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Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
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WHAT’S INSIDE Publisher: Sam R Fisher Advertising Director: Jennifer Heintzelman Advertising Sales: Jill Reyna Kelly Shroyer
MOUNT MORRIS: Author working on latest novel.....................Pages 4-11 PROPHETSTOWN: Man takes great care of cemeteries.......... Pages 12-15 STERLING: Lounge a safe place for veterans to share stories.......Page 16-19 TECHNOLOGY: Teen helps seniors with new gadgets.............. Pages 20-22
Editors: Rusty Schrader Lucas Pauley Page Design: Lucas Pauley
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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OGLE COUNTY
A novel life Mount Morris author finishing book a half-century in the making NOVEL CONTINUED ON 6
Len Levinson, shown here July 6 at his Mount Morris apartment, says his latest novel is the validation and justification for his whole life.
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Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
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New York transplant has 83 novels published BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM
Online extra Go to shawurl.com/2pc4 to watch video of Len Levinson describing the painting that depicts him as a “quintessential New Yorker.”
H
ere goes. Even though 83 of his novels have been published, Len Levinson is hanging a lot on his latest. Based on his 1964 marriage, which led to the loves of his life – his daughter and grandchildren – it’s more than half a century in the making. “It is the validation and the justification for my whole ridiculous, pointless life,” the 81-year-old New Yorker-atheart said. “It would make me. And it might never be published.” After beating and rebounding from prostate cancer, he moved from his daughter Debbie’s home to Mount Morris about a dozen years ago.
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Len Levinson looks through his computer July 6 at his apartment in Mount Morris. Levinson has written 83 novels. “I had moved into Debbie’s basement and prepared to die,” he said, explaining why he moved to Illinois. “But as you can see, I have not died. Many years have passed, and
I’m still here. But it’s not a good idea to live with your daughter. She treated me like a child, and I treated her like a child.” They’ve struck a balance
in distance, thanks to his discovery that there are four state forests nearby Oregon, which lured him to his cozy, 500-square-foot apartment. Walking is perhaps the only activity he enjoys as much as reading and writing. “I’ve been walking all my life,” he said. “In New York City, I walked all over the city. I used to take the subway to far-off places, then walk back – back over the Brooklyn Bridge, all over the place.” Like any great novel, Levinson’s story is peppered with timely turning points. PUBLISHED continued on 84
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Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Levinson holds up his book, “The Last Buffon,” published in 1980. He has authored 83 novels.
Levinson’s initial novel was rejected PUBLISHED
CONTINUED FROM 6 t
Getting his start Levinson’s mother died when he was 4, and his father was a barely there alcoholic. So while his fellow fifth-graders wrote about their favorite outings and activities with their parents, he dreamt up a trip to Pluto. “It was like an out-of-body experience,” he said. “My teacher, she praised it in front of the class, and it was the first time I was praised for anything in my life.” A dream of becoming a writer began, no matter how many people pinched him. “Everyone said I would starve to death, and they weren’t that far off,” he said. After his first marriage failed, he worked as a press agent for Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. In 1971, two of his co-workers died without warning. “I thought, ‘I’m going to die without
fulfilling my dream.’ I didn’t want to be 65 and reproach myself for not at least attempting to do the one thing in life I really wanted to do.” So, he quit his job. His initial novel about the first of his two marriages was rejected, as was a chronicle of stories he pulled from his experience driving cab at night in New York. That’s when he did something desperate – something he’s not terribly proud of. He researched and wrote a pornographic novel. “I was starting to think if I’m going to be a writer, I’d better write whatever I can get published, so if I can’t write a pornographic novel and sell it, I’ll go back to being a press agent,” he said. While that particular niche was peppered with sado-masochism, he took the hilarious approach of writing several couples into a honeymoon hotel where the chef was putting aphrodisiacs into all the food. Novel No. 1, “Private Sessions,” was published by Midwood, part of a larger con-
glomerate called Belmont Tower Books, which asked him to write a Mafia book – during the “Godfather” craze, no less. His chronicles of Johnny Rosetti, an Italian killing Mafia members to avenge his family members’ death, were the first novels of which he was truly proud. He learned two important things: Don’t write yourself into the character if you don’t fit. “My guy was having all kinds of moral doubts, like I have. He had too much me in him,” he said. And don’t let your research get in the way, either. There’s just enough room to shimmy through Levinson’s apartment, between the vertical stacks of the thousands of books he’s devoured over the years. Admittedly neurotic, he won’t write about something until he’s exhaustively researched the subject matter. But he learned not to let all that background bog down the plot. REJECTED continued on 104
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SM-ST7310-0804
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Author fixing typos in previous books REJECTED
CONTINUED FROM 8 t
“It’s about narrative tension,” he said. “You’ve got to keep it moving. No wasted space. Even thought is action. Keep it moving.”
