Girls', was painted in 1951 by Raphael Soyer at the age of Sz.
Older artists create an 'ageless' beauty
by MARGERY BYERS
Smithsonian News Service
Gilbert Stuart painted a
portrait of John Adams in 1826
when he was 71, Benjamin
West was 81 in 1819 when he
executed a self-portrait,
Benjamin Franklin invented
the bifocal lens when he was in
his 70s and Verdi composed
"Otello" when he was 73.
"You're only as old as you
feel" and "age is a state of
mind" may be hackneyed
expressions, but they also are
true. Some people are old at
21, others young at 80, or as
Oliver Wendell Holmes put it,
"To be 70. years young is
sometimes more hopeful than
to be 40 years old."
. The image of grandpa and
grandma doing little but
telling stories, rocking and
knitting sweaters is less valid
now than ever before. For
generations, many members
of the "graying" population
have rightly rebelled against
these stereotypes, and many
more-- in large part, because
there really are many more of
them-- are doing so today.
Indeed, older Americans
are the fastest growing
segment of our population.
One of every seven Americans
is 60 years old or over, and
that figure is expected to
increase. Older Americans
have become a powerful
political force as well;
organized into nationwide
groups, they have tirelessly
lobbied Congress to revise or
abolish mandatory retirement
ages, seeking to prove that
age is no barrier to creativity
and inspiration.
The careers of older artists
who continued to work well
into their later years is a
testament to the older
Americans' cause.
Thomas Hart Benton died at
85 in 1975, a few hours after
working on a mural in his
studio. He had maintained for
years that each mural would
be his last-- "I'm just too old
to do all that climbing of
ladders."
Maria Martinez, the San
Ildefonso pueblo potter,
created her world-renowned
black pottery until she was in
her 90s.
Grandma Moses, who died
at 101, began to paint at 76
when her arthritic fingers
could no longer embroider.
Henri Matisse, confined to
his bed, cut out brightly
colored paper patterns which
were acclaimed when they
went on exhibit 24 years after
his death at 84 in 1954.
Artist John Brabach
avoided admitting his age but,
when he died in 1981, his World
War I draft card revealed that
he was 101. He never stopped
producing paintings.
In a tribute to the dedication
and vision of older artists such
as these, the paintings of older
Americans have been
highlighted in a 1982 wall
calendar published to com-
memorate the White House
Conference on Aging. The
calendar contains 12 paintings
from the collection of the
Smithsonian's National
Museum of American Art;
almost all the works, in-
cluding paintings by George
Inness, Georgia O'Keeffe,
Gilbert Stuart, Alma Thomas
and Benjamin West, were
created by artists after the
age of 60.
"Just as a painting is far
more than the pigment that
adds the color of the wood that
makes the stretchers so, too,
creative genius is more than
technique or even vision," Dr.
Robert N. Butler, Director of
the National Institute on
Aging, wrote in an in-
troduction to the calendar. "..
• By viewing the paintings of
these artists, we see that
beauty and genius are ageless
and that creative imagination
is not limited by time."
Time has certainly been no
obstacle to Georgia O'Keeffe,
now 94. As famous as she has
been indomitable, O'Keeffe
has long refused to let poor
vision stop her from painting.
Laurie Lisle, in Portrait of An
Artist, A Biography of
Georgia O'Keeffe, writes of
this instinct for artistic sur-
vival despite shadowy vision:
"She even courageously and
proudly remarked that her
new way of seeing light,
shadow, color and line was
'interesting' and that it gave
her new painting ideas . . .
O'Keeffe learned to take tubes
of paint to her housekeeper,
ask her to read out loud the
names of the colors on the
labels and then, with the in-
formation memorized, she
would return to her studio."
New York City sculptor
Seymour Lipton, still ex-
traordinarily vigorous at 78,
has said he feels like a man of
40. "He's lean and tough and
in top shape," Harry Rand,
curator of 20th-century
painting and sculpture at the
National Museum of
American Art, says. "He gets
up at 6 and, by 8, he's
wrestling his sculpture
together."
