Growing up in southwestern Wisconsin during World War II, the anxiety of conflict loomed even though the war itself was far away. “Having no idea about geography and distances, I learned to identify planes by silhouette in case they flew over the farm,” she said. 

As a student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Ellie joined the Methodist Youth Fellowship and attended a presentation by the American Friends Service Committee on the arguments against pacifism. “He was dealing with the very subject of war and peace and how to resolve conflict,” she said. “It answered all my basic questions. I spent the next year reading literature on ethical and moral violence and what a good Christian does.”

After graduating in 1956 with a double-major in English and History, Ellie went to New York City, looking for a role that supported her desire to work for peace. “I knew the names of the peace organizations and told them I was looking for a job.” She was hired by the Fellowship of Reconciliation as one of its first regional field directors, covering Michigan, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York.

Her work coincided with the start of the Montgomery bus boycott. To avoid the impression she and other members of the Fellowship were northerners sent to tell others what to do, Ellie took a leave of absence and paid her own way to Montgomery to observe the movement. 

By the time Ellie arrived, the boycott had been going on almost one year. After her first night in Montgomery, she and Glenn Smiley, the national field secretary for the Fellowship of Reconciliation, walked over to Dr. King’s house. “Dr. King, of course, had studied Gandhi and nonviolence when he was in seminary, and he’d been thinking about it ever since,” Ellie explained. “When the boycott began, it was simply supposed to be a one-day strike. But when it became a movement of love and non-violence, [Glenn Smiley] just got on the bus, knocks on Dr. King’s door, introduced himself and the Fellowship of Reconciliation and said, ‘What can we do to help?’ So that’s how I got acquainted.”

Learning from Dr. King and others has continued to inform Ellie’s ongoing efforts for peace and justice. “We think we know exactly what needs doing in a situation whether we know anything about it or not,” she said. “I keep just trying to learn.”

Ellie continues her dedication to peace and non-violence as a member of the Society of Friends in San Diego.

She also shares what she’s learned with others, including a recent presentation to her fellow-residents at Wesley Palms on Martin Luther King Day. Along with recounting her personal experiences, she distributed copies of a comic book still used to illustrate the principles of non-violent resistance. Learning the principles “gives you the tools in advance, so when you do encounter a situation, you’re ready.” 

Even at 90, Ellie has more to do. “I’m always working on one project or another. Who would think that I would still be working and talking about it – something I did when I was 22?”

The post Wesley Palms resident Ellie Shacter shares lessons learned from working with Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on Front Porch.

“At the time, it was done by hand,” Raleigh recalls. “The editor literally cut and taped each typewritten story onto a piece of paper and then created a master for the copier machine to print it out. So, we knew we’d have to change that.”

“We saw such pride and energy here at Spring Lake Village and that really wasn’t being reflected in the newsletter,” Patricia said. Raleigh added, “This community is blessed with a lot of smart people, who want to know what’s going on. We thought it was a great opportunity to bring us together as a community.

With this idea as their north star, the Wilsons set about reimagining the newsletter to be forward-looking, rather than backward. “We prefer to get people involved in what’s happening and to inspire participation,” Patricia said. “This has turned out to be the method of the newsletter and also why people gravitate to it, Now it’s more about what they can do.”

And it’s come to be something residents depend on.

A Perfect Match for Publishing

Raleigh and Patricia bring unique skills and perspectives to the task. It was Raleigh’s idea to create a consistent structure for the newsletter, so people would know where to find what they’re looking for—the same way you know where to look for the weather in your local paper, for example.

Patricia’s advertising background taught her that when people are smiling, they’re more likely to buy your product. Or in this case, to get involved. “We keep that in mind when we’re writing,” she said. Patricia also understands the value of photos while Raleigh’s deft hand can transform what anyone writes into a crisp, engaging piece.

“One of the joys of being an editor is taking something that someone else wrote and helping them express it better—in essence, coming up with a piece that makes them think, ‘That’s exactly what I wanted to say,’” Raleigh said.

