The Senior Scene

From introductory computer training, Internet for beginners, and how to use e-mail, just to name a few, the 50-plus age group can keep up with the latest in technology at Pierce County Libraries for free.

Mary Getchell, marketing and communications director for Pierce County Library System, said their branches offer a wide variety of courses to help individuals in that age group with computer skills.

“From turning on the computer to computer basics, getting to know the parts of the computer, windows function, keyboard function, even how to use the mouse,” she said, adding that in 2016, the libraries provided 639 computer classes for more than 2,200 attendees.

With classes ranging from iPad Basics for 50+, Tech Help, Web Safety and Intro to Word, to Burst your Media Bubble, which helps folks understand how social media and news feeds work, there are a number of free resources for seniors.

The Web Safety classes provide tips to guard against identity theft and online scams.

Getchell said that class is particularly helpful to seniors, giving them useful information and strategies on what to look for from a safety and security standpoint when doing an online transaction involving money. “It’s about the basics of using the Internet and how to do so safely,” she said.

When a relative or a friend gives a gift of an iPad or a Kindle, it can leave the 50-plus crowd scratching their head as to what to do with it. The iPad basics class guides them.

Other classes help folks with their resume and instructs them how to navigate those waters that are unfamiliar and scary, said Getchell. June classes are listed on the Pierce County Library website at Getsmart.pcls.us.

Judy Levy and her husband, Warren, use the library services at the branch located in Sumner nearly every day.

Levy said that adult services librarian Laura Farrow has been particularly helpful to the couple.

“I learned from a class how to get on a genealogy page and started doing a family tree,” she said.

When the website had some changes that were confusing, Levy contacted Farrow, who immediately helped her get the problem solved.

The Levys don’t use a smart phone or own a computer. To help them with the decision whether or not to buy a computer, Farrow helped the couple prepare a spreadsheet of their needs, after which they decided they didn’t need to buy a computer, but instead would take advantage of all the services the library offered.

“I have a good camera and an attachment to load them to the computer, so my husband and I go every day and use the computer at the library. We have e-mail and a Facebook account and other services,” she said.

Judy Levy enters a number of contests online and recently won a $100 gift certificate to the couple’s favorite restaurant on Maui in Hawaii.

When a class on how to use Microsoft word was offered, Judy signed right up and learned how to format her annual Christmas letter on the spot.

“If something goes wrong or needs an update, the library does all of that. Any time we have a problem, they come and know all the clicks to solve it,” she said.

Pierce County Library also offers a delivery program for homebound people. The service is extremely popular for folks who can’t drive to the library.

“This is an absolute gift, and important for folks,” said Getchell. “We take books, movies and other materials to 27 adult care facilities on a monthly basis.”

As of May, the library system was taking books, movies and other materials to 89 people who are homebound. A family member or friend of the homebound person, a volunteer or a Pierce County Library staff member picks up the materials from one of the branches and delivers them.

Assistant branch supervisor Miguel Colon is a wonderful resource for all library patrons at the Sumner branch.

Colon, who is bilingual, is always on hand to help seniors, and he provides support for the Hispanic population.

“We have a strong Hispanic population in Sumner, and they bring lots of issues and questions. If I can’t answer them, I can find where they can get the answers,” he said.

Colon is very impressed with Judy and Warren Levy and how they use the library services to their full potential.

“Judy makes the most of her library card. She recognizes the value in it, and Pierce County libraries are located in strategic locations so people can utilize the library,” said Colon.

 

Joan Cronk, who wrote this article, is a freelance writer from Puyallup.

 

Jonie Emrick is among the folks looking forward to the celebration of Ruth Hofto’s 107th birthday.

Hofto is a regular at the University Place Senior Center, where Emrick is the director. And Emrick promises that on May 12, Hofto’s birthday, the center will go all out to be sure it is a day to remember.

By all accounts, Hofto is an amazing woman. An artist, she held an art show at the Lakewood public library when she was 97, and she drove until age 98.

