercise guide that provides illustrated examples of different exercises. If you need some motivation or don’t like exercising alone, ask your doctor about exercise programs in your area for people with arthritis. Hospitals and clinics sometimes offer special programs, as do local health clubs and senior centers. The Arthritis Foundation also conducts exercise and aquatic programs for people with arthritis in many communities throughout the U.S. Contact your local branch (see www.arthritis.org/local-offices, or call (800) 283-7800 for contact information) to find out what may be available near you. Jim Miller is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior Book. www.savvysenior.org
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6 Ways to Keep Your Knees Feeling ‘Younger’ By James Dowd, M.D. Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint condition that causes stiffness and swelling in joints such as the knees. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that 1 in 2 people will be affected by some form of osteoarthritis in their lifetime. However, people who suffer from osteoarthritis aren’t as old as some may think. In fact, recent data shows more than half of all people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis are younger than 65 years of age. As life expectancies continue to increase and people lead more active lives, there is greater potential that they may experience knee pain in their lifetime, making it even more important for people to care for their joints. A recent online survey commissioned by DePuy Synthes of 500 U.S. women aged 45-65 who had hip or knee replacement surgery or plan to have surgery soon found that knee or hip pain can negatively impact the ability to take part in basic activities, such as climbing stairs or getting in and out of a car, thus taking an emotional toll due to a lack of independence. I always encourage my patients to maintain a healthy lifestyle—mentally, emotionally, and physically. And, taking care of your knees, especially prior to feeling any severe pain, is extremely important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So, what can you do to take care of your knees to keep them healthy and feeling “younger”? Stay moving: It is easy for joints to stiffen when you’re sedentary. Make it a point to stay active with simple activities, such as taking a quick walk at the top of every hour. It can even be around your kitchen or office space. Maintain a healthy weight: Weight gain and joint pain are closely connected, and small weight gains can make a big difference for weight-bearing joints like knees and hips. In fact, data indicates that for every 11-pound weight gain, there is a 36 percent increased risk for developing osteoarthritis. Managing and maintaining a healthy weight can help ease the pressure on your knees. Strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and glutes: The quadriceps and hamstrings are the two main muscle groups that support the knee. Quadriceps are vital for the stability and healthy movement of the knee joint, while hamstrings bend the knee and move the leg behind your body. While the connection isn’t as obvious, strong glutes can decrease your risk for knee injury. Strengthening these muscle groups can have an impact on your overall knee health. Consider doing straight-leg raises to strengthen the quads and walking backward to strengthen the hamstrings. Don’t ignore the pain: When it comes to the knees, minor discomfort can sometimes turn into a major issue. Pain shouldn’t interfere with everyday tasks, such as walking from a parking spot in the back of the lot, getting the mail at the end of the driveway, or sleeping. No matter the severity of your pain, it is important to talk to a doctor about ways to treat and manage your symptoms before it becomes debilitating. Don’t overexert yourself: Before you begin any exercise regimen, talk with your doctor. Listen to what your body is telling you, and respect your body’s limits. Pushing your body too hard can lead to injuries, so take regular breaks from repetitive activities and don’t overdo any exercise or physical activity. Overexertion is preventable. Talk to your doctor: Whether you are experiencing pain and discomfort sporadically or it is affecting your everyday activities, it is important to discuss your symptoms with your doctor. You can set up a separate appointment to talk through what you’re experiencing, or it can be done during your annual checkup. Ask for tips on preventing your joints from daily wear and tear and treatment options that are right for you. For additional information and resources on knee pain, visit www.timetohitplay.com. James Dowd, M.D., is an orthopaedic surgeon at Jordan-Young Institute in Virginia Beach, Va. www. jordan-younginstitute.com
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The Green Mountain Gardener
Make Your Own Holiday Decorations Dr. Leonard Perry
