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Kaleidoscope SPRING 2016
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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WHAT’S INSIDE Publisher: Sam R Fisher
HELP: Free respite program gives caregivers a break .......................Page 4
Advertising Director: Jennifer Heintzelman
HISTORY: Otto Dick celebrates Oregon’s past ...............................Page 10
Advertising Sales: Jill Reyna Melissa Vlakancic
VOLUNTEER: CGH Auxiliary provides a helping hand...................Page 14
Editors: Jeff Rogers Kathleen Schultz
SAFETY: Driving classes can help sharpen skills .............................Page 18
Page Design: Breanne Hunter
EXERCISE: Biking provides freedom and exercise...........................Page 20 ADVENTURE: Zip lining in Myrtle Beach ......................................Page 22
Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media, P.O. Box 498, Sterling, IL 61081, 815-625-3600. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this guide is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.
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For details, call one of our Club Directors: Pam Stange 815-622-3364 • Julie Brady 815-288-3327 or Lynn Todtz in Clinton 563-242-9111
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Offering a safe haven for seniors New, free respite program gives caregivers a break BY KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ Special to Kaleidoscope
ROCK FALLS – A warm, safe and nurturing spot where caregivers can drop off their senior loved ones for fellowship and activities, while they run errands or just take a break, has opened in a longtime Rock Falls church. And the price is just right for anyone who wants to use it: It’s free. The Friendship Room will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 501 Eighth Ave. PROGRAM CONTINUED ON 6
Photos by Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Elissa Quigg (left) works on a puzzle with volunteer Laura Crawford in the Friendship Room at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rock Falls. The free program offers caregivers the opportunity to leave their loved ones in a safe environment so they may take a break for themselves.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Friendship Room is more like a social club PROGRAM
CONTINUED FROM 4
It’s for people 60 and older who cannot stay alone, and its mission is “to provide relief from caregiving by offering a safe, friendly and social environment for your loved one.” Several local churches saw a need and came together to start the program, including First Christian in Sterling and Rock Falls, First Presbyterian in Sterling, United Methodist and St. John and St. Paul Lutheran. It’s not just a place your loved one can go to – it’s more like a social club. There will be exercise time and a monthly slate of activities designed to include or aid in reality orientation, socialization, education and spiritual enrichment. Planting flower seeds was among the activities on a recent day in the Friendship Room.
PROGRAM CONTINUED ON 8
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Guests participate in stimulating activities PROGRAM
CONTINUED FROM 6
Left: Dan Trieloff’s favorite activity in the Friendship Room is a find-the-picture game. Right: The guests in the program wear names tags decorated with activities they like to do. Dan jokingly said “sitting,” so his is decorated with a chair.
Among its goals are to provide guests stimulating activities, including games, puzzles, crafts and singing, to promote self-esteem and independence, and to decrease depression, all while helping them remain contributing members of the community. Guests must be ambulatory (walkers and wheelchairs are acceptable) and able to take themselves to the bathroom (use of disposable underpants is acceptable). A light snack and a drink will be provided.
Want to help? If you or someone you know is interested in being a guest of the Friendship Room, call 815-625-3575 for more information. Can you be a friend for 3 hours every 4 to 6 weeks? The Friendship Room is looking for volunteers to help out on a rotating basis. All that’s required is a background check and a short training meeting, both at no cost to the volunteer. In addition, organizers are looking for donations of adult puzzles with large pieces, copies or a subscription to “Reminisce” or “Good Old Days” magazines, old calendars for craft projects or Walmart gift cards. Call Immanuel Lutheran at 815-625-3575 for more information.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Oregon’s man of history He might be retired, but Otto Dick is still at work, celebrating his city’s past BY CASSANDRA ZIMMERMAN Special to Kaleidoscope
Photos by Earleen Hinton
OREGON – Oregon’s man of history loves his town and the tales it tells. As a matter of fact, the city was music to his ears as a child – he just didn’t know it at the time. Otto Dick, who has spent much of his life working to help the community and its people, now spends much of his time uncovering, publishing and celebrating that history. A mechanical and computer drafting teacher at Dixon High School for 24 years and a Dixon building inspector for 9, Otto, 78, is retired – well, officially, anyway. But he’s still hard at it, employing his talents as one of the most active members of the Ogle County Historical Society, working to keep the past alive, and share it with a new generation.
Otto Dick stands at the ticket window at the Oregon Depot.
