24 OVER
A
W
S E P T E M B E R 2 018
Prime Awards W inners | 05-30
A
R
D
S
64
SPECIAL ISSUE
Senior Center Listings & Menus | 33-35
2 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
test-drive
THE NEWEST TEcHNology FRoM MIRAclE-EAR!
you have to HEAR IT to BELIEVE IT! Now I’m hearing everyone better! I’m more confident with my business clients, and I enjoy talking on the phone with my grandchildren. Thank you, Miracle-Ear! Buying a quality hearing solution is a big decision. you need to test drive it first. See how it suits your lifestyle. Determine for yourself if it’s comfortable, natural looking and natural sounding.
That’s the whole idea behind the Miracle-Ear Test-Drive offer:
1 2
3
4
5
call to schedule an appointment at one of our convenient locations. Try one of our Miracle-Ear hearing solutions in our office and HEAR the difference immediately. If you’re delighted with the improvement in your hearing and wish to keep your hearing solution, you can do so — at gREAT SAVINgS! Next, wear our nearly invisible hearing aids for a full 30 days. Wear them out in all kinds of settings: in restaurants, watching TV, while on the telephone, or at a movie. If, after 30 days, you are not totally happy and enjoying the sounds of life again, return the hearing aids for a full refund.*
*If you are not completely satisfied, the aids may be returned for a full refund within 30 days of the completion of fitting, in satisfactory condition. Fitting fees may apply. See store for details.
50
%
.
Financing is Available
Steven Howell NBc-HIS
*good only at participating Miracle-Ear locations. one coupon per purchase. offer valid on ME-1 and ME-2 solutions. cannot be combined with other offers. offer expires 9-30-18.
call Today to Schedule your FREE Hearing Test** and In-Store Demonstration BILLINGS OFFICE 1527 14th St. West Billings, MT 59102 406-259-7983
GLENDIVE SERVICE CENTER Glendive, MT 59330 1-800-340-3720
BOZEMAN OFFICE 702 N. 19th Ave. Suite 1-C Bozeman, MT 59718 406-586-5841
MILES CITY OFFICE 18 N. 8th Street Suite #8 Miles City, MT 59301 800-340-3720
National Board certified in Hearing Instruments Science 35 years Experience in the Hearing Aid Industry
1722266
BUY ONE, GET ONE
SAVE ON OUR NEWEST DIGITAL HEARING SOLUTIONS!
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 3
W E L C O M E TO T H E
24 OVER
A
W
A
R
D
S
64
4 Annual Awards Gala th
AT T H E
HILTON GARDEN INN MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018
Event Program 5:30PM ................ No-Host Cocktail Reception & Gala Entertainment 6:00PM ............................................... Dinner, Dessert and Coffee 7:00PM .....................................................Presentation of Awards
Honoring Those Who Make a Difference The Chronicle’s 24 Over 64 Prime Awards honor those who have made a difference to our community and/or their profession. Each honoree has been nominated by others. All are inspirations. Enjoy their stories. All honoree profiles written & photographed by Hannah Stiff.
AWARD WINNERS
PAGE
Bob Reed .......................................................................... 5 Carol Townsend ................................................................ 6 Dick Deschamps ............................................................... 7 Ed Kibbey .......................................................................... 8 Eva Patten ......................................................................... 9 Faye Christensen ............................................................ 10 Henry Worrest ..................................................................11 Iris Gray .......................................................................... 12 Jan Strout ....................................................................... 14 Jeanne Bakelar ............................................................... 15 Jim McLean..................................................................... 16 Joel Shouse .................................................................... 17 Kate Evans ...................................................................... 18 Len Albright ..................................................................... 19 Madeline Garcia ............................................................. 20 Mike Tess ........................................................................ 21 Oliver Germann ............................................................... 22 Ray Ross .......................................................................... 24 Richard Roehm ................................................................ 25
BOZEMAN LIONS CLUB Drop off your prescription and non-prescription eye glasses and dark glasses, as well as hearing aids and cell phones in the collection boxes at the Bozeman Senior Center, the Manhattan Senior Center, the Three Rivers Senior Citizens Club in Three Forks, and the Gallatin Gateway Community Center
For more information, contact Richard Reiley at
406-388-7840
Visit us on the web at http://e-clubhouse.org/sites/bozemanmt
Rick Gale ......................................................................... 26 Sandy Regnerus .............................................................. 27 Steve Hoffman ................................................................ 28 Wayne Gibson ................................................................. 29 Wyman Schmidt .............................................................. 30 Old Dogs Learning New Tricks by Lois Stephens ................. 32 Senior Center Listings & Menus .............................. 33-35
4 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Congratulations to our Prime 24 over 64 award winner! Rotary unites problem solvers around the globe behind one goal: to do moRe good our members are driven to bring communities together to create lasting change.
ROTARIANS ARE PEOPLE of ACTION!
Ed Kibbey
bozemannoonrotary.org
1802996
�
EVERYTHING YOU WANT, MORE THAN YOU EXPECT Independent Living | Assisted Living Respite Care Amenities include beautiful walking trails right outside your door, underground parking, salon services, massage therapy, fitness center, weekly housekeeping, and much more.
Call today to schedule your tour. 406-414-2008 | HillcrestLivingBozeman.com
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 5
Bob Reed
F
rom frost to frost, Bob Reed has approximately 72 days to grow
his garden menagerie. And while Reed is a devoted husband
and remembers that the end of June marked his 55th wedding anniversary to Sydney, he also quickly recalls that he’s had a
garden, all but three of those years.
Reed learned a love of gardening as a young boy in Livingston. During World War II, families were asked to grow a Liberty Garden to support the war effort. Reed’s family specialized in beets. He remembers his neighbors growing different specialties. To create some variety in their diet, Reed’s parents traded some of their harvest with their neigh-
bors, who grew different crops. Gardening, Reed explains, is in his DNA. By looking at his expansive Nelson Road lawn and garden, it’s obvious that Reed is making the most of his DNA. There are orchard trees, growing everything from plums to apricots, cherries and crab apples. His garden plot is home to potatoes, herbs, kale, squash,
onions, tomatoes, spinach, parsnips, elephant garlic and more. Jill Holder, director of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, is impressed that Reed dedicates so much of his 7,000-foot garden to food for neighbors facing hunger. “(Reed’s) regular, systematic contribution helps sustain the pantry,” Holder says. Since 2011, Reed has donated more than 3,000 pounds of produce to the food bank. He has also hired and helped many young high school and college students to work in the garden. Sam Wandishin is one of those young men. Wandishin fondly recalls his work at the Reed’s. Not only did Reed teach him about growing fruits and vegetables in Zone 4 weather, he and Sydney invited him into their home for lunch each day. Wandishin said he learned about the Reeds’ commitment to serving their community. One day, Wandishin says he hopes to have a marriage as wonderful and Reed and Sydney’s. Reed and Sydney fell in love in Miles City during their high school years. After graduation, Reed attended Dartmouth College. In June of 1963, Reed married Sydney and the couple settled in Albany, California for 38 years. While in California, Reed earned his M.A. and Ph.D from the University of California at Berkeley, where he served on the faculty of geography and Asian studies until his retirement in 2001. For his Ph.D and career, Reed studied cultural geography, comparative urbanism, religious transformation and environmental history of
Asia. The studies led Reed all over the world; he’s visited 87 countries. By the time Reed and Sydney moved to Montana in retirement, they had amassed 1.6 million frequent flyer miles. During all the travel and teaching, the Reeds raised three sons. Sydney pursued her own career as the director of nursing at two major hospitals in San Francisco and then as chief operating officer of the California Medical Association. The pair say they have always encouraged the other to pursue their dreams. The encouragement has sustained the Reeds in 55 years of marriage. In addition to his gardening, Reed has been a gardener and blacksmith at the Tinsley House in Bozeman. He has served on the Love Inc. Board of Directors, where the staff and other members say they appreciate Reed’s “soft spoken affability, fairness, and willingness to listen.” Since 2005, Reed has served as a member of the Kiwanis Club. He appreciates the focus on youth empowerment and collaboration between other members. Reed plans to continue his very active retirement in his garden, his church and board appointments. Because as he explains, he gets much more from his life of service than he gives, so who wouldn’t want to live like that? “The surplus of my gardening facilitates a win-win situation for both the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and me,” Reed says. “We both profit in equal measure. People who need fresh vegetables and fruit benefit and I am motivated to expand my harvest to help fill a real need.”
6 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Carol Townsend
S
ome people find their calling and live it out in their day job.
Carol Townsend is one of those people. More than spreadsheets, program planning, board meetings and fundraising, Townsend found the key to her industry early on.
“Nonprofits are a relationship building business,” Townsend said. Townsend spent more than two decades working in the nonprofit sector in Gallatin Valley, first with Galavan and then as the executive director of Greater Gallatin United Way. In her time at United Way, Townsend brought the agency’s value of fighting for the
health, education and financial stability of every person in every community to life each day. To enact those values, Townsend took a different approach to running a nonprofit. With a background in the for-profit world (Townsend worked at a Patagonia store in Bozeman when she moved back to her hometown in 1987),
she took a business approach to nonprofit financials while maintaining her relationships-first attitude. “In my interview and ever since, I said, ‘If you don’t run a good business first, you can’t run a good nonprofit,’” Townsend says. That model worked. From 1996 to her retirement in 2014, Townsend grew Greater Gallatin United Way from a $200,000 nonprofit to a $1.4 million budget. The United Way Board of Directors lauded Townsend’s ability to quickly recognize emerging social needs and respond. In Belgrade, the Greater Gallatin United Way secured a $115,000 grant for funding after-school programs, one of the paramount social needs Townsend identified. That grant paved the way for ongoing after-school programming through the United Way KidsLINK program that provides quality afterschool activities for thousands of local school children each year. Townsend’s passion for kids and education came from her personal life. A single mother since her children were 6 months and 2 years old, Townsend has firsthand knowledge of the competing priorities parents face daily. She also recalls being thankful that her children were drawn to reading at an early age. On the weekends, Townsend took her children to the library where they each picked out armloads of books. The three would snuggle on the couch and read all day. It was free fun, Townsend says. Though she worked hard to instill a love of learning in her children, Townsend says it truly takes a village to raise children. From teachers to afterschool workers, to nonprofit staff, to
health care professionals, to friends and family, there are many ingredients to raising kids and helping parents. One example of these ingredients coming together is the Early Childhood Community Council. The council is a collaboration of teachers, administrators, daycare providers, health department and mental health employees Townsend assembled to help families get their children ready for school. “This is not easy work having all those partners together,” Townsend said. “But it’s the best work we could do. It’s building the foundation for the next two or three decades.” In addition to her work with the council, Townsend convened coalitions like Success by 6, Best Beginnings, Graduation Matters, MT Project Launch Initiative and the Montana Afterschool Alliance. As Townsend’s Prime nominator says, “this listing just scratches the surface. Carol had a seat at the table in many other working groups and coalitions.” Since her retirement from the United Way, Townsend stays busy. She is an active member on the Help Center’s board and focuses her time on mental health issues and suicide prevention. Townsend serves as a consultant for the Gilhousen Family Foundation. She also takes time to meet with and mentor the up and coming crop of nonprofit leaders in the valley. When she looks at the nonprofit landscape she worked hard to shape in the valley, Townsend is hopeful. “There are a lot of great people working at nonprofits here,” she says. “I put in my time and now they are in good hands.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 7
young person baptized. Each chest is
hand constructed and takes between 20 to 30 hours.”
In addition to making hope chests
and serving as a lay pastor, Deschamps
provides leadership to the men’s ministry
at the church, small groups and the ushers team. The task taking most his time these days is his assignment to Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
As the president of Montana VOAD,
Deschamps is responsible for mobilizing
emergency response efforts after disasters.
Dick Deschamps
D
In his VOAD work, Deschamps has
assisted efforts to help in Baker after
the town experienced a tornado in 2016.
Most recently, Deschamps coordinated ick Deschamps is the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed. That’s according to his pastor, Stephen Schmidt “Dick is just a wonderful and humble person,” Schmidt continues.
“He is deeply committed to his community and his community of faith.”
Deschamps grew up in the Missoula
Montana State University to study
became a lieutenant colonel in the Army
the collection and delivery of a semitruck
full of supplies to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe when they had an
especially tough time during a long
and fierce winter. While his VOAD work takes time out of each day, Deschamps
range management. When he graduated
and earned her doctorate degree.
looks at his volunteering as a way to show
of Lolo, Montana. He followed in his
outside Three Forks. By this time, Des-
himself with newfound free time, which
him to quit early enough to start a new
his country. Deschamps’ six-year service
Paying the bills on his ranch earnings
his church, Hope Lutheran. Deschamps
world. With camera in hand, Des-
a career at the U.S. Department of Agri-
area. He attended his first school at a
one-room schoolhouse, Woodman, west father’s footsteps by enlisting to serve
in the U.S. Navy took him all over the
champs said he relished the opportunity
in 1982, he was hired to work a ranch
champs had married and started a family.
In retirement, Deschamps found
led him to take on more responsibility in
his gratitude for a career that allowed chapter of life.
