September 2009Volume 16 Number 7

Residents, Associates, Families & Friends www.asburymethodistvillage.org

A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE

By Bob Yount, Villas

Around here a 90th birthday isn’t usually a big deal. But for the Rev. Ken Jones, Dia-mond, it’s a bit of a big deal. The story

starts back in the forties when Ken was learning to be a spotter for field artillery and took a ride in an L5 observation plane to radio back to the firing battery. For the nonmilitary readers an L5 is very much like a yellow J3 Piper Cub painted olive drab. Ken enjoyed the flight and decided that God meant for him to fly.

Later Ken would take flying lessons and acquire over 100 hours at the controls. For the last decade Ken gets an instructor and a plane and takes a flight each year around his birthday. This year it worked out so I could go with him

in the back seat of a Cessna 172. Now I haven’t flown for a number of years, but I did have instrument and commercial ratings and a good bit of flying time, so I feel qualified to make some comments.

With a little advice from the instructor, Ken got the engine fired up, taxied out and took off without the instructor doing anything. We went around the pattern with a landing after each circuit except one when we were a bit high and hot. I was amazed that anyone with that much dust in their log book could perform that well. Normally you can’t fly just once a year and know what you are doing.

Who knows, maybe God did intend for Ken to fly.

These two fly guys don’t let age keep them down. Bob Yount and Ken Jones celebrate

Ken’s 90th birthday with a sight for soaring eyes.

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s KEN JONES!

By Marolyn Hatch, Villas

In our day, the advent of school’s opening was often associated with the late August county fair. In many

areas today this boisterous, noisy event still heralds the close of summer. To be sure, it is found more often outside of urban areas, but the Montgomery County Fair, for a while longer, brings this American experience literally to our back doors.

My own first adventure into the world of county fairs was less than an hour from New York City. The Morris County, New Jersey, fair was as foreign to me as it could be. My commuter community of Mountain Lakes didn’t even boast vegetable gardens let alone livestock. In the early 1950s Chef Boyardee spa-ghetti sauce and Chun King Chow Mien were considered exotic. Nothing prepared me for the county fair’s tents filled with rows of canned vegetables and fruits, cakes, pies, cookies or quilts

The Fairway today looks just as fun and old-fashioned as it did years ago.

Wistful Wilbur hogged the show.

Jean Young won a first place ribbon for her entry in art show. Yay Jean!Continued on page 15

Fair Field Full of Folk — a Play on Piers Plowman

This crazy-looking cock-a-doodle-doer was the star of the hen house.

2 September 2009 Village life

VILLAGELIFE

Editor

Linda Williams Aber

Director of Communications

Asbury Methodist Village

201 Russell Avenue

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

laber@asbury.org

General information: 301-330-3000

Resident Editors

Rod Mills, Mund, Copy Editor

and Reporter

Marilyn Gaut, Trott

Norma Barr, Diamond

Gladys Sillcox, Edwards-Fisher

Al Tholen, Park View

Homé Reitwiesner, Kindley

Resident Staff

Wallace: Keith Steele, Bob Bernero,

Mary Waldron and Mike Hua.

Diamond: Ed Caffery, Martin Moon,

Marshall Grotenhuis, Harry Lowery

and Edith Isacke

Edwards-Fisher: Joan Dunlop,

Rosemary Pasek, and a big hello to

the sunniest gal in Florida, Betty

Goen.

Mund: Gil Snyder and Judy Weaver

Trott: Jeanne North, Marjorie Brugger

and Hal Gaut

Park View: Duane McKenna

and Tom McIlrath.

Villas: Reg Westlake, Carol Dennis,

Mary Anstead, Bob Hoff, Bob Yount,

Dan Muller and Marolyn Hatch

Design/Layout:

Mina Rempe @ Electronic Ink

Printing:

Chesapeake Publishing Corp.

Village Life is published by Asbury Methodist Village

Communications Department

“The mission of Village Life is to provide timely, interesting and entertaining news about the lives, concerns and activities of the peo-ple who reside, work and volunteer at Asbury Methodist Village.”

Letter to the Editor

On Wednesday, October 28th, the Asbury Founda-

tion and Asbury Method-ist Village will welcome American political satirist and comedian, Mark Rus-sell.

For many years Mr. Rus-sell has appeared on the PBS television network in comedy specials, accom-panying himself on his trademark piano, skew-ering prominent politi-cal, and sometimes non-political, figures. He also appears frequently at Washington area venues such as Ford’s Theater.

Watch your campus mailbox in October for the official invitation and ticket order instructions! Please note that due to the tremendous popular-ity of Mark Russell and limited seating in our the-ater, tickets will necessar-ily be restricted for AMV residents only.

Asbury Methodist Vil-lage is sincerely grateful for the generosity of the James and Norma Jean Rosborough Founda-tion in underwriting the costs to present this very special performance.

—Asbury Foundation

I think we have a first class PSA in the making and you will all be very pleased with the finished product which will be posted in a couple of months on our website at www.ahaf.org.

My thanks go out to everyone involved. Every participant in the PSA has helped us spread the word about the devastating illness of Alzheimer’s disease, which I know you see firsthand at your facility.

Our mission is to fund the research that will find treatments and a cure for this disease as well as glaucoma and macular degenera-tion. These age-related diseases, I know, are major concerns for many of your residents. I am hopeful that the programs we are hosting at Asbury Methodist Village will provide information and encour-agement that people are working around the clock to address the

needs of our senior population and the diseases that affect their quality of life.

We are grateful for our new part-nership with Asbury Methodist Village.

Sincerely,Dawn Hatzer

Communications ManagerAmerican Health

Assistance Foundation

Rosborough Distinguished Speaker Series presents

MARK RUSSELL!

AIDAFriday, October 2, 2009

7:00 p.m.Rosborough Theatre

The Shuttle Bus will be running

Village life September 2009 3

An Invitation: Honoring the Life of Harold Lanman

Since his passing in December 2008, resident leaders in the Trott building have sought a way to memorialize the immeasurable con-tributions of their neighbor, Rev. Harold Lanman. In honor of all

he meant to the entire Asbury family, and with approval from the AMV Board of Governors and the Asbury Foundation Board of Directors, the parlor in the Trott building will be dedicated as the “Lanman Parlor” on October 9, 2009.

Known and loved by residents throughout Asbury Methodist Village, Harold Lanman was a strong but quiet presence for residents and associ-ates alike. In addition to his lifetime of service to the United Methodist Church, he served as Chairman of the Trott Council, chaired the Christ-mas Gift Fund for 18 years, and selflessly supported pastoral care and the Benevolent Care Fund for AMV.

Trott leadership and the Asbury Foundation cordially invite all residents to attend a reception in Parker Hall on October 9, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. - to share fond memories and celebrate the dedication of Lanman Parlor.

Asbury Guild’s Special Guest

State Senator Jennie Forehand will be the guest speaker at the celebration of the Asbury Guild

on Wednesday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. in the Guild Memorial Chapel. Asbury Guild president Mary R. Ebin-ger will preside at this event, which recognizes the energy and commit-ment of those who have contributed to the Guild’s activities. Norman and Cathy Heim will lead the music.

Jennie Forehand has been a fre-quent visitor at Asbury and is well known on our cam-pus. She is a fourth-term state senator and has been named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women three times by the Daily Record newspaper. She has received many other awards for her outstanding service in the state legislature. This past session, she was active in enacting legislation that strengthened both domestic violence laws and drunk driving laws. She has also, in the past ten years, helped to secure $1.5 billion in federal funding for Metro. It is always a pleasure to hear Senator Fore-hand’s informative talks and we look forward to hearing her speak on the topic, “Dreams and Hope.”

All residents of Asbury Village are invited to attend this joyful celebration, as well as members of the Guild. Please linger afterwards to enjoy the refreshments and visit with your friends.

I t’s not quite Christmas, but it is time to think about the Christmas Gift Fund.

