Looking back at March-April-May 2018

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VillagerQuarterly

1 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager Magazine

The Villager Magazine

is a publication of the Offi ce of Resident

Services at The Village in Gainesville,

Florida.

Our Mission:

To enrich the life of each senior we serve.

Our Vision:

To be the trusted choice for seniors.

8000 NW 27th Blvd | Gainesville, FL 32606

www.thevillageonline.org

The Villager!

2 Seen at � e Village

3 Art Walk

5 Milestones!

7 Travelin’ with Andy

9 Assistive Technology Fair

10 Village People

12 Arbor Day Tree Planting

13 Big � ings from Dining

14 Resident Ambassadors

BACK Grill Out

Quarterly

2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager 2

Seen at The Village

3 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager Magazine

Art lovers were treated to a program featuring

resident visual artists and beautiful string music at the

Village’s � rst Art Walk on Friday, May 11. Beautiful music

from a string trio � oated through the air as residents were

in awe of the talent of their neighbors.

Work from the Wednesday “Pencils, Pastels, and Oils”

art class hung in the Tower Club and wine and cheese

were o� ered in the Studio. � e class is taught by Professor

Raul Villarreal, an acclaimed artist and faculty member at

SantaFe College.

Professor Villarreal explains his philosophy of teaching

art, “For the painting class here at the Village, I

Ken Bonneau (artist and

resident of the Cottages), Raul

Villarreal (art teacher), and Jean

Gri� n (artist and resident of

Magnolia Grand South)

Resident Artists Shine

in our First Art Walk!

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2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager 4

introduce the students to several

traditional approaches to painting

by demonstrating a couple of

underpainting techniques, as well

as how to block in a composition.

Emphasis is placed ! rst on

simplifying the subject matter into

simple shapes, followed by obtaining

accurate proportions and working

on the details at the end.”

His student agree that his methods

are successful, as do the art patrons

who view the displayed work.

“It was a very upli" ing event and a

very meaningful experience,” said

Linda Flynn of Magnolia Grand.

“It is very satisfying seeing the

great improvement in technique

and overall comprehension about

painting each time a new subject

matter is introduced,” said Professor

Villarreal, “# e most important

and satisfying aspect of the class is

seeing the students have lots of fun

and express their artistic vision, no

matter the subject matter.”

# e art will remain on the wall

through June and the Pencils, Pastels

and Oils Art class runs twice a

month in the Tower Club.

Art Walk

5 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager

Milestones!

On May 3, we

recognized residents

on the occasion of their

5th, 10th & 15th years

living at the Village.

� ough not all who were

celebrated were able to

attend the dinner, we

want to recognize and

thank them all for their

invaluable contributions

to � e Village.

5 Years - Bunny Addison, Ned Arbogast, Evangaline Arbogast, Edith Blalack, Judy Block,

Janet Breman, Robert Brown, Maureen Canavan, James Canavan, Mildred Cook, Merle Cottle,

Jacquelyn Daniels, Warren Dassau, Ruth Davis, Mary Davis, Marjorie Davis, Bill Ebersole,

Anna Ebersole, Don Evans, Betty Folsom, Elise Freed, Philip Freedman, Adelina Gerry, Joan

Glover, Grace Habercam, Richard Habercam, John Harris, Doris Hill, Larry Ja! e, Hope Ja! e,

Barbara Lauer, Vanda Majauskas, Phyllis Mawhiney, Mary McCloud, Alice McDaniel, Mary Lou

McFarlane, Barbara Monday, Phyllis Murphy, Joan Paule, Robert Paule, Janet Percival, Marcia

2018 - Vol. 1 The Villager 6

Philips, Mary Prine, JoAn Ryals, Sylvia Silberfeld,

Phyllis Strain, Dee Tarrant, Helen Tarrant, Ginnie

Treweek, Carol Walker, Ann Warne, Ellen Zeldin

10 Years – Bill Austin, Joseph Ball, Frances Carroll,

Shirley Drummond, Betty Hurst, Windy McGuire,

Shirley Petronis, Rose Sessums, Tommie Siesky,

Clarice Turk, Warren Van Wicklin, Maria Van

Wicklin

15 years – Annabelle Glagola, JC Henderson,

Irmgard Kulose, Bob Lee, Genevieve Osgard

16 Years - Nancy Izzo, Ursula Patch

17 Years - Hazel Walter

18 Years - Mimi Brown

Milestones!

