BNEWS - June 2013 - FINAL

Staff apologizes (not) for surprising Joe on his birthday

By Mary Wells, Director of Human Resources

Volume Twenty Seven, Number 6

Photo by Louise Hughes

Bliss for an Eagles fan: Above, Joe exults in new Eagles jersey as he prepares to put it on. Meanwhile Cheerleaders Alicia Marie (left) and Chastity cheer, mascot SWOOP takes a stand behind Barry Hill’s brownie cake, and Carol Fortenbaugh holds other gifts plus the Florida Gators jersey that Joe, unsuspecting, arrived in. Below, it’s hard to tell whether Joe or Swoop is getting a bigger kick out of this.

making a big fuss about a BIG birthday. We have had people actually schedule their vacations during their birthday week in hopes of their birthday passing unnoticed. Unfortunately for them, on their day of return, there is usually Joe with a couple staff members in tow ready to sing Happy Birthday.

Since Joe does not like surprises, the staff decided to surprise him for his birthday. We came to the conclusion that he couldn’t possibly fire all of us! It was time for payback. The staff planned a tailgate party to celebrate (embarrass) Joe on his 62d birthday, April 18, his last birthday here before he retires and moves to Florida in August. Chef John and the team planned a special tailgate menu with a great Eagles ice sculpture.

Surprise guests included Eagles cheerleaders, mascot SWOOP and Joe’s wife, Carol. Joe was instructed to remove the Florida Gators jersey he was wearing and was given a brand new custom Eagles jersey with his name and number (62) on the back.

Barry Hill created a masterpiece cake made from Joe’s favorite treat, brownies. When I booked the cheerleaders I had the choice of their wearing their conservative uniforms or the bikini uniforms. I played it safe with the conservative uniforms, sorry Joe.

It’s no surprise that Joe Fortenbaugh likes birthdays!

He personally gives a birthday card to every resident and employee. We are not sure if it is that he likes birthdays or that he really loves cake.

Actually Joe (who incidentally does not like surprises) loves to surprise staff and residents on their birthdays. It could be with a song, a funny picture or a special cake.

Now you can imagine that when some staff members turn 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70, they are not quite as excited about the big birthday as Joe gets. He enjoys

Photo by Louise Hughes

8

June 2013

Good financial reports, construction update highlight annual meeting

Four new directors named, staff honored

By Mary Graff

“Beaumont has been and continues to be in very sound financial condition,” Finance Committee Chairman Dolf Paier declared at our 26th annual meeting May 10. Though he offered solid figures (available in the business office) to support that statement, his hearers— long used to good financial news from that source—did not appear to find the numbers riveting.

Much more interest was evinced in details of the plans of the Special Projects Committee, entrusted with this year’s major capital improvements, which Dolf also heads. Principally: • With the Beaumont Retirement Services Inc. (BRSI) board as borrower and the Beaumont Retirement Community Inc. (BRCI) board as guarantor, the committee has negotiated a loan from the Bryn Mawr Trust Company in the amount of $4.7 million (maximum) at a rate of 3.99 percent. Term, 10 years; closing date, Sept. 1; collateral, marketable securities equal to the face amount of the outstanding loan, and arrangements for prepayment without penalty.

Construction to start in September with a goal of finishing in six months; all funding to be provided by resale fees from the sale of apartments and villas. “None of your monthly resident fees will be used to finance this project,” Dolf reiterated, as he has on previous occasions.

• The library and the arts-and-crafts room will be reversed, at the request of the Library Committee, in order to put the library in a space with windows.

• Because of limitations on the size of the Grill Room kitchen, plans for a terrace dining area (with additional continued on page 2

Photo by Louise Hughes

Yay Team: Off to the seventh “Friendship Games” for retirement communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania May 10 was this year’s Beaumont team in hastily donned, just-arrived team shirts provided

by Fitness Director Bob Stedeford (crouching). Standing, front row, from left: Anne Gruenberg, Sally Morris, Joan Stuart, Evelyn Rosen, Carole Morgan and Cynthia Drayton. Behind them, from left: Mary Graff, Dean Snyder, Roland Morris, Alan Tripp, Bob Morgan, Nancy Harris, Ed Rosen and—folding billiards cue aloft, masquerading as Fu Manchu—Jim Luther.

The games, held this year at Waverly Heights, consisted of billiards, an egg-on-spoon race, putting, Wimbledon croquet, horseshoes, Ping-Pong, swimming, a “team trek” for walkers, Wii bowling, and “brain games” testing knowledge of American history and U.S. geography, ability to solve riddles, and short-term memory. The first games were at Quadrangle in 2003, and are now held every two years at a different Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).

Returning Medalists: Sally Morris (left) and Joan Stuart came home wearing silver medals won as a team at croquet; Ed Rosen got the bronze in men’s swimming.

