VOLUME TWENTY FIVE, NUMBER THREE
MARCH 2011
Acanthus in new logo symbolizes enduring life By Mary Graff Back in the early 1980s, when Artie Wheeler and his friends were putting together plans for what would become Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, a massive red oak spread its branches near the bridge by the Pond. The oak and the bridge became the inspiration for Beaumont’s first logo, so familiar to all of us that we seldom really see it any more. It’s an integral part of our stationery, publications, signage, staff uniforms, a plaque here and there, and—until this month’s issue—the banner on top of the front page of the Beaumont News. Look up there now. What you see is the new logo. And thereon hangs this tale: The logo picturing the tree and the bridge was adopted right at Beaumont’s earliest beginning, whenever exactly that was. A search of the archives being gradually preserved in the Beaumont News office found the logo at the top of the first letters Artie Wheeler wrote to supporters and potential residents in 1984 (and perhaps even earlier). Cally Wheeler, Artie’s widow, says she does not remember how the choice of the tree and bridge came about, or what alternatives might have been considered. Nor does Hoff Dolan, an original backer and board member, or Photo by Louise Hughes any other resident the News has consulted. Kathy Hesington, Maintenance secretary, who has been here 23 years, remembers that Artie Wheeler Acanthus leaves veil the view of Liseter continued on page 8 Garden through door by the bar.
Team will help Beaumont grow even greener By Nancy Harris
Beaumont started life with many environmental advantages. Among them were its prior history as a large, handsome Main Line estate with gardens, trees, a natural pond, and a hilltop stone mansion. Founders of the Beaumont Retirement Community, led by Artie Wheeler, respected these natural assets and set out to enhance them. The geothermal heating and cooling system was a remarkable achievement for its time. Efforts to preserve and enhance Beaumont’s environment have evolved over the years, a giant step having been the formation of the Green Committee in 2007. Another big step has now been taken with formation of a new Environment Committee combining
the Green Committee with the original Grounds Committee. The new committee, with expanded goals, is expected to receive official approval in May, and has already begun work. The Grounds Committee has historically been charged with oversight of the public gardens and campus and approval of plans for residents’ private gardens. The Green Committee has initiated a variety of programs, from finding and contracting with an environmentally committed waste hauler to planning conversion of the dry drainage basin to a welcoming, more accessible, and attractive destination. continued on page 6
Superbowl stirs memories of early Packers years By Jane Lillie
It was late Sunday afternoon, Feb. 6, 2011, when I readied myself for the big game in the Beaumont Room to watch the Super Bowl on the new flat-screen television. The Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Green Bay Packers—Super Bowl XLV! Chef Mark rewarded us with an abundant buffet of hot dogs, Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, chicken wings, turkey sandwiches, a chocolate cake in the shape of a football, and an assortment of refreshing drinks—beer, wine, soft drinks— to satisfy our thirst while the faithful fans rode an emotional rollercoaster: Super Bowl XLV! Does it remind me of my many childhood visits to Green Bay—“Packerland”? The family car rides on Sunday mornings (we skipped Sunday school!) from our home in Milwaukee was a good two-hour adventure. Father was at the wheel of the Packard with Mother at his side, while my older brother and I were happily settled in the back seat. In the frigid weather the floor grill heater emitted only a suggestion of heat. Never mind, we were prepared with a large, heavy woolen blanket tucked over our legs and laps.
I must admit I had on long underwear, woolen leggings, galoshes, and a fur-collared coat with matching hat. My brother also endured scratchy long underwear, with corduroy pants tucked into his leather high-tops, the usual heavy, stiff, wool plaid coat and a knitted green and gold Olympic “Ace” cap, attesting to his loyalty. We were on our way to the Packers’ game to claim our seats in the wooden stands along an open windy field. Cocoa in a Thermos was our favorite drink. In addition we had Mother’s cheese sandwiches, and Father treated us to hot dogs. We cheered the players wildly, and screamed with abandon as the Packers triumphed. When my early high school days arrived, a new stadium had been built. After the game we went to an open house hosted by old family friends who had four beautiful daughters, which prompted the handsome, broad-shouldered Packers football players who had been invited to arrive on time and stay late. I don’t remember the Packers ever losing a game! Or did they?
