A STORY Only You Can Tell

Everyone has a life story to tell, but it can be hard to sort through 70 or 80 years of experiences and memories. With the right guidance and encouragement, putting pen to paper can be simple and satisfying, giving your future family members something to cherish.

In 2015, following her passion for writing and journalism, Masonic Village at Elizabethtown resident Marjorie “Marj” Keen (shown right) decided to facilitate a chapter of the Lancaster County Life Story group, of which she was a member, at Masonic Village.

As a field professional of over 40 years with a great curiosity about the lives of others, Marj has always had a knack for telling and retelling stories.

For over 20 years, she served as a “ghostwriter” for many clients who wanted assistance writing autobiographies. Marj traveled to the home or office of her clients for countless sessions of interviewing and recording, sometimes up to 25 hours per client. She then transcribed, edited and shaped the interviews into logical written works. Once both she and the client were satisfied, illustrations were chosen, and Marj worked with an editor, book designer, printer and bookbinder to produce an end product that later received an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and copyright.

Prior to her history book experience, Marj was a correspondent for various newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era and The Patriot-News, and she wrote articles for magazines such as The Penn Stater and Writer’s Digest.

Marj stepped down from leading the group after the pandemic, and resident Dennis Strain (shown above) now coordinates the bi-monthly Life Story Writing group. Dennis was a litigation coordinator, a career which included writing case summaries and briefs, or “story creating,” for trial attorneys. Upon his retirement, he needed a new creative outlet, so he started writing and storytelling.

He and his wife, Shannon, moved to Masonic Village in 2018, and while they initially planned their move for five to 10 years in the future, they knew they wanted to come here while they still had the time and energy to get involved in all the activities. In addition to the Life Story Writing group, Dennis takes part in the Geriactors, Courses for the Curious, the Inquisitives and leading storytelling programs on campus.

The group is open to writers and those with no experience at all. People are encouraged to share one episode of their life story, not their entire life story at once, which makes it less intimidating. They can then build the rest of their story from that one episode. Dennis even invites people to just come and listen if they want, and maybe they’ll be inspired to start writing. Participants connect with one another and often feel as if “you’ve known them your whole life,” according to Dennis.

“There’s definitely a variety of writing. Some people are writing stories about things that have happened recently, and other people are sharing memories from 30, 40 years ago,” Dennis said. “They often find that other members’ lives contain some of the same memories as their own. Some of the stories are really funny, and it’s just a delight to hear them.”

Her love for storytelling and drawing remained throughout her life. As an early childhood educator and owner of a nursery school for more than 20 years, she loved sharing stories with the children at her school.

In 2018, she took a “Storytelling for Beginners” workshop led by Dennis after his move to Masonic Village. He taught her the process of storyboarding, or drawing out her story, before sitting down to write it. This technique combined her two passions with a new one: writing.

During Life Story Writing meetings, each participant is invited to read a 5- to 7-minute story that gives “a brief insight into a life event, which helps to revisit fond memories, keep the mind sharp and create keepsakes for future generations,” Dennis said.

“The focus of the group is simply to make it easier for people to tell their stories. We don’t work on writing technique, and there’s no criticism on your storytelling skills. The feedback you get is people sharing similar experiences or reactions to yours. That’s probably one of the strongest attractions to the group, since it’s just a large group of people sharing stories rather than some kind of performance.”

MARILYN’S STORY

Growing up, Marilyn Varnum always had a love for drawing and storytelling. Her sister filled the role of the writer in the family, and Marilyn would tell her sister’s stories with much expression.

Marilyn and her husband, Rick Hansen, moved to Masonic Village in 2017. She joined Marj’s Lancaster County Life Story Group in 2018. Writing became an outlet for her, and she has since written over 97 stories. She keeps them in binders, along with photos and newspaper clippings, covering her life story, her children’s lives, her grandchildren’s stories, her spiritual journey and her life together with Rick.

While she hopes her family reads the stories in the future, her true purpose was to write her life story. Writing helped her cope with being a caregiver for Rick, who had Alzheimer’s prior to his passing two years ago. She wrote about his daily life, care and schedule. These stories were helpful for her to share with nurses who cared for him once he was in the Masonic Health Care Center.

“They got to know the real Rick,” she said, “and they appreciated knowing his routine.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone into isolation, her writing gave her a renewed focus.

Continued on page 20

“My lonely hours were filled with the creativity of writing. I wrote to my heart’s content to get through this difficult time,” she said.

She shared her stories with her husband, hoping to keep some of his past memories alive, as well as with her husband’s caregiver, Terri Koehler, also a resident who works with Masonic Village Home Care. Terri was very supportive of Marilyn’s efforts.

“These stories have given me new memories of the past while adding the present to them,” she said. “It helps me work though feelings of the past, present and future. Every time I do something now, I think ‘I can write a story.’”

Marilyn’s latest stories highlight her trips taken with the Masonic Village Travel Club. She also keeps a pen and pad by her bed in case an idea hits her in the middle of the night. She encourages others to join the Life Story Writing group and emphasizes to people that it’s about writing their own story.

“You don’t have to think up the plot,” she said. “It’s already happened. You can start with when you were born and go anywhere you want.”

Marj has spoken with many who often express regret about moments they didn’t record.

“For my own sense, regardless of whether they get published or read, it’s the sense of going back and remembering the most important moments of my life and reconnecting with those past events,” Dennis said. Shown left, members of the Life Story Writing group: Carol Bosserman and Linda Boozer. Above is one of Marilyn’s illustrated storyboards.

The Office of Mission Advancement and Development provides assistance to residents in need of estate planning services. What services do we provide? It depends on what your needs are. Let me give you an example of a recent meeting I had with a resident couple and how we helped them update their estate plan.

John and Mary recently moved to Masonic Village from sunny Florida to be close to relatives in Pennsylvania. They called me to see if we could meet to discuss the current status of their estate plan and what they should do now that they live in Pennsylvania. They provided me with copies of their estate planning documents and a list of their assets. I reviewed everything and made some recommendations after listening to their concerns and questions about their estate plan.

EXECUTOR AND POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA)

John explained that he and Mary had no children and needed someone to serve as the backup Executor and POA for them. I shared with them a list of providers