Senior Life - NorthWest Edition - October 2023

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October 2023

Jasmine Dancers entertain audiences

It is the performance of the year for the Jasmine dancers. The group of females of Chinese descent spend the whole year preparing for the World Cultural Festival, held at Central Park Plaza in Valparaiso each September, organized by the Valparaiso International Center. It is a free event that celebrates many different cultures through dance, musical performances and food. Informational tables are set up to give a better understanding of local cultural groups and their focus.

This year’s event took place Sunday, Sept. 17. The Jasmine Dancers had three time slots within the five-hour schedule, in between groups representing Romania, India, Greece, Scotland, Poland, Africa and others. They took the stage for each dance dressed in a different set of colorful, authentic costumes.

“Our dances are all originated from China with Chinese songs and music, but with some changes to suit the American audience,” said Flavia Cheng, a member of the dance team and its public relations manager. “A group of the local Chinese ladies, including me, had been dancing together before we formed the Jasmine Dancing Team. We began to dance under the name Jasmine Dancing Team in 2016 for the World Cultural Festival.”

The group’s leader is Rosa Hamann and the instructor is Shehong Blatsioris. The group’s 14 members get together each Monday for practice and fellowship. In between the annual World Cultural Event, they also perform at other events and for residents at some local senior living facilities.

“Our main performance is for

the World Cultural Festival and the Chinese festive events like the Chinese New Year and the Mid Autumn Festival,” said Cheng.

“We performed at the Kalamazoo Theatre in Michigan this past Chinese New Year as well as the Hammond Park Department’s Color of the World function

Continued on page 2

Key Positions

Hemingway helps others expand knowledge of money management

As we make our way through school, we learn basic skills to help us in our life ahead, but one area that is often lacking is an education in how to manage money.

Brad Hemingway of Munster is a financial professional working as an advisor for Strategize Wealth Management Group and Tax Service. He came into the profession a little later in life, but now makes it his mission to help others learn what he wished he had been taught about money.

Hemingway earned a degree in computer programming and information systems from Purdue Calumet and had been in the railroad industry for 21 years when he had an opportunity to start a laser job shop, supplying parts to the aerospace industry.

“We were making a good income and wanted to learn more about how money worked,” he said. “We are not taught much about how personal finance works and I was not any different.”

Hemingway decided he wanted to make a difference in the lives of families who were struggling. He became licensed in 2003.

“I knew lots of families that

were living paycheck to paycheck. Too much month at the end of the money,” he said. That inspired him to begin volunteering with Junior Achievement and bringing personal finance to high school and middle school students.

From there, he said he slowly built his business and added tax preparation and tax-smart investing. “Everyone needs someone to help them navigate the financial landscape,” he said.

He’s now meeting his goal of educating families on how decisions made today will impact them in the future, and delivering a strategic plan that can lead to financial independence.

Hemingway joined the Munster Chamber of Commerce in 2011 after being involved in forming a nonprofit, Planting Possibilities, an organization that assists adults with autism and other developmental disabilities with job skills, training and placement. He was serving on the board of the organization and was working toward getting the name and

Jasmine Dancers

Continued from page 1

this July. We also performed to entertain the residents in the nursing homes … when they invited us.”

Most recently they performed for an audience at the Bonner Senior Center in Portage.

Cheng also has an opportunity to serve as master of ceremonies for some of their performances, something she said is one of her favorite parts of being

involved with the group.

“I fill up the time when the other members have to change costumes, which needs a lot of time when we are the only performers,” she said. Cheng also directs the Parade of Nations for the World Cultural Festival, organizing the group and getting signs to everyone for the procession.

Minaskhi Ghuman, a longtime board member of the Valparaiso International Center

story out to the community. Eventually, he became involved in the board of the Munster Chamber of Commerce, as well. He is a past chairman of the board after serving a term as president.

Besides volunteer work with the Munster Chamber of Commerce, Planting Possibilities and Junior Achievement, he has also been involved with the Munster Education Foundation, Munster Civic Foundation and Special Olympics. He also helped establish the Best Buddies program in Lake County.

His giving goes far beyond his many volunteer roles. In 2003, he became a living kidney donor for his father after his father encountered health issues.

“I didn’t have a second thought,” said Hemingway. “I knew if my dad needed a kidney, I was there for him. He was my teacher, coach, golfing and fishing buddy. I just knew it was the right thing to do.”

Hemingway is a master gardener who also enjoys fishing and golf. He and his wife, Amy, have three children.

Maria Reiner Center to hold Senior Health and Wellness Fair in Hobart

• Social Service information.

and one of the organizers of the World Cultural Festival, said that the performance by the Jasmine Dancers is one of the highlights of the event.

“They’re such wonderful people,” Ghuman said. “They bring such a special, beautiful, graceful touch to the festival and we were so happy to have them here again this year.”

For information on booking the group, contact Cheng at flaviacheng@hotmail.com.

Friday, October 20, 2023

8:30 a.m. - noon

705 E. 4th St., Hobart, Indiana (Enter Through Door 5)

St. Mary Medical Center Will Offer

To Seniors (Age 55+) An A1C And Lipid Panel Blood Test

Starting At 8:00 A.M. (8-10 Hour Fasting Requires)

Must Register at 219-947-1637 by October 13

First Come, First Serve

For more information on the health fair: Please call Aimee at 219-947-1864

Featuring:

The Maria Reiner Center is hosting its annual Senior Health and Wellness Fair from 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday, Oct. 20. It is sponsored by the Maria Reiner Center and St. Mary Medical Center. The fair will feature:

• 40+ Senior citizen related health care vendors.

• Senior living resources.

• Senior wellness education.

Free health screenings from St. Mary Medical Center including:

• Pulmonary function testing.

• Osteoporosis screenings.

• Blood pressure checks.

• Ask the pharmacist.

• Diabetes education.

• Rehab information.

• Free chair massages, door prizes, refreshments and more.

The fair is free and open to the public.

St. Mary Medical Center will offer to seniors (age 55+) an A1C and lipid panel blood test starting at 8 a.m. (an 8-10 hour fasting required). You must RSVP to (219) 947-1637 by Friday, Oct. 13. The tests are first-come, first-served and registration is required. Arrive at 8 a.m. for the blood test.

The fair will be held at 705 E. Fourth St., Hobart. Enter in the Senior Activity and MultiPurpose Center, door 5.

For more information on the Senior Health and Wellness Fair, call Maria Reiner Center Director Aimee Schallenkamp, at (219) 947-1864.

Ugly toenails can make your face red

with your doctor about treatment options.

• Healthcare Education And Vendors

• FREE Health Screenings

• Blood Pressure Checks

• Door Prizes & Refreshments

• And Much More!

If you avoid sandals because of thick, yellow toenails, you aren’t alone.

According to a Mayo Clinic Health Letter, almost half of people over age 50 have a fungal nail infection that causes thick, crumbly, ragged nails. An injury, psoriasis, or poorfitting shoes can cause similar symptoms.

If you have a toenail causing pain or embarrassment, talk

Here are some tips for trimming toenails: soak your feet in warm water first to soften the nails; use an emery board to thin the top of the nail; clip with longhandled clippers, which resemble small pliers and offer better grip and control; cut straight across to reduce the chance of ingrown nails, and wear roomy shoes. Giving your feet plenty of room prevents friction and wear that can cause toenails to thicken.

“We were making a good income and wanted to learn more about how money worked.”

Williams dedicates volunteer efforts to nature and community

an old dumping ground into a bird sanctuary.

Janet Williams of Valparaiso is one of those people who doesn’t take the natural beauty around her for granted. Environmental causes are a big priority and she’s always working to make the world a better and more beautiful place.

Several years ago she got involved with a group of volunteers who were working to transform

“The Westchester Migratory Bird Sanctuary, located at 1050 South 11th St. in Chesterton, used to be the town dump many years ago,” she said. “It was the vision of Richard Maxey to clean up this property and make it something special, and that he has done with volunteers and the kind and generous support of many.”

The property is now a beauti-

ful location where many species of birds can be spotted, including those visiting temporarily en route to a warmer climate. Williams serves on the board of directors and helps as much as she can. She’s also responsible for a free garden where guests can pick flowers.

“About three years ago I started a free ‘pick-a-bouquet garden,’” she said. “There you will find scissors and twine to help yourself to a bouquet to make someone’s day.”

She urges those interested in visiting to go to the group’s website for more information and a photo gallery. “We always need volunteers and have a drop-in work day every Saturday,” she said. “We have a soup social coming up Nov. 4. It’s an amazing event.”