Getting his ending Neuroses will always be in the way. Levinson said he’s in the final editing stages of that aforementioned novel of a lifetime – and two others, as well. A longtime friend is a best-selling author with a powerful agent, and he told Levinson to send it to him. The only tangible thing that’s been in the way is typos – not in the working novels, but their 83 precursors. As an underground, pulp fiction fixture – earning the moniker “trash genius” from Glorious Trash blogger Joe Kenney – many of his
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Levinson talks about the artwork displayed throughout his apartment. books are worth hundreds of dollars in their original format. Too bad he threw out a few cases of them when he left New York City. “Another horrible decision,” he said. “My life is horrible
decisions, one right after the other.” “OK, they’re not all horrible …” Many of his novels have been or are being republished and digitally formatted, so
he’s been agonizing over the typos he’s been finding and correcting before sending them back to their respective publishers. BOOKS continued on 114
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With all the horror, I wanted it to be funny. Hopefully, the agent will see the worth of this, and there will be a big deal, and a movie deal, and I will go out on dates with Jennifer Lawrence. Well, I doubt Jennifer Lawrence will happen, but a red Corvette would be in the mix, and a big home. I’m tired of living in tiny apartments. Len Levinson on his latest book
Latest novel a romantic tragedy/comedy BOOKS
CONTINUED FROM 10 t
He’s got two more novels to fix up. Then it will be back to polishing the romantic comedy that was his first marriage to Narinia, a Cuban dancer he met at the Tropicana Night Club. The marriage lasted 4 years, despite a thick language barrier. He even agreed to move to Florida because of her disdain for New York weather, in the name of saving their marriage. It lasted long enough for them to have Debbie, whose children, Rachel, 13, and
More about Levinson Find Len Levinson on Facebook to learn more about him. David, 12, Levinson cherishes more than anything else. Looking back on his marriage’s demise, he can laugh at the way he wanted out in the worst way, yet spiraled into crippling depression when she asked for a “diborce” – she often misplaced her v’s and b’s. “My dreams had come true: I was getting out of this marriage,” he said, “but suddenly I thought, ‘This is the most beautiful woman I’ve met in my life. How can I give her
up? How can I live without this woman who’s taught me all I know of love?’” One of his greatest muses is Evelyn Waugh, a British author who found a way to find the humor in the brutality of warfare – “heads flying around, arms and legs flying around,” as Levinson describes it. He served in the Army himself, before getting a degree in social sciences from Michigan State University. He used that while working briefly in Florida inves-
tigating child abuse cases. Many of the details of that harrowing, exhausting work are in the novel, he said. What he’s written is a romantic tragedy/comedy. “With all the horror, I wanted it to be funny,” he said. “Hopefully, the agent will see the worth of this, and there will be a big deal, and a movie deal, and I will go out on dates with Jennifer Lawrence,” he said. “Well, I doubt Jennifer Lawrence will happen, but a red Corvette would be in the mix, and a big home. I’m tired of living in tiny apartments.” Here goes.
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WHITESIDE COUNTY
Cemeteries in great hands Retired counselor takes pride in sites’ aesthetics, records
Jim Casson, 74, stands next to his parents’ headstone on June 14 in Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown. Casson oversees three cemeteries in Prophetstown and another in Lyndon.
