VOLUME TWENTY FIVE, NUMBER SIX
JUNE 2011
Chairman reports on year’s worth of good news As delivered at annual meeting By Mary Schnabel Beaumont Board Chairman This report, I am told, is to bring you up to date on what has happened here at Beaumont since the last General Meeting in May 2010 . . . Some improvements have taken place that we know about but didn’t impact our lives directly: for example, a new roof on Baldwin was completed in 2010. A new fire alarm system was installed in Austin and Baldwin and in the Health Center, Personal Care and Commons areas. This is a great improvement because now the system pinpoints exactly where the problem is so that the firemen needn’t continued on page 7
Photo by Louise Hughes
Celebrating spring With the help of green (and proudly dirty) thumbs, spring at Beaumont has been outdoing itself this year. The gardens at Villa 74 pay living tribute to the memories of Samuel and Dorothy Ballam and Harry and Elizabeth Dixon. (Advice on foiling those hungry deer, page 8.)
A dog story, or how do you spell pugnacious? By Sis Ziesing
My husband, Bob, and I arrived at Beaumont five years ago with our Pug dogs, Alfalfa and Missy. Everybody here said we were so lucky to have them, as when we took them for their walks we would make many new friends who would be walking their dogs. Well. We all know Pugs belong to the Toy group of dogs. Dogs in this group usually are good for nothing much except for showering attention and love on their owners. Compare the Pug to the St. Bernard, a member of the Working group, adept at locating lost travelers,
licking their faces, lying beside them to warm them. (Maybe supplying a little brandy also.) The famous St. Bernard Barry saved 40 lives! Pugs don’t even like snow. Then we have the Sporting group, the various retrievers, Setters, Spaniels, etc., whose function is bird pointing and flushing and retrieving. They’re so useful! Pugs are not. The Hound group encompasses Beagles and Bassets who hunt rabbits with people following them continued on page 7
End of life issues II preservation of life at all costs or someone who is more interested in quality of life and finds increasing dependence difficult to bear.
Talking to your doctor By Gerri Paier The importance of openness, clarity and honesty between physician and patient was stressed by all three speakers last month at Beaumont in the second of the Health Care Committee’s five-part series on “End of Life Issues.” The presenters, residents Drs. Clayton Kyle and Kaighn Smith and Beaumont Medical Director Dr. James Morris, all spoke specifically of documenting one’s desires concerning care in the event of either an emergency event or, more likely, a chronic process, what Dr. Kyle called “the dwindles, when everything slows down.” These documents, they all said, should be made available to doctors, families and anyone else likely to be involved in treatment decisions. Dr. Morris urged residents to put copies on file at Beaumont, where hospice care is available for those who choose that option. Dr. Kyle made available through the committee an article, “The Health Care Directive: Learning How to Draft Advance Care Documents,” by Dr. Linda Emanuel, an American College of Physicians Teaching and Research Scholar, which he said had strongly influenced his own preparations. He and Dr. Smith both spoke of the need to let your doctor know whether you are a person who believes in
“We have all come to Beaumont for the quality of life offered with the anticipation of the best of medical care,” Dr. Clayton Kyle said. “I continue to be amazed that such a place exists. . . . It could not be better elsewhere.” Dr. Smith explained the difference between physician-assisted suicide, which is illegal almost everywhere in the United States, and palliative care, in which drugs are used primarily to alleviate pain and suffering and bring comfort, but may as a secondary effect hasten death. “We have all come to Beaumont for the quality of life offered with the anticipation of the best of medical care,” Dr. Kyle said. “I continue to be amazed that such a place exists. . . . It could not be better elsewhere.”
The News invites letters from readers, including non-residents. Letters will be published or not, in full or in part, at the discretion of the editors. Letter-writers are asked to please:
BEAUMONT NEWS The Beaumont News is published by the residents and staff of the Beaumont Retirement Community, 601 N. Ithan Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
1. Confine subject matter to articles that have appeared in the News (past News issues are on file in the Library). 2. Keep letters under 300 words–the shorter the better.
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3. Sign your own name, though requests for anonymity in print may be honored.