Williams also serves as vice president of the Duneland Garden Club. “We do a lot of community service projects and have a lot of fun,” she said.

She has enjoyed friendships she has made in the group and enjoys opportunities to help in her community and learn more about gardening and nature. She took the master gardener course about 15 years ago and the master naturalist course about six years ago. “Volunteering and the friendships made through those opportunities have been life

changing,” said Williams.

She also is a member of the Potawatomi Audubon Society, a group she enjoys hiking with. “This is an amazing group as well,” she said. “They are all so very knowledgeable. They have planned hikes and do community service events.”

A member of the Valparaiso Women’s Association, she enjoys spending time at their meetings and events to help raise funds for renovations on the club’s historic home.

“I really can’t stress how dedicated and generous these volunteers are with their time

and knowledge,” she said. “We are hosting a masquerade ball on Oct. 14 as a fundraiser for the building maintenance costs. It’s an event you won’t want to miss.” Williams’ daughter, Cristin, is an environmental scientist.

“She’s the joy of my life,” said Williams. “I also enjoy playing tennis and have been in a regular group of amazing players and friends for the last four years. I enjoy anything related to water — fishing, kayaking, swimming. We’re so fortunate to be located in an area that has the Chain of Lakes, Lake Michigan and the Dunes.”

Backpack helps control how much you take

Most travelers share a common problem. They pack too much.

They wore a washable shirt and underwear. If they spilled something on their tie, they just bought another one.

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They might take few tips from traveling business people, those office-bound middle-management employees who used to bounce from desk to airport to attend regional staff meetings or make sales presentations or soothe dissatisfied clients.

Many found a single briefcase was enough to contain an extra pair of socks for overnight stays.

Luggage makers offer an array of lightweight bags with straps and wheels and exterior pockets and zippered pouches designed to let you take all sorts of items from your closets and bathroom cabinets when you leave home. That may be fine if you’re hitting the highway or sea lanes, but it’s not conducive to comfortable flying.

Start by getting an easy-tocarry backpack, tried and true

travelers recommend. One that will hold your medications handily, then have enough room for an extra pair of socks, underwear, shorts, and T-shirt or two. Wear a comfortable pair of shoes, slacks, jacket and tennis hat that don’t have to be packed. Always hang onto your pack so it doesn’t get ripped off.

Keep your credit cards, passport, sunglasses, pocket knife, and cellphone in your pocket. Get a leash for your glasses so they’ll hang around your neck when you take them off.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

The automobile man and his dream

With electric vehicles already a reality, there once lived a man whose automotive concepts were years ahead of his time.

Preston Tucker, who was born Sept. 21, 1903, is most remembered for his 1948 Tucker sedan, initially nicknamed the “Tucker Torpedo.” The car was futuristic, introducing many features that have since become widely adapted for modern automobiles.

He grew up in the Detroit area and became obsessed with automobiles from an early age. His early career included stints with Cadillac and Studebaker, a time as a police officer and finally as the maker of race cars, tinkering with all sorts of allied products.

When World War II broke out, a gun turret he produced for a combat vehicle caught the eye of the military, so he created the Tucker Aviation Corp. This enterprise encountered financial troubles and was purchased by Andrew Jackson Higgins, who became known as “The Man Who Won The War” building Liberty ships, PT boats and landing craft. The acquisition was made with the condition that Tucker would remain vice president in charge of its operation.

After the war, the public was

ready for new car designs, but the Big Three Detroit automakers (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler) had not developed any new models since 1941 and were in no hurry to change. That provided great opportunities for independent automakers.

Tucker’s first design appeared in Science Illustrated magazine in December 1946, showing a futuristic version of the car with a hydraulic drive system. The motoring public was now excited about the Tucker.

His dream machines were

produced in a former wartime production factory in Chicago that was shut down in 1949 in a clutter of financial mishandling and accusations of fraud, ending Tucker’s dream and his dream car.

Tucker’s specifications for his revolutionary car included a rear engine, a low-RPM 589-cubic-inch engine with hydraulic valves instead of a camshaft, fuel injection, direct-drive torque converters on each rear wheel instead of a transmission, disc brakes, the location of all instruments within the diameter and reach of the steering wheel, a padded dashboard, and selfsealing tubeless tires.

The design also included independent springless suspension, a chassis that protected occupants in a side impact, a roll bar within the roof, a laminated windshield designed to pop out during an accident, and a center “cyclops” headlight which would turn when steering at angles greater than 10 degrees to improve visibility around corners during night driving. All of these developments were years ahead of their time.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was embittered after small automaker Henry J. Kaiser was given millions of dollars in grants towards

and Frazer cars, but reportedly squandered the money. While Tucker took no money from the federal government, SEC kept him under close scrutiny.

An SEC trial began on Oct. 4, 1949, and the factory was closed on the very same day. At that point, only 38 Tucker ‘48s had been built. A corps of 300 employees returned to the factory, some without pay, and finished assembling another 13 cars, making a total production of 51 cars.

The SEC contended that Tucker never intended to produce a car. Throughout the trial, the SEC report on Tucker was classified as “secret” and even though his attorneys were never allowed to view or read it, it was leaked to the press.

The prosecution and defense continued debating until the judge demanded the SEC prosecutors “get down to the meat of the case and start proving the conspiracy charge.”

Tucker’s defense attorneys surprised everyone by refusing to call any witnesses. Defense attorney Daniel Glasser told the court, “It is impossible to present a defense when there has been no offense.” Kirby invited the jury to take a ride in one of the eight Tucker ‘48s parked in front of the courthouse. The

all counts.

Preston Tucker’s reputation rebounded after the acquittal. His optimism was remarkable; after the trial was over, he was quoted as saying, “Even Henry Ford failed the first time out.”

Despite the outcome of the trial, speculation prevailed about whether Tucker genuinely intended to produce a new car and bring it to market, or whether the entire enterprise was a sham.

The Tucker Automobile Club of America has amassed more than 400,000 drawings/blueprints, corporate documents, and letters suggesting Tucker was, in fact, planning to mass-produce the Tucker ‘48. He had hired more than 1,900 employees.

But it was not to be. Tucker’s assets were auctioned off publicly, but two remaining Tucker ‘48 cars were given to Tucker, and his mother. He died of lung cancer on Dec. 26, 1956, at the age of 53, and is buried in Flat Rock, MI.

History indicates that the reason for the Tucker’s lack of success was primarily financial bungling.

Today, entrepreneur Elon Musk, builder of the electricpowered Tesla, no doubt understands much of the turmoil Preston Tucker endured.

Experience, expertise worth $$$

The experience and expertise you picked up during all your years in the rat race don’t have to be wasted.

You can volunteer your time and talent, of course.

Much of volunteer time is devoted to chores — delivering meals to the hungry or driving the elderly and ailing to doctor’s appointments, for instance.

As vital as these are, your background may be put to much more valuable use. You could teach youngsters to read music and play an instrument,

or you might develop, improve and maintain systems of accountability for a charitable organization.

These can also be turned into income producers for you. In other words, you can operate your own business by doing these same things that you would volunteer to do.

What’s wrong with charging for music lessons? Or for handling the books and ledgers for someone, either a small company or somebody who operates a business on their own but doesn’t have the time to do their own accounting and tax preparation?

Operating your own business

after you’ve retired gives you complete control, a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment, and something to do. It also keeps your mind keen and more aware of what’s happening in your town, the state capital, Washington, and the rest of the world.

You can augment your income and salve your ego if you’ve worked in business at any level, whether in a global conglomerate or a corner drugstore. You can also build a comfortable niche for yourself if you have a talent for or have developed a craft, such as an auto mechanic, builder, plumber, appliance repairman,

Five benefits you can apply for using ssa.gov

cause of a medical condition that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death.

computer guru, writer, landscaper, or accountant.

First determine what it is you’d like to do. If you’ve been a reporter and editor all your life, consider preparing and publishing newsletters for organizations. If you were a carpenter and spent most of your career in the construction business, you might help builders prepare bids or put together structural plans.

Once you’ve decided what you’d like to do, you have to spread the word so you can get customers. This is called marketing. There are two major mottos to follow:

1. The best source of business is existing customers, and

2. Don’t make your first sales call if you don’t intend to make a follow-up call.

companies, you substitute the invitation to an open house with a visit to their office.

If you decide to build and sell furniture, you do the same thing. Call on people you know and tell them what you’re doing.

