Volume Twenty Eight, Number 9
November 2014
Flash from the Green Committee: LED bulbs are the way to go! LED EXPO 2014: Beaumont electrician Paul Conboy takes the mystery out of energy-saving lighting at Green Committee event for befuddled bulb shoppers last month. Peter Abel (right) commented later that the free LED bulb each of the nearly 150 attendees was given was “great,” but he would wait to buy more until he had used up his “formerly state-of-the-art” fluorescents. Photo by Richard Stephens
By Richard Stephens, Green Committee member The incandescent light bulbs we all grew up with are no longer sold. A Federal requirement to improve the energy efficiency of lighting has led to new types of bulbs made by unfamiliar companies claiming remarkable advantages. Who to believe? What to do? Last month the Green Committee staged LED Expo in an effort to clarify the situation, and to enable residents to upgrade their lighting to the most appropriate types. I’ll summarize the options below. For more
details, see Green Committee literature on file in the library. Lights now come in three basic types: halogen, fluorescent, and Light Emitting Diode (LED). • Halogens are a type of incandescent bulb that achieves the Federally mandated 30 percent decrease in energy usage by burning its filament at a higher temperature. They shed a bluer light than traditional incandescents, and last about one year. • Fluorescents—both straight tubes and those twisty spirals—get their light by passing an electron current LED continued on page 3
In honor of Veterans Day: Little green diary tells tale of WWI By Frederica Templeton
November 11 is Veterans Day, the day honoring all U.S. military veterans. Originally it was Armistice Day, celebrating the formal ending of World War I at the striking of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Austin resident Carol Ryan‘s father fought in World War I, and the article excerpted below—written by her niece— describes some of his experiences, straight from his own thick-nibbed pen. Veterans continued on page 5
New Vice President of Health Services promises an open door By Ann Louise Strong
shoes? She had visited Beaumont several years ago and had Beaumont’s lively and attractive new Vice President of been impressed by the quality of our staff and by the beauty Health Services, Lynn Plasha, brings extensive experience of our environment. She was seeking a “final landing” for her career. She wanted a place where she could make in health care management to us. She has worked at six retirement and nursing facilities in our area, including 10 contributions based not only on her professional experience years at The Quadrangle, since her 1985 graduation from but also on her commitment to our people, both staff and residents, and the “journeys that they have taken” before York College of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of science degree in long-term care administration. She is a Licensed arriving here. Nursing Home Administrator. Most recently she was Vice In her new position, Lynn joins CFO Susan Kendra on the line of the organization chart just below President Joe President of Health Services at Martins Run in Media. Peduzzi. Joe may appoint either one of them to act in his In addition to all of this, she stayed at home for five place during a planned absence. years to spend their early years with In the event of an unplanned absence, if Joe were not her son and daughter. Her husband, able to make that decision, the BRSI (Services) Board Ed, is Chief Financial Officer at would make it for him. Kendal, a Quaker retirement Lynn intends to be open and available as she and community in Chester County. They enjoy beach vacations together. we get acquainted. She is dedicated to advancing Beaumont’s values and mission in the context of What led Lynn to apply to sound management. Beaumont to fill Linda Lemisch’s Lynn Plasha
Dear Editor,
Dear Editor,
—Marian Lockett-Egan, House Committee chairman
—Call me Grumpy (c/o The Beaumont News)
If your readers haven’t already seen the Austin family pictures now on display in the Mansion Dining Hall, they should do so. They will find them in the hall leading to the Bistro. The pictures, formerly displayed on the second floor, have been lovingly restored by Lindsey Felch, Axis Fine Arts. Old backing was carefully removed and the back of each picture sprayed with a de-acidifying material. The backings were then replaced with archival mats, and new typed labels put on each mat identifying those in the picture. The process was finished off with attractive new frames and reflection-control conservation glass. Preserving the old while enhancing the new!
Has “How are you”—with or without a question mark— replaced “Hello” (and equivalents) as a casual greeting? If so, I not only strongly object, but would like to start a movement to stamp it out. “How are you,” with or without the question mark, requires an answer. Yet some people don’t pause even briefly for an answer. They just go right on walking past (or whatever). And at Beaumont, if everyone who uses this form of greeting did wait for an answer, walking the halls would become exhausting. Think about it! Same kind of thing happens at the start of telephone calls, to or from perfect strangers, and mostly they do pause for an answer. Do they care? Of course not! Grrrrrrr! Does anyone out there agree with me?
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
In Memoriam William H. Annesley, Jr. October 24, 2014
Clifford Collings November 2, 2014
Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their family and friends.