Other less commonly used evergreens are white cedar or arborvitae (foliage fades to yellow in a few weeks), red cedar and other wild junipers (sharp needles, so use sparingly to add variety, color, texture, and form), and broad-leaved evergreens like rhododendrons. One caution about using yew (or taxus) is that all plant parts are poisonous, especially the attractive seeds. Look for a few branches of yellow-leaved evergreens for some color, such as certain variegated yews, gold-thread false cypress, old-gold juniper, or one of the gold arborvitae. Other plant parts you can use for interest, and to give arrangements a “country” appearance, include cones, grasses, pods, and berries. Florist shops may carry more exotic plant parts such as lotus pods, holly, mistletoe, and various greens. Some people like to add artificial decorations like bells, balls, and fake berries to their natural arrangements. In addition to plants and other decorative materials,
Natural holiday decorations such as roping, swags, wreaths, and table arrangements are not hard to make. You will catch on to the simple principles quickly, and in a short time your results may surprise everyone, including yourself. Most of the materials you need are inexpensive or free for the asking, in many locales. But remember to get permission before cutting branches or fruits on someone else’s land! Your local florist also should have natural materials, both local and from warmer climates. Tree farms are a good source of greenery or even undecorated products you can then decorate yourself. For plant materials, evergreen twigs and boughs are the most important. You may be surprised at how much material goes into even small decorations. For longest life, keep greens away from heat, wind, and sun. The most common evergreens include balsam fir, spruce (needles don’t last as long as fir and are prickly), white pine, and hemlock (needles will drop in dry air).
Do you or does someone you know have an interesting hobby or collection? A special passion or inspirational experience? A history of dedicated volunteer work? If so, tell us, and we’ll consider your suggestion for a future profile story! Just fill out the questionnaire below and return it to: LIFE, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512, or email your responses to Megan Joyce, editor, at mjoyce@onlinepub.com. Your name: ___________________________ Your phone number/email address: _____________________________________________________ Name of person nominated (if not you):__________________________________ Their town of residence: _______________________________ Please receive their permission to nominate them. Nominee’s age range: 50–59
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you will need something for a base for most decorations if starting from scratch. Wreaths require a wire, foam, or straw wreath form or a coat hanger bent into a circle. Rope or thick, coarse twine makes a good base for garlands or roping. Florist foam, which comes in “bricks” that can be cut to fit any container, may be purchased at florist or craft shops. Other essentials include a pair of clippers or utility scissors, florist picks (to hold greens to straw bases), and florist wire. The latter is a thin, green wire, available in several widths, that is used to hold everything together, such as cones to wreaths, greens to frames or rope, and decorations to walls. To make wreaths or ropings, you will need individual branchlets or bundles of them. Simply cut small branch pieces 4–6 inches in length from the main branches, and wire or pin them directly to the frames. Or you can wire several together into a bundle and then wire the bundle to the base. Overlap one branchlet or bundle over the cut ends of the last to hide them and the wire or rope base. Proceed down the rope or around the frame in this manner. Finally, once the greens are secured, add a bow and a few ornaments of interest, such as cones, berries, or artificial decorations. To make a table arrangement, start with a wet block of florist foam, either freestanding or cut to fit a basket or other decorative container. Use a
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saucer under the wet foam, unless the container is water tight. Place sprigs of green in the foam, followed by natural ornaments such as berries and artificial ornaments. Berries can be wired to a florist pick and then stuck in the foam. Follow the same design principles as you would if arranging flowers. A door swag is simple. Take several branches of a desired length, usually 2 feet or so, and tie together to hang upside down. Then tie a shorter branch or two on top, upright. Where these all tie together, place a bow, group of cones, or other ornamentation. If you want to use candles, use decorative lanterns to keep candles away from the greens (which, when dry, can be quite flammable) and then decorate around these with greenery and color. Get a mold for making a luminary of ice, and place greens and berries in the water before freezing. These, with a candle inside, make an elegant table decoration for a special dinner. If you have a stairway and banister, hang a grouping or two of greens and berries from the upright supports. Many other decorations are possible using wire or Styrofoam bases in the shapes of candy canes, cones, or balls, among others. You’ll find these online or at local craft stores. Simply follow the above procedures and your own creativity! Dr. Leonard P. Perry is an extension professor at the University of Vermont.