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The Cypress Pizza SocialOur neighbors at ! e Cypress enjoyed their April

building social with pizza and music brought by ! e

Shade Tree Band. Each neighborhood plans their

own unique and festive socials.

Roswell, New Mexico

by Andy Merritt

It all started in 1947 when word spread that a

UFO had crash landed at a ranch near Roswell

and that extra-terrestrial beings were being

studied by the Military. � e local Roswell

Daily Record announced on 8 July 1947 the

“capture” of a “� ying saucer”.

� e early interest apparently died down a bit

when the Military said it was a United States

Air Force conventional weather

balloon.

By the late 1970s, however, the

ufologists were super busy –

the conspiracy theories had

done what conspiracy theories

always do – they had expanded

continuously. Roswell was

becoming well known for its

UFO landing. � e ufologists

had revved up renewed interest

by promoting a variety of

increasingly elaborate theories

about the alien space cra� .

� e number of witnesses to the crash grew

by leaps and bounds and an abundance of

new details became ‘known’. Tourist interest

in Roswell increased in the next ! � een years

or so to the point that in 1992 the city opened

the International UFO Museum And Research

Center which is “a 501c3 non-pro! t educational

organization with the mission of educating

the general public of all aspects of the UFO

phenomena.” You just gotta love it! And by

then it was ‘general knowledge’ of course that

the government was involved in a massive

cover-up.

On that particular point they were, in fact,

correct though not for the reasons they

believed. At that time the US Military was

working on the Top Secret Project Mogul at a

remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base

at Area 51 – the Nevada Test and Training Area.

� e project involved “microphones � own

on high-altitude balloons whose primary

purpose was long-distance detection of

sound waves generated by Soviet atomic

bomb blasts.”

In 1994 the O� ce of the United States

Secretary of the Air Force released a report

stating that the recovered material in 1947

“was likely debris from Project Mogul.” As

you can imagine, with the words ‘…likely

debris’ the True Believers’ shouts of

Cover-Up increased in volume!

Eleanor and I and our son stopped

in Roswell on one of our western

trips and it was great fun. We

had Alien Shakes and Alien Fries

and Alien Burgers and spent time in the

UFO Museum. Being educated rational

people we of course knew there had been no

UFO landing…..yet when we were walking

around our son did encounter a most strange

unusual extra-terrestrial being of some sort

with antenna. And it surprised the heck out

of us because it was wearing a UF football

1996 National Championship t-shirt.

Fall 2017 | The Villager 8

Andy Merritt (the Cottages) was a consultant

on hydroelectric projects as a specialist in dam

foundations and tunnel design for 40 years.

He worked for contractors, energy companies,

� e World Bank, � e Asian Development

Bank, and engineering design " rms.

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9 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager

Assistive Devices FairOn April 30, � e Village hosted an Assistive Device Fair

in the Tower Club Ballroom which featured the latest

technology from Exactech, Magnifying America, Mederi,

Kindred, Accent Audiology, Randy Sperring’s Medical

Supply, Florida Telecommunication Relay, among others.

Many of these companies are well known to our residents

as they o� er valuable health care products and services

that make life easier.

� is informative a� ernoon is a part of � e Village Vitaly

department’s program of support and education so that

our residents can continue to live full, rewarding lives.

2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager 10

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Did you ever wonder who this guy is that the Village Ballroom

is named a! er? Well, the question will

now be answered. It’s called the Rion

Ballroom a! er William Rion, former

director of the Reitz Union at the U of F.

It seems a group of

Methodists decided we

needed a home for retirees,

and since Bill was so active

in the building of the Union,

they asked him to help

with the plans and become

Chairman of the Board.

He made lots of helpful

suggestions to the architects,

like widening the doors for

wheel chairs and raising the

toilets for elderly comfort.

And now, reaping the bene" ts of her

husband’s hard work, Carolyn Rion has

moved into Tower Village. It’s like de ja

vous all over again.