“When I retired, I wasn’t ready to quit
completed training by the Montana
working,” he explains. “I’ve found my
culture. After 34 years in federal service,
As a lay pastor, Deschamps has traveled
don’t do something for VOAD. This is
During his career, Deschamps and
ing at congregations in Harlotown and
was difficult and Deschamps soon found
Synod to become a lay pastor assistant.
niche. There’s not a day goes by that I part of trying to live out my faith.”
to explore new corners of the world. In
Deschamps retired in 2013.
the port and train hopped their way
his wife Barbara watched their children
Lennup for two years.
list for when they retire, Deschamps said
paths. Deschamps laughs when he talks
service to Hope Lutheran Church and
to ride and mountains to explore is a
Japan, Deschamps and his friends left through the country.
grow up and follow completely different
Deschamps says. “I loved Japan. And
about his son, Stewart, living an unteth-
“It was a great way to see the world,”
Hong Kong, that was a magical city.” For college, Deschamps headed to
ered life that included two stints in the
Peace Corps while his daughter, Bethany,
the state, leading worship and preach-
“Dick has led a life of faith and
to our community,” Schmidt explains.
“He is the head of the team that makes Faith Chests that are given to each
Though many people make a bucket
living in southwest Montana with horses bucket list kind of life.
“I’m content to be in my own pasture,”
he explains. “I’m blessed to be here.”
8 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Ed Kibbey
F
or Edward Kibbey, volunteering is a full-time job. The benefits include working with people he likes a
whole lot, occasional free cake slices, and helping create the kind of community he’s happy to live in. Kibbey currently spends the bulk of his volunteer hours at the Bozeman Police Department. He does “almost
any task that might take them away from work out in the field.” Since he started with the BPD, Kibbey has created a bicycle registration program, transferred police vehicles for maintenance, retrofitted the department’s trailer for bicycle rodeo events and helped remind folks about city ordinances they may not be complying with.
When Kibbey was nominated for a “service above self.” Prime Award, his nominator said, “Ed As a young man, Kibbey served began his work in Bozeman around age in the U.S. Navy and enjoyed seeing 75 and he puts more work and effort many corners of the world including into volunteerism than some people do the South Pole, New Zealand, Austrafor their full-time jobs. He dedicates 35 lia and Germany. During his service, hours per week or more to our great city.” Kibbey was selected to serve President From bicycle registration to helping Lyndon B. Johnson as the president’s local business owners understand sign teleprompter operator. When he recalls ordinances (“making friends” he calls his the assignment, Kibbey laughs and sign ordinance trips around the city), to says he asked, “What’s a teleprompter?” his work with the Noon Rotary Club, Johnson was the first president to use highway cleanup efforts, fundraising for one. Kibbey beat out 800 other apat-risk youth and recognizing outstandplicants for the job. President Johnson ing high school students, Kibbey has asked Kibbey to move to Johnson City, fully embraced the Rotary mandate Texas to work in the Texas White
House, a job Kibbey eventually left after six years because he said he got bored. From Texas, Kibbey returned to the Navy and was assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. In D.C., Kibbey finally found time to attend radio broadcasting classes, a dream he had since he was a teenager. On his first day, Kibbey and classmates were asked to read a bit of news copy. When he finished his read-through, Kibbey’s professor asked him to stay after class. The professor asked if he’d like to come work for his radio station. Kibbey agreed, and that was the end of his foray into broadcasting school.
Kibbey continued to advance his career in radio. He even met the love of his life and wife Heidrun at a radio station. In Palm Springs, Kibbey popularized talk radio and moved his way up from on-air talent to station manager. “I loved being in radio,” Kibbey says. “I reported the news all over the valley. It was a lot of fun. People all over the valley recognized my voice.” His fine communication skills led the City of Palm Springs to hire Kibbey as the disaster preparedness communications coordinator. Kibbey said he enjoyed this role and helping his neighbors prepare for uncertain weather or disaster events. From disaster preparedness, Kibbey was pulled out of retirement to become the Building Industry Association executive director, a job he enjoyed for 13 years before entering his “final” retirement in Bozeman. Kibbey and Heidrun made the move from Big Bear, California to Bozeman in 2011. Before the move, Kibbey signed on to help the Big Bear Sheriff ’s Department. His intent was to keep deputies in the field by helping with any tasks that would take them away from their most important work. In Bozeman, he started volunteering with the police department and held on to the same motto. “I wanted to free up the police to do their work,” he explains. “If they need it, I do it.” Though he’s cut back to about 32 hours per week of volunteering with the police department, Kibbey says he’s got no plans to quit anytime soon. He’s enjoys the Bozeman community and the opportunity to get up each day and do work he cares about. “Everywhere I go, people are friendly,” Kibbey says. “Bozeman is no different. We’ve got no plans to leave.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 9
community. Swaying public opinion in defense of the outdoors is a matter of starting early, Patten says.
“If we’re going to have people appreci-
ating the outdoors, you have to intro-
duce them early,” Patten explains. “The
earlier the better, that’s really important.” In her own family, Patten and Duncan
created connections to nature by bring-
ing their four children to Montana in
the summers. The Pattens spent “every
waking moment” outside, doing every-
thing from horseback riding to kayaking.
Now Patten’s children have children
and she enjoys spending time in nature with the next generation of naturalists.
Eva Patten
The extended Patten family gathers
each summer at their ranch south of Big
Sky. Not only do they enjoy vacationing
E
together, the annual pilgrimage keeps
va Patten’s legacy to date could be summed up as inspiring the love of learning and love of the outdoors in
people of all ages. Patten moved to Bozeman 23 years ago and dug right in on multiple community service projects. She served on the Gallatin Valley Land Trust board of directors. She continued her service on
the Grand Canyon Trust after her move from Arizona and organized several joint projects with the Greater Yellow-
stone Coalition.
Patten volunteered as president and
timely and relevant to the community,
outdoors,” whether that’s through her
says it was a “matter of retiring” before
husband host informational sessions on
she worked as the government relations
key water, lands and wildlife issues in
zona Environment in the 1970s. Later,
full time.
coordinator for the Arizona Nature
she quickly plugged in to political
When she did land in Montana,
their home.
Conservancy, researching and coor-
and educational causes. An outdoors
speakers through the weekly Friday
to funnel $20 million in state lottery
has worked hard to protect public lands.
Patten also organizes informational
dinating the Heritage Fund Initiative
to affordable housing to talks of a new
treasures began when she came to
Patten has seen firsthand what an early
the state with her husband Duncan,
family, hiking group friends or volunteer appointments.
“Eva has been a role model for many
children and adults by her outdoor
tive member of BWAGS. She believes
From her work with organizations like
law and justice complex - anything
outside to enjoy and experience the
activities,” Weingart says. “She models
revenue to conservation projects.
Patten’s love of Montana’s outdoor
nominator Gail Weingart explains,
woman through and through, Patten
Forum at the Bozeman Public Library.
Topics range from open space levies
the local Bozeman Women’s Activity
the couple could move to Montana
boast about, too. She served as the chair
opportunities for adults. Patten and her
skiing and hiking with friends and
Patten is committed to “getting people
since 2012 on the Wonderlust Board
of the Governor’s Commission on Ari-
campaigns, Patten enjoys backcountry
National Park. It was the 1950s. Patten
Elkhorn Ranch outside Yellowstone
of Directors, fostering lifelong learning
building public awareness for various
Group. As Patten’s friend and Prime
Patten says.
Professionally, Patten has plenty to
When she’s not volunteering and
who was working as a wrangler at the
board member with the Montana Out-
door Science School. She has served
the families close.
the Montana Outdoor Science School,
appreciation for nature can do for a
this in her personal time and as an acthat getting children out of the class-
room and into the woods to learn about
nature is our best hope for the future.”
10 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Faye Christensen
On
a recent, rainy Tuesday morning at the Bozeman
Senior Center, Faye Christensen buzzes around the building doling out Vitamin H (hugs) to
friends. For better than a decade, Christensen has
been an integral part of the local senior center. “Faye Christensen has been an outstanding volunteer at the Bozeman Senior Center for the past 12 years,” Senior Center Director Shannon Bondy says. “She has served on the Board of Directors at the center for five years.” Christensen first came to Montana many decades ago when she brought her two children to the Treasure State on camping trips. Christensen’s son Roth loved the state so much he
returned as an adult and found a way to stay in Bozeman as an executive chef and restaurateur. In 2005, Christensen was living in Mobile, Alabama when Hurricane Katrina ripped through her backyard. Floodwater lifted her house from its foundation. The water rose just below windows in the house, destroying Christensen’s home and possessions. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency provided Christensen with a camper since her home was no longer inhabitable. Christensen stayed in the trailer for a year, before Roth asked her to come to Montana and escape another difficult hurricane season. It didn’t take Christensen long to pack her few remaining belongings and head north. Being with family helped heal Christensen’s spirit, but she wanted to give back to her new community. A lifelong thespian and teacher, Christensen was quickly hired as an adjunct English professor at Montana State University. Fate helped Christensen find Dee Dee VanZyl, a lightning rod in the local theater scene and the landlord of the cabin Christensen ended up renting in Paradise Valley. VanZyl encouraged Christensen to drop by the Blue Slipper Theatre in Livingston to see if she could lend her experience to upcoming productions. The playhouse director met Christensen and immediately told her to turn tail and head to Park High School and use her skills as the new speech and drama club coach. She took the advice and for a year, Christensen said she got acquainted with Montana’s small towns as she traveled with her team. “When I was in high school, theater was sort of my salvation,” Christensen recalls. “During rough times growing up, it gave me respite and confidence. Theater is the great equalizer.” It was this attitude that allowed Christensen to thrive not only in her new teaching gigs, but as an actress, director, stage manager, costume designer and prop master. In the 12 years she’s been in Montana, Christensen has lent those skills to the Blue Slipper Theatre, the Verge, Intermountain Opera, Anderson School, Eagle Mount and the Bozeman Senior Center. Christensen also served on the founding board of directors for
the Open Door Theatre, the only allvolunteer community theater operation in the area. When her grandchildren were born, Christensen pulled back from the most rigorous theater tasks, like stage managing, and transitioned to helping with costuming and prop making for various theaters. And though her volunteer activities are vast, Christensen is most proud of her work reconnecting senior citizens with theater. When Christensen started volunteering at the Bozeman Senior Center, she was impressed with the myriad activities to keep seniors busy. But she noticed a hole; there we no theater activities for seniors. So Christensen got busy writing grants to start the Last Best GeriActors. The readers theater group performs in senior living facilities in Gallatin and Park counties and at conferences and annual meetings for groups including the Big Sky Retired Educators, the Ghost Town Preservation Society of Montana and the Governor’s Conference on Aging. GeriActors range in age from 66 to 96 years old. The theater group has performed more than 30 scripts to over 700 people. Christensen remembers one of her most touching moments came after a GeriActors show. A woman in a wheelchair asked Christensen if there might be a part for her with the group. Christensen assured her there certainly was a spot for her in the GeriActors. “The GeriActors donate their time and talents to bring a bit of laughter to their contemporaries,” Bondy explains. “It reinforces for Faye the need seniors have - to matter, and to make a difference.” For Christensen, theater offers a sense of home, no matter where she is. “When you’re involved in theater, you have a ready support group that will carry you through life,” she says.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 11
no job, no resources, and no vehicle.
Henry provided rides to this patient
23 times. He did so with compassion
and non-judgment, which was not easy
given the patient’s personality qualities.” There are other stories of Worrest
sleeping with his hearing aids in so he
could hear his 4:30 a.m. alarm clock and
wake up in time to transport a patient
to a 6 a.m. double mastectomy surgery.
He recalls a drive in his personal vehicle where a woman “waited too long to go in” and was in horrible pain. Worrest
Henry Worrest
drove the woman to her pharmacy for pain medication (technically against
protocol at the time) after her appoint-
ment because she had no family or
F
friends to drive her. He remembers her or the past 15 years, Henry Worrest has been driving cancer patients to doctors appointments. That
equates to more than 1,200 hours on his tires in all kinds of Montana weather. When he explains why he’s spent his golden years on the road to help others, Worrest’s answer is simple.
“It gives me something to do,” Wor-
rest explains. “And I meet some inter-
Through years of teaching, Worrest
excellent care to our patients.”
it,” Worrest says.
ages and stages. He says he often drives
no plans to stop driving. He will stick
nearby or patients whose families are
able to drive patients.
particularly touching story about Wor-
grandchildren. To his family, he is a role
“We had a patient in Livingston with
godsend. But to hear him say it, Worrest
Worrest’s wife was diagnosed with
man to serve as the head of secondary
in Texas.
a post Worrest held from 1973 to 2000.
passed away. That was almost 20 years
cancer. The pair went to a cancer center After three trials and treatment, Pat
Worrest enjoyed the work and said
ago. Worrest says he’s thankful there
anymore.
treatments since he lost his wife, but he
“It wasn’t fun when I was 65,” Worrest
says. “So I quit.”
Though the work can be emotional
adventures unfortunately ended when
teaching stints in Pennsylvania and
he would only quit when it wasn’t fun
week later, the woman died.
Wendy Gwinner. According to Gwin-
spent two years traveling. The couple’s
education at Montana State University,
to make the woman comfortable. A
grown and gone, Worrest and Pat
through his volunteering, he met them
Delaware, Worrest moved to Boze-
all the way and did everything he could
Award by Bozeman Health Cancer
After retirement, with the children
through his career in education. After
Worrest leaned the passenger seat back
and his wife Pat raised three children.
esting people.”
Before he met interesting people
Worrest was nominated for a Prime
moaning in pain in the car, even after
Center Social Work Coordinator
ner, there are “100 examples of Henry’s Worrest has driven patients at all
folks who have no loved ones living
busy on any given day. Gwinner tells a
has been much progress made in cancer
rest’s work.
sadly still stays busy driving patients to
cancer,” Gwinner writes in her nomina-
and from the hospital.
tion. “This man had no social support,
and challenging, Worrest is committed to it, as if he signed a contract.
