January / February 2011 Volume 18 Number 1 Residents, Associates, Families & Friends www.asburymethodistvillage.org A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE By Janet Garman, Diamond T he new year finds Asbury Methodist Village more intently partnering with two nearby arts centers as a way to not only enhance the Asbury experience for its residents, but to serve the greater community outside Asbury’s gates. Asbury resi- dents can already attest to the vital place that the arts play in their lives and in the culture of Asbury. However, there is scientif- ic proof that participation in the arts leads to bet- ter health. David Denton, AMV’s Executive Director, points to a study conduct- ed by Dr. Gene Cohen, formerly of George Wash- ington University and the National Center for Cre- ative Aging, author of The Creative Age, and guest speaker at Asbury Meth- odist Village. This multi- year study of adults with a median age of 80 in three cities, including Washing- ton, DC. discovered that participants in the arts group, when compared to a control group, had better health, fewer doc- tor visits, less medication usage and increased activ- ity and social engagement. Asbury Forges Partnerships with BlackRock and Strathmore By Jeanne North, Trott L ooking back, 1926 seems to many very distant, to others like just yesterday. Consider what we have seen: In the decade between the Great War and the Great Depression, known to many as “The Roaring Twenties,” the U.S. saw changes that rocked American culture: for the first time, women voted in a national election (1920); Charles Lindbergh made the first transatlan- tic flight; business travelers could fly coast to coast; though auto- mobiles were rare, a Ford could be purchased for $290; the Har- lem Renaissance thrived; more and more women were buying their clothes in retail shops as ready-to- wear fashion spread; and the era of prohibition, speakeasies,“Flappers,” the Jazz Age, gangsters and the Ku Klux Klan—all left indelible marks on the nation. Meanwhile, in rural America, ordi- nary folk led their ordinary lives: cattlemen sent their beef to the stockyards in Chicago, wheat farm- ers took their grain to market, farm- ers planted their corn and beans and tomatoes. In small towns across the land, people lived simply, went to church, raised their families, and struggled to make ends meet. While much of the country may have been partying, Maryland was quietly tending to business. Its green, rolling countryside was home to small towns, dairy farms and orchards. In the center of the state, the community of Gaithers- burg had grown up near the con- Asbury Methodist Village Celebrates 85 Years! Asbury Methodist Village 85 th Anniversary, Save the Dates: Monday, April 11: HealthAbility and Wow Celebrations Friday, April 15: Time Capsule ceremony at Asbury Statue Friday, April 15: Elegant Evening in all dining rooms Tuesday, April 19: Golden Sneaker Awards Wednesday, April 27: Green Day Farmer’s Market Wednesday, April 27: Cupcake dessert honoring all 85 year-old residents Friday, April 29: AMV Art Show Opening, Hefner Auditorium Wednesday, May 4: Volunteer Recognition Friday, May 6: Guild BBQ and front lawn event; history bus tours around campus; Epworth Hall Open with docents. Saturday May 7 or 14: Antique Car Show Wednesday, May 11: Courtyard Homes Dedication; VIP 85th Birth- day Celebration, with keynote speaker David McLain, National Geographic Photographer The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest Sunday, May 15: Tea Dance Continued on page 7 Continued on page 8 Photos Harold Garman
The new year finds Asbury Methodist Village more intently partnering with
two nearby arts centers as a way to not only enhance the Asbury
experience for its residents, but to serve the greater community outside Asbury’s gates. Asbury resi-dents can already attest to the vital place that the arts play in their lives and in the culture of Asbury.
However, there is scientif-ic proof that participation in the arts leads to bet-ter health. David Denton, AMV’s Executive Director, points to a study conduct-ed by Dr. Gene Cohen, formerly of George Wash-ington University and the National Center for Cre-ative Aging, author of The Creative Age, and guest speaker at Asbury Meth-odist Village. This multi-year study of adults with a median age of 80 in three cities, including Washing-ton, DC. discovered that participants in the arts group, when compared to a control group, had better health, fewer doc-tor visits, less medication usage and increased activ-ity and social engagement.
Asbury Forges Partnerships with BlackRock and Strathmore
By Jeanne North, Trott
Looking back, 1926 seems to many very distant, to others like just yesterday. Consider
what we have seen:In the decade between the Great
War and the Great Depression, known to many as “The Roaring Twenties,” the U.S. saw changes that rocked American culture: for the first time, women voted in a national election (1920); Charles Lindbergh made the first transatlan-tic flight; business travelers could fly coast to coast; though auto-mobiles were rare, a Ford could be purchased for $290; the Har-lem Renaissance thrived; more and more women were buying their clothes in retail shops as ready-to-wear fashion spread; and the era of prohibition, speakeasies, “Flappers,”
the Jazz Age, gangsters and the Ku Klux Klan—all left indelible marks on the nation.
Meanwhile, in rural America, ordi-nary folk led their ordinary lives: cattlemen sent their beef to the stockyards in Chicago, wheat farm-ers took their grain to market, farm-ers planted their corn and beans and tomatoes. In small towns across the land, people lived simply, went to church, raised their families, and struggled to make ends meet.
While much of the country may have been partying, Maryland was quietly tending to business. Its green, rolling countryside was home to small towns, dairy farms and orchards. In the center of the state, the community of Gaithers-burg had grown up near the con-
Asbury Methodist Village Celebrates 85 Years!Asbury Methodist Village 85th Anniversary,
Save the Dates:Monday, April 11: HealthAbility and Wow CelebrationsFriday, April 15: Time Capsule ceremony at Asbury StatueFriday, April 15: Elegant Evening in all dining roomsTuesday, April 19: Golden Sneaker Awards Wednesday, April 27: Green Day Farmer’s MarketWednesday, April 27: Cupcake dessert honoring all 85 year-old residentsFriday, April 29: AMV Art Show Opening, Hefner AuditoriumWednesday, May 4: Volunteer RecognitionFriday, May 6: Guild BBQ and front lawn event; history bus tours
around campus; Epworth Hall Open with docents.Saturday May 7 or 14: Antique Car Show Wednesday, May 11: Courtyard Homes Dedication; VIP 85th Birth-
day Celebration, with keynote speaker David McLain, National Geographic Photographer The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest
Village Life is published by Asbury Methodist Village
Communications Department
“The mission of Village Life is to provide timely, interesting and entertaining news about the lives, concerns and activities of the peo-ple who reside, work and volunteer at Asbury Methodist Village.”
The 2010 Asbury Christmas Gift Fund concluded with a gifting ceremony on Friday,
December 17. The Chairman of the CCAV, Mac McCullough, thanked all the Asbury residents and friends for their contribution of $223,726.79. Gift checks were then accepted on behalf of all the associates by Joann Hampton, Christian Hebron, Geor-gina Garbrah, and Linda Darko. The gift amount for a full-time employ-ee was $403.71. There were 727 gift recipients, of whom 375 were full-time. Only non-supervisory associates were gifted. Part-time associates received less than full-time associates, in proportion to the hours worked in the preceding twelve months.
This gifting of the Fund marked the 37th anniversary of this tradi-tion. In 1973, after the opening of the first independent living unit at Asbury, the Trott building, the new residents wanted to make some “spendable” indication of their gratitude towards the employees (now the “associates”) who had worked so hard to make their new place of living, their “home”. The Asbury board wanted to avoid any “tipping” of the employees, but
also understood the pleasure that a Christmas gift would bring to both the recipients, and the giv-ers. Hence, we the residents, once per year, are allowed to thank our helpers through distribution of a gift fund.
How does this come about? In each living unit on campus, one person volunteers to receive your checks. This year, that crew was
made up of your Council Treasur-ers, and Asbury staff members in Kindley and Wilson. (See box.) The checks are logged by the unit representatives, and passed on to the Fund Coordinator. There they are entered into the (only, and pri-vate) master log of donations, and passed on to the Treasurer of the CCAV for deposit into the CCAV account at Sandy Spring Bank.
The many brochures, reminders, AVTV programs, and Village Life articles, which help you to remem-ber that the Fund is happening, are prepared by the Asbury Communi-cations Department.
As Christmas nears, staff of the Asbury Human Resources depart-ment determines which employ-ees are eligible for gifting, follow-ing general criteria specified by the residents. Checks are then pre-pared. Distribution starts with the Gifting Ceremony, and the checks then sift downward to the recipi-ents.
To make this happen, this year there were fourteen workers involved. (See box.) If you see any of them, give them a word of thanks, and encouragement for next year.
Christmas Gift Fund Received with Thanks
Workers for the Christmas Gift Fund
Diamond: John StedmanWallace: Jim RobertsonTrott: Jim LordemanEdwards-Fisher: Merritt
TechterMund: Jim PorterVillas: Joan MullerPark View: Bob BowlesKindley: Lynne BraggWilson: Barbara RoweCCAV Treasurer: Margaret
DavisPublicity: Linda AberChecks: Meredith DeutschCeremony: Toni WilsonCoordinator: Bob
McDonough
Gaithersburg Library at Lake Forest Mall
The Gaithersburg Interim Branch Library is open in Lake Forest Mall. It is located on the second level near Sears. It has about 25,000
books on its shelves and offers most usual library services except it has no after-hours book drop so books must be returned during open hours.Hours are: Monday 5 pm to 9 pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 1 pm to 9 pm; Friday 10 am To 6 pm and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm.
—Submitted by Rob Roy Ratliff
CALL FOR AUTHORS
The second annual Gaithersburg Book Festival will take place on Saturday, May 21, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of the Gaith-
ersburg City Hall,31 South Summit Street.To apply to be a Gaithersburg Featured Author, you
must submit an application no later than Friday, Feb-ruary 11, 2011.
For more information and/or an application form, go to www.gaithersburgbookfesti-val.org or call Carolyn Cros-by: 301-258-6350, [email protected] or Nan-
On Wednesday evening, October 13, 2010, at the President’s Dinner held at
the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA, President Jacques Regis of the International Electrotechni-cal Commission (IEC) presented the Commission’s most prestigious award to Jerome E. (Jerry) Dennis. The Lord Kelvin Award recogniz-es many years of leadership sig-nificantly contributing to the IEC’s work in promulgating internation-al standards for the electrical and electronic industries.
Jerry, a graduate of Fordham Uni-versity, NY, has been active in the
IEC since 1990, and since 1998 has chaired the IEC technical com-mittee on optical radiation safety and laser equipment. The award is named for William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824 -1907), a Bel-fast-born mathematical physicist who was the first president of the IEC. Thomson, a professor at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, developed the laws of thermody-namics and established the basis for absolute zero temperature.
With lasers being used today in an ever-increasing number of prod-ucts for medical, business, entertain-ment, manufacturing and scientific applications, the safety standards
developed by Jerry’s technical committee are among the most in demand throughout the world. The current transition to more electri-cally efficient light sources has cre-ated new demands for optical radia-tion safety standards for industry to use in the design and manufacture of innovative lighting. Jerry has recently accepted the nomination for an unprecedented fourth term as chairman of his Technical Com-mittee Number 76.
In accepting the award, Jerry gave credit to his former employer, the Center for Devices and Radio-logical Health of the U.S Food and Drug Administration, to colleagues
in industry and American profes-sional societies and standards orga-nizations, to the U.S. National Com-mittee of the IEC and to his wife of 53 years, Carol, who provided the support and encouragement that made possible his earning of the Kelvin Award.
Here at Asbury, Jerry has given talks at The Keese School on the subject of lasers and optics. Jerry is also the cantor/vocal soloist for the Sunday 11:00 Catholic Mass in the Guild Chapel.
Congratulations, Jerry!
(Note from the Editor: Congratu-lations from all of us, Jerry!)
By Reg Westlake, Villas
The scene of the Montgom-ery Playhouse’s February production at the Rosbor-
ough Theatre, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”, will be familiar to residents who have been to Paris and visited Place Montmartre. The Lapin Agile inn, famous as a resort for artists and writers, is just a few yards from the busy square. It is a bar that Picasso actually frequented and even painted in an early work.
The time is 1904 and Albert Ein-stein walks into the bar……. and
thus begins this hilarious, provoc-ative and slightly absurd play by Steve Martin about an imagined meeting between an awkward and unknown 25-year-old scientist and a lusty and unknown 23-year-old painter named Pablo Picasso. Both men are on the verge of historic achievements. In 1905 Einstein will publish his theory of relativity and Picasso will paint Les Demoi-selles d’Avignon in 1907. In the Lapin Agile they have a lengthy debate about the value of genius and talent while interacting with
a host of other characters.
Performanc-es are on Fri-days and Sat-urdays Febru-ary 4/5, 11/12 and 18/19 at 8.00 pm and Sundays Feb-ruary 6, 13 and 20 at 2.00 pm. Admission is free to resi-dents, although a small contri-bution at the door would be welcome. Regular admis-sion is $16; for Senior Citizens 65 and over and for stu-dents it is $14. Students must show ID.
By Luella LeVee, Edwards-Fisher
D an Muller, Villas, is a genial guy who writes “The Guy Thing” for Vil-
lage Life. Just tossing the Smiles idea around one day, Dan revealed that he sometimes plans in advance the moves that will elicit smiles from his wife, Joan.