Carolyn was born in Archer, but moved

to Gainesville at age 5. She attended

Gainesville High School and went on to

Temple University in Philadelphia where

she got her degree in dental hygiene.

Working for Dr. Sthwalbe, she was one

day cleaning the teeth of a Bill Rion. # at

night he called her for a date, and it was

the beginning of “something great!” # ey

married and had two boys. # eir life was

centered on activities at the Union which

was very exciting and thrilling.

Interest in drama started when

Carolyn was three years and nine

months old. She was scheduled to

recite at a Christmas celebration

at church, but upon seeing the

people facing her, she balked. Her

dad suggested she take her doll,

“Mary Ellen”, on stage and talk to

her, telling her about Santa Clause.

It worked, and she has been

interested in drama ever since.

Carolyn’s mother, Juanita Mills, was one

of the " rst residents of the Lake House.

Unfortunately, she was only able to enjoy

her surroundings for three months. She

was killed in an accident leaving the

grounds.

Drama, bridge and friends have made

Carolyn’s move here very successful. She

is so happy to be a resident and carry on

the traditions of Bill and her family.

Village People: Carolyn Rionby Mimi Baumstein

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11 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager Magazine

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The Epcot Flower Festival is a beautiful annual

event that we travel to in Orlando. Our residents have

a weekend of fun to enjoy the sites and eat some great

food. ! e best part is that ! e Village plans everything

from the transportation to the tickets and lodging!

The Epcot Flower Festival

2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager 12

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Arbor Day Tree Planting

What better way to celebrate

Arbor Day than planting a new tree on

our campus? We are looking forward to

watching this beauty grow!

Did you know that the Spanish village of

Mondoñedo held the # rst documented

arbor plantation festival in the world

organized by its mayor in 1594. $ e # rst

American Arbor Day was originated in

Nebraska City, Nebraska by J. Sterling

Morton. On April 10, 1872, an estimated

one million trees were planted in Nebraska.

Our new tree, planted on Arbor Day 2018,

is a Live Oak and has been dedicated by

Hazel Walter. Should you be interested in

dedicating a tree on campus to a loved one,

you don’t have to wait until Arbor 2019,

you may contact David Kremer, Village

Foundation Director at 352-548-3582.

13 2018 - Vol. 1 | The Villager Magazine

Big Things from DiningOur new Director of Dining Services, Mark

Low, has wasted no time o� ering a series of events

that are giving � e Village an idea of the fresh, new

direction that our Dining Services team is taking.

First there was a tasting event highlighting some

of the new menu items coming to our Seasons

Restaurant.

� en a series of High Teas hosted by Mark that

featured a plate of traditional English treats, such

as scones and fresh berries. In these, Mark gave his

vision for the future of dining at � e Village.

� en a breakfast celebration of the Royal Wedding.

We had a packed house to celebrate the royal

wedding. � e dining sta� had an excellent English

breakfast that included Bubble and Squeak, sausage,

cheddar cheese eggs, broiled tomato, baked beans,

scones breakfast breads, and of course English tea. It

helps that our Dining Director is from England and

was able to give residents insights about the people

and places of this special day.

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In May, we honored our Village

Ambassadors. Who are Village Ambassadors?

! ey are folks that help make new residents get

acclimated and feel like family. Ambassadors are

Village resident for 6 months or longer and are

happily engaged in ! e Village community. ! ey

welcome new residents during their " rst week,

invite them to meals and events during their " rst

month of residency and are available to give our

new neighbors a perspective of life at ! e Village.

As you can see by the pictures, we did give

special recognition to Jim and Peggy Dent, Marie

Reidling, and Walt Visniski, but, make no mistake,

we value each and every one of our ambassadors.

To our ambassadors, we say: “! ank You so

much! We appreciate you!”

Resident Ambassador

Recognition Luncheon

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Dining Services o� ered a GRILL OUT on May 26

to celebrate our new Picnic Patio and Grill Area. In

addition to hamburgers, hot dogs, and refreshing

watermelons, residents learned about the new grill out

boxes that Dining is o� ering. � ese boxes contain all

of the � xin’s for you and your friends and family to

use the outdoor grill as you please. Want more details?

Contact Dining!