“When I make an oath, I need to fulfill At 88 years old, Worrest says he has
to his job until he’s no longer needed or Worrest has three children and five
model. To the patients he drives, he is a
is just a man who stepped in when he
was asked.
12 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Iris Gray
A
t 92 years old, Iris Gray is still playing dress up. At least on Mondays. Iris volunteers once a week at the
Tinsley House on the Museum of the Rockies campus. She dons her period outfit and sews alongside
other women while a blacksmith works his forge, a gardener tends the blossoms outdoors and the scent of
fresh-baked biscuits wafts through the air from the kitchen.
“I think the museum is a wonderful place for children to learn about the environment in which they grew up and how it shaped their lives,” Gray explains. “Their enthusiasm is so inspiring, they get so excited about seeing how to make their food and clothing.” Gray’s passion for teaching children started many decades earlier. Born and raised in rural community outside of Chicago, Gray graduated from Illinois State College in the small town of Normal. After earning her education degree, Iris taught high school English for five years, before moving into Chicago to work for a business there. She was living in the Kappa Delta Epsilon National Education Sorority, next to Interna-
tional House, a home for international graduate students. Gray’s house mother warned all the girls not to go next door and fraternize with the men living there. “So of course we did,” she says smiling. And a good thing she did. Iris met her husband of nearly 55 years there. Philip Gray wasn’t an international student, but lucky enough to get to live in the house. He was studying at the University of Chicago to become a professor of psychology, a job he eventually held for 31 years. After the pair married, they made their way to Montana in 1959. By then, the Grays had two children, a son and daughter. Philip found a job teaching at Montana State College, and Iris stayed busing raising their children.
On a sabbatical from teaching at Montana State College, Philip and Iris moved their family to Canada. Iris remembers falling in love with art from the Inuit, or “First Nations” people. Together they started collecting pieces from Inuit artists. Eventually Iris started volunteering at the Winnipeg Handicraft Guild, a cooperative created by the Canadian government to help native artists sell their work. “I learned a lot about how people make apple face dolls and corn husk dolls,” Gray says. “My daughter and I volunteered every Saturday at the Guild.” Philip, Gray and family returned to Montana in 1970 with a collection of stone carvings and prints from First
Nations artisans. The pieces the Grays collected during their time in Canada led Philip to author a book titled “Classic Inuit Artists.” “We also donated some art to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.” Iris recalls. That donation included dolls made from materials that are against the law to use now, like seal skin. Iris says she also donated baskets made of seagrass and woven so tightly, they could hold water. The art that remains in Gray’s house is now earmarked for her two children and two grandchildren. From an art market volunteer in Manitoba to a docent and Tinsley House volunteer at the Museum of the Rockies, Gray’s passion for history and art is obvious. At that intersection, Iris became interested in dinosaur fossils found all across Montana. “I can appreciate how much effort goes into preserving these items they try to project,” she explains. “The idea of finding such ancient animals as the dinosaur in your backyard is really neat.” Gray has visited dinosaur digs in Malta, Miles City, Sidney and Terry. Her field trips helped her offer exciting tours to young children through the dinosaur and history halls at the Museum of the Rockies. After her own retirement from the MSU Computer Testing Center in 1990, Gray says she didn’t want to volunteer because it sounded “boring.” She quickly changed her mind. And nearly 30 years after retirement, she still keeps busy helping at Love Inc., the museum, and serving as a member of the Montana State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. To visit Iris in her Tinsley House costume, stop by the museum on Monday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 13
C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S
Building a community of possible.
to t h e
P R I M E AWA R D S W I N N E R S
At U.S. Bank, we strive to make a positive impact in our community. That’s why we support community events that bring us together for the greater good. We know that anything is possible when we work together. usbank.com/communitypossible U.S. Bank is proud to support Prime Awards 24 over 64.
FROM J&H INC. OFFICE EQUIPMENT
2 0 3 H A G G E RT Y L N . B O Z E M A N
406.586.3103
Downtown Bozeman 104 E Main St Bozeman MT 59715-4760 406.585.5222 ©2018 U.S. Bank. Member FDIC. 171120c 5/18 “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and “Ethisphere” names and marks are registered trademarks of Ethisphere LLC.
B io-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (testosterone) for men over 50 years of age
Congratulations to our Prime Awards Winners!
SYMPTOMS can include:
• Loss of Libido (sex drive) • Emotional apathy & Weight gain • Chronic fatigue and decreased quality of life BENEFITS: • Improves lean muscles mass & exercise tolerance • Decreases cholesterol • Protects cardiovascular system • Improve quality of life and sexual performance and much more
LIFE CAN BE FUN AGAIN! their service, contributions and time spent helping in our local communities across Southwest Montana.
Ronald Buss, M.D.
Bozeman, MT 59715 aestheticmedicineswmontana.com P: 406-586-9229
1765412 1544992
We would like to thank all the winners and recognize
14 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
at the Ivy League school. In 2009, Strout made her way back to MSU to teach freshman seminar course sections on critical thinking and communication, primarily in the College of Letters and Science. She encourages her first-year students to choose local causes they care about and get involved. In the past her students have helped nonprofit, non-partisan organizations like Haven and Bridger Care and looked at issues like climate change and homelessness with the Warming Center. The causes are student-driven, allowing them to think deeply about and integrate their college and community experiences with the world at large, Strout says. She continues her work on women’s rights and social justice by currently coleading a Bozeman Cities for CEDAW campaign to advance the human rights an Strout does not think on a small scale. Just ask her friends and colleagues. “All of Jan’s professional and of all Bozeman’s women and girls, taking volunteer efforts have focused on improving the lives of others, especially women, girls and underrepresented groups,” Montana State University Women’s Center Director Betsy Danforth says. “When she decides on a delegations of women to the United Nations to participate in the UN Comproject, it is most likely something that will improve the lives of hundreds or thousands of citizens at a time.” mission on the Status of Women and Those words mean a great deal to gaining popularity quickly. President “It was an amazing experience, making International Conferences primarily in Strout. John F. Kennedy was famously urgsure everyone has a fair chance to sucLatin America. Strout also co-founded “The broader scope of my life has ing young people to ask not what their ceed,” Strout says. the organizations now known as The really been seeking human rights and country could do for them, but what After a year at that post, Strout Haven and the Bozeman Film Society. human dignity for all,” she says. they could do for their country. Those moved to Bozeman and started workShe co-led the Equal Pay for Equal Strout grew up in southern California indelible words made a big impact on ing in student services and teaching at Work Campaign for the Bozeman City where she said her parents taught her to Strout. Montana State University. Soon Strout Resolution, unanimously adopted in 2015 think critically and ask lots of questions. “I grew up in 60s,” Strout explains. became the founding director of the through Bozeman Business & ProfesIn college at California State University, “There were many forms of social change MSU Women’s Center, a position she sional Women, co-founded Gallatin Long Beach, Strout studied history and taking place, a lot of assumptions being said combined her skills as an educator, Valley Friends of Cuba and has served as sociology. She later earned a master’s in questioned and diverse liberation moveadvocate and community organizer. the Bozeman Community Coordinator counseling and human services and a ments taking place.” Strout remained at the helm of the for Montana Women Vote. masters in communication and media Strout’s passion for social change Women’s Center for five years. In 1987, Additionally, Strout has given many studies. Strout also became active in and a romantic partner brought her Strout took a sabbatical to New Zealand presentations on racial and gender equity, politics and social movements as the to Montana in 1977. She landed a job to study women’s leadership and peace citizen diplomacy, community engagevice president of the student body and at the University of Montana Equal education. At that time, Strout had ment and movement-building at MSU community activist for peace and justice Opportunity Office helping ensure the applied to head the Women’s Center at and locations around the globe. As she in the late 1960s and 70s. school complied with laws enacted to Princeton University. She got the job looks to the future, Strout says she has During her school years, organizations ensure employees were not discrimiand spent the next five years working for no plans to slow down. That’s a typical like VISTA and the Peace Corps were nated against because of a disability. women’s rights, gender and racial equity response, too, according to her friends.
Jan Strout
J
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 15
public relations firm in New York heard about the project and asked her to come to their offices to discuss it. “By the time I left, they had named me the Bag Lady of New Jersey,” Bakelar recalls. “This started a national campaign and I originated the saying ‘Paper or Plastic’ so that cashiers at the grocery store gave us a choice.” For two years, Bakelar traveled the United States talking about her paper bag crusade. She appeared on TV, over the airwaves and in prominent newspapers nationwide. After her volunteer project ended, the PR firm asked her to continue the work, this time as a paid gig. She did all this while maintaining her job selling real estate and directing computer education. “I’m not one to sit around,” Bakelar says. “I’m a multi tasker.” ime lost is never found again. That is 69-year-old Jeanne Bakelar’s motto she’s lived well during each Since she moved to Montana to phase of her life. Bakelar grew up in Brooklyn, one of six children in an Irish Catholic family. She atbe near her daughter Sandy and her tended Catholic schools all her life. After graduation, Bakelar joined a convent in Kentucky with 250 three grandchildren, Bakelar has found nuns. When she had spent two-and-a-half years in the convent, Bakelar was asked to give marriage advice. Since new projects to occupy her time. She she had never had a boyfriend, Bakelar decided she needed to leave the convent and see the world before she currently serves as the president of could offer matrimonial consultation. the resident council at her Highgate “I guess you could say I kicked the Bakelar realized integration of MLS with and error” to create manuals that would Senior Living home. According to habit,” Bakelar jokes. computers would save time and move usher in a new age of technology at the Carrie Stohler, the life enhancement So she made good on her promise the company into a new era of innovaSchlott real estate offices. coordinator at Highgate, Bakelar is an to see the world and took a secretarial tion. Bakelar took her idea to her boss at When she moved to New Jersey, exceptional leader in the community job at Bell and Howell Manufacturing Schlott Realtors and was told to create a Bakelar joined the General Federation and works to support her neighbors Company where she met her husband five-year plan for integrating computers of Women’s Club and volunteered as the through her work on the council. Larry. Less than two years after meetinto 92 company real estate offices. Conservation Chairman. Bakelar came “She has united and empowered the ing at a company party, Bakelar married Bakelar had no idea how to create a up with a green project idea after grocery residents to truly live life to the fullest,” Larry and they moved to New Jersey in five-year plan. So she asked one of her shopping one day. She was carrying her Stohler says. “She has earned the admira1975. After nearly 47 years, they are still business-savvy brothers for help. Tofood in plastic bags from the store. Her tion of our staff for her initiative and happily married, Bakelar says proudly. gether, the two penned the plan. Bakelar bag split and groceries spilled all over dedication to the Highgate Senior Living From marriage to moving, Bakelar took her ideas back to Schlott Realtors. the sidewalk. The small, all-too-familiar Community.” kept her mantra of seeing the world alive After reviewing the plan, her boss gave experience, launched Bakelar’s “Paper or Because she knows the value of time with a job at Coldwell Bankers (Schlott her a new title: director of computer Plastic” campaign. well spent, Bakelar’s bucket list for the Realtors at the time). Working in real education. With her new title came “I just wanted them to ask at the future is just as exciting as her past. estate, Bakelar realized the need realtors the mandate to order, install and train grocery store,” Bakelar explains. “‘Would “For my 60th birthday, I went skydivhad for new technology, namely computemployees at each of the 92 real estate you like paper or plastic?’ That’s all.” ing,” she says. “I have things on my ers. Looking at the Multiple List Service offices on computer use. Bakelar said Bakelar Women’s Club project quickly bucket list like canoeing down the Grand used to generate housing information, those early days included a lot of “trial gained momentum. In early 1980, a Canyon and bungee jumping.”
Jeanne Bakelar
T
16 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Jim McLean
T
he things most people hate - stress, uncertainty, having people
change their mind at the last minute - Jim McLean used to start his career. A 1967 University of Montana law school graduate,
McLean started his career as a clerk for two District Court judges
in Helena and then joined the law firm of Drysdale and Sabo and was ap-
pointed by Judge Lessley as a part-time deputy public defender in 1968. It was that first lawyer job, exciting and chaotic, that affirmed McLean’s love of the law. During those early years, he learned that preparation, hard work, uncompromising advocacy for the firm’s client causes, civility, and respect for the legal system and other lawyers were the keystones to the rewarding practice of law. His job as public defender prepared
him to advocate the “innocent until proven guilty” credo. He soon learned that witnesses change their mind at the eleventh hour, each judge has their own preferences, and everyone deserves a good defense. Those early days set McLean up well for his 50-year career practicing law. In that time, McLean qualified to practice before the Montana and U.S.