Photo by Bob Stedeford

Dear Editor,

With regard to my story on feminism in the May issue, in which I said I had taught at The Brearley School in New York, I would like to correct an omission. With apologies to my former colleagues at Shipley, I’d like the record to show that I taught there first when my child-rearing responsibilities allowed me the time to do so.

— Barbara O’Brien

Editor’s note

In last month’s issue, Mary Schnabel’s poem of thanks to everyone who helped with Anniversary Week in April contained, without explanation, the line, “We even made use of tomato cans.” The picture of Photo by Louise Hughes Alan and Maggie Tripp at their table during “Riding the Rails” dinner, featuring a soup can used as a vase, was supposed to explain this.

The cutline under the picture even claimed, smugly, to have done that. Unfortunately the way the picture was cropped, no soup can. Sorry!

Coming in July: Profiles of Beaumont’s New Residents

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

Editor Assistant Editor and Production Manager Graphic Designer Photo Editor Events Manager Proofreader Circulation Manager

At Beaumont, squash is not just another vegetable

Annual meeting continued from page 1

Mary Graff John Hall TJ Walsh Louise Hughes Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel Barbara O’Brien

2

tables) have been abandoned. Plans for other projects and upgrades, including a “bistro” and game room, remain largely in place, though with some revisions.

New members of the BRCI Board are Isaac H. Clothier IV (Quartie), Birchard T. Clothier (a second cousin), Debora Collier Zug and Michael Churchman.

Quartie Clothier, a graduate of St. Paul’s School and Princeton University, with a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, retired as a partner at Dechert LLP. He has served on a number of boards including Strawbridge & Clothier, Bryn Mawr Hospital and the Shipley School.

Birchard Clothier, a graduate of Episcopal Academy, Princeton and Penn Law School, was treasurer of Lower Merion Township from 1990 to 2000. He was vice president and secretary of AAA Mid-Atlantic from 1967 to 2004 and has been Relationship Manager at Logan Capital Management in Ardmore since 2005. He currently serves on the boards of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Harriton Association, the Hayes Manor Retirement Home, the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education, the Philadelphia Seniors Golf Association, and the Green Tree Perpetual Assurance Company.

Debora Zug, a Wheaton College graduate, currently serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and is a volunteer inner-city elementary school librarian and tutor. She has served as a docent at museums in various cities.

Michael Churchman, a graduate of Wesleyan University, has a master of arts degree from the University of Missouri and a master of education degree from Harvard.

In addition to teaching history, he has been a school head (the Kent School for Girls in Denver, Colorado; St. Catherine’s in Richmond, Virginia, and the Barstow school in Kansas City, Missouri) and, most recently, museum administrator (the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, where he led fund-raising efforts as Head of External Affairs).

These four replaced retiring BRCI board members Jeanne Cortner, Jane Lillie, Richard Maass and Dr. Jay MacMoran. Members who have not yet completed their various terms on the board are Gerri Paier, Dr. Don Trachtenberg and Bob Herd. The new board met after the annual meeting and re-elected Dr. Trachtenberg to a continued on page 7

By Peter Binzen

Art Wheeler, Beaumont’s founder, was a member of the Gulph Mills Golf Club. He persuaded other Gulph Mills golfers to invest in Beaumont.

It’s probably safe to say that golfers predominate here 25 years later. Tennis players may come in second.

Some of us ancients also toss horseshoes and play Ping-Pong, bocce and croquet: But there wouldn’t be any squash players here, would there?

Carter Fergusson

Yes, there would be. John Hentz won the U.S. National Doubles Championships four times. Carter Fergusson played in 62 consecutive National Singles Championships, and that is a record for any sport. Carter played in the finals of the Intercollegiates in 1947 and the National Singles in 1952, and was a top-5-ranked player in John Hentz the United States for 10 years.

And then there is Jim Zug. At the Merion Cricket Club in February, he won the National Singles Championship for squash players 70 and older. It was his 19th national championship. In April, he and the Zugs’ son, Jim Jr. (Jimmy), won the National Father/Son Century Doubles Championship in New York, making a total for Jim of 20 national squash championships—so far!

(Jim explained that there are father/son tourneys for all ages, and he and Jim Jr. won the one in which the ages of the two players have to add up to at least 100. The national tournaments are sponsored by the U.S. Squash Association.)

The dictionary made squash sound simple: “A racquet game played in a closed wall court with a rubber ball.”

Take it from me, squash ain’t simple. It’s hard work.

I tried it once, was wiped out in no time and retreated to the more leisurely game of tennis. (Jim’s wife, Debbie, plays no squash but “a lot of tennis.”)

