This Village Life

May 2004
Volume 11 Number 4
A N E W S PA P E R F O R A S B U RY M E T H O D I S T V I L L AG E
Residents, Associates, Families & Friends
www.asbury.org
Give us Grace
for Today...
Grace Hartley,
That Is!
Photo: Louise Redding
Grace Hartley in her garden at Asbury.
By Marjorie McFarland, Diamond
race Hartley was born in England
near the Welsh border. During World
War II she was a fire watcher in London. Her son was born during an air raid. Pretty exciting! But around Asbury, the excitement for Grace is gardening. In fact, the love
of Grace’s life is gardening and flowers. And
G
she is known as an exceptionally fine gardener.
Grace moved to Asbury in November of
1992. By the spring of 1993 she had her first
plot in the gardens. She has gradually added
two more plots. She says she took them on
because they were not well kept and she
wanted her garden to be in a nice area.
Grace has developed 18 different beds
within the three plots, and has made paths of
wood chips so that she can walk without soiling her shoes. Despite her 95 years, when the
weather is good she goes early in the morning to work for about an hour. Sometimes she
walks, but more often lately she takes the
Continued on page 5
The Ladies Behind Clothes Doors
Wilma:“Wilbur is my volunteer. He
volunteers for me.”
All contributions go directly to
the laundry room down the hall
from the Clothes Closet, where
Ethel Hedrick sees that everything
is laundered before being taken to
the stock room for sorting.
In the stock room any number of
a crew of five-June Hall, Edna Hargrove, Yvonne Slygh, Elouise
By Jeanne North, Trott
verheard one April afternoon in the arcade
between Trott and the
Crawford dining room: “I got it in
the Williamsburg Clothes Closet!”
Beth Kilgore, attired in a smart
bright red suit, was responding to
admiring looks and comments
about her new outfit. And Beth is
not alone. Many other residents
find attractive clothes at bargain
prices in the cozy shop located on
the ground floor of the Administration building, just down the hall
from the print shop. Open from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m.Tuesday through Saturday, the shop is known on campus and off as a fine place to pick
up a good deal.
Donations come to the Clothes
Closet from all over the campus.
People can bring things directly to
O
Continued on page 8
INSIDE:
Some of the Ladies Behind Clothes Doors. l. to r.: June Hall, Elouise Weaver,
“Laura,” Wilma Parker, Grace Dauster, Yvonne Slygh.
When What You Fear
Most, Happens .....................7
the Clothes Closet, unless they’re
lucky and live near Wilma and
Wilbur Parker in Edwards-Fisher.
Says Wilma: “I go out every morn-
Saving the Trees....................8
ing and see what’s hanging on my
door.” Luckily, the Parkers have a
car so they can transport the donations to the Admin building. Adds
Russ Weber,
Stuck on Stamps! ...............11
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S CORNER
Choices
find myself not wanting to
watch the news or read the
paper. Do I really want to be
informed and confronted? I think
the morning paper should be the
mid-day paper. I need something
else to "bring on the day!"
Lately, the weather has helped in
that process. The sun comes up
and I hear the birds singing. I smell
the fresh air coming in the open
window. I hear the sounds of the
school bus coming down the
street. Honestly, I am not a morning
person, except in the spring.
How we start our day has great
impact on those around us. How
do we effect others? Do we send
out a warning before we meet
them or are we inviting?
I
Jim Mertz
Executive Director
There truly is a "cause" and
"effect." I feel we always have a
choice.
Some may disagree.The opportunity presents itself to us.That doesn't mean we won't experience disappointment and sadness. People
will be drawn to us in ways that
support us and encourage us if we
decide to let them.
I am reminded of a bird I saw sitting beside a fallen nest after a
storm. In the nest were the
remains of the broken eggs. The
bird was a meadowlark. In the
midst of her sorrow, the Meadowlark was singing a beautiful
melody.
May we be reminded that there
are times when we need to sing or
to just listen for the melody.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
In the five years I have lived in Asbury Village, I have
learned at least one thing: it is a fact that everyone
reads Village Life! So I am confident I speak for everyone in my assumption that they, like I, have noticed
great improvement in the breadth of coverage since
Linda Aber has been the editor.Among other things, I
find it interesting and informative to read stories emanating from the Kindley and Wilson residents.
Not only have she and her campus-wide crew man-
aged to include previously un-emphasized sections
and segments of our life here, but she has also
approached those stories with unique and interesting
twists.
Thank you, Linda, and your entire resident staff for
making our campus newspaper even more readable
and exciting than ever before.
Mary Waldon, 419
Lakeforest Mall Presents
Asbury's “Greatest Generation”
hen Asbury
veterans
"talk," people listen! In fact,
when Britta Monaco,
Marketing Director of
Lakeforest Mall, read
the World War II stories in the January
2004 issue of Village
Life, she wanted to
hear more.
After speaking with
Alexis
McKenzie,
Director of Community and Public Relations here at Asbury,
the idea for creating
an exhibit showing
World War II era photographs and memories provided by residents of Asbury Methodist Village began growing.The end result will be featured at Lakeforest Mall from
Wednesday May 19 through Monday June 14. Be sure to visit Lakeforest Mall and see the "Greatest Generation" representatives from Asbury!
W
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May 2004
VILLAGE
LIFE
Editor
Linda Williams Aber
Communications Publications
Coordinator
Asbury Methodist Village
201 Russell Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301-216-4106 • laber@asbury.org
Resident Editors
Sally Schear, Kindley
Melva Hiatt, Mund
Lois Lord, Trott
Gordon Allen, 419
Alice Furlong, E-F
Resident Staff
Building 419: Genevieve Wimsatt
Diamond: Marjorie McFarland,
Martha Grimm, and
Louise Redding
Edwards-Fisher: Betty Goen,
Joan Dunlop, Mary Rose Wells,
Martha Hunt, Dorothy Welch,
and Betty Savage
Kindley: Betty Rice
Mund: Judy Weaver, Winston
Taylor and Anne Porter
Trott: Marjorie Brugger,
Marion Livingston, and
Jeanne North (PACs)
Villas: Reginald Westlake,
and Tom Wilkinson
Proofreaders:
Jeanne North and Matilda Sugg
Design: Electronic Ink
Printing:
Chesapeake Publishing Corp.
“The mission of Village Life is
to provide timely, interesting
and entertaining news about
the lives, concerns and activities of the people who reside,
work and volunteer at Asbury
Methodist Village.”
Village Life is published by
Asbury Methodist Village
Communications Department
VILLAGE LIFE
A Diamond Wedding Anniversary
By Reg and Isabel Westlake, Villas
n April l944 southern England was an armed
camp. It was packed with British and American forces, poised for the forthcoming invasion of the Continent. The date and the choice of
location lay in the future, but it was known to be
not far ahead because all Service leave was cancelled. We were not to know any of this when we
had decided on April 20 as our wedding day.
Both of us were in the same small British Army
medical unit stationed in Oxford. Despite the
travel and accommodation problems at that period, we had managed to arrange for family and
friends to come from various parts and attend the
wedding.
The wedding was to take place in Oxford's
12th Century church of St.-Peter-in-the East and
was to be conducted by a clergyman friend of
ours. But would there be a wedding if we had no
I
Happy Then, Happier Now
There is something new on the wall of the
417 lobby. It is a grandfather's clock, which
started out as a jigsaw puzzle! Dorothy
Farmer (Mund) was given the puzzle but it
was too large for the Mund puzzle table so she
sent it over to Diamond. The Diamond puzzlers put it together after much work. Marilynn Grotenhuis (Diamond) glued the pieces
together and put in a battery and some wood
backing. Look for the clock-it actually keeps
time and from a short distance looks threedimensional.
Dena Robinson's (Diamond) daughter
Betty, who is on a sabbatical from LewistonAuburn College in Maine, spent a few days at
Asbury to celebrate her mother's birthday a
little early. Dena later celebrated her real birthday in Florida with her son and his family, and
Betty went to the Republic of South Africa,
escorting five students for a three-week stay.