District Courts, the 9th Circuit Court “She was funny and smart,” McLean of Appeals, U.S. Claims Court, U.S. Tax says. “What’s not to like?” They have Court, and as a member of the State Bar been happily married for over 50 years. Judicial Evaluation Committee in 1988. Together, McLean and Francie have He engaged in the private practice of three children. A son McLean calls a law for many years under the tutelage “computer guy,” a daughter who works of Doug Drysdale, a brilliant, skilled locally as a veterinarian and a second and respected senior attorney. Through daughter who lives in Colorado and the decades and name changes at the works as a movement therapist. firm, McLean stayed on, honing his He filled out his volunteer credenskills in real estate law, business, estate tials as the director and president of planning and general practice, along the Montana 4-H Foundation, and with litigation in those areas. According director and chairman of the Board to his longtime secretary Sally Perrine, of the Montana Aeronautics Division. McLean always worked hard to help and When McLean talks about his service inspire future generations of lawyers. with the Gallatin Empire Lions Club, “He had the patience to explain he beams. With the club, McLean procedures and try to inspire others to has worked on many of its projects keep an open mind,” Perrine writes. “Jim including as director and president is well-known for his integrity, honesty of Hyalite Youth Camp, during his and ability to listen to both sides of any nearly 40-year membership. situation and be a problem solver.” One of his favorite volunteer gigs McLean says he remembers being a was serving on the Eagle Mount young attorney and appreciates being board of directors. able to help each new crop of lawyers. “It gave me a whole different outlook “I’ve mentored a lot of young attorneys,” on people with disabilities,” McLean McLean says. “It means a great deal to says. “It’s really recreational therapy for me, too, just to pass on my experience.” those kids and adults. Eagle Mount A University of Montana graduate helps so many people doing things like in 1964, McLean knew that he needed horseback riding, swimming, skiing, and more than his political science and golfing. The things you see and the history degrees to launch a career. By en- stories you hear there bring tears to your tering law school at UM, McLean also eyes. You see what it does for those less staved off being drafted for the Vietnam fortunate people and it’s amazing.” War, until after graduation. Then he And while it’s nice to donate money to joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was worthy causes, McLean says it was his a training officer in the Marine Corp hands-on work with organizations like Reserve from 1968 to 1974, becoming a Eagle Mount, Lions, and 4-H that made captain in 1972. the biggest impression on him. During his last year of law school, “Any project like that is more reMcLean met his wife Francie. The pair warding than giving money,” McLean were set up on a blind date by friends. explains. “A big smile is your reward and They hit it off right away. it really is so rewarding to be a part of.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 17
Joel Shouse
J
oel Shouse isn’t the type of person to toot his own horn - but his chil-
dren and grandchildren will. “As his granddaughter, what continues to impress me the most is his lifestyle of service,” Hallie Echols writes in
her nomination of her grandfather. “Whether he is lending his
outdoorsmen-engineer expertise to protect our precious wild places & the
public’s access to these spaces, helping strike the set after a local youth theater production, or simply spending meaningful time with folks going through a rough patch, Joel’s quiet willingness to devote his attention to the needs of
others and to do what he can for them continues to inspire me.” Raised on a small Iowa island on the Mississippi River, Shouse recalls his father being a “consummate outdoorsman.” That love of the wild passed down to Shouse and he grew up swimming after school and hunting and fishing with his dad. Shouse’s daughter Stacy vividly remembers the tales her father told her about growing up on the river.
“The stories he tells of his adventures growing up there reminds me of Huck Finn - jumping off the railroad bridge into the river, swimming in the brown water of the Mississippi, catching minnows and hauling them around in wagons to sell to fishermen and guiding visitors through the river channels around the island, to tell a few,” Stacy recalls.
The love of the outdoors stayed with Shouse as he headed to college at the University of Iowa to study engineering. His university days were long. Shouse started school at 7:30 a.m. and would head home around 5:30 p.m. In college, Shouse decided it was time to marry his high school sweetheart, Claudia, an outgoing woman working at the Office of Fraternity Affairs on campus. Describing her job there, Claudia laughs and says, “those boys needed someone to talk to.” Shouse found he didn’t mind talking to Claudia either. The pair married in 1960 and soon welcomed their first child, a son named Jeffrey. When he graduated in 1963, Shouse had 52 job offers. Nationwide, big money was being poured into building highways. This infrastructure work netted Shouse a job offer in nearly every state. The best offer came from California, so Shouse and Claudia decided to have a “big adventure” as they called it, and took a job with the California Highway Department. That first job involved a lot of bureaucracy, so Shouse quickly decided to strike out on his own and become a consulting engineer. That approach led Shouse to a job opportunity with a private engineering firm at Lake Tahoe. It was at that job that Shouse was first introduced to Montana. He was sent to help with a zoning project in Bridger Canyon in 1969. “I saw the Bridgers and thought, ‘This is where I want to be,’” Shouse recalls. So he uprooted his family, with two more children added to the mix this time (daughter Stacy and son Greg) and took a big pay cut to work on a project funded by an Environmental Protection Agency. When that grant ran out, Shouse once again employed his “can-do” attitude and took on consulting work around the state. “I basically lived in a 4-wheel drive pickup with a briefcase,” Shouse says. “I
was a consulting planner and engineer for Madison, Broadwater and Beaverhead counties. I would travel all over, attending meetings, and review subdivisions. I did some master plans for communities like Twin Bridges. It was fun, I spent a lot of late nights coming home in blizzards.” Shouse went on to work on many interesting natural resource, conservation and land planning projects in his career, including helping create development plans for Bridger Bowl and Moonlight Basin ski areas. He also prepared river management plans for the Madison, Gallatin, Big Hole, Big Blackfoot and Bitterroot rivers as well as Canyon Ferry and Fort Peck reservoirs. His most satisfying projects were developing the recreational use management plan for the Smith River and facilitating a 142,000-acre conservation easement for the Thompson and Fisher River drainages in northwest Montana. At the time, in 1999, it was the largest conservation easement ever done in Montana. Additionally, Shouse immersed himself in volunteer work with Trout Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Pheasants Forever, and several other conservation-based nonprofits. He recently retired after serving 40 years on the board of the Montana Trout Foundation. Shouse has served as an elder in his church and as a Bible study leader. He also volunteers at his daughter’s theater, Kaleidoscope Youth Theater. Other previous volunteer service includes past president of the Bozeman Legion Baseball program and as a member and chairman of the Bozeman city-county planning board. Shouse and Claudia continue to enjoy all Montana has to offer. Forty three years after they moved to the Treasure State, they get to share the natural bounty with their children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren.
18 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Kate Evans
T
he headline of Kate Evans’ life is “my 70-year journey in journalism.”
At 93 years old, it’s the thing Evans has been doing longer than even being a spouse or mother.
Evans got her start in journalism in the 1940s in her hometown of Elkhart, Indiana. Knowing she would eventually like to pursue journalism in college, Evans approached the editor of the local newspaper, while she was still in high school, and asked for a job. She was hired to write obituaries and wedding announcements. By the time she got to college at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she had enough experience to earn her a spot in the program.
Upon graduation in 1947, Evans landed a job editing the women’s page at a weekly newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. “In those days, women were stuck on the ‘mayonnaise pages,’” Evans explains. “Mostly we wrote about cooking, weddings, teas, all that social stuff. It was rare for women to work anywhere but the social pages.” It was during time at that newspaper job that Evans was in a train station when she bumped into Dick Evans, a
high school acquaintance and Colgate University graduate. Evans was recently discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps and working in Chicago as a sales rep. Soon the two started “going steady” and in 1950, they married at a chapel on the Northwestern campus. Evans decided to stay in Chicago pursuing journalism when Dick was recalled in fall 1950 to serve in Korean War. When he was assigned as an instructor at the Marine Corps Schools in Quantico, Virginia, she joined him. Because she did not have children she did not want to live on the base where she would have little in common with officers who had families. Instead, she convinced Dick to live off-base with her in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she could continue writing at the local paper. “I was hired to help in two departments: editorial and advertising,” Evans recalls. “This dual job proved to be a challenging and very different experience, in writing and living in a southern segregated town.” Dick was eventually discharged after five years of service in World War II and the Korean War. He and Evans moved back to the Chicago area. Evans found work at an ad agency and eventually as the public relations director for the National College of Education in Evanston. In 1955, the Evans family expanded with the addition of their daughter Nancy, followed by twin boys Greg and Doug in 1958. While Evans had her hands full with young children, she still found time for journalism. At night or when the kids were napping, Evans would work on freelance projects for trade magazines and journals. She would sit at her kitchen table and compose each article on her typewriter. Evans laughs when tells the story of her daughter coming
home one day saying, “I just thought everyone’s moms had a typewriter on the kitchen table.” Evans also took on newsletter projects, starting with her church’s letter, then the regional PTA and later the Illinois American Association of University Women. In the 60s, the Evans family trekked out west for several camping trips in Montana. When Dick and Evans were able to retire, they knew they wanted to leave Chicago and settle in for a new chapter in Montana. They chose Big Sky to build a house that they called home until 2009 when they moved to Hillcrest Senior Living. In Big Sky, Evans was on the board of the Homeowners Association, the Association of Arts, and Gallatin Canyon Womans Club. Evans took on more writing projects, including the first-ever Eagle Mount newsletter. She found out the agency was organizing a camp for kids with cancer. In 1969, Evans lost an 8-year-old niece to leukemia and felt called to help the new organization. Starting in the mid-80s, Evans created newsletters for Eagle Mount. She continued to do so for 20 years, earning her a statue of a metal eagle from the founders of the organization. It’s a gift she treasures to this day. Today, she keeps busy editing and writing for the Hillcrest newsletter where she profiles the interesting lives of her neighbors and the employees at the senior living complex. For Evans, journalism is her way of connecting with the world around her. “From age 17 to 93 years old, I’ve worked in one kind of journalism or another,” Evans says. “I don’t want to just exist, I want to live and contribute. Writing gives me something to get up for in the morning.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 19
Wars Post 903, an associate member of the Marine Corp League, vice president of the Veterans Alliance of Southwest Montana, and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 788. “I wound up one month being voted in as Commander of Post 14,” Albright says. “I happened to be commander when the building blew up.” Albright is talking about American Legion Post 14 and the downtown Bozeman explosion of 2009. “We just pushed and pushed and pushed to get this building rebuilt,” Albright remembers. “We got built back up in 18 months. That’s when we got a lot of community support.” Even without a building, Post 14 started the first annual Memorial Day Parade. Albright serves as the emcee for that parade and veteran services and is chair t’s very tough for a veteran to ask for help because you’re not used to doing that. But once they do, that’s for the Memorial Day Parade Committee. He is passionate about his role as when you respond. That’s why we’re around, to help veterans and veterans’ families.” This sums up Len the mentor coordinator for the V.E.T.S. Albright’s commitment to serving those who have served. Albright comes from a military family - his Court, a program to help veterans in father served in World War II and the Korean War. Albright was drafted during his second year of college and the criminal justice system who have served four years as a jet engine mechanic for the Air Force from 1966 to 1970. The squadron Albright was assubstance abuse or mental health needs. signed to flew over North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand at altitudes ranging from 60 feet to 80,000 It’s not just in court that Albright helps feet. His missions included measuring Russian nuclear bomb ingredients and photographing prison camps, veterans families. Working alongside his enemy troops and supplies. local veteran groups, Albright said he After completing four years of service, one week home in California. in Montana in August. Albright was recently helped a veteran in crisis. with a new bride in tow, Albright reAlbright called home one day to sold. The family, this time with two chil“His wife had passed away,” Albright turned to his home state of California to ask his wife if she might want to dren in tow, moved to Montana in 1978. explains. “This vet is raising a little boy finish college. With electronic technician move to Spokane. While mulling the “And then 1979 was the coldest win- by himself now. He went through a training completed through a two-year idea over, Albright saw a job anter in 70 years,” Abright says. “It was tough time, we got him through that. college, Albright quickly found a goodnouncement in the newspaper for a flipping cold. Schools were closed for A fellow Marine also went through a paying job creating the first computerjob in Bozeman. two days because the boilers couldn’t tough time. He was homeless. We found ized traffic control systems. In 1974, “I thought, ‘Where the hell is Bozkeep up.” him a place to stay, he’s doing well now. Albright was sent to Spokane, Washingeman, Montana?’” Albright recalls In Bozeman, Albright started getting It’s just things like that we do on a daily ton to help prepare the city to host the laughing. involved with veterans groups. He met a basis. It’s nothing you go around bragWorld Fair. The goal was to have more Nevertheless, he took a trip to Bozeman named Gene Brooks, a U.S. Navy ging about. It’s very tough for a veteran traffic intersections online with the new man, ended up being wined and dined veteran. Brooks encouraged Albright to ask for help because you’re not used computerized technology than any other by a company called Summit Engito get involved in the Color Guard to doing that.” city in the world. Albright found himself neering. Employees from the company and Honor Guard. Albright is now a But when a veteran is ready, Albright is working two weeks on in Spokane and showed Albright all there was to enjoy lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign there to help.
Len Albright
“I
20 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Madeline Garcia
I
f you have been to an Intermountain Opera performance in Bozeman,
you’ve seen Madeline Garcia’s handiwork. For more than 20 years,
Garcia has been coordinating and sewing costumes for elaborate 18th to 20th century opera performances.
Intermountain brings at least two operas to town each year with up to 30 or 40 performers in each show who need period-specific costumes. Garcia is responsible for hooks, eyes and buttons, mending seams and tears, shortening and lengthening and any other alterations to make the costumes fit properly. As the costume manager for the opera house, Garcia is also respon-
sible for finding other seamstresses to help her with the costuming. It’s a time consuming labor of love for everyone involved. “I have had a tremendous amount of help,” Garcia says. “There’s no way I could do this by myself. I have excellent helpers, both men and women. It’s just a joint effort.”