Ten years ago, Hofto’s daughter, Jacki Hofto, retired from her job at the University of Texas as a music teacher and moved back to the family home in University Place to help her mother.

Jacki said the family settled in University Place in 1972. Ruth was born in Black Diamond and grew up as a coal miner’s daughter, walking to school every day and showing an aspiration and love for art. That passion was a common thread throughout her life as she worked with mediums including enamels, watercolors and painting.

“At about 6 years old, she wanted to draw and went to the butcher’s shop with her dad, where she showed the butcher a pansy picture she had drawn at school,” said Jacki.

The butcher encouraged Ruth to keep up with her art and gave her some paper so she could keep drawing.

During the Depression, Ruth worked to help support her family. She and her husband, who died in 1999, were married in 1934.

Jacki brings her mother to the senior center each week, usually on Fridays, and a recent visit found Ruth making her way from the car through the door under her own power, using only a walker for support.

Ruth is amazed she will be celebrating her 107th birthday.

“I never thought I would live this long,” said Ruth, who cast her first vote for president for Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Jacki said in addition to being an artist, her mom has always been good at making new friends, and the senior center is a great place for them to gather.

Ruth attributes her long life to good genes and a healthy lifestyle.

“She exercised, didn’t drink or smoke, and always had a lot of interests,” said Jacki.

The University Place Senior Center continues to operate despite the fact that last December its funding ceased when the City Council eliminated the Parks and Recreation Department services from the municipal budget.

Community Connections, a non-profit organization with a passion for the community, stepped in and picked up the tab to keep the center up and running.

Emrick is grateful to have her job and see the center continue to serve the seniors who depend on it for a number of services.

Every Friday, Catholic Community Services serve lunch to the seniors, making that day particularly busy. Fridays also provide an opportunity for seniors to gather for bingo and lunch, and recently they heard the University Place Police chief give a talk about scams targeting seniors.

The center continues to function thanks to generous donations and the support of Community Connections.

Shelia Phillip is on the Board of Directors for Community Connections, which she said is comprised of people with an interest in the community.

Phillip acknowledged taking on the senior center was a big challenge, but she said the community has been very supportive and the program has received several significant donations to help with that effort.

“We were able to sustain some of the programs, the lunch program and foot care doctor, and we are gradually adding more and more programs to the center,” she said.

Emrick, the center’s director, enjoys working with the senior population and loves going all-out for celebrations like the birthday party for Ruth Hofto.

“It is breathtaking to know I have someone in my presence who will be 107 years old. It’s a gift and treasure to know what we (the senior center) are doing is right on point,” said Emrick.

Plans for the big day include a lot of decorations, a “great” birthday cake, and friends to help celebrate, said Emrick.

“We will decorate the whole place like a big party,” she said.

 

 

Sixty-six years ago, Victor Pesantes boarded an airplane and flew from Ecuador to New York City.

He was 14 years old.

Even today at 80 years old, just talking about that day leaving his mother and younger sister behind brings tears to the Puyallup resident’s eyes.

When Pesantes was 6, his dad was murdered and his mother was struggling to raise Pesantes and his younger sister by taking in sewing. After an accident with the sewing machine when the needle went right through his mother’s finger, she and Pesantes walked 20 miles to the hospital to get help.

Life was tough for the family, and Pesantes’ mother thought he would be better off living in the U.S. So when his aunt said she wanted him to come to New York and live with her, Pesantes’ mother made the difficult decision to send him.

He said the airplane ride from Ecuador was amazing.

“I spent the whole time looking out of the plane. I had never even seen a large plane,” he said.

Pesantes is a survivor and hard worker, and moving to New York and living with his aunt was just the ticket he needed to a better life.

“My father had two sisters, one in Mexico and one in New York who worked for a wealthy family in Ecuador, and they brought her to New York. She wanted me to live with her,” he said.

Pesantes attended a school in the Bronx and was in a class that taught students from all over the world.

“Most of us didn’t know any English, but Miss DeCapo, the teacher, helped us,” he said.