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
M
ost of Jim Casson’s reunions with his former students are bittersweet. The longtime school counselor retired 9 years ago, and has been overseeing four rural cemeteries for the past 14 years. “It’s interesting work, and you meet tons and tons of nice people from all over, and from all different environments – unfortunately, a lot of kids I had in school, because someone’s passed away,” the 74-year-old said. CEMETERIES continued on 134
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Casson, staff take care of four sites CEMETERIES
CONTINUED FROM 12 t
That’s where all that experience in counseling comes in handy. “You tell them, ‘I’m glad to see you, and I’m sorry,’” said Casson, who spent 43 years teaching and counseling in Prophetstown and Lyndon schools. “Then, if they want to talk about it, they can. If they don’t want to, they don’t have to. You don’t pry for information, and that’s part of counseling. They should let it come out, because they want to let it come out.” Thanks to his staff of three – full-timer Mike Hoogerwerf, fullish-timer Dave Anderson, and summer help Matt Wagenecht – the backdrop of those reunions is breathtaking. The biggest of the four cemeteries, Riverside Cemetery, is slickly manicured, with its 5,500 or so headstones accented by nearly 400 large pots of lush petunias. Impressive, considering it would take two guys 3 days to mow just the nine lots at Riverside.
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Jim Casson, 74, reminisces about his days as a school counselor in Prophetstown and Lyndon while giving a tour of Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown on June 14. He spent 43 years teaching and counseling in the school district, and has overseen SITES continued on 144 the care of four rural cemeteries for 14 years.
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Casson’s wife: ‘Nobody will ever stop him’ SITES
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“If we’ve got a funeral, I can call Matt, and he’ll be there,” Casson said. “I can call any of these guys, and if they can be there, they will be. They’re incredible workers, they take really good care of the equipment, and the funny thing is, I hired all of them as part-time. There must be something about the work.” It’s so rewarding even he can’t give it up, even though years as an industrial arts teacher and boys basketball coach left him with a back that puts him in constant pain – although the hoops memories, including a 1974 a state title game appearance, are priceless. Despite that ailing back, and even though he’s technically not responsible for any of the labor, he said if something needs to get done and no one else is around, he gets it done. He’d prefer his wife, Connie, not know that. Too late, it seems. “Nobody will ever stop him,” she said. “I have to keep sneaking around and seeing where he is.” She doesn’t have much of a leg to stand
on, though, as both of them can be found up on the scaffolding around their house as they re-side it. “Neither of us should probably be up there,” she admitted. They met as teachers in Lyndon and will celebrate their 50th anniversary in August. They have three kids, three grandkids and three stepgrandkids. They both taught physical education, and he taught industrial arts until he got his counseling degree at University of Wisconsin-Platteville and worked in that field in the high school, then the junior high, then the junior high and high school. She went back to get her special education degree and loved teaching in that field. In retirement, she’s helped him problem-solve over the years. When he took over the cemetery gig nearly 15 years ago, the cemeteries were about to transfer from associations’ control to the township, and record-keeping was limited, to put it nicely. So there they’d go, out into the cemeteries with paper and pencil to try to pull names from headstones to build up the cemeteries’ records. “This book is very important to me,” Casson said, hoisting up a black binder containing every plot, its residents
organized alphabetically, and the owners of the plots also alphabetized. While many other townships buy special record-keeping software, Casson said he tailored his own spreadsheets with Microsoft Office, for compatibility as he goes through computers over the years. Riverside sees between 30 and 35 burials a year, and Casson also curates Leon Methodist Cemetery and Washington Street Cemetery, both also under Prophetstown Township jurisdiction, as well as Lyndon Cemetery, run by Lyndon Township. Leon receives three or four burials annually, Washington Street hasn’t gotten a new resident in 60 years, and Lyndon sees seven to nine burials per year. Lyndon Township contracts maintenance for its cemetery, but Casson has built and organized Lyndon Cemetery’s records, too. He said there were a few Lyndon Cemetery residents put in the wrong plots over the years, including one during his tenure. That’s why, before any burial, workers probe the ground to make sure it’s vacant. If it isn’t, best-case scenario, a headstone must be moved. Worst-case scenario, an exhumation and reburial, but that can happen only after reams of paperwork through the state.
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Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Despite an ailing back, Jim Casson, 74, gives a tour of Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown on June 14. He chalks his bad back up to “too much basketball.”
