Wichita Presbyterian Manor
MAY 2021
Just before the “anniversary” of the pandemic, Westerly resident Margo Imes posted a poem outside her apartment that reflected her feelings about the whole business. It was the third poem Margo has shared with her neighbors over the past few months. Marlene and Dean Stine live in the assisted living neighborhood at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. They have been members of our community since January 2016.
Korean War veteran spent his service aboard destroyers
After enlisting in the Navy, Dean Stine spent 24 weeks learning how to run sonar, a technique that uses soundwaves to detect objects underwater. Not long after, Dean was aboard the USS Shields, a Fletcher-class destroyer. The ship was about 375 feet long and some 275 personnel were aboard during the war. They slept in compact aluminum bunks that were stacked three high. Dean had enlisted with three of his classmates from Edna (Kan.) High School. Two of them were also stationed on the destroyer, which spent time near the 39th Parallel, which divided North and South Korea. “We would run sonar in order to spot mines in the harbor,” Dean said. “If you hit a mine, it would blow the front of your ship off.” VETERAN – continued on page 5
Westerly resident shares ‘pandemic poetry’ with her neighbors When a pandemic hit, Margo Imes opened her notebook, just as she had many times before when she had a story to tell. As usual, her thoughts took the form of poetry. The Westerly resident has shared three “pandemic poems” with her neighbors by posting them outside the apartment where she lives with her husband, Vern. A poem Margo shared earlier this year addresses the significance POETRY - continued on page 2
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