Garcia says she grew up loving art in many forms. She refined that love and found her strengths when she attended the California College of Arts and Crafts in the San Francisco Bay area. She studied fine arts including drawing, weaving, pottery and more. “I could work at a loom on third floor and look out on the bay,” Garcia recalls. “It was wonderful. I loved weaving, working with fabrics, the touch of fabrics and that kind of thing. I really enjoyed art history more than I even enjoyed producing the work.” Before she was able to finish her degree, Garcia moved back to Sacramento and married her high school beau and had five children. After separating from that husband, Garcia met Chris, a kind man who shared her love of art. The two eventually wed and moved back to the San Francisco Bay area. Garcia found work at AT&T designing long distance networks for hotels, universities and large businesses. Chris worked in the distribution center at the San Francisco Chronicle. Though she wasn’t working directly in an artistic field, Garcia found art everywhere. She especially loved eyeing clothing from different eras and evaluating its authenticity. “Even going to the movies, I always loved critiquing the costumes,” Garcia says. “I’d see if the hair and jewelry and clothes matched the time period.” Garcia and Chris made the move from California to Bozeman after checking out the town as a potential
new skiing destination. Garcia remembers taking a bike ride around Bozeman and asking a carpenter at a construction site how much a condo in Bozeman cost. Shocked at the low price compared to living in the Bay Area, Garcia and her husband decided to retire early and make the move. That was 1985. One day when Chris was reading the newspaper, he saw an ad mentioning an opera coming to town, volunteers wanted. Chris suggested she join the opera team. “It’s a lot of fun; it’s a lot of work,” Garcia says. “Everybody that does it is doing it because they want to. For most of our operas, we’ve been fortunate to rent costumes that may just need alterations.” Garcia and her team of seamstresses hang out in the wings for every opera, making sure performers are dressed properly, in time for every scene. They also carry mending kits to fix any rips or tears that happen on or off stage. When she’s not costuming for the opera, Garcia enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, volunteering at the Museum of Rockies and traveling. She recently returned from an eight week visit to see her son and grandchildren in Germany. Seeing her grandkids enjoy art and create paintings and drawing is gratifying for Garcia. As for her opera work, Garcia says she’s not quitting yet. “I’d like to do this at least one more year,” she says. “I’d like to do it as long as my energy and strength hold out.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 21
Mike Tess
M
ike Tess has often said that he wants to die tired, in service to others. Tess is making good on his mot-
to by serving as an elder at his church, leading Bible studies and small groups, counseling couples,
recruiting and leading volunteer groups to serve at the pay-what-you-can community cafe, and that’s
just the beginning.
Since 2006, Tess has served Family Promise by coordinating volunteers to help homeless families. After leading that charge for a decade, Tess joined the Family Promise board of directors. This past winter, when Family Promise purchased the Amos House from the Human Resource Development Council, Tess worked 25-plus hour weeks remodeling the transitional living duplex. He kept up that pace for four months and managed 50 volunteers to finish the project. When he’s not swinging a hammer or helping at church, Tess has been known to dress up as Santa Claus to delight the folks he works with at Reach Inc. On Thursday mornings, Tess can be found at Love Inc. answering phone calls
and referring clients to the community services they need. Family Promise Executive Director Kevin Sylvester says Tess and his wife Kathy truly embody what it means to live in services to others. “For 35 years, Mike and Kathy have opened their home to people in need of support,” Sylvester writes in his nomination for Tess. “Mike believes in and has a gentle touch for reaching out to others and lifting them up.” Tess attributes his work and service ethic to his father. Raised on a chicken operation in a rural area of southern California, Tess learned to value of a hard day’s work early on. He also learned a love of the land and the Lord. “I would say I get a lot from my father,”
he says. “He tried to put the Lord first and everything else after that.” By college, Tess decided to earn a degree in animal science, which he did in 1971 from California State Polytechnic College. In 1978, Mike completed an M.S. in animal science at Montana State University. By 1981, Tess had earned a Ph.D in animal science from the University of Nebraska and began his academic career as an assistant professor at North Carolina State University. In 1988, Tess landed a job at MSU teaching beef cattle management. During his undergraduate studies, Tess met his wife Kathy. This December, the pair will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary. Between degrees, jobs and moves, Tess and his wife had four
children, two girls and two boys. It’s their kids, both Tess and his wife agree, that are their greatest accomplishment in life, and of course, their 15 grandchildren. His professional career yielded plenty of successes, too. Tess settled into his research and teaching role at MSU and eventually served two stints as head of the Animal and Range Science Department. In 1993, Tess became a full professor and went on to publish many articles in animal science journals. The students, however, were the best part of his work, he says. Through the years, Tess taught several courses, including graduate seminars. Tess said that when the light bulb turned on for a student and they started to put complex pieces together, that made him proudest. “It was really rewarding to have students who wanted to learn,” he said. “It was a joy to have them understand and learn to think for themselves. In the upper division courses, it was really satisfying to help them put things together and formulate their own ideas.” For his esteemed career, Tess was honored as a distinguished California State Polytechnic College alumni and asked to speak at a graduation ceremony. Instead of talking job markets and profit-laden paths, Tess talked about integrity. “I encouraged them to consider that not all paths in life are equally valuable,” Tess says. “Hold on to your values. For me it, it’s faith, family and ethics.” While it’s a good graduation speech, it’s also a great personal credo, one Tess hopes to continue espousing every day.
22 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Oliver Germann
At
99 years old, Oliver Germann has seen and done a lot.
He’s traveled the world, worked as a ranch hand, a miner
and an entrepreneur. On an electric typewriter he taught himself to use, Germann wrote a book about his World
War II service and earning eight medals along the way. Germann’s life started in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he was raised with his eight siblings. His earliest memory is of starting school at the tender age of 4. Germann says he was sent to the small schoolhouse early so there would be enough students to teach. He left home early, too, when he was 14.
By 23, Germann joined the Army Air Force following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Germann started his military career as a mechanic, but soon moved on to to gunnery school, advancing quickly to the top of his class with near-perfect aim. “I got to be an aerial gunner,” Germann recalls. “I shot the highest
score that had ever been shot with a program that pairs Gallatin Valley’s agmachine gun.” ing residents with new friends. As B-24 aerial tail gunner, Germann “He has become one of the best role received eight medals in a single day, models I have ever known and I’m so including a Purple Heart. Germann’s lucky to be his Befriender,” Eilers says. missions took him all over the Europe, “He has enriched my life tremendously strategically destroying Axis strongbecause I get to be his friend.” holds and supplies. He recalls being Eilers goes on to talk about Gerpart of 11 successful missions that saved mann’s greatest success being his the lives of his comrades. family and his greatest ambition to When he returned home after his constantly better himself. Even in his service, Germann said he wanted to do 90s, Germann was an advocate for the what every soldier wanted to do - “get things he cares about, including the married and start a family.” Germann Befrienders program. found a wife and started working with “Through Befrienders, he has helped her father at a Colorado ranch. The bring awareness to their mission by marriage didn’t last, but his love of participating in various events and breaking horses and running cattle did. news stories,” Eilers explains. “He has Eventually Germann remarried, a also made numerous friends through wonderful woman named Helen “Ardie” his connections at High Country Care Meyer he met in Jackson Hole. Origiand Galavan.” nally from New York, Ardie had travIn addition to visiting with friends eled to Jackson Hole to enjoy the crisp and family and sharing stories, Germountain air. mann enjoys dining weekly at the “She had a breathing disorder,” GerBamboo Garden, a favorite restaurant mann says. “ In New York, she had a for many years. He looks forward little trouble making it and they sent to celebrating a century on earth in her out west for the air.” October. Germann takes solace in his When he met Ardie, Germann says High Country Care home, where his he changed his “man about town” ways bedroom is covered in photos, medand started taking Ardie to listen to live als, horse art, letters and cards - the music. The pair fell in love and married, artifacts of a rich and full life. And for 55 years, Germann says proudly. though Germann says he began reading In his almost 100 years on earth, Ger- the Bible when he was 10 and holds mann talks proudly about family, his his faith close, he’s believes it’s not the time in the war, his faith and hard work. church that makes the man. But it’s what others continue to say “It doesn’t matter what church you go about him that form his indelible legacy. to on Sunday,” he says. “It matters what Germann’s nominator, Brittany Eilers, you accomplished in your life and how met him through the local Befrienders you treat people.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 23
Helping families celebrate a life lived.
Montana Investment Advisors •
8% compounded annual growth for the past 25+ years*
•
Principals have combined investment management experience
•
of over 90 years Founded and managed in MT since 1992
Congratulations to the 24 over 64 Award recipients!
*Past results are not a guarantee of future returns. Client accounts have a minimum of $250,000. Management fees are 1% on the first $1,000,000 and 0.5% on assets exceeding $1,000,000 annually.
“There is a difference.” 406.587.3184
1797066
104 E. MAIN SUITE 416, BOZEMAN, MT PHONE: 406.586.7711 | EMAIL: MINTND2@GMAIL.COM
www.dokkennelson.com info@dokkennelson.com 113 South Willson Avenue in Bozeman Nick Davis, President Brenda Davis, Chair
If you have difficulty understanding words clearly over the the phone, phone, just fill fill out this this form! form! over You may qualify for free assistive telephone equipment through the
Montana Telecommunications Access Program!
Yes, I want to learn more about MTAP!
Equipment available through MTAP includes: • Amplified telephones • Captioned telephones • Loud bell ringers TTYs • Artificial Larynxes • And much, much more!
Return form to: MTAP P. O. Box 4210, Helena, MT 59604
Name: ____________________________________
Address: __________________________________
City: ______________________________________
State: _____________ Zip Code: _______________
Phone: _____________________________________
on o ntan na Telecommunications Access Program
1670147
The Montana Telecommunications Access Program (MTAP) provides FREE assistive telephone equipment to those who qualify, making it easier to use the phone to do business or keep in touch with family and friends.
For more information just mail us this form or call toll-free 1-800-833-8503
24 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Ray Ross
T
he difference between working and retirement is making his own hours. Though Ray Ross says he’s just
as busy in retirement now as he was during his career, keeping his own schedule is the paramount perk
of retirement.
“The best time to serve is retirement,” Ross says. Before he landed in Bozeman in 1986, Ross was a bit of a nomad. Growing up an Army kid, Ross remembers moving frequently with his family, even attending school in Taiwan at one point. During his college years in Washington, D.C., Ross met his wife, Amy, during a car race. Ross laughs when he recounts the story of rallying his Saab to win the race. The driver in a losing car contested Ross’ win and eventually stripped him of his title. That driver was Amy. After a few more adventures, the pair realized they were better allies than enemies and married. Ross was already serving in the U.S. Air Force in Georgia. After that assignment, Ross and Amy moved around to Texas, Alaska and Hawaii. Finally, Ross was sent for a year-long tour in Vietnam.
In 1975, Ross first came to Montana. He remembers seeing an article about Kalispell in National Geographic magazine. Ross and Amy loved the Treasure State immediately and bought land outside Kalispell. The family, now with two boys in tow, moved to the U.S. Air Force base in Great Falls. After spending more time in the state and sending their sons to college at Montana State University, Ross realized it was Bozeman where he wanted to settle down and eventually retire. The family set down roots in Bozeman in 1986. Ross quickly found work at Sunbird Aviation as a flight instructor. His knack, he said, was older women, close to his age, who wanted to do something for themselves after raising children. One of Ross’s students, Dorothy, puts it this way: “You have given me life when I con-
cluded there was no longer anything out there for me. You gave me insight into a part of myself I didn’t know was there. You gave me permission to express joy. What more can I say about you teaching me how to fly.” While teaching flight lessons, Ross was recruited to join the board of directors of the Gallatin Valley Animal Shelter. In the early 90s, when Ross first signed on, the shelter had not adopted its no-kill policy, so Ross often ended up taking cats home with him. In 1996, Ross was appointed to the Montana State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The board was responsible for overseeing the humane care of animals being used in wildlife research studies, biomedical research or institutional purposes. Today, Ross serves as the facilities manager for his church, St. James Epis-
copal. To keep the church operational daily, Ross is responsible for overseeing plumbing, electrical, heating,ventilation, air conditioning, security, lighting, fire safety, snow removal and more. He also works hard to save the church money by negotiating good prices on repairs for the building constructed in the 1880s. Ross himself is a capable handyman. When he and his wife Amy moved to Bozeman 32 years ago, Ross built the couple’s remote Bear Canyon home by hand, enlisting the help of only one outside worker. Two years ago, when his son needed a place to live, Ross moved out of his home across a small field to a new home he built, this time enlisting the help of a father-son duo to complete the project. Through the church, Ross says he was connected with several other projects, including recruiting other local churches to serve as sites for homeless families through Family Promise. Ross was responsible for creating the first Family Promise Day Center, located in the Canterbury House on the the St. James Church campus, and later securing the funding for Family Promise to purchase its own day center. In 2016, Ross once again used the Canterbury House to put up homeless women. This past winter, he led the effort to open the church’s doors to offer coffee and shelter when the Warming Center was closed. Ross also volunteered as a docent at the Museum of the Rockies, donating more than 1,300 hours of his time to the organization. When he talks about his contributions to the community, Ross is humble, insisting he has no plans to quit anytime soon. “Sometimes it just takes an old codger to get the work done,” he says.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 25
down because he it meant he wouldn’t be flying. After more assignments overseas and a posting in the southern United States, Roehm eventually retired from the Air Force as a colonel and returned to Bozeman. Carol and Roehm built a house on land they bought off South 19th Avenue and continued to keep busy in retirement. Roehm served as a regent for the Montana University System for seven years, working hard for gender equality in pay and to serve the needs of hen Richard Roehm thinks about a role model for his exemplary life, he doesn’t have to look far. “I Native American students. During this saw my mother, who I can’t say enough good about, not only support my dad and me, on $6,000 a appointment, Roehm also serve as an year, but still volunteer,” Roehm says. advisor to the president of MSU. Roehm’s mother, a biochemist with System, a position he accepted in large Carol finished her final year of underRoehm was recruited in the 80s to a Ph.D from Columbia, found herself part because of his mother’s legacy in graduate work, he flew planes. After join the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital the sole earner in the family when education. Before he was a regent, he graduation, the pair married and deBoard of Directors right as the hospiher husband suffered a massive heart was a student. Roehm graduated from ployed to the Philippines. For two years, tal was being moved from downtown attack. Roehm said the stress of trying Montana State College in 1957 with the newlyweds had adventures at their to its current campus. It was a move to help the war (World War II) effort degree in biology. Though he enjoyed station abroad, including a brief stint fraught with strife at the time, but one caused his father’s heart to give out. school and earned top accolades as a where Carol had to live offbase with that Roehm said panned out well for Roehm’s mother packed up the family college wrestler, Roehm’s first love took other air force wives. She remembers the community. and headed to Bozeman, where she flight outside the classroom. staying up one night with a shotReconnecting with his love of flygot a job as a professor at Montana “Flying is my first love,” Roehm explains. gun across her lap to keep out a loud ing, Roehm joined the airport board State College. From an early age, Roehm repotential intruder. The alleged intruder of directors. In his 20 years of serFor the work as a food and nutrition members watching golden eagles turned out to be a pig, a story Roehm vice, Roehm was part of creating new professor, Roehm’s mother made exactly soar through the air and envying the and Carol still laugh about. runways and terminals. Accompanyhalf the salary of a man with similar freedom they enjoyed up high. As a This December, Carol and Roehm ing all his adventures and service is qualifications. It was that glaring inteenager, Roehm got a job at Gallatin will celebrate 60 years of marriage. In Roehm’s humble attitude. He insists equality that guided Roehm to fight for Flying Service. He traded his work for that time, they have had two chilthat he worked with wonderful people, gender equality throughout his life. flying lessons and soon tagged along dren who they took to live in Bolivia, who made light work of tough projects. “One of my big objectives as a regent on crop dusting flights. By the time Amsterdam and other international Roehm is also quick to point out his was to push gender equity and I think I Roehm graduated college, he was an locations. Roehm served two tours wife’s influence in his life. got the ball rolling,” Roehm said. adroit pilot, headed for service in the in Vietnam and was appointed to the “My life mate helped with everything,” He’s talking about his appointment U.S. Air Force. White House under President Nixon, he says. “Carol’s the reason for a lot of as regent to the Montana University While Roehm’s college sweetheart a post he tried (unsuccessfully) to turn my successes.”