Jessie and Ben Griffith (Diamond) planned
to spend time in New Mexico with their children, while their apartment is being renovated. Their grandchildren were playing in concerts and they looked forward to hearing
them. Martha Grimm (Diamond) also had a
grandchild playing at her college. Martha
went to Florida with her family for the special
event. It is nice to know that so many young
people are getting fine musical educations.
Mary Anna Culkin (Diamond) spent her
birthday with friends down at Asbury
Solomons. ...Easter was a very busy time in
the 417 dining room.There were many family
groups. One family that came from probably
the farthest was Tom Hatsenbuhler with his
wife and son John who live in Heidelberg,
Germany. They visited Jean and George
Hatzenbuhler (Diamond). Son John is an
excellent violinist at only 12 years of age. He
gave a musical program with his mother on
Saturday before Easter, playing in the Purple
Circle. Each year during school break the family comes to the United States to visit Tom's
parents and every year young John gives a violin recital. It is a real treat....Marilynn and
Marshall Grotenhuis (Diamond) spent the
VILLAGE LIFE
Village Life
Bits and
Pieces
Photo : Marjorie McFarland
Marilynn Grotenhuis finds this clock
puzzling-do you?
week after Easter at an Elderhostel down at
Chincoteague and Assateague State Park.
Elsa Tutwiler and Alice Smith (Mund), Elizabeth Reeve (Edwards-Fisher), John Nolan,
(419) and Charles and Evelyn Kiser (Villas)
will leave May 16 on the Asbury 10-day trip to
Ireland......Dorothy Murphy , (Diamond) and ,
Paul and Betty Herfurth, Cathy Hugh, Emma
Michaels, and Helen Ferraro (Villas), and oth-
May 2004
leave? Fortunately for us the C.O.of our unit was
a civilian doctor called up for service, not your
typical Army officer. And, bless his heart, he gave
us a 24-hour pass to get married. In fact he came
to the wedding.
And so, after our wedding in the morning and
the reception at a local restaurant afterwards, we
were able to go for a very brief honeymoon. Brief,
because we had to return to the Army the next
evening.
Now, 60 years later, from war-torn England to
the peace of living at Asbury, we've so much to be
grateful for. We have just returned from England
where we joined our family (none of them live in
America) to celebrate our Diamond Wedding
Anniversary and to revisit the church where we
were married. Now we have returned to join the
ranks of other Asbury residents who have passed
the 60-year mark.
ers will be on the Asbury cruise up the New
England coast in June. Of the 49 passengers
on the American Eagle, 40 of them will be
Asbury residents. They'll stop at Martha's
Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island.
On May 15 Andrew Frazier will be graduated from Virginia Military Institute and commissioned into the Navy. Two bars will be
pinned on his uniform, one by his mother and
the other by his grandmother, Annamae Frazier (Edwards-Fisher).....In early June, Don
and Shirley McKirchy (Mund) will leave for a
month in the Northwest. In Salem, Oregon,
they will visit their daughter and her family,
Pat, Dan and Amelia; in Camas, Washington,
they will spend time with their daughter
Jeanne and her husband Ron.
Augusta Schilling (Mund) didn't want gifts
brought to her 100th birthday celebration on
March 25, so guests dropped $442.50 for the
Benevolent Fund into the basket by the
door.....After Earl and Anna Kragnes (Mund)
attended an Elderhostel in Pittsburgh April 29
to May 2, they visited Earl's brother Alfred and
his wife,Annie
A note from Reg Westlake (Villas)-"The
hawks' attraction to villa territory continues.
Last month I reported that a hawk had
descended on our front garden to attack a
squirrel but had missed its prey. Today (3
April) we had a different hawk visitor; this
time a small sharp shinned hawk. This time
the hawk won. Struggling in he hawk's pinions was a sparrow with no hope of escape.
Not a pleasant sight of Nature's, red in tooth
and claw."
On March 31 Dennis Driscoll (Mund) prepared and served a spaghetti dinner in honor
of Jack Busch's 85th birthday. Guests included Jack, Marian Fritsch (Villas) Ruthie Swain
and Barbara Tenenbaum (Mund) and Allen
Coale, (Trott).......The granddaughter of Gerry
Jennings (Mund) came in 15th in the Cherry
Blossom Festival Marathon, competing with
8500 people.
(Compiled by Judy Weaver, Mund and
Marjorie McFarland, Diamond.)
3
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Simple and Better Life
inus Mundy has written a
book entitled Keep-life-simple Therapy. He practices
what he preaches. The book is
postcard sized and contains fewer
than 50 pages. Now here is a man
to whom I am inclined to pay
attention!
For those who desire an unencumbered life, Mundy offers words
of wisdom which, if they are
embraced, just might lead to a
greater appreciation of the simpler
ways of being. In the Foreword, he
says that by living more simply, we
do several things. We free up our
overtaxed personal resources—
our minds, our emotions, our spirits—from anxiety and we free up
some of the world’s overtaxed natural resources.
By living more simply, we shorten our list of “stuff” to care about
and that gives us the chance to
care more about what and who is
left. And by living more simply, we
L
▲ Learn to value spiritual things
over material things. They last
longer, cost less, bring more.
open up our hearts to receive and
be one with The Source—our God
who loves us and wants—very simply—only our good.
For you who are interested in
what is truly essential for an
uncomplicated life, try living into...
and then out of...one or more of
these wisdom nuggets which represent the whole of what Mundy
has to offer.
▲ Don’t let work and play be
rivals. While each may have its
separate place at times, both
can also occupy the same
space.
▲ Strive to have access to things,
not ownership of them. Possess something and it possesses
you.
▲ Reduce life to its essence. It is
mostly love that matters... and
lasts.
▲ Reduce love to its essence. It is
mostly a knowing and being
known. Make the effort, do the
work, of getting to know and
letting your true self be
known...
▲ Celebrate the ordinary. Your
heart knows the comfort and
the beauty in common things.
Let it tell your head.
▲ Do not pretend to be anything
▲ Cultivate the simple virtue of
patience. Anticipation is not
the only reward for waiting.
Martha A. Brown
Director of Pastoral Care
that you are not. That way you
can always be consistent and
truly free.
▲ Look to nature for nurture. It is
as reliable as the God who provides it.
Remembering Bea
By Linda Aber
hose who have been in staff
meetings or Media PAC
meetings with me have
heard my stories about Bea
Gudridge. I first met her on Tuesday, January 6, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. in
the Edwards-Fisher Library. As the
Village Life Resident Editor for the
Villas, Bea Gudridge, attended my
first staff meeting on that date, and
I noticed her ever-cheerful smile
and her enthusiasm for writing.
She wrote about the Keese
School. She collected love stories
of couples at Asbury and wrote
about them. And then, when her
health slipped a bit and she moved
to the Wilson Health Care Center, I
went to visit her expecting only a
social hour. Instead, I found Bea sitting up in bed with an oxygen tank
nearby and a breathing tube in her
nose. She didn’t want to talk about
her health and she didn’t want to
lament her unfortunate situation.
No, Bea wanted to talk about her
next articles for Village Life. In
fact, she had two written and ready
to go!
T
4
One of those articles was her
regular Keese School feature. And
the other was called,“A View from
Inside Wilson Health Care Center.”
In her article Bea wrote, “Upon
arrival, feeling lower than an ant’s
esophagus, I was somewhat
cheered by the pleasant room, a
friendly roommate, and the mostly
smiling multi-ethnic staff...Wilson
Health Care Center gets a big and
enthusiastic thumbs up.”
Bea Gudridge was a good sport
all the way. She was also a writer.
She had an ear and an eye for a
good story and she had the writing
skills to produce it. Bea passed
away on April 20, 2004. Although
our relationship was too brief, it
was a meaningful and inspiring
one to me.What I learned from Bea
is to keep smiling, keep thinking
positively, and keep looking for the
story in and behind everything.
I will miss Bea’s visits to my
office and at our staff meetings. But
I can tell you one thing, I won’t be
a bit surprised if an article arrives
in my mail entitled, “A View from
Inside Heaven,” by Bea Gudridge.
I’ll be looking for it!
▲ Don’t forget that the longing
for simplicity is a spiritual longing. Asking for physical things
to meet spiritual needs doesn’t
work.