Plus, they both love being involved in the community—and publishing the newsletter is both a motivator and a reward. People expect to see them at events and like getting involved in the process. “Residents feel it provides a glue, pulling everything together. They really look forward to it. We even get a lot of thank you notes,” Patricia said.

Putting it Together

So, how do they actually go about creating the newsletter each month? Well, it takes a village. The Wilsons start with a list of ideas, from upcoming events to administrative happenings and new resident profiles. They also receive submissions from both staff and residents each month, including some regular features, such as the new books section that the community’s librarian compiles. “There’s a lot of back and forth involved,” Patricia explained. “We have to pay attention to what’s going on and sometimes dig in to find out more details.”

Once they have all of the content together, it’s time to put it into layout. Rather than using a set format, the Wilsons let the content dictate the design. They use a frame-based program called Open Office to lay out the content, allowing for last-minute changes, then put the PDF on a thumb drive and head to the business office to print out 390 copies—enough to put one in each resident’s mailbox. In addition, they have about 350 residents and family members who’ve signed up to receive the newsletter via email.

The Wilsons also exchange issues with half a dozen other communities, some of which they guided in launching their own newsletters. When asked for advice, “We always tell people it takes a commitment to consistency,” Patricia said. “The graveyard of newsletters is littered with Volume 1, Issue 1. People may not glom onto it immediately, but stick with it and you’ll get there.”

With 12 years of newsletters published, you can bet the Wilsons have come across some interesting stories. Raleigh loved keeping tabs on the campus remodel that took place over about 18 months. “We reported on different aspects of the project every month, sharing photos and details with residents,” he said. “We’re a senior living community, so not everyone is able to walk from point A to point B to see for themselves. So, they really enjoyed seeing it in the newsletter.”

Patricia loves any story that brings the community together. She’s proud of the high-caliber events and guests they host and enjoys getting a window into what’s going on. She also loves knowing that what she does matters to her neighbors. It’s this strong sense of purpose that makes the Spring Lake Village newsletter so special and makes residents smile when they find it in their mailbox.

“People really look forward to the newsletter,” Patricia said. “Every month there’s something new and intriguing. Almost every story fascinates me—and I figure if it fascinates me, it’s going to be interesting to somebody else, too.”

The post Wilsons Keep Spring Lake Village Informed — and Involved appeared first on Front Porch.

“You could say Santa Barbara is part of my DNA,” Marjorie said with a laugh. “Why would I want to live anywhere else?”

But Marjorie’s roots in California go back even further – seven generations further. She is the direct descendant of Luis Quintero, one of the original founders of the City of Los Angeles on September 4, 1781, then known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles. Her descendants moved to Santa Barbara in 1783. Given her historic past, it’s no wonder Marjorie chose to stay in Santa Barbara when selecting a senior living community.

“When I broke my leg on vacation in India, that was a significant moment in my life,” Marjorie said. “I started to think about my future. My kids took care of me when I had the broken leg but I did not want them to have to take care of me forever.”

Fortunately, around that time, Marjorie was a volunteer at Vista del Monte’s renowned Fitness and Aquatic Center, where she also enjoyed jazzercise classes. She did her due diligence and checked out other communities but they did not feel like home.

“I knew deep down Vista was the right place,” she said. “The other places I looked at were large and impersonal. Here, the community is intimate and inspirational.”

One of Marjorie’s desires was to live in a place where she could continue her active lifestyle, not only at Vista but in the greater community. Every August, she enjoys attending Old Spanish Days Fiesta, a citywide celebration of its heritage and attends mass at her long-time church nearby.

She is a theater buff and attends plays at numerous venues in the area. In fact, for 30 years, Marjorie was a volunteer usher at the Granada, Garvin, Arlington and the Lobero, the oldest continuously operating theater in California and the fourth oldest performing arts theater in the country. “During that time, I crossed paths with Desmond Tutu, Joe Biden and when the Russian Ballet performed here, Mikhail Baryshnikov.”

At Vista, Marjorie enjoys water volleyball, Pilates, meditation, Rummikub and doesn’t miss the Friday night happy hour each week. She also reads a book a week while enjoying quiet times. She was thrilled in 2015 when King Felipe the VI of Spain visited Santa Barbara to meet with Spanish decedents. “I actually shook hands with the King!” Marjorie said. “That was exciting.”