Asbury Methodist Village has about 700 employees, all of whom work hard to make this a good place for us to call home. All of them appreciate a friendly “Thank you” from time to time. But, in addition, you may have thought it would be nice to give a more tangible expres-sion of “Thanks.”

At Asbury, it is a strict rule that no employee may accept any gift of money, or anything of monetary value, from a resident. BUT, there is one exception. At the request of the residents, in 1973 the Asbury Board approved the collec-tion by the residents of a Christmas Gift Fund for the employees. The only restriction made was that the distribution of the fund be done uniformly for all employees, who satisfied eligi-bility criteria to be developed by the residents.

The Christmas Gift Fund has been a tradition over the past 35 years. The time has come to carry on that tradition. Here we will answer some questions you may have.

1. Who gets a gift from the fund? Every employee whose pay is below a certain level gets a gift. That level is set, with the advice of Asbury management, so as to exclude those employees who are in a management position, or who supervise other employees.

2. How many employees get a gift? Of the total 700 employees, about 585 receive a gift. Of these, about 380 are full-time, and 205 are part-time.

3. What kinds of jobs do the recipients hold? The largest numbers are in the nursing departments (mostly the Wilson Center), dining services (wait staff, cooks, dish washers), and housekeeping. In addition, there are ground-skeepers, maintenance workers, transport driv-ers, security personnel, receptionists, laundry workers, and others, both seen and unseen.

4. How much does each recipient get? Every employee who is eligible, full time or part time, gets the same gift amount for every hour worked in the preceding twelve months. In 2008, that amount was about 13 cents per

hour. A full time employee thus received about $270.

5. How much should I give? This one you have to answer for yourself. Consider whatever amount will give you a warm feeling of having done your part in thanking our helpers, but which will also fit your budget. Recall that all Asbury employees recently took a 3.8% pay cut for the rest of the year.

6. How do I give? Any time before Novem-ber 15, make out a check to “CCAV” (the resi-dents’ coordinating committee), and give it to the Treasurer of your living unit:

Diamond: John Stedman, D 319Edwards-Fisher: Merritt Techter, E-F 205Kindley: Collection box at Reception DeskMund: Jim Porter, M 204Park View: George Gilbreath, PV 45Trott: Jim Lordeman, T 505Villas: Joan Muller, V 554Wallace: Jim Robertson, W 306Wilson: Barbara Rowe, Wilson Admin. Office

Christmas in September?

Senator Jennie Forehand

4 September 2009 Village life

By Mary Anstead, Villas

The 75 resident volunteers who contribute their ener-gies into promoting, select-

ing and facilitating the continuing education program for the residents of AMV are dedicated to providing informative, stimulating and enter-taining diversity in the 38 presenta-tions offered this Fall’s semester. In assembling the series of lectures, tours, and classes, five of the six dimensions of the HealthAbility wellness program are realized.

Some of the perennial favorite classes and seminars repeated this Fall are the Jefferson Café, eight classes in Exploring Watercolor, and Play Readings. For the 4-session Jef-ferson Café, thoughtful essays are read in advance and then discussed in class by the participants. An interesting aspect of the four play readings is that after rehearsing the readings, they are presented before an audience of walk-in residents.

A unique class offering this fall

will be the start of a survey of the five Great World Religions over the next 5 semesters. This semester attendees will watch 12 thirty-min-ute video lectures by a renowned expert on Judaism. Registrants will receive a 90-page guidebook con-taining detailed outlines of each lec-ture; some questions to consider as well as other background informa-tion. Each lecture will be followed by a 30-minute discussion period lead by knowledgeable facilitators.

The evening lectures and lecture/recitals held at 7:30 pm on Mondays in Hefner and Thursdays in Parker Hall (excluding Thanksgiving) can be categorized into six topic areas including domestic and internation-al issues, history, music and arts, the sciences and career memoirs. Two of the domestic issues include immi-gration policy and homelessness here in Montgomery County. The interactions of five groups of thir-teen Asian economies are discussed in one of the world issues. In addi-tion, a 3-person panel consisting of

a Christian, Muslim, and a Jew who live in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Tel Aviv will speak of their daily lives and efforts to work towards peace and reconciliation between Pales-tine and Israel. What about Global Warming, the Safety of our Food Supply or Nuclear Power? What’s it like to be a Secret Service Agent, a photographer for the National Press Club, or a journalist covering Wash-ington officialdom? How do the Salem Witches Trials, The Crucible and On the Waterfront illuminate the reasons for McCarthyism in the ’50s? What were Joseph Pulitzer and Anne Morrow Lindbergh really like? Is our economic future heading for a rendezvous with Austerity? What’s so important about lasers? Answers to these and other questions will be offered every Monday and Thursday evening if you are there!

The eight tours take the partici-pants to Pennsylvania, Virginia, DC, and Maryland to visit various muse-ums, historic mansions and estates, and the White House.

For those who prefer their con-tinuing education in the comfort of their homes, Keese School comes to AVTV. In 45-minute video lec-tures, Professor Robert Greenberg will present music and its history from ancient times to the 20th centu-ry. Each lecture will be shown two times on each of two days during the week. Watch for the September issue of the AVTV Program Guide for lecture titles and scheduled times.

Even though the deadline for pre-registering has passed, you can still come to the lectures each week by paying $2 at the door. Residents are also encouraged to assist the Keese School Curriculum Committees by describing lecture topics, speakers (perhaps your sons or daughters are available), courses, and tours you would like considered for future semesters. Your suggestions can be forwarded via a brief note to Dean Murray Schulman at Villa 588, calling X5546 or emailing him at m-mschulman@comcast.net

Keese School

The Keese to the Kingdom of Continuing Education

By Edith Isacke, Diamond

What to do with an empty room? Organize and act! In April 2008 someone

suggested that the former Joanna Davis office be turned into an exer-cise room and a memo was sent to AMV Administration with such a request. A follow-up to the idea was a resident survey that showed a strong interest in having a small “gym” in Park View. The “go-ahead” was given at the November Coun-cil meeting—the follow through being Park View’s responsibility!

With that challenge, a commit-tee, chaired by Janet Lingrell, was formed and quickly came up with ideas—what one didn’t think of, another one did! Let’s change the swing of the door, remove the closet doors for more usable space, remove the furniture, touch up the paint, install some railings, etc. The Wellness Department agreed to order and provide some small equipment to help get start-ed—weight rack, weights, stretch bands/tubes, stability ball, balance cushions and wall posters. Then, surprisingly, Trott donated a sta-

tionary bike from their crowded exercise space and a Park View resident/family donated an ellipti-cal machine, both of which were graciously moved by Asbury Main-tenance. A Lifeline was installed, a wall clock, mirror and fan were donated, and things were really “shaping up”.

When the committee discussed the possibility of purchasing one piece of new equipment for the room, the next question was “with the budget crunch, how can we do this?” With a little brainstorming, the committee decided to go for a Nu-Step and present a challenge to residents to donate funds. Forms

were put in all mailboxes with a two-week deadline.

A very generous donation kicked off the campaign to a great start and the support was overwhelm-ing, even surpassing the intended goal, which allowed the purchase of a wall-mounted TV and other miscellaneous items.

All donations were given from the heart and remain anonymous.The Nu-Step was delivered July 7 and the Wellness staff provided orienta-tion sessions. Hats off to the Park View residents for their generosity and support and to the Commit-tee members: Judy Bankson, Linda Bowles, Blanche Messerly, George Karras and Mike Skiba. Thanks also go to the cooperative Asbury Administration and Associates who had a part in this project.

Park View residents are enjoy-ing increasing their “Health Ability” right here at home any day, any time, regardless of the weather. Way to go Park View—where there’s a will there’s a way.

Photo: Janet Lingrell

Park View folks are where it’s at before it gets there when it comes to keeping up with exercise in their new “gym.”

Stepping Up At Park View

Village life September 2009 5

By Rod Mills, Mund

Mary Ishii, born and raised in Los Angeles and now a resident of the Mund Apartments, is a qui-

et-spoken lady not much given to volun-teering stories from her past. You would not guess that her life has been anything very far out of the ordinary. If you get her talking, however, you discover that in fact, as an adolescent and a young woman, her life was packed with drama. It is something I think you would like to hear about.

