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PRIMETIMERHODE ISLAND D E C E M B E R 2 0 11
SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER
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Happy Holidays!
• Holiday Arrangements• Poinsettias, Norfolk Pines, Dish Gardens and
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• Gift Baskets – Italian Gourmet & Fruit• Plush • Silks • Balloons
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PR I M ETI M EDecember 2011
1944 Warwick Ave.Warwick, RI 02889
401-732-3100 FAX 401-732-3110
Distribution Special Delivery
PUBLISHERSBarry W. Fain, Richard G. Fleischer,
John Howell
EDITORMeg Fraser
MARKETING DIRECTOR Donna Zarrella
CREATIVE DIRECTORLinda Nadeau
WRITERSDon Fowler, Don D’Amato, John Howell,Joan Retsinas, Mike Fink, Meg Chevalier,Cynthia Glinick, Joe Kernan, Kerry Park
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
Donna Zarrella – [email protected] Soder, Lisa Mardenli, Janice Torilli,
Suzanne Wendoloski, Gina Fugere
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
Sue Howarth – [email protected] Wardell – [email protected]
PRODUCTION STAFFMatt Bower, Joseph Daniels,
Brian Geary, Lisa Yuettner
A Joint Publication of East Side Monthlyand Beacon Communications.
PrimeTime Magazine is published monthly and is available at over 400 locations throughout Rhode Island. Letters to the editor are welcome. We will not print unsigned letters unless exceptional circumstances can be shown.
INTHISISSUE
SENIOR ISSUESDirector’s column .......................................................................... 9Retirement Sparks ...................................................................... 11Caregivers recognized for ‘special hearts’
PEOPLE & PLACESGlimpse of RI’s Past..................................................................... 10Doer’s pro!le ................................................................................. 12A worthy cause ............................................................................ 20
FOOD & DRINKIn the kitchen ................................................................................ 12
LIFESTYLESThat’s Entertainment ................................................................. 18What do you Fink? ...................................................................... 19
ONTHECOVERNutcracker collection from Wishes Under Wrap (PHOTO BY MAE GAMMINO)
Meg Fraser EDITOR
A survey conducted by Steelhouse Marketing Consultants asked 1,000 consumers how they planned to spend their hard-earned, hard-to-come-by dollars this holiday season.
Fifty-six percent of families predict they will comparison shop more than they have in the past, and a whopping 62 percent predict they will spend less money overall on the holidays.
[Insert line about how bad the economy is.]I don’t need to tell you that times are tough, or that people are struggling. You’ve heard it all be-
fore. It has occupied headlines for years now. Heck, it’s even occupied city parks. Rather than dwell on the bad, though, I think the holidays are a time to focus on the good.
As Charles Dickens wrote in his classic, “A Christmas Carol,” “It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
!e surest way to laughter and good humor isn’t from an expensive piece of jewelry or a new wardrobe (though we’ve covered those bases in this issue, too); the path to holiday cheer is by spend-ing time with the people you love. Normal Rockwell didn’t depict flashy gifts; his brush strokes captured the love of family surrounding the table, enjoying a warm meal together.
Rockwell’s art and Dickens’ words speak to the heart of the holiday season. So if more families are able to get back to that experience instead of getting caught up in the commercialization of Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever holiday you celebrate, then maybe there are some bright spots to this bad economy after all.
At the Providence Rescue Mission, volunteers bring dignity back to the families who are su"er-ing during these tough times, and we were able to see that work firsthand for this issue of PrimeTime. In addition to serving hundreds of meals for !anksgiving, the shelter opens its doors in December
and allows parents to shop for new presents for their children. !ey aren’t handed a generic gift for “boy, age 6.” !ey choose the toy they think their son or daughter would most appreciate, and the child never knows that the Mission exists.
For those of you who are lucky enough to have some shopping money set aside, we went on a spree through Garden City and scoped out all the best gifts this season. But before you get out the wrapping paper, wrap your home in the Christmas spirit with decorating tips and tricks from Laurie Langford of Wishes Under Wrap in Johnston. Langford’s famous upside down Christ-mas tree can be seen on this month’s cover. Don’t forget to turn on the holiday tunes. Don Fowler caught up with the West Bay Chorale and asked them about their favorite December carols.