Take the tour Go to shawurl.com/2nmu to get a tour of Riverside Cemetery in Prophetstown from its curator, Jim Casson.
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STERLING
Good company: Lounge gives veterans camaraderie, relief Donations sought to keep doors open at new facility
T
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 CHeimerman_SVM
his is how things often go at the Soldiers Lounge. War stories bring laughs, but also draw tangents to subjects like discipline and respect, and how younger generations are sorely lacking in both. Then it happens. The topic turns to Honor Flights. One of the five men sitting around the table on July 6, Army veteran Dave Reyes, is planning to go on one soon. To his left is John Espinoza, a Marine veteran who was a guardian on a 2009 flight. He shares a few anecdotes from the powerful experience. VETERANS continued on 184
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Pablo Vazquez (right) talks to John Espinoza on July 6 at the Soldiers Lounge in Sterling.
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Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Veterans sit around a table and enjoy coffee at the Soldiers Lounge as they share stories. The lounge provides not only a much-needed place where veterans can feel at ease, but also where their friends and family can find support.
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Lounge a safe place for veterans to talk VETERANS
CONTINUED FROM 16 t
It reminds Moe Rhodes of when the touring miniature version of the Vietnam Memorial made a stop in Rock Falls. “You know, I couldn’t even go near it,” said the 70-year-old Sterling resident, who served in Vietnam and the Gulf War. “It was like there was an invisible force pushing me back out.” The lounge is a safe place, thousands of miles away from the unsafe places the veterans saw, where they had to do things that many of them rarely, if ever, share with their family and friends. Sergio Sotelo, 57, who served in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, also known as the Screaming Eagles, opened the lounge at 609 W. Third St. (in the Bazaar Americana complex) on April 4. It’s open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, although will open it any-
Online extra Go to shawurl.com/2p6e to hear veterans talk at Soldiers Lounge about experiences during their service. time he’s available – on request – for counsel, meetings, however the space can help out. Reyes and Navy veteran Jim Seeley Jr. play music there from 4 to 6 p.m. every Thursday. You need not be a veteran to enjoy the lounge. Pablo Vazquez, 65, of Sterling, didn’t serve, but many of his family members did, including his daughter, Jacqueline Vazquez. “I’m very proud of that,” he said. Sotelo relies on donations to keep the doors open. He said the owner gives him a good deal, knowing the lounge’s mission, but that he’s “nearly tapped out.”
Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com
Sergio Sotelo stands near the flag that draped his brother’s casket at the Soldiers Lounge in Sterling. The lounge is decorated in a patriotic theme, with military flags and other items on display. Sotelo opened the lounge in April as not only a way to provide a much-needed place where veterans could feel at ease, but also a where their friends and family can find support. Sotelo relies on donations to keep the doors open. He said the building’s owner gives him a good deal, knowing LOUNGE continued on 194 the lounge’s mission, but that he’s “nearly tapped out.”
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At lounge, ‘it’s camaraderie and respect’ LOUNGE
CONTINUED FROM 18 t
“I’m basically putting my last dollar into this,” he said. “By the grace of good people and the good Lord, I’m still open. Right at the nick of time, people come and help.” The decor is military-themed, from posters to flags – including the one that draped Sotelo’s brother’s casket about 5 years ago. Espinoza bought the triangular case in which it rests atop a shelf directly across from the entrance. A wall of honor is peppered with articles, obituaries, and pins and patches from veterans’ respective divisions. There are refreshments and snacks, and comfortable seating near a respectable collection of movies that range from war documentaries to Clint Eastwood classics. There are also applications for Honor Flight, and military
periodicals many veterans rely on to stay in the know. For those who rely on them, there are Bibles. They’re resources, Sotelo said, being clear that he doesn’t push religion. At the center of it all is something you can’t put a finger on – camaraderie. His comrades open up when the crowds thin out, Sotelo said. “Once it’s just the two of us, then they’ll spill their guts to me. I’m not a psychiatrist. I just ask if they’re getting professional help, and I will listen ... I can advise, but not professionally. “They’re dealing with their demons, basically.” It became evident about 5 years ago that he has post-traumatic stress disorder, Sotelo said. It flares up mostly during lonelier times – holidays and the like. That’s why, when veterans enter the lounge twitching and visibly uncomfortable, his sense of service kicks in.
