September/October 2016 60Plus

Gwen

T

Gwen Lemke Contributing Editor, 60PLUS In Omaha

HEY SAY TIME flies when you’re having fun; or as my father used to say, it goes faster the older you get.

Fall is already here, AGAIN. The weather is comfortable and everything is beautiful with the jewel-like colors of the season’s foliage.

This is my favorite time of the year.

The autumn charity season is beginning, and you’re sure to find a charity you want to support in “The Big Give” section of this magazine.

This issue is packed with good reading about active lives of Omaha’s 60+ crowd.

There are the Geschwenders, who have added aronia berry farming to their busy real estate careers.

Lee Polikov’s story is a reminder that it is important to enjoy what you are doing. He takes great pleasure from his career as Sarpy County attorney, and he has no plans to retire.

A MIRACLE FRUIT

The Geschwenders fall in love with aronia berries

GO BACK TO SCHOOL Join UNO’s Senior Passport Program

THE BOHEMIAN CAFE Remembering a Czech Icon in Omaha

Remember Johnny Rodgers? “The Jet” is now working as vice president of new business development at Rural Media Group. He is also busy with many other things—writing a book and public speaking. He says "at 60 you’re smarter than you’ve ever been."

Robert Runyon talks about his plan for retirement: He is writing a memoir and taking university classes.

Maybe 60 really is the new 40.

Berry Farm A LITTLE BLACK

The Geschwenders’ Health-Conscious Passion

BY CHELSEA BALZER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

SEPTEMBER

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T

OMAHA MAGAZINE

products claim to slow the process of aging and avert health concerns. What if the solution was as simple as a little black berry? Kurt and Tina Geschwender think that may just be the case.

HESE DAYS, COUNTLESS

The Geschwenders’ introduction to this wonder fruit came by way of chance. In 2010, Kurt was at a neighborhood picnic where his friend, chiropractor Bill Caster, introduced him to a cancer survivor who told him about the health benefits of aronia berries. Kurt’s interest was piqued, and he decided to do his own research on the fruit (which is also known as a chokeberry).

Although neither Kurt nor Tina ever suffered from cancer, they have lost multiple loved ones to the disease and live a health-conscious lifestyle. As they further researched aronia berries, they became convinced that they had discovered an untapped market with incredible healing potential.

Studies claim aronia berries improve circulation, balance blood pressure, and assist in decreasing inflammation in the body. Even more research has come through recently, but there remains a lot to be learned about the positive effects of this unique berry.

The Geschwenders decided to take the leap into berry farming. They knew they could use land on their property to cultivate bushes. Five years and 1,500 bushes later, they can barely keep up with the demand for their product.

Outside of their agricultural startup, the Geschwenders run a successful real estate company. With such busy lives, Kurt jokes that the berries made him question his sanity in the beginning. After all, the crops required him to wake at the crack of dawn to water each row by hand.

Still, Tina and Kurt are clearly passionate about educating the public and providing something that helps members of their community take charge of their health. Tina says she welcomes public inquiries about the berries by phone at 402-451-5300.

This year, the Geschwenders experimented with a new berry-picking strategy. The regulars at the Florence Mill Farmer’s Market set up a booth to collect names and contact information from folks interested in picking berries.

Berry ripening varies by year, typically occurring between late-July and mid-August. When the fruit was ripe, they notified their contact list that the “youpick” season had begun. They charged $2.50 per pound SEPTEMBER

ACTIVE LIVING

and donated 50 cents from each pound to the Florence Mill Farmer’s Market.

RECIPE

Aronia berries have officially caught on as one of America’s favorite new superfoods, and the Midwest has become the hub for this booming industry. The North America Aronia Cooperative was formed in Omaha in early 2014 and includes 10 surrounding states. Some of the nation’s largest distributors also grow in the area.

Native to North America, the berries thrive in the Midwest. Once on the vine, it takes three weeks for them to ripen. Once ripe, they roll off the vines easily.

On their own, the berries taste tart yet bittersweet. It’s no wonder; these tiny berries have the highest recorded antioxidant level of any fruit. Red wine drinkers may appreciate their sharp quality, but anyone can enjoy the many recipes that include aronia berries.