Here’s where Rule No. 2 comes in. Whenever you make an initial call, always make a second call. That’s the call that impresses upon your prospect that you mean business.

We continue to make it easier for you to access our programs and benefits. Our website offers a convenient way to apply for benefits online.

Here are five ways you can apply for benefits using ssa.gov.

Retirement or Spouse’s Benefits — You must be at least 61 years and 9 months and want your benefits to start in no more than month months. Apply at ssa.gov/retirement.

Disability Benefits — You can use our online application, available at ssa.gov/benefits/ disability to apply for disability benefits if you:

• Are age 18 or older.

• Are not currently receiving benefits on your own Social Security record.

• Are unable to work be-

• Have not been denied disability benefits in the last 60 days. If your application was recently denied, our online appeal application is a starting point to request a review of the determination we made. Please visit ssa.gov/apply/appealdecision-we-made.

Supplemental Security

Income –— SSI provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness who have income and resources below specific financial limits. SSI payments are also made to people age 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial qualifications. If you meet certain requirements, you may begin the process online by letting us know you would like to apply for SSI at ssa.gov/ssi. If you do not have access to the internet, you can call your local Social

Security office to make an appointment to apply.

Medicare — Medicare is a federal health insurance program for:

• People age 65 or older.

• Some people younger than 65 who have disabilities.

• People with end-stage renal disease or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

If you are not already receiving Social Security benefits, you should apply for Medicare three months before turning age 65 at www.ssa.gov/medicare.

Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Costs — The Extra Help program helps with the cost of your prescription drugs, like deductibles and copays. People who need assistance with the cost of medications can apply for Extra Help atssa.gov/medicare/ part-d-extra-help. Share this information with those who need it.

Rule No. 1 is simple. You get your best business from satisfied customers who recommend you to their family, friends and colleagues. If you open a shoe store, for example, invite everyone you know to your opening and show them your shoes. Hold a drawing and give the winner a coupon worth a pair of shoes. Get them to come back into the store to buy shoes for themselves and their kids — and their grandkids.

This scenario applies to any business. If you open a consulting business to exploit your managerial know-how by holding seminars for small

During each visit, always ask for a referral to someone your prospect knows who might be able to use your product or service. Then make that call, and the follow-up. You will learn quickly how to develop these marketing contacts into a habit. You might do them every Monday, every Friday afternoon, or every two weeks.

Develop a contact list from these visits. You can maintain contact by a special mailing a few times a year. If you prepare tax returns, you might offer an early bird special price for people you get into your office before March 1. If you make stuffed toys, you can offer a two-for-one price on birthday gifts for your customer’s children.

Now that you’ve developed a business that keeps you busy, it’s time to find someone like yourself to handle your billing and accounts receivable.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

Christmas giving means more than toys

The Star of Bethlehem has been eclipsed by Santa’s sled burgeoning with expensive toys for all ages. The Three Wise Men have been shunted aside by Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The Christmas spirit of giving has given way to “gimme.”

This is not a rail about how things were better “back then.” But it is an opportunity to discuss blending sound financial decisions with the true spirit of giving.

Grandparents do their grandchildren no favors by tumbling mountains of gifts and gadgets on them year after year. To truly give a gift that’s worthwhile, divert the amount of money spent on all that loot into long-term bonds that

mature as the youngsters head for college, or in government savings bonds that can be cashed as needed, or into trust funds to help them get over the financial humps that coincide with raising a young family of their own.

Think about it.

You just spent hundreds of dollars on the latest hi-tech game or on a set of wheels – skateboard, inline skates, bicycle, automobile – or on several humongous wooly monsters. Much of all that won’t be around in a couple or three years, and the kid probably won’t even remember what you contributed to the pile of goodies he comes to expect annually.

However, if you funnel that money into a bank account or investment that is the child’s, you not only help secure his or her future, you build a separate memory all for yourself. It also gives you an opportunity to help teach the youngster about the importance of investing as both of you watch the money grow over the years.

It fits into the traditional spirit of Christmas that calls for preserving the past, enjoying the present, not presents, and looking forward to the future.

Healthy Reminders for Adults over 50!

1. Take Your Medication as Directed

All medications, whether over-the-counter or prescribed, include directions for safe use. Be sure to follow all printed guidelines and the advice of your doctor to ensure that the medicine works safely and effectively.

2. Don’t Overdo It

Using alcohol and medications unintentionally or to cope with big life changes is called substance misuse. Help can begin with diagnosis, addressing chronic health issues, rebuilding support systems and starting treatment.

3. Check in with Your Mood

Feeling persistently sad or that you don’t have value can indicate depression, especially when these feelings affect your daily routine. Depression can be treated with talk therapy and/or medication. You can also lower the risk of depression when you prepare for major life changes, stay physically active, and share how you are feeling with family or friends.

4. Find Purpose Each Day

Feeling that your life has purpose is a key to fulfillment. It can impact your health positively, and may also slow down aging and increase longevity. Make choices and plan activities based on what is enjoyable, interesting, and important to you.

Learn More When You...

• Talk with your healthcare provider. Bring your questions about healthy aging.

• Book your adult group for a WISE class series about living a healthy lifestyle! This 6-week series takes a fun, interactive and educational look at aging. To learn more or schedule your group, visit www.porterstarke.org/lifeonpurpose

• Visit www.porterstarke.org Discover even more healthy ways to live Life. On Purpose.

Portage YMCA offers ‘total body workout’ for seniors

YMCA, a typical one-hour session includes:

Until three years ago, Scott Rains of Portage was running long distances with a group at Sunset Hill Farm County Park in Valparaiso. These days, he’s moving to the tunes of Dolly Parton, Ray Charles and Matthew Wilder.

Rains is among the senior class members of EnhanceFitness at the Portage Township YMCA.

“It works all your joints, from ankle to neck. It works them all,” Rains said. “Plus, it’s a good social outlet.”

EnhanceFitness is a group exercise and falls prevention program that helps older adults at all levels of fitness become more active, energized, and empowered.

Leading the EF group is instructor Nicole Merner, who admits she really likes her students and loves watching their improvement. The class meets an hour at a time, three days a week.

According to Joan M. Sullivan, business manager and an instructor for the Portage

• Twenty-minute aerobic workout that gets participants moving.

• Five-minute cool down to lower the heart rate safely.

• Twenty-minute strength training workout with soft cuff weights on the arms and legs (up to 20 pounds).

• Ten-minute stretching workout to keep the muscles flexible.

• Dynamic and static balance exercises throughout the class.

• Plenty of opportunities for participants to make new friends.

Following warm-ups, class members move to different tunes, ranging from pop to country, and even the Macarena. Later, members exercise while seated, using adjustable weights.

Merner has been leading EF since May. The instructor, who also leads a chair yoga class, explained that rhythmic dance movements can help keep members’ memories strong. The seated exercises are for strength building. Beyond cuff

Q. Do I need a Trust if I have a Will?

A. A comprehensive estate plan will typically include both a will and a trust. By creating both, you will keep control over your assets in the events of incapacity and death, avoid probate, maintain privacy, name a guardian for underage children, and ensure that family, friends, and charitable organizations receive distributions in accordance with your wishes.

weights and barbells, EnhanceFitness classes do not require any special equipment.

“What’s special about the class,” Merner noted, “is we focus on balance and heart rate. We want to prevent falls and work on strength training. But the members are my favorite.”

Participants’ progress is tracked with fitness checks completed at the time the individual joins EnhanceFitness, again after four months, and then as often as needed.

Alice Williams of Chesterton likes the YMCA program because “it’s available to everyone. We have a lot of different exercises to do.”

As Sullivan explained, the program is proven to improve physical function, decrease depression, protect against falls and fall injuries, provide a social benefit and a physically active lifestyle, reduce medical care utilization costs and decrease unplanned hospitalizations and lower mortality rates.

Arlette Cherepko of Portage likes that EF helps with cardio and strength. “It has everything in it,” she said.

Ryan Hahn Trust Administrator

They are both an essential part of your long-term financial plan. It’s important to meet with a qualified estate planning attorney or trust officer about how to best protect your assets and beneficiaries.

Fellow Portage resident Ron Martus described EF as a “total body workout.”

Martus has been dealing with arthritis in multiple parts of his body, including his hips and legs. Through EF exercises, “I can now move my legs,” he said.

