Overcoming the odds
In a bit of a pickle and loving it
National Museum of World War II Aviation exhibit honors Pearl Harbor survivor.
Seniors taking a liking to new, unique sport — pickleball.
See page 4
Vol. 26 No. 1
See page 12
Visit us on the web: www.lifeafter50online.com
February 2016
Center at Cordera celebrates first year
aWW I I STORY LOVE
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Mary o'Hare Holdр By Mary O’hare Holder
e were poor but quite happy and like the Irish song, “In My Liverpool Home,” — I was born in Liverpool, down by the docks, Me Religion was catholic, occupation hard knocks… And under an overcoat each night we slept. We were Catholic. My dad’s folks came from Ireland but my mom was English. My mother had eight children and maybe a few miscarriages. I was the oldest girl. In those days, while growing up, the door was always open and we had other kids from the street standing by our table eating. We didn’t have chairs to go around, so us kids stood. I remember the bookie running through the lobby from one street to the other when the police saw him taking bets. There were religious riots on March 17 St Patrick’s Day and on July 12 which was Orangemen’s Day (commemorating the Battle of the Boyne, 1690 in Ireland).One July 12, the police came down the street yelling, “Your church is
on fire!” When the people came out of the houses they took them in the black Mariah (big van) to jail for so-called disturbing the peace. Then we all had to chip in and bail them out of jail. At age 14, I dropped out of school. It was 1935 and there wasn’t any work for anyone. All the men were out of work. Neither my father nor my brothers could find work. One of my neighbors got me a job with her in a paper warehouse. We worked as hard as men, sorting paper into grades and putting them into bales, and using a winch, loaded them onto lorries (trucks). While at the factory, which was in Warrington, we had the Germans flying over to bomb Liverpool. After the first bombing, I took a train home. When I got off the train in Central Station, Jerry (Germans) had bombed the central town. Everything was at a
See LOVE, page 21
The Center at Cordera is excited to celebrate its one year anniversary. The Center is an inpatient rehabilitation and nursing facility near the intersection of Briargate and Powers in northeast Colorado Springs. The Center serves patients on a short-term basis and is equipped with 4,000 square foot rehabilitation gym, 80 private rooms and a motivated and caring staff. Executive Director, Chad James recognized Cordera’s employees, “In this service industry, my motto is happy people provide happy care. Our staff at Cordera have some of the happiest, most genuine people I’ve ever met and our care reflects it.” The Center at Cordera is a sister facility to The Center at Centennial, which has been serving the people of Colorado Springs since August of 2007. Cordera accepts Medicare and private pay patients, as well as those with Kaiser, Humana and various other managed care plans. The Center also accepts Secure Horizons as of Feb. 1, 2016. James is new to the Colorado Springs area and added, “Giving back to so many veterans is a unique advantage to operating in Colorado Springs. We recognize the sacrifices they have made and it is an honor to help in their time of need.” Recent patient at Cordera, David Campbell, describes his experience as follows: “You have a staff of friendly, dedicated, and caring professional folks. They truly enjoy their jobs and put the feelings and well-being of the patients first. The physician was very nice and willing to listen to my concerns. Your physical and occupational therapy staff is first-class and were dedicated to helping me recover to my previous physical condition. I left there feeling like I had a second family. From administration to housekeeping, everyone was wonderful.” While the amenities of The Center at
See CORDERA, page 9