What Mundy says makes sense to
me. Perhaps that is why I think
what he offers is wisdom.
By George!
This Village
Life
“Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received
notice that you passed away. May God
bless you.You may reapply if there is a
change in your circumstances.”
—Department of Social Services,
Greenville, South Carolina
Whatever women must do they must do
twice as well as men to be half as good.
Luckily, this is not difficult.
—Charlotte Whitton
Collected by George C. Boddiger
Calling all Committee Chairs!
May 2004
Please make yourselves known to
Lexie McKenzie at x 4113 in order to
facilitate better communication,
improved satisfaction, and campus unity.
Your input makes our output better!
VILLAGE LIFE
The PAC Front
News From Three Partnership Advisory Committees
The Legislative PAC
Medicare on Our Minds
olitics, politics. In this season of war,
taxes and electioneering, politics swirl
around us like the cherry blossoms that
have fallen to make a carpet of pink petals
beneath our feet. Through all the discouraging
news, the Legislative PAC soldiers on, sustained
at its meetings by the delicious homemade
cookies brought by Resident Co-Chair Rosalie
Silverberg.
Keeping tabs on legislative doings at the federal, state, county and local level is the business
of the PAC. Key action at its April meeting was
the reading—and approval—of a letter prepared by a PAC subcommittee about the
Medicare bill. The letter, addressed to Senators
Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Chris Van Hollen, urged that the
Medicare Reform and Prescription Drug Benefit
Law signed by the President in December be
amended before it goes into effect.The PAC letter urged, among other things, that the law be
amended to:
■ allow appropriate authorities to negotiate
lower prices for prescription drugs...;
■ spread out the ‘doughnut hole’ in a progressive way so that benefits do not suddenly stop when drug costs reach $2250, to
resume as Catastrophic Coverage only
when beneficiaries have spent $3500 out
of pocket...;
■ require insurance plans to make known in
advance what drugs their plan will cover...;
P
Peek
sponsored by the PAC will open on Wednesday,
May 5 and remain open through Thursday, May
27. Don't miss it.
the PACs
The Security, Reception
and Transportation PAC
at
■ make coverage for beneficiaries at least
equal to that provided to Federal employees and retirees.
Will our legislators listen? That, of course,
remains to be seen. But speaking up is a prerogative of democracy, and a mission of the
PAC.
The PAC also heard about the model program
PACE, or Programs of All-inclusive Care for the
Elderly, which aims to coordinate and provide
all needed preventive, primary, acute and longterm care services so that older individuals can
continue living in the community. PACE applies
to people on Medicare and Medicaid and over
90% is funded by those agencies. PACE is not a
lobbying organization, but a service organization. PACE started in Oregon in 1971 and since
then has been adopted by a few local nonprofits across the country, including one near Baltimore.
Just how PACE would affect Asbury is at the
moment unclear. As Rosalie often says: Stay
tuned.
The Cultural Arts PAC
A Must-See Show
Park, Shop, Be Safe
n response to the son of an Edwards-Fisher
resident unable to find a parking space in
the E-F lot, Asbury security has announced
that Asbury Drive in front of that residence for
parking.Though unmarked in any way, parking
there is legal and acceptable.
For transportation service on weekends, call
4006 or 4008 and a car or bus will be provided
as soon as possible.
The new Tuesday afternoon grocery shuttle
seems to be working well.
A magnet with emergency fire instruction has
been distributed to all residents to stick on
their front doors.
Shirley Whitman of Trott has joined the PAC.
Will security guards make their rounds on
bicycles? That innovative notion was proposed
in a PACgram from a Villa resident.Wouldn't that
give a nice Old World touch to Asbury? Alas,
once more practicality intervenes. Since security personnel have multiple responsibilities,
including transporting residents, and mail, bicycles just won't work. Can you see residents in a
bicycle basket? Not likely!
(Jeanne North, Trott)
I
May is the month! The Arts and Crafts Exhibit
GRACE
Continued from page 1
shuttle bus. She says gardening is
also her exercise for the day. When
she goes back to her apartment
she rests for the remainder of the
day.
Grace has always shared her
flowers with others. This spring
she has brought beautiful daffodils
for the 417 lobby desk and dining
room desk. She has always bought
the best of bulbs from Holland and
her flowers over the years have
been very special. She regrets that
the deer have eaten her tulips and
gladioli, hyacinths and purple crocuses, and all the summer flowers.
They have even eaten her rhubarb.
But, she says, they don’t like yellow. Unfortunately, they don’t like
weeds either, so the weeds are a
constant battle.
In addition to flowers, Grace raises vegetables, and for a time she
had raspberries. One hundred dollars realized by the sale of raspber-
VILLAGE LIFE
Grace Hartley, dressed to till!
ries at the produce cart in the
basement of Diamond was given to
the Benevolent Fund.
A number of years ago, Grace
had back surgery and had to cut
back the raspberries. After her
Photo: Louise Redding
operation, she hired a company to
take her to the garden. She had a
bench brought in so she could sit
down and she had two young
women from the company do
what she ordered them to do in
May 2004
her garden.
At an Open House at the gardens, Grace got a nasty gash on her
leg from a stake near her plot.
George Oxx ran up to EdwardsFisher to get someone to take care
of her injury.That incident precipitated getting a telephone installed
in the gardens.
Grace’s motto is “Keep the garden well.” She certainly has done
that. As a result, Grace Hartley
received a “Certification of Appreciation.” It reads as follows:
“This Certificate is awarded to
Grace Hartley in recognition of the
inspiring example she continues to
provide in her 94th year, by maintaining the beauty of three garden
plots, contributing produce and
flowers for the enjoyment of other
residents, and for the support of
the Benevolent Care Fund.
Freeland Memorial Gardens
Scott Brewer
October 14, 2003”
5
A Family Tree? No, A Family Forest!
By Marjorie McFarland
orothy Hoopes (Diamond) has a wonderful family. She does not have a family tree-she has a forest, as you can note.
As of now, there are 27 great-grandchildren.
Her four children were widely separated: Jim
wa in college, Pat in High School, Suzanne was
in Junior High and Virginia was in grade school.
They have always been a very closely Knit family. Jim’s wife has said that this family always had
so much fun together, that they would rather be
together than have a lot of other people
around.
James Summers, Jr. has three children. Patricia
has four children. Suzanne has three and Virginia has two.You will notice the main branches on the trees. The little twigs represent their
grandchildren-Dorothy’s great-grandchildren.
Dorothy said there was only one problem-there are many Joe’s in the children’s
families. She told Virginia when she started dating, “Just don’t date anyone with
the name of Joe, we just can’t handle
any more Joe’s.”
Dorothy, the matriarch of this family,
loves music and dance. She often keeps
time with her feet while she is moving
around the apartment.
Here are the oldest and the youngest of
the family. Little Haley Marie Summers was
born on February 27, 2004. But Dorothy says
there just might be a great-great grandchild in
the offing.We will keep you posted.
D
Photos & Illustration of Family Tree: Marjorie McFarland
Dorothy Hoopes, at left, the oldest
of the family.
Haley Marie Summers, at right,
the youngest of the family.
Betty Rice Has the Wright Stuff
Betty Rice’s mother catches an early flight.
6
May 2004
By Betty Rice, Kindley,
as told to the Editor
veryone has treasures. To
some they may be jewels.To
others they may be books or
paintings or poems or any number
of things. But for Betty Rice, treasure is in the form of a very special
photograph from 19ll. It’s this photograph,which shows Betty’s
mother, a friend of her mother, and
her grandfather trying out the
Wright Brothers’ plane on the Mall
in Washington, DC on Easter Monday. From left to right, here are
Betty’s grandfather, Hugh Morrison, a friend of Betty’s mother,
Phebe Stine, the pilot, Rex Smith,
and Betty’s mother, Nellie Grace
Morrison.
It’s this photo and her family history connected to it that has
turned Betty into somewhat of a
collector of Wright Brothers stories and articles. She’s proud to be
the daughter of a mother who’s
father, Hugh Morrison worked for
Congress once. And she’s even
more proud to pass along copies
of this photo to her two daughters
Marjorie and Janet. For Betty Harlan Rice, a little bit of history
means a lot!