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Thank You, Columnists! 50plus LIFE continues to bring important information as well as entertaining articles to the 50+ community. We at On-Line Publishers would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the editorial contributors of 50plus LIFE: Tom Blake (On Life and Love after 50) Suzy Cohen (Dear Pharmacist) Andrea Gross (Traveltizers) Randal C. Hill (It Was 50 Years Ago Today) John Johnston (Social Security News) Bill Levine (Booming Voice) Clyde McMillan-Gamber (The Beauty in Nature) Jim Miller (The Savvy Senior) Robert Naeye (Soldier Stories) Victor Parachin (Fragments of History)
Saralee Perel (Such is Life) Dr. Leonard Perry (The Green Mountain Gardener) Mark Pilarski (Deal Me In) Sy Rosen (Older But Not Wiser) Terri Schlichenmeyer (The Bookworm Sez) Walt Sonneville (My 22 Cents’ Worth) Abby Stokes (Is This Thing On?) Nick Thomas (Tinseltown Talks) Dr. Lori Verderame (Art and Antiques)
It is through the varied interests and considerable talents of our contributors and freelance writers that such a range of informative and entertaining content is available to read each month. The pages of 50plus LIFE are enriched by your contributions.
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Calendar of Events
York County
Community Programs/Support Groups Free and open to the public
Senior Center Activities
Dec. 1, 10:30 a.m. Partners in Thyme Herb Club of Southern York County Glenview Alliance Church 10037 Susquehanna Trail, Glen Rock (717) 428-2210
Crispus Attucks Active Living Center – (717) 8483610, www.crispusattucks.org
Dec. 2, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Annual Holiday Bazaar Covenant Moravian Church 901 Cape Horn Road, York (717) 755-3269
Dec. 4, 9:30 a.m. Green Thumb Garden Club Meeting Emmanuel Lutheran Church 2650 Freysville Road, Red Lion (717) 235-2823 Dec. 19, 7-8 p.m. Alzheimer’s Support Group Providence Place 3377 Fox Run Road, Dover (717) 767-4500
Parks and Recreation Dec. 8, 6-8 p.m. – Hanging of the Greens, Rail Trail, Hanover Junction Train Station Dec. 10, 2-3:30 p.m. – Winter Wildlife Walk, Nixon Park Dec. 29, 1:30-3:30 p.m. – Marshmallow Hike, Rocky Ridge Park
Library Programs Arthur Hufnagel Public Library of Glen Rock, 32 Main St., Glen Rock, (717) 235-1127 Collinsville Community Library, 2632 Delta Road, Brogue, (717) 927-9014 Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m. – Purls of Brogue Knitting Club Dillsburg Area Public Library, 17 S. Baltimore St., Dillsburg, (717) 432-5613
Delta Area Senior Center, Inc. – (717) 456-5753 Dillsburg Senior Activity Center – (717) 432-2216 Eastern Area Senior Center, Inc. – (717) 252-1641 Golden Connections Community Center (717) 244-7229, www.gcccenter.com Weekdays, 9 a.m. – Games Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – Pinochle Fridays, 9:15 a.m. – Computers 101 Golden Visions Senior Community Center (717) 633-5072, www.goldenvisionspa.com Heritage Senior Center, Inc. – (717) 292-7471, www.heritagesrcenter.org Northeastern Senior Community Center (717) 266-1400, www.mtwolf.org/SeniorCenter Red Land Senior Center – (717) 938-4649, www.redlandseniorcenter.org September House – (717) 848-4417 Mondays and Wednesdays, 1 p.m. – Tang Soo Do Dec. 1 and 15, 1 p.m. – Wood-burning Workshop Dec. 4, 21, 26, 9-11 a.m. – Paper Crafting with Marie
Guthrie Memorial Library, 2 Library Place, Hanover, (717) 632-5183
South Central Senior Community Center (717) 235-6060, http://southcentralyorkcountysrctr.webs.com Weekdays, 9:15 a.m. – Isometric Exercises Mondays, 9:15 a.m. – Acrylic Art Class Dec. 3, 7 p.m. – Glen Rock Carolers