“A surefire way,” he says, “is to compliment my wife on her hair when she has just come from the hairdresser – It’s a requirement!”
* * * *
While Violet Everett, Dia-mond, and I waited for Transpor-tation to bring an Asbuy car, she talked enthusiastically about a recent Smiles experience. “I was just walking through the corridors of Diamond smiling at each person I met,” she began,
“And one was a stranger who not only returned my smile but gave me a warm hug. Then she went on her way. I have no idea who she was but she made my day. I wish I could thank her.”
Well, Violet, the Smiles column hereby salutes that warmhearted woman who made your day and all kind people who contribute to the rise of smiles on the love barom-eter not only here at Asbury but everywhere they go.
* * * *
“Smiles are like frisbees – they come right back to you, cost noth-ing, and there’s no recharging of batteries.”
That light-hearted summary of a smile’s characteristics comes to us from Dee Dee Thompson, Wal-lace. You know her – the smil-ing lady in a cap who makes her way around campus on a power scooter.
She explains in more depth: “I promised God that I would always greet people with a smile and a hug to thank Him for leading me through three near-death experi-ences – two brain surgeries and a stroke. I consider every day a ministry.”
2010 Lord Kelvin Award to Jerry Dennis of Asbury Villas
Montgomery Playhouse Brings Paris 1904 to Asbury
4 January / February 2011 Village life
For the third year a Benefit Concert will be presented Friday, March 11, for the
Benevolent Care Fund. The con-cert has music for two pianos (8 hands), with various duos involving four hands. The piano ensemble consists of Lydia Page, Ann Hoopes, Norman and Catherine Heim.
The concert will be in Hefner Auditorium at 7:30 P.M. with 8-hand works by J.S. Bach, Ludwig von Beethoven, and W.A. Mozart. The Duos will play music by Schumann,
Bizet, Grieg, MacDowell, Bennett and Walton.
A minumum donation for the concert is $10.00, and our goal is $5,000; it is hoped that many peo-ple will exceed the minimum gift. Donors of $300 or more (Director Category), $200 or more (Manager) and $100 or more
(Patron) will be listed in the program.
Come and enjoy an evening of piano music and help to enhance the Foundation Benevolent Care Fund.
By Mary Ebinger, President Asbury Guild
Afew lights of homes and apartments shine brightly as I look out my window
this early cold morning. One can-dle still glows and adds a soft touch to the day. My mind wanders over the past two years as President of the Asbury Methodist Guild. Did I ever expect such a challenge at this time of life? Is it not the time for retirement? What does this really mean and why?
Then the words from the book of Esther came to me: “Who knows whether you have come to the King-dom (at AMV) for such a time as this?” I write to “Village Life”, thank-ful for this excellent paper and cov-erage of Guild events such as:
n Birthday parties and gifts for residents at Kindley and Wilson and notes of appreciation such as, “This is the only gift remembrance I’ve had.”
n Outings that took eager residents for ice cream, to view bright lights of the season, and to go to dinner at the Red Lobster. The Guild helps with these.
n Special gatherings on the campus with presentations such as Dr. George Everly on “Resilience” and the Washington Transplant Community.
n Gifts delivered by Elves to Wilson and Kindley— -400 Christ-mas bags
n Help refurbish the balcony at Wilson, provide hearing aids at Kindley and “End-of-Life Baskets” for families of the terminally ill.
n Support Benevolent Fund with thousands of dollars each month from the sales at the Bar-gain Mart, individual contributions, and memberships.
All of this has been possible through the dedication of Guild offi-cers, associates Elaine Kielman, Debi Peeks, Ann Giaquinto, Doug Myers, Linda Aber, Joon and Eric at AVTV and hundreds of residents who gave time and effort for these projects. What more can we do? 2011 calls us to see new opportunities and to continue to help support the best of life here at Asbury Village.
Will you help? Contact Mary Ebinger at x6555.
Your $5.00, or more, placed in the envelope you find in your campus mailbox will
help sponsor Guild activities at Kindley and Wilson which include outings, birthday gifts, Elves Day, entertainment, Bingo, and special projects.
Place your dues payment in cash or check in an envelope, and give
Kindley–Rosezanne McFadden; Villas–Cathy Hughes and Jo Yount; Mund–June Wright; Wallace–Deen Olson
By Alma Stewart, Diamond
The members of the Asbury Guild held a Snowball Installation for
their new officers on Wednes-day, January 26. Rev. Martha Brown installed the officers at 2 p.m. in the Rosborough Com-munity Room. The officers are:
President, Mary EbingerVice-President,Jo HopperSecretary, Sue DingessTreasurer, Ginnabeth ButtsAsst. Treasurer Rose MeltonBargain Mart, Ned HopperBirthday Parties, Sandy Mat-
thews and June WrightPublicity Chairman, Alma
StewartVideo Recording, Jean Hub-
bellHistorian, Jean RichardsGift Shop at Wilson, Peggy
den; Villas–Cathy Hugh and Jo Yount; Wallace–Deen Olson.
President Mary Ebinger paid special tribute to outgoing offi-cers–Russell Weber, Treasurer, Dorothy Beltz, Birthday Parties, and Martha Barthalow, Vice-President. They have all served long and well, and the Guild has appreciated their varied talents.
Plans for Asbury Guild Mem-bership Month in February were discussed. Residents will receive an envelope in their campus mailboxes which they can use to support the activi-ties of the Guild for residents of Kindley Assisted Living and Wilson Health Care.. These contributions should then be given to the Guild representa-tive in each building.
After the installation, mem-bers were served snowballs (scoops of vanilla ice cream rolled in cocoanut). No, the Guild members did not toss them at each other. Instead, they poured on chocolate sauce and strawberries–and the snowballs just melted away.
By Jack Brinley, Mund
The weather outside on Sat-urday, January 8 was fright-ful, but the heat generated
inside by the monthly chess club meeting was delight-ful. Seven stalwarts battled from one to five Saturday afternoon.
Don Starkweather employed his strat-egy of exchanging bishops for knights to get the best of Robert Tedesco, but had to settle for a draw against Charles Mustafa. Rex Naylor man-aged a surprise mate against Dave Webster who was heard to mutter that he should have castled. Jack Brinley and Duane McKenna con-tested a complicated middle game until Jack accidently discovered a bishop check that cost Duane a
knight and the game.For those participants who found
their energies depleted by the intense efforts required, Don Stark-weather’s granddaughter, Mallory,
provided rejuvenating refreshments of cook-
ies and soft drinks.The group meets
monthly every second Saturday afternoon from one to five PM.
We have been meeting in the Mund Parlor, but could easily change the venue to accom-modate residents of Kindley, Wallace, Dia-mond or Park View
if there were interested players in those buildings. Anyone interested in joining the group can contact Don Starkweather (x5832) or Jack Brinley (x5926).
Benevolent Care Concert Coming
Guild Gleanings
February is Asbury Guild Membership Month
Snowball Installation for New Guild Officers
Chess Moves
Village life January / February 2011 5
The International Council on Active Aging offers the fol-lowing “E-tips” to help you
extend a healthy life, or embark on one if you haven’t yet done so.
1. Expectations: If you’ve been following a healthy lifestyle up ‘til now, simply keep going; if you need to make changes, antici-pate succeeding, not failing—and don’t let age be a barrier. Research has shown that thinking positive-ly about getting older can extend your life by as much as 7.5 years.
2. Enthusiasm: Few people are thrilled with every aspect of their lives, but many have at least one area—family, friends, work, avocation—they feel good about. Identify an activity or connection that sparks your enthusiasm and make it your lifeline; try to extend that enthusiasm to other areas of your life.
3. Energy: Having the energy and motivation you need to age well are hallmarks of healthy liv-ing. If you’re fatigued all the time, don’t let apathy and lethargy drag you down; get a checkup to try
to determine the cause—and the solution.
4. Eating: Eating a balanced diet and attaining/maintaining a normal weight are keys to physi-cal and mental health; if you need to lose weight or make changes in your diet, keep your expectations high—you can do it.
5. Exercise: Staying physically active fuels the body and mind. If you’re already exercising regularly, keep it up; if you’re getting start-ed, know your skill level, set goals,
progress at your own pace, and be consistent.
6. Engagement: Vol-unteers have higher levels of well-being and life sat-isfaction than those who don’t volunteer; volunteer-ing and other forms of civic and social engagement can
play an important role in maintain-ing good health in later life. Get involved.
7. Emotions: Everyone feels down at times, but full-blown depres-sion is a major cause of disability. If you’re feeling out of sorts for two weeks or more, talk with your doc-tor or take an online screening test at www.mentalhealthscreening.org. In many instances, simply exer-cising and eating right can change your mood.
8. Education: Life-long learn-ing is important to living an inde-pendent and fulfilling life. Start
now to learn a new area of knowl-edge or physical activity. It’s good for the brain.
9. Effort: Changing expecta-tions and embarking on new behav-iors take energy and effort, but the
results are well worth it. 10. Enjoyment: A healthy life
generally is a joyous one. Savor the process of being or becoming active, engaged, and truly alive.
Mac and Zil
BED BUG InFORMATIOn IDEnTIFICATIOn & BEHAVIOR
n Small brown to reddish brown insects, 3/16” long, broadly oval and flat
n No wings, cannot flyn Eggs and immature
bugs too small to be seen easily
n A blood meal from a human bite is required between each stage of development (4 stages). Between bites they hide
n Nocturnal insects, often present for months before being seenn Live in cracks and crevices of bed frames, headboards, mat-
tresses and box springsn Do not carry diseasesn Bites appear as red, itchy welts, often in several bites in a rown Cannot be diagnosed by appearance of the bite alone
SAnITATIOnn Not caused by poor sanitation or social statusn Must be introduced by bringing in an item that has bugs or
eggs associated with it. Can occur in single family homes, hotels, apartments, commercial buildings, school classrooms, public transportation
n Clutter can make it much more difficult to control or eliminate bed bug infestation
AVOIDInG InFESTATIOnSn Know where you are most at risk to encounter bed bugsn Encase mattresses and box springsn Travel and purchase of used or second-hand furniture or bed-
ding are the most likely ways to introduce bed bugsn Become familiar with what to look for. Remove bedding, expose
mattress and box spring: Dark red to black spots of digested blood fecal material, slightly raised with a rough texture; shed skins which bed bugs leave as they go from one stage to the next
n Travel intelligently; seek advice from a professional for more information
There are no reliable devices that can be placed out to detect bed bugs.
Contact Housekeeping (X5484) to arrange for an inspection if you believe you have bed bugs.Contact housekeeping (X5484) for assistance in obtaining and installing mattress and box spring encasements.
Bob Hartman, retired Family Physician and Geriatric Specialist
Ask Dr. Bob
Happy, Healthy, Ageless 2011!
6 January / February 2011 Village life
By Janet Garman, Diamond
Swedish meatballs, fruit soup, preserves of lingonberries from Swedish forests, Nor-
wegian potato lefse (thin sheets some spread with salmon and cream cheese, others with butter and sugar and then rolled up), aeb-elskive (Danish pancakes), Swedish goat cheese, krumkake and rice pudding. These were just some of the delectable dishes featured at a Christmas smorgasbord held in the Wallace Community Room on December 4. To this non-Scandi-navian reporter, it was a delicious educational adventure!
A smorgasbord is a type of Scan-dinavian meal served buffet style that originated in Sweden. It is typ-ically a celebratory meal. A special type of smorgasbord is the julbord which is the standard Christmas dinner in Scandinavian countries. Julbord is a word consisting of the elements of “jul,” meaning Yule and “bord,” literally table. This smor-gasbord was organized by Janice Moon, who is of Swedish ancestry. She was assisted by Else McInnes. An Asbury staff member had sug-gested to Rhoda MacKenzie that the celebration ought to be featured in Village Life, so Rhoda invited me. Some Village Life assignments are mighty sweet!
The Asbury residents who have become known as Nordic Friends began with Bill Olson whose wife, Betsy, has done a great deal of research on Bill’s ancestry all the way back to the time of the Vikings. When Bill met Rhoda, who also had Norwegian grandparents, he told her that he wanted to get all the Norwegians together. After Bill compiled a list of Asbury residents
he had met who had Norwegian ancestry, Rhoda invited them to have lunch together. Eventually the group expanded to around 27 members who trace their ancestry to Sweden, Finland and Denmark as well as Norway. Occasionally, they have speakers, but usually they just enjoy getting together and sharing newsletters and other information. One of the group’s newest mem-bers is Ellis Larsen, who reads and speaks Norwegian.
Although most members of the group were born in the US, at least two of the attendees come directly from Scandinavia. Else
McInnes was born in Denmark. She came to this country as a nanny, met her husband here, and stayed. Victor Leh-toranto came to this country from Fin-land in 1925 at the age of seven. He has traveled back many times. Having seen all the sights, he now just visits relatives when he returns. Finland, the home of Nokia, he told me, is
the largest producer of cell phones in the world. Finnish peo-
ple are also great consumers of cell phones he added. There are pockets of Scandinavians all over the US and Canada, according to Bill Backer, mostly in the north-ern parts of the US, but also many in Texas.
