Manor of the Plains
MARCH 2020
The inspiring influence of an art lover By Lauren Stiller Rikleen for Next Avenue
Karen Ring is shown winning first in the amateur Christmas category and also is featured in the 2020 Art is Ageless® calendar.
Manor of the Plains Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists
Manor of the Plains has issued a call for entries for the Art is Ageless® juried exhibit to be held March 12 – 18, 2020. Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 40th anniversary Art is Ageless calendar in 2021. Artists may choose to enter the exhibit only. For the competition, works are to have been completed in the past five years (since January 2015). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Manor of the Plains by March 6.
AIA – continued on page 2
My husband’s mother, Rebecca Frank Rikleen, celebrated her 96th birthday on Halloween, but likely did not have a lot of time for festivities. Most days, she walks down the steep hill behind the rent-controlled New York City apartment where she’s lived for the past 68 years to catch a bus that takes her to an art workshop or poetry class. After returning by bus and walking up that same hill, she may spend some of her afternoon attending a memoir class at a neighborhood complex or walking to the Riverside Church for a lecture or going to another senior center for an additional art class.
ART – continued on page 3
Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
1
AIA – continued from page 1 The Art is Ageless® program encourages Manor of the Plains residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through its annual competition, as well as art classes, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions throughout the year. Manor of the Plains is a PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) community. Local competition winners will join winners from 15 other PMMA communities to be judged at the systemwide level. Entry forms and information can be picked up at Manor of the Plains, 200 Campus Drive, Dodge City, or by contacting Kurt Lampe at 620-225-1928 or klampe@pmma.org. Or go online to ArtIsAgeless.org to view rules, download an entry form or enter online. ◆
Mary Ann Hendrix has entered the Manor of the Plains Art is Ageless® competition for more than eight years. Her entry shown here, Rodeo, won 1st in the professional category at Manor of the Plains and is also featured in the 2020 Art is Ageless calendar.
Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.
MANOR PLAINS of the
A PMMA COMMUNITY
620-225-1928 ◆ Fax: 620-225-3982 200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 ManorOfThePlains.org
2
COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizaton.
To submit or suggest articles: klampe@PMMA.org Kurt Lampe, marketing director John Van Hook, executive director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
ART – continued from page 1 Rebecca would describe herself as a mother, grandmother and wife of a husband whose void was never filled, 42 years after his passing and notwithstanding the company of a kind companion for more than 30 of those years. Even as she maintained all of these roles—and met each with loving responsibility—the description is relational, and offers little insight into her complexity, her life struggles and her passion for art in all its forms. Art, to Rebecca, is the oxygen that keeps her alive and vibrant, even in a 96-year-old frame that often frustrates her with its slower pace and occasional malfunctions. She found her joy in creating art Her passion for art and poetry does not stem from a life of privilege where exposure to the masters solidified her talent. Rather, it was her escape from a life of scarcity that started when she was born on the boat that carried her parents who were fleeing Russia. That her parents were able to disembark on American soil with their infant was likely due to the compassion of their boat captain. Cognizant that the United States was close to reaching its annual quota on Russian immigrants, he rerouted his ship to Providence, thereby avoiding the larger queue of vessels waiting at Ellis Island in New York City. Had he instead waited his turn in New York waters, the annual quota may have been reached before they landed and the newborn and her parents would have been denied entry and sent back to Russia.
But Rebecca’s good fortune to be born an American citizen did not alter her family’s difficult economic circumstances. The family moved from their port of entry to Philadelphia, where they lived above a hardware store. Rebecca became the dutiful daughter who retreated within, excelled in school, and found her joy in creating art. Art also brought her love When an uncle moved to the Catskills region of New York, her family followed, and Rebecca finished her high school years in a small town. Her grades propelled her to the top of her class, but she was told by the principal that the honor of being valedictorian should fall to the No. 2 student who had grown up in the town. Subsequently, Rebecca obtained the highest score in the county on a statewide exam, an achievement that brought her an automatic acceptance into Cornell University. Her parents dismissed the idea without even exploring whether scholarship support was possible. College for their daughter made no sense, they felt, when she really needed to learn to cook, sew and type. Not to be deterred, Rebecca ultimately earned a B.A. at Temple University and, nearly two decades later, her masters degree. When circumstances brought her to New York City, she found refuge by spending spare time in museums. There, she met a Russian immigrant 17 years her senior who came to America as a young teenager. Rebecca marveled in the opportunity, for the first time in her life, to have conversations with someone who seemed genuinely interested in her thoughts and ideas. Together, they built a life
and raised four children in an atmosphere where their intellectual nourishment made up for their precarious financial circumstances. A vital influence I met Rebecca when I was a freshman in college and came for a visit with my new college boyfriend, her oldest son. The memory from the visit that most endures was their apartment which—then and now—was filled with aspects of the intellectual oasis they had built around themselves. Finished art, works in progress, component parts of many items that offered potential for future projects, books and partially read New York Times articles were everywhere. Nothing was junk; rather, everything was waiting for its opportunity to be part of something beautiful. When her son and I married four years later, Rebecca was serving as the director of a local day care center where she originally served as a volunteer. Her skills were quickly recognized and she was asked to run the organization, which she did for many years. My own parenting was deeply affected by the opportunities to learn from this gifted teacher and parent. I generally do not refer to Rebecca as my mother-in-law, since that title tends to conjure negative stereotypes. This beloved influence who continues to inspire everyone who knows her is best described by her indomitable spirit, unfailing kindness, towering intellect and her refusal to complain about the myriad physical ailments that are the unfortunate by-product of a long life. ◆
Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
3
MANOR PLAINS of the
A PMMA COMMUNITY
200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Our Mission: to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.
Change to compliance hotline PMMA’s corporate compliance program provides a mechanism for the organization to guard against misconduct by employees, service partners, volunteers and others who are regularly in PMMA’s communities in compliance with federal and state laws governing providers of health care services. It is everyone’s responsibility to report suspected misconduct without fear of retaliation or retribution. PMMA uses a third party provider to manage the compliance hotline to ensure anonymity of those who report suspected misconduct. This company recently made upgrades to its system, which have changed the way people can report suspected misconduct, offering both telephone and online options. The new toll free number is 1-844-973-0049. A new web portal offers the ability to make a report via the internet at www.pmma.ethicspoint.com. ◆
4
COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020