Kaltreider-Benfer Library, 147 S. Charles St., Red Lion, (717) 244-2032
Stewartstown Senior Center – (717) 993-3488, www.stewsenior.org
Dover Area Community Library, 3700-3 Davidsburg Road, Dover, (717) 292-6814 Glatfelter Memorial Library, 101 Glenview Road, Spring Grove, (717) 225-3220 Mondays, 6-8 p.m. – Knitters Group
Mason-Dixon Public Library, 250 Bailey Drive, Stewartstown, (717) 993-2404
Susquehanna Senior Center – (717) 244-0340, www.susquehannaseniorcenter.org Mondays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. – Chorus Practice Tuesdays, 6-10 p.m. – Bluegrass/Country Music Jam Session
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, 80 Constitution Ave., Shrewsbury, (717) 235-4313
White Rose Senior Center – (717) 843-9704, www.whiteroseseniorcenter.org
Kreutz Creek Valley Library Center, 66 Walnut Springs Road, Hellam, (717) 252-4080 Martin Library, 159 E. Market St., York, (717) 846-5300
Red Land Community Library, 48 Robin Hood Drive, Etters, (717) 938-5599 Village Library, 35-C N. Main St., Jacobus, (717) 428-1034 If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.
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Windy Hill On the Campus – (717) 225-0733, www.windyhillonthecampus.org Mondays and Thursdays, 12:30 p .m. – Yoga 101 Beginner Class Thursdays, 10 a.m. – Pickleball Yorktown Senior Center – (717) 854-0693 www.yorktownseniorcenter.org Just a snippet of what you may be missing … please call or visit their website for more information. www.50plusLifePA.com
Puzzle Page
CROSSWORD
Solutions for all puzzles can be found on page 25
SUDOKU
Across 1. Yucatan native 5. Jaunts 10. Stagnate 14. Ajar 15. Readjust 16. Yuletide 17. Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal 19. Bird feature 20. Annex 21. Muse of poetry 23. Locomotive type 26. Formal wear 30. Paddle 31. Lynx
35. Current 36. Midge 38. Oracle 39. A great deal 41. Mark of Cain 43. Actress Gardner 44. Half-baked 45. Cruelty 47. Before Las Vegas or voce 49. Coin 52. Spoil 53. Eternal 56. Gesture of assent
57. Scabbard 59. Words of resignation 61. Bellow 64. A Gershwin 65. Light seeker 68. Fascinated with fame 73. Great Lakes lake 74. Implied 75. Pocketbook 76. Some bills 77. Sales outlets 78. Obligation
23. Pet 24. Author Fleming 25. Expunction 27. Interlace 28. Scot. river 29. Possess 32. Exit 33. The Tempter 34. Thirst for 37. Poet. contraction 40. Rage 42. Below (poet.) 45. Day times (abbr.) 46. Humbugâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pal 48. Abets
50. I (Fr.) 51. Time zone 54. Poltergeists 55. Class 58. Fire aftermath 60. Exposed 62. W. state 63. Mexican snack 65. Assembled 66. Pay dirt 67. Metallic element 69. Rend 70. Shoshonean 71. Young carnivore 72. Ditty bag
Down 1. Throng 2. Emulator 3. Okay 4. Wagers 5. Vine support 6. Elec. unit 7. ____ of Wight 8. Equal 9. Rock layers 10. Memo holder 11. Deer 12. Cow pasture 13. Cervid 18. Murdered 22. Coach
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Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori
Nutcracker Collectibles Lori Verderame