HISTORY CONTINUED ON 11
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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‘We were bringing our piano back home’ HISTORY
CONTINUED FROM 10
His life began in Indiana, where his mother was an English teacher and his father a school superintendent. He and his siblings – two brothers and a sister – all were musically inclined. The family had three pianos in the living room, including a Schiller, which was made in Conover Square in Oregon. The family moved to Oregon in 1946, when he was in sixth grade. “My mother always said that we were bringing our piano back home,” Dick said. The landscape was completely different from what he was used to. “Where we lived in Indiana, the land was flat. Oregon had cliffs, hills, and parks. We used to go to White Pines for our birthdays. We just loved it.” In high school, he excelled in basketball, football, and track. Afterward, he served in the armed forces as a Morse code operator, and became a section leader for his battalion. HISTORY CONTINUED ON 12
Otto Dick sits at the Central Traffic Control desk at the Oregon Depot.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
‘Who is this person? What did they do?’ HISTORY
CONTINUED FROM 11
Dick went to college in his 30s, and earned his master’s in education. He and his wife, Marilyn, raised three children here: David, Lisa, and Lori. His love for Oregon has only deepened in the past 45 years. His interest in the history of the town and its residents began when he became president of Riverside Cemetery. “While mowing the cemetery lawn, this young boy would come over. He would ask, ‘Who is this person? What did they do?’ I never knew the answer. So, I began researching.” That interest led Dick to become a major repository of the historical knowledge about Ogle County. He’s a member of the Ogle County Historical Society – was its president for 4 years – and remains the cemetery president. He also writes a weekly historical column for Ogle County Newspapers. He started writing about local homes, and branched out to address historical topics ranging from the railroad, the river valley, and historical figures. His big love these days, though, is the ongoing restoration of The Depot Museum, as a member of an informal group of like-minded volunteers known as The Depot Gang. The building is more than 100 years old, and is the last remaining of the original 29 Ogle County depots. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. HISTORY CONTINUED ON 13
Otto Dick takes a phone call while sitting at the telegraph desk at the Oregon Depot.
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The Depot Gang HISTORY
CONTINUED FROM 12
He’s also writing a history of the county’s small towns. His work has not gone unnoticed. For his efforts, Dick was named Oregon’s 2014 Citizen of the Year. “This is a man quiet in nature, mild in manner, working silently behind many scenes, whose actions speak loudly of the pride and commitment he carries when he walks throughout our community,” Debbie Dickson, executive director of the Oregon Chamber of Commerce, said when announcing Dick’s award. “I love Oregon, “ Dick said in his acceptance speech. “It’s a great place; I’m just so happy to be here. I’d choose no place else to live. We have a great history here. Let’s be positive about our town.”
Visit the depot The Oregon Depot Museum, 518 N. Fourth St. in Oregon, is open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Go to oregondepot.org for a virtual tour, and more information, or call 815-757-9715. Oregon historian Otto Dick is seeking old Western Union messages sent from the depot. If you have one you’re willing share, call him at 815-440-0639 to make arrangements to have it copied and returned to you.
The Military Room at the Oregon Depot honors those servicemen and women who passed through the depot.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
A helping hand CGH Auxiliary has been a valuable asset for nearly 70 years BY JIM FAIVRE Special to Kaleidoscope
STERLING – They might have given you a patient’s room number, or helped you get to where you’re going in the hospital. They might have even helped you find something in the gift shop. The women wear pink and the men blue. They are the CGH Auxiliary volunteers at CGH Medical Center – and they are some of the most valuable assets the hospital has. AUXILIARY CONTINUED ON 15 Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Lore Dedey, seen here helping out in the CGH Medical Center Auxiliary Gift Shop, has served more than 1,300 hours as an Auxiliary volunteer.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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Answering the phone with a smile AUXILIARY
CONTINUED FROM 14
The volunteers dedicate their time and service to the hospital, just like the many who came before them since the program began in 1946. Auxiliary coordinator Deb Keaschall said about 135 volunteers donate their time in any given month, and there are more than enough things to do to keep every one of them busy. They greet people in the lobby, man the reception desk, staff the gift shop, serve in surgical waiting, work on the floor or in the Emergency Department, provide pet therapy, act as host at the clinic, chip in at the chaplain, and help out as health coaches. The volunteer force ranges in age from 21 to 91. Many raise funds through various activities to help the board buy items for the hospital that can light up a patient’s day – like Christmas lighting – or help further students’ education, like scholarships that are paid for with proceeds from the gift shop. Ten $1,000 scholarships are given out each year.