Tina says she does not eat them on their own but uses them as a versatile ingredient. She turns to cookbooks, and her own experiments, to discover new ways of working them into her diet.

“Any baking I do, I use aronia berries. They mix really well with other fruit.” The recommended daily dose is 15 to 20 berries, but Tina says she will add more to her morning smoothie, “because if a little is good, a lot is better.”

Tina also lets Florence Mill market-goers sample her signature strawberry pecan aronia bread, a recipe she perfected over a two-year period. She swears she will never share the recipe: “It just took too long to get it right!”

The bread itself is extraordinarily moist, and dense without being heavy. It’s sweet, and the berries can clearly be noted, but the pecans and cinnamon cut through any tanginess, creating a more subtle, wholesome profile of flavors. Tina takes orders for the bread at the market, but her stock is limited. She light-heartedly laments that friends and family keep her busy with orders year-round.

America is still getting to know this super berry, but there is good reason to give it a try. The Geschwenders would be thrilled to share what they know, and may even dish out a new recipe or two.

Visit aroniacoop.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 173 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

TINA’S ARONIA BERRY BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS: 1 cup skim milk 1 banana 8 ounces (or one 8-ounce container) of cherry or blueberry Greek yogurt 1 cup of ice 15 to 20 aronia berries

DIRECTIONS: Blend all ingredients for one minute. Serve immediately in tall glasses.

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FACES

JUNK BONDS How Lee Polikov Left the Family Business

SEPTEMBER

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BY ANTHONY FLOTT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

I

12 Months Same as CASH! long to discover some dirty business in Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov's past—and that’s a good thing.

T DOESN’T TAKE

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More than a century ago, Polikov’s paternal grandfather, Benjamin, left a small village outside Kiev, Ukraine, and came to the United States. A peddler in his native land, he did similar work here, earning enough to bring his wife and three children to the United States as well.

Eventually, Benjamin began Aksarben Junk Co. at 13th and Webster streets. His son Abraham—Lee’s father—joined the business.

“I’VE HAD A FORTUNATE CAREER, BOTH IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION AS THE CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. IT GIVES ME A LOT OF SATISFACTION.”

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-Lee Polikov Lee remembers accompanying him on the half-Saturdays his father would work. “We’d sit and watch the scale,” he says. Mostly, though, his father wanted him to “stay out of the way.”

Abraham wanted something different for his son: “Get an education, assimilate, adapt, and grow,” Polikov says.

Polikov has done that and more, establishing a career peddling justice rather than junk.

He’s done so as Sarpy County’s attorney since 1999. He was first appointed to the position but has since earned re-election four times.

“I’ve had a fortunate career, both in law enforcement and prosecution as the chief >>> SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 175 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 176 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FACES

<<< law enforcement officer,” he says. “It gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

Even if it’s not initially envisioned.

the

career

he

A 1966 Omaha Westside graduate, Polikov earned a business degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a commission as first lieutenant with the U.S. Army while serving in ROTC. Next came a degree from UNL College of Law. “My goal, my ambition, was to do federal law enforcement,” he says.

But the feds, he recalls, were under a hiring freeze then. Instead, Polikov made his way to Sarpy County, where Pat Thomas had taken over the sheriff’s office. Polikov joined him as an administrative assistant, but with an agreement that he’d be there just a year until he started looking again for a federal gig.

“That just never happened,” says Polikov, who eventually became chief deputy and counsel in the office.

Pat Thomas remained Sarpy County Sheriff for 32 years. Polikov stayed with him until he was appointed to his current post. Today, he manages a staff that includes 23 attorneys and 75 support staff. “Which is really a rather large law firm,” he says. “I’ve got a great team.

We feel we’ve been able to provide a good, safe community for people.”

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Polikov says he has no plans to retire.

– with emotional Vincent Wesselmann explores “In Tales of the Master, Douglas allegory. The narrator and influence of fable and clarity and heart – the power of encounters in smallseeking it, through a series finds redemption without a few nods toward O. ancient mystical texts. With town Iowa that parallel .” is a celebration of storytelling Henry, Tales of the Master Schaffert - Timothy Books The Swan Gondola, Riverhead

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TALES OF THE MASTER

Polikov is 67 now and has been Sarpy County’s attorney for 17 years. A great time, perhaps, to call it quits and spend days of leisure with his wife of nearly 40 years, longtime Mannheim Steamroller director of communications Terry Calek?