inside the shell. Nutcrackers may be carved from pine, cedar, spruce, or other conifer trees. Linden, beech, ash, oak, or boxwood often are chosen among deciduous trees. With a wooden screwtype nutcracker, introduced in the 17th century, a nut sits in an open cavity of the cracker and a screw comes down hard enough to crack it. Some early nutcrackers display metal hinges or levers. For instance, a lever-forced nutcracker works with a nut placed in the mouth of a castmetal figure, such as a dog, alligator, or wolf. A nut positioned in the belly of a carved nutcracker figure helps prevent damage to the decorated face, with a lever at the back or an elongated nose Steinbach and Ulbricht nutcrackers, circa 1960s-1980s. creating a lever for cracking. Dating to the 1700s, Italy’s Gröden Valley was the famous site advertisement for the creation of figural nutcrackers made of pine and paint. In northern Italy, carvers produced lever nutcrackers. Well-known artisan Anton Riffeser established the Anri woodcarving firm in the 1920s. Germany’s Erzgebirge percussion nutcrackers from the Ore Mountain region are popular with collectors for their tall hats and brightly colored costumes. If you want a funeral with an expensive casket Carvers from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden produce highly recognizable nutcracker figures of fishermen, street vendors, and seafarers. and embalming, go to a funeral home! German makers Otto Ulbricht and the Steinbach firm became known for If you are interested in affordable cremation services, nutcrackers with fanciful accessories. Holiday forms often include reindeer, we are the name to remember! Santa Claus, or characters from, of course, The Nutcracker Suite. We specialize in cremation only, statewide, no removal fees. Ivory was tried but could not withstand the force of repeated use. HighNo Embalming No Caskets style china table settings included porcelain nutcrackers. The top of a famous porcelain screw nutcracker by Meissen, with a brass wheel for crushing the nut, matched a china pattern. Once nuts were cracked, metal picks became necessary to dislodge them. Other accessories include nut bowls, serving spoons, and nut openers used to serving all of York county since 1981 pry open cracked nuts. Largest in the state of PA Fruit knives, essentially small-scale pocket knives, were used to eat fruits and For FREE brochures and pricing, call: nuts at the end of a meal. Ever-popular nut bowls often came in pairs—one for 1-800-720-8221 (toll-free) or mail us ... nuts and the other to hold loose shells. Sets of a nutcracker and assorted pick have been popular. They were the Please send me FREE brainchild of a 19th-century dentist, Henry Quackenbush, whose initial start in brochures and pricing! making dental tools made him famous as a nut-cracking technician.
Nutcrackers span the globe among various cultures. According to reports, an Italian bronze nutcracker dating back to the 4th century B.C. is among the earliest one known. England’s King Henry VIII gave Anne Boleyn a nutcracker as a gift. Sparked by famous examples amassed by collectors, an interest in the history of cracking the nut uncovers three basic methods to free a nut from its shell: percussion, lever, or screw. Materials used to make nutcrackers run the gamut, including stone, wood, and metal. For instance, nutting stones were found in North America and parts of northern Europe 5,000-8,000 years ago. A nut placed in the depression of a stone was smashed by another stone, called a hammer stone, to reveal a nut
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Code YSN
Celebrity appraiser Dr. Lori Verderame is an internationally syndicated columnist, author, and award-winning TV personality who stars on History channel’s The Curse of Oak Island and Discovery’s Auction Kings. With a Ph.D. from Penn State University, Dr. Lori presents antique appraisal events to worldwide audiences. Visit www.DrLoriV.com/events or call (888) 431-1010.