Letter to the Editor:
piece of paper urged me to “send an instant thank-you” by going to www.swisscolonythankyou.com. “With just a few clicks,” the directions continued, “your gift giver will know right away that you’ve received your gift.” You can be sure I won’t follow those instructions. WOW! —Betty Miller
Dear Editor: What has happened to the thank-you note? While waiting endlessly after Christmas to hear from a couple of nephews, I received a belated package from a company in Wisconsin. A note on the back of an enclosed
The deadline for the April, 2011 issue of the Beaumont News will be March 10. 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
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.
Managing Editor
3. Sign your own name, though requests for anonymity in print may be honored.
Production Editor
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
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Mary Graff Christine Johnson-Hall Louise Guthrie Jean Kirk Louise Hughes Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel Barbara O’Brien
Showing up nicely against the snow This robin probably was not a harbinger of spring, according to Beaumont’s resident bird expert, Hank Hallowell, but rather a year-round resident. Robins adjust to different climates by switching from worms and insects in warm weather to berries and fruit when the snows fly, and scientists say they find the robins’ migration patterns unclear. Photo by Louise Hughes
Welcome to Outpatient—a friendly place! By Mary Schnabel
of our community. Derek can often facilitate a prescription or medical advice from the doctor and take care of a problem in this way, sometimes without the need of a trip off-campus to the outside physician. Doctors as well as patients trust him. Nor is there a blip when Derek leaves. LPN Mary Ellen McLaughlin has already begun her noon to 8:30 p.m. shift. Mary Ellen sees patients and answers questions in the office, in person and by phone, and at night is a familiar sight in the corridors of Austin and Baldwin, or hitching a ride from Security to a villa, on her way to visit patients. Her comforting presence is especially important during the uneasy and sometimes stressful evening hours. She also manages the meds dropped off by the pharmacy, checking each package against the paperwork and seeing to it that the right package is either placed in the right message box or delivered to the apartment or villa. Weekends at Outpatient are always covered from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Carol Carney and Kathy Techner, both RNs, rotate the assignment and also cover during the week if one of the regular staff is missing. Carol and Kathy are always aware that an emergency might happen which would require the help of the physician on call for the weekend. But they tell me that their weekend routine usually involves refilling meds, dressing wounds, or helping drop-ins with
One of the last things I would ever have imagined is that someday I might actually look forward to going to the doctor’s. But crossing the threshold into the small space that comprises the Outpatient Department is like walking into a place full of good friends. First, behind the glass, is the always smiling and ever helpful Sue Charest. Sue listens to our questions or requests and decides what we do next. “This prescription says you need lab work. I’ll put you down for 8:15 next Wednesday morning, right here in our office.” Or, on the phone, “Don’t worry, stay quiet and I’ll send the nurse right up to your apartment to help you.” Do we need a new prescription? Sue will call the pharmacy. We’ve completely run out—what do we do about the next dose? Sue will arrange for an emergency supply. Do we need an appointment with a staff doctor? Sue will arrange it. Her memory about us and our medical history is awesome, since there are so many of us, but somehow she keeps track—over and over again all day and all week. The next person we see could be Derek Smythe. The Licensed Practical Nurse on duty from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Derek takes care of almost everybody for almost everything. He preps patients for the Beaumont doctors, gives shots, visits ill patients in villas and apartments, telephones the recently ill to learn how they are doing, and in general gives advice, counsel and comfort to all. He also acts as liaison between doctors not on Beaumont’s staff and their patients who are residents
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requiring consultation with a doctor, and checks tests done both in-house and off-site. Because she is responsible for all levels of care, she travels all over, but is always available by beeper or phone. She is a busy woman, but when with a patient it never shows. It’s clear that she loves what she does. Very few people would do, much less love, what Jeanne Drumheller does, which is to help patients with insurance problems—in a cheerful way that calms our fears and allays our worries. We often overlook the fact that, as Office Manager in Outpatient, she also has to make sure that the whole place runs smoothly. But when we think of Jeanne, we think of sitting in her back-room office with our piles of insurance papers, pleading, “Jeanne, what should we do?” Bless her! Forever bless her—Jeanne tells us! Lea Knarr, Resident Care Coordinator, is part of the pre-admission process for individuals or couples who are applying for a residency here at Beaumont. She is also the person who consults, counsels and often consoles residents who find that independent living is no longer practical and must try to formulate what comes next. Her gentle manner and empathy makes her perfect for her job.