Don’t miss a single issue of Omaha Magazine

“It’s a great job. I enjoy it immensely,” he says.

“I like the association with the staff and what we do, and those successes go beyond putting people in prison or setting people up to go to prison. It’s helping people that need help.”

wonder, not in one sitting, with joy and sadness and “…I read Tales of the Master could heal. Doug Wespages were medicine that but in small doses as if the spin you about, keep you that will suck you in and selmann has woven a tale your heart with truth when the dizziness, and warm questioning while shaking your mind clears...”

- Diana Greenwood Collins Insight, Zondervan/Harper emotionally and spiriI became more and more the “…As the chapters flowed, they journeyed through lives of Cole and Ali as tually enveloped in the these purple-bound pages… a sense of infinity within Master’s tales… There is the Master resonates with sacred mysteries… Tales of filled with the world of our desire to know the truth…” the inner hum of our nagging - Britny Cordera-Doane Wingmakers, Pinyon Publishing

Wach Cover, Book Design by Roxanne Author’s Photo by Sandy Aquila

Visit sarpy.com/attorney for more information.

SEPTEMBER

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WESSELMANN

n, aka Otis Twelve, has Douglas Vincent Wesselman Rein The North American published short fiction Cofrom Bleak House and view, and in anthologies prizes in the UK including simo Press. He has won Londebut novel prize at the a Dagger Award, and a of rock/vaudeville member founding A Fair. don Book Wesselmann’s career includes band, The Ogden Edsl, past, television. In the distant 35 years in radio and and Paul Newman’s he was a Benedictine seminarian bodyguard for an afternoon.

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 177 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Johnny Rodgers Keeping Up with “The Jet,” aka the “Ordinary Superstar”

OMAHA MAGAZINE

J

FACES

BY TIM KALDAHL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

OHNNY RODGERS TURNED

65 this year. He looks great. The 1972 Heisman Trophy winner and Husker football legend is also busy. He likes it that way.

“Well, I think that retiring, to me, is being in the position to do the things you want to do. I don’t think that retiring is getting somewhere and doing nothing,” Rodgers says. He then adds with a chuckle: “The law of use says, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’ And I’ve found that a lot of people, as soon as they retire and start doing nothing, they die.”

Rodgers is far from retired…and he’s aiming to live to age 100. He works as vice president of new business development for the U.S. and Canada at Rural Media Group Inc., which operates both RFD-TV (the huge rural-focused television network) and Rural Radio on SiriusXM. He also recently published a book and audio book, titled, Ten Minutes of Insanity. The self-help book and audiobook provide insights into moments when a person can “mess themselves up” or “set themselves up.” Rodgers speaks from youthful personal experience coupled with an older man’s perspective.

Referring back to his college years, a “mess yourself up” situation is “like the gas station fiasco that I was involved with,” he says. The opposite, positive kind of moment is “like the punt return against Oklahoma. You’ve got to be pretty insane to stand back there and wait for them to come.” He adds that each scenario “presents dramatic results, just in a different way.”

Rodgers has a website in the works (which should be live this fall) aimed at providing help and perspective to business leaders, entrepreneurs, and athletes. “What I really want to do is to help athletes—professional athletes of football, basketball, baseball, all of them— transition from sports to public speaking,” he says.

“And to be able to set up mechanisms for them to be able to tell their stories.”

Denny Drake, who has worked with Rodgers for more than 20 years on a variety of charitable and business projects, says Rodgers has always been open to trying new ideas, and to receiving critiques and wisdom from SEPTEMBER

“AT 60, YOU’RE SMARTER THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN,” HE SAYS. “AND AT 20, YOU’RE ABOUT AS DUMB AS YOU’VE EVER BEEN.” -Johnny Rodgers others. Drake is the president and CEO of the marketing company Performance Solutions Worldwide. He is also connected to the Jet Award (named after Rodgers), which honors the top return specialist in college football, and the Johnny Rodgers Youth Foundation.