Ophelia Taylor of Portage

Q. What is the likelihood I will get a response if placing an ad in Senior Life?

A. If your product or service is geared to adults over the age of 50, Senior Life is the newspaper for you! According to CVC, our readers average 45 years of age and older and frequently purchase products or services from the ads they see in Senior Life (74.8%). Call or send me an email today to discuss adding Senior Life into your marketing strategy.

added that EF “helps my strength and flexibility. Now I’m able to squat. This has helped my overall wellness.”

For more information on EnhanceFitness and other senior programming, call the Portage Township YMCA at (219) 762-9622 or visit ymcaofportage.org.

Ghost towns ain’t what they used to be

It’s extremely difficult to see ghosts in a ghost town in the middle of the dusty desert afternoon.

But Goldfield Ghost Town isn’t really a ghost town, we were told, until all the merchants leave at 5 p.m. and after the saloon closes down at 9 p.m.

It used to be pretty well ghostlike every summer until this one, “because we’re staying open as an experiment,” according to Trail Master “Sandman,” who was taking a coffee break between tourist tours around this 130-year-old mining community at the foot of the legendary Superstition Mountain, about an hour east of downtown Phoenix.

The community was renamed Youngsberg during a resuscitation that began in 1910 and ended a decade and a half later.

While the site is the original town of Goldfield, the bulk of the buildings are replicas because most of the vacated town was razed by an errant military training flare back in World War II.

Its revival as an Old West memorial tourist attraction was launched in the 1980s and it is now listed among more than 3,800 ghost towns scattered across the land. Not all are in Cowboy Country. Pennsylvania has more than 100, about 70 of them within an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh. Texas claims the most with 500.

Three hundred of these supernatural settlements are in Arizona, most of them abandoned mining towns. Jerome, up the road a piece, is the biggest in the country. That gold, silver, zinc and copper mining community had a population of 15,000 at the end of World War II. When the last copper mine closed in 1953, the remaining members of the community — somewhere between 50 and 100 people — began promoting it as a ghost town.

Goldfield’s ranking among these paranormal precincts is boosted by its proximity to the 3,000 foot monolith that rumors and reports say houses the Lost Dutchman Mine. It’s not the Dutchman who was lost — his mine was and is because it’s never been found by anyone who’s returned to the land of the living.

Locals claim that the mountain that looms over Goldfield Ghost Town has swallowed more than 600 lives. Not all of them have been lost by the lure of gold.

A most recent death was that of a 21-year-old hiker in January 2022. He fell some 700 feet in broad daylight when he lost his footing trying to take a selfie.

Strolling through the dust on the hill that forms Goldfield’s Main Street makes it easy to picture yourself climbing down heroically from your saddle to take in steak and suds in the mid-town Mammoth Saloon that looms almost as large as the nearby mountain.

You could even evoke a spaghetti western film by ordering an espresso or cappuccino,

which may be a form of protection because no self-respecting ghosts of the miners of long ago would deign to appear. You might try their sarsaparilla.

After poking yourself in and out of the couple of dozen shops, museums and historic structures, trying your aim in a shooting gallery, and watching an old west gunfight, you have several choices for further diversion. You can pan for gold or take a ride on a horse, the town’s narrow-gauge train, or the zip line that takes you high above the settlement while keeping your eyes open for ghosts.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

Dining/Leisure/Entertainment

It was 50 years ago —

‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ was Knight’s signature song

Gladys Knight and the Pips

For superstar Gladys Knight, recording “Midnight Train to Georgia” was probably like singing poignant lines from a diary. “I was going through the exact same thing that I was (singing) about when recording,” she once said, “which is probably why it sounds so personal.”

The story begins with singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly. An all-star quarterback for his Mississippi high school’s football team, he also formed a band as a teenager and began writing original songs. Upon graduation, he chose music over a possible athletic career.

Weatherly moved to Los Angeles to try his songwriting luck. One evening in 1970, he phoned Lee Majors, an actor friend who had just started dating model Farrah Fawcett. “Lee and I were in a flag football league together” Weatherly explained. “Farrah answered the phone. She said Lee wasn’t home and that she was packing to take a midnight plane to Houston to visit her folks. I thought, ‘What a great line for a song’.”

After Weatherly hung up the phone, he grabbed his guitar and wrote “Midnight Plane to Houston” in 45 minutes.

The next year, Weatherly recorded an album of original

songs, including ‘Midnight Plane to Houston’.” When RCA Records released Weatherly’s LP in 1972, gospel icon Cissy Houston — Whitney’s mother — envisioned a popcountry tune and wanted first crack at the track. “I loved it right away,” Cissy said. “But I wanted to change the title. My people are from Georgia, and they didn’t take planes to Houston or anywhere else. They took trains. We recorded ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ in Memphis in 1972, but my label didn’t do much to promote it.”

Weatherly’s tune was then offered to fellow Georgian Gladys Knight. She had been an R & B and Top 40 sensation since 1961, when, at 17, she scored her first hit single — “Every Beat of My Heart” — with the Pips, her familyoriented backup group. (One cousin was nicknamed “Pip.”)

Knight recalled, “I listened to Cissy’s version, and I loved it, but I wanted to do something moody — horns, keyboards and other instruments to create texture and to spark something in me.” Knight thus recorded her signature song, which told of a man relinquishing his dreams of Hollywood stardom to return home, with the love of his life choosing to follow him:

“L. A. proved too much for the man

“He’s leaving the life he’s come to know

“He said he’s going back to find what’s left of his world

“The world he left behind not so long ago

“He’s leaving on that midnight train to Georgia

“Said he’s going back to a simpler place and time.”

“While recording that single, I was thinking about my own situation” Knight

admitted later when discussing her chart-topping, Grammy-winning smash release on Buddah Records.

“My husband at the time was unhappy that we didn’t have a more traditional marriage, because I was often on the

road or recording. Ultimately, it all proved too much for him, like the song said, and we divorced later.”

IIt’s easy! Simply find the apple cider on another page in this edition. Go online to www.SeniorLifeNewspapers. com and enter your information, the edition, date and page number you found it on. This will enter you for a chance to win a gift of $25.

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The winner of the I Spy Contest for September is Scott Stuck of South Bend. The backpack was located on page 8 in Senior Life Allen; page 7 in Senior Life Northwest; page 18 in Senior Life Elko and page 7 in Senior Life St. Joseph.

Pumpkin Pie SMOOTHIE

This healthy smoothie recipe has all the flavor of a pumpkin spice latte without all the sugar. Made with real pumpkin and frozen banana, this whips into a creamy, luscious grab-&-go breakfast (or snack) in just 5 minutes.

1 serving; Active 5 minutes; Total 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium frozen banana

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or other nut milk

1/3 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Place banana, almond milk (or other nut milk), yogurt, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup in a blender. Blend until smooth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

Serving Size: 1 smoothie

Per Serving: 247 calories; protein 10.2g; carbohydrates 41.9g; dietary fiber 5.9g; sugars 24.5g; fat

6.1g; saturated fat 2.3g; cholesterol 10.9mg; vitamin a iu

12921.1IU; vitamin c 13.7mg; folate 37.5mcg; calcium

343.4mg; iron 1.6mg; magnesium 61.2mg; potassium

739.7mg; sodium 120.5mg; thiamin 0.1mg; added sugar

4g.

Exchanges: 2 fruit, 1 1/2 vegetable, 1/2 fat, 1/2 other carbohydrate, 1/2 whole-milk dairy

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ACROSS

HALLOWEEN

1. *Trees in famous Wes Craven’s horror movie

5. *Vampire’s altered form

8. Sheltered nook

12. Uh-huh

13. Fancy-schmancy

14. Rodgers of the Packers

15. “At ___,” to a soldier

16. I, to a Greek

17. With clear mind

18. *Popular Halloween decor

20. Alternative to Saran 21. Dionysus’ pipe-playing companion

22. Blue, but not as in color

23. Cause of wheezing 26. To that 30. Corn site

To “____ out” a competitor

46.

52.

53.

With ‘servant heart’ Watkins works to bring others to God

As with other people of faith, Doug Watkins is not looking for any haloes. He considers himself just one of a number of active members at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Valparaiso.

“I love this church — just a very special place,” said Watkins, 75. “Ever since my wife Jackie died in December 2017, this place has been like family. It’s a warm, wonderful place.”

Watkins attributes Immanuel’s growth and environment to its pastors, the Rev. Andrew Fields and Casey Kegley.

“Together their spirit creates a real synergy that empowers the environment here,” Watkins said. “We’re going through a renaissance of activities. Lots of people are coming here.”

Watkins aids that growth. He serves Communion on Sundays and attends three Bible classes. His pastors have also asked him to help establish a development office at Immanuel.