“PTSD is subject matter some people don’t understand, and some soldiers don’t even know they have it until years later,” he said. “You come home, but your mind is back in conflict. It was that much of a change, that much of a shock. Years later, you can’t hold a job. You’re moody, irritable and can’t sleep. You’ve got marital problems, and religion issues are there.” He said one misconception is all PTSD sufferers experienced a specific, traumatizing experience. He’s quite sure his PTSD stems from the accumulation of things he experienced during his service, which didn’t include wars – only campaigns and conflicts. Self-medication, be it via marijuana, alcohol, even stuff as strong as crystal meth, is becoming more and more prevalent, Sotelo said. “It’s getting to be a dilemma that needs to be addressed, or at least understood.” “Luckily, none of us here have
a serious problem, like PTSD or something like that,” said Espinoza, whose 4 years of service didn’t put him into combat. “In their case, that person would benefit from us just listening, so they can get stuff off their chest. It helps to get it off their chest. It’s like going to confession. You get it out.” On the Honor Flight back from Washington, District of Columbia, pent-up stories and feelings came to the fore, Espinoza said. “World War II veterans would talk about things they would never, ever talk to anyone else about. They think I’m lying, exaggerating, or it’s disgusting, some of the things I saw and did, and they can’t relate to it.” No matter what veterans might have done during their service, or in the wake of it, the door is open. Sotelo said. All is forgiven. “You know when you come in here, it’s camaraderie and respect.”
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TECHNOLOGY
Facebook for the first time Teen opens up ‘a whole new world’ to seniors BY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZ Tribune News Service
CORAL GABLES, Florida – When Sarah Wishnia received an iPad from her daughter, she “didn’t even know how to open the thing.” Max Rosenblum showed her how to socialize on Facebook and how to shop on Amazon with her new device. When Sam Nevel’s children and grandchildren handed him an iPhone, “it was like Greek to me.” But Max taught him how to find his way through email and how to connect on FaceTime. With Max’s help, Elena Rosner learned to give orders to Siri, Mike Smith familiarized himself with Waze, and Honey Rosen began searching for information about movies, restaurants and books on her smartphone.
Tribune News Service
Max Rosenblum, 16, teaches Sarah Wishnia how to use her iPad during a TechMaxed one-on-one session June 11 at The Palace, a luxury senior rental communiFACEBOOK continued on 214 ty in Coral Gables, Florida.
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Lee-Ogle Transportation System is a not-for-profit public agency that welcomes donations to keep the wheels on the road.
Call 815-288-2117 to schedule a ride or to provide a donation today!
• Lifescape L Lunch Served Daily from 11:30-12:00
• Coffee & Conversation Every Day!
• Educational Programs
ista • Free Tax Filing Assistance February - April
• Health Screenings • Daily Activities • Zumba/Linedancing • Computer Classes • Outreach/Info and Assistance for State/Federal Pharmaceutical and other programs.
LCCOA
LUAU SUPPER August 17 4:30-6:00
Lee County Council on Aging, Inc.
Lee-Ogle Transportation System is located at the Reagan Transit Center at 210 E. Progress Drive in Dixon!