In 1959, he took a trip back to Ecuador to visit his mother and sister, but was happy to return to his life in New York.

“I didn’t want to stay. I was happy to get back to my job,” he said.

His mother died in 1976, and his younger sister still lives in Ecuador and visits Pesantes when she can.

He is very grateful for the good luck that landed him in New York.

“I missed my mom, but the life they led was not very suitable in my case. I was lucky. I was better off being away,” he said.

It wasn’t too long after his return to New York that Pesantes was drafted into the Army

 

Joan Cronk, who wrote this article, is a freelance writer.

The only requirement to join the TotemAires is an interest in barber shop music and a willingness to be an active participant in the all-male singing group.

Rehearsals take place every Tuesday evening from 7 to 9:30 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Tacoma, and anyone interested in joining the group is encouraged to attend one of the weekly rehearsals. Singing and non-singing guests are always welcome.

The group’s members are friendly, talented, and share a great love of singing.

“We are the oldest acapella men’s chorus in the Northwest,” said TotemAires president Ed Gentz, who has led the group for two years.

In 1946, the group caught the eye of Edgar Eisenhower, President Eisenhower’s brother, and on Sept. 27 of that year with his help, the Tacoma Barbershop Harmony Chorus was given recognition status.

The group sang at an event when the State of Alaska gifted a totem pole to the City of Tacoma, and from then on, they were known as the TotemAires. In October this year, they celebrated their 70^th anniversary.

Ninety-year-old retired school teacher and principal Steve Mondau is the oldest member of the group and has sung with the TotemAires for the last 60 years.

“I love this kind of music and the beautiful harmony,” said Mondau, adding that when he was the principal at Washington Grade School in Tacoma, the music teacher encouraged him to join a singing group.

“I saw a flyer, went to a performance at Jason Lee (junior high) and signed up,” he said.

Walt Paulsen, who began singing with the TotemAires 40 years ago, said, “We learn a lot on the job. We also have training CDs and other learning aids.”

A committee comprised of eight members makes the important decisions on what songs will be sung.

On Oct. 30, the group took part in Gloria Dei’s 26th annual Reformation Sunday Hymn Festival. Members met before the performance for a quick rehearsal, and their strong voices could be heard throughout the church basement as they belted out “Nearer my God to Thee.” The singers were robust and enthusiastic, and latecomers making it through the door into the crowded room were already chiming in as assistant director Jeremy Seuss led them through their practice.

The TotemAires sing at local events throughout the year, and the recent Christmas season offered them a wide variety of opportunities. They regularly sing Christmas carols at retirement communities. Last year, they sang at the Tacoma Lutheran Retirement Community, and Gentz said it was a heartwarming experience.

“When we went inside, we saw a whole group of folks and we asked if it was okay if we sang some carols. A gentleman beside us started singing with us, and later we found out he had not spoken a word the whole time he had been living there. That music opened him up, and I thought it was so awesome,” said Gentz.

The main headquarters for the Barbershop Harmony Society is in Tennessee. The TotemAires are part of the Evergreen District, which includes Washington, Idaho, Oregon, British Columbia, Alaska, Alberta and Montana. There are 63 chapters in the Evergreen District.

The TotemAires have been named the “most improved chorus” in the Evergreen District’s Division 2 for the last two years.

The TotemAires have 36 members, ranging in age from 20 to 90. Membership is open to any male from 12 to 100 years old, with no experience. “We will teach men how to sing,” Gentz said.

They will perform at Gloria Dei on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.

Anyone interested in joining the group can contact Gentz at 253-495-8599 or at TotemAires.com.

The group, which is available for performances almost anywhere for any occasion, doesn’t really need a reason to sing. The members just like to sing, said Gentz.

“It is a time commitment, but my wife said I have never had a habit that I kept, and now all you have to do is mention four-part harmony and I say, ‘I’m in.’ It is a great group of guys,” he said.

 

Joan Cronk, who wrote this article, is a freelance writer.