We didn’t want to give Christmas all the at-tention, though, and I got a serious education on Jewish traditions this year courtesy of Cantor Richard Perlman. I had no idea that the dreidel was used by Jewish children as a decoy so they wouldn’t be persecuted for studying their faith. I also had no idea that Hanukkah is a minor event in the Jewish religion. Basically, I knew nothing. So if you were in the same boat as me, definitely check out my piece on Jewish traditions.
When you’re ready for a break from the holi-days (that does tend to happen), read about the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in this month’s A Worthy Cause, try a new restaurant with !at’s Entertainment, and don’t miss Re-tirement Sparks, because it had me laughing out loud.
No matter what holidays you celebrate, or what your plans are this December, try to avoid the madness. When someone cuts you o" on the highway, brush it o". When shoppers are pushy at the mall, smile and say, “Happy Holidays.” And when your family or friends start to drive you up a wall, remember that you’re lucky to have them around you. It’s what Dickens would do.
Happy Holidays!
6 INVESTING IN GIFTS
7 FESTIVALS OF LIGHTSA look at Jewish traditions for Hanukkah and beyond
4 DECK THE HALLSWishes Under Wrap makes decorating a breeze
15 HERE WE COME A!WASSAILING West Bay Chorale belts out their favorite Christmas carols
A guide to start-ing investments for your grandkids
16 COUNT YOUR BLESSINGSProvidence Rescue Mission makes the holidays special for R.I. families
13 SANTA’SHELPERA guide to the best gifts at Garden City
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b y MEG FRASER
PHOTOS BY MAE GAMMINO
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Deck the
HallsFor Laurie Langford, the holiday
season lasts year-round.It’s been that way for 17 years.“I always wanted to open my own
business and at that time, in 1994, there were very few gift shops,” she said. “I’ve always liked decorating and being creative, and I love shop-ping, but I wanted to do something di"erent.”
Something di"erent became Wishes Under Wrap, a specialty gift shop in Johnston that carries every-thing from handbags to gourmet food. !ey o"er customized baskets starting at $20, and have many gifts under $10. Wishes Under Wrap ships worldwide, delivers locally, and also o"ers shopping parties where the hostess earns a percentage of profits from her event.
One of the biggest draws for shoppers, though, is Langford’s collection of holiday decorations.
“I love decorating trees. I’ve always done it for family and here in the store,” Langford said. “People would tell me, ‘you should take your trees outside.’ At that point it gave me the idea that I should go to a few businesses and see if they want me to put a tree in their foyer.”
Last year, her Christmas window display caught the attention of a business Langford never expected to work with.
A woman from Twin River Casino saw Langford’s holiday cre-ations - including an upside down Christmas tree decked out in coppers and reds - and reached out to the business owner.
Months of paperwork and negotiations later, Langford received a three-year contract to decorate Twin River for the holidays.
“I was so excited and yet I had butterflies,” she said. “I was nervous because it was something I never even dreamt I would be doing.”
By the time the contract was signed, it was already October, and Langford needed to have the casino dressed to impress by !anks-giving. !e challenge ahead included a 15-foot Christmas tree, a 12-foot tree, two 9-foot trees, four 7-foot trees and a fireplace set-ting. Add in another dozen wreaths, and she had her work cut out for her.
It took 600 feet of garland to recreate Langford’s signature holi-day style, but thanks to the help of longtime employee Elena Berg-sten taking care of the store, and her husband David Crogan at her side, sometimes working through the night, Wishes Under Wrap transformed the casino into a winter wonderland.
!is year, Langford feels even more confident going into the Twin River project. After all, she’s been in Christmas mode since January.
Starting just after the New Year, Langford attends gift shows to find out what colors and styles of decorations will be popular the following December. In the summer, orders are placed, and the inventory is ready to put out by fall.
!e first week of November, Langford and Bergsten are on step-
ladders, hanging ornaments that have been specifically selected for Wishes Under Wrap customers.
“For my customers, I’m look-ing for quality but a"ordability, and my customers like to see something unique,” Langford said.
She o"ers snowflakes and Santa ornaments, angels and wreaths.
“I think because of the economy, people are moving back toward things that are familiar, that make them feel good,” she said.
Langford is a sucker for anything that sparkles.