Rodgers serves as the youth foundation’s president; Drake is its CEO. “Johnny is a really good idea guy. He’s a good visionary of things,” Drake says. The two men are also working together on Authentic Collegiate Jeans, a venture to provide jeans with school and university logos that should launch this fall.

With all that is going on in his life, Rodgers says he remains thoughtful about maintaining himself, too.

When he was young man, it was about being a highcaliber athlete. Now, it is about being a quality person.

He’s a fan of fish and organic chicken, but might only eat one traditional meal a day. For additional nutrition, he consumes kale and greens, frozen cherries and blueberries, and other healthy foods in liquid form in the morning, and fruit or protein bars in the afternoon, prior to dinner. He also tries to drink at least a half a gallon of lemon water every day.

Rodgers plays tennis, golf, and racquetball weekly, and plays at a higher level now after having knee replacement surgery this past year. Rodgers says (with a smile) that 60 is the new 40.

“At 60, you’re smarter than you’ve ever been,” he says.

“And at 20, you’re about as dumb as you’ve ever been.”

Visit thejetaward.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 179 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

JOHNNY RODGERS HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN FOR HIS UNIQUE TAKE ON MANY SUBJECTS. BELOW ARE SOME OF HIS QUIPS TO REPORTER TIM KALDAHL.

ON MIKE RILEY, THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA’S HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: “Mike is probably a mix between Osborne and Devaney, as I see it.”

ON THE FUTURE OF NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: “I think our future is so bright that we’ve got to wear shades.”

ON CURRENT CONCERNS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF FOOTBALL: “I can’t think, overall, that it’s any more dangerous than it always has been, and I think that that risk factor is what people liked all the time. The possibility that, you know, you could get jacked.”

(Rodgers chuckles.)

ON GOOD HABITS FOR LIFE: “And you don’t want a habit that’s taking you down. You want to create the type of habits that build you up, so you have to make a change.”

ON STAYING MENTALLY FOCUSED AND GOAL SETTING: “Thoughts are not just things. Thoughts are the cause of things. So if you can hold a thought long enough, you can have it.”

A LESSON IN LIFELONG LEARNING

BY JESSI THOMSEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL JOY

SEPTEMBER

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

FEATURE

ROBERT S. RUNYON

AND THE

SENIOR PASSPORT PROGRAM

R

OBERT S. RUNYON, posing in an austere-looking suit

and tie, gazes down upon patrons from his portrait in the University of Nebraska at Omaha library. In contrast, the flesh and blood version introduces himself as “Bob” and sports a T-shirt with the phrase “Literally Great…

Figuratively the Best.” The UNO English Department shirt fits the wordsmith and lifelong learner like a glove.

“I’ve always had books on a pedestal in my mind,” says Runyon, who served as dean of the university’s library from 1978 to 2000.

Runyon laughs, “Before I retired, I thought, ‘I’ve got to prepare for retirement so I have a reason to get up in the morning.’”

Chuckling, he continues, “I’m a lazy, sloppy, indolent person.

And unless I have a reason—unless I have a purpose, a life purpose—I’m just going to vegetate.”

Nowadays, Runyon doesn’t have time to vegetate. He travels with his wife (Sheila), takes classes, and writes his memoir.

Despite Runyon’s appreciation of books, he has not always written them. Five years ago he saw a flier for a personal writing course at UNO. He asked instructor Elizabeth Mack, “Would you allow a 70-plus-year-old guy to come into your class?”

That’s exactly why UNO offers the Senior Passport Program.

Founded in 2001, the program allows seniors (age 65 and older) to take two courses per semester at a cost of $25 per year. The only requirements are an available seat in the class, instructor approval, and a desire to learn.

These classes jump-started Runyon’s work on his memoir: “I think I’ve got about 10 essays cobbled together, and I’ve got probably six or eight more in the hopper in various stages of completion.”

Runyon says, “You can be creative in your later years. The brain is continuously growing and changing. To me, that is a pivotal thing to think about, in the process of aging and, especially, of learning.”

Julie Masters, professor and chair of the Department of Gerontology at UNO, explains, “Just as we need to exercise physically, we need to exercise cognitively.”

Each year, anywhere from 60 to 100 seniors “cognitively exercise” through the Senior Passport Program. The program also impacts the instructors and other students in each class. Masters says, “The Passport Program, in a way, allows for an infusion of the benefit of experience within the classroom environment.”