E
VILLAGE LIFE
By Paula Strain, Edwards-Fisher
he air during the winter of
2002 and 2003 was especially beautiful. A series of
continuing snow storms from
about Christmas to early March
brought a fall of white feathers or
silver pinheads of snow, followed
by several days under clouded
skies in which silvery water molecules evaporated upwards. It
was the first Sunday in March
that I realized no one else was
seeing what I was seeing. Something was wrong with my eyes.
I had an appointment with my
ophthalmologist in a few days so
I waited for it.When I was in his
examination room in Bethesda,
eyes dilated, Dr. M took one look
at my eyes, walked out and didn’t
come back for a quarter of an
hour. When he returned he said,
“I’m sending you down to a specialist in Friendship Heights
right now.”
I drove down, parked the car,
and found my way to a 15th floor
office, where the receptionist
hustled me into another examination room. For the next two
hours, a series of technicians and
possibly doctors visited me, saying nothing, but continuing dilating my eyes occasionally. Finally
one doctor came in and said,“You
have wet macular degeneration.We
can’t do a thing for you. Here’s an
appointment with a doctor who
handles low vision. Good-bye.”
In a state of shock, I found my
way back to the car and into northbound traffic. I will never know
how I managed the 20 miles up
Wisconsin and Rockville Pike to
Asbury Village without being able
to see cars to the left and right or
traffic lights. I reached Asbury safely and I haven’t driven a car since.
My dentist suggested I get a second opinion. I did and the first was
confirmed. But I was offered a possible operation not approved by
Medicare. I was hopeful. I had the
operation, but it did no good.
I went to Asbury’s Care Management Office and asked what
Asbury might do for me. “Not
much,” I was told, but the on-campus occupational therapist was
sent to my apartment to take the
handles off of my stove burners
and mark my doors with tape so I
could find the lock.They also recommended the Upper Montgomery County Low Vision Support Group which meets in the
Senior Center in Gaithersburg
twice a month. But how was I to
get there?
In April I was feeling quite low as
my sight was getting dimmer and
T
VILLAGE LIFE
When That
Which You Fear
Most, Happens
“When I was especially despondent I stood
by the waist-high railing on my balcony,
which is there to protect the elderly. I knew
I was agile enough to climb over and drop
off to hit the ground eight floors down.
Then, I looked over the railing. Just below
me was a tree in brilliant white blossoms. I
would hit that tree when I fell and ruin the
blossoms. I couldn’t do that.”
—Paula Strain
dimmer, and my mail more difficult
to read. When I was especially
despondent I stood by the waisthigh railing on my balcony, which
is there to protect the elderly. I
knew I was agile enough to climb
over and drop off to hit the ground
eight floors down. Then, I looked
over the railing. Just below me was
a tree in brilliant white blossoms. I
would hit that tree when I fell and
ruin the blossoms. I couldn’t do
that.That’s when I knew I was not
going to commit suicide.
Finally, in May the time for my
appointment with Dr.A arrived. He
and his technician provided me
with half a dozen local sources
from which I might find some form
of help.The most useful was that of
the Maryland Social Workers for
the Blind, two of whom served
Montgomery, Frederick and possibly Washington Counties.They provided me with a white cane and
some training in how to use it to
cross streets and move in traffic.
They also gave me other help, such
as marking my microwave and
attempting to get me free 411
directory service. After considerable effort they were unable to do
so primarily because at the time
Asbury had a contract with a telephone company which did not
admit to providing that service.
(After considerable contact with
Administration I have since
learned that free 411 service is
available to any resident, not only
those with low vision!)
My eyes continued to deteriorate.What I could do on Thursday I
couldn’t do on Monday.And what I
could do on Monday I could certainly not do by Friday. I organized
my piles, my desk, and my habits. I
began to put my apartment keys in
the same place every time I
returned to the apartment. I collected my phone numbers and put
them in a more readable list.
At the end of June I sent a sizeable check to the Cross Creek
Cemetery Association for the maintenance of the Strain family cemetery and the family lots in the local
church yard. That check was neither acknowledged nor cashed. I
assumed it went to the dead letter
office. That convinced me that I
needed help in my business matters. I got weekly help in typing
my letters, checking my clothes for
food stains, and labeling my frozen
foods so I would know how long
to cook each item. I also got someone to act as my legal representative in case of necessity.
During the summer and fall I
continued to take my mail down to
the magnifying machine in the E-F
library. Eventually that became
impossible to use. So I moved to
May 2004
the stronger machine in the
Resource Library at Rosborough. That too eventually
became impossible to use.
Meanwhile, I had been trying to
avail myself of the Blindness
Rehabilitation Program of the
U.S. Veterans Administration,
which I’d been told about by Dr.
A. and a friend. But federal
bureaucracy moved slowly, and
it was not until March of this
year that I was called one
Wednesday afternoon and told
that I could go up to West
Haven, Connecticut the following Wednesday and enroll in the
program. I was to take five days
of clothes and three months of
medicine for an indefinite stay.
I went up to Connecticut on
the train by myself. Fortunately,
it was through train. I entered
four weeks of very useful training. It included practice in
walking through traffic, in the
skills of living, such as pouring
coffee without spilling it,
threading needles, and also in
using other gadgets and
machines. I returned to Asbury
loaded down with talking
clocks, a talking calculator, and
an optical character reader,
which is supposed to be able to
read printed or typed material
back to me. I am settling in with all
this equipment and trying to continue living independently.
I will still have to depend on the
receptionist for sorting my mail and
at least removing the “please contribute” letters from my mail. I am
not yet sure whether the new information about the free 411 service
will ease my telephone problems.
Up until now I have been limited to
making calls only between 10 and 4
on weekdays when I can ask the
receptionist to tell me the number
I need and return to my apartment,
muttering the number as I go, to
make the call.
Another problem I have is that I
cannot recognize people who
address me by name, whom I do
not know, because I’ve never seen
their faces. I wish they would say,
“Hello, Paula, I’m so and so,” but
few think to do so. I can’t carry a
tune, so recognizing voices is also
difficult.
Asbury is a very helpful place for
people with low vision. But there’s
work to be done. For example, the
Asbury bulletin boards and television channel remain blanks as far
as I’m concerned. But I have heard
rumors that something may be
done to make them available to
people like me.
I have hope.
7
By Genevieve Wimsatt and Louise
Ebbett Redding
his is the story of a Norway
spruce and two dogwood
trees which were saved
when bulldozers started clearing
the site for the 419 Building in
December 1997. Today, the trees
are alive and well on campus
thanks to well-known campus photographer and resident, Louise Redding of the Diamond Building.
Back in the early to mid 1990’s
when planning for Building 419
was underway one stark fact
became evident. The land where
the building would have to be was
home to a fine stand of mature
trees. Neighbors, especially in the
Diamond Building, were extremely
concerned about what would happen to “their”grove, which covered
the area from the 417 building
west to Russell Avenue and north
to Odenhal.
Ground breaking ceremonies
were held on November 18, 1997,
and it was learned that the site
would be cleared of all trees even
those near the roadside.This news
brought great consternation to all
residents.To Louise, who had spent
so much time among these trees
studying and photographing them,
it was devastating:
“I walked the grounds trying to
imagine the changes.Then one day
on the top of the hill near the contractor’s construction quarters I
came upon this glorious Christmas
tree. It was so near the bulldozers
that I knew it would be taken. I had
the urgent idea to try to save it.Yes,
I wanted to save just one tree! I
enlisted the help of two of the
Asbury Clowns (Betty Goen,
Edwards-Fisher
and
Cathy
Hugh,Villas ). I photographed them
in full regalia as they paraded
around the tree with colorful bal-
T
How Campus Trees
Were Saved From
Bulldozers
Photo: Louise Redding
Cathy Hugh and Betty Goen send in the clowns to make a
serious statement-”Save Our Trees!”
loons and banners ) to publicize its
plight.
“With photos in hand I appealed
to the Administration, ‘When so
many trees are to be destroyed,
couldn’t just ONE be saved and
placed out of harm’s way?’