Editor Associate Editor and Production Manager Assistant Editor Graphic Designer Photo Editor Events Manager Proofreader Circulation Manager
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Mary Graff John Hall Ginny Rivers TJ Walsh Louise Hughes Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel Barbara O’Brien
Athlete who likes numbers is paying our bills By Jean Homeier
You can’t miss tall, friendly Ryan Foltz, a high school basketball and football player who joined us as staff accountant in April and has the responsibility for “any money going out of here.” He pays our endless bills and says he enjoys looking at what has been done in the past and how the needs have changed over the years. He likes to forecast how things may go in the future as well. Ryan grew up chiefly in Emmaus, with parents who instilled in him their love of the outdoors. They run and hike, thus Ryan grew up doing the same. He completed the Rock and Roll Marathon in Philadelphia and has walked sections of the Appalachian Trail many Ryan Foltz times. Another serious interest is music in general and the guitar in particular. Two years ago Ryan graduated from West Chester University with a degree in accounting (he says he has always “liked numbers”) and worked for an accounting firm with far-flung clients. Although he enjoyed the actual demands of the job, he did not like the endless travel and is happy to be at Beaumont, only 20 miles from his current home in West Chester. We welcome Ryan Foltz to this community and know we will never overdraw our bank account!
Photo by Richard Stephens
CLUB ROOM CHANDELIER undergoes switch from incandescents to LEDs with the help of Beaumont electrician Paul Conboy and Marge Helmetag, who brought the chandelier with her from her previous home. The energy cost is expected to drop from 400 to 70 watts, reducing Beaumont’s electric bill by about $50 a year (assuming it is left on six hours a day). Marge also paid for the new bulbs.
LED continued from page 1 through mercury vapor. Then, using a phosphor coating, they transform the resulting ultraviolet light into visible light. They require about one quarter as much power as traditional incandescents and are fairly long-lived, but are slow to reach full brightness and must be disposed of as hazardous waste. • LED bulbs are structured so that electrons forced through them can lose energy only in one large chunk—violet light— rather than many small chunks—heat. Phosphors overlaying the LED transform its output into white light. They are the most efficient bulbs, requiring only one sixth the energy of traditional incandescents; the most long-lived (lasting for decades), and contain no dangerous chemicals to contaminate our dumps. Their potential to alter the world’s energy budget (from 20 percent to less than 4 percent of total electric use) garnered their inventors a Nobel prize this year. However, the complexity of LED bulb construction kept their price high until the market grew enough to justify mass-production. LED lighting now makes sense for any light that is on more than three hours a day, or in locations that are difficult to access, or under a lampshade sensitive to the heat from an incandescent or the ultraviolet from fluorescents. The Green Committee is organizing a bulk order of LED bulbs to get the best prices. Contact Rich Stephens for order forms and help evaluating your rooms.
Photo by Louise Hughes
DRAWING CLASS: Sally Morris studies still life (not in photo) in new Arts and Crafts Room as instructor Josephine Winsor, sister-in-law of resident Jim Winsor, reveals secrets and offers tips.
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From newcomers to neighbors
Baldwin welcomes ‘Outsider Artist’
products Alida—long an organic gardener—refused to use in her garden. When she reached 60, Alida set about teaching herself to paint. Never having attended formal classes, she calls herself an “Outsider Artist.” A friend told her a good way to learn was to copy some of the greatest painters; as a result, she has cushions looking as if Manet and Toulouse Lautrec had just been there, and a denim jacket with a gorgeous van Gogh on the back. My opinion when I left Alida’a apartment was that she had missed her calling and should have been a forger!