Runyon has since taken several creative nonfiction courses with professors John Price and Lisa Knopp: autobiography, nature writing, travel writing, and spiritual writing.

Runyon connects with other students through writing, learning, and experience. “The power of words is where it all resides with me,” says Runyon. “You find something that raises your passion.”

“All of that was a strong experience,” says Runyon. “The encouragement I got from those people was enormous.” Knopp even marked “As” on Runyon’s essays.

Visit unomaha.edu/registrar/ students/senior-passport.php for more information.

Runyon says, “Senior Passport students aren’t graded, but I’m not sure I told her that because I liked getting As.” SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 181 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

“I THINK I’VE GOT ABOUT 10 ESSAYS COBBLED TOGETHER, AND I’VE GOT PROBABLY SIX OR EIGHT MORE IN THE HOPPER IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION.” -Robert Runyon

OMAHA MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER

NOSTALGIA

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SOON AFTER TERRY KAPOUN AND HIS FAMILY ANNOUNCED THEY WERE CLOSING BOHEMIAN CAFE, OLD AND NEW FACES ALIKE BEGAN PACKING THE OMAHA LANDMARK TO SAVOR ONE LAST GRAVY-SLATHERED BITE OF CLASSIC CZECH COMFORT FOOD.

Vitame Vas…At Least For a Short Time

BY NIZ PROSKOCIL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

O

MAHANS RECEIVED A

shock in early May when they learned yet another longtime local restaurant would shutter its doors. Soon after Terry Kapoun and his family announced they were closing Bohemian Cafe, old and new faces alike began packing the Omaha landmark to savor one last gravyslathered bite of classic Czech comfort food.

In recent months, the restaurant has served hundreds of meals each day. On Father’s Day, lines snaked out the door, resulting in 600 plates of food coming out of the kitchen.

Letters and phone calls have poured in from fans around the country wanting to share memories of the cafe.

“It’s just amazing,” Terry says of the outpouring. “It brings tears to your eyes.”

Several visitors have driven or flown hundreds of miles to slide into a booth and dig into one of the cafe’s signature dumplings before it closes on Sept. 24. The closing is partly due to dwindling customers and aging owners.

Czech immigrant Louie Macala opened the business in 1924, in a space just north of its current location at 13th and William streets.

The cafe, later owned and operated by Josef and Ann Libor (Kapoun’s grandparents), moved to its present spot in 1959.

In 1966, Terry’s parents—Mert and Robert Kapoun—took over, followed by Terry and his siblings: Bob, Ron, and Marsha. Bob tends the bar while Marsha hosts and oversees the office. Terry makes dumplings and fixes anything that breaks. Ron has served as head chef for 37 years.

Customer favorites include tender roast pork, duck, and beef; sweet-and-sauer cabbage; SEPTEMBER

Czech goulash; and kolaches. Servers clad in traditional Czech-style outfits offer baskets of light rye bread—perfect for dunking into a cup of liver dumpling soup.

For many guests, the restaurant’s appeal goes beyond its food. They appreciate the old-world charm, friendly service, and distinctive decor.

Ceramic floral tiles, bright blue paint, and an arched doorway greet visitors. A sign reads vitame vas, Czech for “we welcome you.”

Inside, there are painted plates, a decanter collection, plants, and knickknacks like those you might find at grandma’s house.

The Kapoun siblings, now in their 60s, are ready to retire but want Bohemian Cafe to go on. “It’s so unique,” Terry says. “There’s nothing else like it—the atmosphere, the experience.”

Until the final day, the family will continue cranking out dumplings as fast as customers can eat them.

“It’s the people we’re going to miss,” Terry says.

Longtime customer Cindy Findeis is sad to see the restaurant close. Findeis grew up in Carter Lake, Iowa, and has come to the cafe since she was a young girl. Now living in North Platte, Nebraska, she and her husband, Tim, happily drive five hours to eat there as often as possible. “It’s well worth it,” she says.

The cafe has been like home for the Findeis and their family, a place to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.

“It has a special place in our hearts,” she says.

“There’s a lot of memories.”

Visit bohemiancafe.net for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 183 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

SECTION

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