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On Life and Love after 50
Tom Blake
Recent Widower, Widow Refuse to Give Up Dating Hope
In October, this paper featured an article about Chuck, 78, a Lancaster widower, who had lost his wife of 55 years. Chuck refused to quit; he refused to give up hope. He wanted a companion, not for marriage, but to pal around with and possibly spend winters together in Florida. He decided to enter the dating world. One step he took in seeking a mate was to contact me. I wrote the article about him. Chuck recently sent an update on his dating efforts:
And now, Melinda, a widow from Sonoma County, California, and her story. I met Melinda 11 years ago. She and her boyfriend, Dale, at the time lived two houses away from my mom, who was in her 90s. They were so good to her, watching out for her, offering to help often and driving her places. I so appreciated their thoughtfulness. I lived 500 miles away, and it was a great relief to me that friendly, caring neighbors were keeping an eye on her. At the time, I was writing a book
titled, How 50 Couples Found Love After 50. Melinda and Dale met after age 50, while walking on a beach in Sonoma County. They later married. I loved their story so much I included them in the 50 Couples book. When the book was published, I sent them an autographed copy. After my mom passed away, I lost track of Dale and Melinda. Last month, I received this heartwrenching email from Melinda: “I don’t know if you heard that Dale passed away this January. He developed a brain disease, CJD, that moved very quickly, so that by the time we had a diagnosis, he only lived 18 more days. Hospice was absolutely amazing. “Then, this past month, our house (we bought it March 2016) burned in the fires here in Sonoma. I got out with my car, in my pajamas, slippers, phone, and wallet. Dale’s ashes scattered among the household items, the books he loved reading, our art collection. “I was hoping you might still have copies of your How 50 Couples Found Love After 50 book, in which Dale
and I were included as one of the couples. The autographed copy you sent us burned along with everything else. Perhaps you could sign one again for me. “And, if you get a good lead, I’m not too old to fall in love again. Dale would want me to.” Melinda’s email shook me to my core. I did not know that Dale had died. And then, to top things off, in October, her home burned in the California fires. And her very modest, humble request was for me to autograph another copy of the 50 Couples book. You can imagine how quickly I sent her an autographed copy. But what Melinda wrote in her last sentence is the takeaway here. Within nine months, she experienced double adversity—losing her husband and her home—and yet, she is picking herself up and moving forward with her life. I will do my best to send her some dating leads. Both Chuck the widower and Melinda the widow are inspirations to all seniors: No matter what life throws at us, there is always hope. For dating information, previous articles, or to sign up for Tom’s complimentary, weekly e-newsletter, go to www. FindingLoveAfter50.com. To receive an autographed copy of his book at a 50plus LIFE reduced rate, email Tom at tompblake@gmail.com for details.
Puzzle Solutions
“Your article has attracted about 40 responses and kept me busy meeting very interesting people. “Twenty percent of the responses were promising. A wonderful woman just spent a day with me; I was her first date in over 10 years since her husband died. “She reread your 50plus LIFE article over 25 times before she shared her thoughts with another couple. They emailed me that I should expect a telephone call from a very wonderful woman who they thought was made for me. They spent $25 to check my criminal record and what they could find about me on the internet. “It is going to be difficult settling in with just one woman because a solid relationship takes time to build. “There are some very expensive dating services out there that have
had mixed success. The inexpensive dating websites have worked for many people. I just don’t feel comfortable with them and most seniors don’t either. “I am impressed by so many wonderful women I have met (including three this week). Fifty-five years ago, I was dating three women and by a process of circumstances, I happened to marry a wonderful woman who turned out to be my best friend. I hope I am as lucky this time as well. “Hope and time come before love in a relationship!”