“Finally, in late November, to my
delight ,I learned that the answer
was affirmative, that moving
CLOTHES
Continued from page 1
Photo: Joon Kim
Ethel Hedrick—For the countless hours she has devoted to work at the
Clothes Closet, as well as for her other volunteer jobs, Ethel was given the
prized Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award at the volunteer appreciation
day ceremony in the Rosborough Theatre last month.
8
Weaver and Wilma-sorts the items
to check that they are good
enough for sale in the shop. “We
see what’s needed in the shop,”
explains Wilma, “store seasonal
things in the attic, bring things
down when seasons change.”
Elouise Weaver dresses the mannequin-whom she named Laura,
after the
First Lady-in fashionable outfits.
Anything not considered appropriate for the shop is sent to one of
several local rescue missions or
churches.
People stumble into their jobs at
May 2004
arrangements could be made and
that not one but three trees would
be saved—my little Christmas tree,
together with two beautiful dogwoods—one white and one pink.
Henceforth they would keep each
other company between the two
Asbury ponds.”
In a bitterly cold December
dawn bulldozers rolled in and
within a few hours the woods on
the building site were completely
demolished. It was most disheartening to the residents who had
gathered.
But wait, a new work crew
appeared. These professional tree
movers proceeded to dig up, wrap
with great care, transport regally in
the buckets of the bright yellow
tree-moving equipment, and
replant the three trees! Excitement
among spectators grew as this
work progressed. With residents
watching the operations at the digging and planting areas were Mrs.
Ruth Steen and her husband Dick,
of the Diamond Building and the
Wilson Health Care Center. By
dusk, the mission of the day had
been accomplished. All three trees
had been carefully moved to new
homes out of harm’s way.
Now, five years later “little Christmas tree” with friends white dogwood and pink dogwood are living
reminders of one of the major
changes woven into the tapestry of
campus history. So, we celebrate
the fifth anniversary of the fine
user-friendly apartment building
which is 419. We honor the handsome grove of trees which it
replaced. We especially delight in
the Asbury tradition, which continuously enhances our beautiful
landscape and has given us many
new trees, not only on site 419 but
throughout the campus.
the Clothes Closet, Mund:“I moved
here eight years ago in June, and
started a month later, after Bonnie
Fansler insisted I go there with her,
Next thing I knew I was working
as a cashier. I said ‘I can’t possibly
do that!’ but Mildred Seymour said
‘Oh, you can do it.’” Yvonne still
works as a cashier, but also serves
on the 9-person Steering Committee that manages the shop: Bettina
Curtis, June Hall, Ethel Hedrick,
Wilma Parker,Yvonne Slygh, Rachel
Thrasher, Elouise Weaver, Helen
Williams and Lillian Zinser.
The Committee meets every
other month with Joni King of the
Asbury Foundation to review the
Continued on page 9
VILLAGE LIFE
By Genevieve Wimsatt, 419
uilding 419, smallest and
youngest of the Asbury Village apartment dwellings,
recently turned five. Its residents
are celebrating with characteristic
zest for they have much about
which to be positive.
The program held on May 1,
2004 in the 417 Auditorium included a variety of events which showcased the talents of those who call
Building 419 ‘home.’ Well known
personages associated with 419
were on hand to reminisce.A musical interlude featured Bob and
Irene Stuart and a quartet revealed
what ‘Mr.Asbury Dreams’.
A power point presentation by
Bob Bernero detailed intriguing
aspects of the Building’s history.
Delicious party foods and libations
completed the party.
Building 419 differs architecturally in important respects from
the four previous campus apartments. Differences were dictated
by site peculiarities but the contractor’s imaginative solutions to
B
First 419 Resident Council. Seated left to right: Mitchell Wendell, Frances du
Bois, Keith Steele, Carolyn Harwood. Standing left to right: Harmon Shaw,
Carol Barquist, Mary Waldron.
Building 419 Celebrates
Its Fifth Anniversary
the problems, resulted in an unusually resident- friendly building.
There are no long narrow corri-
dors—no seemingly endless walking to get to where you want to be!
The unusual “Y” shape permits
short corridors and readily accessible public spaces which bring residents together as
they go about their daily activities. The first floor community
room and the library, together with
the well appointed lounges on
every floor, are magnets for occupants and have contributed much
to the development of the fine feeling of camaraderie among residents.
From the earliest arrivals
onward, residents have proved to
be talented and decisive. Within
four months they had written and
approved a constitution and bylaws, drawn up and approved a
slate of officers. They became
active volunteers not only for
Building 419 but also for campus
wide activities.
Now, on their Building’s fifth
anniversary and recognizing that
The Golden Years are not continuously golden they still make one
comment with great frequency—I
am glad that I am here!
CLOTHES
Continued from page 8
months’ work, discuss policy (debits, credits
and so forth) and look for ways to improve the
workings of the Clothes Closet. In May, Debi
Peeks will be taking over as liaison between
the Foundation and the Clothes Closet. For
the shop, space is a problem.“In the early days,
says Wilma, we didn’t get so many donations.”
Now, with the expanded campus, donations
have increased. Just last month, more than 40
pairs of shoes were delivered from a single
donor. Says Yvonne Slygh: “We get so much
stuff in we could use a larger shop. Unfortunately no more space is available.”
For some on the Committee, the best part of
working at the Clothes Closet is being able to
look through the big bags of goodies that
come in and find prized labels and fine clothing; for others, it’s meeting the customers who
come in, sometimes to buy clothing to send to
their “home country;”for all, it’s the enjoyment
of the camaraderie and esprit de corps that
has developed among the friends who spend
hours each week doing work they believe in.
Says Yvonne Slygh:“We all think it’s the most
worthwhile thing to do because it helps those
in need of help. Our money goes up into the
Benevolent Fund.”
And indeed, at the end of the day, the cashier
on duty carefully counts the cash and delivers
it to Cassandra Hoye in the Foundation office.
Since March,1989, when Zelah Conley, Erna
Gisriel and Mildred Seymour launched the
Clothes Closet, the enterprise has contributed
more than $238,000 to the Benevolent Fund.
VILLAGE LIFE
Photo: Louise Redding
Louise Redding and her camera capture Mother Goose and her little goslings on film. Notice how
the mother gives Louise a “Hiss Boo Bah!” as she shields her babies from fine feathered fame!
May 2004
9
One for
the Books!
By Vivian Otto
ne thing certain
about the residents of Asbury,
we’re an intelligent and
well-read community and
the success of the AAUW
Book Sale the week of
April 12-17 is pure proof
of that fact!
Asbury Methodist Village cooperated with the
Gaithersburg Branch of
the American Association
of University Women in
allowing them to hold their annual
book sale in Rosborough Center.
The turnout was grand and so
were the profits. The Branch of
AAUW is exceedingly grateful, as
their net from book sales was
$6500, which will go for scholarships for women doing graduate
studies. This is the largest amount
the group has realized in 25 years
and the co-chairmen attribute it to
the location and the Asbury residents who came the day before the
sale officially opened and bought
over $1,000.
On opening day, book dealers
started arriving at 6:30 a.m. They
were grateful that we allowed
them inside as other locations kept
them outside whether it was raining or cold. Thirty-seven persons
worked over 300 hours sorting,
selling and cleaning up. We are
extremely grateful to Asbury per-
IN MEMORIAM
O
10
Resident
Altha “Bonnie” Stewart
Harriet Johnson
Jon Linthicum
Ann Torrey
Eleanor McIntosh
John Brown
sonnel — grateful to the/ maintenance crew who setup the 40
tables, emptied trash and took
books that could not be sold to the
recycle location, to the grounds
crew who assisted in putting in the
direction signs to the sale, to the
food department who had extra
food on hand to sell to workers
and attendees, to security who
were ready to help if the mob got
too large, to Community Relations
Office who assisted in our publicity and finally to Jerry Hart who
supported and aided us in many
different ways.
When you start cleaning your
bookcases out this summer,
remember to call Vivian Otto
(5299) in the Diamond Building or
Carolyn Iverson (6966) in Trott.
We are starting now to collect
for another book sale in March
2005!! (Easter is early.)