“I once learned that to do good, you have to do well,” said Watkins, citing the success of the church school.

Watkins knows something about education. He worked 25 years as director of admissions and financial aid at Valparaiso University. He has also been a financial consultant for Thrivent Financial Corporation.

With his background in finance, Watkins considers his time with Thrivent, a faith-based investment firm, a “calling.”

“They take care of people,” he noted. “All their profits go to churches and schools.”

He continued, “All my life, I’ve worked in a faith-based

environment. It’s part of me, what makes me happy. I want to be doing things that are God-pleasing and serving others.

“My pastor says I have a ‘servant heart.’ I’m working to bring people here, but I’m one of many people doing that. We have a lot of people here who are doing a lot.”

Having served on several boards, Watkins is a pastpresident of the Immanuel congregation.

The Valparaiso resident defines living his faith as “doing things in a manner that is pleasing to Christ. God wants all of us to try to discern what He wants all of us to do. I always get back more than I give. To me, it’s joyful. Doing things for others makes me happy.”

Watkins, however, is not satisfied that he’s done all he can for Immanuel and believes he can grow more in his faith.

He recalled Romans 7:1920 — “For I do not do the good I want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

“That’s me,” Watkins confessed. “I don’t do what I should and I do what I shouldn’t. I’m a flawed regular guy, and that haunts me.”

However, Watkins knows there is always hope, citing Matthew 25:40-45, in which Jesus tells his followers, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

“What a wonderful God we have. When we ask Him to forgive us, He does,” Watkins said. “I’m realizing what God wants me to do This world needs our help. The Bible tells us so many wonderful things, and I feel if I’m doing what the book says, I’m forgiven.”

Matrimonial money pact protects partners

Separate economics from your emotions if you’re considering marriage, especially if this is not the first time around. You’re not likely to establish a business partnership without some sort of legal agreement to protect your assets from the dangers and possible dissolution of the joint operation. Yet you are likely to stroll blindly into a marriage partnership with no thought to the financial ramifications.

Take time before your marriage to determine how you want your financial assets handled after matrimony.

If you’ve been through a divorce, you know a financial settlement can cause vicious and longlasting scars. If your spouse has died, you must have seen there is more than just emotional loss to consider after death. There are money matters that require immediate attention, regardless of how comprehensive your spouse was in his or her instructions for the distribution of the estate.

Even if you’re already married, consider how you want your property divided in the event of divorce or death.

If you have dependent children from a previous marriage or relationship, you should give serious

thought to a prenuptial agreement, especially if one of the partners-to-be has significantly larger holdings than the other. If you want to leave everything you own to your new spouse-to-be, put it in writing.

A prenuptial agreement should cover two basic areas:

• State clearly what stake each partner has in the other’s estate.

• Determine how the assets are to be divided if there is a divorce.

State laws vary, but property acquired during a marriage is generally considered to be shared equally in communityproperty states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In the remaining states, property usually belongs to the individual holding the title.

A prenuptial agreement can allow each partner to waive rights to the other’s property. To protect your assets, list the property you want kept separate. Such an agreement can protect both partners and their respective children, just as a living trust does in an estate plan. In fact, a prenuptial pact can be the basis for a revocable living trust.

You can state in a pre-marriage contract that your partner, in case of your death, though

not the legal owner of the family home, can live in it until he or she dies before it is passed on to your children. Some financial planners suggest each partner retain sole ownership of the property they owned before the marriage. They concede joint ownership only of a home and joint banking account.

Prenuptial agreements should be reviewed and revised regularly to meet changing needs and circumstances. There are more than stocks and silverware to consider. The couple should look at projected income. For example, alimony income received by a spouse-to-be will cease as soon as they remarry.

You also should consider who will pay bills, who will contribute to savings and investment plans, and who will be in charge of taxes. If both partners are sophisticated in stock market manipulation, they may wish to maintain separate stock and bond accounts. Each should be fully aware of the components and status of the other’s investment portfolio.

After you decide a prenuptial agreement makes sense, get legal help.

Each partner should obtain his or her own attorney. Make total and complete disclosure because this is an agreement designed to protect both you and the person you intend to marry.

Stick to financial issues. Make sure you check the status of such an agreement in your state, or any state you intend to move to. Once you’ve drafted, drawn up and signed your declaration, share the information with your adult children so everyone will know what to expect in the event of a death or divorce.

Then everyone can have fun at the wedding.

‘Hour’ favorite TV show, ‘60 Minutes’

I’m a big “60 Minutes” fan. I remember watching the premier show in 1968. The producer of that show was Don Hewitt, an alumnus of New Rochelle High School, where I graduated in 1965. The high school has a list of famous graduates. Don is listed along with 29 other people. I must have been number 31 because I couldn’t find my name.

This past week, “60 Minutes” did a show about artificial intelligence. The story focused on how some of these AI programs can mimic someone’s voice and be used to trick people into sending money or giving out personal information over the phone. This freaked out my wife, who is very concerned about having her identity stolen. She is not worried about my identity being stolen because to quote Mary Ellen, “I don’t think anyone would want to be you.”

She is very paranoid about this kind of stuff. She shreds everything, convinced that people will riffle through our garbage to find vital information.

“Mary Ellen, why are you shredding our junk mail?”

“Dick, I don’t want people to know our address.”

“Well, if unsavory people are going through our trash at the curb, they can figure out where we live, because we live right

behind the trash.”

Now, as a result of the “60 Minutes” story, she has heightened concerns about privacy. I called her the other day to ask a question.

“Hi, Mary Ellen. It’s Dick. I need your social security number to fill out a form here at the bank.”

There was a pause on the phone… a long one.

“Hmm, when you call you never say, ‘It’s Dick.’ You always say ‘Hi, it’s me.’ Now, who is this?”

“It’s your husband. Now, can you give me the social security number, please?”

“I have a couple of questions before I give out this highly sensitive information. What is your brother’s name?”

“Peter, of course.”

“Where were you born?”

“New Rochelle, N.Y. Look, if this is some kind of an IQ or memory test, you need to make the questions a lot tougher.

“This is my way of checking if it’s really you. With all the new technology available, a crook could be calling me and making his voice sound like yours.”

“Okay, Mary Ellen, you may ask one more question. Make it a good one.”

“Okay, Dick — or whoever you are — when we got married, we stayed in a magnificent vacation spot in Big Sur, California. You said it was the most romantic, glorious hotel you had ever been in. It was a weekend you would never forget. What was the name of the hotel?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

“Oh, good; it’s definitely you. My number is 897-006-0000.”

Rose by any other name is – who?

Remembering names is a lifelong thorn in most people’s side, but the tools and tricks used to remember what to call any person familiar to you are important steps to take in maintaining a reliable memory as you and your brain age.

A co-worker years ago leaped over the hurdle of remembering names by greeting everyone with, “Hello, Judge.” A version of this approach is the well-known, “Hi, Neighbor.”

Another colleague made up his own names for people around him, claiming he never used names “your mother called you.” He stopped that when an ex-marine of dour character took him aside one day and declared, “My. Name. Is. Anthony.”

The initial step to take to remember a name is to pay attention when you’re being introduced. This becomes difficult at a wedding, funeral, service club luncheon, any gathering with a lot of unfamiliar faces, or a senior-living facility where there is constant turnover of residents.

To help imprint a name in your mind, repeat the name when you’re introduced. “Nice

to meet you, Mike,” will help you remember his name. So will repeating it a few times as you paint his face, hair color and other physical traits into your brain. You may be able to link him to a childhood friend, relative or movie star with the same name.

It can help if his or her name has a visual connection. Rose can be linked easily to the flower, Jay with a bird, and Rocky with the movie of the same name.

When you’re introduced to someone, or greeting a person you already know, include your name in the greeting to help them remember or recognize you.

If you’ve forgotten their name, say so and tell them your name.

At crowded events, you’ll find it necessary to introduce yourself, especially as you age and the family gatherings expand. Don’t wait to have people come and ask who you are.

As you approach someone or they approach you, tell them your name and who you’re related to. In this mode, you may not remember all their names but you’ll help them remember yours.

Buyer beware applies to sugary drinks

420 calories

65 grams of sugar

15 grams of fat

Remember our calculation of grams of sugar divided by four equal a teaspoon of sugar? Sixty-five divided by four equals a whopping 16¼ teaspoons of sugar in that one drink.

Does a carmel apple spice sound like a better choice?

Turns out it’s less calories and fat, but the sugar is even higher.