“My favorite thing is glitter,” she said. “!e lights just twinkle on the glitter and it makes everything so fes-tive.”
Langford’s also a fan of snowflakes, and recommends using these holiday-neutral choices if you want to keep your tree up past Christmas. By changing the ribbons or other subtle details, the tree can last through Valentine’s Day.
One emerging trend she sees is the use of natural ornaments and decorations, and trees adorned with ferns, feathers, leaves and bird orna-ments.
Unsure of how to decorate your home? Langford says leave it to Bing Crosby.
“First, I put on some Christmas music. Christmas music puts me in the mood,” she said.
!en, look at the colors in your home and figure out what holiday color scheme will work best.
“If they have children, I usually suggest a very traditional look with lots of reds and greens - make it fun,” she said.
Bright kiwi green is popular now for families, but older couples go-ing for a more elegant look often opt for reds and golds.
“You can even add a touch of black ribbon and it really pops,” Lang-ford said.
She always uses three colors in her trees, and says a good way to make a fantastic looking tree without breaking the bank is by relying on ribbon to make a statement, rather than expensive ornaments.
“Ribbons, I think, make a tree,” she said.If you’re tired of the look your tree has been sporting for the past
decade, trade out one of your three colors for a new one, and it can com-pletely change the aesthetic.
Most importantly, have fun with it; Langford certainly does.“I enjoy what I’m doing,” she says, “it’s always a lot of fun.”Wishes Under Wrap is located at 225 Greenville Avenue in Johnston.
Holiday hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 3, they will host a Holiday Open House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in-cluding refreshments and door prizes. For more information, visit www.wishesunderwrap.com or call 232-1190.
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Investing in gifts for the grandkidsA study from Grandparents.com
finds that American grandparents spend more than $50 billion annually on their grandkids. Of that astonishing total, $16 billion is going toward clothing and toys alone in the form of gifts.
To put that in perspective, the amount of money grandmothers and grandfathers spend on party dresses, video games and jewelry as graduation, birthday or holiday gifts is about 10 times the government’s annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Despite the recession, America’s 70 million grandparents continue to be a gift-giving force.
Regardless of what the present is for, the act of gift giving is about happi-ness, both on the part of the person giv-ing the gift and the person receiving it. But here’s a question grandparents might want to ask themselves: Am I giving gifts just for immediate pleasure, or should I be thinking more about what a gift can mean for their future?
A di"erent Grandparents.com study
ents) managerial authority. Custodial ac-counts are typically set up in the child’s name, which could o"er a nice tax ben-efit, while also teaching the value of in-vesting. Because these accounts are for minors almost exclusively, some broker-age firms o"er reduced fees and waive minimum purchase requirements.
Part of the joy of grandparenting is spoiling your grandkids. Instead of do-ing it just with trendy toys, give a gift that will help get them to their next graduation and beyond. Your grandchil-dren will thank you now and later.Dan Greenshields, CFA, is President of ShareBuilder Securities Corporation, a subsidiary of ING Bank, fsb. For more information, visit www.sharebuilder.com/gift.
b y DAN GREENSHIELDS HAPPY HOLIDAYS
found that grandparents spend nearly $1,700 on each new grandchild annually. Even if a small portion of that came in the form of stocks - instead of easily forgotten novelty gifts, for example - long-term hap-piness could show big returns.
Introduce young minds to investing
Giving kids stock isn’t just about the monetary value of the stock shares. It’s also about introducing young minds to the world of investing. Just like a new baseball glove inspires dreams of playing in the big leagues, a share of stock could spark a life-long passion for numbers, economics and current events. Let the kids help decide where to invest the money. No matter how his or her portfolio performs, they are get-ting a hands-on introduction to the world of finance and financial responsibility.
In a world saturated with video games, social media and television, a world where 71 percent of children between 8 and 18 years old have a TV set in their bedroom, kids may welcome a chance to stimulate
their brains with something new. !ese days, kids can track their stocks’ perfor-mance any time they want, even on their smart phones.
Children who get interested in the stock market at a young age quickly learn how it works, and in many cases start to invest their own money in additional shares. Instead of tuning out to mindless reality TV, they might start flipping to CNBC or Bloomberg television for news. And who knows, they might even ask you for help.