It all started after Mary, age 17, gradu-ated from high school in 1937. Her father, a Christian as were his children, and who had immigrated from Japan before Mary was born, was a nurseryman. He wanted to take his family to Japan for the sum-mer to visit relatives. As summer began, five of the family, including Mary’s young-er brother and little sister, set out for Japan. (An older brother, who had a good job, stayed behind.) The travelers took a Japanese ocean liner from L.A. across the Pacific, a 14-day voyage. The day before the ship was due to arrive at Yokohama, the great port for Tokyo, trauma envel-oped the family. Mary’s mother, who suf-fered from schizophrenia, had exhibited suicidal tendencies in the past. On the voyage, the family took precautions to prevent any tragedy, but these proved to be insufficient. Mary’s mother “disap-peared” from the ship and was never found. The family group arrived in Japan the next day with the wife and mother suddenly gone forever.

What had been planned as a summer visit turned into something quite dif-ferent. The return to the U.S. was post-poned for various reasons, including the prolonged Buddhist funeral traditions of her mother’s family, dwindling finances, and the disruption of passenger shipping services due to the start of Japan’s war with China. Mary’s younger brother was enrolled in a Japanese school but had dif-ficulty and greatly disliked it, so he was sent back to the U.S. on a special ship evacuating missionaries. Mary would have liked to go back also, but she had to stay with her father and help take care of her little sister, who was only about nine years old at that time. After some time in Japan her father, who by then had a good job as an interpreter/trans-lator, met and subsequently married a

Christian Japanese woman. Her new step-mother offered to pay for Mary to attend a very reputable institution in Tokyo, St. Luke’s College of Nursing, and in 1939 Mary was accepted there as a special student. Although not fluent in Japanese, she had studied it enough to be able to become proficient in it soon. Thus Mary embarked on a four-year course of study. By this time, any idea of returning to the United States had been put on indefinite hold.

The family could not know, of course, that the war clouds already gathering in the Far East would become a violent storm that would engulf them in the hor-

rors of all-out war. Japan had attacked China in 1937, setting in motion a mas-sive invasion of their neighbor. This act strained Japanese relations with the Unit-ed States, which a few years later were further frayed by Japan’s alliance with Nazi Germany. Mary was still enrolled in nursing school in Tokyo at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese press, tightly controlled by the govern-ment, gave the people no news for a long time that their country had gone to war with the United States.

Mary was able to finish nursing school and graduate after only 3-1/2 years, although the police carefully monitored her activities and those of her father and his family because of their former U.S. residence –Mary thinks of it as a kind of house arrest. After graduation she worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Tokyo, parent of the nursing school, and it was

around then that life in Tokyo began to be unpleasant and hazardous as the Unit-ed States stepped up the bombing of the Japanese capital. And for Mary there was another wrenching change. The Japanese Navy found out that her native language was English. Therefore they ordered her to join other speakers of English in Japan who had been rounded up and put to work at the Japanese Naval Intelligence Office in Tokyo, listening to U.S. and other English-language radio broadcasts and informing the Japanese government

Hints on Pronouncing Japanese

Afew years ago someone was talking with me about languages, and said “You know, Japanese is just like French.” My first reaction to that remark was to think the guy was really off his rocker. Then he explained that in

Japanese, as in French, each syllable of a word gets an equal amount of stress (or emphasis, or accent, however you want to call it). Thus, for example, Mary Ishii’s last name has the three syllables “I-shi-i”, each with the same amount of stress. Another hint is that in Japanese two vowels next to each other are each pronounced separately, they don’t make just one sound as do diphthongs in English such as ai, au, ea, ee, ei, eu, ie, oi, oo, or ou.

If Americans had known these things in 1945 we never would have had all that indecision and argument about how to say the name of the Japanese city where the first atomic bomb was dropped. It isn’t either ‘Hi-RO-shi-ma” or “Hi-ro-SHI-ma”, but “Hi-ro-shi-ma” with the same amount of emphasis everywhere.

“Sa-yo-na-ra” for now.—Rod Mills, Mund

An American Reflects on Spending World War II in Japan

Mary Ishii has a story to tell.

Continued on page 15

6 September 2009 Village life

Idle ThoughtsBy Reg Westlake, Villas

In this spot you shall find a variety of ponderings from a man who hails from the other side of the “pond.”

We’re glad he’s on this side of the pond now!

English as She is Spoke

Native-born English speakers should spare a thought now and again for those who are trying to learn to speak English. How do you learn a language where its pronunciation has no rules?

As an example, just think of the four words ‘cove’, ‘love’, ‘lost’ and ‘move’. All have the vowel ‘o’ as their second letter and each is pronounced dif-ferently. Three of them have the letter ‘e’ which is not pronounced at all. Then take ‘have’ and ‘wave’ with their different pronunciation. But pride of place — if it can be called that — is when it comes to words ending in ‘ough’, such as

boughcoughdoughroughthroughthoroughIt’s not only vowel sounds. Consonants can be irregular also, like the

‘g’ in ‘garden’ and ‘gentle’ or the ‘t’ in ‘talk’ and ‘motion’.Not that native born English speakers are always models for the stu-

dent to follow. Nowadays he is quite likely to hear “Well, you see, basi-cally I sort of ………….” Let us hope he does better than that.

By Rod Mills, Mund

Devin Brock, a young man with a lot of manage-rial experience already

packed into his 28 years, has become the new Executive Chef for the 400-meals-per-day Craw-ford Dining Room. He succeeded Chef Jay King at the end of July as Jay moved to a new job at a retirement community in Towson, Maryland.

Devin’s exposure to the art of feeding people well started very early in his life. In Binghamton, New York, where he spent his first 16 years, his mother and father owned and operated a fine dining, Ameri-can cuisine restaurant beginning when Devin was eight years old, a circumstance that helps to explain his choice of a career. After seven years the restaurant had to close as hard times came to Binghamton in the wake of massive layoffs at the IBM facilities there. The family moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where Devin finished school, the last two years being at Notre Dame Acad-emy in Middleburg, Virginia.

For someone aiming for a career in food services, Devin’s choice of a college was ideal. He spent a little over four years, and earned a bachelor’s degree, at Johnson and Wales University, which along with the Culinary Institute of America is one of the two leading U.S. colleg-es specializing in food preparation and management. His time at John-son and Wales was divided about equally between their two campus-es, one in Providence, Rhode Island,

and the other in Denver, Colorado.Devin’s managerial experience

began not long after his college graduation in 2004. Following three months cooking at a resort in Tuc-son, Arizona, he returned to Virgin-ia to manage the Bonefish Grill in Centerville, a job that also required him to fill in when needed in the kitchen or at the bar.

It was while managing this res-taurant that Devin began to think that a career with Sodexo might be something he would like to do, so he investigated and ended up join-ing Sodexo in February of 2006. He was stationed at three places before coming to Asbury. He first had a position at Fairfax Inova Hospital in Fairfax, where he was a man-ager overseeing food services for the patients as well as a program to improve the hospitality aspect of patients’ care. After 14 months Devin moved on to the Mercer University Memorial Medical Cen-ter in Savannah, Georgia, where he first filled a post similar to the one at Fairfax Inova but, after a while, was shifted to become the chef in charge of catering functions and the doctors’ lounge. He also filled in for three months as an interim Executive Chef at Asbury Inverness Village in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Devin is still a bachelor and liv-ing in Fairfax. He is an avocational auto mechanic who lives to tinker with his car, and is also an enthu-siastic player of volleyball and of inline (i.e., roller-blade) hockey in nearby Chantilly. Despite the latter activity he still has all his teeth.