100 W Second St, Dixon
815-288-9236 • M-F 8am-5pm
SM-ST5697-0804
Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
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Teen recruits others to help seniors FACEBOOK
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Max is 16, a junior at University School in Davie, Florida. His students are residents of The Palace at Coral Gables, octogenarians fascinated by technology and eager to learn about this brave new frontier. “Max,� says Wishnia, “has opened a whole new world to me.� She can now receive texts and photos from her grandchildren scattered around the country, order a ride on Lyft, purchase walking shoes on Amazon and, as of just recently, synchronize her phone with her iPad. The seniors who gather for the monthly one-on-one sessions at The Palace library echo Wishnia’s enthusiasm – and appreciation – for a teenager who has become like an adopted grandson to them. Max’s
Tribune News Service
Sarah Wishnia and Max Rosenblum hug after concluding a TechMaxed one-on-one session at The Palace. weekend visits at the senior community are more than a social event. They’re a lifeline. “Hardly a week goes by that I don’t have a computer question,� Rosner said. “By the time he comes, I have a list this long to ask him.� Max began offering his tech
tutorials for seniors at The Palace and at The Palms in Weston more than a year ago, after he helped his grandmother, Nancy Okun of New Jersey, with her iPhone, iPad and Apple watch. He taught her how to text and use Facebook and FaceTime. He also downloaded a
Scrabble app for her to play. “She loved it,� he said, not without a trace of pride. That experience inspired him and his parents, Adam and Heather. They reached out to a connection at The Palace at Coral Gables and launched a website, techmaxed.com. He also recruited other teens to teach the oneon-one lessons in Weston and Coral Gables, including students from Belen Jesuit Prep. These young tech pros go to the retirement communities at least once a month, and the sign-up sheets for the oneon-one tutorials fill up fast. Though a class might appear to be more expedient, Max found out that group sessions simply didn’t work. “People are at different levels, and it was hard to teach that way,� he said. “It’s much better to give them individual help.� SENIORS continued on 224
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Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
Max Rosenblum teaches Honey Rosen how to use her iPad during a TechMaxed one-on-one session.
Tribune News Service
Teen paying it forward SENIORS
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All his students, regardless of age or skill, are motivated by the power of technology to connect. They want to stay in touch – and see – children and great-grandchildren who live elsewhere. They come with their notepads, laptops and smartphones in hopes of learning how to text, Skype, FaceTime, Facebook and email. “Most people come more than once,” he added. “I have my regulars.” The hardest part of his job is when he’s unable to help a student – not because they can’t learn or because he doesn’t have the tech know-how, but because the request is … well, a bit unusual. One prospective student wanted help investigating a stockbroker. “I could show her how to do a search, but I couldn’t do it for her,” he explained.
The best part of giving up a weekend day? Watching the pleasure someone gets when he or she sees a faraway relative on the screen. “One woman hadn’t seen her sister in years and she learned to Skype,” he recalled. “That was pretty nice.” Max’s patience is legendary in the senior community. “First he showed me how to get my email on the phone,” Rosen, 88, said, “and then he wrote up a short step-by-step tutorial for me so I could remember.” Nevel, 85, observed: “I think there are very few 15-yearolds who would have the patience to teach us.” Max admits that teaching older adults the intricacies of something that comes naturally to him has made him a more conscientious and patient person, but he figures he’s also paying it forward. “Maybe when I’m 87 and there’s new technology,” he said, “somebody will teach me, too.”
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Kaleidoscope Fall 2016
Calling All
Grandparents... In honor of Grandparents Day, Sauk Valley Media will produce a Grandparents special section to publish on Saturday, September 10, 2016 If you would like your child and grandparent(s) to be included in this publication, please submit a photo, along with some basic information to:
Sauk Valley Media, Grandparents Day 3200 E. Lincolnway, Sterling, IL 61081
Deadline for submission: Friday, August 19 2016
Grandparent(s) Name(s): ________________________________________ Grandchildren Name(s): _________________________________________ Information about photo: ________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Submitted by: ___________________________ Phone: ________________ Deadline for submission: Friday, August 19, 2016
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Avonlea Cottage Assisted Living and Memory Care Communities
• Beautiful communities in quiet neighborhood settings. • Our Dixon location is a Dedicated Memory Care Community. • Local Medical Director services available on site. • Portable X-Ray, Lab and Podiatry service available on site. • 24-hour secure and protective care by attentive licensed and certified nursing staff. • A variety of enriching activities, social settings and wellness programs specifically designed to care for and support individuals with dementia and memory loss. • Covered porch, private courtyard and common sitting areas for peaceful retreats and family gatherings.
Avonlea Cottage of Dixon Alma Wood, Administrator 503 Countryside Lane, Dixon, IL Phone • 815-288-6044 Cell • 815-499-1682 www.avonleacottage.com
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Julie McCormick, Administrator 2201 E. LeFevre Road, Sterling, IL Phone • 815-626-5439 Cell • 815-535-6686 www.avonleacottage.com