With his strong right hand,
partially developed by years
of tournament tennis, Lipton
manipulates huge cutting
shears. "I'm still exploring,"
Lipton explains. "To me,
sculpture is a great ad-
venture, unending and always
fresh. There is no such thing
as maturity--that is just a
word. The creative person
who loses the sponteneity and
naivete of his childhood
becomes an academician.
What you gain with ex-
perience is a sense of control
but my next piece is as ex-
citing as the drawings I made
in public school."
It usually takes many years
fo? artists to attain
recognition and, despite
illness, a sense of humor can
feed their creativity long after
many of their contemporaries
have retired to rocking chairs.
Peggy Bacon, now 86 and
living in Maine, is known for
incisive and penetrating
caricatures as well as
illustrations for ap-
proximately 60 books. Over
the decades, she lost little of
the freshness and frankness of
her youth, and her wit has
delighted everyone. She was
suffering from a joint disease
when she turned 80, but her
humor surfaced even then.
"My bones were grinding
together--you could hear
them," she said at the time.
"They made reports like a
pistol." She was given a false
hip of steel and plastic, spent
two months in the hospital and
pKomised to use a cane which
sfiefcalled "a peculiar and
dreadful looking thing with
treads on it."
When complimented on her
remarkable recovery, she
retorted: "The surgeons
perform these miracles and
they get old battered relics
back on their feet again. My
face looks as if it'd been
ploughed. I'm not really very
vain but I don't like to look
dilapidated." Although
partially blind, she continued
to apint in her Maine
home--with a magnifying
glass mounted to her drawing
board.
Alma Thomas, who lived in
Washington, D.C., did not
begin to paint seriously until
she was in her 60s, following
many years as a demanding
junior high school teacher who
expected her students to
excel. Well-educated and a
member of a middle-class
black family, she had a strong
personality and a flair for the
dramatic, and she was totally
dedicated to her art and her
students. She found young
people stimulating, enjoyed
being Surrounded by her
proteges and provided
scholarships to promising
students. Energetic and en-
thusiastic, she continually
(please turn to page 8A)
Serving Over 48 Communities in Northern New Hampshire and Vermont
June 9, 1982
was Older Americans Month
the
€ear-old Nina
by her front
sound of
lend,
to take her to
Nursing
Older American Volunteers
respond to needs around nation
Miss Hedge
Piano for the volunteer agency. Throughout
Thursday the country, more than 300,000
Miss men and women 60 years of
age one, age or older are RSVP
of the most volunteers m approximately
that's ever 930 communities.
Their volunteer colleagues
in ACTION's other Older
the Retired American Volunteer
Programs include 18,000
by Foster Grandparents assigned
national to children with special or
., Stockade, Round & Split Rail
Build your own or we install.
FROG GARDEN CENTER
VT. (802) 222-5595
don't need foster
homes.., kids do."
MARY DI
OF SOCIAL SERVICES
AND SELF-EMPLOYED
having trouble finding com-
prices, top Quality Medical
?
'Stop at our office below.
L. BOURBEAU
INSURANCE AGENCY
802-333-9224 ,,.u=,
b Wuly. 12 noe to 430 PM
• PERSONN. AND
PY BIRTHDAY
CHARLIEVE-00ER
is BEttER"
PPY BIRTHDAY
DY DOCKHAM
ON YOUR GR'ADUATION!
]
Happy Birthday
!JAMIE SAMPSON
Older American Volunteers provide assistance throughout the
nation. In Pennsylvania, senior companion Eleanor Creslski, 67,
helps her client shopping.
exceptional needs and 5,000 Program relies upon the in-
- Senior Companions who dividualized loving care of
• provide caring attention to the low-income seniors who
frail elderly, respond to the problems of
Since May was Older juvenile offenders, runaway
Americans Month, it's a good youth, children with learning
r time to take a look at how disabilities, drug abusers, the
many elderly are making mentally retarded or abused
their lives richer and more and neglectedyoungsters.
rewarding asvolunteers. In Rutland, Vt., 63 Foster
From Vermont to Grandparents are sponsored
California, ACTION volun- by the Vermont State
teers serve through the local Department of Mental Health.
sponsorship of non-profit One of the newest stations
• - private or public utilizing the life-long ex-
organizations and agencies in perience of these volunteers is
approximately 1,000 corn- the Rutland Community
munities throughout the Correctional Center, which
United States. houses 95 young men.