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E-mail letters to Mary Graff at graffs@msn.com (home) AND mgraff@beaumontretirement.com (office); hand in at front desk, or mail to Beaumont at 601 N. Ithan Ave., Bryn Mawr 19010. Letters need not be typed (though typing is appreciated), but please write as legibly as possible and include your phone number (for the editors’ use only).
New Residents Editor
Editor Emeritus and Historian Photo Editor Events Manager Proofreader Circulation Manager
Mary Graff Christine Johnson-Hall Louise Guthrie Jean Kirk Louise Hughes Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel Barbara O’Brien
The deadline for the July 2011 issue of the Beaumont News will be June 9. Please sign your story and either turn it in at the front desk or better, if you can, e-mail it to Mary Graff at graffs@msn.com. Please keep a copy for yourself! For back issues, please go to our website, www.BeaumontRetirement.com 2
Painter Rick Rogers works to refresh details in the arched ceiling of the Music Room Photo by Louise Hughes .
A facelift for Beaumont Music Room By Margie Manlove
with the furniture grouped in the middle of the room and everything covered. Plasterer Wally Walden spent the last two weeks of March up on scaffolding, removing and replacing the water-damaged plaster with smooth new plaster. Between April 11 and 21 the new white plaster was painted so that you can no longer tell where the old work stops and the new begins. This painting was done by Rick Rogers. Rick’s experience is quite different from those who did earlier repairs. Right out of high school he went to work as a painter and he has worked for the last 33 years for the Buttonwood Company of Norristown, where he is one of about 40 painters. Through the years Rick has acquired special skills. He worked on the Green Room restaurant at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington and on the restoration of the doors to Goodhart Hall at Bryn Mawr College. He said the Beaumont job was fussy and required careful matching of colors. He was rather pleased to have an average of five gawkers a day watch him work. Rick and several other Buttonwood Company painters worked at Beaumont last year painting the third-floor halls in Baldwin and Austin. We can expect to see him again when the firstfloor halls are painted. Salve is a useful Latin word. Not only is it a greeting, it also can mean goodbye. Salve!
Salve! Hail! The repairs to the Music Room have been completed. Once again we are enjoying it in all its glory. The decorative painting in the Music Room has an interesting history. A part of the Mansion originally completed in 1914, the ceiling murals, 10 zodiac signs and other decorative designs, including the “Salve” at the four corners, are the work of several painters brought in from New York. The designs were copied from famous works which as far as I know have not been identified in recent times. When the Mansion and 50 acres were purchased for the development of Beaumont, the Mansion had been empty and unheated. Harriton High School boys came in and smoked there. Gladys Monier’s grandson was one of them, and he reported that the mansion was a wreck. Pioneer residents who saw it were of the same opinion. However, the August 1988 Beaumont News reported on the restored and opened Music room. Brian Cesario, a recent graduate of Temple’s Tyler School of Art, had done the work. He spent four months on scaffolding, some of the time lying on his back while painting directly overhead. Those who had seen it before found it hard to believe. Water damage has twice necessitated new repairs. The first time the work under several of the high rounded windows was done by Peggy Tilghman’s daughter, Elizabeth Lindsay, another recent graduate of Tyler. It was her first important commission. A new slate and copper roof is now in place. This year the Music Room has been closed twice
IN MEMORIAM Jeanette W. Fischer..............May 5, 2011 Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to her family and friends. 3
Marketing director takes on “daunting” job and aces it By Audrey Walsh
The Marketing Committee and Articus, Beaumont’s Marketing Consultant, had certainly been busy. The new logo was in place and now it was time to work on a new website and new placement ads. I have been Beaumont’s Marketing Director for almost nine years, but still the task seemed daunting. The purpose of the new website of course is to introduce to the outside world what Beaumont is really about. How was this to be done? The committee decided the best way was to interview residents, hear their stories, find out why they chose Beaumont, and take their pictures enjoying the lifestyle of the community. On February 15 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and then again the next day for another eight hours, the Articus group’s Eric Audrey Walsh van der Vlugt, Deb Pusak and Photo by Ann Louise Strong Jeff Biglan worked with a videographer and his Hard-working Marketing Director Audrey Walsh, almost always seen with a assistant as well as a photographer. Ready or not, pretty smile, was caught here in deep discussion with Marketing Consultant it was Lights, Camera, Action! Eric