By Dan Muller, Villas

For the last year of so, as a volunteer for Gaithersburg HELP, I’ve been driving people to medical appointments, including many from Asbury. The routine is that I pick the

patients up at their home, drive them to their doctor’s office, wait for them usually for hour or so in the waiting room, and finally drive them home. As a result of this time spent in wait-ing rooms, I’ve become a connoisseur of doctor’s waiting room reading material, almost always magazines.It amuses me when I select a news magazine and find it’s dated

something like three months earlier. Does anyone check the supply of magazines? There are often sports magazines that

cover all of the popular sports — but not croquet, and there are plenty of women’s magazines. I find their subject mat-

ter usually embarrasses me.Recently I hit the jackpot of unexpected waiting

room magazines. First, to set the stage, I was in the waiting room of a cardiologist. Cardiologists gener-ally treat patients like us, middle-aged or older. The

supply of reading material was a basket of about 25 magazines. I looked through them and found the usual collection of news and some sports magazines, but also I found a grand total of 11 magazines dealing with pregnancy, all of them in essentially new

condition. Who in the world in a cardiolo-gist’s office would want to read a magazine

dealing with pregnancy? I was really curious about why those particular magazines were there.

I was at a loss on what to think about this. Is it pos-sible that pregnancy causes heart problems, or is there

some other explanation? Guys, do you have any ideas?

It’s A Guy Thing

Photo: Hal Gaut

Devin Brock meets the residents he will serve.

Devin Brock Takes the Reins As Crawford D.R. Executive Chef

Village life September 2009 7

CARING FOR YOURSELFWEAR your Lifeline pendant/bracelet at all times

while in your apartment.

What You Can Do to Improve Your Own Health Care

Research shows patients who have good relationships with their doctors are more satisfied with their care. Here are some tips to help you and your doctor become partners in improving your health care.

ASK QUESTIONS!n If you don’t, your doctor may think you understand everything

that was said.n Try to limit questions to no more than three or four at a

routine office visit.n Take notes or bring a tape recorder (ask first!).n If you wish, bring someone with you to help you ask

questions.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICATIONS?n Your pharmacist is the best source of information about the

drugs prescribed for you. It is best to use the same pharmacy for all your medications.

n Tell your pharmacist which OTC (Over the Counter) and complementary medications you take.

n Information sheets will be provided. Ask questions about any-thing in them you don’t understand.

n Inspect each medication at the pharmacy each time you have it filled. If there is a change in the appearance of the medication, ask the pharmacist to explain the change.

n Be sure you understand the special instructions for taking each medication.

BECOME KNOWLEDGEABLEMany Internet sites have good suggestions for how you can provide

information your doctor needs for the best possible care. Learning more about your personal health is much easier with the new www.amvresidents.org/medical Internet search tool. It provides easy access to 13 reliable, easy to use, frequently updated sites, many of which are designed specifically for use by seniors.

HOW TO USE AMVRESIDENTS.ORG/MEDICALn Open your web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox.n Type into the address bar www.amvresidents.org/medicaln Press [enter].n Click on “Senior Friendly Links”.n Click on your choice of “NIH Senior Health”, “Medline (NIH &

NLM)”, or “Healthfinder (U.S. HHS)”. Several of these sites allow easy magnification of text for easier reading.

n Look up the disease or condition in question, e.g. in NIH Senior Health click on “Site Index” for a list. “Talking With Your Doctor” is on that list.

n If you wish to print the information, locate and click on the “printer friendly version.”

n Print the document.n Click on the browser back arrow ◄ repeatedly until you have

returned to the amvresidents.org/medical home page.n If you wish, choose “Drug and Drug Safety Links”, “Other Use-

ful Links”, or “Professional Links” for further information in these sub-ject areas.

n Always use the browser back arrow◄ to back up to the amvresi-dents.org/medical home page before starting a search at a different location. This will assure that you will be unlikely to get “lost” during your search. If there is a problem, you can always type www.amvresi-dents.org/medical in the address bar to get back to the starting posi-tion.

Dr. Bob Hartman, retired Family Physician and Geriatrics Specialist

Ask Dr. Bob

Getting away for summer adventures is good for the body and good for the soul,

right? Well, most of the time. Sum-mer adventures can be surprising, exciting, satisfying, tiring, annoying, even exhausting (when it comes to a bad cold that hangs on and on and on).

At The Prairie Club’s Camp Hazel-hurst, summer adventures bring physical challenges and mental stimulation, all part of the routine necessary to stay fit and healthy.

Just getting to the beach is a major challenge, especially after a fall on the boardwalk left me with a big bump on the head. The bump is long gone, the fear of falling is not. Walking is the best option for fitness, they tell me. I prefer to do it on level ground if you please!

While there is no Fitness Center close at hand, I can testify that as a reborn homemaker the options for exercise are many: stripping and changing bed linens takes strength and some agility as well: lift that mattress, tug that sheet, fold those towels, climb upstairs to stow them.

You get the picture.Kitchen duty also calls muscles

into action: reach high to put away those heavy mixing bowls! Bend low to find the proper pan in the cupboard; bend even lower to put a new liner in the cupboard and clean out the floor of the oven. Stand forever in the kitchen, chop-ping, slicing, dicing, and stirring. Fix dinner, serve it, put away leftovers: it’s a never-ending dance, all along, prod, prod, prod, to get the boys to do their share.

But even more than physical challenges are the mental ones, keeping track of all the chores to be done. Not only that, but remem-bering names. Now who was that young woman who came by last evening to return a book she bor-rowed last year? Clearly, I was sup-posed to know her.

Adventures lay in wait all sum-mer long, waiting to spring out at me:

n Making fires and fighting the mosquitoes: Two chilly weeks in June meant endless trips to the

&HealthWellness

By Jeanne North, Trott

Summer Adventures

Photo: Dale Martin

Randy and Rich are all set for their big adven-ture. Continued on page 14

8 September 2009 Village life Village life September 2009 9

By Marolyn Hatch, Villas

Who among us doesn’t look forward to visits from our grandchildren?

These short trips are just right for catching up on their busy lives, learning what’s new in today’s cul-ture and appreciating how much more fun it is to have these vis-its than to have to be the calen-dar keeper, chauffeur, homework checker, and super-size-me meal preparer 24/7.

But who among us hasn’t also had a twinge of nervousness wonder-ing how to keep these enthusiastic,

worldly young people entertained during their visits? Sure, there are superb local parks to run off their immeasurable energy. There is the challenging, 18-hole miniature golf game and pool at Bohrer Park. But these excursions also take a lot of energy from us, and our rebound time is much longer than that of these precocious youngsters.

Well, within sight of our Village, we have an adventure worth taking our grandchildren to. The H Mart, an ethnic Korean supermarket, is located in the former Safeway building across the street. Walk-

ing into its doors is walking into a visual, gustatory, cross-cultural and multi-lingual adventure that will appeal to toddler and teen, as well as to anyone with taste buds crying for a change.

On a recent visit of my five grand-children, ages 12-15, we journeyed to the H Mart for a spirited visit. To make the trip more focused, the kids were paired and given imaginary budgets of $30 and the task to come up with an economi-cal, taste-expanding dinner menu for four. While the store happily

will provide any shopper with a guide, the rules of this game were that the “grand-shoppers” were to ask other shoppers if they needed help locating something and only rely on store support in a pinch. This actually resulted in delightful exchanges among older and young-er generations.

As a little background, there is a smaller, broader international sec-tion with Middle Eastern and Goya Latin American prepared selections that appealed to the older teens

who had studied Spanish, prepared and eaten Mexican food. But even they were drawn back to the wide selection of fresh produce includ-ing mangos, chilies, tomatillos, plan-tains as well as peaches, oranges and apples. Bundles of bright red globe radishes competed for our attention with small, light purple egg plants.

Of course, as with any supermar-ket one can find milk, eggs, shrink-wrapped meats, Grey Poupon mus-tard next to Hunts Ketchup and other daily necessities. But the hit

of the hour was the sea-food section. Displays of fresh shrimp, octopus, squid, salmon, tuna, hali-but and other reasonably priced seafood became the focus of their menus. Aquariums of whole fish, crabs, and lobsters peered out at us in equal wonder to ours.