“I love having choices here at Vista,” she said. “I can be as busy as I would like to be. I pick the things I like and I do them in a community I love.”

The post Marjorie Elkin Continues to Find Inspiration in Santa Barbara and Vista del Monte appeared first on Front Porch.

“He doesn’t just breathe life into paper, he breathes magic into it,” said one of his students. From the elegant sweep of graceful swans and the intricate bloom of flowers, to mesmerizing geometric marvels and puppetry that dance with life, David’s origami creations evoke nothing short of sheer awe.

Origami is a centuries-old art form that traces its origins to the Land of the Rising Sun in the 17th century, although China, with its rich tradition of paper manipulation, also has a stake in this captivating tale. The word is derived from the fusion of two Japanese words — “ori” meaning “fold” and “kami” meaning “paper”. It involves creating paper forms entirely by folding — typically birds, other animals, geometric shapes, puppets, masks, and boxes.

Artists find inspiration in many ways. For David, a retired educator and college professor, being an eyewitness to the historic events of World War II and its aftermath was his catalyst. Born in Hawaii of Japanese descent, David was 12 years old when he was an eyewitness to the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. He also read about the terrible devastation caused when four years later, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war.

David’s artistic journey began after reading about Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was severely burned by radiation as a result of the Hiroshima bomb. While the 12 year old girl was recuperating in a Japanese hospital, she believed her illness would disappear if she completed 1,000 origami cranes.

Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death in 1955, at age 14. But her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. David was one of those friends.

“Her story really moved me,” David said. “I wanted to help. I needed to help.” At that point, David knew nothing about origami but used his newly realized inspiration to take action. He read several books on paper folding and taught himself how to make a paper crane. He ended up sending 100 cranes to Sadako.

“I realized what a beautiful art origami is and continued learning,” David said. “Soon, it became a passion.” David describes origami as a union between the mathematics of geometry and the visual arts. It’s a place where right brain meets left.

Dozens of origami cranes are displayed throughout his apartment at Claremont Manor. One of David’s most intricate pieces is an elephant folded from a dollar bill and one of his most ambitious pieces is a wreath that hangs on his front door, a collage of 50 colorful cranes strung together. “Some take a few hours and some take up to 50 hours to make,” David said. “For me, it’s relaxing, a way to be creative and most of all, it’s very enjoyable.”

“Origami is a blend of geometry and visual art,” David said. He showcases his favorite pieces at Claremont Manor and welcomes all skill levels to fun-filled workshops, sharing secrets and guiding students to create their origami masterpieces in just a few hours.

“Origami stimulates creativity and imagination and develops patience and dexterity of hand,” David said. “With a little time and desire to make something of beauty, anyone can enjoy this art.”

During his teaching career, David authored a textbook titled “Proofreading and Editing Precision,” which was widely used at high schools and colleges throughout the U.S. He has a degree in business communications with applied psychology.

The post David Kane Finds Joy and Inspiration in the Folded Magic of Origami appeared first on Front Porch.

It’s mid-summer and the landscape surrounding Eleanor Foerster’s cottage at Claremont Manor is mostly solid green, with just a few dots of white, yellow and red blooms from her rose bushes. But just wait until spring.

For almost a decade around April, there’s been a block of endless color around Eleanor’s Claremont home. Purples bumped up next to oranges, lavender-gold next to a steely blue. The Irises have bloomed!

Eleanor’s love of irises began in the 1960s while living in Porterville, in Tulare County, California. “My mother and grandmother adored irises,” Eleanor said. “My parents were teachers but also farmers. We had chickens, cows, horses and of course irises.”

Her mother Marguerite’s passion blossomed into a collection of dozens of varieties of the flowering plant. Eleanor’s parents befriended cross-town neighbors Jim and Edna Gibson. Jim was a teacher but also an Iris hybridizer who crossed different varieties of the plant to create new colors. He shared Marguerite’s enthusiasm for the colorful plant.

“He outlived both my parents and became somewhat of a mentor to me with regard to irises,” Eleanor said. “He taught me and my husband everything about them.”