CGH Auxiliary member Ethel Broderick has volunteered more 9,000 hours and has helped out in four departments at CGH Medical Center. Whatever needs done, volunteers do it, and they’re trained in how to get it done. But training isn’t needed for everything; some of what volunteers do just comes
naturally, such as offering a much-needed warm voice on the other end of a phone when someone calls the hospital. AUXILIARY CONTINUED ON 16
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Duties go well beyond just desk duty AUXILIARY
CONTINUED FROM 15
Take Ethel Broderick: She’s been a volunteer for nearly 20 years, and Keaschall said she, “answers the phone with a smile,” a much-needed greeting that can help with those sometimes nerve-wracking calls from concerned friends and family. Recently, Ethel and fellow volunteer Gladys Thomas, who’s volunteered since 2004, were staffing the front reception desk, just one of several ways they help out at the hospital. Like other volunteers, their duties go well beyond just desk duty in the sprawling medical facility. Ethel also works in the gift shop, the Emergency Department, and diagnostic imaging (x-rays). Gladys is vice president of the service board, interviews volunteer applicants, and makes out schedules. Both women also participate in fundraising activities. AUXILIARY CONTINUED ON 17
Dotty Bruns-Frey, a CGH Auxiliary volunteer, helps direct clinic patients to where they need to go. The volunteer program at the hospital has recently expanded to the clinic.
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‘It makes a difference to people, so it makes a difference to me’ AUXILIARY
CONTINUED FROM 16
Ethel and Gladys said they enjoy getting out of the house and working with, and helping, the people they meet at CGH. Another perk, Ethel said? “Seeing all the pretty flowers that are delivered.” Rosann Kuletka-Johnson has volunteered at the hospital for 15 years and was the first CGH Main Clinic host, part of a program that started in May. She and other volunteers work in the lobby area of the clinic Monday through
Thursday. Rosann said she’s also worked in the Diagnostic Imaging Department, where she digitized hard copies of X-rays. With a laugh, she said that in her position as host, she can “get away with telling people where to go” – but joking aside, when asked what she likes most about volunteering, she said, “It makes a difference to people, so it makes a difference to me.” Pat Rosengren has volunteered for 25 years, having started in the gift shop. Today she serves as the president of the Auxiliary board, where she’s also served in other positions, including a previous
term as president. Pat said the group’s goal is to work toward the mission of the hospital – to make people feel comfortable – and help the staff. She said she finds the work very rewarding, and she feels like this is her “niche.” It’s a niche that volunteers young and old have found for more than 60 years, and one that helps patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff members. And while volunteers give much, they get much in return. Pat summed it up by saying that volunteering is very rewarding and “you get more than you give.”
Want to Help? CGH Auxiliary always welcomes new members. Anyone who wants to become a volunteer must complete an Auxiliary application, provide two references, interview with the Auxiliary Board and agree to a background check. Applicants also comply with immunizations and TB testing, attend mandatory orientation sessions, train in specific areas of interest and commit to working at least two shifts a month, with each shift ranging from 2-4 hours. Anyone interested can call Deb Keaschall at 815-625-0400, ext. 5727 Online: cghmc.com/about-us/volunteers-auxiliary/
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Classes help older drivers sharpen their skills AARP reaches more than 500,000 a year BY ANN DURBIN | AP Auto Writer
DETROIT – Joe Minerva has been driving since 1946. He’s a skilled and disciplined driver and he’s never been in an accident. So Minerva was surprised how much he learned when he recently took his first driving class. During the 6-hour AARP course at his local senior center, he learned the places in his city where the most accidents occur. He was surprised to find that he could be ticketed for holding up traffic even if he was driving the speed limit. And he was fascinated by the new auto safety technology the instructor described. “I couldn’t believe what I didn’t know,” said Minerva, 86, a retired machinist
from Huntington, New York. “I think that young drivers should be required to take that course.” Americans are living – and driving – longer than they used to. There are more than 36 million licensed drivers older than 65 in the U.S., up 34 percent from 1999, according to government data. By 2030, as the baby boom generation ages, 70 million Americans will be older than 65, and the vast majority of them will have drivers’ licenses. Older drivers are less likely than other age groups to be involved in fatal crashes, partly because they drive fewer miles. But when they do crash, they’re more likely to die because their bodies are more susceptible to injury. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says
Tips for older drivers • Develop good habits: Driving is habitual, so the more good habits you have, the more they’re likely to stick with you. Use turn signals, stay a certain distance from the car in front of you and constantly scan the road. • Plan your travel: Think about your routes and avoid situations that are uncomfortable, like driving at night or in snow, merging onto a highway or making a left turn. • Explore new technologies: Many new cars have safety aids, including backup cameras, blind-spot monitors and automatic braking to avoid collisions. But older cars can also be fitted with safety technology. Mobileye, for example, makes a camera that you can attach to your windshield and it warns you if you speed, get too close to the car in front or drift out of your lane. The system costs around $800. There are also devices to make driving more comfortable, like larger rear-view mirrors. • Understand the risks: Learn how aging can affect the body and the brain, and how medications can affect your ability to drive. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains the impact of various ailments on driving, including stroke and arthritis: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Senior-Drivers. • Plan a “driving retirement”: Americans are outliving their ability to drive safely by an average of 7 to 10 years, according to AAA. Cohen suggests planning a “driving retirement.” Learn how to spend a day or two not driving your car, and consider other ways to get you where you need to go. Think about where you want to live if you can no longer drive.