The younger grand-son’s suggestion of skew-ering baby octopus and squid in ascending size for a barbeque brought

the expected reaction from his female cousins, but certainly won the prize for creativity. And who knows what gourmet chef may have overheard the sensation the idea caused.

So the next time you are in a bind, wondering what new adven-ture you can bring to your grand-children, or children for that mat-ter, cross the street not the world and visit the H Mart. And why wait for the visit; treat yourself to a new world of food.

Leona Bachrach, VillasAward-winning Needlepoint

John Villforth, Park ViewHal Gaut, Trott

Travel Photos of Germany and Holland

The Rosborough Cultur-al Arts and Wellness Center

is home to an ever-changing gallery of arts and handiwork

created by our residents. Stop by and see what’s new.

With 12 display cases to look at, there’s something for

everyone to enjoy. Here’s this month’s sampling of art.

This Month in the Gallery

By Bob Yount, Villas

For a couple of sisters to get together wouldn’t usu-ally be news, but when Anne Toye and Georgine Rodgers meet, it is news. Georgine’s 100th birthday

was on the sixth of July and her wish was to visit her sister Anne who lives here at Asbury. Anne celebrated her 105th birthday on June 17th of this year. Anne’s daughter June Watts and Georgine’s daughter, Ann Polanski, worked it out so the sisters could get together. Georgine used to live in Bethesda but now resides in Wilmington, North Carolina.

This was not a meeting of a couple of doddering old ladies; both of them are sharp-witted and full of good humor. The distance between them is only geographic as they usually talk to each other every day. Anne was a teacher and Georgine was a social worker in times past, and each enjoyed the other’s stories of times gone by. Both are looking forward to next year’s get-together, as are their family and friends.

By Mary Anstead, Villas

I’m a Green Bein’ and I planted my green beans in a flower planter, no less. The plants have given us at least three meals and are still blossoming.

Giving thanks for a relatively cool summer, we Green Beins still have to watch that thermostat as Indian sum-mer comes. Gentlemen remove your jackets; ladies keep out those light short-sleeved summery blouses; and set the air conditioning up a degree or two.

When you hear the whistle of that coal train headed for the coal-fired electric plants in DC, think: can I save my environment by raising that thermostat? When you take a drive out toward Dickerson and see the burned trash electric facility, think: have I separated my recyclables from the trash? The power of the water falling from the lip of a dam is a reminder of our partnership with God to harness His beautiful water for electric power. Let’s not waste that electric power. Climbing the steep ridges

of West Virginia, rejoice not only in those wild, wonderful mountains, but appreciate those ridges hoisting gigantic windmills. The power generated feeds our over-hungry electric needs.

CAN WE CONSERVE?

Istarted working part time as a teenager in a local drug store; first as a delivery

boy, then as a fountain man. As soon as I got smart enough to calculate that I was only get-ting sixteen and a half cents an hour I took a job with Western Union delivering telegrams for twenty-five cents an hour. The office I worked out of was in the wholesale grocer’s area and tips weren’t very good.

In a few months I got a job with B. T. Crump (they are still in business in Richmond) for fifty cents an hour. I worked after school and sometimes on Saturday if I was fortunate. I saved my money and used it to learn to fly in J3 Piper Cubs. The plane, with fuel, was $6 an hour and the instructor was another $3 an hour. I also worked at the airport doping (painting) wings and operating a motor grader to extend the runway. I’d do anything for flying time. I had a pilot’s license before I knew how to drive a car.

After marriage I got fed up with the

Government “buocracy” (that’s cre-ative and spell checker doesn’t know the word) and took several jobs involved with sports cars, in which I had an avid interest. I wasn’t getting rich but I moved up and eventually was managing Manhattan Autos Fair-fax Branch in VA. I always had inter-esting cars to drive home. One day a brand-new Porsche Carrera, the first in the country, arrived and Manhat-tan was going to race the car, but it

needed some mileage on it, so I drove it home.

That evening I thought it would be nice to take a buddy for a ride and went to his house to pick him up. His wife, Bobbie, answered the door in a house-coat and said he wasn’t there, but she’d love a ride. Off we went on a cold winter night. The Porsche is a rear engine car and has a high polar moment of inertia. That means that if the back end got loose, it was gone and you spun out. It was a clear dry evening but somehow there was ice in the middle of a turn and the next thing I knew the

back end was trying to pass the front end.

Now my mind is asking how am I going to explain crashing a very expensive car carrying my friend’s wife in a housecoat? I don’t think I ever worked as hard at driving as I did at that moment.

I did straighten the car out and then drove back to Bobbie’s house in a very sedate manner.

Mac and Zil

Wasted on the YoungBy Bob Yount, Villas

A World of Foods at Asbury’s Doorstep

Photos: Marolyn Hatch

Sensory overload when you shop at the Korean market.

Fruits and vegetables look enticing at the H Market.

Fish couldn’t get any fresher than this!

Georgine Rodgers and Anne Toye, sisters who celebrated birthdays together.

205 Years of Living

JOBS

Green Beins

Mary’s green thumb produces plenty of green beans.

10 September 2009 Village life

Chit ChatterFrom the AMV Historical Society

YIELD TO ALL IN CROSSWALKS

THEY MIGHT BE FRIENDS!

Ihope that many of our residents came out to watch the71st Labor Day Parade. The Gaithersburg Labor Day Parade is one the City’s oldest traditions. The Gaithersburg Fire Department established a

rescue squad in 1938 and that year they hosted traditional fundraising events such as dinners and dances and a Labor Day Parade. Early parades included a band competition, carnival booths and a dance. Eventually the carnival and dance aspects ceased to be a profitable way for the depart-ment to earn money, but the volunteers did continue to sponsor the Labor Day parade until 1977, when a citizen’s committee undertook the task of organizing the end-of-summer festivity. The event is now coordi-nated by the City of Gaithersburg Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, with continued support of the Gaithersburg-Washington Grove Fire Department. It has been held every year except 1942 when it was cancelled due to the war.

Originally the parade did not come down Russell Ave. Before the roads were changed with the bridge going over Diamond Ave. the parade continued down Diamond and turned right onto Frederick Ave. (rt.355). Then it turned left on Chestnut and on down to the fairgrounds for the events listed above. The youth group at Grace Methodist Church would set up chairs on the church lawn for the Asbury Family (residents). I have been told that all the fire trucks and the ambulance were white in color instead of the usual red. The other fire departments in the County called it the “Good Humor Fire Department.” On one occasion when the white Cadillac ambulance arrived at the fair grounds the volunteers in the ambulance, all dressed in white jumped out of the ambulance and began distributing Good Humors.

The Asbury Democratic Club has on a number of occasions participat-ed in the parade as has Ken Jones with his antique automobile. We won-der why Asbury Methodist Village has not officially participated. It sounds like a good opportunity for advertisement and good public relations.

By Marjorie Mills, Mund

The AMV Historical Society is again partnering with the Gaithersburg Community

Museum to present a quilt show. It will be held Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, and will again be in the Rosborough Community Rooms. A total of 26 quilts will be on display. They include quilts from the Gaithers-burg Community Museum, heir-loom quilts from families of current Asbury Village residents, and con-temporary quilts, some of which were made by Judy Bankson, Park View; Sally Gilbert, Edwards-Fisher; and Marjorie Mills, Mund. There will also be a display of items from the AMV Historical Society’s col-lection. Of special interest will be demonstrations of quilting tech-niques by Anne Connery, Edwards-Fisher; Judy Bankson; and Lauren Kingsland, daughter of Ruthie Swain, Mund.

Rosemary Clark, an antique quilt restorer and owner of RC Dream Quilts, will conduct quilt appraisals at the show on Friday only, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents can sched-ule a written appraisal, which will cost $45.00 and which can be used for insurance purposes, fair-market

value determination, or to value donations. Rosemary will also be available for a quilt review, which will cost $15.00, and which will consist of a thorough examination of the quilt plus commentary on its characteristics. If you would like either a written appraisal or a review, please contact Genevieve Steele at 301-987-6628 or esteele480@earth-link.net in advance so that she can inform Rosemary before the show.