Foster Grandparents and Last year, project director
Senior Companions receive a Virginia Heck placed two
stipend of $2.00 an hour for 20 Foster Grandparents in the
hours Of weekly service, facility. "First, you have to
RSVP volunteers are non- prove yourself to the boys,"
stipended and serve an she says. "They don't trust
average of four hours each easily. Now ! see kids laugh
week. and tell stories. I see them
Foster Grandparents touch the grandparents."
and Young People-- Claude Melanson, acting
A Great Combination superintendent of the center,
The Foster Grandparent says, "The grandparents are
CARPETING/'3.99 yd. & up !
yds. to cho00 from
BARRE HOME SUPPLY
e00.14 vt,
WALLPAPERhs'
50,000 rolls to choose from. OPEN
BARRE HOME SUPPLY IODAY$
Rt. 14 Bl're, Vt. A WEEK
very comfortable with the
boys and the boys are very
comfortable with them. There
was a void in the backgrounds
of many of these young men
and that attracts them to the
grandparents."
Stella Dailey, 77, is, indeed,
comfortable as she sits at a
round table in the center's
library where she puts to use
34 years as a teacher by
tutoring the boys. "I love it.
All the residents are like my
grandsons. I had one boy this
morning who got two math
problems wrong out of 40,"
she says proudly.
Greg Baker, an instructor at
the center, praises the
grandparents' "extreme
effectiveness, their flexibility,
maturity and interpersonal
skills."
Senior Companions--
A Life-line
for the Elderly
In Pittsburgh, Senior
Companions at the Western
Restoration Center, a tran-
sitional care home for seniors
with mental and-or emotional
problems, illustrate how
volunteers free paid staff to
attend to other professional
duties.
According to assistant
social services director Fred
Fiske, "Because of the. Senior
Companions, we now have
more time."
The center's mission is to
equip the residents with
survival skills so that they
may leave the center and live
in supervised settings within
the community.
For Senior Companion
Rachel Harris, 66, the reward
of her efforts is "watching
them grow, seeing them come
out of that shell. The fact that I
can help them touches me."
The Senior Companions
have designed a changing
poster display that includes
such ordinary subjects as
pets. "it's something theyall
can relate to because they've
all had pets," explains
volunteer Hortense Caldwell,
74. "For people who don't even
open their eyes or speak,
who've forgotten what dif-
ferent textures feel like-
well, when someone like that
responds, I feel great
satisfaction."
Mrs. Harris and Mrs.
Caldwell met during the
program's 40-hour pre-service
orientation. "Horteuse and I
jelled like peas in a pod," Mrs.
Harris smiles. "A spark flies
and we call each other on the
phone at night and talk about a
new technique we've thought
of to use at the center the next
day,"
Friendship is also the key
ingredient between client and
volunteer. Carrie Nevin, 93,
not only looks forward to
Eleanor Ackerman's visits,
she very much needs her
Senior Companion's help.
Every second Wednesday, the
cardiac division of a Pitt-
sburgh hospital calls at
precisely 10 a.m. to monitor
Mrs. Nevin's pacemaker with
the help of Mrs. Ackerman.
The first pacemaker failed.
"I was dead once but I guess I
wasn't fit for heaven yet,"
Mrs. Nevin observes drily.
Mrs. Ackerman helps the
older woman pay bills, does
the grovery shopping and
takes her client home with her
on holidays. "Eleanor is about
my only friend. Oh, we get
along real nice," Mrs. Nevin
says fondly.