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Stop a Cold Before it Starts New research shows you can stop a cold in its tracks if you take one simple step with a new GHYLFH ZKHQ \RX ÂżUVW feel a cold coming on. Colds start when cold viruses get in your nose. Viruses multiply fast. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop them early, they spread and cause misery. Research: Copper stops colds if used early. But scientists have Pat McAllister, age 70, received found a quick way to kill a virus. Touch it with copper. Researchers at one for Christmas and called it â&#x20AC;&#x153;one labs and universities agree, copper of the best presents ever. This little is â&#x20AC;&#x153;antimicrobial.â&#x20AC;? It kills microbes, jewel really works.â&#x20AC;? People often use CopperZap for such as viruses and bacteria, just by SUHYHQWLRQ .DUHQ *DXFL ZKR Ă&#x20AC;LHV touch. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why ancient Greeks and often, used to get colds after crowded Egyptians used copper to purify wa- Ă&#x20AC;LJKWV 7KRXJK VNHSWLFDO VKH WULHG LW ter and heal wounds. They didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t several times a day on travel days for know about viruses and bacteria, but PRQWKV Âł6L[WHHQ Ă&#x20AC;LJKWV DQG QRW D VQLIĂ&#x20AC;H ´ VKH H[FODLPHG now we do. Businesswoman Rosaleen says Researchers say a tiny electric when people are sick around her she charge in microbe cells gets short-circuited by the high conductance of uses CopperZap morning and night. copper, destroying the cell in seconds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It saved me last holidays,â&#x20AC;? she said. Tests by the Environmental Pro- â&#x20AC;&#x153;The kids had colds going round and tection Agency (EPA) show germs round, but not me.â&#x20AC;? Some users say it also helps with die fast on copper. So some hospitals switched to copper touch surfaces, sinuses. Attorney Donna Blight had like faucets and doorknobs. This cut D GD\ VLQXV KHDGDFKH 6KH WULHG the spread of MRSA and other ill- CopperZap. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am shocked! My head nesses by over half, and saved lives. cleared, no more headache, no more The strong evidence gave inven- congestion.â&#x20AC;? Some users say copper stops tor Doug Cornell an idea. When he felt a cold coming on he fashioned a QLJKWWLPH VWXIÂżQHVV WRR LI WKH\ XVH LW smooth copper probe and rubbed it just before bed. One man said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best sleep Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had in years.â&#x20AC;? gently in his nose for 60 seconds. Users also report success in stopâ&#x20AC;&#x153;It worked!â&#x20AC;? he exclaimed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ping cold sores and warts. It can also cold went away completely.â&#x20AC;? It worked again every time he felt a prevent infection in wounds, cuts and cold coming on. He reports he has abrasions. 7KH KDQGOH LV VFXOSWXUHG WR ÂżW WKH never had a cold since. He asked relatives and friends to KDQG DQG ÂżQHO\ WH[WXUHG WR LPSURYH try it. They said it worked for them, contact. Tests show it kills germs on too, every time. So he patented Cop- ÂżQJHUV VR \RX GRQÂśW VSUHDG LOOQHVV WR your family. perZapâ&#x201E;˘ and put it on the market. &RSSHU PD\ HYHQ VWRS Ă&#x20AC;X LI XVHG Soon hundreds of people had tried it and given feedback. Nearly 100 early and for several days. In a lab percent said the copper stops their WHVW VFLHQWLVWV SODFHG PLOOLRQ OLYH colds if used within 3 hours after the Ă&#x20AC;X YLUXVHV RQ D &RSSHU=DS 1R YLÂżUVW VLJQ (YHQ XS WR GD\V LI WKH\ ruses were found alive soon after. The EPA says the natural color still get the cold it is milder than usuchange of copper does not reduce its al and they feel better. Users wrote things like, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It ability to kill germs. CopperZap is made in the U.S. stopped my cold right away,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is of pure copper. It has a 90-day full it supposed to work that fast?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;What a wonderful thing,â&#x20AC;? wrote PRQH\ EDFN JXDUDQWHH DQG LV Physicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assistant Julie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No more at CopperZap.com or toll-free colds for me!â&#x20AC;? 1-888-411-6114.
American Legion Donation Supports Vetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Transportation secure transportation The Shiloh to local communityAmerican Legion based outreach recently made a clinics in York and large donation to Camp Hill, as well rabbittransit. as transportation to Philip Crouse, the VA hospital in first vice commander Lebanon. and chair of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are excited donation committee to see local veterans for the post, awarded support local veterans. the $1,000 donation. We couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t provide The donation this service without will support the community veteransâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; medical transportation in investment,â&#x20AC;? Richard From left, Philip Crouse, first Farr, rabbittransit York County. vice commander and chair of executive director, Since the launch the donation committee, and said. of its YORKVET Michael Bernhardt, director of The YORKVET transportation mobility services, rabbittransit. shuttle operates every shuttle in weekday, departing partnership with York at 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. To learn the York County Department of more about veteransâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transportation Veterans Affairs, rabbittransit has begun to receive donations within the options, call (800) 632-9063, email info@rabbittransit.org, or visit www. community. rabbittransit.org. The donations help local veterans
Happy Holidays! We at On-Line Publishers, Inc. are grateful to our dedicated staff, loyal readers, and supportive advertisers who have all enabled us to continue our mission to serve the mind, heart, and spirit of the 50+ community in 2017. We wish to thank each of you for helping to make 50plus LIFE a fun, interesting, and unique source of information and entertainment for our readers in Central Pennsylvania. At this special time of giving thanks and reminiscing, the staff of On-Line Publishers wishes you, our friends, warmest holiday wishes.