One of the topics of conversa-tion is the trips taken by mem-bers to the Scandinavian countries. Betsy Olson related that on one such trip to Norway in the Spring, she and Bill visited the Arctic Circle and had to go through tunnels in the snow in order to reach their destination, Lydia Little, when asked what impressed her the most about Norway, replied “the calm-ness.” People don’t rush around the way that they do in the US. Even the rivers are very peaceful, she added. Lydia, by the way, was the recipient of the almond bur-ied in the rice pudding. According to Scandinavian legend, the young woman who gets the almond, will soon be married. Lydia, however, was willing to settle for a chocolate candy!
By Lydia Page, Park View
There are several points I would like to add to Jeanne North’s story on
our beautiful hawk...A red- tailed hawk is in the
Buteo family and is distin-guished by a white breast, the lower part of the torso having dark stripes, known to birders as a “belly band”. If the hawk is facing you this is a sure form of identification. If it’s flying, you can often see the red tail.
To compare it with a red-shouldered hawk, also a Buteo, notice that the latter has red-dish stripes on the breast. We were fortunate to have a nest of red-shouldered hawks near Wilson this year. Two hatchlings fledged successfully. Whether there were more eggs in the nest, we don’t know - the nest was high, and well-disguised.
You may have heard that our red-tailed came a-cropper. Found lying by Wallace, Mark Jessupcalled Lenny Hines’ office where Marcia Dobson took over and contacted Animal Control.
At her insistence they arrived quickly, secured the bird and transferred it to Second Chance Sanctuary. Bravo to those who acted quickly and wisely! This creature has not been altogeth-er popular, but to many of us it is magnificent and admirable.
Today, December 9th I called Second Chance to get the latest news:
It is a juvenile female. Her blood work is normal. Her body weight is good and she is eating on her own which she didn’t on first arrival at the shelter. The testfor West Nile Virus is not yet in. She isexhibiting abnormal behavior, lying in a cornerwhen moved from her perch during her cage’s cleaning. Otherwise
she perches quite comfortably (it would seem). Brittany says her personality may simply be dif-ferent from others with whom they’ve dealt. When the weather iswarmer and she is caged out-side, she may be more active. Now they don’t know what’s wrongwith her, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s get-ting wonderful care.
Remember that these birds are protected by law. And I would urge you not to frighten others away by using balloons. You may have read of the damage these plastics can do - they break loose, end tangled in a tree or landin a lake where their color and movement interest fish, birds, all animals. If swallowed they can cause strangulation of the intestines or poisoning. And once in the food chain ......
We have on the campus two smaller hawks of the Accipiter family, Cooper’s and sharp-shinned. They are difficult to identify, being very alike. The Cooper’s is a bit larger with a rounded tail and a darker face and neck. The sharpie has a square tail. They both have striped chests and prey on small birds, rodents, et.al. The Cooper’s will kill the sharpie. I was amazed when Pete Marra of the Migratory Bird Center at the Zoo told me that. So much to learn!
On a calmer note, if you are walking around the ponds dur-ing the cold weather, you are almost sure to see hooded mer-gansers on the water. He is hand-some as can be, with a beauti-ful white crest, other markings being strong black and chestnut. She is muted with an unkempt hair style (like me on a very bad hair day). Sorry about that.
Photo: Rhoda MacKenzie
Janice and Martin Moon stand ready to sample the smorgasbord.
nordic Friends Enjoy A Christmas Smorgasbord
Phot
o: Jo
hn V
illfo
rth
Hawk Tawk
Village life January / February 2011 7
By Jeanne North, Trott
Look at what imagination and a fresh coat of pink paint can do: transform an under-used space into a place for weekly sew-
ing bees, where seamstresses can put their skills to good use, sewing on buttons, doing minor repairs and alterations, fixing hems, initially for residents of Kindley, on a first-come, first-served basis, at no charge. Depending on how the proj-ect develops, the service could perhaps later be extended to others on campus.
The brain child of Director of Volunteer Ser-vices Elaine Kielman, the plan is taking shape with the blessing of the Asbury Guild, which donated its room on the ground floor of Kind-ley, formerly the Kindley Gift Shop, for use as the sewing room for “Sew What?”.
Now equipped with two donated sewing machines, a sewing box with assorted notions, a pile of fabrics, an ironing board and iron and a dustpan and brush from the Bargain Mart and a long table where volunteers can assemble to work their magic, the room has a new life and a new purpose. Plans now are for “Sew What?” to be open for volunteer participation, at a time to be decided, tentatively on Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Kindley residents can drop off items to be mended at the Kindley reception desk.
On January 13, sewing enthusiasts Jeanne
Jarvis, Rose Melton, Sara Ramos and Peggy Unsworth, all from Park View, and Margaret Yost of Trott, met with Elaine Kielman to plan details of the new venture: who would design the logo and sign announcing its purpose and hours, where would a full-length mirror hang (once procured), should volunteers be allowed to take projects home to work on (yes, with proper sign-out information).
Kielman, well known around campus for her work with volunteers as well as for her con-
stant canine companion, Lon, first took sewing in the traditional home ec class in school and liked it. “This is a part of me that nobody knew about,” she says. “I taught sewing for eight years,” explaining that she taught in “Stretch & Sew” shops, in fact managed two such shops in Balti-more. As for “Sew What?”, she says “I think this is going to be an exciting project for people who want to sew and to help people. It’s a combina-tion of the two.” Once “Sew What?” is launched, Kielman hopes and expects that volunteers will take over and run the operation.
For now, for any down time in the sewing room, Kielman has two other projects in mind: one, a type of clothing protector vest to replace the bibs that are automatically given to Wilson residents. “I have a pattern for the clothing protectors,” she says. In addition, she says, “We could always do walker bags for Wilson.”
The ideas just keep flowing. “We have a large collection of buttons that will look great in the jars in the windows of the sewing room.” Look for them on your way to the Café and watch for the “Sew What?” sign. You can check with Elaine if you want to volunteer your sewing services or donate a sewing machine or fabrics or notions for the sewing room. For more infor-mation or to join the new project, you can call her at extension 4225.
Other studies have had similar findings. Denton sees another facet to Asbury’s
participation in the arts, however. Part of Asbury’s mission as a nonprofit with a Methodist heritage, he says, is to reach out into the community by sharing its resources as long as such sharing does not compromise the needs of Asbury’s residents. He quotes part of John Wes-ley’s Code of Conduct, the spiritual basis of our organization, which calls upon us to do all the good that you can to all the people that you can in all the places that you can. He points out that Gaithersburg has one of the fastest growing populations of seniors in Maryland, yet we realize that only 5% of eligible seniors will enter a Continuing Care Retirement Community in the United States. Partnering gives AMV the chance to serve the greater community and gives its residents more opportunities to socialize with like-minded indi-viduals in the community.
A new partnership has been evolving between Asbury and the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. BlackRock was not familiar to this newcomer to the area until she and her spouse were given a tour by the Director of Marketing and Communications, Amanda John-ston. Opened in September 2002 and incor-porating indigenous materials, its airy lobby welcomes you with both a terrazzo floor on the first level and large paintings on the second level that depict the history of the region, and yes, there are black rocks! BlackRock boasts an art gallery which was exhibiting bold and
colorful acrylics and encaustic pieces, which utilize layers and layers of heated beeswax, when we visited. It also has an outdoor stage for free summertime concerts as well as an indoor black box theater that seats 150 and a state-of-the art theater that seats 210. Its bright and airy classrooms, including its terrace stu-dio, are most inviting. It is handicap accessible and is equipped with infrared listening devices upon request. It offers concerts and other performances as well as classes and workshops in visual and performing arts for children and adults. Some of these classes are on site; others are conducted in schools and other venues.
BlackRock is very eager to expand its program to serve senior adults. To this end, BlackRock established a Senior Task force from a broad coalition of community groups and agencies to create a survey which would ascertain area seniors’ interests and scheduling and transpor-tation needs. Members of the task force from Asbury include Linda Aber, Margot Dibble, Nata-lie O’Reilly and Heddy Taima. This survey will
soon appear at Asbury, so be watching for it so that you can make your inter-ests known. Based on the results of the survey, senior adult programming will begin in the spring, according to Rene Schecker, Director of Education.
The kick-off for the senior program-ming will be an open house at Black-Rock on Wednesday, April 13, 2011, which will feature gallery talks, perfor-mances and workshops, as well as lunch. More details will become available as April 13 approaches. In the meantime, Rene points out that there are currently some workshops and classes available that would be appropriate for Asbury residents. One can go to their web-
site (www.blackrockcenter.org) or call Rene at 240-912-1053 or email her at [email protected].
Asbury also continues its partnership with Strathmore in North Bethesda into the spring of 2011. AMV has sponsored a series of con-certs in Strathmore’s Mansion. It offers trips at reduced ticket prices to various Strathmore events, through the office of Shememe Williams, AMV’s Director of Programming for Residential Living. More trips will be offered in the next few months, so be watching the bulletin boards, poster boards and AVTV. Shememe also reports that AMV residents can get individual tickets at 10% off to any events listed as “Strathmore Pres-ents,” whether or not they go as a group. The code needed is available in the January 2011 Consolidated Operations Report, which came out in December. It can also be obtained from Shememe’s office (x 4113) or by emailing her at [email protected].
PARTNERSHIPContinued from page 1
Photo Jeanne North
Jeanne Jarvis, center, and Peggy Unsworth, rear, inspect the pattern for the clothing pro-tector, while Elaine Kielman, left, looks on.
Sewing Up A Storm
Photo Harold Garman
8 January / February 2011 Village life
By Marolyn Hatch, Villas
When my editor, Linda Aber, gave me the “thumbs up” to do this article, I
“thumbed through” a very short list of expressions and gestures that are associated with the noble digit, the thumb. All right, it may not appear so noble. It doesn’t become adorned with precious gems as does the ring finger; and, of course, it stands out from the other fingers at an awk-ward angle. It is usually not very attractive, in fact, it rather reminds me of Napoleon: short, plump and pretentious. Yet the thumb has been given recognition as human-kind’s extraordinary digit, ultimately responsible for all of the creation associated with us. The opposable thumb allows us to grasp things as no other creature is able to do.
However, a simple search of the term “opposable thumb” informs us that we are not the only creature with a digital grasp. Of the warm, furry type we share this distinction with opossums and our cousins the monkeys and apes, great and small. And one might credit the fact that birds don’t blow away and disappear during high wind storms to their “opposable” digit, the hind claw that automatically latches onto a branch when the bird alights, thus giving it an exciting ride as it clings to the branch during a whipping, windy storm. Some dinosaurs also had thumbs which did little for them in preventing their ultimate demise. Perhaps they were too grasping.
The Miriam-Webster Dictionary tells us that the word thumb comes from Old English thuma; akin to Old High German thumo, and Latin tumere“to swell.” Might some early Roman carpenter have given us this
name after hitting his own digit with a hammer and noting that it did, indeed, swell? No doubt
there were more earthy expressions that resulted then and now from this type of accident.
But the thumb has taken on its own place in vocabulary. The rule of thumb presumably refers to the legal size of a stick that could be used to beat a person in ancient times and in some areas still today. It must have been a well-used measure because the term now refers to a broad or generally accepted stan-dard. The rule of thumb of tithing is to contribute 10% of one’s wealth or income to charity. Before there was Twitter, which of course relies heavily on the thumb to transmit on those tiny keys, the instant commu-nication of choice was the thumb: up was good and down was not good. Many a gladiator’s fate was decided by this small but mighty digit.
And small was the measure of thumb-related references. There is Tom Thumb, an early fairy tale or myth stemming from Merlin the Magician of King Arthurs’s Court granting a foolish wish to a childless couple who claimed that a son even the size of a man’s thumb would give them happiness. There isn’t room in this article to list the many plot derivations that this petite child engendered over the ages.
In 1863 Charles Stratton, known
as Barnum and Bailey’s General Tom Thumb, and Lavinia Warren married in Grace Church in New York City. History tells us that the diminutive couple’s nuptials were well attended by the always curious public. One can only imagine the entrance of the couple amid standing, seemingly giant guests. Show business then, like our current reality TV shows now, profited from extremes and staged performances of Tom Thumb’s wed-ding well into the 20th century. The use of growth hormones in the late 1900s may have kindly stopped in our own country this sad spectacle of very small people.
But the thumb should not be associated only with such curiosi-ties. Where would the adventurous hitch hiker be without the thumb? True, the younger generation seems to rely more on the cardboard sign held up at highway intersections to gain a ride. But many an older male can connect with their thumbed brothers’ fireside tales of adventure hitching rides in their youths.
And speaking of adventure, the American is noted for his “A Okay” sign: the thumb and index finger forming a circle of acceptance that is universally known. Be aware, however, that in some countries that same symbol refers to a body orifice and can get one a black eye literally or culturally. And, of course, one should avoid the disdainful temptation to attach the other four fingers to the nose by one’s thumb known as thumbing one’s nose.
Thumb wrestling may be consid-ered by you to be a child’s game, but there are actually national adult thumb wrestling contests; and the subject occasionally has been the focus of humorous, children’s TV shows.