By Jean Homeier
Alida Lovell moved into her Baldwin apartment in early August but immediately left for her family home in Blue Hill, Maine. When I spoke with her in early October, she had been in residence here only a week. Much of Alida’s childhood was spent in Virginia Beach, while her Navy father was stationed in Norfolk. She and her brother attended a school which she describes as having “just been thrown together during the war,” where her brother would climb out a window after morning roll call to spend the rest of the day as a happy truant. Because her parents were fearful that he might be headed for juvenile delinquency, both children were sent to the North Country School in Lake Placid. Alida was then in fifth grade. She has an abiding respect for that small progressive school where the Alida Lovell students assisted with the cleaning, waited on tables and helped to build a ski lift. The school believed that children form their values by age 9, and Alida believes that hers, to this day, stem from what she was taught as a child at North Country. After the war, Alida’s father briefly tried ranching in Arizona and then returned to the textile business in Philadelphia, where Alida, then 13, entered Agnes Irwin. Next came Smith College, marriage, two daughters and a son. The son lives in California and both daughters are in Malvern, the younger a senior vice president at Bryn Mawr Trust. There are five grandchildren as well. That marriage ended and later Alida married Douglas Lovell, who died in 2003. The Lovells lived in Villanova, shared interests in history and archaeology and traveled widely, chiefly to Third World countries. They hiked with their blended family of five young ones from Cusco to Machu Pichu and visited the Middle East a number of times. Last May, Alida spent a week in Iran. In retirement Alida and Doug Lovell started a small business which did inventory control for chemical companies such as Dow and DuPont, makers of the very
New Baldwin couple didn’t move very far By Joan Roberts
It has been said that the apple never falls very far from the tree, and this could well be applied to Page Roberts Gowen, who grew up just around the corner in Villanova. The family home was Greenbank Farm, a house that still exists, west of the corner of Montgomery and Ithan Avenues. George also has local roots, though he was city-raised, at 23rd and Pine Streets, Philadelphia. Before coming to Beaumont in July the couple lived farther afield, occupying River Bend Farm, the northernmost farm in Chester County, for more than 42 years. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, George went on to medical school at Thomas Jefferson University. He served his residency at Pennsylvania Hospital and continued his association there Page and George Gowen in general surgery until his retirement. It was a long commute from River Bend Farm, but George said he had no regrets. He has always had a keen interest in medical research, and remarked on the amazing progress in medical knowledge in recent decades, in comparison to prior centuries. Page had 25 years’ experience managing the offices of several Bryn Mawr doctors, including George’s when he went into independent practice in 1976. She has served for 25 years as trustee or director of the Children’s Seashore House, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, The Hill
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New Residents continued on page 5
Happy (?) camper weighs pros, cons, of summer vacation
Of course, I couldn’t let some benighted daughter do all the cooking and cleaning, so found myself heavily involved in both these activities. Not like life at Beaumont! To my horror, I had to change my bed every week. My nice cleaning lady, Sharon, does that for me at home. I covet that luxury! Then we get to the matter of the wet towels. They are left in sodden heaps all over the camp and seem to multiply on their own. Somehow or other, nobody seems to be able to use the same towel twice. I do go on! I love being with my assorted children and grandchildren, many of whom live in far parts of the country. The camp provides a wonderful opportunity for all of us to be together. But!! I do have to admit it was heaven to return to Beaumont. Villa cleaned, meals I don’t have to cook, and all the many other amenities available to me. . . But!!! In spite of everything, next summer is beckoning me and I can’t wait to get back!
By Sis Ziesing Summer vacations ain’t quite what they used to be! The happy times of years ago at the lake in New Hampshire seem to have changed considerably. No more waterskiing, golf, tennis or climbing mountains for this ancient body. Can’t even sit in the sun as it’s supposedly bad for you. A dip in the lake and a slow walk have to suffice for my athletic needs. Then, worst of all, many of my summer friends don’t exist anymore. However, each summer up I go to be with beloved members of my family. This year a dear daughter and son-in-law drove me. The Pugs, of course, came also, drooling and shedding on me for more than eight hours. Next day, teenage grandson and two friends came and assorted houseguests were expected. This required a trip to market which in New Hampshire is half an hour away. The bill there was so large, my credit card was rejected! Fortunately, another one was accepted. Diners at the camp could range from 16, mostly 10, and never fewer than four. Me and the employees at the market got to be best friends on our daily encounters.