The show hours will be as fol-lows: Friday, October 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m.-5 p.m; and Sunday, October 11, noon-4 p.m.

Peek the PACsatBy Al Tholen, Park View

KEEP PEEKING, The PACS WILL BE BACK IN OCTOBER

Marshall and Marilynn Grotenhuis Make History

On July 6, 2009, Mayor Sidney Katz presented Marshall and Mari-lynn Grotenhuis with a Certificate of Appreciation thanking them for their generous donation to the community museum from the

“Marshall and Marilynn Grotenhuis Fund for local history education” for the 2009 Living History Day program. And in recognition of their on-going service to the City of Gaithersburg and its citizens in their

work in historic preservation and local history education.

The Quilt Show is Coming!

Village life September 2009 11

One of the hardest things I have found to adjust to since I came to AMV

in August 2005 is the relative lateness that group meetings such as PAC, CCAV and Build-ing Council meetings start. For most of my life I’ve been used to starting the day early and being as early as possible for sched-uled events. Some might say I am obsessed with time; I know both my sons are quite aware that I always want to be on time and prefer that things start as early in the day as reasonable.

Reflecting back, I think I first became aware of time while grow-ing up because when my Father

got home from work at 4:30 PM after working the day shift he expected dinner so that he could get as much done around the house, later, as possible. Through out my years at home, if one were going anywhere with him, one better be ready several minutes before the stated departure time or you could well be left behind.

While attending grammar school we were not allowed to enter the school until the cus-todian opened the doors in the morning and after lunch; there were few times when I wasn’t at the doors waiting so I wouldn’t have to make that dreaded trip to the principal’s office if I were late. In Junior High and High School we were allowed to

enter upon arrival.Upon entering Penn State,

I preferred, when possible, to schedule my classes as early as I could; the constraint was that I was enrolled in a new program of study in electrical engineering and since there were several hun-dred other students in the pro-gram, many sections of the same course had to be offered. These course sections were set up so that a person’s last name deter-mined when one was expected to take the course and without a very good reason, one adhered

to the predetermined schedule.As I entered my chosen pro-

fession, I found no problem in being to work on time and was mostly several minutes early. Most times that I was late were planned because of early medi-cal appointments.

After September 11, 2001, I had no problem adjusting to the early arrival required at airports

for security checks. I had always tried to be at least an hour early for a flight prior to 9/11, so the 90-minute to two-hour recom-mended arrival time was easy for me to adjust to.

If I could adjust my morning rising time to something other than 5:00 to 6:00 am, I just might fit in a little better here at AMV.

Grins and GrimacesBy Gil Snyder, Mund

TIME

By Al Tholen, Park View

James Clemons, of Diamond, will receive the

Brumley Award for Religious Education from Hendrix Col-lege, on October 19th, 2009. Hendrix College recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the best undergraduate insti-tutions in the Coun-try, is located about 30 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas. The award is presented annually to recognize alumni distinguished for contributions to religious educa-tion and social awareness.

The announcement of the award refers to some of the many note-worthy activities of Jim throughout the years. He completed his theo-logical studies at Southern Meth-odist University and received his Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Studies from Duke. After ordina-tion as a United Methodist minister Jim served churches in Texas and

Arkansas, was Chap-lain and Assistant Pro-fessor of Religion at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and was on the facul-ty of Wesley Theolog-ical Seminary here in Washington D.C. for 28 years.

Throughout much of this time, Jim was becoming a nation-ally recognized lead-er in the Civil Rights struggle, and his book Crisis of Conscience: Arkansas Methodists

and the Civil Rights Struggle was published in 2007 (Note: a review of this book by Jim was printed in the July, 2007 issue of Village Life). During the last 25 years, he has become recognized for his exten-sive research on suicide includ-ing the writing of 4 books on the subject. In 1997, he founded the Organization for Attempters and Survivors of Suicide in Interfaith Services, and served as its President until 2006.

A young man died while traveling with his parents in Europe in 1884 and his

grieving parents vowed to do some-thing to memorialize him. Shortly after the funeral, they met with Charles Eliot, the president of Har-vard University. He knew nothing of this plainly dressed couple before him and, impatient with their inter-ruption of his busy schedule, Eliot asked if they wished to establish a scholarship in their son’s name.

No, they were thinking of some-thing a bit more substantial… like a new building the mother said. It is recorded that Eliot told her, in a rather patronizing way, that build-ings cost a great deal of money. The mother asked, “What have all the buildings at Harvard University cost?” and she was told the cost was several million dollars.

“I don’t think Harvard is the proper fit for our son’s memorial,” the mother said as she got to her feet. “Thank you for your time. You have given me a wonderful idea.”

The following year Charles Eliot learned that the couple contrib-uted $26 million for a new univer-sity named after there son, Leland Stanford Jr.

Martha A. Brown, Director of Pastoral Care

Inspiration Point

Higher Learning

James Clemons is a winner!

James Clemons To Be Honored

12 September 2009 Village life

By Hugh Andrew, Trott

An article came across my desk a few days ago about a little town in Czechoslovakia named Brux, and it

brought back memories. We went to that town one time in the summer of 1944 to bomb a synthetic oil plant.

It started out like any other mission. Someone wakens you at 4:00 a.m., and he can tell you the gas load and the bomb load but not the target. If there is a full gas load and full bomb load, you know you are going a long way, but you don’t know where. You get up and go to the mess hall for breakfast and then to the briefing room. There is a map on the wall hidden by a cur-tain. After everyone is seated and quieted down, the briefing officer pulls aside the curtain, and you see the map of Europe. On it is the route and the target location. We are going all the way across Germany to Czechoslovakia. (There is a loud groan when you see this).

After the briefing is completed, we go to our planes and do our pre-flight checks. By the way, the pilot for this mission is a pilot from the 551st Bomb Squadron who is fly-ing his last mission. The reason he is flying our plane is because our original pilot, Wes Brashear, who had been with the crew ever since it was formed, had been pulled off our crew to go lead crew training.

We take off, get in formation, and start climbing. As we cross the English Chan-nel and approach the coast of Europe at 15,000 feet, our number 4 engine starts to miss. We try enriching the mixture and switching gas tanks, but nothing seems to help. The higher the elevation, the engine gets progres-sively rougher, and we can’t do much about it but take what we can get out of it and keep going.

We finally get to bomb-ing altitude and are basi-cally of 3-1/2 engines, which will keep us in for-mation. We certainly don’t want to drop out of for-mation deep inside Ger-many. During the bomb run, we encounter some flak. After the bombs are released, just as we are turning away from the tar-get – Boom! The number 3 propeller runs away, and the RPM is out of control.

We try to feather, but it

won’t feather. We are concerned that it will go completely out of control, freeze up and possibly pull the engine right off the wing. We can’t stay in formation because we can’t maintain 150 mph, so we pull out of formation, but we don’t break radio silence since any transmissions we make to the group leader could be picked up by a Ger-man radio station on the ground and let the

Luftwaffe know there is a cripple up there that cannot stay with its group.

We turn back to the west and gradu-ally lose altitude. We discover that if we fly the plane at no mare than 110 mph, we can keep that prop stationary. Over 110 mph, if starts to run away. In the meantime, number 4 is barely running. We have two engines, one engine running only a third of the time, and one totally stopped. We are gradually losing altitude because we can’t maintain our altitude at 110 mph. We hope to possibly get to a part of Belgium that the Allies have reached. This is in late August or early September, 1944.

This particular day over Europe is one beautiful day. There isn’t a cloud in the sky anywhere, high or low. Soon all of the planes in our group and the other groups are gone, and there we are, letting down slowly. We can see a hundred miles in every direction, and every German can see us. There is no place to hide, and we figure we are sitting ducks. However, as we go down in altitude, there is a reverse effect on engine 4, which starts to run better. We begin to think we can stretch out our flight and possibly get to the English Channel, where we might ditch. During this time by ourselves, a lone P51 comes up beside us and flies escort for about a half-hour. For that P51 to fly at 110 mph, he had to put down his flaps and pull back his power to barely above stalling speed. After a half-hour, he waves to us, indicating that he is getting low on gas and must leave to head

for England.At 3000-4000 feet, we

now can hold our alti-tude, and we keep going. It seems we might make it back, but we still don’t call anything in. We just keep going. We finally get back to Great Ashfield and the 385th Bomb Group, make our landing and park. I can tell you that the pilot who flew his last mission with us was one happy fellow, as we all were!