But on a more serious level, the thumb is also the gardener’s yard-stick for success. Brown or black thumb stigmatizes the gardener as being totally inept. But a green thumb is the compliment for suc-cess. Clearly the green part has to do with the vegetation, most of which starts out as a burst of green energy in otherwise dark earth. But the thumb part seems to lack a his-tory. Perhaps it has to do with the old world use of the thumb to make an indent in a furrowed row into which one planted a seed. But then common sense is not what really defines word origins so I don’t really know.
And I could go on to speculate about the origins of such expressions as “living under the thumb of…” or “sticking out like a sore thumb” or why the computer drive of current
use is a “thumb drive,” but my
thumbs are getting tired of computing; and I’m sure you are twiddling your thumbs hoping for me to stop anyway.
I n the 1950s, the Venice Fes-tival commissioned Igor Stra-vinsky to write an original
compos i t i on . When the piece was submitted, its length was found to be quite unsatis-factory. The piece was only 15 minutes long. Stravin-
sky was unruffled. “Well then,” he said, “play it again.”
Problem solved.
Inspiration Point
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Martha A. Brown, Director of Pastoral Care
fluence of an old Indian trail turned main thoroughfare towards the West, now highway 355, and the B & O railroad, whose station marked the center of what in the 1920s was a thriving small town, center of a farming community and not too far from the home of American Method-ism in New Windsor.
Within hailing distance of the town center was the 106-acre dairy farm of William Magruder, called Rolling Acres. It was on that land, purchased in 1923 by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episco-pal Church, South to be a home for elderly ministers and parishioners, that Asbury Methodist Village would
be built, testimony to the creed of Methodism’s John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”
On April 15 of 1926, incidentally the very year of the birth of 103 residents of today’s AMV, the doors of Asbury opened, with the first five residents moving in on that same day.
To celebrate the 85th anniversary of Asbury Methodist Village, Com-munications Director Linda Aber and Executive Assistant to David Denton, Toni Wilson are co-chairing a committee that is planning a series of celebratory events that will allow all AMV residents to share in and make the most of this extraordinary occasion.
85 YEARSContinued from page 1
Thumb Things You May Not Have Known
Village life January / February 2011 9
By Rod Mills, Mund
If you are not much aware of Henry Moehring, it is because he is doing his job well. As
AMV’s Associate Executive Direc-tor, it is his main task to see that things on our campus are running as smoothly as possible, and to nip problems in the bud—consequent-ly, you and I are rarely even cogni-zant that they exist. At the end of this article you can learn of others of his talents. Meanwhile you can read how a college dropout earned his MBA.
The Directors of a long list of AMV departments report directly to Henry: Apartments and Villas Administration, Kindley Assisted Living, Wilson Health Care Center, Care Management, Plant Opera-tions and Maintenance, House-keeping and Laundry, Dining and Nutrition Services, Pastoral Care, Fitness, and Programming. To make his load somewhat less crushing, the Directors of Communications, Human Resources, Marketing, and Protective Services and Transporta-tion report directly to Executive Director David Denton. Meetings unavoidably take up much of Hen-ry’s time, especially the monthly meetings of the AMV Operations Council (an all-day affair), the AMV Strategic Councils (a half-day, about meeting our strategic goals), and the Quality Service Board. Other monthly meetings include those with each one, individually, of the Department Directors who report to him. (As you can guess, this list is far from exhaustive.)
Henry’s childhood years were marked by a lot of moving around. After his birth in 1959 in New-foundland, Canada (where his father, a Navy man at the time, was stationed), he lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Harrisburg, Penn-sylvania; Greenbelt, Maryland; and Clinton, Maryland, where he gradu-ated from high school. After a year of college at James Madison Uni-versity in Harrisonburg, Virginia, he decided that at that stage of his life he wanted to do something differ-ent, and left college with a strong desire to join the Navy himself.
After enlisting, he became a Hospital Corpsman, and the medi-cal field was his main area of endeavor for the next 27 years. He first attended the Hospital Corps School in Waukegan, Illinois. After completing that curriculum he was assigned to the Bethesda Naval Hos-pital for two years, after which he
went to Surgical Assistants School at that hospital. Subsequently he was posted to a Marines hospital on Okinawa, then to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and then to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It was during his San Antonio tour that, in very roundabout fashion, he met his future wife Mary Lou-ise (she actually lived in German-town), and they were married in 1987.
Henry had decided that he really needed a college education, so dur-ing this time he was taking college courses at night. He was persistent and accumulated enough credits so that in 1990 he was awarded a B.A. degree in Health Management Services from Wayland Baptist Uni-versity in Plainview, Texas.
A bit earlier, Henry had left the active duty Navy in 1989, but he continued to serve in the reserves. He was recalled to active duty for the Persian Gulf War in 1990, and then later retired from the Naval Reserve in 1999 as a Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman.
On leaving active duty and return-ing to civilian life in 1989, Henry first worked for the Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, as an organ recovery facilitator. By then he had the qualifications to move into administrative posts of increasing responsibility. He became Administrative Director of Cardiovascular Services at Subur-ban Hospital in Bethesda, but that post was eliminated in a reorgani-zation. He became Administrator of the National Capital Sleep Cen-ter in Bethesda, and then for the years l997-2006 served as Director of Operations and then Adminis-trator at the Collingwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rock-ville. He came to AMV in 2006, moving directly into his current
position. Meanwhile, he had been taking night courses at Johns Hop-kins University, and in 2000 the for-mer college dropout received his Master’s degree in Business Admin-
istration.Henry and Mary Louise have
lived in Germantown for 21 years. Their son, Henry Matthew Moeh-ring, called Matthew, and who is approaching his 19th birthday, is attending the University of Dela-ware. Matthew is the 18th consecu-tive Moehring in the direct male line of his forebears to carry the first name of Henry! Our Henry has a workshop and greatly enjoys woodworking, including making furniture. He is an enthusiastic photographer. And he is an avid cook, sharing the cooking duties at home with Mary Louise. He likes to turn otherwise prosaic dishes into culinary delights, and to take inherently delicious items—like pancakes or grilled cheese sand-wiches, he says—and make them even better.
Resident Facility Date of Death
Ercell Bruzee WHCC-Kindley 11-19-2010Maria Braun WHCC 11-20-2010Harry Taylor Kindley-Trott 11-22-2010Ralph Wiser Wallace 11-23-2010John “Jack” Scott WHCC-Diamond 11-24-2010Ceora Fessenden WHCC 11-24-2010Faith F. Stephan Diamond 12-1-2010Margaret Clark WHCC 12-5-2010Caryl Dikkers WHCC-Kindley-Trott 12-17-2010Dorothy Leuba-Phipps WHCC-Kindley 12-18-2010Rosemary Sullivan WHCC 12-19-2010Steven M. Parris WHCC 12-20-2010Elizabeth S. Cissel WHCC 12-20-2010Marjorie MacLeod WHCC 12-22-2010Rita Murray WHCC/Kindley/Edwards-Fisher 12-23-2010Florence Robinson WHCC/Diamond 12-24-2010Edgar Camp WHCC/Kindley/Edwards-Fisher 12-24-2010Fred Wells Diamond 12-28-2010Carl C. Lipp Edwards-Fisher 12-29-2010Alexander Kliger WHCC 12-31-2010Helen Fink Kindley 01-01-2011 Roy Jenkins Mund 01-01-2011Dudley Skinker Wallace 01-01-2011Joseph Sansonetti WHCC/Kindley/Diamond 01-02-2011 Luke Belsito Mund 01-04-2011 June Allen Kindley 01-05-2011Reva Watkins WHCC/Kindley 01-07-2011 Glen Coffelt WHCC 01-13-2011 Mattie Porch WHCC 01-14-2011 James Clemons Diamond/Park View 01-14-2011Helen Chocianowski WHCC 01-15-2011
In Memoriam
Henry Moehring: Our Man Who Quietly Gets It Done
Photo: Joon Kim
Chef Henry? Absolutely!
10 January / February 2011 Village life
By Mary Anstead, Villas
It has been said that the gift of love is what’s in the room when all the Christmas packages are
opened. Sometimes gifts planned, ordered or given with love are not what was originally intended.
Bob and Mary Anstead (Villas) planned (way back in October) a trip to New York with their grand-sons over the holidays. Train tickets were purchased and hotel reser-vations confirmed. Visions of the Empire State Building in the eyes of a 7- year old and scenery whiz-zing by as seen by a 5-year old from the train filled the grandparents’ anticipation of the trip. The plans were a secret to the children. The 26th of December arrived and every-
one was glued to the weather chan-nel — a blizzard accompanied by winds was quick-ly shutting down our destination. By 9 p.m. a deci-sion was made — no New York trip AND no secret gift for the children!
Barbara Rolling (Villas) visited relatives in State College, PA over the Christmas holidays. To add to the gift-opening festivities she took her gifts along to open on Christmas morning. Among those gifts was one from her neighbors, Charlie and Evelyn Kiser (Villas). When Bar-bara opened that gift, behold, there was the familiar Omaha Steak box.
She refrigerated the box dur-ing her few-days visit. When she returned home, she thanked her neigh-bors for the steaks, only to be told that they had given her a decorative guest book. Barbara
called her relatives to ask them to search for
t h e guest book. In the meantime she took the unopened Omaha Steak package to her neighbor’s house. At that point, Charlie admitted that he had wrapped the guest book in an empty Omaha box! Reflecting on her original plan to take the steaks to State College on a return trip and share the steaks, one can only imag-
ine the shock to have a guest book to serve the family!
There is such joy when one finds that ‘one searched for gift’ to give. In this case, a leather coin purse was ordered off the internet to put in a special man’s stocking. It was to be delivered on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. Well, Christmas came, New Year’s came and no coin purse. Was it at the bottom of Santa’s bag or lost on the postman’s vehicle? It surely did not make it to the bottom of a Christ-mas stocking!
Remember, it’s not the gift, but the thought behind the gift! So think again, love is not lost – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.
The rose is red, the violet’s blueThe honey’s sweet, and so are youThou art my love, and I am thineSo I drew this personal ValentineDesigned especially by me for youTo express a love that’s uniquely true.
The story begins about sixty years ago, and involves a young man, origi-nally from Sioux Falls, South Dako-ta showing his affec-tion at Val-entine’s Day for a young woman he met on the tennis courts of Washington, D.C. The relationship blos-somed beyond tennis, and this young fine arts graduate applied his artistic talents by giving her a Valentine’s Day card. However, this was not a store-bought card; he designed and hand drew a unique card because “he wasn’t able to afford roses.” Perhaps such a personalized tribute sped up the romantic process; after a brief courtship, they were married. The two stars of this story are Elizabeth and Duane McKenna of Park View. The special Valentine’s card was so effec-tive, that Duane continued celebrating Val-entine’s Day with a newly hand-drawn card
every year since the first.When buying a Hallmark or similar greet-
ing card, the words reflect the sentiment composed by someone in an office far removed. By making his own card, Duane
was able to provide the appropriate senti-ment “tailor made” to represent each year uniquely. The first cards followed a caveman representation, perhaps to indicate how lov-ing relationships evolved over the centuries. This theme recurred in the years to follow intended to “depict the trials and triumphs
of a growing family, dread-ful winters, family activi-ties, sporting and dance events, and world travel to 100 coun-tries.” Duane noted that a recent card refers to their relocation to Asbury as the
smartest move since their marriage. It’s a good thing that he put the marriage caveat in his statement. The valentine for this year asks the question “can we make it one more time around the pond?” He then said many more times we hope — but watch where you step”.
We wish that they have many more times around the pond, and on the dance floor, and to a few more countries.
Yes, roses are red, and violets blueAnd honey’s sweet, these all are trueBut sweetest of all if I may sayIs a special card on Valentine’s Day.
A Valentine Tradition
Photos: Al Tholen
Village life January / February 2011 11
By Carol Dennis, Villas
Thirty-foot waves! Gale force winds! Rocking and rolling as we hung on for dear life! So began our Alaskan adven-
ture. We were headed for Glacier Bay in the open Pacific with return stops in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria and Seattle - our starting point. After pitching and tossing for several hours, the captain wisely turned the ship back toward Victoria, BC, and we then sailed smooth-ly in the inside passage.
The rest of our cruise was calm. The only down side was a lost day because of the storm and therefore bypassing Sitka. Once again my husband, Jerry, and I missed an opportunity to visit there. In 1981 we visited our son, Patrick, who was then in the Coast Guard stationed in Ketchikan. We had a wonderful day walking the length of Ketchikan in beautiful sunny weather - a rare treat where the yearly rainfall is mea-sured in feet. The following day we headed for Sitka, but it rained so hard we turned back.
Meanwhile, at Glacier Bay, we were amazed by its beauty. Quiet was encouraged to protect the environment. A hush fell as we listened to the “snap, crackle and pop” of the ice. Suddenly, with a mighty roar, the glacier calved as several large sections crashed into the sea with gigantic splashes. A youngster cheered and was quickly silenced. Gradually the great ship glided away as we sailed from a truly awesome sight.
Despite drizzle in Juneau, Jerry and I struck out for the local museum that gave wonderful insights into Alaska’s First People. From there we visited a Russian Orthodox Church the size of a small oratory, beautifully decorated with white and blue round wooden exterior and
icon screen interior. Directly across the street stood the Roman Catholic Cathedral, also made of white and blue wood and not much larger than our Guild Chapel.