New Residents continued from page 4
at Whitemarsh and the Schuylkill River Greenway Association; also as president of The Philadelphia Society Ten years after my grandfather’s death, my aunt for Promoting Agriculture (1785), an organization with showed me a diary that had been found among his poswhich George Washington had a close association. She has sessions. My astonishment was exceeded only by my joy. also been involved with activities in her community, I begged to see it, promised to protect it with my life, including committees in East Coventry Township. and brought it away with me. Here, I thought, was my Currently, Page sits on the Community Advisory Panel of chance to know him in a completely unexpected way. the Limerick Generating Station. The small green leather-bound book had been bought in Page’s education included the Baldwin School in Bryn London in November 1917. Lt. Cornelius T. McCarthy Mawr, the Gill School in Bernardsville, N.J., and Bennett was one of 1,500 American reserve medical officers who College in Millbrook, N.Y. She and George met 43 years volunteered in August 1917 to assist the Royal Army ago through Wistie and Binnie Miller, who would later be Medical Corps in France. He was 30 years old and unresidents of Beaumont. married. The Gowens have three children and 11 grandchildren. A diary is an intimate document. The private Page loves travel, gardening and fly fishing, which she thoughts set down by the author on a daily basis are rarepursued for 20 years with her sister and brother-in-law in ly intended for a wide audience. To feel the thin yellowArgentina and Chile. Her major interest is horticulture; ing paper; to trace with one’s eyes the peculiar flow of the she maintained a large and wonderful garden in Chester script; to hear with one’s mind the sound of the author’s County. When asked about his interest and participation voice is a powerful physical and emotional experience. in these horticultural endeavors, George wryly commented, How much more so in this instance to see and hear the “Page had a spade and fork just my size,” which seems to words of a man who was silenced by a stroke long before suggest some essential muscle power. I was old enough to ask the hard questions. I remember The Gowens’ apartment in Baldwin is at ground level. trying to understand him, but rarely could I make a We’ll all be waiting for a splendid garden. Veterans continued on page 6
Veterans continued from page 1
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Veterans continued from page 5
many days in the trenches. From the entries during these months it is clear that he spent most of his time in the company of a Miss Alice Whitney of Boston. When the shorthand was translated, a romance took shape. Luncheons at the Savoy, nights at the theater, weekends at a country house in Kent—an enviable way to recover one’s health. Alice was with him in December at Buckingham Palace, where he was personally decorated by King George V. He was the very first American to receive the British Military Cross. The last words of his diary are, “Sailed on Aquitania for Home Sweet Home. Very sad to leave Alice. My love.” It was not the miracle I had prayed for, but this diary let me know my grandfather in a way he could never have anticipated. We even shared a secret—for Alice did not become my grandmother.
pattern of the gasping sounds he managed with so much effort. I used to dream of miracles. The first entry is dated 21 November 1917; the last, 20 February 1919, the day he sailed for home. With a thick-nibbed pen and blue-black ink, my grandfather left a record of 15 months of his life, 15 months of trench warfare that he had never spoken of to his family. No one had known of the diary while he was alive, and apparently he had never felt inclined to tell any of his six daughters what it was like “over there.” There were long passages in shorthand. I had only to translate them! But for the longest time, I couldn’t find anyone who could decipher it. I felt certain there were secrets to be found. I had reached a dead end, or so I thought, until one day an English friend, who had learned shorthand in London, came to my rescue. My grandfather had used the Pitman method of notation, not the Gregg, which is the one used in this country. The translator of the Rosetta Stone could not have been more elated as those idiosyncratic dots and dashes were transformed by my friend into recognizable shapes. What emerged was a captivating profile of a man high-spirited, humorous and confident. And—much to the surprise of the family—quite a ladies’ man! He wrote each entry as if it were a telegram; short, staccato bursts of words that even in their simplicity manage to convey the texture of his thoughts through the years. “Thanksgiving Day 1917. Beautiful day at Heudicourt. Do not expect turkey. Thankful that I am living. Awakened at 4 a.m. by terrific barrage. There is bloody murder going on in the Bourlon Wood.” In March 1918 he went to Paris for the first time. He dined at Maxim’s, “…where the pretty girls are seen. All golddiggers. You put your six-shooter on the table beside you as you order. 60F per. More if we didn’t use persuasion.” During the day he took in the sights with a Mlle. Elise. In May of that year he was badly gassed during the last of the big German offensives on the Western Front. “Overtook D Co. Were caught in a barrage. Many men knocked out. Stopped by side road—crawled into field to bind them up. Left alone. Felt my time had come.” He had taken off his gas mask to help the wounded. He was blind for a week. This was his ticket back to Blighty but, incredibly enough, he wrote: “Wished I was up front line.” The summer of 1918 must have been idyllic after so
Doc turns squirrel-watcher, offers advice By Dean (Doc) Snyder
Because of the steep incline opposite the Austin East apartments, bird feeders are impractical. The reason? Squirrels! Feeders constructed on supports within one’s reach are still easy targets for Mr. Squirrel, who simply trots uphill from the feeder, takes aim, and leaps onto his target with ease. I miss the birds, but in my spare moments I squirrel-watch. To many the squirrel is a rodent with a bushy tail. To me it is delicious eating. To the ecosystem the squirrel can be of great assistance by helping replenish the hardwood trees (oak, hickory and walnut) by storing surplus nuts and seeds in the soil, thus contributing to reforestation. My enjoyment, however, occurs before and after harvest, a time when the hunting and gathering possibilities should be next to none. It is at these times when Mr. Squirrel is at his best. I have observed him immediately after a snowfall come bouncing along, stop suddenly and begin digging through the snow, coming up munching some morsel of food. How does he know? Squirrel continued on page 7 The BN is published monthly 10 times a year, October through July. Contributions are welcome, provided they are the contributor’s own work. The deadline for each issue is the 10th of the preceding month. E-mail to Mary Graff at graffs18@gmail.com and mgraff@BeaumontRetirement.com, or hand in at the Front Desk.