The program is sponsored
by the Area Agency on Aging.
"The difference our Senior
Companions make in their
clients' lives is invaluable,"
maintains project director
David Majornick. "They give
of themselves in countless
ways."
(piease turn to page 2A)
l I l l
HOME REMEDIES F
POISON IVY
Home treatments for poison ivy and oak seem as plentiful and varied as the stars.
Readers of THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS frequently write in to offer their own
"best" remedies for summer's "thorn in the flesh". These fellow sufferers all swear by
their favorite potions and solutions, so maybe at least one of them will work for you.
John Haille of Florence, S.C. recommends a solution of 1 oz. prepared phenol--car-
bolic acid--and 15 oz. water• (Phenol-containing Octagon soap, he says, works almost
as well.) Washing with this mixture as soon as possible after exposure, John claims,
will eliminate an itching attack. The same preparation can also be used for treatment:
The solution stops itching, keeps the area clean, and lets it heal itself.
Jewelweed seems to be an especially popular home remedy, Mark Wilson of Tewks-
bury Mass. says to crush this member of the balsam family (Impatiens biflora in
your hand and apply it directly on the rash several times a day until it clears• He sug-
gests that a convenient way to store this healer is to boil down a quantity of the herb
and make ice cubes of the juice. Then you can apply a cube any time the itchy plant
strikes you.
Lemon juice is a favorite with Stefni Dawn of Beloit, Wis. She suggests washing the
exposed area, patting it dry with a soft towel,.and then spreading on as much lemon
juice as the skin will absorb. She says one treatment is sometimes enough to neutral-
ize the poison.., but if itching and swelling return, just apply more juice to the area•
Stefni claims her therapy will clear up even a severe case within a few hours.
Steve Morgan of Branson, Mo:--vho says he's "gone through years of playing the
hermit" because of poison ivy, even though he's tried all the medications on the
market--has finally found his sure-fire remedy for the pesky plague: Salt. That's right
•.. wet the affected areas and sprinkle on a little bit of good old table salt! Steve
warns that this treatment does burn and smart a bit, but for him it makes those itch-
ing, weeping bumps go away.
Along the same line as the lemon juice therapy, vinegar (apple cider vinegar gets
lots of votes) is recommended by many. Nancy Kerson of Willow Creek. Calif. says.
"Both my husband and I are very allergic to poison ivy and have found that vinegar is
most effective if we use it when the very first signs of inflammation appear. Even if we
wait until the rash is well developed, the vinegar still stops the itching better than any
of the creams and lotions from the drug store."
Well, all of these formulas sound good in theory--and if applied immediately after
contact many of them may well work to prevent the poison rash--but according to a
local pharmacist we know, no acid formula is going to clear up the blisters once
they've appeared.
The poison ivy chemical that causes an allergic reaction in some 75% of the U.S.
population--urushiol--does have an alkaline base. But once the poisonous substance
gets into the blood and causes redness and swelling, it can be counteracted only by
medicines taken internally. Many of the folk remedies can relieve only the symptoms
of your allergy..These potions, as well as commercial products designed for external
use, the pharmacist says, merely soothe the itching and keep you from scratching and
infecting the sores.
If you know you've been exposed to the poisonous plants and can quickly wash the
areas with a strong soap, you may be able to remove the oils before they penetrate the
underlayers of the skin. (By the way. poison ivy cannot be caught and spread by
touching the rash unless some of these oils still remain on the skin.)
For FREE additional information on hon remedies and on THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine, senO your
name and address and ask for Rdprint NO. 548: "Kitchen Medicine". Mail to Doing MORE ,. With LESS!, P.O.
Box 70. Hendersonville. N.C. 28791, or in care of this paper.