Richard Roehm
W
26 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Rick Gale
R
ick Gale is the first to admit he goes to a lot of meetings. He’s a
man who has five business cards for his work with the Vietnam
Veterans of America, Elks Drug Awareness Program, Gallatin County DUI Task Force, the Community Coalition on Drug
Awareness, and Alcohol & Drug Services of Gallatin County. As Gale says, “it’s about we, not me.” In his meetings, Gale works with other passionate people to create a safer community. If fact, it’s something Gale has been working at his entire adult life. From 1966 to 1970, Gale served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Gale was assigned to the Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in
1967. While in service, Gale participated in civic projects including outreach to an orphanage in Vietnam. When he returned home to California, Gale found work as a school teacher. He also donated hundreds of hours as a reserve police officer for the City of Irvine. In this capacity, Gale served as a patrol and traffic officer, a
crisis negotiator, and a warrant investigator for 17 years. with the Bozeman Veteran Service Gale and his wife Pris welcomed Providers, the Community Coalition foster children into their home, eventuon Drug Awareness, Greater Gallatin ally adopting three kids. In 2017, the Homeless Action Coalition, MSU Gales proudly watched their grown son, Substance Abuse Free Environment an Iraqi War Veteran, graduate from Coalition, and the Vietnam Veterans of Montana State University. Southwest Montana. Gale holds volunIn the summers, Gale and Pris would teer positions on the Bozeman Police pack up the kids and move to YelCommission, Gallatin County 911 lowstone National Park, where Gale Advisory Committee, Gallatin County worked as a seasonal ranger. For 22 DUI Task Force, and the Montana years, Ranger Rick and his family enOpioid Planning Task Force. joyed this summer tradition. One of his Gale’s Prime Award nominator proudest accomplishments, Gale says, is Kelley Parker-Wathne notes that his putting teddy bears in ranger patrol cars personal and professional achievements to give to young children involved in “extend far beyond anything I could traffic accidents. The Yellowstone Tedexpress in a letter.” dies and other brave work earned Gale “Rick’s entire adult life has cenrecognition from the National Park tered on community involvement and Service for his contributions to ranger improvement,” Parker-Wathne writes. operations. “From his time in the military, then as During their summers in the park, an officer in law enforcement, as a park Pris and Gale would drive down ranger, and eventually as an educator, to Bozeman to buy groceries. They he has been tireless in fighting for the decided they liked the town enough to good of humanity.” make it their permanent home in 2006, When asked where his motivation to after Gale retired from teaching high keep working so hard comes from, Gale school in Irvine. points to his wife Pris. Gale quickly made inroads with vari“She taught school for 20 years and ous groups working on drug prevention got us into foster care,” Gale says. and education. He says curbing drug Pris also patiently put up with many and alcohol use and abuse is about late law enforcement nights, Gale “prevention, enforcement and treatment.” recalls. When he tries to praise her for To that end, Gale began volunteering it, Pris quickly redirects back to Gale, with task forces, nonprofits, city and reminding him of another accolade he county entities, anyone who wanted to earned or group he supported. do something about drug and alcohol For Gale, the work is about creating abuse in Montana. healthy communities and working with Gale also joined social groups includtalented folks to get tough work done. ing the Bozeman American Legion and “I’m just wired for coalition work, I the Sunrise Rotary Club. He volunteers guess,” Gale says.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 27
Sandy Regnerus
B
orn and raised in Illinois, Sandy Regnerus and her husband took a leap of faith 50 years ago and decided to move to Montana so they could teach at Manhattan Christian Schools. Regnerus’ boss and
Prime Award nominator Toni Marchi, says, “she’s been enriching and lovingly supporting our local
community ever since.”
More than a leap of faith is her life of faith. “My parents were an example,” she explains. “If you’re a Christian, you love other people because God loves you.” It was that explanation that led Regnerus, her husband, and their three young children to Nigeria from 1976 to 1978. Regnerus and her husband initially heard about moving to Nigeria to teach through their church. Ready for a big adventure, the family left the United States for the unknown. “The people were marvelous,” Regn-
erus recalls. “They would do anything for you.” After assisting in special ed in Great Falls in the 1980s, Regnerus returned to school as a nontraditional student to pursue her master’s degree in special education. Regnerus used her degree to teach in Augusta, Montana. She also used it to direct a local youth shelter for teens in difficult situations. By this time, her husband was well into his second career with Darigold. Regnerus retired from teaching in 1992 only to take on a second career as a bookkeeper. She eventually left
that job in 2009, but didn’t stay idle for a moment. After her second retirement, Regnerus helped around the valley volunteering for her church and other programs through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Regnerus has been working with the RSVP program for more than nine years. She says she has “no plans to slow down” on her charitable work. Three years ago, Regnerus was actually lured out of retirement a third time to work as a caregiver with Home Instead Senior Care. With a lifetime
of service in various capacities, Regnerus recalls her joy at finding out about becoming a home caregiver. “I thought, ‘I can do what I’ve been doing for friends and get paid for it?,’” Regnerus says. Regnerus loved the idea of getting to earn money doing something she enjoyed and hoped to put her earnings toward travel. She has a few trips on her bucket list, including a tour through the United Kingdom and European rivers trip. With her husband, Regnerus enjoys traveling around the United States. When the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary five years ago, they took a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. Seven years ago, Regnerus’ pastor was asking for two people from the congregation to go to Uganda to live at an orphanage for a month. She signed up right away. “I got to go into the classroom and read to the kids,” Regnerus says. “I read them Roald Dahl.” Whatever her future holds, Regnerus says she will keep working out her faith through kindness to others. As her current boss says, “Sandy’s compassion has touched many lives and her impact has been such a blessing.” And if she doesn’t make it to every travel destination on her bucket list? No problem. “I have all eternity to see what God wants me to,” she says.
28 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Steve Hoffman
In
his Bozeman home, in a small black frame, is a photo that well represents Steve Hoffman’s pas-
sions. The photo shows a towheaded boy, no older than a year, holding a hawk in his hand, ready for release.
The little boy is Hoffman’s only child, Merlin. From an early age, Hoffman and his wife Lisa, hiked with Merlin through vast stretches of bird habitat to observe and record migration patterns and simply enjoy being in nature. As Merlin says with a smile, his upbringing was “different from his friends.” Hoffman now runs Merlin Birding & Nature Tours, but that’s a recent addition to his lengthy resume of animal and ecosystem preservation efforts. Raised in suburban Philadelphia, it wasn’t until college that Hoffman fell in love with birds at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary outside Reading, Pennsylvania. During his undergraduate studies, Hoffman studied birds in the Florida Everglades and worked as a short-order cook in Yellowstone National Park. “I fell in love with the park and decided I wanted to dedicate my career to saving
wildlife,” Hoffman says. His time in the park also solidified Hoffman’s love for Montana. America’s first national park exposed Hoffman to diverse biomes and species of predatory animals he quickly gained an affinity for. The cooking gig in Yellowstone ended and Hoffman wrapped up his biology degree from Albright College. He earned a Master of Science in wildlife ecology at Utah State University in 1979. After graduation, Hoffman headed to Arizona to work for the Bureau of Land Management as a wildlife biologist. Hoffman pioneered the study hawk migration in western North America. After years of searching, Hoffman discovered the first concentrated flyway for migrating raptors in the west. This discovery led Hoffman to found Hawk Watch International in 1986 to support raptor monitoring, education and conserva-
tion. After years of hard work, Hoffman’s Hawk Watch International was featured in the award-winning documentary “Sky Migrations.” In 1985, Hoffman met Lisa when he hired her brother to count migrating birds in New Mexico. The couple eventually moved to the East Coast and Hoffman became director of bird conservation for Audubon Pennsylvania. In 2004, the Hoffmans moved to Bozeman. The Predator Conservation Alliance hired Hoffman as its executive director. “That job harkened back to my passion for predators and all the rare and declining carnivores; that was the mission of the organization,” Hoffman explains. Hoffman was later hired as the executive director of Montana Audubon. During his 10-year tenure as director, the Montana Audubon Center was established and provided outdoor, nature-based
education for thousands of adults and children each year. Hoffman also helped launch the popular Bridger Raptor Fest, which draws crowds of 5,000 eannually. The community event, held each October since 1996, was born from Hoffman’s research into the Bridger Mountain migration corridor. Through his earlier work with Hawk Watch International, Hoffman found that the mountains offer a vital migration pathway to birds, especially golden eagles. Bringing the community together to celebrate and learn about raptors is immensely gratifying for Hoffman. “I’m really interested in conservation of functioning, healthy, natural ecosystems with humans being part of that,” Hoffman says. “It’s not just about nature, it’s about quality of life for people.” Hoffman retired in 2016 from Montana Audubon. With his own birding company, he says he can spend more time in the outdoors he worked so hard to protect his entire career. The people he’s introduced to birding through Merlin Tours are grateful for his expertise. “I’ve taken several raptor courses with Steve and have gone on many of his field trips,” Hoffman’s Prime Nominator Judy Tsiang says. “Steve’s enthusiasm never wanes, and it is infectious. He is a font of knowledge, and is patient, kind, humble, and unbelievably energetic.” Getting others excited about conservation by offering hands-on experiences is what makes Hoffman tick in this new chapter of his life. As a peer-reviewed, published scientist with passion and patience, he’s just the man for the job. “I plan to spend the next 15 to 20 years working with young adults through seniors to help them appreciate and want to protect the world,” Hoffman says. “I want to get people outdoors to enjoy and experience nature. You’re not going to want to save it unless you feel an emotional connection to it.”
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 29
Wayne Gibson
It
was on a ranch in the Helena Valley that Wayne Gibson learned
the value of hard work. Gibson’s father was a ranch foreman and his mother the cook on the large O’Connell Cattle Ranch. The
operation in the early days was spartan - no running water or
electricity. It wasn’t until Gibson’s twin sisters were born several years later, that the ranch earned the amenities of modernity after World War II. The nearest neighbor lived three miles away by the road, Gibson recalled. So it was in a small school (Warren Elementary, which still exists in Helena, though the students were moved in the 70s to a new building with the same name) that Gibson formed friendships and joined the local 4-H Club.
Raising animals through 4-H was how Gibson eventually put himself through college and met the love of his life Leona. At a friend’s party, Leona and Gibson ended up in the kitchen helping clean up after the revelry. Leona was washing dishes and asked Gibson to pick up a drying towel and help.
“We got acquainted over a dishpan,” Gibson recalls. The rest, Gibson says with a laugh, is history. Gibson and Leona were married 56 years until Leona’s passing in 2014. Their long marriage Gibson credits for much of his success. “Her sewing, cooking and leadership skills were a very important part of our partnership as we worked to better the community.” Throughout their lives, Leona and Gibson both maintained their love for 4-H. From 1997 to 2003 Gibson even served as the on the Montana 4-H Foundation board, with a two-year appointment to president of the board. “4-H gave me an opportunity to see and do things I would not have been able to do without this influence,” Gibson explains. “It taught me to keep records, to be responsible for completing projects, to learn to speak publically, and to help others accomplish their projects.” For college, Gibson headed to Bozeman for school at Montana State College to earn a Bachelor of Science in general agriculture. Following graduation in 1958, Gibson served in the U.S. Army for a year and remained in the U.S. Army Reserve until 1967. After his service, Gibson found a job he loved at the MSU Extension Office. At this post, Gibson worked in Blaine, Lake, Broadwater, and Meagher counties. During his extension years, Gibson and Leona
had three children - Debra, Karen and Kenneth - all born in different towns as the Gibsons moved for work. Gibson earned a Master of Science in agricultural education from MSU in 1966. That same year, Gibson starting working at the Security Bank & Trust Co. (now First Security Bank of Bozeman), a company he stayed with until his retirement in 1995. While he kept busy at the bank and raising a family, Gibson found time to give back to his community. In Bozeman, Gibson stepped up to be a trustee at his church, Hope Lutheran. He also joined the Chamber of Commerce and served as president in 1971 and became a charter member of the Chamber Green Coat Ambassadors. Gibson was also delegated as chairman of the Gallatin County Fair Board. He also volunteered for many years on the Montana Winter Fair Board. For more than 50 years, Gibson has been a member of the a Lions Club. He has also served extensively as a Mason and Shriner, even serving on the Shriners Hospital for Children Board of Governors for nine years. As a board member, Gibson made 108 trips to the Spokane hospital. “The Bozeman community has given me the opportunity to do what I love,” Gibson says. “The Lions Club was my community. The bank was my community. The chamber was my community. The church was my community.”