Invest in their future
Investing, obviously, is also about ac-cruing money and learning how to man-age it. !is generation of young people needs to understand money management just as much as their older counterparts.
A good introduction to investing is by purchasing stocks through a custo-dial investment account. !ese accounts give kids ownership over their portfolio but also give their parents (or grandpar-
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b y MEG FRASER HAPPY HOLIDAYS
By the time millions of children wake up on Dec. 25 to see what Santa Claus left for them, their Jewish peers will be five days into their Hanukkah celebrations.
For many Christians, when they think of the Jewish faith, they think about Hanuk-kah.
Truth be told, though, it’s not what Jews think about.“Hanukkah is a minor holiday,” said Cantor Richard Perlman, who will soon be or-
dained as a rabbi at Temple Am David in Warwick, where he is also the director of educa-tion.
He says Passover, Rosh Hashana, Sukkot and Yom Kippur are all more revered as holy days. And the most important day of the year, he adds, is the Sabbath.
“!e Sabbath day is the day of rest; it’s the day when all work stops,” he said.!e catch is that it happens every week. From sunset on Friday until sunset on Sat-
urday, Jewish people are meant to lay their work aside. Services are held at the temple on Friday night, and again the next morning when they read from the Torah. After going home to rest and study, they reconvene at the temple on Saturday evening.
“It takes us from Wall Street to, ‘I don’t care. I’m here to celebrate.’ It’s a stop day,” Perlman said. “!ere’s something very nice about that, stopping to take a breath.”
For an Orthodox Jew (someone who adheres to the traditional interpretation of the Torah), or a Jewish family who observes the Sabbath in its truest form, even lighting a candle or cooking a meal would be considered “work.” Conservative Jews, who take a more modernized approach to their faith, observe the Sabbath at varying degrees, as do Reform Jews, which take the most liberal approach to the religion.
!e structure of Hanukkah, on the other hand, is much looser than the Sabbath, and the preparations are minimal.
With Rosh Hashana, for example, Perlman will blow the shofar every day for a month prior to the holiday, with the exception of Sabbath days. !e blowing of the shofar is meant to remind Jewish families of the important day to come. With Passover, too, there are extensive preparations, as families clean their homes, change dishes and ensure that no leavening products are used in their meals.
To prepare for Hanukkah, all families must do is get their menorahs out of storage.Dreidels are another commonly recognized symbol of the holiday. During the period
of oppression, young Jews were forbidden to study, but continued to do so at their own risk. !ey kept dreidels close at hand so they could pretend to be playing tops when their oppressors were nearby.
“!e dreidel became this symbol of freedom,” Perlman said.!e Hebrew characters on most dreidels roughly translate to “a great miracle hap-
pened there.” A dreidel from Israel has one variation, so it instead reads, “a great miracle happened here.”
!e roots of Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, date back to that period of oppres-sion by the Syrians during the 4th century B.C. In a David versus Goliath battle, Judah Maccabee was able to lead a small army of Jewish people to defeat the massive Greek forces against all odds and reclaim the temple.
“We’ve been hurt; we’ve been taken down many times, but we survived and that’s a miracle,” Perlman said. “We had the opportunity to do something that was impossible to do, by the grace of God.”
To symbolize the importance of what happened when the temple was reclaimed, and the miracle of having enough oil to last eight days, Jewish people serve traditional foods fried in oil, such as latkes and jelly donuts.
Still, with the commercialization of the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, so too has Hanukkah been commercialized. Jewish children, understandably envi-ous of the gifts and festivities surrounding Christmas, began to receive gifts on each night of Hanukkah.
Orthodox Jews do not exchange presents for the holiday, and even Reform Jews have di"erent interpretations of how the holiday should be observed. Perlman does not criticize families who do exchange presents, but he and his wife do not.
“I believe Hanukkah is more of a festival of trying to give to the less fortunate. We try to teach the kids to give to charity,” he said. “!e miracle of Hanukkah really has nothing to do with gift giving; it has to do with giving generously and remembering we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for God.”
In that sense, Perlman appreciates the publicity that Christmas gets. People tend to be more charitable and considerate to strangers during the holiday season, and that mindset fits in with the teachings of Judaism. In fact, for several seasons, Perlman took on the role of Santa Claus (“Cantor Claus” was his nickname) while volunteering for a social service agency that made phone calls to children who were sick or going through a rough time.