Copyright 1982 THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS, Inc
ii I I
i
INVESTMENTS
CLINT SWIFT
HANOVER ROAD Nil WAYS (800) 542-5,171
WEST LEBANON, NH 03784 VT WATI (Q00) 259717
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Tel. (603) 747-3389 or 747.3639
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GREEN FROG GARDEN CENTER
_ ( RADFORD, VT. (SeZ) =ti
Girls', was painted in 1951 by Raphael Soyer at the age of Sz.
Older artists create an 'ageless' beauty
by MARGERY BYERS
Smithsonian News Service
Gilbert Stuart painted a
portrait of John Adams in 1826
when he was 71, Benjamin
West was 81 in 1819 when he
executed a self-portrait,
Benjamin Franklin invented
the bifocal lens when he was in
his 70s and Verdi composed
"Otello" when he was 73.
"You're only as old as you
feel" and "age is a state of
mind" may be hackneyed
expressions, but they also are
true. Some people are old at
21, others young at 80, or as
Oliver Wendell Holmes put it,
"To be 70. years young is
sometimes more hopeful than
to be 40 years old."
. The image of grandpa and
grandma doing little but
telling stories, rocking and
knitting sweaters is less valid
now than ever before. For
generations, many members
of the "graying" population
have rightly rebelled against
these stereotypes, and many
more-- in large part, because
there really are many more of
them-- are doing so today.
Indeed, older Americans
are the fastest growing
segment of our population.
One of every seven Americans
is 60 years old or over, and
that figure is expected to
increase. Older Americans
have become a powerful
political force as well;
organized into nationwide
groups, they have tirelessly
lobbied Congress to revise or
abolish mandatory retirement
ages, seeking to prove that
age is no barrier to creativity
and inspiration.
The careers of older artists
who continued to work well
into their later years is a
testament to the older
Americans' cause.
Thomas Hart Benton died at
85 in 1975, a few hours after
working on a mural in his
studio. He had maintained for
years that each mural would
be his last-- "I'm just too old
to do all that climbing of
ladders."
Maria Martinez, the San
Ildefonso pueblo potter,
created her world-renowned
black pottery until she was in
her 90s.
Grandma Moses, who died
at 101, began to paint at 76
when her arthritic fingers
could no longer embroider.
Henri Matisse, confined to
his bed, cut out brightly
colored paper patterns which
were acclaimed when they
went on exhibit 24 years after
his death at 84 in 1954.
Artist John Brabach
avoided admitting his age but,
when he died in 1981, his World
War I draft card revealed that
he was 101. He never stopped
producing paintings.
In a tribute to the dedication
and vision of older artists such
as these, the paintings of older
Americans have been
highlighted in a 1982 wall
calendar published to com-
memorate the White House
Conference on Aging. The
calendar contains 12 paintings
from the collection of the
Smithsonian's National
Museum of American Art;
almost all the works, in-
cluding paintings by George
Inness, Georgia O'Keeffe,
Gilbert Stuart, Alma Thomas
and Benjamin West, were
created by artists after the
age of 60.
"Just as a painting is far
more than the pigment that
adds the color of the wood that
makes the stretchers so, too,
creative genius is more than
technique or even vision," Dr.
Robert N. Butler, Director of
the National Institute on
Aging, wrote in an in-
troduction to the calendar. "..
• By viewing the paintings of
these artists, we see that
beauty and genius are ageless
and that creative imagination
is not limited by time."
Time has certainly been no
obstacle to Georgia O'Keeffe,
now 94. As famous as she has
been indomitable, O'Keeffe
has long refused to let poor
vision stop her from painting.
Laurie Lisle, in Portrait of An
Artist, A Biography of
Georgia O'Keeffe, writes of
this instinct for artistic sur-
vival despite shadowy vision:
"She even courageously and
proudly remarked that her
new way of seeing light,
shadow, color and line was
'interesting' and that it gave
her new painting ideas . . .
O'Keeffe learned to take tubes
of paint to her housekeeper,
ask her to read out loud the
names of the colors on the
labels and then, with the in-
formation memorized, she
would return to her studio."