30 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Wyman Schmidt
W
yman Schmidt is the first to admit he’s lived a very blessed life. Through his 41-year career in forestry and lifelong
love of music, Schmidt has found harmony in the things he loves most.
Schmidt grew up in Iowa in a family he says was “very musical.” The family regularly gathered to sing together, which formed Schmidt’s early passion for music and ability to carry a tune. Schmidt left Iowa in 1954. “I left because the war started and they needed me in the war,” Schmidt explains. “I went into the Air Force, the
intelligence branch in the Strategic Air Command.” In the Air Force, Schmidt said he was assigned to monitor Russian nuclear sites and gather intelligence using methods he said are probably considered crude today. After his four-year enlistment in the Korean War, Schmidt headed to college to
pursue his passion for forestry. At age 22, Schmidt met his wife Patty. The pair enjoyed 57 years of marriage until Patty’s passing in 2010. Patty and Schmidt have five children together. Following his studies at the University of South Dakota, Idaho State University and Yale, Schmidt earned his doctoral degree in forest ecology from the University of Montana, where he briefly taught, before being lured to Montana State University. At MSU, Schmidt was asked to head the Forestry Sciences Laboratory. During his career in forestry research where his focus was on ecology, regeneration processes, stand development, and related cultural practices in coniferous forest of the Intermountain West. The bulk of his career, Schmidt was the director of the Forestry Sciences Laboratory at MSU. When he retired, Schmidt became the Scientist Emeritus of the lab. His technical expertise in forestry research earned Schmidt invitations to speak around the world. The U.S. State Department asked Schmidt to design an exchange program for research scientists in the states to swap places with researchers in Chile and Argentina. In his own research papers, Schmidt concentrated on the relationships between timber, water, and other resources and cultural interaction and practices with insects like the western spruce budworm. Using his findings, Schmidt published hundreds of technical articles and contributed many chapters to seminal forestry books used all over the world. While amassing career accolades,
Schmidt continued to sing. During his enlistment, Schmidt sang with various groups, including a USAF singing quartet. The men he met through the quartet turned into some of his closest friends. Despite heading in different directions after their enlistment, Schmidt says every four years the quartet would meet up and sing together again. “It was a special bond,” Schmidt says. “Music bonds are really strong.” When he landed in Montana, Schmidt joined a barbershop choir in Missoula and later started the Chord Rustler chapter in Bozeman in 1975. From that experience, too, Schmidt says he met a lot of wonderful people and formed many friendships. Schmidt says his greatest joy is when his children come together for holidays or summer vacation and sing together. “Even to this day, I enjoy getting grandkids and kids together, and when we do, you can figure we do some singing together,” Schmidt says. Schmidt’s family recently put together a memory book for him. In it, his children and grandchildren share the impact Schmidt has made on their lives. Many family members thanked Schmidt for instilling a love of the outdoors in them. Others talked about his faith and kindness. “Because of you, grandpa, I am strong and secure,” Schmidt’s granddaughter Cameron wrote. “One thing about grandpa that I hope to emulate is his love of God.” It’s his family, faith, music and career that Schmidt insists have made for his very blessed life.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 31
BE AN EXHIBITOR AT THE
PRIME 50+ EXPO 10-3PM Saturday, SePteMber 2018 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 22, 10-3
We invite you to participate in the annual Prime 50+ Expo with a booth promoting your offerings. Educational sessions every 45 your minutes throughout clients the day Great way to connect with prospective
OverFood, 500 Attendees last year Fun & more
The Commons: 1794 E Baxter Ln, Bozeman, MT 59718 Contact Cindy Sease for more information: 582-2616 or email: csease@dailychronicle.com 1802627
32 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
OLDER DOGS LEARNING NEW TRICKS
By Lois Stephens
I
used to believe that old dogs could certainly learn new tricks. After all, age and experience have to count for something. In the case of canines, dogs learn the fine art of manipulating their humans as the dogs age. They can learn at any age what it means when humans crinkle cheese wrappers but they can conveniently forget what a stern NO means if they decide they have something better to do. They learn what they need to know to keep their humans placated, and they will learn something new when they see what’s in it for them. They can still learn as they mature, they just need to see a reason for the new trick. Older humans behave the same way, for the most part. We’ve learned what we need to know in order to reach the stage in life that we’ve attained. The thought of learning something new doesn’t necessarily please us, but if we have the desire or see a reason to learn a new skill, we certainly will do so. However, it does seem to take longer to master a new activity than it did a few decades ago. I attribute that to the fact that the file cabinets in my brain are stuffed with years of trivial facts and information, so it takes my gray matter longer to sift through this accumulated assortment of knowledge in order find a suitable spot to store the new tidbits of learning.
Therefore, I contemplate long and hard before I decide if I feel ready to tackle a new skill or if I prefer to let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak. A few months ago, I conceived the idea of starting a web site about different aspects concerning Virginia City. I pondered the pros and cons of such a move, read all the information I could find about the feasibility of a web site or blog, thought about what I wanted to do, and after long deliberation I decided to take the plunge. I rapidly discovered that most of what I had read consisted of misleading information Several different informational pieces about blogs and web sites assured me that a person could have a blog up and running in 30 min-
Make a difficult moment, as easy as possible.
20% Discount on all pre-neeDs
www.gooseridgemonuments.com
1673165
HANDMADE CUSTOM GRANITE, MARBLE, BRONZE WORK 2212 LEA AVE. BOZEMAN • 580-9765
utes. I took that misinformation with a large dose of salt, but I erroneously reasoned that if it took the average person a half hour to set up a blog, it would take a technological illiterate (me) about a month. Hah! I chose a name for my web site, registered it, paid for the hosting, and rolled up my sleeves ready to create my very own blog and web site. Dozens of tutorials and videos later, along with the passage of a month or so, I had about half the site set up. It looked amateurish, I could not get all the little gadgets and pictures to work, and I had reached a total dead end. More tutorials, videos, the outlay of more money, and several phone calls later, I had proceeded no further in my quest to set up a web site. The blithe answers and useless information that I received to questions, and the statement that a person could have a blog up and running in a half hour, obviously proved untrue for this old dog. Considering the hot lines and all the available help (for a fee of course) available to people in my situation I realized quite clearly that I was not the only dog in the pack to have problems with setup and operation. I mean, there are dozens of services that provide technical support for people like me, all of them expensive, all of them offering some sort of service to get a web site or blog up and running smoothly with no troubles and promising to select the proper format, help a beginner investigate the ins and outs of setting up a blog, and making the process seamless and profitable. Hah again. So, there are a lot of old dogs, and probably young ones as well, struggling to set up a site that looks nice and will attract visitors. Only someone totally computer savvy could set up a web site or blog in 30 minutes. No way a beginner could complete such a feat unless he or she did not care what the site looked like or how well it worked.
I struggled onwards for a while longer, but finally decided that the process resembled eating an elephant one teaspoon at a time. When I decided that I hadn’t even consumed the left ear of that elephant, I asked a totally competent computer literate friend of mine and who has worked in publishing programs for years, what on earth I was doing wrong. She told me that Word Press, the program I had selected for my site, was very difficult to learn. Something that ought to take 20 minutes to complete took her three days to do in Word Press. When I heard that, I knew I had chosen the wrong setup to begin with. If it took her three days to complete something, I would see my 90th birthday come and go before I made any noticeable headway at all. I canceled my web host, pulled my blog information, and quit. I don’t like the idea of not completing a project, but in this case, I had had enough. The next time I have a not-so-bright idea about starting something new, at least one where any sort of technology comprises the bulk of the learning process, I probably will forget that idea before it takes any sort of hold at all. Did I learn something from all this? Yes, I did, but not the sort of learning I expected when I started this project, but at least I did learn something. Old dogs can learn, even if the information isn’t quite what he or she expected to learn at the outset of the project, and even if that learning consists of deciding when to toss in the towel and call it all good.
Lois Stephens brings personal experience of the aging process to Prime Magazine. She enjoys writing about her observations of becoming a member of the senior citizen age group. She lives and works in Virginia City.
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 33
Broadway St., Pony, MT • 685-3323 or 685-3494
■ Serving Harrison, Pony, Norris and surrounding areas ■ Fee: $5 a year. Meals $3.50 members and $5 for guests ■ Dinner served on Wednesdays all year long and on Mondays October – May ■ Lending library and medical equipment
Manhattan Senior Center 102 East Main Street, Manhattan, MT • 284-6501
■ Fee: $10.00 a year ■ Meals: $4 over 60 years of age, $6 under 60 ■ Noon meal is served Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; call Monday – Friday before 10:00 am to reserve a seat ■ Pinochle: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after lunch Center Hall and kitchen are available for rental. Hall rental $50, kitchen and hall $75. Cleaning deposit of $25 and key deposit $10. Call Jan for more details to reserve the space.
Park County Senior Center
206 South Main Street, Livingston, MT • 333-2276 www.parkcountyseniorcenter.com • Open Monday - Friday 9-5
■ Please call Senior Center for news and events.
Three Rivers Senior Club 19 East Cedar Street, Three Forks • 285-3235 Director: Jean Farnam • 570-0800
■ Club Membership: $10 a year. Must be 50 or older to join. ■ Meals for Members and Nonmembers: $6 for those under 60. Suggested price for those 60 and over: $4.00. Noon meal is served Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays. Make reservations by 8 a.m.; call 406-285-3235 and leave message. ■ Birthday Celebration: Once a month on 2nd, 3rd or 4th Tuesday. ■ Meals on Wheels delivered to homebound. ■ Pinochle Tuesdays through Thursdays after meal. ■ Extensive lending library of books, videos, jigsaw puzzles. Medical equipment such as walkers, shower seats, crutches, also available; call Jean. For info about the HRDC bus for Three Forks and Willow Creek residents, call Galavan, 406-587-2434.
Menu 4 – Tuna Casserole 5 – Soup & Salad 6 – Roast Beef 11 – Chicken Cacciatore 12 – Lasagna 13 – Polish Sausage 18 – Taco Pie 19 – Sweet & Sour Prok 20 – Beef Stew 25 – Tater Tot Casserole 26 – French Dip 27 – Chili & Baked Potato
RSVP
Southwest Montana
807 N. Tracy Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715 • 587-5444 Debi Casagranda, Program Coordinator • (dcasagranda@thehrdc.org) 111 South 2nd, Livingston, MT 59047 • 222-2281 Deb Downs, Livingston Program Coordinator (debdowns@rsvpmt.org) www.rsvpmt.org
BOZEMAN: ■ AARP: Volunteer tax preparer needed. Preparation training and IRS certification provided. Training is on Saturdays in December, 40 hours of comprehensive training and passing the IRS certification test. All training materials and equipment required. ■ Cancer Support Community: Volunteer receptionist needed to provide a welcome atmosphere. General administrative duties along with assisting staff. Part-time, one day a week either 10 am1pm or 1pm-4pm. ■ Manhattan Senior Center: Volunteers needed Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to help prepare lunch, meals on wheels, set up and clean up from 10-1. Please call for more details. ■ Habitat for Hummanity Restore: Volunteer who enjoys talking with people needed for greeting customers at front desk and answering questions. Previous cash register experience helpful. Training will be provided, flexible days and hours. Open Tuesday –Saturday 9am to 4 pm. ■ Habitat for Humanity Restore: The Restore is located in Belgrade and is in need of volunteers to organize the different departments. They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9-4, a great opportunity to do with a friend in time during their open hours. Contact Debi at 587-5444 for more information. LIVINGSTON: ■ Stafford Animal Shelter: Cats are in need of volunteers to play, cuddle and socialize. Only skill needed is your compassion and love of cats. A 1 hour safety training provided. Come share your love with a joyful animal. They’re always happy to see you arrive. ■ Handcrafters: If you enjoy the comfort of an old fashioned sewing circle come join us on Thursdays 1-2PM at the Senior Center, making new friends as you work on crocheted or knitted items. Sewers are needed to make simple pillowcases for our soldiers overseas. ■ Yellowstone Gateway Museum: Be
a part of history with a variety of opportunities that exists in our museum. Make new friends and learn more about our local history. ■ Fix-It- Brigade: Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are needed to help with small home repairs such as mending a fence, mowing a yard, shoveling snow or something as simple as changing light bulbs. You will be helping seniors or veterans for a 2 hour or less task on your time schedule. ■ Current RSVP Volunteers are encouraged to turn in your hours each month: your contribution to the community is greatly appreciated. ■ RSVP: has many more exciting ways to interact with your community, so put your skills and interests to use without making a long-term commitment.
Congratulations to all the
nominees!