Facility
Date of Death
419
March 13, 2004
WHCC
March 16, 2004
419
March 17, 2004
Villas
March 21, 2004
Diamond
March 21, 2004
WHCC/Kindley
March 25, 2004
Elvin Howard
WHCC
April 4, 2004
William Kubicek
WHCC
April 5, 2004
WHCC/Kindley/Home
April 6, 2004
WHCC/Kindley/E-F
April 7, 2004
Betty Miller
Robert Wooden
Lyle Faxon
WHCC/Kindley/Mund
April 8, 2004
Martha Burdette
WHCC/Kindley/Mund
April 8, 2004
Edith Hitz
WHCC/Home
April 9, 2004
Jane Wyatt
WHCC/419
April 12, 2004
Judge Wingate E. Underhill Kindley/Home
April 12, 2004
Frank Luff
April 17, 2004
Ruth Loevinger
Diamond
419
April 18, 2004
WHCC
April 19, 2004
Margaret McDaniel
WHCC/Home/E-F
April 19, 2004
Beatrice Gudridge
WHCC/Villas
April 20, 2004
Richard Reardon
WHCC/Trott
4-22-04
Harold Koeln
WHCC/Kindley
4-25-04
Anita Lambe
WHCC/E-F
4-27-04
Kindley/Villas
4-28-04
Elizabeth Carmichael
Louise “Bunny” Stever
May 2004
VILLAGE LIFE
By Reg Westlake, Villas
uss Weber and his wife Phyllis are among the original
residents of Diamond, having come when it opened in 1991.
Soon afterwards Russ started his
volunteer work for Asbury and has
continued ever since, aided much
of the time by Phyllis.
He took on the job of Treasurer
for Diamond’s Resident Council
and holds it still. Later, he became
the CCAV auditor for a couple of
years and has assumed it again
more recently, together with that
for the 419 Council.
To complete the score he is also
currently the Treasurer for the
Asbury Guild. These positions fall
naturally to Russ because for many
years he was with Price Waterhouse. As light relief Russ was in
the square dance and line dance
group in Campus Capers for a
number of years.
Then he and Phyllis worked in
the Clothes Closet in Williamsburg
Lane, that wonderful source of
good quality attire at very low
prices, and all run by volunteers.
Russ is well known nowadays for
running Asbury’s postage stamp
recycling project for the Benevolent Fund. The project was started
in 1997 by Ann Torrey of the Villas,
asking for volunteers from each
building to help her. Russ and Phyllis are stamp collectors and joined
Ann in her work. They were the
collectors for Diamond and 419
when dear Ann died in March this
year and Russ took over the complete running of the project. It raises considerable proceeds for the
benefit of the Fund; over the years
its contribution has amounted to
nearly $6000. .
Each building has a collection
box, which the collector for that
building clears. After doing any
necessary trimming (assistants welcome), the collector sends the contents to Russ’s apartment. Considerable quantities also come in from
Methodist churches in the region.
The stamps are sold by weight and
the dealer requires them to be
trimmed to a quarter inch margin.
For stamps from other countries
R
RUSS WEBER HE’S STUCK ON STAMPS!
this is not required and the whole
envelope or postcard is sufficient.
The Weber apartment becomes a
stamp depot where Russ and Phyllis sort through the stamps and bag
them up. Fortunately they have
some storage space in the Diamond Arts and Crafts Room, which
was just as well recently when as
many as 18 bags, each weighing 6
pounds, had accumulated.The dealer comes, buys the stamps and the
Benevolent Fund gets another valuable contribution. But Russ says
that, good though it is, there is
potential for a lot more.
Travel Committee
Day Trips and Tours
Date
Event
Contact
May 21
Kennedy Center
National Symphony
Otto (x5299)
If not, then why not?
May 26
Arena Stage
“Orpheus Descending”
Curtis (x5657)
Contests, news, information, comedy, drama
and words of wisdom and inspiration!
June 4
Kennedy Center
National Symphony
Otto (x 5299)
June 12
Olney Theatre
“Necessary Target”
Allen (x 6660)
Are you watching Asbury View?
By Asbury and for Asbury. Weekdays. Everyday.
Be in Touch with Asbury View
VILLAGE LIFE
Throwing stamped envelopes
into the trash is throwing dollars
away. All that is needed is to get
into the habit of tearing off a
domestic stamp neatly, or saving
the complete envelope or card
with an international stamp, and
when enough have been gathered
take them to the building’s collection box. Postcards are particularly
desired. It all means money for the
Benevolent Fund.Associates in particular, many of whom receive correspondence from their home
countries, could be a rich source of
stamps for the project
Russ, with his Price Waterhouse
background, is also the longest
serving member of the Finance
PAC, where he brings an eagle eye
to bear on the Administration’s
budgets and financial reports and
accounts for Asbury Methodist Village, and is known for his keen
questions.
In addition to all their work for
Asbury he and Phyllis have spent
many years in an outside volunteer
activity which is very dear to their
hearts and continues to this day.
Every Friday, all year round except
when snow closes the road, they
journey to Harpers Ferry where
they work in the office of the
Appalachian Trail Conference, the
largely volunteer non-profit body
of enthusiasts that is responsible
for the maintenance and proper
use of the Trail. Many years ago
Russ first met Phyllis on the Trail.
Now they have been married for
27 years.
Spare time? Russ is too busy putting his recently acquired stamp
project on a solid footing to have
much of that. Russ definitely gets
our stamp of approval as a first-rate
volunteer!
May 2004
11
WELCOME NEW RESIDENTS
Lois Lord photograph
Betsy and Burton Rush
Trott 413, x4848
Betsy and Burton Rush came to Asbury from
Ossining, N.Y. Betsy grew up outside of Boston,
graduating from Cambridge School in Weston,
MA; Vassar, with a BA, and Columbia, with an
MA.
Butron lived in Brooklyn, NY, graduating from
Erasmus Hall High School, Columbia College,
with a BA and Columbia Teachers’ College with
an MA.They met and married in New York City,
lived in different suburbs while Burton commuted into New York City to work.
After teaching for two years, Burton joined
the Pictograph Corp and soon started the
Graphics Institute with a partner. They agreed
to separate and Burton became owner and
director of Visual Services, providing charts,
maps and graphs for major textbook publishers.
Betsy worked at the foreign desk of United
Press during WWII. Then she mothered their
four children. When the youngest was 6, she
became a children’s librarian at Ossining Public
Library for 20 years.
The entire family traveled on a 7-week camping trip across the U.S., and the next year went
camping across Canada. The couple enjoyed
traveling, visiting over 40 countries, including
Egypt and China, and European countries.
While traveling, Burton became interested in
photography. He has had five solo photography
shows, and began giving illustrated slide talks,
based on their travels, to ten retirement and
community organizations.
Betsy was a member of the committee which
selected the 1973 Newbery and Caldecott
Awards for outstanding children’s books. Her
favorite hobbies are reading, walking, tennis
and bridge. For 20 years she volunteered in the
library of a school for emotionally and mentally
disturbed children and gave book talks. Betsy
also volunteered in a nursing home, playing
bridge with the handicapped. Burton handled
tennis instruction at a club and played in tournaments, sometimes in doubles with Betsy.
One son lives in Chevy Chase, two in Leesburg,VA and their daughter lives in CA.
They are interested in participating in campus activities, especially bridge.
(Lois Lord, Trott)
Parker and Janet
Dorman
Bldg. 419 219, x 4909
e-mail: parkdorman@aol.com
Dr. Parker Dorman and Janet moved
into Asbury on March 31, 2004. Parker
was born on July 13, 1922, in Washington, D.C. He attended Western High
School and then Amherst College in
the class of 1944 but, because of the
war, graduated in 1943.
Janet English was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, on December 20,
1922 and attended Smith College. Like
Parker, she entered in the class of 1944, but
graduated in 1943. Having met at a summer
camp in 1937, they married at the end of
1944.
Parker signed up with the Navy, but finished
college and started medical school at the University of Maryland before being called to
active duty.