van der Vlugt at a recent outdoors event. Beaumont President Joseph H. Fortenbaugh III and five Beaumont residents kindly accepted my ■ Evelyn Rosen, PhD, spoke about the importance of request that they agree to be interviewed and phobeing active and fit. tographed. Neither the residents nor Joe had a script. That ■ Joe’s topic was Beaumont: the resident-owned, made them a little nervous. But Eric put them all at resident-governed and internally managed comease, and it seemed as if they all had been in front of munity. cameras many times before. ■ Mr. and Mrs. Robert Herd spoke about the gracious The best part of the two full days of taping and dining experience, with its many choices as to photographing was when the photographer would hours, meals and dress, and how important resi- snap photos of other residents throughout the day dent involvement is in the community. (with their consent, of course). Residents and staff had ■ Mr. Adolf Paier spoke about the strong financial fun posing and chatting with one another. At the Trachtenbergs’ villa their cat, Truly (see the management of Beaumont, which of course is Beaumont News, November ’09, for more about Truly), directed by the residents. ■ Don Trachtenberg, DDS, spoke about the spacious caused a couple of problems. When the videographer and his assistant came in to set up for the interview, we villas and apartments. noticed that the assistant had a look of panic. Turned out he is very allergic to cats! We got him some Accustomed to the Benadryl and had him wait outside. We also had to spotlight, Truly take off Truly’s bell, because it jingled while Eric was had to take a backtrying to conduct the interview. seat during a On the plus side, some deer wandered by the windows recent video shoot of the villa, which backs into the woods, and were at her home, captured on film for the video. which she shares Approximately 1,176 photographs later the website with Dr. Don Trachtenberg. was up and running. You can now see it at BeaumontRetirement.com. Photo by Don In the beginning I said the task seemed daunting. Now Trachtenberg that it is over, I don’t know what I was worried about! 4
From newcomers to neighbors involve the Disaster/Tragedy of the Century. However, Mitsie’s grandfather, a vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, went down with the Titantic. Her grandmother survived aboard a lifeboat, and her uncle (her father’s brother) jumped off the ship and then clung to an overturned lifeboat for hours until rescued. Her father was not on the trip, as he was in summer school at Haverford. Some years later her uncle, John Thayer, wrote a book about the event. It is in our library.
New resident round-up By Jean Kirk After extensive research on four retirement communities, R.T. and Mitsie Toland chose Beaumont. They have many friends here, and say they have never heard a negative comment from anyone. In their early married life they lived in South Hadley, Mass., when R.T. was with National Blank Book Company; and in Guilford, Conn., while he worked in Development for Yale. They came to Philadelphia when he became Vice President for Development for the Academy of Natural Sciences and later for Planned Parenthood. He later served as V.P. of Development for Emergency Care Research Institute in Plymouth Meeting. R.T. graduated from Mitsie Toland Episcopal Academy, Trinity College in Hartford, and Harvard Business School. He spent 46 months as a Naval aviator. Mitsie graduated from The Shipley School and Smith College, majoring in music. After raising a family she became an environmentalist, taking environmental courses at West Chester University. For 30 years she headed up R.T. Toland the Open Land Conservancy. She is known as “The Bug Lady,” because of her interest in praying mantises, which started at Shipley. Mitsie has worked to establish eight nature preserves, most of them in Tredyffrin Township. Over the years she has given scores of talks at garden clubs and schools on conservation, and she has received many awards for her work. As a family, they enjoyed tennis, horseback riding, skiing, sailing and music. The Tolands have five children and nine grandchildren. One would hope one’s claim to fame would not
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Of the many places they have lived, Patsy and Ron Fraser liked the Main Line best, so they have returned to stay. They met in East Hampton, where Patsy was living at the time. When first married they lived in Belgium for two years, and Rome for four years, when Ron was with Procter & Gamble. Returning to the States, Ron joined an ad agency in Philadelphia and they lived in Bryn Mawr for 14 years. They then moved to New York City for seven years, and most recently have been in Palm Beach for 18 years, where Patsy Fraser Ron was Director of Executive Ministry of Christian Outreach of Palm Beach and both he and Patsy led weekly Bible studies. Patsy also volunteers in hospitals visiting patients and she enjoys gardening, reading and painting. Ron graduated from St. Paul’s School, Princeton and Harvard Business School, and served Ron Fraser two years in the Army. He also enjoys bridge and opera. They have four children and 10 granddaughters and a Havanese dog named Max. 5