North 19th at Springhill Road 587-3406
www.CashmanNursery.com
1694638
Hollowtop Senior Citizens
34 I September 2018 PRIME | 24 OVER 64
Bozeman Senior Center WHAT’S NEW ■ Second-hand Rose: Second Hand Rose will be closed until September 10th and not accepting donations until then due to a remodel project. A special note of appreciation to Deb Larson for the many hours of time she has volunteered her expertise towards our thrift store reorganization. We’d also like to thank Steve Marty and Rodger McCormick for cutting plywood for our shelves. Our second hand rose volunteers worked endlessly packing boxes to be moved out of the store. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Without you, our store could not exist. ■ Rest Stop Fundraiser for Meals-onWheels: Rest stop fundraiser underway and so far it’s a successful summer! A reminder that all the donations received from the rest stop support the Meals-on-Wheels program. A special note of thanks to our wonderful donors: Walmart, Smiths, Albertsons, and Costco! ■ Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program: We still have applications available at the front desk for coupons! SFMNP is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program allowing people to purchase locally grown produce. Each participant gets 25 $2.00 coupons for a total of $50.00 per season. Income guidelines: 1-person household: $22,311; 2-person household: $30,044. ■ Note: The Board meeting is held on the second Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m. EVENTS ■ Spanish Introduction Class: Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. – Come and learn about how to have fun while learning Spanish in this beginner class! Not all the words and expressions are the same for every Spanish speaking country. We will have fun while learning some of the differences. You will learn (yes, while having fun): to greet people in Spanish during different times of the day, to introduce yourself, to ask for names, to tell numbers and colors, and to sing a short song in Spanish. More topics could be added depending on progress and time. No experience required. Please contact Marit at 586-2421 with any questions. ■ Pharmacist consultation: Monday, September 3, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pharmacist John Griffith offers his professional consultation services to members of the
• 807 North Tracy • (406) 586-2421 • www.bozemanseniorcenter.org Shannon Bondy, shannon@bozemanseniorcenter.org (Executive Director) Marit Ehmke, marit@bozemanseniorcenter.org (Program Coordinator) Find us on Facebook!
Senior Center. Please place any medications, vitamins, etc. in a brown bag and bring them into the center when meeting with John. ■ Benefits of companion animals: Friday, September 7, 1:00 p.m. Learn about the benefits of having companion animals with a presentation from a representative of the Intermountain Therapy Animals organization. ■ AARP Driver’s Safety class: Monday, September 10, 12:30 - 5 p.m. AARP will be offering a driver safety class offering education on how to adjust your driving to compensate for age related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time as well as how to cope with aggressive drivers. Your insurance company may offer a discount on insurance rates with attendance in the class. Call 5862421 to get your name on the list. Open to the public. ■ Blood Profiles: Wednesday, Sept. 12, 8:00 a.m.- 10:00 a.m. Medical Lab Services is available to provide information regarding your cholesterol. 12-hour fasting blood draw — please drink water and take prescription medications. Call 586-2421 to make an appointment or inquire about costs and available tests. Payment by cash or check is expected at appointment. Open to the public. ■ Red Hats: Thursday, September 13, 11:30 a.m., at Famous Dave’s in Bozeman. Call or stop by the front desk to sign up or for details about dates and restaurants for each month. New members always welcome! ■ Befrienders Informational Presentation: Friday, September 14, 1:00 p.m. Learn all about the Befrienders program from the program’s Executive Director Jessica Stillman. ■ Pancake Supper & Bingo, Monday, September 17, 5:30 p.m. Enjoy delicious pancakes in the dining room, then take your chances at bingo for cash prizes! Open to the public. Meal cost is $5 and includes large pancakes, sausage, fruit and coffee. ■ Afternoon at the Movies: Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1:00 p.m., “Chinatown.” Enjoy free popcorn and this 1974 mystery/noir starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. A private detective is hired to investigate an adultery case and stumbles on a murder plot involving the privatization of water through corruption and real estate. If he doesn’t drop the case, he faces threats of legal action, but he pursues it anyway, slowly uncovering a
vast conspiracy. ■ Lend a Hand Fair: Friday, Sept. 28, 2-4 p.m. Join the senior center in sponsoring the Lend a Hand Fair and closing ceremonies in partnership with Bozeman Health Hillcrest Senior Living and Bozeman Parks and Recreation to conclude the seventh Annual Active Aging Week. Get your dance partner and come listen to music by Bases Wild (Alice Allen, Dennis Downing, and Phil Schladweiler)! The Lend a Hand Fair is a great event to find information and resources for helpful services pertaining to aging. ■ News Literacy Class: 1st and 3rd Fridays at 1 p.m. It’s important to be able to distinguish reliable sources from non-reliable, and this class will help you sniff out what coverage could be biased. We’ll also go over tips on how to be informed with different types of media. Program Coordinator Marit, KU journalism school graduate, will guide you through how to sort out what’s what in this ever-changing news landscape. ■ Pool shoot-around: Contact Marit for scheduling information. 586-2421 SERVICES/SUPPORT SERVICES ■ Foot Clinic by appointment only. 3rd & 4th Monday & Tuesday. ■ Free blood pressure checks every Wednesday, 11:30am-1:00pm. ■ Association for the Blind meets 2nd Thursday, 1:30pm. Open to anyone who is visually impaired. ■ Forgetters & Friends: 2nd Wednesday, 1:00pm. ■ Reminiscing / Caregiver Chat – 2nd Wednesday 2:00 pm. ■ Computer Assistance with Brenda, Paul, and Jay. Call us for an appointment. ■ Medical Equipment available for checkout to those 50+. HEALTH & EXERCISE ■ Note: Purchase a monthly activity card to participate in any of the exercise classes offered, as well as utilizing the work-out room. Cost is $10 / month with Bozeman Senior Center annual membership fee of $12. The equipment room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ■ Mondays: 8:30 a.m. Strength Training, 9:00 a.m. Gentle Aerobics, 10:00 a.m. Core, 10:30 a.m. Aerobics Plus, 11:30 a.m. Tai Chi for Mind/Balance, Balance 1:00 a.m. Yoga,
1:35 p.m. ■ Tuesdays: 8:30 a.m. Hiking, 11:30 a.m. Yang Tai Chi, 1:00 Strong and More ■ Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m. Strength Training, 9:00 a.m. Gentle Aerobics, 10:00 a.m. Core, 10:30 a.m. Aerobics Plus, 1:00pm Balance, 1:30 p.m. Gentle Yoga, Yoga 6:00 p.m. ■ Thursdays: 9:00 a.m. Walking, 11:30 a.m. Yang Tai Chi, 1:00 Strong and More ■ Fridays: 8:30 a.m. Strength Training, 9:00 a.m. Gentle Aerobics, 10:00 a.m. Core, 10:30 a.m. Aerobics Plus, 11:30 a.m. Tai Chi for Mind/Balance. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES ■ Wood Carvers: Mondays 9:30 a.m. (Shop open to members 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) ■ Duplicate Bridge: Mondays, 1:00 p.m. ■ Oil Painting: 1st & 3rd Monday, 1:00 p.m. ■ Book Club: 2nd Monday at 10:30 a.m. ■ Hiking Group: Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. ■ Creative Writing/Senior Stories: Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. ■ Line Dancing: Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m. (Beginners @ 10:00am) ■ Cribbage: Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. ■ Singing Souls: Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m. ■ Afternoon at the Movies: 3rd Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. ■ Bingo: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. ■ Watercolor Painting: Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. ■ Ukulele Club: Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. ■ Blood Pressure Check: Wednesdays 11:30-1:00 ■ Mah Jong: Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. ■ Pinochle: Wed. & Thursday, 1:00 p.m. ■ Bridge: Wednesdays & Fridays, 12:45 p.m. ■ Walking Group: Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. ■ Scrabble: Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. ■ Canasta: Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. ■ Legal Services: 3rd Thurs., 10:00 to 12:00 NUTRITIONAL SERVICES ■ Congregate Meals at the Senior Center Monday-Friday, at Noon. ■ Meals-on-Wheels delivered MondayFriday to homebound individuals. ■ Frozen Meals available for pickup at the Senior Center Monday-Friday. ■ FREE Birthday Dinner Celebrations on
PRIME | 24 OVER 64 September 2018 I 35 Wednesdays during the month of your birthday for members – Come in and claim your free lunch! TRAVEL ■ Complete itineraries and brochures for all trips are available at the Bozeman Senior Center front desk, and on our website NEW DAY TRIP ■ 30th ANNUAL RUNNING OF THE SHEEP, REED POINT, MT., SUN. SEPT. 2 Travel by motorcoach to Reed Point to enjoy a day of fun. See the Running of the Sheep, parade, lots of food and craft vendors, antique cars, and just a fun day. Cost: $45.00 LONGER TRIPS: ■ OZARK MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS, BRANSON: NOV. 28 - DEC. 2 Fly to Branson, enjoy a great variety of Holiday shows and entertainment, including Danny O’Donnell, Shoji Tabuchi, a show and dinner on the Showboat Branson Belle, and the Andy Williams Christmas Show, featuring the Lennon Sisters. ■ TROPICAL COSTA RICA, FEB. 14 - 22, 2019. Enjoy 9 sunny days, including time to relax on the beach, the cloud forest, hanging bridges, zip line, and riverboat ride to see all the indigenous wildlife. Deposit due August 4. ■ SPRINGTIME TULIP RIVER CRUISE: April 11 - 19, 2019 Fantastic cruise starting and ending in Amsterdam. Cruise on the Amadeus Brilliant with many stops along the way. Visit the Keukenhof Gardens with over 7 million tulips to enjoy. Deposit due by August 10th EXTRAS ■ Second Hand Rose Thrift Store: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Friday VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Please call 586-2421 if you are interested in any of these opportunities. ■ Meals-on-Wheels is looking for volunteers to deliver meals in Bozeman. ■ Foot Clinic is looking for current or retired nurses to help with this monthly service!
Menu Mon-Fri at 12:00 (noon) until 12:15 1 - Coleslaw, hamburger steak, hash browns, carrots, dessert 3 - SENIOR CENTER CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY 4 - peaches, chicken parmesan, noodles, steamed veggies 5 - green salad, chili, cornbread, cheese and onion 6 - fresh fruit, Swiss steak, baked potatoes, broccoli 7 - cucumber salad, jambalaya, red beans and rice 10 - salad bar, clam chowder, bread 11 - coleslaw, baked cod, herb rice, green beans 12 - beets, chicken alfredo, noodles, peas and carrots 13 - pea salad, hamburger steak, hashbrowns, steam veggies 14 - hard-boiled egg, taco salad, beans 17 - fruit, spaghetti, green beans, bread 18 - applesauce, pork chop, herb rice, California mixed veggies 19 - oriental coleslaw, chicken stir fry, soba noodles, egg roll 20 - pineapple, ham, sweet potatoes, Bahama veggies 21 - cucumber salad, chef salad, bread 24 - fruit, chicken sandwiches, macaroni salad, lettuce and tomato 25 - cranberries, turkey, stuffing, green beans 26 - jello/fruit, polish dog, sauerkraut, beets, bread 27 - green salad, roast beef, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies 28 - apricots, chicken salad, fresh fruit, bread Please make reservations for lunch so that we can have an adequate amount of food!
Belgrade Senior Center 92 East Cameron Avenue (406) 388-4711 www.belgradeseniorcenter.com Email: belgradesrcntr@bresnan.net Executive Director: Lisa Beedy
EXERCISE: ■ Movement in Motion: 9am Mon, Weds, Fri ■ Yoga: 9am Tuesdays, 8am Fridays ■ Exercise class Tuesdays at 10am ■ We are looking for someone too teach a Step Aerobics class COMMUNITY RESOURCES ■ Blood Pressure Check: Noon: September 6 & 20 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: ■ Fall Festival Pancake Breakfast: September 15th 7:00 am -10:00 am ■ Coloring & Puzzle Tables ■ Wednesday: 9:00 am: Needleaires Sewing Circle CARD GAMES: ■ Monday: 12:30 pm Cribbage ■ Tuesday: 12:30 pm Hand & Foot ■ Thursday: 8:30 am Pinochle ■ Friday: 12:30 pm Pinochle (except Friday, September 14th) ■ 4:00pm September 14: Game Night and Potluck ■ BINGO: Thursdays 12:45 ■ Board Meeting: September 17th.
Menu Mon – Fri at Noon
1 - Taco Salad, Dessert 3 - LABOR DAY CLOSED 4 - Goulash,Vegetables, Salad,
Dessert 5 - Oven Fried Chicken Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 6 - Swedish Meatballs, Rice, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 7 - Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 10 - Cheese Burger Macaroni, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 11 - Chicken Fried Steak, Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 12 - Sauce D’arachde (Meat w/ peanut sauce over rice), Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 13 - Shepherd’s Pie, Salad, Dessert 14 - Chicken Strips, Tator Tots Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 17 - Breakfast Surprise, Salad, Dessert 18 - Hot Beef Sandwiches, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad Dessert 19 - “Birthday Celebration”, Lasagna, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 20 - Baked Ham, Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 21 - Patty Melts, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 24 - Taco Salads, Dessert 25 - Roast Turkey, Potatoes, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 26 - Beef Stroganoff, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 27 - Brats & Kraut, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert 28 - Meatloaf, Vegetables, Salad, Dessert
All Meals Include Roll & Drink, Veggie & Dessert. Gluten and dairy free items upon request.
Cruise Planners is a full service travel agency specializing in land and sea vacations as well as personal and business travel.
embark on a j o u r ne y of d i s c o v e ry
‡†Â?Â?   …Â?Â? „   ƒÂ?Â? Â?Â?‚ €   Â?Â?Â?Â?Â
Contact us and find out about our customer loyalty rewards program where you get rewarded for traveling.