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2014 staff scholarship winners and their sponsors
By Mary Wells, Director of Human Resources
Erikka Cahill......................................................................................................................Mr. Stuart Saunders, Jr. Adrian Carranza......................................................................................................................Dr. Carlos Gonzalez Deron Dixon................................................................................................................ Mrs. Elizabeth Dornberger Megan Henry.......................................................................................................................... Mrs. Frances Biddle Carol Korabik........................................................................................................................ Mrs. Mary Schnabel Caroline Lowndes.................................................................................................................... Dr. Eugenio Calabi Justin McLaughlin.........................................................................................................Mrs. Marian Lockett-Egan Octavia Millwood.................................................................................................................. Mrs. Barbara Pottish Samantha Figueroa................................................................................................................. Mrs. Mary Schnabel Ebony Mosley.......................................................................................................................Ms. Patricia Dushane Jessica Opare........................................................................................................Mr. and Mrs. Howard Glassman Jeremy Richardson...............................................................................................................Dr. Don Trachtenberg Briana Sterling........................................................................................................................... Mrs. Mary Ameen Krystian Superville.............................................................................................................Mr. Stuart Saunders, Jr. Squirrel continued from page 6
the next until the whole branch is stripped of its reproductive organs. The moral to this: Do not waste your time trying to outsmart the squirrel. Eat him.
I watch as squirrels emerge from the woods nearby, tree-hopping, then darting over the ground from one spruce tree to the next until they reach the tall pine overhanging the roof of the Mansion and around to the Austin building, where they scale the stucco to access a bird feeder full of goodies. Springtime finds Ole Bushy Tail high in the poplar trees munching on emerging buds. Hunger can bring out the worst in him. Too often I have set out oak seedlings still attached to the acorn only to find my new seedlings severed from their nursery and the acorn devoured. Comes tomato season his hunger is satiated with destruction of the nicest one in the patch. In late summer the *^&%@$ squirrel again attacks the poplars, viciously, as soon as the seeds begin to form. Those poplar seed cones serve to sustain Squirrel all through the ripening phase into maturity until they are all gone. The maples serve him in the same manner, but the maples present more of a challenge as their seeds are formed on a stem at the very terminus of the limb. This does not deter you-know-who, however, as he crawls perilously to the very end of a limb and while upside down snatches a seed pod and somehow extricates the seed from the pod in a manner similar to the way a baseball player does it with sunflower seeds. Yes, he actually spits out the seed pod and hurriedly goes on to
Photo by Richard Stephens
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Funny Fashion Show By Jane Garrison Beaumont residents and staff strutted their stuff and spectators had a joyous time at the “Funny Fashion Show” in the Beaumont Room. A plastic turtle hanging from my neck (not pictured) indicated a turtleneck shirt; a long gown covered with cutouts of baseballs and footballs was, of course, a ball gown (Martha Lewis, top). Plastic wiffle ball earrings completed that costume. Jenny Hadfield, Recreational Therapy Director, created the show, providing clothes, accessories and comments. For example: “The lovely Jennie Frankel (second from top) starts us off this afternoon wearing the ever trendy Mini Skirt and crop top. Ladies, don’t be mousy, show off your style with this fun-loving outfit! This combination is great for night of crackers and cheese with that favorite someone or just “veggin’ out” on your own!” “Next, we move to a classic fashion style brought to us by the ever stylish Mary Wells (third from top). You can really soak it all in with our carefree cotton dress. In 100% pure cotton, this dreamy dress is comfortable and practical. It’s soft as a bunny’s backside.” “Looking for something more formal? Beginning our formal and evening wear is Milissa Cwenar (fourth from top) wearing a very provocative dress worn only by the most daring women. This spaghetti strap dress is always an evening hit! Complete with a plunging neckline and a bear back. You’ll have to be “beary” brave to wear this little number.” “For the man looking for a more business-like look, Norman Greene models the perfect outfit for the occasion. The ever functional Box Suit. Note the geometrics of this outfit, from the square neckline to the straight-line design. This is a fashion that accommodates all shapes. The addition of the piped trim and pin stripes makes this a great outfit to smoke through those interviews or business meetings!” Others taking part in the show included residents Peter Abel, Mary Disston, Cynthia Drayton, Joan Greene and Barabara Stephens, with staff members Mike Bailey, Lynn Plasha, Jone Posey and Rich Smythe. Jenny said she hopes to stage more shows of this sort in the future.
Photo at top by Louise Hughes; all others by Richard Stephens
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