Rain poured in Ketchikan, so like everyone else, we shopped. Since ours was the last cruise of the season, there were some wonderful buys, and now our Christmas shopping is done!
The last port of call was Victoria but only for
a few hours. We decided to visit later since we would be in Seattle for two weeks for Jerry’s conference. Victoria and Seattle make a grand story for another day.
After a week at sea, we sailed into Seattle happy to return to terra firma. The trip was more exciting than anticipated, but all in all it was truly a bon voyage.
By Tom McIllrath, Park View
On September 18 an intrep-id band of 18 Asbury resi-dents and friends set sail
from Baltimore in search of fair winds and sun-drenched skies. The group, led by Warren and Mary Ebinger of Mund, originally had their sights set on visiting Bermu-da. However, Hurricane Igor chose to make a visit to the island that weekend and the captain of the “Enchantment of the Seas” felt that there would be more enchantment to be found in the Bahamas, so the ship redirected its course to Nassau. Leaving on a Saturday, the vessel spent two sunny days sailing south and arrived in port at noon on Monday. The seas were choppy on Sunday, leaving some passengers a bit queasy, but the sky was clear and the sun bright and warm. The Asbury contingent stayed healthy and gloried in the wonderful weather. They were often found on deck line dancing, working on their
tan, or enjoying the topside pool. There was the usual collection of shipboard activities and abundant dining options. The group dined together and many of them took in the entertainment shows which followed in the evening.
On Monday afternoon, imme-diately after docking, each of the
travelers set out on their choice of shore excursion, planned or improvised, in the port of Nassau. It was a chance to see how others live, from the houses of the local residents clustered around the har-bor to the elegant, even extrava-gant, resort attractions on Paradise Island to the homes of the rich
and famous on the island. In addi-tion to sightseeing and shopping, residents visited the coral reefs, saw the famous sand beaches and swam with the dolphins. After a last shopping opportunity ashore Tuesday morning, the ship set sail northward at noon on Tuesday. Another two days of dining, danc-ing, sunning and self-indulgence and the ship returned to Baltimore Thursday morning. Although they went south instead of east, to a place no-one thought about until two days before sailing, the consen-sus of the group was that it was a marvelous outing.
Over 30 people were originally scheduled for the cruise. However a mixture of health issues and a disinclination to change destina-tions led to the final group of 18 travelers. Those who had to cancel were missed and it is hoped that everyone will have an opportunity for another cruise in the future, perhaps to Bermuda next time.
Glacier Bay—art on ice.
Alaskan Adventure
Going Where The Fair Winds Blow
A grand Asbury group thumbed their noses at Hurricane Igor and followed the sun instead.
12 January / February 2011 Village life
By Keith Steele, Wallace
Someone said to me one day that the persons here at Asbury who really know
what goes on are Vicki at the bank and the receptionists. A couple of months ago we first met Linda Lay-man. She was the evening recep-tionist at WHCC. She retired on November 4, 2010 with 35 years of service. She had been here lon-ger than any current associate. She supplied us with a box of things she had saved and has continued to send us items even after moving to the Northern neck of Virginia. We are still going through them.
Another receptionist, Mary Grace Broschart Griffith, had sent her a paper. Mary Grace currently works the evening shift at the Hefner Community Center. This was dic-tated to Mary Grace by her father Bill Broschart, who was a county policeman. His father was a local doctor who. lived, and practiced, on Russell Avenue, up near the center of “Old Town.” It reads as follows;
“Sitting here today, I am listen-ing to my father telling me a story of his childhood. This particular story was about President Warren Harding.
“It was a late summer after-noon in August 1923. I was 3 months shy of being 6-years old! I lived in a small farm country
town of Gaithersburg, Maryland. The news that day centered a round the death of President War-ren Harding. He had died August 2, 1923, while traveling in Cali-fornia and rumors were he was poisoned. President Harding was in office from 1921-1923.
“A very good friend of the fam-ily was visiting. our home that summer day in August. His name was Harry Walker. Mr. Walker was a farmer in the area and visit-ed our home a lot to talk with my parents, Dr. Frank Broschart and his wife, Sarah. (Of course the name, Walker, is still a promi-nent name around Gaithersburg as in Walker Avenue). Harry at the time was in his upper 20’s. Harry
lived on a farm and died on the farm owned by his father James K. Walker. Again, getting back to that day in August, Mr. Walker looked down at me and said, William lets walk up to the railroad sta-tion and watch the steam train come in carrying the President. I was really excited about watching the train. The train was making a stop in Gaithersburg to make sure that the railroad was clear from Gaithersburg to Union Station with no interference. The train transporting President Harding’s body made many stops across the country before arriving in Gaith-ersburg and then on to Union Sta-tion where a hearse was waiting to carry the President’s body to the White House.
“Mr. Walker and I walked hand in hand to the Belt Building on the corner of Diamond Avenue and Frederick Avenue located in the center of the town. We stood waiting for the steam engine to pull up to the crossing. The whole area was filled with local families who had come to pay their respect and show their admiration to the President. When the steam engine finally arrived, the boxcar carry-ing the President was filled and overflowing with beautiful flow-ers. The particular area that the train stopped overlooked a cattle yard. This area was used to load and unload cattle as well as lum-ber, feed and other animals.
“The train remained on the crossing for about 20 minutes before starting its final journey to Union Station. After the train was out of sight, Mr. Walker took my hand and walked me back to my house on Park Avenue. I did not realize until much later in life what an historical event this was. I have enjoyed telling my children and grandchildren this story many times.”
We rely on our receptionists ever so much. They are very interesting individuals. Take time to chat with them. It will be rewarding.
Chit Chatter From the AMV Historical Society
Receptionists
It’s A Guy Thing
By Dan Muller, Villas
Selective Hearing
Ihave no scientific information about this malady that many of us suf-fer. My only source of information is anecdotal and personal expe-rience. I think it almost always occurs with guys and gals that are
married. Here’s how I see it.A guy will often tune out his wife’s efforts to communicate because
guys have important things on their minds that demand their full atten-tion. After all, as an example, what is more important than thinking about a recent sporting event and analyzing why your favorite team lost the game. The spoken word goes right over the guy’s head, but he instinc-tively acknowledges what’s been said by a nod of the head or mumbling “Uh huh”. Don’t ask him about it ten minutes later.
Now, with regard to a guy talking to his wife about something impor-tant, he first puts on his alpha dog hat to get her attention, and then asks her about an important matter, like what’s for dinner?
I have only one suggestion to gals when they want to say something important to their husbands. First get close to him, then tell him you love him, take his hand affectionately, look him right in the eye, and then tell him what’s on your mind, like, “It’s time to take out the trash”.
I would be interested in responses from a few gals. Even, perhaps, in having a gal start a new feature, “The Gal Thing.”
Notes from the SLPACBy Marty Blendermann, Villas
SLPAC?? That’s Asbury’s Spiritual Life PAC. It used to be named Religious Life PAC, until we recognized that spiri-tuality (which is our mission to encourage) often is not
part of a specific religion. Why not say it the way we meant it? We know that Asbury MV is a very diverse place. This column will focus on persons practicing spirituality in many different forms.
The Rev. Bruce Bowen and his wife, Loyce, moved into a villa 15 months ago. He had retired from being the pastor of Coles-ville Presbyterian Church in Silver Spring, MD for 29 years. For the past 10 years, he has been the Minister of Visitation at War-ner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, a blessing to that congregation.
When the Bowens were greeted by Dan Muller, Resident Council Chair for the Villas, he asked Bruce to become Chair-man of the villas’ Caring Neighborhood Committee. Bruce agreed to head up a committee of eight occupants residing in different areas of the villa compound – his “eyes and ears” — and Bruce reports on their findings at Villa Council meetings. He also visits many individuals personally, even some in Wilson HCC, and even at Shady Grove Hospital.
He really enjoys doing what he also has been doing at his church: “I meet so many interesting people!”
Village life January / February 2011 13
Grins and Grimaces
By Gil Snyder, Mund
“Thus the night before Christmas......” This looks familiar so will
have to start again. “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree ..........” This also has been previously written.
Let’s try: I was sitting in my easy chair on Christmas Eve waiting for my son, Sean, to pick me up to begin my week of Christmas celebration. He picked me up around 3:30 pm and took me to his home in Ger-mantown where the week was to start. The first celebration began that evening when my son and his wife, Nikki, hosted a family get- together that included several close family friends. It was at this gathering that my granddaughter, Samantha, nearly aged four, was permitted to open a few gifts. The family adults also exchanged gifts through a blind gift exchange drawing in which the indi-vidual participants had listed several ideas on the internet.
Christmas morning the family began to gather once again around 8:00 am, and Samantha, who was up late Christmas Eve, was awakened by Sousa, the family shih tzu, who announced their arrival with a bark. Her father carried her down stairs to the Christmas tree where she saw the gifts that Santa had left her; there-after she opened all her remaining gifts. About 9:30 a.m. I asked her to give me a big hug and kiss because I had to leave; tears came to her eyes until her father explained that I was going to San Diego to spend the rest of Christmas with her cousins, Nicholas aged eighteen and a sec-ond semester freshman at UC Berke-
ley, Madeline aged twelve, and Colin aged ten.
Sean drove me to Dulles to catch a 12:25 pm flight to San Diego. Upon my arrival, my son Brian and my grandson Nicholas picked me up and took me to their home where I had Christmas dinner with my son, my daughter-in-law Maureen, my three grand kids and Maureen’s par-ents, Mina and Mike Bell and their son Mark and his wife Suly. After din-ner, we all exchanged gifts.
The following day, after attending Madeline’s soccer game, we headed up to Ocean Side where we cele-brated Christmas once again at Mau-reen’s parents.
It’s been traditional when I visit San Diego that I take the two young-er grandkids shopping. The rainy weather prevented that this year; we did play lots of Monopoly and chess and read a lot. My granddaughter did go shopping with her mother and grandmother and was most anxious to show her purchases to me; a $24 pair of shoes that she got for $5, a pair of $40 jeans that she got for $17 and several bracelets she got for buy two and get one free.
I returned to Asbury late Thursday night; the flight was delayed for over an hour but most of the time was made up en route. A first happened on my taking the Super Shuttle from Dulles to Asbury: it was the first time that I wasn’t the last passenger to be dropped off.
A closing note: I had not planned to go to San Diego this Christmas, but Madeline had written to me: “I can’t wait to see you in the holiday season.” What’s a grandfather to do?
Date Event Contact
Olney Theater (S) FULL Barr x 52124/8, 5/20, 6/3 National Symphony-Kennedy Center (S) Otto x5299National Philharmonic- Strathmore (S) FULL Klepek x5743Arena Stage (S) FULL Watkins x57655/25-6/5/11 Cruise-Charleston, SC to Baltimore, MD Otto x52999/12-15/11 Finger Lakes, NY Otto x5299
(S) –Subscription Series
Theater and Travel Committee Day Trips
& Tours 2011
By Mary Anstead, Villas
There is still time to make your New Year’s resolution to bring ‘greener’ ideas to
our campus.Resolve to joinEnergy savingNeighborsEngaged inWorking with management.Be part of the team to renew the
efforts of the ‘green team’ here at AMV. Your ideas can enhance the energy efficiency measures on our campus. Your input can contribute to responsible purchasing. You can encourage efforts to lower the car-bon footprint, especially with the vehicles on campus. Your voice needs to be heard to overcome waste in our water use.
David Denton recently announced a new three-house development on
campus. These three houses will showcase those concepts neces-sary for LEED certification, name-ly, sensitivity to the environment, energy efficiency and sustainable design. Joining the Greenability team, an offshoot of the Building & Grounds PAC, enables you to impact the ideas for the greater comprehensive campus master plan, especially to voice your con-cerns with managing growth as well as ‘other significant changes on our campus’.
We particularly need YOU now to help plan for GREEN DAY dur-ing the AMV 85th anniversary cel-ebration this spring! The month long anniversary celebration will kick off on April 15th.
Come join the team – last Wednes-day of each month at 1pm in the Administration Building.
Idle ThoughtsBy Reg Westlake, Villas
In this spot you shall find a variety of ponderings from a man who hails from the other side of the “pond.” We’re
glad he’s on this side of the pond now!
Serious Thoughts
There is no shortage of serious thought in this country. There are the politicians and their staffs, grappling with the problems of the time and –we hope – the future. We have the army of profes-
sors of this, that and the other, engaged in researching, analyzing, writing, lecturing and consulting and advising. Of course there are the editorial writers. Then we have all those people who write to the papers, either
as individuals or as spokes-men for various bodies of like-minded people and spe-cial interest groups. Every Sunday morning there are the talk shows, over a dozen of them, with some twenty or so pundits airing their opin-ions – and criticisms of other people’s thoughts. And then come the Think Tanks, which seem to house a large popula-tion. It is an intriguing name, conjuring up an image of large chambers full of desks at which sit rows of thinkers with furrowed brows, cogi-tating, writing, arguing and
discussing and coming out with their opinion of what should be done to deal with some current problem.