Outpatient . . . . continued from page 3
advice or small procedures like taking temperatures or blood pressures. A detailed log book includes instructions for follow-ups so that the nurse coming on duty knows exactly what his or her first responsibilities will be for that shift. But the nurses never know when something new will pop up. When a patient comes home from the hospital, for example, and is being transferred back to independent living, the nurses examine them, go over their discharge sheets, discuss and order necessary medicines, make follow-up appointments Photo by Louise Hughes (reminders will be Carol Carney issued later), and notify family members, doctors and pertinent Beaumont (An article in a later issue will talk about the staffs personnel that the resident is now back home. and volunteers who serve Beaumont’s Health Center “The doctor is NOT in” is a phrase that makes our and its Personal Care floors.) blood pressure rise. What do we do now? Well, at Beaumont we have Renee Connelly, our N u r s e P r a c t i t i o n e r, who steps in and fills, or almost fills, the missing doctor’s shoes. Renee is here M o n d a y through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can do so many important procedures that she can, in many cases, eliminate the need for a doctor’s visit. She reviews all blood work that comes in to be Photo by Louise Hughes sure there is nothing acute Seated: Sue Charest (left) and Derek Smythe; standing (left to right): Jeanne Drumheller, Lea Knarr, Renee Connelly, and Mary Ellen McLaughlin. Not in the picture: Kathy Techner.
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Villa light warms a wintry scene While residents were enjoying extraordinary snow scenes outside their windows this winter, staff members were doing extraordinary jobs both inside and out, staying overnight to be sure of showing up for work in the morning, clearing roads and driveways, and otherwise doing Beaumont proud. Among them was April Miszler, who normally runs our world from the front desk. As Resident Services Director Kim Norrett tells it: “One of our villa residents was admitted to the hospital during one of the big storms. She has a dog. She called April to see if she could stay overnight with the dog. Not only did April rise up to the occasion, she shoveled out a space in the back of the villa to provide a “ladies” for the small canine. Then she went one step beyond and also shoveled the path leading to the villa. Kudos to April!” Photo by Ann Louise Strong
All not necessarily quiet in Nalle Gardens yellow pollen. In no time at all the flowers were covered with many, many honeybees, and Witt now realized he had to pacify the community gardeners with another plan. Mulch! Witt knew that following blooming, the spent plants would quickly die. And since the crop was so thick, he decided to plant vegetables in the thicket of spent clovers, where they would serve to control weeds and conserve moisture throughout the growing season of 2010. Under the revised plan, vegetables thrived and weeds were few. In spite of the change of plans for the cover crop, all was not lost. The dead clovers could now be spaded into the soil to perform as a soil amendment. But there was one hitch: Visitors shorted the plan. The clovers were removed from the garden! Nalle Gardens has many visitors. There are woodchucks, raccoons, and little people in the night. The varmints were captured and the snails were tolerated, but the little people remain a mystery and a nuisance as they seemed to be everywhere. First they visited Witt’s apartment and hid his glasses under a bureau. Next it was the garden, where they hauled off all the spent clovers meant for the soil where they had been nurtured. In retrospect Witt believes the deed was well-intentioned, and so he spaded the beds and this time seeded them to rye. By April 1 he plans to begin spading under the rye in preparation for spring planting. Bread anyone?