In 1982 Marguerite passed away but not before insisting to Eleanor that she take her irises. “She said they are your inheritance. Take them everywhere you go.” She did so and when she and her husband, who she calls “my partner in gardening” before his death last year, moved to Claremont Manor in 2015 she brought more than 50 irises with her. “I was not going to move somewhere where there was no dirt,” Eleanor said with a laugh. “I was fortunate to find exactly what I was looking for at Claremont Manor.”

Eleanor moved to a one-bedroom cottage on the east end of the campus. The home had recently been remodeled so the landscape was a blank slate. “I told the landscapers that I would take care of the plants because I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”

Her front, side and back yards are filled with enough irises to make any gardener proud. Row upon row surround walkways by slim barriers of stepping stones and edging. The perennial plants are the result of countless hours of digging, composting, fertilizing, staking, labeling, weeding and clearing. She currently raises 42 different Tall Bearded irises in various colors.

“Irises are just beautiful,” Eleanor said. “Looking at an iris is like looking at a piece of lace. They have a special place on earth.”

From a humble beginning of just a few plants on her parent’s farm, Eleanor says the passion has taken over. While there are other trees, plants and flowers in her garden — king palms, roses, salvia and gerbera daisies, among others, It’s the irises for which Eleanor is most known.

Irises come in four original colors called flags – blue, yellow, bluish-purple and white. All other colors are the result of hybridization, which causes more blooms and heartier plants. For years, Eleanor said, growers have tried to create a red bloom through hybridization but have not yet been successful, although coming close with a pink flower.

Iris flower history dates back to Ancient Greece and drawings are still visible in a number of ancient palaces. According to Greek mythology, Iris was the messenger of the gods, a connection between heaven and mortal human beings on earth. Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and beautiful flowers sprouted wherever she stepped. 

Walking her garden, Eleanor can unfailingly recite the whimsical names of her plants, (given by the grower-hybridizer), including “Achy-breaky Heart,” “Going My Way,” “Drama Queen,” “Gypsy Lord” and “Bottle Rocket,” among dozens more. She keeps a detailed hand-written log (for her own enjoyment) as to when each flower blooms (or doesn’t bloom) each spring. “It’s hit and miss,” she said, pointing to several plants that did not bloom this year. Irises are draught tolerant so the worst thing a grower can do is over water, “The roots can rot and destroy the plant’s rhizome (rootstock) with too much water,” Eleanor said with conviction.

Eleanor’s knowledge of Irises is so vast that she recently prepared a detailed audio-visual presentation to share with fellow residents. She hopes one or more of her 6 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren will embrace their inheritance and carry on the tradition of raising irises.

“My mother said it best,” Eleanor said. “Each Iris speaks to you. Once you get to know them you know exactly how to take care of them.”

The post Plant, Grow, Love appeared first on Front Porch.

Marilyn has been passionate about music ever since she began toting around her double bass as a high schooler growing up in California’s Central Valley. “In the summertime, the orchestra played in the local park’s outdoor bowl,” she remembered. “In the orchestra, basses were positioned in a place where we were surrounded by sound on all sides. The emotional experience was overwhelming, and I was moved to tears.”

Since then, Marilyn has been on a mission to bring that kind of transformative musical experience to others around her. There were twists and turns along the way. “My entire life did not go according to plan,” she said. “It evolved out of many serendipitous turns of events, which resulted in a totally enjoyable life.”

“One of those serendipitous detours was my becoming a member of the East Bay Opera League in 2000, while I was still managing a small opera company I had founded in the early 90s,” she added. She also held the position of chairperson of the Young Artists Scholarship Awards Program, which brought her into contact with numerous talented Bay Area-based musicians.

These contacts have been instrumental in developing musical programming for St. Paul’s Towers. For instance, the accompanying pianist for the former organization’s music programs and annual auditions is music director and orchestra conductor at Livermore Valley Opera, where she organized regular bus trips to matinees before the pandemic.

One thing that Marilyn is proud of is her success in introducing members of the St. Paul’s Towers community to different genres of music. “When I came in, the Music Committee had been presenting classical chamber music for the past 10 years,” she said. “I wanted to mix it up and be more inclusive of the preferences of all residents.  We have a very diversified audience when it comes to music preferences.”