New York City sculptor
Seymour Lipton, still ex-
traordinarily vigorous at 78,
has said he feels like a man of
40. "He's lean and tough and
in top shape," Harry Rand,
curator of 20th-century
painting and sculpture at the
National Museum of
American Art, says. "He gets
up at 6 and, by 8, he's
wrestling his sculpture
together."
With his strong right hand,
partially developed by years
of tournament tennis, Lipton
manipulates huge cutting
shears. "I'm still exploring,"
Lipton explains. "To me,
sculpture is a great ad-
venture, unending and always
fresh. There is no such thing
as maturity--that is just a
word. The creative person
who loses the sponteneity and
naivete of his childhood
becomes an academician.
What you gain with ex-
perience is a sense of control
but my next piece is as ex-
citing as the drawings I made
in public school."
It usually takes many years
fo? artists to attain
recognition and, despite
illness, a sense of humor can
feed their creativity long after
many of their contemporaries
have retired to rocking chairs.
Peggy Bacon, now 86 and
living in Maine, is known for
incisive and penetrating
caricatures as well as
illustrations for ap-
proximately 60 books. Over
the decades, she lost little of
the freshness and frankness of
her youth, and her wit has
delighted everyone. She was
suffering from a joint disease
when she turned 80, but her
humor surfaced even then.
"My bones were grinding
together--you could hear
them," she said at the time.
"They made reports like a
pistol." She was given a false
hip of steel and plastic, spent
two months in the hospital and
pKomised to use a cane which
sfiefcalled "a peculiar and
dreadful looking thing with
treads on it."
When complimented on her
remarkable recovery, she
retorted: "The surgeons
perform these miracles and
they get old battered relics
back on their feet again. My
face looks as if it'd been
ploughed. I'm not really very
vain but I don't like to look
dilapidated." Although
partially blind, she continued
to apint in her Maine
home--with a magnifying
glass mounted to her drawing
board.
Alma Thomas, who lived in
Washington, D.C., did not
begin to paint seriously until
she was in her 60s, following
many years as a demanding
junior high school teacher who
expected her students to
excel. Well-educated and a
member of a middle-class
black family, she had a strong
personality and a flair for the
dramatic, and she was totally
dedicated to her art and her
students. She found young
people stimulating, enjoyed
being Surrounded by her
proteges and provided
scholarships to promising
students. Energetic and en-
thusiastic, she continually
(please turn to page 8A)
Serving Over 48 Communities in Northern New Hampshire and Vermont
June 9, 1982
was Older Americans Month
the
€ear-old Nina
by her front
sound of
lend,
to take her to
Nursing
Older American Volunteers
respond to needs around nation
Miss Hedge
Piano for the volunteer agency. Throughout
Thursday the country, more than 300,000
Miss men and women 60 years of
age one, age or older are RSVP
of the most volunteers m approximately
that's ever 930 communities.
Their volunteer colleagues
in ACTION's other Older
the Retired American Volunteer
Programs include 18,000
by Foster Grandparents assigned
national to children with special or
., Stockade, Round & Split Rail
Build your own or we install.
FROG GARDEN CENTER
VT. (802) 222-5595
don't need foster
homes.., kids do."
MARY DI
OF SOCIAL SERVICES
AND SELF-EMPLOYED
having trouble finding com-
prices, top Quality Medical
?
'Stop at our office below.
L. BOURBEAU
INSURANCE AGENCY
802-333-9224 ,,.u=,
b Wuly. 12 noe to 430 PM
• PERSONN. AND
PY BIRTHDAY
CHARLIEVE-00ER
is BEttER"
PPY BIRTHDAY
DY DOCKHAM
ON YOUR GR'ADUATION!