To market, to market, laughing all the way home By Anna Roberts
Beaumont is full of wonderful surprises, and when you get hungry and the fridge is empty it’s Beaumont to the rescue. Did you know that Ed Preston will drive you to Genuardi’s any Monday morning? And a different grocery store every Tuesday? It was a new adventure for me and delightful. There were only two Beaumont residents in the car—more residents sometimes calls for a small bus—and luxury from beginning to end. My first chauffeured trip was to the Acme in Bryn Mawr, before it closed for renovations. These days the Tuesday trip may be to a different Acme or possibly Whole Foods. Once inside I was tempted and bought the largest edition of everything, laundry soap, milk and instant coffee. After all, Ed was waiting outside and it was time to “stock up.” The bill was huge but nothing frivolous. Photo by Louise Hughes Once outside Ed emptied my Ed Preston helps Anna Roberts bring in groceries after a recent shopping trip to Bryn Mawr. green cart, loaded everything into the back of the car and off we went. my plastic bags were unloaded and piled on the Beaumont had promised Bryn Mawr shopping and I kitchen counter. How could I thank Ed enough? What needed a lipstick. Ed told me where to go. He knows a wonderful service offered us to a local market twice much more about Bryn Mawr than I do. Once home all a week.
New residents’ welcome party A dinner for new residents last month began with cocktails outdoors in the Liseter Garden. In animated conversation at left are Jane Dearnley, member of the welcoming committee, in blue, and new residents (from left) Raymond Freudberg, Jean Homeier and Barbara Clothier. Photo by Louise Hughes
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Annual meeting . . . .
are a pretty good sign that they like us as much as we like having them here. While we’re on the subject I should mention that last month Beaumont was named one of the best places to work in the Delaware Valley. And that was from a survey of workers at many places of employment here in our area. The Health Center and Personal Care went through the tense and tedious process of State Inspection. Health Center passed with no major deficiencies and Personal Care aced it! Really, a remarkable achievement. We hired a new advertising firm, Articus. A new logo, improved website (BeaumontRetirement.com) and different ads in specially targeted periodicals are among the results. Also a great sign at the Bryn Mawr train station that really draws attention. There is a lot going on in other areas as well. The creation of a new, forward-looking Environment Committee with Ann Louise Strong as its first chairman—a solid, obvious choice is the conclusion of all who know Ann Louise. The Beaumont News is now in full color, making it really a knockout publication. Beaumont now has its own Book Group; the Beaumont Chorus is in full voice, and we continue to have wonderful social events—top honors going to the Red Carpet evening in March. There were three wine dinners in 2010 and nine wine and cheese events, all sponsored by the Wine Committee. The Happy Hour every other Wednesday evening is gaining in popularity and a new/old cocktail is introduced each time. We had a bit of tough sledding last fall when our president, Joe Fortenbaugh, underwent heart surgery and was on medical leave for four weeks. We expected that and were prepared for it, but two days after Joe
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scurry around to discover the source. I shouldn’t say that this system doesn’t impact our lives, because all of us residents in apartments can’t stand the ear-splitting shriek of the siren. And it keeps on going and going and going, while we stand by, awaiting the all-clear so we can go back to our apartments. But forget about hoping to moderate the volume; it has to be that loud, and that’s all there is to it, by law. But at least the new system will make our wait a shorter one and the noise not as long-lasting. We all were very aware of the renovations and improvements to the halls on the third floors of Austin and Baldwin and are happy and delighted with the results. Fresh paint, new carpets, lighting and artwork have made these most public of areas both comfortable and handsome. At the same time, the door at the Baldwin bridge was widened—making it more convenient and better looking. At the request of Bruce Mainwaring and the Finance Committee, Joe has set up a plan for the future of Beaumont: actually two plans, a 3-year plan, 20112013, and a 10-year plan that goes through 2020. Bruce and Joe believe, rightly so, that in the years ahead we will always be addressing new physical needs for our plant and we should be thinking in terms of budgets for those things. All of the committee chairmen and the managers are involved in this planning process. Everybody knows how much we value our workers here at Beaumont. In March there was a lovely employee recognition lunch honoring 21 employees, five of whom were celebrating 20 years of service, four celebrating 15 years and 12 who have been with Beaumont for 10 years. All those long-term employees
A dog story . . . .