All in all, one tends to think of America as covered by a vast cloud of thought. But then another thought intrudes – with all these minds at work why is the country in such economic pain? That’s where real-ity comes in. Thought needs to be converted into action. But which thought?
Christmas 2010
Happy Green Year!
14 January / February 2011 Village life
By Marolyn Hatch, Villas
After reading the first section of the Washington Post, there are three more pieces that I need to read before moving
on with life. “Baby Blues” reminds me of the candor and giant egos of young children and the stress they place on family life during their short residence with parents. “Zits” reminds me of raising my children; and from the distance of 35 years, it is truly funny. And finally, there is “Ask Amy,” the personal relationship analyst who patiently probes the writers’ statements to glean their unexpressed, underlying fears, hopes, and needs. With patience, experience, a touch of humor and a tone of compassion, Amy succinctly lays out the supplicant’s options and steps aside. No one’s life can be “fixed” in a 4-inch column, but there is in each of us the need to be reassured during our moments of doubt that we are capable of moving on and living the best that life has to offer us. Relation-ships can be tricky if not purposefully nurtured and given room to grow.
Here at Asbury we have our own Amy, Amy Ostrolenk, who recently talked with residents about one of their most important relationships: Asbury. As with other relationships, we all were introduced, courted, and perhaps dodged and wove around making a commitment to Asbury. We dated at luncheons, shared the pool and SPA, walked the paths, and were happy when Asbury let us know that it was interested in us. In the end, we accepted Asbury’s offer, a true relation-ship commitment. Asbury came with its own kind of “friends and benefits.”
To be sure, many postponed the Asbury rela-tionship believing that committing while we were still “youngsters” would limit our lifestyles. Others accepted the proposal eager to meet friends of Asbury and grow a community around their relationships.
Yet while they were hugely important in our committing to Asbury, most of us consid-ered the longer-term benefits of Kindley and Wilson in much the way we sometimes see our in-laws. There, but not immediate. Pos-sible to interact with occasionally, but not the Asbury we had really committed to. Kindley and Wilson were “distant” relationships. But as with all relationships, ours with Asbury through independent living may eventually change. We may, in fact, embrace Kindley or Wilson for the strength of their personal and wellness support and security.
And so on this day in December when a few dozen of us found ourselves face to face with our Amy, it was with initial hesitation that we posed questions, hypothetical ones, of course, regarding Kindley and Wilson. We shared a gen-eral awareness of these “in-laws” but were reluc-tant to get too personal with them. Why would we leave our current live-in relationship with Asbury? What was more appealing about Kind-ley or Wilson? What would a change cost us in independence, self-confidence and finances?
Amy Ostrolenk knew the source of our timid-ity. We felt that .accepting a long-term relation-ship with Kindley and Wilson had a sense of gravity about it that committing to Asbury years ago didn’t have. But there have been many times in our lives when we have had the same need for change and the same fears. Going to
kindergarten, moving to a new town, meet-ing new people, graduating from college and applying for jobs and falling in love, sometimes multiple times before we got it right. Each of these choices offered challenges to our ability to re-root ourselves in new soil and grow. And grow we did.
And so we listened to Amy as she outlined our options for aging at Asbury. There is aging in place in our current homes which many desire. Care Management offers many support services along the spectrum of advanced needs from simple meal preparation, light housekeep-ing and grooming assistance to medication and case management. Care Management aides are trained and interact with residents and assess
their needs and well-being, advising their super-visors if they detect mental, physical or envi-ronmental concerns. Often simple changes can stabilize our lives if they are made in time.
Some residents have used external care pro-viders. As Asbury does not monitor these hir-ers, Amy advised the residents to query them carefully as many are not trained nurses’ aides; they are companions. A companion is just that; they do not administer medication or engage one necessarily in mental stimulation. And in horrid winter weather, some may not be able to get to your home. In contrast, Asbury aides are shuttled where needed.
There is also the difference in costs. A Villa resident recently paid $4,000 a week for a 24-hour companion. And it was at this point that “our Amy” laid out Kindley’s proposal. Kind-ley’s basic fee is $5,400 to $8,800 a month. For this fee one has a private apartment and a full continuum of on-site care, nursing pro-fessionals 24-hours a day, medication manage-ment and personal care services, 3 meals a day plus snacks, weekly housekeeping and laundry services, utilities and basic cable ser-vice. For a couple in a shared residence and depending on each’s need, daily fees can range from $246 to $472 or $7,380 and $14,160 per month respectively.
Wilson also offers support in the form of respite, or temporary, care which is not the same as rehab care. Respite care can include demen-tia special care if there is clinical approval.
And so it was that morning talking with our “relationship advisor,” Amy Ostrolenk that many residents left with useful information about their options for using the supportive benefits that we all looked for when we first said “yes” to Asbury. It is reassuring to know that as our lifestyles change so can our Asbury relationship. And should one move to a relationship with Kindley or Wilson, it is good to know that we are still members of the Asbury neighborhood. We can call our friends and know that they are just a short walk away, sometimes no further than when we lived independently at different ends of the campus. The conversation with our Amy has only begun for most of us. She wel-comes our further questions and as with the Post columnist, our Amy will listen intently and offer insightful suggestions. Try her.
By Ruth Anne Thran, Villas
Anew opportunity has arisen at Asbury. The resignation of David Park has prompted 20 or 30 singers to search
for a new director. We promise to follow your every direction with great attention to rhythm and diction. Yes, some experience is necessary for this position but with these fine singers much of your work is already done. The primary requirement is enthusiasm and we all have that. We currently meet at 2 PM on Thursday but are willing to accommodate your schedule. We are looking for a once-a-
week commitment to prepare two concerts a year: fall/winter and spring. We have already found a volunteer accompanist to help you get started. Currently your summers are free for your own pursuits.
If you are a singer/director maybe you can find a co-director who also wants to sing. Trade off directing tasks and enjoy both activities. Of course new singers are also welcome to join the choir to help us find and welcome our new director(s).
Interested parties may contact Jane Martin (x6539) or Harriet Renison (x4452).
Talent Search Begins at Asbury Opening for Director of Asbury Choir
Marolyn Hatch considers her possible rela-tionship with Francis Asbury
“Ask Amy”
Village life January / February 2011 15
Marion Dexter Plumb Edwards-Fisher 405, x6313
Marion Plumb moved into her Edwards-Fisher Apartment 405 on June 9, 2010. I couldn’t wait to do this interview since what could be bet-ter on a cold, blustery December day than to hark back to the sunny warmth of summer. (A plum assignment?) Marion was born in
Mexico, New York, a small town on the shores of Lake Ontario, not far from Oswego. She attended Wooster College, but received her BA from Oberlin.
Married to a physicist who spent many years at the Bureau of Standards, now NIST, she soon became a busy homemaker, the mother of four children, two boys and two girls born in just seven years. Three granddaughters now com-plete her family circle. Somehow Marion found time to pursue her love of music. After an early history of playing piano, harp, flute and piccolo in both concert and marching bands, she began singing in choruses and choirs. Bell ringing is a favorite activity.
Marion has traveled extensively, spending time in Australia, Alaska and Africa and she cher-ishes any time she can spend out of doors. She is an eclectic reader and downsizing her book collection for her Asbury move made for tough decisions. Her volunteer work has cen-tered on her children’s schools and the church-es she has attended, both Presbyterian and Methodist. Participation in AAUW is something Marion enjoys.
Having lived some forty years in Montgom-ery Village, Marion was familiar with Asbury Methodist Village. She had attended plays at Rosborough and knew everything the Wellness Center had to offer. The beauty of the campus along with the favorable comments her Asbury acquaintances shared with her, made Marion ready for “a new adventure.” While we Edwards-Fisher neighbors have tamed our routines a bit, we’re very excited about sharing our fulfilling lifestyles with our fourth-floor newcomer.
— Joan Dunlop, Edwards-Fisher reporter
Beverly Johnson, Mund 609, x5842Beverly has led a very
full life. She was born and grew up in a sub-urb of Pittsburgh. On finishing high school she decided on a career in nursing, and accord-ingly enrolled in Presby-terian Hospital Nursing School in Pittsburgh. After three years, in 1952 she graduated as
an RN. She worked at a doctor’s office in Pitts-burgh for a year before making another impor-
tant decision. At this point Beverly married Dick Johnson,
an aspiring metallurgical engineer who had dropped out of Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh but who, facing the responsibility of marriage, returned to college. In fact he went on to earn not only a BS but also an MS and then a Ph.D. from Carnegie Tech. For six years, while study-ing Dick worked nights at U.S. Steel, while being aided by the G.I. Bill (he had earlier served in the Army) and by scholarships. After a year Beverly quit her job when their first child was born, and she would remain a full-time mother for over 20 years. That period was a hard slog for both of them. After Dick got his doctorate in 1959 he went to work for General Electric, which meant a move to Cincinnati, Ohio for the by-now-rapidly growing family. Beverly had six children in nine years.
After 11 years in Cincinnati the family moved to our area—Potomac, near Montgomery (now Westfield) Mall— when in 1976 Dick joined the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), and they were here for 20 years until Dick’s retire-ment. In this period Beverly resumed her career in nursing and for 16 years worked three nights a week at the Fernwood Nursing Home in Rock-ville. On Dick’s retirement he and Beverly built a new home in Williamsburg, Virginia, but they had been there only a year when Dick died almost instantaneously of a heart attack. Beverly chose to stay in Williamsburg until her move to Asbury in October, 2010. While in Williamsburg, she spent a lot of time volunteering for hospice work. Two of her sons live in Potomac and Mt. Airy; two others in Stockholm, Sweden and Wilmington, Delaware; and her two daughters live in Florida and California. Beverly is a Pres-byterian. Her main personal interest has been doing volunteer work that helps others.
—Rod Mills, Mund reporter
Susan Chaney, Mund G-1, x5959Susan was born in
Cleveland, Ohio but moved from there to Kensington, Maryland when she was only an infant. She attended Montgomery County schools including Walter Johnson High School, and then went on to the University of Mary-land where she gradu-
ated in 1966. Home economics was her area of specialization, and her degree was in Textiles and Clothing. She subsequently chose, how-ever, to make her living in a very different field of endeavor.
On finishing college Susan went to work for IBM, and was with them for 30 years. She served in a variety of administrative and management positions at several of IBM’s locations in the greater Washington area. She has been single all her life. She lived in Georgetown, north-west Washington, and Grosvenor in Montgom-ery County, each time sharing a house with
friends, and then moved to Kensington in 1983 when she bought a house of her own, where moreover she could widen her interest in gardening.
After her IBM career Susan had another career, for 10 years, working as a real estate agent with the Weichert firm, based at their White Flint office. She had heard that Asbury was the best place for someone with her needs, and she came here in October 2010. Her biggest interest today is being a painter, and she specializes in watercolors.
—Rod Mills, Mund reporter
Virginia Wright, Mund 308, X5127Virginia lived the first
part of her life in Kansas, having been born in Con-cordia and grown up in Russell, where her father taught Business and was the football coach at the local high school. She went to Kansas State University and got her BA degree in Political Science in 1961.
The next few years saw Virginia working first as a programmer for IBM in Bethesda, and then as a research assistant at the Brookings Institu-tion in Washington, making good use of her math and statistics skills. Her growing interest in economics led her to apply for and receive a fellowship to study that subject at George Washington University, where she earned a Ph. D. in 1971.
After getting her doctorate, Virginia worked on various applied research projects: at an inter-est group formed by the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors; at the American Bar Association; and at the Urban Institute in Washington. She had been married first in 1965, and then to her second husband, Ward Wright, in 1973. When Ward took a post at the State University of New York in Albany, Virginia became a visiting professor at SUNY.
In 1982 both Virginia and Ward were appoint-ed to the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, and were there until their retirements. Virginia taught both princi-ples of economics and health economics. She retired in 2000, and Ward somewhat earlier.
When she married Ward, Virginia became a mother to six stepchildren, one of whom, a daughter, lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Ward died in 2008. Virginia learned about Asbury from her longtime friend Anita Taylor, who lives here in Park View and was Virginia’s debate coach at Kansas State.
Virginia has been an avid reader throughout most of her life and has greatly enjoyed par-ticipating in discussion groups and book clubs. Today her macular degeneration greatly limits her reading, and also precludes her from driv-ing. Fortunately she remains in very good shape for walking.
—Rod Mills, Mund reporter
Continued on page 16
Welcome New Residents
Photo:Jim Porter
Photo: Rosemary Pasek
Photo:Jim Porter
Photo:Jim Porter
16 January / February 2011 Village life
Welcome New Residents
Ed and Clancie Melton Trott 411, x4638
Trott’s late-afternoon singers gather around the piano and melodies of favorite songs cause resi-dents and visitors to pause and listen. Unknown to the singers, one afternoon they made a sale for Asbury by capturing the attention of Ed and Clancie Melton who moved into Trott Dec. 8.