]
Happy Birthday
!JAMIE SAMPSON
Older American Volunteers provide assistance throughout the
nation. In Pennsylvania, senior companion Eleanor Creslski, 67,
helps her client shopping.
exceptional needs and 5,000 Program relies upon the in-
- Senior Companions who dividualized loving care of
• provide caring attention to the low-income seniors who
frail elderly, respond to the problems of
Since May was Older juvenile offenders, runaway
Americans Month, it's a good youth, children with learning
r time to take a look at how disabilities, drug abusers, the
many elderly are making mentally retarded or abused
their lives richer and more and neglectedyoungsters.
rewarding asvolunteers. In Rutland, Vt., 63 Foster
From Vermont to Grandparents are sponsored
California, ACTION volun- by the Vermont State
teers serve through the local Department of Mental Health.
sponsorship of non-profit One of the newest stations
• - private or public utilizing the life-long ex-
organizations and agencies in perience of these volunteers is
approximately 1,000 corn- the Rutland Community
munities throughout the Correctional Center, which
United States. houses 95 young men.
Foster Grandparents and Last year, project director
Senior Companions receive a Virginia Heck placed two
stipend of $2.00 an hour for 20 Foster Grandparents in the
hours Of weekly service, facility. "First, you have to
RSVP volunteers are non- prove yourself to the boys,"
stipended and serve an she says. "They don't trust
average of four hours each easily. Now ! see kids laugh
week. and tell stories. I see them
Foster Grandparents touch the grandparents."
and Young People-- Claude Melanson, acting
A Great Combination superintendent of the center,
The Foster Grandparent says, "The grandparents are
CARPETING/'3.99 yd. & up !
yds. to cho00 from
BARRE HOME SUPPLY
e00.14 vt,
WALLPAPERhs'
50,000 rolls to choose from. OPEN
BARRE HOME SUPPLY IODAY$
Rt. 14 Bl're, Vt. A WEEK
very comfortable with the
boys and the boys are very
comfortable with them. There
was a void in the backgrounds
of many of these young men
and that attracts them to the
grandparents."
Stella Dailey, 77, is, indeed,
comfortable as she sits at a
round table in the center's
library where she puts to use
34 years as a teacher by
tutoring the boys. "I love it.
All the residents are like my
grandsons. I had one boy this
morning who got two math
problems wrong out of 40,"
she says proudly.
Greg Baker, an instructor at
the center, praises the
grandparents' "extreme
effectiveness, their flexibility,
maturity and interpersonal
skills."
Senior Companions--
A Life-line
for the Elderly
In Pittsburgh, Senior
Companions at the Western
Restoration Center, a tran-
sitional care home for seniors
with mental and-or emotional
problems, illustrate how
volunteers free paid staff to
attend to other professional
duties.
According to assistant
social services director Fred
Fiske, "Because of the. Senior
Companions, we now have
more time."
The center's mission is to
equip the residents with
survival skills so that they
may leave the center and live
in supervised settings within
the community.
For Senior Companion
Rachel Harris, 66, the reward
of her efforts is "watching
them grow, seeing them come
out of that shell. The fact that I
can help them touches me."
The Senior Companions
have designed a changing
poster display that includes
such ordinary subjects as
pets. "it's something theyall
can relate to because they've
all had pets," explains
volunteer Hortense Caldwell,
74. "For people who don't even
open their eyes or speak,
who've forgotten what dif-
ferent textures feel like-
well, when someone like that
responds, I feel great
satisfaction."
Mrs. Harris and Mrs.
Caldwell met during the
program's 40-hour pre-service
orientation. "Horteuse and I
jelled like peas in a pod," Mrs.
Harris smiles. "A spark flies
and we call each other on the
phone at night and talk about a
new technique we've thought
of to use at the center the next
day,"
Friendship is also the key
ingredient between client and
volunteer. Carrie Nevin, 93,
not only looks forward to
Eleanor Ackerman's visits,
she very much needs her
Senior Companion's help.
Every second Wednesday, the
cardiac division of a Pitt-
sburgh hospital calls at
precisely 10 a.m. to monitor
Mrs. Nevin's pacemaker with
the help of Mrs. Ackerman.
The first pacemaker failed.
"I was dead once but I guess I
wasn't fit for heaven yet,"
Mrs. Nevin observes drily.