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on foot. Fun and exercise! The little Dachshund is also part of this group. They are tenacious hunters who follow their quarry, enter its burrow and pull it out and kill it. No similarity to the Pug there! The Herding group is next, the Collies, Corgis, Shepherds and Sheepdogs, adept at herding cattle and sheep. No Pug does that! In the past, Pugs were smooching around the sleeves of Chinese empresses. Aside from all that, I’ll get to the point of my story. When we first got here, off we trotted with the Pugs on their leashes. The first dog walker we encountered sent them into a state of aggressive snarling and attempts to attack. Photo by Louise Hughes Our fellow dog walkers fled. Believe you me, we have made Missy (left) and Alfalfa display their adorable side at home. no friends that way. You might say possibly even a few enemies. Marketing Assistant Louise Hughes, chief Beaumont News When they’re back at the villa, they revert photographer, invited resident dogs to have their pictures taken to being our adorable Pugs, looking at us with with April Miszler, our wonderful Beaumont receptionist and dog devotion and limpid eyes. Guess we’ll have to lover. Did we take them to this event? Are you kidding? make new friends another way. 7
Ageratum
Dusty Miller
Marigold
Plants that taste bad might keep deer from your pad By Mark Hritz, Director of Grounds
to eat. They come in a large variety of colors and sizes and foliage types. Many of the plants are toxic, have rough or bitter foliage, or have a natural odor that repels deer. Realizing that no plant is deer proof, here are some flowers that are usually available and are seldom severely damaged by deer: Ageratum, Dusty Miller, Marigold, Foxglove, Snapdragon, Larkspur, Alyssum and Candytuft. Hollyhock, Begonia, Fall Mums, Shasta Daisy and Phlox are occasionally severely damaged by deer. Avoid using Impatiens, Hosta and Pansies. They are frequently severely damaged by deer. Success of any of the recommended plants in the landscape will depend on weather and local deer population. There are many websites on the Internet that can help guide you with planting your deer-resistant garden. If you have any questions, please contact the Grounds Department.
Given the deer that leaped through breaking glass into Beaumont history (Beaumont News, May 2011), we in the Grounds Department thought some advice about deer-resistant planting might be timely. Gardeners know that there is always a risk to planting flowers. Drought, over-watering, insects and diseases are perpetual threats. Most of these problems can be corrected, but at night while you are asleep the deer are browsing in your garden. There are many products on the market that claim to deter deer from eating your flowers. People have tried everything from hanging bars of soap in the garden to spreading hair from the local barber shop to give off the scent of humans. While some of these things work, the best way to deal with the problem is to not plant flowers that deer like to eat. News readers will be pleased to know that there are many different flowers on the market that deer prefer not
Snapdragon
Annual meeting . . . .
Larkspur
Candytuft
it was inspiring how we just gathered round and pulled together like the family that we are. And here it is, one more year behind us, with Joe and David back in their offices and all that good news from 2010 continuing to bless us.
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left we had the bad news of [Vice President for Finance] David Mustin’s hospitalization. It was hard. Bruce Mainwaring, John Butterworth and I found ourselves, along with Linda Lemisch, suddenly in charge. But thanks to the incredible, capable and willing staff in the Administration Office, everything went along without a hitch. And you residents had a lot to do with that outcome because you were wonderful! You were supportive, helpful and uncomplaining, and for my part, I thought
Also at the meeting: Gerri Paier, a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, and Don Trachtenberg, DDS, a specialist in prosthetic dentistry and a member of the Beaumont Marketing Committee, were elected to the Board. 8