Ed attended school in Henderson, Kentucky, was coached by his mother to become a concert pianist, but WWII swept him into the Army. They wanted a pianist to play songs to accompany troops singing their favorite tunes. Ed, who could play by ear, gained great popularity. Ed graduated from West Point in 1950, entered the Air Force, and served in Korea. He married Doris Peck in Texas, and they had a son, Randy, in 1957, but the couple soon divorced. Ed worked for the Clevite Corp. in Cleveland approximately twelve years. Then he joined the British firm of Smith Industry for 24 years and became V.P. for the firm’s U.S. division. He commuted overseas monthly from his office in D.C.
Clancie was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. During WWII she was active in a Red Cross Mobile Unit. Then she attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, focusing on surgical medicine. Clancie assisted a surgeon doing elec-tive plastic surgery. She also worked on corpses, charting lines for use in surgery. She assisted in reconstructive surgery performed on children with twisted hands and fingers and other condi-tions. Clancie herself had elective surgery on her face, damaged by an accident.
Beginning in 1950 Clancie worked for five years as a flight attendant for American Airlines, becoming a supervisor, manager, and trainer for emergency procedures that she developed for different types of airplanes. Other activities included figure skating and writing a monthly newspaper column, “What’s Going on in Cleve-land.” Ed noticed Clancie as he walked by her office in Washington National Airport, became a persistent suitor, and married her in 1970.
Clancie and Ed developed humorous shows with Ed writing script and music. Eager young flight attendants performed in chorus lines and pilots were recruited for humorous roles. Clancie had numerous volunteers. She was the director and partner with Ed. American Airlines gained free publicity with shows in colleges, schools, hotel dining rooms, etc. Ed’s other activity was teaching little children who were attracted to the piano.
The Meltons moved to Trott from their beloved home in McLain, VA.
—Lois Lord, Trott reporter
Howard and Jane Ortmeyer Mund 801, x5642
The Ortmeyers came to Asbury from Fort Dodge, Iowa in order to live nearer to their daughter, Nancy, who lives in Bethesda. Howard was born in Montana, but grew up in Iowa. Jane was born in Des Moines and met Howard when they were both attending Cornell College.
Howard earned a Master’s degree in Denver, and went on to teach in high school, serve as princi-pal, local school superintendent and then County Superintendent of Schools. After his retirement from education he became business manager and personnel director at Friendship Haven, a Method-ist retirement community in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
From 1941-1946, Howard was in the navy, where he advanced to Lieutenant attached to the Seabees. One of their assignments was to build an airstrip on Emirau Island in the south Pacific.
Howard’s hobbies are golf, tennis and reading.Jane is a retired high sc hool math and special
education teacher. Her interests include reading, travel, writing, gardening, and, most of all, her fam-ily. She is a member of PEO and in Iowa was active in Community Bible Study.
Together, Howard and Jane have traveled exten-sively in Europe as well as Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S.A. they have visited every state except Delaware! The hope to go there soon!
Their children are Mary, Birmingham, AL; Tom, Potsdam, NY; Bill, deceased; and Nancy. Howard’s cousin, Mickey Martin, lives in Trott.
Their church affiliation is United Methodist.—Ruthie Swain, Mund reporter
Audrey Chereskin, Mund 414Baltimore, MD is
where Audrey was born and grew up, and when it was time for college she chose Goucher. But after two years she trans-ferred to the University of Michigan, not because of any fault with Goucher but because she literally want to “go away” to col-lege and see another part
of the country. She received her BA in Sociology and Social Work in 1943 and went to work for the Baltimore Dept. of Public Welfare.
Meanwhile, her future husband Frank Chere-skin, a native of Springfield, MA, was studying at the U. of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore. He and Audrey met on a blind date. It was obvi-ously rewarding for both of them and they were married in 1944, Frank having by then received
his DDS. Because of his diabetes, Frank was 4-F in the World War II draft, but he would serve in the military later on. The newly married couple settled in Springfield and Frank started up his dental practice there.
Two daughters were born to them and after the first, Audrey became a full-time mother. Their life in Springfield was interrupted in the mid-1950s when Frank served two years in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Panama City, FL, and the family went there with him. A third daughter was born in Florida. In 1960, Audrey began to go part-time to the U. of Connecticut Graduate School in
Hartford (not a long drive from Springfield) and after four years received her Master of Social Work degree. After that she worked over five years for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and nearly 11 years for the Massachusetts state government helping families with children with developmental disabilities.
Audrey and Frank both retired in 1982 and moved to Palm Beach County, Florida, and for a couple of years Audrey worked professionally with a new agency helping families with premature babies. While living in Florida they came back to Massachusetts each summer because of the very oppressive heat and humidity of the Florida sum-mer. Frank passed away in 2002. Audrey learned about Asbury through her daughter Ellen, who lives in Darnestown and could give her mother the information she needed about retirement communities in this area. Audrey enjoys reading, theater, concerts, dance and playing bridge.
—Rod Mills, Mund reporter
Paul and Lucille B. (Lucy) Smith Diamond 416, x4642
Before moving to Asbury on October 28, 2010, to rid themselves of the burden of keeping up a home and yard, Paul and Lucy Smith were resi-dents of Olney, Maryland. They are both graduates of the University of Maryland. Paul, a native of Baltimore, has a BS in civil engineering and was a Registered Land Surveyor in Maryland. Lucy, a native of Detroit, Michigan, has a BS in education.
Paul served in the U.S. Navy during World War II with the 68th Seabees in Okinawa. After the war, he worked in the engineering and land surveying business until 1968 when he became a highway engineer with the Montgomery County Depart-ment of Transportation, a position he retired from in 1983.
Lucy spent 21 years as a full-time mother to the couple’s five children and then did substitute teaching for six years. In 1973, Lucy undertook a new career track, when she became the finan-cial secretary and business manager of Hughes United Methodist Church in Wheaton. In 1980,
Photo: Hal Gaut
Photo:Jim Porter
Photo: Jim Porter
Photo: Hal Garman
Village life January / February 2011 17
Welcome New Residentsshe returned to college to study accounting. She received her AA in accounting from Montgomery College and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1984. She then worked in the controller’s office of a bank until her retirement in 1990.
Both have been active volunteers working on various projects and activities at the Wheaton and Olney libraries. In addition, Lucy has been heav-ily involved in United Methodist Church activi-ties, teaching Sunday school, participating in the United Methodist Women, serving on the financial committees and chairing the committee to audit the church books. In addition to their volunteer activities, Paul enjoys gardening and Lucy likes to knit and read. She is also a talented quilter and several of her quilts decorate their Asbury apart-ment. Besides their children, they share 11 grand-children and nine great-grandchildren.
— Janet Garman, Diamond reporter
Hubert and Marybeth Morsink Mund 804, X4456
Living in foreign countries while on the staff of the United Nations has been the hallmark of the lives of both Hubert and Marybeth.
Hubert was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and lived in several cities of that country before going to college. He graduated from the University of Amsterdam where he specialized in social sci-ences, and from the Technical University of Delft where he concentrated on area planning (includ-ing urban and rural planning). He describes him-self as a combination social scientist and area planner who has applied his skills mainly as an international civil servant but also as an academic and author.
Hubert was a professor of Rural Sociology at the American University of Beirut in 1964-66. He then joined the United Nations Office in Beirut as a regional expert for two years. This was followed by postings to UN offices in New York for two years, in Geneva, Switzerland for nine years, and in Vienna, Austria for four years, doing extensive traveling in each assignment. Hubert then quit the UN to take high-level posts in the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Netherlands Government. But after two years he rejoined the UN and served for 13 years in Geneva at the UN Research Institute for Social Development. He retired in 1999. He has authored a book, articles in learned journals, and many research reports for the UN. In addition to Dutch and English he is fluent in French and German. Marybeth, who prefers that name to the more formal “Mary Elizabeth,” was born in Tokyo when her parents, both American Presbyterian missionaries, were teaching at Christian learn-ing institutions in Japan. They came to New York when Marybeth was three, and she lived there and on Long Island. Her education led to a BA
degree from Wheaton College in Illinois, a Master of Religious Education degree from what is now the New York Theological Seminary, and an MS degree in Social Work from NYU in New York. She taught social work and community development at Beirut College for Women in 1956-60, and then joined the UN at its Beirut Office under the Tech-nical Assistance Program as an advisor to the Leba-nese government in Family and Child Welfare. She met Hubert in Beirut and they married in 1963; they lived there till 1968 and their two sons were born there. It was a turbulent time, the long civil war in Lebanon having begun and because of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war in addition.
\During subsequent family moves, Marybeth continued to take UN field assignments. In New York their daughter was born. In their first post-ing to Geneva, Marybeth worked for the UN High Commission for Refugees as a consultant, and in their second tour there she represented Consum-ers International at the UN organizations locat-ed in Geneva. After they both retired in 1999 they lived in France and after that in a suburb of the Hague, Netherlands, from which they came directly to Asbury in October 2010. Their son Jim is a high-level economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington; son Paul is getting his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan; daughter Marlief has been in finance and is currently in London. The Morsinks enjoy reading, music, hik-ing and travel.
— Rod Mills, Mund reporter
Annette R. Fletchall Edwards-Fisher 114, x5490
Warm and sunny days were making their final appearance when Annette Fletchall moved into apartment 114 of the Edwards-Fisher Building. Born in Washington, DC, a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High, she earned her BS in Food Service Management from James Madison University. Her
graduate work in dietetics was done at Medical College of Virginia.
Annette began her career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and continued in the Dietary Department of Mary Washington Hospital in Fredricksburg, Virginia. She was a Food Service Manager at Marriott Corporation and Guest Ser-vices, Inc. in DC, until her retirement until 1997.
Single, her hobbies center around friends and class-mates with whom she enjoys traveling,especially the visits to historic Virginia and the beaches of North Carolina. A music lover, Annette attends musical theater performances whenever possi-ble. She relaxes with her crocheting and knitting and is currently busy with scarves, just the ticket for this weather. The Asbury swimming pool is a favorite place of hers.
A member of the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, she became a Stephen Min-ister, participated in the Visitor Corps and the prayer shawl ministry. Annette has done volunteer work at the Montgomery County Historical Soci-
ety Library and Sibley Hospital.It was time to sell the home she had lived in
since she was four and while it was a difficult decision, Annette found comfort in the fact that the buyers were a delightful young couple.
Asbury Methodist Village was her selection for retirement because of its location near family and friends, the many available activities, lovely facilities, friendly people, and the helpful staff. Edwards-Fisher friends say amen to that.
— Joan Dunlop, Edwards-Fisher reporter
Walter J. Bank, Trott 605, x5304Walter’s wife Janet died
three months ago, two months short of their 60th anniversary. They lived at Grand Oaks Assisted Liv-ing facility prior to her death. Walter has several friends who spoke well of Asbury and he moved here in November 2010. He is already very satis-fied with the meals and
many activities. He enjoys visiting with friends who also moved here from Bethesda, MD where Walter lived for 50 years.
Walter was born in Marlborough, MA and received his education at St. John’s H.S. in Worces-ter, MA. Walter and his wife Janet were married in Worcester. He has an unmarried daughter who lives in New York City and a married son who lives in Lafayette, CO with his wife and their three children. Walter enlisted in the Navy July 1943 and was assigned to Worcester Polytechnic Insti-tute in the Navy V-12 College Training Program in 1944. He was commissioned Ensign, USNR and received his BS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1946. He shipped out to the Pacific Theatre assigned to the USS Collett (DD-730) as Junior Communications Officer. He participated in anti-smuggling patrols in Korean waters and Seventh Fleet activities in and around Japan. His ship was redeployed to San Diego in 1947 and he was released to inactive duty in June. Walter received his Master’s degree in electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1950. He was employed as Electrical Engineer at Sylvania Elec-tric Products in April 1950 and recalled to active duty during the Korean War in October 1951. He was assigned to the Navy Bureau of Ordnance as Guided Missile Project Officer on TALOS and TER-RIER programs. He was released to inactive duty October 1953. He participated in Ready Reserve Programs at Bureau of Ordnance and Bureau of Naval Weapons until retiring in 1966.
Subsequent to his release from active duty, he was employed at various firms, primarily in government marketing for defense systems. He retired in 1966 as Vice President of Business Development for DCS Corporation, engineering and information technology firm specializing in infrared and laser systems. He enjoyed consulting for a short time, but when it interfered with his golf game, he retired for good. Walter has been involved with singing activities, church choirs, choral groups, quartets, octets, etc. and plans to
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Photo: Jim Porter
Photo: Rosemary Pasek
Photo: Hal Gautk
18 January / February 2011 Village life
continue singing with whatever opportunities are available at Asbury. He has already enjoyed fit-ness activities and has joined the Computer Club. He also plans to resume swimming as soon as his medical condition permits.
— Dr. Bob Hartman, Trott reporter
Mary Baskett, Trott 803, x6340Mary was born in
Wichita, Kansas in 1930 and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. The young-est of seven children, she has happy memo-ries of her childhood, especially when they all went to their grandpar-
ents Helm’s farm in the beautiful rolling hills and woods of northeast Oklahoma. There they roamed the countryside, collected eggs, picked apples, rode horses, swam in the creek and spent hours hunting for plentiful Indian arrow heads.
Mary attended Kansas State at Manhattan and the University of Missouri. There she met a returning Navy veteran, Bob Baskett, whom she married. The couple left school and came to Washington where Bob began working for the Federal Government. In 1956 they were posted to Taipei, Taiwan, where we first met them and became friends.