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December 2017
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www.50plusLifePA.com
Volunteer Opportunities Available RSVP of the Capital Region – York County is seeking volunteers for several roles in the county. Retired and senior volunteer tutors are needed in math or reading for elementary schools in the City of York School District. Volunteers can pick which elementary school they would prefer to tutor in. RSVP is also seeking volunteer drivers 55 and over to drive for the SpiriTrust Lutheran Touch-a-Life Program, which supports those in need of rides to appointments and various places in the York and Hanover areas.
RSVP needs volunteers for WYCO FM 106.1 in York, a community benefit radio station. Available positions include assistant station manager, data entry person, fundraiser, and public speaker volunteers. Volunteer benefits include: transportation reimbursement, free supplemental liability insurance, recognition and appreciation events, assistance with clearances, and free two-hour tutoring training. Contact Scott Hunsinger at (443) 619-3842 or yorkadamsfranklin@ rsvpcapreg.org.
Hospice Volunteers Needed Heartland Hospice, 3417-C Concord Road in York, is seeking volunteers who are interested in helping to provide quality care to patients with a limited life expectancy. Volunteer opportunities for as few as two to three hours a week include: • Veteran-to-veteran volunteers: Connect with veteran patients by listening, reminiscing, and storytelling • Visitors: Friendly visiting in residential homes, sitting with patients while their caregivers run errands (two- to three-hour visits); friendly visiting in nursing homes, reading to patients (half- to one-hour visits)
• Music visitors: Join Voices of Love, a group of volunteers who bring joy by singing to patients or playing recorded music to them • Vigil volunteers: Volunteers who sit with patients during their last hours/ days of life to offer comfort Free volunteer training sessions will be held in December. For additional information or to register for training, call the volunteer coordinator, Robin Shaffer, at (717) 840-1002. Note: Individuals who have lost a loved one are asked to wait one year before training to become a Heartland Hospice volunteer.
MEDICARE from page 5 program under guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Although it does not require paying taxes while working, it does have guidelines about how much income and resources you can have to qualify. Medicaid offers care for the most vulnerable among us, providing coverage for older people, people with disabilities, and some families with children. Each state has its own eligibility rules and decides which services to cover. The names of the Medicaid program may vary from state to state. You can read about each state’s www.50plusLifePA.com
Medicaid program at www. medicaid.gov/medicaid/by-state/bystate.html. You can find each state’s Medicaid contact information at www.medicaid.gov/about-us/contactus/contact-state-page.html. Medicare and Medicaid are two of the major insurance programs that provide healthcare to the American public. Understanding each program, as well as how the two programs differ, can help you and those you care about find the right healthcare program. John Johnston is a Social Security public affairs specialist.
U-STOR-IT
Self Storage
Secret Santa Move-In Special
1/2 Off 1st 3 Months on 5x5 & 5x10 Units
Valid month of December only
2786 South Queen St, Dallastown, PA 17313
(717) 741-2202
1331 North Sherman St, York, PA 17406
(717) 840-9369 www.ustorityork.com
opportunities Make a Volunteer for Seniors 55+ throughout Difference York County, with non-profits, agencies Volunteer schools, and community Today service organizations. Contact for further information:
Scott Hunsinger 443.619.3842
YorkAdamsFranklin@rsvpCapReg.org
50plus LIFE t
December 2017
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Orange Spectacular! Petite Navel Oranges Tangerines
Petite Red Navels Navel Oranges
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