Photo by Milissa Cwenar

Jim Zug, asked to pose for a picture to go with this article, brought a framed poster with him. In his words: “The photo was taken by Sports Illustrated in March 1959 of five members of Merion Cricket Club who together won all the squash national championships that year. I am in the middle, age 18, and won the National Juniors. Next to me on the left is John Hentz, a resident here who won the National Doubles with Diehl Mateer, on my right, who also won the U.S. Open. Far right is Steve Vehslage, who won the Intercollegiates, and on the far left is Ben Heckscher, who won the National Singles. The iconic photo was used on this poster for the William White tournament at Merion Cricket Club in January 2012 upon the 50th anniversary of that tournament.”

Jim, now 72, started playing squash at the age of 14.

He kept playing while attending the Episcopal Academy, Princeton University and the Harvard Business School. He began playing tournament squash at 18 when the national championship for those under 19 was held in Philadelphia.

He wasn’t seeded in 1959 and “came out of nowhere” to win. He has been winning ever since.

Jim followed his father into public accounting, and since retiring has continued as a director of four corporations as well as playing squash three or four times a week. Introduced by his father to squash, he in turn introduced his son to the game. Their win in April was not the first—they won the National Father/Son Doubles championship in 2009.

Jim Jr., 44, is a writer by profession, on a variety of subjects including squash.

A defeated opponent from the Cynwyd Club in a Philadelphia League match last fall shook his head afterward in dismay. “I can’t believe,” he said, “that I just lost to a guy who lives in Beaumont.”

3

Beaumont staff looks back on jobs well done

Resident Services’ Louise Hughes (left) and Kim Norrett lift their glasses in celebration at the gala that concluded Anniversary Week events in April.

By Mary Wells, Director of Human Resources

The 25th Silver Anniversary Committee planned a weeklong celebration. Of course, planning fun is —well, fun. But how did the staff manage to get it together?

Behind the scenes there were plans. First, there was a pep talk from Joe for us to get excited about this week because it was going to be great and we were going to work!

Marketing was working hard on putting together a red carpet event and planning a surprise video.

Accounting and Administration were making sure we had money to spend but weren’t spending too much.

Grounds was not happy with Mother Nature when she dropped some snow on us the week before, but the

men did get the circle ready for the big flag-raising event regardless.

Maintenance made sure the flag would go up the flagpole. Recreation had its own banner raising, with a cocktail party, and also organized Health Services to get everyone to the parade on time. Personal Care was making sure its residents were dressed and ready to participate. Outpatient made sure residents were healthy enough to attend and encouraged those Photo by Mary Wells maybe not quite up to attending to give it a go, reassuring them that the staff would be there for them if needed.

Resident Services was taking pictures, decorating bulletin boards, updating calendars and the in-house channel, answering questions at the desk, printing programs, printing invitations, and printing notices.

Did I mention printing?

Note to Green Committee: I was assured we used 100 percent recycled paper! Housekeeping made sure everything was polished and cleaned up after each event.

Security got people back and forth from their homes to the Mansion. IT bought a video camera and a new projector to film the events. Dietary made sure the meals were just as great in the Health Center as they were on the independent side. continued on page 5

At the Timely Topics session “Memories of Early Beaumont” during our Silver Anniversary week in April, resident Quartie Clothier rose to speak about a subject he said was close to his heart. An outstanding feature of Beaumont since earliest days, he said, has been the relationship between residents and staff: “Each group takes care of the other.” He was loudly applauded and cheered by residents and staff. —Mary Graff

4

Photo by Louise Hughes

Lawrence Reid, one of the out-front cooks at Sunday buffet that was part of Anniversary Week, prepares omelets to order as residents Eli Burstein (in front) and Charlie Wood decide what they want in theirs.

Photo by Louise Hughes

Rose-Marie Pringle, Director of Dining Services, pours a Silver Streak cocktail, introduced in connection with “Riding the Rails” informal dinner saluting William Liseter Austin, who was president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works as well as builder of the mansion home that is now at the heart of Beaumont.

Staff continued from page 4 Speaking of meals, how much did we eat that week?

The Kitchen and Dining staffs performed nonstop all week. Not only was the food delicious and the presentation flawless, there was as much thought put into encouraging everyone to stay and socialize as into food selection for the events. Thank goodness the Fitness Center had a parade to make us exercise that week!

Treasure hunters needed for Beaumont’s buried past

By Joe Fortenbaugh

In 1998 Beaumont buried some of its past in a time capsule. This forgotten issue came to mind during a recent discussion of Beaumont’s history and unfortunately a reminder of the capsule is nowhere to be found. Did we include it in the time capsule itself?

Here is what I can remember about the time capsule. During the planning for the 10th anniversary gala (hard to believe that it was 15 years ago!) a group of residents and staff were discussing what we could do for posterity. The idea of a time capsule was agreed upon and items such as early Beaumont photographs, a resident telephone list, a menu, and some other long forgotten items were buried in a secret location. The lost reminder envelope stated on the front, “Time Capsule Record—Open in 2088, the 100th anniversary of our opening.”