37 grams of sugar (9¼ teaspoons)

16 grams of fat

Even a frappe coffee, which just means iced or slushy, has 11 teaspoons of sugar by the time it’s completed.

The offender is the ‘pumps’ they add to your drink, mocha sauce, pumpkin spice sauce and caramel. Then add the drizzles and assorted other ‘toppings.’

problem in doing so.

Do you prefer one of the frozen drinks from the machines in a convenience? The average large size is 45 grams, or 11¼ teaspoons of sugar.

We have entered the fall months of the crazy pumpkin this and pumpkin that including the very popular pumpkin spice drink at your local coffee shop. Did you realize that drink has:

380 calories

70 grams of sugar (17½ teaspoons)

8 grams of fat

Maybe just a cup of hot chocolate to warm your innards?

370 calories

Letter to the editor

I know two people that allow themselves one of the above in October and one in November as special treats and I say kudos to them! I know many more that lose all control and join the craziness for two months and see no

White House looking in wrong place

Dear Editor:

Joe Biden’s White House has started an office to prevent gun violence. I suspect his team will look in the wrong places as usual.

There is a close relationship between gun violence and drugs — both legal and illegal. People who use drugs (and mix it with alcohol) are more likely to use cars, trucks, guns, knives and other weapons to commit violence.

FDA approved antidepressants have become very prevalent. My grandfather was murdered by a man who took both FDA approved antide-

pressants and alcohol. I was the only grandchild who saw and smelled the bloody scene of my grandfather’s death. I know the pain that causes.

But I don’t remember any mass shootings before Columbine school in 1995. People who took drugs did that. The shooters at most or all mass shootings have been losers who were put on antidepressants that gave them homicidal or suicidal thoughts. The FDA and drug manufacturers know of this. The drug companies make lots of money with antidepressants.

I believe there is a much closer relationship between the drug

industry, the federal government and the mass shootings than has been reported.

If it were reported widely, it might cause news media outlets to lose an important source of billions of dollars per year in advertising — the drug industry.

I’m confident that Joe Biden’s team does not want to hurt the drug industry. So, it won’t follow the evidence where it leads. Joe Biden wants to take away people’s guns — not drugs.

Sincerely,

Woodrow Wilcox Dyer

We welcome readers’ letters.

Personally, I have never had any interest in trying an energy drink, but I’ve certainly seen massive amounts of younger adults consume way too many of these. A can of the ‘green one’ boasts having 160 milligrams of caffeine and 54 grams of sugar (13½” teaspoons).

Our last example is a sports drink that has been around since 1965 that was designed to replenish the carbohydrates, water and electrolytes that were lost while playing sports. A 30-ounce bottle has 48 grams of sugar, or 12 teaspoons of sugar.

The pumpkin and apple drink has some natural sugar, but the rest is all added sugar. As we’ve talked about in previous columns, the American Heart Association recommendation for sugar

intake per day is 26 grams (6½ teaspoons) for woman and 36 grams (9 teaspoons) for men. These drinks are a far cry from fitting into that recommendation; we can do better.

Important documents should be copied, stored safely

Everyone should know that you must keep copies of your income tax returns. The length of time varies from four to seven years. But, since you’re keeping copies anyhow, why

Our requirements are as follows: Letters must be written to the editor, not the public. They must be signed with full name in ink. Signature will be printed on all letters. Letters must include an address and phone number, which will be used for verification, but will not be published. Emailed letters will be accepted but the above information must be included.

We ask that letters be limited to 400 words. Letters longer than 400 words may be edited for brevity.

Writers may be limited to one published letter per month. Readers with lengthy comments should contact an editor about possible guest columns.

Send letters to: Senior Life, P. O. Box 188, Milford, IN 46542 or dpatterson@the-papers.com.

not keep them for seven to 10 years, to work for you in case questions arise in the corridors of the federal, state, or city income tax agencies that may be affected?

The copies you keep can spare you a lot of grief by documenting your tax trail over the years you retain your records. Put into a safety deposit box or safe along with these tax returns should be copies of your home mortgage. And add a list of any renovations, additions, or improvements made to your residence.

You also should add copies or a list of all insurance policies. Included in this pile should be copies of your Social Security card, birth and marriage certificates, divorce papers, military identity and discharge documents, and any other personal papers.

You might also make a list or copies on your computer of all these documents and their numbers with relevant phone numbers.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

Exercise keeps seniors feeling young

Do you feel as good now as you did when you were 40? How about when you were 50? You could feel as good as you used to, or even better, by picking up a few new good health habits.

A simple change is to add some activity to your daily life.

Experts emphasize that physical activity is good for people of all ages.

Among older adults, falls are a common cause of injury and disability. Physical activ-

ity makes bones and muscles stronger.

When your muscles are strong, you’re less likely to fall. If you do fall, strong bones are less likely to break.

Regular physical activity is good for your brain, too.

Recent studies reveal that people who do simple exercises, like walking briskly, on a regular basis are better able to make decisions than people who aren’t physically active.

From diabetes to heart disease, many chronic health problems are improved by even moderate amounts of physical activity, according to

numerous studies.

Talk with your doctor about your plans before you get started. Your muscles will very likely be sore when you first increase your physical activity, but don’t consider that a reason to stop. Mild stiffness and soreness will go away in a few days as you become used to the physical activity.

For most people, walking is one of the easiest activities to do. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week, but you don’t have to do all 30 minutes at once. Try walking for 15 minutes twice each day,

or for 10 minutes three times each day.

People who have started being physically active later in life say that exercising with a partner is the best motivation to stick with it. Some suggest starting or joining a walking group with friends or neighbors. Others suggest getting a dog that needs to be walked.

If walking isn’t your idea of a good time, try gardening or dancing. Go fishing or swimming. The activity can be enjoyable as well as good for you.

Also, when your muscles are strong, activities like getting out of a chair or holding a door

open are much easier. If you decide to lift weights, start with a one- or five-pound weight.

If you don’t have weights, you can use a can of soup, book, or full bottle of water. Keep your weights in the same room as your television set and do a few exercises while you watch.

Another way to build muscle is to use a rubber resistance band, also called an exercise band.

Resistance bands are flexible and come in different lengths. They are commonly used to strengthen upper arm and leg muscles.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

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Sixties Flashback —

Remember those stamps of approval?

Want an appliance? Some furniture?

An elephant?

At one time, all were available with enough small paper books filled with trading stamps.

The S & H stamp story began in 1896. Salesman Thomas Sperry noticed a store he visited was having significant success with a program in which certain customers were rewarded by being given coupons redeemable for goods in that store. Perry thought: why not dispense

coupons that were not tied to merchandise from any particular store but could be redeemed anywhere?

With business pal Shelley Hutchinson, the pair launched the Sperry and Hutchinson Company and began selling S & H Green Stamps.

Here’s how things worked: Retailers bought the stamps from S & H, then distributed them — 10 stamps for every dollar spent — to appreciative loyal customers as a bonus for making cash purchases rather than by using credit. Customers then pasted the tiny rectangles into booklets handed out by the company visited.

The first S & H Green Stamps redemption center — a “premium

Myths mask base of social security benefits

There are a couple of persistent myths in circulation regarding how your Social Security benefits are based. Introduce the topic and you’re almost certain to hear that your benefits are based

on your income over your last three years in the work force, or on your five highest-earning years.

Both are wrong.

Social Security analysts review your income and base your benefits on your highest 35 years of earnings.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

parlor” — opened its doors in 1897. Then, as they did later, people would bring in booklets filled with stamps and stroll out later with a shiny new something, bolstered by the (incorrect) feeling that the item was somehow free.

S & H bought merchandise at wholesale costs and sold it at retail prices when stamps were redeemed. Retailers grumped that buying the stamps cost them about 2% of their sales, although they did hope that the expected increase in business the stamps could generate would offset the cost of the stamps.

The popularity of trading stamps spread like proverbial wildfire, becoming a part of everyday business at sundry supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores and numerous other outlets.

By the mid-1960s, 83% of America’s 58 million households were saving S & H Green Stamps. (That’s three times more stamps than were issued by the U.S. Postal Service.) Each year, S&H was printing 32 million copies of its merchandise catalog — dubbed the Ideabook — as well as 140 million blank savers books.

The most popular purchased item back then was a toaster. But, over time, changing values

and, much to the customers’ delight, the limited list of available options mushroomed to include some, well, “unusual” things, to say the least.

Some companies began issuing their own trading stamps but were never able to overcome S & H’s dominance.