We never did find out what happened to the number 4 engine, but we did find out what caused the number 3 engine to run away. A small piece of flak cut a ¼ inch hydraulic line which took hydrau-lic fluid to the propeller feathering system, making it impossible to feather.

Mission to Brux

Photo: Hal Gaut

Hugh Andrew enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941. During WWII, he was a

member of the 8th Air Force and flew 35 missions over Germany and other parts of Europe. He has many great stories to tell.

Photo: Army Air Corps Library and Museum

Mission # 98 on 8-25-44 was designed to destroy the Kurim aircraft fac-tory at Brux, Czechoslovakia, an important factory complex.

Village life September 2009 13

Welcome New Residents

Mr. Ed Crockett Diamond 308, x5636

Ed moved from Rockville to Asbury Village on June 9, 2009. After repeated visits to ten retirement communities he seriously consid-ered three. Asbury gained in attractiveness with each successive visit and became compelling because of the campus configuration, friendly residents, and variety of activities.

Ed was born in Wytheville, Virginia, but moved to California before age 5. He attended the Uni-versity of Nevada on an athletic scholarship and the University of California in Berkeley. He received a BS degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point and an MA in psy-chology from Vanderbilt University.

Career highlights cover two careers: 26 years with the U.S. Army (Branch of Armor). He served in Panama, Germany, France; Korean & Vietnam wars; and 7 years in the Pentagon. His second career was spent with the American Petroleum Institute for 15 years as a senior scientist.

Ed’s wife died in November 2007. He has six grandchildren and four children: Kathryn is an attorney in Topsfield, Massachusetts; Brian is the Chief Operating Officer of an Insurance Co., Columbia, Maryland; Julia is a homemaker in Carver, Massachusetts; and Ronald, of Burtons-ville, Maryland, is a paralegal with a Rockville law firm. Ed’s hobbies and interests include 20th Century photography, rare coins, antique resto-ration, travel and exercise.

Upon first meeting residents at Asbury, Ed is frequently asked if he is related to Davey Crockett. Ed’s usual response, “Yes, distantly.” The original Crockett immigrants to America (circa 1716) were brothers James and Joseph. Ed descends from James while Joseph is Davey Crockett’s forebearer.

—Edith Isacke, Reporter

Continued on next page

Dick and Pat Gray Villa 506, x6257

Richard (Dick) and Patricia (Pat) Gray are both Down Easters who grew up in Maine and attended the University of Maine, Dick with a degree in Engineering Physics and Pat with a degree in Sociology. They moved to the Washington area in1969 and lived for 40 years in North Poto-mac. Post WWII, Dick served two years in Army Ordnance with duty at Aberdeen Proving Ground and in Okinawa, Japan.

Dick retired from IBM as a Senior Engineering Program Manager after 40 years with the Company. Pat taught Special Education in the Montgomery County school system for10 years.

The Grays knew a number of people liv-ing in Asbury prior to their moving here on June 5, 1009. Their original objective was a Courtyard home, but due to circumstances, they have settled happily in Villa 506

They have three children, a son in Oceans-ide, N.Y., a son in Austin, Tex, and a daughter in Lansdale, Pa. There are five grand-children, and two great grand-children with another

on her way.Both Dick and Pat are former runners who

have run marathons in the U.S., Canada, Ire-land, and New Zealand. Their current inter-ests are reading and participating in the Meals on Wheels program. They are mem-bers of Grace United Methodist Church

After completing their “settling in,” they expect to participate in selected Asbury activities and programs.

—Bob Hoff, Reporter

Photo: Dan Muller

Pauline and David Conley

Edwards-Fisher 712, X5273Considering a move in Gaithers-

burg’s torrid summertime might make even Gershwin think twice about calling “livin’ easy”, but it didn’t faze the Conleys. David and Pauline, Polly as she prefers to be called, moved into Edwards-Fisher Apartment 712 on August 3, 2009.

Polly was born in Cumberland, Maryland and holds a BS in educa-tion from Frostburg State University. Orma, West Virginia is David’s birth-place and West Virginia University credited him with a BS in chemis-try. Polly was an English teacher for many years while David did research for Borg Warner and Owens Corning fiberglass. His career included marketing and sales with Celanese and Allied Signal.

Music is of great interest to Polly and she has been an active choir member and bell ringer. She enjoys a good game of cards, especially bridge or canasta. David plays golf and relaxes by fishing and occasionally hunting. Polly’s volunteer work was church-centered, but she also found time for the Women’s Club. Church was the focal point for David’s volunteer work, but he was also

active in Kiwanis and the Special Olympics.The Conleys will celebrate their 50th wed-

ding anniversary in the fall with the aid of two daughters and two grand-daughters. Asbury Methodist Village has been home to David’s mother for twenty-seven years so they have had plenty of time to get to know the Asbury way of life. Its location, closer to family, was also a big deciding factor in Polly and David’s decision to select Asbury as their retirement home. We are delighted to wel-come them to our Edwards-Fisher family.

—Joan Dunlop, Reporter

Photo: Rosemary Pasek

14 September 2009 Village life

Welcome New Residents

woodpile for logs to feed the non-stop fires in our beautiful stone fire-place. Lots of rain also brought out the mosquito assault. My solution: a beekeeper hat, bug spray and move as fast as I could.

n Hot water heater hassles: cold water from faucets meant two trips from the electrician to install a new element and new thermostat.

n Toilet troubles: Quick, call a plumber! Of course, I chose the one whose ad in the phone book says “Discount for seniors,” who came and snaked the offending instrument, then had to come back a second day to perform his magic ritual again.

n Rides on Randy’s 16-foot Hobie catamaran, known for its breathtaking speed over the waves; you have to be prepared to launch standing knee deep in the lake (water in August is nice and warm) before scrambling quickly onto the trampoline of the craft; your rewards: a damp bottom and invigo-rating spray in your face, then after

the ride, helping hands from several sailors impressed that an octogenar-ian can still ride a Hobie;

n Feeding the mob: Lots of company means lots of food. Michi-gan blueberries, peaches and sweet corn all summer long. Nothing can compare.

n Preparing for the Big Trip: like his uncle and father, Willem for years nurtured a dream of sailing up the west coast of Lake Michi-gan, hopefully reaching Mackinac, an island in the straits connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, in the seven days allotted for the trip. He and his sailing companion/First Mate Richie Spurgin presumably will sail mostly by day and camp on the beach by night, and if all goes well, be picked up by Richie’s father, who will trailer boat and sail-ors back to Hazelhurst. The ultimate adventure for two 22-year olds.

What is a grandmother’s role in all this? To welcome family and friends to the cottage, then stand aside, watch, repress worry, be thankful for family, wish for more inclusion in their lives. but accept what is given, and simply let them go.

ADVENTURESContinued from page 7

Rhoda Ginther Edwards-Fisher

514, X5814Rhoda Ginther moved into apart-

ment 514 in the Edwards-Fisher Building in February of 2009 and while the weather has changed a bit since then, the warm feel-ing of welcome exhibited by her new friends and neighbors hasn’t changed a bit. Born in Connecti-cut, Rhoda holds a B.S. in Business Administration and was employed by a community college as man-ager of the accounting department. She also taught part time at a busi-ness school.

A member of the Connecticut Audubon Society, Rhoda was an active participant for many years,

so local bird watchers please take note. A dedicated traveler, she has attended thirteen Elderhostel pro-grams in western Maryland, Virgin-ia, West Virginia and Kentucky. She has been a volunteer in the Pediat-ric Department of a hospital and was very active in church work serving in numerous capacities to suit the congregational need.