By Dr. Dean Snyder, who sometimes calls himself Witt, a sobriquet he has difficulty explaining except to say, “It’s a dim-wit kind of thing.” Only the gardeners last year were privy to the drama within the confines of Nalle Gardens. This story began in the fall of 2009, when some dimWitt planted crimson clover as a cover crop in a couple of beds in the garden. Witt was the only resident who saw the beauty in the solid green color of those beds all winter. Cover crops are established in the fall of the year not only to prevent erosion during the off-growing season, but also to capture and store available plant nutrients and organic material which, when plowed under the following spring, are gradually released to sustain growth of micro-organisms, earth worms, and the summer crop. The next step in the plan called for turning the crop under before planting. As soon as the sun began warming the soil in the spring of 2010, the clovers (still green) began to awaken and grow. In no time at all the thick carpet of clover began forming buds. Oops! Witt blew it. His infatuation with a beautiful stand of crimson clover was not in the plan. He was supposed to plow the cover crop under, but he didn’t do that. Stubbornly, he kept hands off. All at once the clovers came into bloom and the beds became a blanket of crimson flowers. As they did, honeybees began feasting. At first it was just a few, ingesting sweet clover nectar and collecting bright 5
Helping hands needed to keep Gift Shop running Bobbie McElroy, who manages the Beaumont Gift Shop, has pleaded again for more willing workers to help her keep the shop open. If any Beaumont resident (including the male variety) would like to find out more about the job, these current volunteers (whom we inadvertently omitted from the lists of volunteers honored in the February issue) can tell you how much fun and how rewarding it is: Eloise Gretz, Barbara Clarke, Catherine Ogden, Barbara Cooney, Marjorie Lott, Sis Ziesing, Dot Maass, Joan Thayer, Bea Goldstein, Marietta Homeier, Betty Bole, Kingie Dolan, Doris Mohn, Tony Starr, Jane Lillie, Barbara Murphy, Anne Trout, and Annette von Starck. That may seem like a lot of helpers, but vacations shorten the list. Shifts are short: From 11 to 12:30 mornings, 12:30 to 2:30 afternoons, Monday through Friday, and 10 to noon Saturday
Team helps Beaumont grow greener . . . . continued from page 1
Depending on the project, Grounds and other departments have cooperated to turn Green Committee plans into reality. Housekeeping and Laundry, for example, played a major role in making the new waste hauling contract possible. The Green and Grounds committees will now function as subcommittees of the Environment Committee, under the over-all chairmanship of Ann Louise Strong, who has led the growing green movement at Beaumont since 2007. Ann Louise will continue as chairman of the Green Committee, which will focus on improving efficiency and reduction of environmental damage. Other members are Anne Godfrey, BRCI representative Dick Maass, George Miller, Jack Miller, Kaighn Smith and Charlie Wood. They will review and address energy and water consumption, the geothermal system, recycling, and alternatives to the present use of nonbiodegradable and non-recyclable food service goods. In addition, they will oversee performance of the waste hauler and conduct educational programs for residents and staff. I am to chair the Grounds Committee, whose other members include Dr. John Carson, Mary Disston,
Mary Jane Rhodes, Joan Roberts, Dr. Dean Snyder and Joan Thayer, with Mark Hritz, Director of Grounds, as advisor.
The Green and Grounds committees will now function as subcommittees of the Environment Committee, under the over-all chairmanship of Ann Louise Strong, who has led the growing green movement at Beaumont since 2007. Their responsibilities will include oversight of public gardens and open spaces, including the Nalle Gardens and the Greenhouse; management of Wheeler Woods, including encouragement of resident participation through regular volunteer workdays; additions to existing trails, cooperation with the kitchen to grow herbs and other edible plants, protection and enhancement of the Pond, improvements to the Vale and expansion and improvement of composting. This committee will continue to review and approve (or not) residents’ plans for private gardens.
IN MEMORIAM Mrs. Mattie Hill – February 7 Mr. Frederick Marshall – February 19 Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their families and friends. 6
From newcomers to neighbors New resident roundup By Jean Kirk Marjorie (Margie) Baird grew up on a farm near Media and graduated from Haverford Friends School, Shipley and Vassar College. She was married for 42 years to Samuel B. D. Baird, who headed several companies involved in the development of medical technology including the Isolette incubator and the CAT Scan. He was interested in alternative sources of energy, and In the 1980s he headed Energy Unlimited Inc., which put up windmills in California and Vermont. He died in 1991. Margie studied for a Master’s in education at Temple University and then obtained her degree at Boston University. She and her husband moved to Weston, a suburb of Boston, when his business took him there, and then to Chicago, where they Photo by Elizabeth Oberdorf lived In the northern Alvan and Carolyn Markle, he of Beaumont and she of Waverly, were suburb of Winnetka married Sunday, Feb. 6, at Waverly. They will be living here in Villa 27. and Margie taught as a reading specialin the Army as a lieutenant in the office of the Judge ist at New Trier High Advocate General’s Corps in the Pentagon. For 35 Margie Baird School. They returned years he was with the law firm of Dechert, Price & Photos by Louise Hughes to Philadelphia in Rhoads, specializing in litigation and environmental 1980 and built a house in Wayne. Margie returned to law. He is an enthusiastic photographer and has Shipley, where she taught reading and study skills in enjoyed many sports over the years, including tennis, the upper school. skiing, sailing, and ice skating. In 1998, Margie married John F. Joline III, who had Louise has been a stockbroker with Janney been headmaster of the Darrow School in New Montgomery Scott Lebanon, New York, and was at that time executive and has tutored disaddirector of the Edward John Noble Foundation in New vantaged children at York. The foundation made grants in education and the the Bryn Mawr arts. He died in March of 2010, and she moved to Presbyterian Church. Beaumont in November. Margie enjoys her three sons Home design is one of and seven grandchildren; also reading, walking and her primary interests. gardening. She is a member of the Beaumont Library The couple have Committee, and a volunteer in the Health Center. three children, four grandchildren, and * * * one great-grandchild. George and Louise Miller came to Beaumont from With Louise currently Haverford in January, and already George is at work in the Health Center, on the newly restructured Green Committee (see Page George has the com1). pany of a cocker A graduate of Princeton and the University of spaniel named Amy. George Miller Pennsylvania Law School, George spent three years 7
New acanthus logo symbolizes life . . . .