Then came the 1970s, and food and gasoline prices soared. It became more prudent to seek lower prices: people began to value having extra money in hand more than owning another set of glass tumblers.

The last supermarket to

dispense Green Stamps was a Tennessee Piggly Wiggly store in 1999.

Trading stamps have now been replaced by reward programs and discount coupons. In the Green Stamps heyday, though, such exotica as donkeys, gorillas and elephants were sometimes made available when zoo groups pooled enough filled books. Offered but probably never purchased: an eight- passenger Cessna airplane. Hmmn. One must wonder just how many Ideabooks were needed for that?

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Email: barbkubiszak@gmail.com

Monday-Friday 8-5 p.m.

Structured Activities, Safe & Secure Surroundings, Health Monitoring

“Help make their Golden Years shine a little brighter.”

NORTHSHORE HEALTH CENTERS

Locations in Portage, Lake Station, Chesterton, Merrillville & Hammond www.northshorehealth.org

By appt. or walk-ins welcome. (219) 763-8112 or (888) 459-2349

Affordable dental care regardless of ability to pay. Medicare and Medicaid accepted. Discounted self-pay option.

VNA MEDICAL GUARDIAN ALERT SYSTEM

501 Marquette St. Valparaiso, IN 46385

Additional Offices In: Crown Point, IN and LaPorte, IN (219) 462-5195

(219) 531-8181 Fax https://www.vnanwi.org/services/ medical-guardian.php

A not-for-profit organization for over 50 years. The VNA Medical Guardian program provides dependable, fast access to help when you need it. Live an independent and active lifestyle with the VNA Medical Guardian program’s medical alert pendant or wristlet. Making Best Days Possible

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AGING CONNECTIONS

AGING & WELLNESS RESOURCES ONNECTIONS

Serving Northern IN & Southwest MI

A free online directory for aging & wellness resources. Our members offer a wide variety of services and information for your specific needs. www.agingconnections.org

Hover over Chapters on the navigation bar, then select your area and click directory.

Aging Connections is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

FUNERAL HOMES

SMITH BIZZELL WARNER

FUNERAL HOME

4209 Grant St. Gary, IN 46408 (219) 887-1852

www.smithbizzellwarnerfuneralhome.com

Facebook: smithbizzellwarnerfuneralhome

HOME HEALTH CARE

VISITING ANGELS HOME CARE

2340 Cline Ave., Schererville, IN 46375 (219) 322-6100

www.visitingangels.com

Nationally respected, non medical, home care service. Providing CNA’s, HHA’s & Companion Care.

* Assist w/Hygiene

* Meal Preparation

* Medication Reminders

* Light Housekeeping

* Transportation

* Hourly, 24-hour Care & Overnight

Alzheimer’s / Dementia Care / Palliative Care

LICENSED * BONDED * INSURED

HOSPICE CARE

HEART TO HEART HOSPICE OF NORTHERN INDIANA

402 Wall Street, Suite 22 Valparaiso, IN 46383

Phone: (219) 462-6529

Fax: (219) 462-9017

www.HTOHH.com

Compassionate care from our heart to yours.

Volunteers needed.

CHAP Accredited

HOSPICE CARE

UNITY HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE

Serving Porter, Jasper & Newton Counties in Indiana.

219.769.8648

Greater Illinois area

312.427.6000

www.unityhospice.com

Family owned & operated hospice

Offering premier end-of-life care For over 25 years at no cost to you, Because we care.

MEALS ON WHEELS OF NWI

MEALS ON WHEELS OF NORTHWEST INDIANA

8446 Virginia St., Merrillville, IN

(219) 756-3663 www.mownwi.org

A non-profit nutrition provider offering Chef Prepared Hot Lunches delivered daily (M-F). All meals are heart healthy & low sodium. Specialized diets are also available, as well as 5 or 7 packs of frozen meals.

Serving Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, Jasper, Starke & Pulaski counties.

VNA HOSPICE NWI

501 Marquette St. Valparaiso, IN 46385

Additional Office In: Crown Point, IN (219) 462-5195

(219) 531-8181 Fax

www.vnanwi.org

A not-for-profit organization for over 50 years. Accepts all hospice eligible patients, regardless of ability to pay. Veteran specialty hospice program. Serving Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Jasper, Newton and Starke Counties. Making Best Days Possible

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HOUSECALL DOCTORS

HOUSECALL DOCTORS, PC At-Home Medical Care for Elderly & Homebound Patients

Serving NW Indiana & Plymouth/So. Bend areas

www.housecalldoc.org

219-750-9497

Providing at-home care from Medical doctors and Nurse Practitioners.

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MEALS ON WHEELS

VNA MEALS ON WHEELS

501 Marquette Street Valparaiso, IN 46383

HOSPICE OF THE CALUMET AREA MUNSTER

www.hospicecalumet.org

(219) 922-2732 / (219) 736-2422

• Serving Lake, Porter and Bordering Illinois Communities Since 1981

• Hospice Services Are Covered 100% For Patients Who Are Medicare Eligible

• Not-for-profit

• Care Provided In Your Home Or In Our Hospice House

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(219) 462-5195

https://vnanwi.org/services/vna-meals-onwheels.php

VNA Meals on Wheels is committed to ensuring seniors and individuals with disabilities have the resources they need to maintain quality of life and remain independent in their own homes. Our hot, nutritious meals delivered Monday-Friday, can be tailored to special diets to help avoid hospitalizations and manage chronic health conditions. VNA Meals on Wheels provides much more than a meal, we provide a wellbeing check and social visit.

MEDICAL CLINIC

NORTHSHORE HEALTH CENTERS

Locations in Portage, Lake Station, Chesteron, Merrillville, Hammond, LaPorte & DeMotte

By appt. or walk-ins welcome. (219) 763-8112 or (888) 459-2349

www.northshorehealth.org

Affordable medical and urgent care regardless of ability to pay. Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance accepted. Discounted self-pay option.

REHABILITATION SERVICES

VALPARAISO CARE & REHAB 606 Wall St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 (219) 464-4976

www.AmericanSrCommunities.com/vcrc

TELEPHONE SERVICES

RELAY INDIANA - INTRAC

7702 Woodland Drive #130, Indianapolis, IN 46278 (877) 446-8722

Problems hearing on the telephone? We provide captioned telephones to assist you to read what the other person is saying. No more garbled or misunderstood conversations. Simply, READ what you’re hearing.

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Travel National Great Lakes Museum chronicles importance of the lakes

The Great Lakes are an extremely important factor in the health and welfare of the Midwest and the entire country for that matter.

Eighty-four percent of North America’s fresh water comes from the Great Lakes and they hold about one-fifth of the world’s fresh water.

The last ice age formed them about 14,000 years ago. The surface area of the six lakes is bigger than the New England States combined. In 1940, approximately 40 percent of the U.S. population lived in and around the Great Lakes.

Tons more information about the lakes, shipping, vessels, photos and a huge assortment of memorabilia can be learned and seen up-close-and-personal at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, located in Toledo, Ohio.

Though storms on the lakes may not be quite as violent as those on the oceans, over the years more than 8,000 ships have been sunk and more than 10,000 lives lost. One of the most curious disasters was the disappearance of the Edmund Fitzgerald in a storm with near hurricane force winds Nov. 10, 1975. As told in the museum’s exhibit, the freighter suddenly and mysteriously went to the bottom of Lake Superior, where it lies 503 feet below the surface. It had been communicating with another vessel, but no SOS was sent. It just vanished. Twenty-nine crewmen died. All that’s left are a couple oars and an inflatable life raft stamped with the ship’s name. Visitors can view a simulation of the wreck on an interactive computer screen.

Barely a year after the ship was lost, popular singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot told the story of the disaster in a song that is still popular today, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

The Great Lakes became a major conduit for smuggling rum from Canada during Prohibition in the 1930s. Historic photos show Coast Guard officers stopping, boarding and searching ships for liquid contraband. Another section focuses on the 326 lighthouses (one every 33 miles) along the 10,900-mile Great Lakes coastline. There’s also an extensive exhibit on the American Indians who lived around the lakes and traveled on them between 1,000 BC and 700 AD.

In addition to ship stories, there’s a huge display of memorabilia ranging from hypothermia suits, lanterns, compasses and diving gear to pumps, horns, whistles and a lighthouse beacon.

And for an extra fee, visitors can board the Col. James M. Schoonmaker freighter moored just outside the entrance to the museum. Tours take visitors through the cargo hold, hatch cover, crane, engineer’s cabins, crew mess, officer’s dining room, engine room, owner’s cabin, pilot house and the plush passenger state rooms.

