Sallie developed her passion for gardening as a child growing up on her parents’ farm in the Salinas Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in California. It was there where she found a deep connection to the earth – a connection she maintains at Canterbury Woods. Anyone who visits her home immediately notices the beautiful flowers and plants that circle her bungalow. Immediately after arriving in 2011, Sallie saw the potential for a beautiful garden, not only for her own home but for the entire community.

“There was a big plot of Canterbury Woods land next to the parking lot that was once a garden when the community was first built in 1965 but that had not been tended to, so the first thing that came to my mind was why not revitalize this space?” Sallie said. She soon got to work with a local landscape designer who had consulted for Canterbury Woods to create an oasis for all residents to enjoy.

When Sallie moved to Canterbury Woods working in the gardens and contributing to the   community’s landscaping fund via the Front Porch Communities Foundation, were her ways to pay it forward. “I have this community in my heart,” she said. “It’s so meaningful to me to be able to provide support for Canterbury Woods through my time and gifts.”

Sallie’s contributions to the landscaping fund made the garden’s rejuvenation possible. The result is multicolored plants, camellias, and a Japanese black pine tree to complement the nearby koi pond.

“We’re making it a modern garden,” Sallie noted. The project updates the heart of the garden and creates a space for residents to gather. Residents regularly host happy hours there and have plans to enjoy barbecues and other social events.

When it came time to christen the new garden, residents voted unanimously to rename the space “Sallie’s Garden,” in honor of all of Sallie’s contributions to the garden and the wider Canterbury Woods community.

“I never expected the garden to be named after me,” Sallie said, “but I felt proud and honored.”

No doubt Sallie has established deep roots at Canterbury Woods literally and figuratively. Her parents, Henry and Muriel Brun, lived at the community in the 1980s and ‘90s paving her way to residency.

“I remember visiting them all of the time and saw how happy they were,” Sallie remembers. “I knew even back then that when I retired I did not want to live anywhere else.”

The post Sallie Grows a Gathering Space at Canterbury Woods 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.

While he has delighted children with his work for years, his first audience was his own children, for whom he wrote original stories in the 1960s. One day Peter and his editor were going over a college textbook Peter was writing. One of Peter’s home-made children’s books was lying on the table and caught the editor’s eye. And from then on, it’s children’s books that they produced.

At Friends House, Peter continues to be involved in literary activities. For eight years, he brought artists and writers to the community as a member of the Program Committee. Now, he’s the editor of the poetry column in Friends House’s weekly newsletter, contributing commentary on poems old and contemporary. He chooses poems that he says “speak to people who’ve been around a while.”

His selections resonate. Every few weeks or so, he gets feedback from his fellow residents. “Sometimes I get a little note from somebody thanking me, or sometimes somebody stops me and says, ‘I really liked that one,’” Peter said. And that means a great deal to him.

Before joining the Friends House community, Peter held academic appointments at Harvard, Stony Brook, and West Virginia universities. He also lectured in Sweden and Finland and conducted research at the International Youth Library in Munich. He has published more than 10 children’s books.

Occasionally, Peter speaks about children’s literature, discussing the history of the genre and the work of author-artists such as Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak. He brings up topics such as the role of the Industrial Revolution in launching children’s books as an “industry,” or the political agendas of books such as Maurice Sendak’s “We’re All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy.” Sometimes he talks about his own career, his collaboration with Edward Gorey, and his encounters with writers such as Tove Jansson (“Finn Family Moomintrolls,”) Astrid Lindgren (“Pippi Longstocking”) and Hans and Margaret Rey (“Curious George”).

Peter is particularly interested in examining the art of picture books, which he says have echoes in classical painting. “I love Peter Rabbit, and it deserves a very slow reading,” he added. “There’s an awful lot to see in it,” whether that’s humor, exquisite watercolor, or feminist commentary.”

Speaking to audiences about children’s literature is a way for Peter to engage in the intellectual stimulation that he craves. “I’m still in my head where I’ve been for the last 50 years with literary criticism,” he explained. Keeping a pulse on what’s happening in the literary world is key. “Children’s literature is thriving in the United States,” Peter said. “It’s attracted some of the best minds.”

At Friends House, he has found a community of people with wide-ranging interests and depth of knowledge. He’s grateful to have the chance to share his work with his neighbors. “I’ve seen the field grow into a very respectable and fascinating endeavor,” he said. “That I can’t quite leave it even now, should attest to its fascination.”

Reflecting on his career, Peter considers himself fortunate. He had the opportunity to travel the world to further his research and to explore questions of interest to him. He’s happy to continue his intellectual pursuits during his time at Friends House.

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