by deeply incised egg-and-dart and acanthus-leaf carvings. A legend explaining the birth of the Corinthian order is widely quoted by writers on architecture. As the story is always told, a Greek architect and sculptor, out for a walk, noticed a basket of toys that had been left on the grave of a young girl. A square tile Corinthian capital, Roman style, with covered the bas- ends of leaves curled ket. Apparently the basket had been placed on top of an acanthus plant, which continued to grow, its leaves intertwining with the weave of the basket and thus providing inspiration for the Corinthian capital. The deeply cut leaves of the acanthus, with their richly historic connotations, evidently also appealed to whoever the artists were who designed the stone, wood and metal carvings that decorate the original rooms of the Mansion at Beaumont. Ellen Wales, the architect-cum-interior designer daughter of Beaumont resident Christine Phillipps, joined in an acanthus-leaf hunt through the Mansion recently while visiting her mother. The hunt was wildly successful. Look up as you enter the Ross lobby, and you will see the acanthus-leaf wreaths in the stonework opposite the front door. In the Music Room, study the woodwork around the organ, the display cases, and even the gilt frame around the portrait of William L. Austin, on whose estate Beaumont was founded. The design, variously stylized, is almost everywhere, in wood, brass and iron, even on sconces and doorknobs. Mrs. Wales noted in passing that the Corinthian order, although of Greek origin, did not really come into its own until the Roman era, when the acanthus leaves were often presented with their ends curled, as in our new logo. She approved the new design. “It just kind of flows,” she said. Although changing the logo above the banner for the Beaumont News was a relatively simple matter, quickly and inexpensively accomplished, Beaumont President Joe Fortenbaugh says the changeover elsewhere will be gradual, done mostly “as things wear out.” The next step will be major revision of our website, www.beaumontretirement.com. That will be the subject of a story in a later issue.
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definitely was in charge of that kind of thing. Mark Hritz, our Director of Grounds, who has been at Beaumont just over 20 years, recalls that the century-old tree eventually began to fail and had to be cut down, though it lived on for a while in the warm fires of villa residents. Beaumont passed its first decades in serene enjoyment of its unique position as an economically sound, first-class retirement community that was both resident owned and resident run. Word-of-mouth, largely through families and friends, kept its 200 apartments and villas occupied, with a waiting list more than double that size. Beaumont had a Marketing Committee, but the committee felt no need for strenuous action. Then came the Internet, setting the whole world of communications rocking through a sea change. Ideas about where and how to live after retirement also changed. More retirement communities sprang up, and though Beaumont maintained its unique status, the importance of presenting our face to a larger world began to sink in. The Marketing Committee looked at the future and rose to meet it. Late last year the committee hired a new consultant, Articus, Ltd. The first step, being introduced with this issue of the News, was to modernize the logo. Not only was the tree long gone, the logo itself tended to contract into an inky blob when scaled down to fit a small space. Acting in concert with Marketing C o m m i t t e e Chairman Hank Hallowell and two other members of the seven-member committee, Alan Tripp and Dr. Don Tr a c h t e n b e r g , Articus designed a An acanthus in bloom new logo. Its shape not unlike the shape of the old logo, it replaced the tree and the bridge with a graceful design of acanthus leaves. The acanthus, a perennial plant commonly found in countries around the Mediterranean, though not common hereabouts, has long been associated with enduring life. In various stylized forms, its leaves— similar to the leaves of thistle, oak and poppy—have figured in architectural decoration since ancient Greek and Roman times. World travelers, think of the slender, fluted columns of the Corinthian order, their elaborate capitals circled 8