After completing medical school and an
internship he was commissioned and spent
two years during the Korean war on a Navy
transport ship in the Pacific. He specialized in
Urology, entered practice with his father and
brother in Washington and Bethesda, and
retired after 40 years. He belongs to and has
presided at, the Southern Society of Urological
Surgeons and the Mid-Atlantic Section of the
American Urological Association. He was on
the clinical faculty of Georgetown University
Medical School and headed their residency
training at Suburban Hospital.
After college Janet spent a year as a laboratory assistant at Princeton, working with
12
Betty Goen photograph
Mike Hua photograph
newts (salamanders). She and Parker have six
children and 11 grandchildren, and their family is their main preoccupation, Parker keeping
written memoirs.They have traveled together
to several countries for his medical meetings
and also on ElderHostel trips. They have generally spent their summers at a family home
on the shores of Damariscotta Lake in Jefferson, Maine, very near to where they met. For
the past 11 years they have spent part of each
winter in Barbados.
They are both active in the Bethesda United
Church of Christ. Parker has served on the
Board of Bethesda Cares and was previously a
driver for Bethesda Help. He is active in the
Bethesda Kiwanis club, which raises money to
assist children’s programs in Montgomery
County. He is a fund-raiser for Amherst College. Janet worked at the Montgomery County
Volunteer Bureau placing volunteers where
they were needed. She belongs to the Washington Smith Club which raises scholarship
money. Parker and Janet used to bicycle
together which they both enjoy.
May 2004
Ethel Willcoxon
Edwards-Fisher Apts. #411, X5314
Ethel Willcoxon felt the warm and caring
atmosphere at Asbury was just what she needed when she moved here on February 27. She
was recovering from a broken femur and while
she had excellent family support, she knew this
environment would be helpful.
She was born in Pinetown, North Carolina
and moved to Washington, D.C. to help in the
war effort. She began at the Commerce Department, moved on to the War Department and
was in the fourth year of employment at the
Home Loan Bank Board when she met and married her husband.
Ethel was a stay-at-home mom for five years
raising two children, Robert and Jackie. She
resumed her government career at the National
Institutes of Health where as receptionist and
conference coordinator she met many of the
famous medical personages of the era including
the renown heart transplant surgeon Michael
DeBakey. She retired after twenty years of service.
VILLAGE LIFE
WELCOME NEW RESIDENTS
Travel has a big appeal for Ethel and she has
combined this with helping with her three
grandchildren’s child care; both at home and
overseas. Before her mobility was restricted she
was an avid walker and hopes to become one
again soon. Her religious affiliation is Catholic.
Ethel was fortunate to have known some
friends who became Asbury residents and their
recommendation led her to move here.
(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)
Betty Goen photograph
Agnes McDermott
Trott 404, x4731
Betty Goen photograph
Edna Proschan
Edwards-Fisher Apts. 409, X5254
Edna Proschan was looking for “a view” when
she moved into apartment 409 of Edwards Fisher on February 13, and she found it. She was
born in Asheville, North
Carolina and received a BS in psychology
from the University of Washington in 1963, followed by a BS in nursing from Florida State University in 1974.
She has always worked outside the home,
often holding office type jobs.At one time Edna
was a computer operator although she claims
not to be “computer literate.” She was House
Supervisor at Gadsden Memorial Hospital in
Quincy, Florida from 1980 to 1985.
Edna’s hobbies are reading, nursing and ballroom dancing.At leisure she indulges in spirituality (hardly a hobby). Although she was raised
a Southern Baptist she is studying to convert to
Judaism. Her volunteer work centered around
nursing and answering the Crisis Hot Line.
Edna is the widow of Frank Proschan, the
famous mathematician. She has a daughter who
is the mother of twin girls and a son who has
two boys. Edna decided to move to Asbury
because. [COPY MISSING HERE?]
(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)
VILLAGE LIFE
Agnes Harding McDermott was born in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in the
Scranton area. She graduated from high school
in Pittston, then started nurse’s training at the
Pittston Hospital. After about two years there,
she got tuberculosis-as did some other nurses at
the hospital-and spent 11 months in a TB hospital in rest and recuperation.
After the death of her mother, she decided
not to continue nurse’s training. In 1947,
through a friend from the hospital, she met
James McDermott, and in 1950 they were married. Mr. McDermott, who served in World War
II in Manila, worked for Bell Telephone.
After 15 years, Agnes’s husband asked for a
transfer, and they moved to Maryland. They
spent 8 years in Wheaton and then moved to
Rockville. Her husband died last October, and
after that Agnes’s children urged her to move to
Asbury. She moved in on April 9, 2004.
Agnes has seven children, all of whom live in
the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. She has
nine grandchildren, two of them girls.
From 1972 to 1986, Agnes worked with the
government, with the weather service, where
she was in personnel. She was fond of reading
and writing and decided to take courses at
Montgomery College. Three weeks before her
60th birthday she graduated with an Associate’s
degree.
Besides reading,Agnes loves music. She had a
piano, and started to take lessons. Unfortunately, about that time she developed macular
degeneration. She joined a group at the Jewish
Community Center in Rockville, and signed up
with Metro Access. She plans to go to the LowVision group on campus. Now that she is
unable to read, she listens to books on tape.
Agnes is Roman Catholic and enjoys being
able to walk to the Health Care Center for Mass.
She very much enjoys Asbury’s beautiful campus and the lovely view from her corner window. She appreciates the friendliness of people
at Asbury and the willingness of residents to go
with her to church, invite her to dinner, and
help out in little ways.
(Jeanne North, Trott)
May 2004
Mike Hua photograph
Mary Ann Diamond
1101 Diamond, x4795
Mary Ann moved to Diamond January
16,2004. She was born in Washington, D.C. and
educated at the Campus School-Academy of the
Holy Cross-Trinity College.
She worked for the CIA from 1953 to 1955.
From 1980 through 1983 she worked for the
Navy Alcohol, Safety Action Program. From
1986-1999 she was Assistant Director of Diocesan Relations at Catholic University.
Mary Ann’s hobbies include needlepoint, knitting, scrabble, wood carving and watercolor
painting. She has eight children and eighteen
grandchildren.
Mary Ann chose to come to Asbury after it
was highly recommended by members of the
North Bethesda Methodist Church. Her religious affiliation is Roman Catholic.
(Marjorie McFarland, Diamond)
Mike Hua photograph
Elwood “Woody” Schneider
Bldg. 419 312, x5083
e-mail woodys@comcast.net
Woody was born in Haselton, PA. After starting college at Penn State, he left to enlist in the
Air Force, where he served for 4 years in radar
Continued on next page
13
WELCOME NEW RESIDENTS
maintenance, including 19 months in Germany.
After his service, he spent 37 years with computers at Remington-Rand (which became
Sperry Univac), the first 15 years in computer
maintenance, then in customer-support programming. He took early retirement and went
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he worked for 7 years, again with
computers.
He moved to Asbury on March 5, 2004. He has
been married for 52 years to Anetta, now in Wilson HCC. They have three children and 5 grandchildren living in Bethesda, Germantown, and
Lake Linganore, MD.They lived in Montgomery
Village before coming to Asbury and have lived
in the Gaithersburg area for 36 years.
His hobbies are woodworking and photography. He hopes eventually to put many of his
photographs on CDs to give his children.
(Gordon Allen, 419)
Betty Goen photograph
Kathryn O. Warner
Edwards-Fisher 807, x5376
Kathryn Warner was no stranger to the idea
of Asbury as a caring community when she
moved in on March 25th because as a member
of Bethesda Methodist Church she was an
enthusiastic participant at the annual Asbury
Bazaar back in the early days of the campus.
She was born in Virginia and graduated from
Strayer College after which she worked at NIH
in Bethesda, Maryland which turned out to be
an exciting and challenging job.
Kathryn was married and looks back on the
many lovely trips she and her husband have
taken together. Now she loves to play bridge
and mah-jongg and enjoys watching most
sports. Knowing how beneficial exercise is, she
tries to spend an hour, three times a week, at
the Fitness Center.
With Asbury in her family, Kathryn had a sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Mack McKeon who passed their last days here in 1991, she
moved into Edwards-Fisher to experience the
quality of life they enjoyed.
