3 minute read
Over the Hill” Couple Produces Village Newsletter
William (Bill) and Catherine Schneck like to think of themselves as the eyes and ears of Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill.
As editors of the “Over the Hill” newsletter, the Schnecks convey what’s happening at the village through articles about residents and staff members, and cover many topics, including entertainment news, recipes, travel and leisure ideas and gardening tips. They also accept story submissions.
“We’re always on the lookout for interesting ideas,” Bill said. “We try to steer away from controversy. There’s no religion or politics [in the newsletter]. All people don’t think alike, and you just have to accept it.”
The first issue of the in-house, quarterly newsletter debuted in April 2017, with about 150 copies printed and distributed among retirement living residents. Bill first became interested in producing a newsletter after having a conversation with another retirement living resident, Jane Strock, whose father wrote a newsletter back in the 90s and early 2000s when he was living at Masonic Village.
“I started researching ideas and reading books about how to do a newsletter, and Jane brought back some samples of newsletters from other communities,” Bill said.
A former neighbor of his, Frank Sylvester (who is now deceased), volunteered to help edit and write the eightpage newsletter. “We sent a sample to Elizabethtown to be approved, and Masonic Village and Adrienne [Staudenmayer, executive director] agreed to print it for us,” Bill said.
Bill learned the basics of how to format a newsletter, having done some graphic artwork decades ago, and simply sends a digital file to Trudy Plunkett, executive assistant, to edit and make copies of the publication. Jane distributes the newsletter to the residents. Any extras are delivered upstairs to residents in the personal care area.
“I read every issue,” Jane said. “I think it’s a nice newsletter considering Bill does it himself. I think he works very hard at it. He does a good job.”
Bill said producing a newsletter is a hobby because he has always enjoyed writing. “I used to write reports and pamphlets when I was an engineer,” he said.
“I took a course in college on English composition. Catherine has to edit me because I can get verbose.”
“He has terrible spelling,” Catherine said, jokingly. “I’m the one who takes care of the grammar.”
Catherine has received great feedback over the years about the newsletter, with residents frequently stopping her in the hallway to chat about the content. The summer edition, published in July, contained a profile of retirement living resident Angie Myshko, along with word games and an instructional guide for how to store the American flag.
“The newsletter has been a little bit different lately, mostly due to COVID-19,” Bill said. “We weren’t able to interact with a lot of the residents, so it mostly contains poems and games. We tried to find subjects that were relevant without getting maudlin. People like activities, such as mind benders and word puzzles.”
Bill said he’ll continue to produce a newsletter as long as there is interest and people have ideas.
When he’s not working on the newsletter, Bill spends his free time tinkering with projects in the woodworking shop. Catherine volunteers once a week at the Gift Shop. She also runs the popular bazaars, typically held once a year at Masonic Village. This year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The Schnecks have lived at Masonic Village for seven years. They found out about the community through a friend who lives in Elizabethtown.
“We wanted a community,” Catherine said. “This place gives you a sense of community. Everyone is friendly. There are a ton of activities [during normal circumstances]. If you are older and still live at home, you have to do things on your own. Here, everything is done for you.”