Their two-year tour of duty was followed by tours in Beirut, Lebanon and Nicosia, Cyprus. They were there at a time of peace and were able to travel and to see the antiquities and sights of the entire area without difficulty. It was a cultur-ally rich and rewarding experience.
The family returned to Missouri where Mary and Bob finished their college degrees.
Upon returning to Washington they settled in Silver Spring, and when Bob was assigned to Vietnam in 1965 the family lived on Okinawa. In 1967, the family returned to the D.C. area, this time living in Rockville. Soon after their return to the States, I happened to be in the Rockville Library when I rounded the end of a stack and suddenly came face-to-face with Mary. It turned out we were living half a mile from each other, and we took up our friendship again.
In 1969, Bob went back to Vietnam and Mary moved the family to Fairfax, Virginia, in a house they bought before he left. In addition to the second tour in Vietnam, Bob also served in Cam-bodia in the years that followed, returning to the States shortly before the fall of Saigon. Mary began working in the Fairfax Country Public Library system in Centerville when her young-est children were old enough to be home after school responsibly. She worked there for 21 years and was supervisor of circulation.
Mary’s interests are reading, classical music and opera, and good conversation. She is looking for-ward to restarting her physical training routine with Asbury’s incomparable James Warner.
I asked Mary what drew her to Asbury. After all, she had a beautiful condo in Virginia and was involved in the neighborhood (even serving as president of her condo community’s association), had wonderful neighbors and myriad friends.
She said that Asbury had something special. She likes the proximity to downtown and other cul-tural locations, and the campus with its walks and ponds and beautiful trees and the sense that the people here are very intelligent and have a keen interest in the world around them. There is some-thing here that she found at no other place.
Mary was also encouraged by Dr. and Mrs. Charles Brodine, who live in Park View. She had met them when her son Doug served as best man to their son Charles, as Charles did for him later. I like to think our presence here had something to do with it, too!
In additional to Mary’s son Doug, who lives in Vermont, Mary has three other children on both coasts: Scott, the first, lives in Eugene, Oregon; Sara, the next, lives in Seattle; Mike, Doug’s twin, lives nearby and will soon move to Silver Spring.
—Rebecca Ratliff, Trott 214
Howard and Betty Thomas Diamond 1016, x4627
The apartment that Howard and Betty Thomas moved into on October 27, 2010 from their for-mer home in Silver Spring reflects their many talents and interests. Betty, a native of Washington, D.C., graduated from George Washington Univer-sity with a degree in fine arts. Her oil portraits, watercolors, clay sculptures, and cornhusk dolls (she worked for a doll-maker at one time) deco-rate their apartment. So do antiques that they have collected together and pieces brought back by Howard from Japan and Korea. One antique cabinet holds Howard’s collection of antique cigar cutters.
Howard, a native of Brownsville, PA., graduated from Cornell University and also from its law school after having served in both World War II and Korea. He was awarded a number of med-als including a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster. Admitted to both the Maryland bar and the U.S Supreme Court, he was a partner in the law firm of Bradshaw, Thomas and Yeatman of Sil-ver Spring, specializing in zoning, real estate and administrative law. He is a member of the Ameri-can, Maryland and Montgomery Bar Associations and the American Judicature Society.
He has been the Chairman and the Vice Chair-man of both the Maryland Democratic Party and the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in Chicago in 1968 and San Francisco in 1984. He chaired numerous politi-cal campaigns in Montgomery County including those for Governor Marvin Mandel, Acting Gover-nor Blair Lee and and Governor Harry Hughes. In addition, he has been a member of a number of Governor’s committees, state commissions and the Maryland House of Delegates.
Both Howard and Betty have been active in their church and community. Betty has been a swimming coach for mentally challenged chil-dren. Among other civic responsibilities, Howard has served as President of the Silver Spring and Maryland Junior Chambers of Commerce and of the Silver Spring Toastmasters Club and was the Boy’s Home of Montgomery County’s “Man of the Year” in 1972. They have a daughter and a son who have presented them with four granddaugh-ters and one great granddaughter. They spend their summers at their home in Gloucester, MA.
Helen Pollard Edwards-Fisher 614, x5711
With snow on the ground and parkas, boots and hats essential out-doors apparel, it’s with longing that the sunny, crisp days of October come to mind. It was on October 9th of 2010 that Helen Pollard moved into apartment 614 in the
Edwards-Fisher Building. Born in Calais, Maine where the family summer
home is located, Helen decided on a career in government and moved to Philadelphia to work for the Social Security Administration. With a goal of wartime service, she decided to work for the Navy in Maryland. Helen took up residence in a boarding house run by a close friend and it was there that she met her husband who was a civilian employee of the Navy. She became an administra-tive assistant in the hydro mechanics lab. Helen is the proud mother of a son and a daughter who have given her six grandchildren.
With her retirement came a move to Melbourne, Florida, located near Cape Canaveral. It became Helen’s habit to watch the space launches from her back yard and she remembers with shock and horror the explosion of the ill-fated space shuttle.
A former square dancer, Helen now plays bridge, loves to bowl and enjoys reading good historical novels. Her Methodist Church was the focal point for most of her volunteer activities. This area was Helen’s favorite stopping place on her seasonal commute from Florida to Maine, so it seemed fit-ting that Asbury Methodist Village would be the perfect location for her retirement home and now she does feel right at home. —Joan Dunlop
Jane Sween, Mund 412, x 5123Since she was born and
grew up in Montgomery County, Jane remembers well when Asbury Meth-odist Village consisted of one building— what we know now as the Admin-istration Building— but was then where the resi-dents lived. Things have certainly changed! As of
the twenty-first of October she is a resident of Mund, while her husband, Larry, is residing in Kindley Assisted Living.
After graduating from Richard Montgomery
Welcome New Residents
Photo:Jim Porter
Photo: Rosemary Pasek
Village life January / February 2011 19
Welcome New ResidentsHigh School, Jane attended Mary Washington Col-lege in Fredericksburg, but when she decided to go into Interior design, she transferred to U. of MD, where she met her future husband, Larry Sween. When she graduated she worked for a while for an interior design firm in Bethesda, but left to be married while Larry was serving in the Air Force.
They settled down in Bethesda after his dis-charge, and Larry began a career in commercial real estate, while Jane became a homemaker. Her fondest memories are the years she was raising a family and the things they did together, especially when her son and daughter were in the Scouts. She served as both a Girl Scout leader and a Cub Scout leader and enjoyed the camping trips they took. Eventually she started to volunteer at the Montgomery County Historical Society, and then, during the bicentennial celebration, when interest in history was high, she took on a paid position to expand a small collection of books, and served as the librarian for thirty years. One of the things she did was write a history of Montgomery County published in 1984. She continues her interest in history and local genealogy to this day and still volunteers at the Society. For many years the family spent summer weeks on their boat, Some Day on the Chesapeake Bay.She and Larry have enjoyed travel in the Caribbean islands, the Cana-dian Rockies, Nova Scotia, Yellowstone, England and France. They have enjoyed spending time each winter at their condo near Ft. Myer, Florida. Jane is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
—Anne Porter, Mund reporter
Dorothy Blakeslee, Trott 809, x5667 Dorothy comes to
us from the Kentlands where she had lived for 18 years. She was born and grew up in central Pennsylvania and still has a sister and a brother liv-ing in Williamsport. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Penn State, major-
ing in mathematics, and went to work at HRB-Singer in State College for five years. While there she married and began raising a family of two. Her son and daughter both live in Bethesda at this time and have blessed her with five grandsons ages 4 to 12. After a severe Pennsylvania winter, the family moved to Asheville, NC. Five years later a move was made to Montgomery Village and a few years after that Dorothy took a position as IT specialist with NIST.
Dorothy likes to read—especially cozy mystery stories. She also likes to take long walks and is looking forward to exploring the Asbury grounds. She has joined the Computer Club and is also looking forward to seeing what the Keese School is offering. She takes classes with the Osher Life-long Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins Univer-sity near Shady Grove Rd. During the summer, the family enjoys spending some time at Bethany Beach. We are very happy to welcome Dorothy as our neighbor and look forward to getting to know her better.
—Marilyn Gaut, Trott reporter
Mildred Mader, Trott 301, x5936Mildred Dobson
Mader (Millie) was born in Lancaster, South Carolina. After attend-ing local schools there, she came to Washing-ton, D. C. to work for the Navy Department. Her day job enabled her to attend night classes at American Univer-sity where she earned
her B.S. degree in Business Administration. Her career which followed included posi-tions as a grants technician with the Nation-al Institution on aging, the Navy Department PHOTO Center, and the Federal Civil Defense Administration (ADM).
Millie married Donald Wilson Mader in 1951.They lived in their beloved home and commu-nity of Garrett Park, Montgomery County for over fifty years. Her husband was mayor of Gar-rett Park for two terms during their stay there. They both were active in the affairs of their community even into their “senior years”.
Millie and Donald raised a family of boys. Douglas, now married to Mandi, lives nearby in Garrett Park with their two children Garrett and Melissa. Scott and Rita live in Leesville, South Carolina with their four sons.
Through his work as a Research Analyst, Don received an enviable assignment to Heidelberg, Germany for two years; and the family was able to enjoy European travel!
Millie has been a volunteer all her life. For over twenty years she devoted much time to the Montgomery County Thrift Shop. At her church, the Cedar Lane Unitarian-Universalist Church, she enjoyed her volunteer work as a reception-ist and sang in the choir for many years. With a long interest in music, Millie enjoys playing the piano and attending concerts.
Since moving into Trott December 15, she already has made many friends and is looking forward to volunteering and attending activities of her choice. Welcome Millie!
—Harriet Renison, Trott reporter
nancy Grissom, Mund 812, x5305Because Nancy had
lived in Montgomery Village for 35 years, and Asbury was so close by, she always thought that someday she would come here to live. She did take the precaution of visiting several other retirement homes, which, added to
the positive feedback she received from friends who already lived here, confirmed her in her decision. The location was also a big factor; she is close to her former associations with friends and church. Nancy moved into her apartment on October 29, 2010.
Nancy is originally from Suffolk, Virginia. She received her B.A. in English Literature from Mary
Baldwin College in Staunton, taught for one unhappy year after graduating and then attended business school in Richmond.
Her first position was at the Reynolds Metals Company as a secretary, where she remained for six years. During that time she married and left the company to become a homemaker and moth-er when her husband was sent to work at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Her two sons were born there. When she and her husband were divorced after 19 years, Nancy went back to work at the Food and Drug Administration, where she remained for 20 years.
Nancy has volunteered as a grocery shopper for the Red Cross; and for Meals on Wheels; and served as a Social Security Representative Payee.
She is a member of the Rockville Unitarian Uni-versalist congregation. She enjoys , bird watch-ing, reading, movies and bridge. One son lives in Gaithersburg and a second son and two grand-sons live in Elkridge, Maryland.
—Anne Porter
Muriel Patterson, Mund G-7Muriel moved into
Mund in November, coming from Friend’s House in Sandy Spring. Her son and his wife had found Asbury for her, and so she only visited once before she came. She is gradually finding her way around the campus
and is looking forward to warmer weather when she can explore the walks around the ponds.
Muriel was born in Wexford County, Michigan, which, for those not familiar with that state, is in the northern part of the southern peninsula. She aspired to be a teacher, and began teaching at age 18 in Cadillac. In those days, there were not enough qualified teachers to take care of the number of students, so Muriel attended under-graduate school at Central Michigan University while teaching kindergarten and first grade. Even-tually, she also did some graduate work at the Michigan State University.
She taught for 30 years in two different school systems. Her interest was in working with devel-opmentally delayed children and she eventually was able to concentrate on Developmental Edu-cation, working with only 10 children at a time.
Muriel married and has two children, Jack, who lives in this area with his wife and two children, and Marilyn, who still lives in Michigan.
Muriel is a quilter and is looking forward to meeting others here on campus whose interest is the same. Because several years ago she devel-oped Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome, and has a violent reaction to chemical smells, as well as hair spray, cologne, perfume, etc., she does not eat in the dining room or attend large meetings.
She has volunteered in education-related proj-ects, including doing testing for a colleague work-ing on her doctorate in Child Psychology, and running a summer school for the Salvation Army in Michigan. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Welcome to Asbury, Muriel!
Photo: Hal Gautk
Photo: Hal Gautk
20 January / February 2011 Village life
Photo: Joon Kim
Meet the Creative Team
It’s a tradition at Asbury! Every year the associates and resident creative team members get together for the Annual AVTV/Village Life Holiday Party. If this looks like a team you’d like to play on, give Linda Aber a call at x4106 or Joon Kim a call at x6266.
Asbury Methodist VillageCommunications Department201 Russell AvenueGaithersburg, MD 20877-2801
Non-ProfitOrganizationU. S. Postage
PAIDRockville, MD
Permit No. 4297A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE
VILLAGE LIFE: A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE
This Month in the Gallery
The Rosborough Cultural Arts and Wellness Center is home to
an ever-changing gallery of arts and handiwork created by our
residents. Stop by and see what’s new. With 12 display cases to look at, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Here’s this