(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)
14
Betty Goen photograph
Betty Goen photograph
Thomas R. Nikels
D. Whitney Coe
Edwards-Fisher Apts. #404, X5316
Edwards-Fisher Apts. #404, X5316
coesu@earthlink.net
Tom Nikels arrived at Asbury on March 11th,
about the time when the first brave robins were
checking out our weather. He was born in New
Jersey, the Garden State, and earned his BS in
Marketing/International Relations from New
York University.
Travel became Tom’s avocation when he volunteered to escort some college students going
to Bermuda. While he was still in school, he
held a variety of Bermuda related travel agent
positions. After graduation it became his vocation when he joined the Furness Bermuda Line
conducting programs aboard their cruise ships.
A bad case of sea sickness made transfer to land
duty seem expedient and subsequently Tom
joined the Bermuda Department of Tourism
eventually transferring to become the manager
of the New York Office with jurisdiction over
the entire United States. He went on to establish his own firm representing trade and hospitality interests as well as planning meetings and
group travel.Tom was president of the Assembly
of National Tourist Office Representatives for
two succeeding terms.
During the Korean War, Tom served in the
25th Infantry Division and was awarded the
Bronze Star as well as receiving a commendation for meritorious service by the President of
South Korea. He concluded his tour by serving
as a Court Reporter.
He enjoys the theater, opera, and old movies
and still loves to travel both in the United States
and abroad. Tom has done volunteer work for
the American Cancer Association and has
worked with local hospitals soliciting for their
Thrift Shop Sales. His religious affiliation is
Catholic.
Tom is single with a sister in California and a
brother in New Jersey and is happy to settle
down here at Asbury.
(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)
May 2004
It’s difficult to think of Whitney Coe as a new
resident since he joined us at Edwards-Fisher
on December 19 of 2003, but his settling-in
process has been ongoing. He was born in
Oswego, New York and received his BA from
Syracuse University in International Relations/Russian Studies, his MA in Russian History
from University of California at Berkeley and his
MLS - Library Science - from Syracuse.
Whitney spent thirty-six years at the Princeton University Library as his career advanced
from Cataloging to Collection Development.
Along the way he was a member/chair of a variety of committees in the American Library Association’s Division, Association for Library Collections & Technical Services and the International Relations Round Table. His proudest
assignment was as an American Library Association / United States Information Agency Library
Fellow to Seoul National University Library in
South Korea for a period of nine months. He is
a current member of the Bibliography Section,
International Federation of Library Associations.
A loyal alumnus of Syracuse University, Whitney is an enthusiastic fan of Syracuse sports football, basketball and lacrosse and here is a
direct quote, “I bleed orange”. He is an opera
buff, a subscriber to two Saturday matinee
series at the Metropolitan Opera for the past
twenty-five years.
He is interested in Korean culture and history, also international librarianship (especially
Korea) and has traveled extensively both here
and abroad.
Whitney is single and a Methodist. He chose
Asbury because of the friendly and stimulating
residents and the activities and services available. His brother and sister-in-law expect to be
moving into Park View in 2005.
(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)
VILLAGE LIFE
WELCOME NEW RESIDENTS
McLean, where she remained for forty years. For
eleven years she worked for the Dolly Madison
Pre-school. She is a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in McLean.
Sarah selected Asbury as her retirement community because one of her two sons lives in
Damascus. Her other son lives near Atlanta,
Georgia.Two of her three grandsons are in college; the other is in the second grade.
(Judy Weaver, Mund)
Harry Reilly
Mund 808, x4700
Betty Goen photograph
Sarah Want
Mund 609, x4505
Sarah grew up in Leesburg,Virginia, and after
graduating from James Madison College in Harrisburg, enrolled in the nursing school at Stuart
Circle Hospital. After teaching 1st and 2nd
grades in Lucketts, Virginia, she married and
made her home in Arlington. Her husband,
employed by the US government, was posted in
the United Stastes and several locations outside
including Cyprus for three years, Bern, Switzerland, for three years, and Manila for two years.
After his death Sarah made her home in
Harry was born in Philadelphia.After graduation from Temple University in 1947 he served
in the US Army Transportation Corps for two
years. After four years as chief clerk for the
Phillips Petroleum Company he moved to the
General Services Administration.After a year he
was promoted to management of maintenance
of the 5000 tank car fleet of the Transportation
Corps, where he remained for 30 years. At his
retirement he was managing the Army’s fleet of
more than 6000 locomotives and 10,000 pieces
of rolling stock in 93 installations throughout
the country.
In 1957 Harry married Rosalie Agnes Foley of
Philadelphia, and in l960 he built a house near
Laytonsville, Maryland. Rosalie became Register
of Wills for Montgomery County and was active
in the Democratic party, serving as State Chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party under
Governor Donald Schaeffer.
Harry was precinct chair from l984 to 2003
Anne Porter photograph
and was one of the founders of the Democrats
for the 90s, resigning in 1997. He has traveled
extensively, visiting Europe, South America,Asia,
Australia and New Zealand. His favorite country
is Ireland, which he has visited six times since
l945.
Harry has one daughter, Erin, an attorney for
the State of Maryland, who lives in Montgomery
Village. Harry misses working on his two acres,
but the view from the Mund eighth floor is
some compensation.
(Judy Weaver, Mund)
AMV Associates of the 2nd Quarter 2004! Congratulations!
loved by her coworkers. She treats
them fairly and always takes an
interest in their lives.When she is
not here, everyone wants to know
if she is okay and when will she
be back. They miss her smiling
face and friendly personality.
VILLAGE LIFE
available to Beatrice in Little
Rock, Arkansas and she moved
there to work in the OB-GYN unit
of a hospital.
After a year in Little Rock, Beatrice decided to relocate to the
Washington, D.C. area where
many of her family members had
settled. She then began working in
geriatrics and home care which
led to her current position at
Asbury.
Beatrice Annum
Kindley
Sue Patterson
Apartments/Villas
The Apartments and Villas are
proud to announce that Sue Patterson of the Housekeeping
Department is the Associate of the
Second Quarter. Sue has been
with Asbury for 18 years.
The residents are very thankful
that Sue is at Asbury. One of her
many duties is to make sure that
associates are scheduled to clean
resident apartments. Sue is also
hails from El Salvador, and has
made Gaithersburg her home for
16 years. Reina and her husband,
Fidel are the proud parents of two
daughters, Mirian and Ibeht. They
also have five grandchildren.
The pride that she takes in her
service to her residents (Reina
likes to consider them “her” residents) is recognized by them, her
fellow Housekeepers, and by the
other staff on 4 South. She truly
deserves this honor.
Reina Espinal
WHCC
Reina has been a Housekeeping
Associate for over nine years. She
Beatrice Annum, RN, has been a
Charge Nurse in Kindley
Assisted Living for 3 1/2 years
and is usually found in the 3rd
Floor nurse’s station covering the
3 - 11 pm shift.
Beatrice was born and raised in
Accra, Ghana. She moved to Ireland for her nursing training and
after that, went to London to
study and become board certified
in midwifery. Opportunities were
May 2004
15
Tulips are better than one!
Poetry 101
“Paint with words,” the professor
said.
“Paint with colors, gold and red.”
Paint with colors? I’m confused!
Where are the colors to be used?
Photo: Louise Ebbett Redding
Non-Profit
Organization
U. S. Postage
PAID
Rockville, MD
Permit No. 4297
Asbury Methodist Village
Communications Department
201 Russell Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877-2801
Address Service Requested
“Paint with words both bold
and mild;
Show the pink of a sweet
new child;
The purple moods of grieving
faces,
A shade of grey in worker’s
places.”
“Paint the white of soaring bird,
The trill and thrilling songs
you’ve heard;
The pulsing of the blue-green sea,
The give and take ‘twixt you and
me.”
“Paint with words,” the professor
said,
“Paint feelings from inside your
head.”
Paint with words? Oh, now I see!
Write vivid words from the soul
of me.
—Bobbye Calvert Kudzma,Trott
(from “Asbury Poets, Spring 1997”)
16
May 2004
VILLAGE LIFE