Community Matters The Glen at Aberdeen Heights
March 2016
Art is Ageless® local call for entries underway Aberdeen Heights has issued a call for entries for the Art is Ageless® juried exhibit to be held May 1011, 2016. Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 2017 Art is Ageless calendar. The Art is Ageless® Program encourages Aberdeen Heights residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through its annual competition, as well as art classes, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions throughout the year. Having a creative outlet benefits the mind, body and spirit. “The exhibit and competition always draw a wide array of impressive artwork from talented ART IS AGELESS, continued on page 4
Neighbors of the month: Gene and Mary Ellen Brucker Gene Brucker is a St. Louis native and a second generation American, his grandfather having emigrated from France to the United States around 1890. His grandfather’s house in Alton was the first to have a concrete floor, which perhaps foreshadowed Gene’s career. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, Gene enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was still at Parris Island when the war ended and wound up doing his military service in China, where he was involved in weapons collection. After completing his military service, Gene enrolled at Washington University, where he earned an engineering degree (geological engineering). He was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. He worked as a surveyor for the Army Corps of Engineers, a job that took him all over the United States. His footlocker is decorated with decals of the many States and National Parks he visited. Active in youth hosteling during these years, Gene both joined and led cycling trips in Canada and Europe. On one such trip, he befriended a German man whom he encouraged to study in the United States (Rolla). The two have remained life-long friends. Mary Ellen Shelton was born in Seattle, Wash., the eldest of four siblings. Her childhood, until the age of 12, was spent partly in the Philippines and NEIGHBORS, continued on page 2
A proud member of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America
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partly in California, as her father was in the import-export business. Following her mother’s death in 1938, the family returned to the United States and settled in Mill Valley, Calif. Her father remarried (1939) and Mary Ellen (Mellon to her California friends) acquired an older brother, who—thanks to Mary Ellen having skipped a year of school—was in her class. She finished at Mount Tamalpias high school in 1943, where she worked on the school newspaper, then went to Stanford where she pledged Alpha Phi and worked on the Stanford Daily. Her claim to fame on the newspaper was being the night editor on May 8, 1945. News was seeping out
Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Heights by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at: PresbyterianManors.org. James “Jamie” Kneen, executive director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Loretta Cutler, health care lifestyle coordinator, lcutler@pmma.org. Telephone: 314-909-6010 Address: 505 Couch Ave., Kirkwood, MO 63122 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
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about the German capitulation, but the news organizations were not supposed to report this until the White House made the formal announcement. The wire service with which Stanford was affiliated abided by the agreement, but another service did not. Mary Ellen had the task of devising a headline for the next day’s paper that respected the agreement but revealed that Stanford knew what had happened. Her headline, “Japs Next,” did just that. After Stanford, Mary Ellen worked for a while in San Francisco, then moved to Washington, D.C., where she took a job with Voice of America. There she worked on the Korea desk, writing news articles that were translated for broadcast into Korea. She had a wonderful time in Washington with many other professional women working in government. She lived in Georgetown and was active in Youth Hosteling. She succeeded in getting Justice Douglas to participate in the opening of the bike path along the canal adjacent to the Potomac. In September 1959, Gene and Mary Ellen boarded a ship in New York en route to Europe for a Youth Hostel Rally in Koblenz, Germany. They met on the ship, and what can only be described as a whirlwind romance ensued, including dinner at a restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. They married on Dec. 31, 1959, and shortly thereafter settled in Webster Groves. Gene worked as a consulting civil engineer in partnership with another engineer
before breaking off to start his own firm (Brucker and Associates) in the early 1970s. The Arch and Six Flags are two projects for which Gene did the soils investigation. Mary Ellen stayed at home with daughter Katherine and son Edward, but served as publicity chairman for multiple groups, such as Alpha Phi and the St. Louis Camera Club. The two traveled extensively and produced travelogues for many of their trips. Among those that have been shown the most and received the most awards are: The Grand Canyon, Records in the Rocks (desert southwest), River of Kings and Castles (Loire River Valley, France), and Mexico. They entered many international slide competitions and frequently won top prizes. After retirement, they traveled more extensively, including to Thailand, China, Morocco, Libya, India (four times), Egypt, Uzbekistan, England, Ireland and Tunisia. In addition, they visited Katherine at her overseas posts: Haiti, Germany, Austria and Cameroon. One visit to Austria included a trip around Central Europe to Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The visit to Prague fulfilled Gene’s long standing promise to take Mary Ellen there. Always active, they got together frequently with hosteling friends, played bridge with others and were regular theater patrons. Mary Ellen attended the opera, took aerobics classes and several lifelong learning courses.
When should you ‘talk’ differently to someone with dementia? paging through a photo album) If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another form are also powerful communication of dementia, you will notice that resources. “These as the condition worsens, so does kinds of activities,” your loved one’s ability to initiate says Wallace, “can or participate in conversations; understand and process information; help calm and and communicate wishes, wants and reassure them because they needs. are attached to Behavior changes, such as memories of good forgetfulness and confusion, mood times.” swings, frustration or anger are Enable positive experiences red flags that they have reached the “moderate” stage of dementia. Non-verbal communication works By Eileen Beal for Next Avenue
They are also red flags telling you that you need to change the way you’re communicating and interacting with your loved one. “The old ways aren’t going to work anymore,” explains licensed social worker Crystal Wallace, the assistant director of the Adult Day Program at Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging. “Don’t think of this as manipulating them,” she adds. “Think of it as providing a positive and supportive environment where they are comfortable and can and will have good experiences.” Talking without words
best when you are both in a quieter, less-stimulating environment. To help create those positive experiences, Wallace shares the following tips: • Always approach from the front, and where possible, make sure to make eye contact. • Be aware of their non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, anxiety levels. • Don’t rush things. Slow your speech, give lots of time for responses, use gestures and be patient.
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• Limit options to encourage decision-making. For example: “Do you want to go out to eat tonight at Restaurant A or Restaurant B?” rather than “Where do you want to eat tonight?” • If decisions need to be made, phrase questions to elicit simple “yes” or “no” responses. • When you are just chatting, stick to topics from the past, such as family, pets, travel or a former job. And, Wallace adds, it’s important to make a point of learning how your loved one’s specific medical conditions may impact their ability to communicate.
Probably the most important change caregivers need to make is in their body language. “Non-verbal communication—an open, accepting smile, a gentle, reassuring touch, not grimacing when they say something inappropriate—is very important at this stage,” says Wallace. “It reassures a loved one, affirms who they are and makes them feel loved.” Listening to music or participating in activities (drawing, knitting, The Glen at Aberdeen Heights
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seniors,” said Bethany Holohan, exhibit coordinator. “We’re expecting this to be another great year for creativity and variety of works on exhibit.” Local competition winners will join winners 17 other Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America communities to be judged at the
systemwide level. Entry forms and information can be picked up at Aberdeen Heights, 575 Couch Avenue, Kirkwood, or by contacting Holohan at 314-9096000 or bholohan@pmma.org. Or go online to ArtIsAgeless.org to view rules, download an entry form or enter online.
Artists may choose to enter the exhibit only. For the competition, works are to have been completed in the past five years (since January 2011). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Aberdeen Heights by May 6, 2016.
Everyone knows fitness is important How have you taken steps to be fit? What’s your regular fitness routine? If you’ve started a fitness routine late in life, what advice would you have for others? How do you think you benefit from regular exercise? If you’ve got a story to share about getting or staying fit, contact Health Care Lifestyle Coordinator Loretta Cutler, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.
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