25 over 55
Thrive Awards
Vol 41 • No. 11
Thrive Awards salute 25 over 55 who make a difference
They donate, doctor, volunteer, fly, garden, promote, perform, teach and much more. They are the winners of The Active Age’s Thrive Awards, putting experience and enthusiasm to work
to acheive excellence.This month, The Active Age recognizes 25 people over 55 who are making a positive difference in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties. Collectively, these people
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exemplify thousands of area residents who contribute to their communities at every age. To read more about them, see the Thrive Awards special section inside.
Inside:
www.theactiveage.com October 2020 Kansas’ Award-winning Top 55+ News Source
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‘How do I open this #%^ thing?’
Packaging tests dexterity—and sanity
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By Ted Blankenship If you've been to the grocery store recently, you'll notice that toilet paper is on the shelves again. So, buying it is now less of a problem than getting it out of the packaging it came in. You may not like to admit it, but you know what I mean. You need the product and you confidently reach for it, but alas, there are but three sheets left. The package of new rolls is in the other bathroom. You get to the package and you can’t break through the folded plastic that seals the top. You punch a hole in the side of the package where the plastic is only one
layer thick and the hole is too small to get a roll out. This is called a dilemma. Or something less printable. In the early 2000’s, “wrap rage” was coined to describe the feeling of frustration that impenetrable consumer packaging can inspire. For at least two years, Consumer Reports magazine bestowed “Oyster Awards” to recognize the worst offenders. A cordless phone, Barbie doll and electric toothbrush took dubious honors. The magazine seems to See Wrap rage, page 9
When all roads led downtown
By Pat O’Connor Large shopping centers came to Wichita in the 1950s, but even then, they could not compete with downtown. Buses quickly took people from all points on the compass to the large, compacted shopping district. There was so much pedestrian traffic that the stoplight at the Allis Hotel, in the 200 block of south Broadway, had a “scramble” feature that allowed diagonal crossing. The following interviews give a flavor of that time. They were Photo courtesy of the Wichita-Sedgwick County collected as part of the WichHistorical Society ita Old Neighborhood Project, Bustling storefronts, packed sidewalks and in conjunction with Wichita at least four city busses show up in this old State University library’s Special photograph of downtown Wichita. Collections section. The neighborhood of each speaker is given after their name.
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Doug Ballard (North Central) “I was a YMCA kid; used to walk around downtown amazingly young. I remember my mom telling me that when I got to be nine, I could ride the bus downtown on Saturday by myself. So, I would catch the bus at Ninth and Volutsia. "Between my tumbling class and my swim class, there was some time. I was interested in shortwave radio, and there were a number of pawnshops downtown. I would go from pawnshop to pawnshop. Also Mr. Moler had some used shortwave radios in his camera shop there on Broadway. The See Downtown, page 8
Butler County: (316) 775-0500 or 1-800- 279-3655 Harvey County: (316) 284-6880 or 1-800-279-3655