Rhoda was introduced to Appala-chian culture and to old time music which is so rich a part of it. This led her to discovering the moun-tain dulcimer which she learned to play. Rhoda attended numer-ous music festivals in the Appala-chian Territory and played with the Mountaineer Dulcimer Club and with the Folk Time Strummers in workshops, retirement centers and nursing homes.

With her grass roots musical background, Rhoda is sure to add a happy note to the Asbury Campus in general and her Edwards-Fisher companions in particular.

—Joan Dunlop, Reporter

(Camera-Shy)

As an interviewer of new res-idents, my goal is to establish a comfort level with those who have recently moved in. This often means waiting as the last boxes are unpacked and adjustments to a life with a different pace have been made. The process usually involves several phone calls over a period of weeks to gently nudge my pros-pect into a receptive frame of mind as the moving stress and tension subsides so that the interview pro-

cess can go forward. Betty M. Smith who moved into Edwards-Fisher Apartment 306 on July 17, 2009 did not follow this pattern at all. She surprised me by suggesting that we start chatting imme-diately and she completed her information sheet in just a few hours.

Bettye was born in Phila-delphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from high school there. A widow, she has one son, a granddaughter and two great-grandsons. Her grand-daughter’s business serves the Gaithersburg area and it was through several clients who are happy Asbury resi-dents that Bettye became attracted to our retirement complex.

Although she has a Meth-odist heritage, Bettye plans to join the Presbyterian church with which her

grand-daughter is affiliated. While she has a great many interests, mall shopping is one she thoroughly enjoys.

If Bettye’s adjustment to her retirement years goes as smoothly as her move into her apartment, we Edwards-Fisher friends and neigh-bors will be enjoying her company for many years to come.

—Joan Dunlop, Reporter

Photo: Rosemary Pasek

Bettye M. Smith Edwards-Fisher 306, X6556 Soon you can have your own

Asbury 2010 wildlife wall cal-endar. A team from the Wild-

life Habitat Project group, led by Lydia Page, with primary composi-tion and production completed by John Villforth, has created a wall calendar featuring photos of plants and animals on our own campus. Calendar production was under-taken with “upfront financing” through the Asbury Foundation, and the project earnings will go to the AMV Benevolent care fund and to support the work of the Wildlife Habitat Project.

Residents may sign up to pur-

chase one or more copies of this first ever AMV treasure, at $10 each. Order forms will be at the apart-ment center and other buildings reception desks as well as in the mailroom at the Villas.

Not only will the calendar serve as a daily reminder for you of the beauty that surrounds us, they will make great gifts. Now you can have a small piece of visual evi-dence to support those statements so many of us made: “One big rea-son we moved here was the cam-pus, a treasure not paralleled in our area.” Order yours today.

Asbury’s First Wildlife Wall Calendar

Village life September 2009 15

Resident Facility Date of Death

George Connell WHCC 7-24-09

Lena Ballard Kindley 7-29-09

Paula Strain Kindley/Edwards-Fisher 8-4-09

Helen Rosasco Kindley/Trott 8-6-09

Hazel St. Julien WHCC 8-7-09

Phillip L. Taylor Kindley/E-F/Diamond 8-12-09

Doris Pritchard Kindley/Trott 8-13-09

Nina Sears WHCC/Kindley/Wallace 8-15-09

Elizabeth McCurdy WHCC/Kindley 8-16-09

Mary Charlotte Chaney E-F 8-17-09

In Memoriam

JAGOE’S Brain JoggersBy Armiger Jagoe, author of You Are Next in Line, Everyone’s Guide for Writing your Autobiography

www.armigerjagoe.com

1. Who was Clark Gable’s wife who was killed in a plane crash?

2. In 1950, who was the senator who claimed he had names of 205 Communists in the State Department?

3. In addition to Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen had a country friend dummy. What was its name?

4. When you went to the store and asked for “oleo”, what were you referring to?

5. Who said, “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible”?

Answers

1. Carol Lombard; 2. Joseph R. McCarthy; 3. Mortimer Snerd;

4. Margarine; 5. George Burns

and wooden weather vanes. Kids my age showed their 4 H

Club award winning chickens, ducks, lambs, and calves.

But the introduction to a real pizza was the experience that most marked my entry into the world of the county fair. A man tossed and twirled the pizza dough high against the night sky illuminated less by stars than by the gaudy lights of nearby booths. His part-ner slathered the pie with rich aromatic tomato sauce and tossed pepperoni slices and a handful of mozzarella cheese onto this tray-sized treat. Smoke from the ovens brought the dry smell of burnt crumbs to my nose. Slices were huge then and dripped with mouth watering richness. I was hooked!

That was over 55 years ago and yet the pizza remains one of my greatest weaknesses. It is no lon-ger exotic; in fact, it is rare to find one actually being made. Like the shrink wrapped chicken, it now seems to have been born and raised inside cellophane. But my memories exercise my taste buds, and I consider myself a pizza con-noisseur.

So on Senior Day I joined Vil-lagers and went to the Montgom-

ery County Fair. In spite of 90 degree heat there was “a fair field full of folk.” Vendors, farmers, fami-lies, and hawkers jostled for best view of prize cattle, pig races, hot rides and food. Where else but at such a site would one find both deep fried pickles and deep fried Oreo cookies? Where else to catch the blessed event of a 100 pound calf’s birth, no forceps but two large chains attached to its rather large hooves coaxing it into this strange world. Hens and roosters made their shed sound like an auc-tioneer’s competition. And did you know that a cock can crow in the baritone range? Sheep in sheep’s clothing and “trench coats” to keep them clean sought relief from the humid air, and goats ate anything that came their way.

And, yes, there was pizza, thick crust unburned, no grease running through my fingers and well-aged cheese, all of which I enjoyed. It didn’t match my memories, but what does. But it did reconnect me with another fair and another time. And more importantly, it dem-onstrated what a rich and varied county we have. I look forward to next year and think I’ll even come back for the evening tractor pulls. Where else will I get to see this?

Thank you Montgomery County and all of the participants.

FAIRContinued from page 1

what was being said. Mary lived in a dormitory with other women. As the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo intensified, life there became more dangerous. From then until the end of the war, Mary and other women with great frequency had to grab blankets and head for an air-raid shelter or go out and help victims of the bombing, wetting the blan-kets as protection from fire. One night their dormitory was hit by bombs, fortunately in a part that was then unoccupied. They had to flee to other quarters, dodging fall-ing debris and dead bodies. About one-half of Tokyo was destroyed by the air raids. When the war ended, the newspapers told the people nothing about it. One day Mary and her co-workers were called into an office, told to go home, and given train tickets as needed.

After the war Mary worked for the Supreme Command of the

Allied Powers (SCAP) in the Nurs-ing Affairs Division as a typist and interpreter/translator. Later her job was upgraded to Public Health nursing instructor, helping to raise the standards of Japanese Public Health nursing. She returned to the U.S. in 1949, studied at Colum-bia University Teachers College in New York, worked part-time at St. Luke’s Hospital there (not related to the hospital of the same name in Tokyo), and earned her MS degree in Psychiatric Nursing in 1953. In New York she met Eiji Ishii, who worked for the Japanese Chamber of Commerce there, and they ended up getting married. They had three children and lived nearly 40 years in Glen Rock, NJ, from which Eiji commuted to New York. Mary at times was a part-time school nurse or a tutor for newly arrived Japa-nese learning English. Eiji died in 1994, after he and Mary had moved to the Chicago area to be near their daughter. Mary came to Asbury in 2008. Her daughter and older son now live nearby.

JAPANContinued from page 5

16 September 2009 Village life

Asbury Methodist VillageCommunications Department201 Russell AvenueGaithersburg, MD 20877-2801

Non-ProfitOrganizationU. S. Postage

PAIDRockville, MD

Permit No. 4297A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE

Sheep in Sheeps’

Clothing

VILLAGE LIFE: A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE

Photo: Marolyn Hatch