drivers 70 and older are 3.2 times more likely to die in a crash than drivers ages 35 to 54. Aging-related physical and mental changes can also hamper older drivers, especially during tricky maneuvers like merging onto a highway. Multiple-vehicle crashes at intersections accounted for 40 percent of fatal crashes for drivers 80 and older in 2013, but only 19 percent for drivers ages 16 to 59, the institute said. Driving safety classes can help. AARP’s classes, which have been taught since 1979, reach more than 500,000 people each year. They’re available both online and in person, and they cost around $15 DRIVING CONTINUED ON 19
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Call 815-288-2117 to schedule a ride or to provide a donation today! Lee-Ogle Transportation System is located at the Reagan Transit Center at 210 E. Progress Drive in Dixon!
Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
19
‘It helps them remain confident on the road’ DRIVING
CONTINUED FROM 18
“It helps them remain healthy, independent and confident on the road,” said Kyle Rakow, AARP’s director of driver safety. Rakow said many participants say the classes made them change at least one driving behavior, like avoiding night driving or bad weather. Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia offer insurance discounts for seniors who take the in-person classes. Minerva said his insurance bill will drop by $1,800 over a 3-year period as a result of his course. But some say more is needed. Susan Cohen, who founded Americans for Older Driver Safety after her 20-year-old son was struck and killed by an 83-year-old driver, is developing brochures that could be passed out at senior centers, libraries and other places so that seniors don’t have to take a class at all. She also wants physicians to give safety information to older drivers, and help them connect with resources, like occupational therapists who are trained to help drivers.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Feeling free Program puts seniors back on bikes BY PAM LEBLANC | Tribune News Service
AUSTIN, Texas – It took a while, but James Maxwell conquered the wobbles, mastered the brakes and solved the steering. Five months into a free class at the Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center, the 68-year-old confidently pedaled a bright red, adult-sized tricycle out of the parking lot and down a gravel trail. Now he’s dreaming about getting a bike of his own so he can ride alongside his grandchildren. Most people consider learning to ride a bicycle a childhood rite of passage. But for those who never learned, or who haven’t done it in decades, a two-wheeled spin around the neighborhood can seem daunting. That’s why Christopher Stanton, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, spearheaded the creation of a program designed to get seniors back on bicycles. “Seniors are like kids,” Stanton says. “They’re a group that needs extra instruction and extra assistance, but they’re marginalized. People think seniors can’t do things because they’re not physically able. That’s really not the case.” The classes are open to anyone at the center. Nearly 50 signed up for the pilot program, and about half of that graduated earlier this month. They ranged in age from 60 to 88 – and most were women. Metro Art Service
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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‘You can do it. Just try it.’ BIKES
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The class begins with a safety briefing. Participants then ride one of the program’s five trikes around the parking lot, where instructors assess their skills and make sure they can stop and steer safely. Those who pass will advance to an adjacent gravel hike-and-bike trail, and eventually hit a protected bike lane. One group took an outing to a nearby grocery store. “I tell (other seniors) ‘You can do it. Just try it,’” said Bertha Sellers, 75, who got back on a bike recently for the first time in more than 50 years. “The only bike I’ve been on since I was a kid was an exercise bike, where it stands still,” Sellers said. “I learned if I focus on what I’m doing and forget about being frightened, I can do it.” Cycling, she said, makes her feel free. Plus, she knows she’ll impress her son, an expert cyclist who has no idea she’s been taking the classes. “At the beginning it was scary, especially going up hills and coming down,” said