Mrs. Ackerman helps the
older woman pay bills, does
the grovery shopping and
takes her client home with her
on holidays. "Eleanor is about
my only friend. Oh, we get
along real nice," Mrs. Nevin
says fondly.
The program is sponsored
by the Area Agency on Aging.
"The difference our Senior
Companions make in their
clients' lives is invaluable,"
maintains project director
David Majornick. "They give
of themselves in countless
ways."
(piease turn to page 2A)
l I l l
HOME REMEDIES F
POISON IVY
Home treatments for poison ivy and oak seem as plentiful and varied as the stars.
Readers of THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS frequently write in to offer their own
"best" remedies for summer's "thorn in the flesh". These fellow sufferers all swear by
their favorite potions and solutions, so maybe at least one of them will work for you.
John Haille of Florence, S.C. recommends a solution of 1 oz. prepared phenol--car-
bolic acid--and 15 oz. water• (Phenol-containing Octagon soap, he says, works almost
as well.) Washing with this mixture as soon as possible after exposure, John claims,
will eliminate an itching attack. The same preparation can also be used for treatment:
The solution stops itching, keeps the area clean, and lets it heal itself.
Jewelweed seems to be an especially popular home remedy, Mark Wilson of Tewks-
bury Mass. says to crush this member of the balsam family (Impatiens biflora in
your hand and apply it directly on the rash several times a day until it clears• He sug-
gests that a convenient way to store this healer is to boil down a quantity of the herb
and make ice cubes of the juice. Then you can apply a cube any time the itchy plant
strikes you.
Lemon juice is a favorite with Stefni Dawn of Beloit, Wis. She suggests washing the
exposed area, patting it dry with a soft towel,.and then spreading on as much lemon
juice as the skin will absorb. She says one treatment is sometimes enough to neutral-
ize the poison.., but if itching and swelling return, just apply more juice to the area•
Stefni claims her therapy will clear up even a severe case within a few hours.
Steve Morgan of Branson, Mo:--vho says he's "gone through years of playing the
hermit" because of poison ivy, even though he's tried all the medications on the
market--has finally found his sure-fire remedy for the pesky plague: Salt. That's right
•.. wet the affected areas and sprinkle on a little bit of good old table salt! Steve
warns that this treatment does burn and smart a bit, but for him it makes those itch-
ing, weeping bumps go away.
Along the same line as the lemon juice therapy, vinegar (apple cider vinegar gets
lots of votes) is recommended by many. Nancy Kerson of Willow Creek. Calif. says.
"Both my husband and I are very allergic to poison ivy and have found that vinegar is
most effective if we use it when the very first signs of inflammation appear. Even if we
wait until the rash is well developed, the vinegar still stops the itching better than any
of the creams and lotions from the drug store."
Well, all of these formulas sound good in theory--and if applied immediately after
contact many of them may well work to prevent the poison rash--but according to a
local pharmacist we know, no acid formula is going to clear up the blisters once
they've appeared.
The poison ivy chemical that causes an allergic reaction in some 75% of the U.S.
population--urushiol--does have an alkaline base. But once the poisonous substance
gets into the blood and causes redness and swelling, it can be counteracted only by
medicines taken internally. Many of the folk remedies can relieve only the symptoms
of your allergy..These potions, as well as commercial products designed for external
use, the pharmacist says, merely soothe the itching and keep you from scratching and
infecting the sores.
If you know you've been exposed to the poisonous plants and can quickly wash the
areas with a strong soap, you may be able to remove the oils before they penetrate the
underlayers of the skin. (By the way. poison ivy cannot be caught and spread by
touching the rash unless some of these oils still remain on the skin.)
For FREE additional information on hon remedies and on THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine, senO your
name and address and ask for Rdprint NO. 548: "Kitchen Medicine". Mail to Doing MORE ,. With LESS!, P.O.
Box 70. Hendersonville. N.C. 28791, or in care of this paper.
Copyright 1982 THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS, Inc
ii I I
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