Marilyn surveyed the community to ask which kinds of music they wanted to hear. After getting their feedback, she added opera and jazz to the mix. As someone who appreciates all genres, she knew that each variety would offer something to its listeners. To ease residents into unfamiliar musical territory, she enlisted a friend, jazz violinist Mads Tolling, a classically trained violinist from Denmark who had switched over to jazz.  He was commissioned to write a violin concerto for the Oakland Symphony and is a two-time Grammy Award winner for jazz violin.  Mads was asked by Marilyn to help introduce jazz to the predominantly classical-oriented audience which adores talented violinists. She suggested Mads begin playing a familiar song everyone knew, with the beautiful classical interpretation he can do so well. Then, after he knew he had won their approval, she suggested he slide  smoothly into his jazz form.  He hit all the right notes.

Since then, Marilyn has organized many musical performances, both inside and outside the walls of St. Paul’s Towers. She spearheads fundraising campaigns, handles logistics for outings, and even writes program notes for performances. She’s in love with the art — and with sharing it with others.

“Music has healing qualities, and it speaks to each of us differently,” Marilyn explained, citing its proven psychological and physical benefits. At St. Paul’s Towers, local performances from professional musicians give residents who supported the arts earlier in their lives the opportunity to re-engage. They also spark potential new interests among those with little prior experience with music.

Fast forward to post-COVID, and the Music Committee is beginning to host performers once again. Marilyn brings multi-instrumentalist and former U.C. Berkeley music instructor Macy Blackman to the outdoor terrace at St. Paul’s, where he plays at cookouts with his quintet. His first performance several years ago, presented an overview of various types of jazz, which appealed to the sensibilities of the academic-leaning crowd, winning both hearts and minds.

Marilyn looks forward to continuing to pay forward the positive experiences she had with music earlier in her life. “I have always been a contributing participant of every community I ever belonged to, and this is my way of giving back,” she said. “I don’t have loads of formal training in music, but I have had a serendipitous life that’s allowed me to stay connected with musicians and the music world.  I’m grateful for that.”

Marilyn believes everyone has something to add to the community. She is happy to have found a contribution that truly resonates at St. Paul’s Towers.

The post Opera, Classical, and All that Jazz: Marilyn Kosinski Brings Musical Acts to St. Paul’s Towers appeared first on Front Porch.

During her travels she has seen the works of some of the world’s great masters including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

“I remember attending a Getty sponsored reception at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and standing in a room full of Rembrandts,” Nancy said. “It was an unforgettable experience.”

As an editor, part of Nancy’s job was to digitally catalogue great artists and their works, or as she puts it … “bring the art world into the computer age.”

Although she appreciates the great masters, she tends to gravitate toward contemporary American artists like Anne Laddon, Edward Hopper, Dave Spurlin and Myra Burg. In fact, Nancy’s favorite piece is Laddon’s “Comida Mexicana,” a hand-pulled serigraph (silkscreen) depicting various Mexican hot sauces and other canned foods, inspired by décor found at Mexican restaurants. Her cottage is filled with all of her favorite pieces, including her favorite medium, fiber art, as well as several quilts, designed by fellow resident and friend Joan Guyon.

“It was recently my honor to coordinate an exhibit here at Claremont Manor showcasing all of Joan’s beautiful quilts,” Nancy said. “Her work is just unbelievable.”

After Nancy received her Ph.D. in English from Claremont Graduate University, she worked as an editor at the Information Sciences Institute. She was involved in the pioneering work of creating the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet, in the 1970s. “Soon after, I became one of the first people, probably in the world, to have an email address. It was an exciting time.”

Nancy has lived at Claremont Manor for a little over a year. She moved from Pacific Palisades after her husband died to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren, who live in Claremont. “I was familiar with the area, having gone to school here, and my house was so big, it was just the time for me to move,” Nancy said. “Claremont Manor seemed to be the perfect fit. In fact, my grandchildren can walk here from their school so I see them all of the time.”

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