Maria Peña, 63. “But I enjoyed it and it helps strengthen my arms and legs.” Stanton came up with the idea after watching a TED talk about a biking program for seniors in Europe. Chameleon Cold-Brew helped pay for the bikes, and youth involved with the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative assembled them. Volunteer class leaders are certified by the League of American Bicyclists; most of them come from Bike Austin. Cycling not only gives seniors with mobility issues another option for getting around, it provides exercise. The low-slung, single-speed three-wheelers minimize the risk of falling. The bikes are equipped with roomy rear baskets, suitable for toting groceries. “It gives a sense of freedom to the seniors,” said Mercedes Feris, executive director of Bike Austin, which teamed with the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative and the Austin Parks and Recreation Department to offer the program. This year’s sessions have ended, but they’ll resume in the spring. The program works well at Conley-Guerrero because nearby trails and bikeways connect to the Sustainable
Food Center, a MetroRail station and a grocery store. The terrain is almost perfectly flat, too. Students have included a woman who got off her power wheelchair and rode a trike around the parking lot, and an 88-year-old woman who took her first pedal strokes. “It’s not about bikes; it’s about making things easier for them. It’s about access and opportunity,” Stanton said. For Maxwell, it’s about perseverance, too. At first, he just couldn’t make it work. He swayed like a sailboat in the wind. He had trouble stopping. His steering was off. “I had to learn how to balance myself,” he said. He kept trying, though, and after attempts on three different days, he passed the skills assessment and instructors let him move onto the trail and then the pavement. When he did, something clicked. He smoothly glided his trike to the front of the pack. When he picked up his certificate of completion at a graduation ceremony earlier this month, a cheer rose from the crowd and he grinned broadly.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
Defying gravity
Zip lining in Myrtle Beach
BY CLAIRE BYUN | Tribune News Service
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina – When you think zip lining, you probably think of a high-flying activity for 20-somethings and teens who still enjoy living life on the edge. Think again. Think 80-somethings who are still high on life. Seven seniors – all women – and two zip line guides spent more than an hour in September weaving between the trees and zipping down three cables at Radical Ropes Adventure Park in Myrtle Beach. Complete with harnesses, helmets and gloves, the seniors climbed 50 feet before stepping off the platform into the glide. “I applaud these groups – they’re so willing and able to do this. I hope I can still do this at their age,” said John Metts, lead zip lining guide. The seniors were on a trip from Brightwater, a retirement community in Myrtle Beach. “Just because they’re old doesn’t mean they have to be stodgy,” said Susan Parrotta, director of wellness for Brightwater. “This gives them the chance to
expand their horizons.” Brightwater chose “Live Your Adventure” as the theme to the annual Active Aging Week, which is sponsored by the International Council on Active Aging and is recognized nationally. Parrotta said the week was about giving seniors the chance to cross something off their bucket list. “We’re encouraging them to do something they’ve never done before,” Parrotta said. Janet Osgood, 87, said she’s always wanted to try zip lining but was always a little afraid of getting hurt. After researching the safety equipment and rules, however, she decided to jump on the opportunity. “You have to do these things when you can – don’t wait until you’re 87 years old,” she said. Vivian Gilmer smiled while gliding down the cable but afterward said there wasn’t anything going through her mind on the course – except questioning her senses. “You just think ‘Lord, help me. Why am
I doing this?’” she said. Aaron Grant, zip line guide, said working with seniors always brings a smile to his face. Seniors appreciate their life and experiences more than many other groups and Grant said it’s refreshing to see someone enjoying an activity as much as the small group of elders. “When they think they can’t do it, and then you show them they can, it’s the best,” Grant said. “I can’t believe how many of them wanted to do it. I’ve been underestimating my seniors,” said Susan Parrotta, director of wellness for Brightwater. “You’re only as old as you feel.” Ann Anderson, who has been at Brightwater for about 6 months, was happy to be back on the ground and out of her harness. The 80-year-old said she has a fear of heights but wanted to experience life in the trees at least once. “I didn’t realize it was going to be so high, but I did it,” she said. Would Anderson do it again? “I’ve done it. That’s good enough,” she said.
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Kaleidoscope Spring 2016
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