Beaumont has had some notable changes over the last 25 years and one can only begin to imagine what changes will occur over the next 75 years. It should be a real eye-opener for Beaumont residents in 2088 to read about what their ancestors did in the good old days.

Two new reminder envelopes with the location of the time capsule have been placed in the office safe and the president’s office. The location will be kept secret, or so we hope, until 2088.

5

Energy Honor Roll from the Green Committee

Fallen Giant makes a handy seat: One of Beaumont’s prize ash trees came crashing down during a fierce wind storm recently. More than 100 years old and about 120 feet tall, it was handsome and majestic.

By Ann Reed

Most of us know of the significant savings made at Foulkeways by a vigorous effort to reduce energy use.

These efforts included large costly projects, as in beefing up insulation, but they also included many smaller endeavors.

Not only does energy conservation save money, it helps us move, incrementally, toward reducing our carbon footprint and toward acknowledging the role each of us plays in increasing the planet’s alarming build-up of carbon.

The Green Committee at Beaumont asks each resident to become part of a communal effort to reduce energy consumption here. A change to CFL or LED lightbulbs may seem insignificant to one householder; the cumulative effect, however, when many households change, can be significant indeed.

Some steps individuals can take to make a considerable savings: Replace an old appliance with a new energyefficient model , adjust thermostats at night, use hot water thoughtfully, and turn off lights when they’re not needed.

Please help the committee encourage energy savings by sharing the methods you have adopted. Contact Ann Reed at annreed@snet.net or 3076# and join the Energy Honor Roll!

Once on the ground, though, what was there to do but cut it up for firewood?

Jake Bean of Grounds had a different idea. Cut the lower section, 2 ½ feet in diameter, into several 5-foot lengths and fashion each one into a bench with seat and backrest. One bench has an arm rest at each end. The deeply ridged corky bark is eye-catching. Discussions about what to do with Jake’s idea are in progress.

In the picture are Jake, Sally Morris (at left) and Joan Thayer on a recent chilly spring day in the woods.

— Ann Louise Strong

Happy 100th Birthday

Photo by Greg Martin, Maintenance

Thumbs up for “Health Services Week”: Grounds Department’s Patrick Nardizzi, receiving a massage from visiting therapist Sharon Anderson, was one of many staff members who enjoyed treats of various sorts between May 12 and 18.

These included sundaes, soft pretzels, trail mix, pizza, fruit and cookies, a dine-in meal (no to-go’s), and massages from Sharon. The celebration somehow evolved from National Nurses Week (May 6 to 12) into Beaumont’s own version, in which everyone involved with providing health services to residents was entitled to take part. (“Why Pat ?” Human Resources Director Mary Wells was asked. “Because the Health Center has gardens, of course,” she explained.)

Energy Honors for April and May

Quartie and Barbara Clothier have replaced many incandescent bulbs with CFLs. Anna Roberts bought an “Energy Star” washing machine in March, shortly before she died.

Carole and Bob Morgan turn down their thermostat each night to 60.

Congratulations are due to Ruth Tanseer, who joined the elite group of centenarians at Beaumont in April. She is modest about this achievement and can’t think of any special reason for her longevity. Unlike most centenarians, she was a smoker. Perhaps her daily walks, in foul weather as well as fair, can explain why she has lived to such an advanced age and in such good health.

— Margie Manlove Photo by Ann Louise Strong

Ann and Preston Reed replaced their old dishwasher and refrigerator with “Energy Star” appliances.

In Memoriam

Nan and Charles Wood have at least seven CFL bulbs in use and recently installed an LED bulb which is said to last 22.8 years.

Ann Louise Strong replaced incandescent recessed ceiling lights with CFL bulbs.

Such installations provide an opportunity to increase insulation.

Under Warren Gillings’ direction, the wattage in the ever-burning lights in the basement garages has been reduced, Sally and Bob Herd set their programmable thermostat to automatically lower nighttime temperatures to 64 from a daytime 69. For vacations their thermostat is manually set on Hold for 64 degrees.

6

Mrs. Viola Bement April 27, 2013

Mrs. Gloria Swift May 14, 2013

Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their family and friends.

Annual meeting continued from page 2 second one-year term as chairman but postponed election of other officers.

Winners of the 2013 Beaumont Education awards, announced by Dr. Trachtenberg, are Certified Nurse’s Assistants Jennifer Hyman and Donna Pink, the Biddle Award for Nursing Study; Maintenance Secretary Kathy Hesington, the Page Award for Maintenance Study; and Nursing Director Paul McCleary, the Ballam Award for Management.

7