Built at Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, Mich., the Schoonmaker was launched July 1, 1911, and was dubbed the “Queen of the Lakes”. It was then the largest ship operating on the Great Lakes until 1914. It is 617 feet long, 64 feet wide, weighs 8,600 tons and carried 12,650 tons of coal on its maiden voyage from Toledo to Sheboygan, Wis.

Check out the National Museum of the Great Lakes at inlandseas.org/museum. The best way to get there is head east on U.S. 24, which goes right into Toledo. The museum is located at 1701 Front St.

Horsing around ancient Troy

theater and the odd column stump. It helps to bring an imagination, we were told.

German archaeologist

Perhaps the Turks can be forgiven for their kitschy homage to the legendary rescue of Helen of Troy.

Troy, the ancient city 20 miles inland from the port city of Cannakale, chur-NAH-kahlee, inspires a little horsing around.

At the entrance of this archaeological site park is a 60-foot-high wooden replica of the Trojan Horse, the infamous steed that gave rise to the adage: “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”

Helen — “Hers was the face that launched a thousand ships,” wrote the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley — was the wife of the Spartan King Menelaus and was either kidnaped or ran off to Troy with Paris. The more than 1,000 Greek ships launched some 3,000 years ago to win her back marked the beginning of the 10-year Trojan War.

During the siege of Troy, the Greeks left a colossal wooden horse outside the city’s walls as a gift to the tenacious Trojans. The city defenders towed it inside the city and, in the dead of night, a lone infiltrator slipped from the horse’s underbelly and opened the gates for his comrades. And they sacked the city.

With these visions dancing through our heads, we hoofed it up the creaky wooden stairs leading to the inside of the horse. A couple dozen Japanese, German and American tourists were jockeying for position at one of the slat-windows to wave wildly to the folks lined up to get in. “Konnichiwa!’’ one man bellowed out the window, Japanese for “hello,” to friends waiting below to take his picture.

But Troy is more than a Disney-esque attraction.

As we followed our Turkish guide around the winding rock-strewn paths of this multitiered Bronze Age excavation, one thing became abundantly clear: Troy is not one but rather nine ancient cities, the oldest built more than 4,500 years ago.

Not much remains, save for a 6,000-seat Roman-era amphi-

Heinrich Schliemann must have brought his, fueled by a childhood reading of the “Iliad,” when he arrived in 1868 to begin digging. “May the Gods who hold the halls of Olympus give you Priam’s city, Troy, to plunder, then safe passage home,” wrote the blind Greek bard, Homer, in “Iliad,” his fiery poem of ancient heroes.

Schliemann set to work directing the ambitious excavation that proved he was right, as he put Troy back on the map and unearthed a mother lode of artifacts — gold chains, elaborate golden head decorations, silver pitchers and thousands of gold pieces believed to have belonged to King Priam, the ruler during Homer’s account of the 13th-century BC Trojan War.

He successfully smuggled to Germany the so-called Treasures of Priam. His wife was photographed at swank Berlin soirees wearing some of the jewelry. Later research revealed the treasures did not belong to Priam but to a ruler who preceded him by more than 1,500 years.

The treasure wound up in a state museum in Berlin and, at the end of World War II, occupying Soviet forces smuggled the Trojan gold to Moscow’s Pushkin Museum, where it remained a closely guarded secret until the fall of communism.

Cultural ownership of the treasures is a diplomatic hot potato, with both the German and Turkish governments fighting for their return to their rightful home.

Mature Life Features Copyright 2023

Residences at Coffee Creek named ‘Assisted Living Community of the Year’

ing, dedicated staff that truly cares about and for the residents they serve every day.

Buying Ladies’ Costume Jewelry All Kinds

Call Freddie

Northwest Indiana added another jewel to its crown as the Indiana Assisted Living Association awarded Residences at Coffee Creek the distinction as 2023 Assisted Living Community of the Year during their annual Fall Conference in September. Located at 2300 Village Point, Chesterton, the award-winning senior living community is licensed, providing nurse availability 24/7 and memory care.

Kaitlynn Redmon, executive director, noted that the INALA recognition among assisted living peers across the state honors the dedication of a hard-work-

“Our residents and families, partners in caring, and all of the talent that comes to us from throughout the region to provide educational and social activities for older adults, should also take a bow for their contributions.” said Redmon. “Together, we have been able to continuously set and meet the highest of standards for senior living.”

One highlight of all the innovations and services Residences at Coffee Creek initiated was the support of a request from the community to host and aid development of the unique model for the Parkinson’s Support Group and Exercise Program.

This was also championed by Natalie Reisen, doubly honoring Residences at Coffee Creek and northwest Indiana as she was awarded INALA 2023 Outstanding Marketing Director.

“Natalie has demonstrated creativity and dedication to services for older adults through her advocacy of the Parkinson’s support efforts,” explained Redmon. “She initiated a Fun Run/Walk fundraiser for the new organization, raising community awareness for what she describes as very underserved in the senior population in Porter County. Natalie has been with us since before our doors opened in 2019.”

For more information, visit ResidencesSeniorLiving.com.

S. O. S. — Speaking Of Seniors

Doctors and hospitals hurting seniors

Editor’s note: Woodrow Wilcox is the senior medical bill case worker at Senior Care Insurance Services in Merrillville. He has saved clients of that firm over $3 million by fighting mistakes and fraud in the Medicare system. Also, Wilcox wrote the book “Solving Medicare Problem$,” which can be ordered from book stores or online.

What if someone called an ambulance for you but you did not need an ambulance?

In northwest Indiana, it could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Here are two cases that I am working to help two clients.

When one of our clients left a hospital, someone at the hospital called for an ambulance. No details about needing an ambulance were given in the claim filed with Medicare. So, Medi-

care ruled that the ambulance ride was a non-emergency ride and refused to pay anything of the $1,749, one-mile only ambulance ride.

If there was no emergency, then the hospital employee should have called for a Medicars service, which would have cost only about $250. If there was a medical reason that only an ambulance could be used to protect the life and health of our client, the hospital person should have given that information to the ambulance company to include in the filing of the claim with Medicare. In either case, I see a hospital employee as making a big mistake. Hospital employees who call for ambulances or Medicars for patients should know the difference and be professional enough to call the right party for transport of the patient. If

they don’t, the hospital should be sued for malfeasance.

In another case, a clerk at a doctor’s office called for an ambulance for a patient. But

the patient, our client, did not feel bad and refused to go to a hospital. The ambulance company billed our client $900 for a response charge. She never called for an ambulance. Why wasn’t the clerk who called for the ambulance or her em-

ployer charged for the response charge?

The system now in place is a threat to everyone in Indiana if anyone can call for an ambulance and cause a response charge to be billed to someone else.

Portage Chamber to host candidate breakfast

The Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast with the Ballot: Candidate Forum at Woodland Park, Portage, from 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2.

This event is free and open to the public with an optional $15 per person catered breakfast from Tate’s Place. Registration is required. Invitations were sent to all

2023 City of Portage candidates. Participating candidates should include Mayor Sue Lynch; mayoral candidates Austin Bonta and Michael C. Cooper; treasurer candidates Elizabeth (Turzai) Modesto and John Harrison; and city council candidates Gina Giese-Hurst, Anthony Wire, Pete Trinidad Jr., Robert Parnell, Joetta Collins, Victoria Gresham, Brian M. Gulley, Penny Ambler, Collin W. Czilli, Charissa Childers, Ferdinand Alvarez, Debbie Podgorski, Melissa Weidenbach and Brent W. Wright. For candidate confirmation of attendance, visit the Chamber’s event website.

During the forum, all candidates will have three minutes to establish their positions. At the conclusion of the forum, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the candidates in attendance. This event is not a debate and candidates will not take public questions during the forum.

To find out more information or to register, call (219) 7623300 or visitportageinchamber. com.

Help Doris find her shoes

Can you help Doris Busse? If you can, it may be worth your while.

In February 2022, a house sale was held at 1608 Roberts Ave., Whiting.

Inadvertently, a pair of bronzed baby shoes mounted on a bronzed wooden plaque was sold or given away. These shoes belonged to Doris Boyer Busse and are of great sentimental value to her. Busse is 85 years old and resides in a senior center in Portage.

Any information to their whereabouts and return can be made by contacting Chuck Kosalko at (219) 659-8129, where a $500 reward can be confirmed.