“I wish it was Christmas all year long,” Perlman said. “Why can’t we be kind and giv-ing and caring every day?”
Regardless of whether you celebrate Hanukkah or Christmas, however, Perlman just hopes people remember what they’re celebrating during the holiday season.
“We’re not a religious society anymore, so we’re hung up on the ‘fun’ holidays like Hanukkah. But we can’t lose sight of what it really is,” he said. “It’s about the salvation.”
Festival of
Lights
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b y DON FOWLER PEOPLE & PLACES
Name _________________________________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________________________
Phone# _______________________________________________________________________________
e-mail _________________________________________________________________________________
MAIL ENTRIES TO: BEACON COMMUNICATIONS1944 Warwick Ave., Warwick, RI 02889attn: I Found It!or send an e-mail to: [email protected]
Entry Deadline: December 31, 2011.
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Newport woman writes excitingnovel about Antarctica
J. D. Boss was at the PrimeTime Senior Living Expo this fall, promoting the New-port Writers group, in addition to her new novel, “Deception Island.”
I picked it up ... and couldn’t put it down.
Her favorite travel destination is Ant-arctica, the site she chose for an exciting novel about an evolutionary anthropologist who becomes involved in secret genetic ex-periments being performed by bioterrorists in an abandoned World War II Nazi base beneath the Antarctic ice.
!e novel is a fast-paced read that jumps from one adventure to another with a bit of a love story thrown in.
!ere’s a pendant with seemingly magic powers, a frozen body and some eerie an-tagonists to deal with before all the pieces are put together.
I enjoyed the many realistic references to Antarctica, as Boss mixes fantasy and re-ality to create suspense and intrigue at every turn.
“Deception Island” is available at ama-zon.com and barnesandnobel.com.
CALENDAR OF EVENTSLighting the wayTake a lantern-lit stroll through historic Newport on a 75-minute tour through Dec. 23. Tours leave at 4:30 p.m. and o"er insight into how residents of colo-nial Newport celebrated the holidays. Reservations are encouraged, as space is limited, and tickets are $12 per person. For more information, call 841-8770 or go to www.NewportHistory.org.
Most wonderful time of the yearThe sidewalks of historic downtown Westerly will be lined with luminaria as Rhode Islanders enjoy a hayride with Santa, listen to holiday music and get a jump on shopping in the local stores. There will be discounts and promotions available during the stroll, which takes place on Dec. 7, from 5 to 9 p.m. Go to www.westerlychamber.org for details!
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SENIOR ISSUES b y C A T H E R I N E T E R R Y T A Y L O R DIREC TOR, R I DEPAR TMENT OF ELDER LY AFFAIRS
Under the provisions of the Older Americans Act, the Rhode Island Divi-sion of Elderly A"airs (DEA) is charged with developing and monitoring pro-grams that prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. To meet this responsi-bility, DEA partners with federal, state and community agencies, as well as local law enforcement and fire departments, to promote the safety and security of more than 202,000 persons in Rhode Island age 60 and older. Given the complex nature of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, it is not always clear where to turn when we suspect an elder has been harmed.
Collaboration is the key.DEA developed the Senior Police Ad-
vocate network with municipal and state law enforcement o,cials, and firefighters joined the network in 2005. Every year, !e Rhode Island Citizens’ Commission for the Safety and Care of the Elderly, in partnership with DEA, sponsors a train-ing session for these advocates, who are designated by their individual commu-nities. DEA updates the advocates on the latest issues a"ecting seniors and the advocates get a chance to report on local safety concerns.
We recently conducted the 2011 Se-nior Police and Fire Advocate Training at the Pilgrim Senior Center in Warwick. Providers and state workers joined the advocates to cross-train. More than 100 professionals were in attendance. For the first time, we brought the Police and Fire Advocates together with representatives of DEA’s Adult Protective Service Unit, the O,ce of Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman and the RI Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental
Senior Safety NetDisabilities and Hospital’s (BHDDH) Quality Assurance Unit. !e five entities presented on the Duty to Report statutes that govern their activities, and what hap-pens when a report is made.
DEA Adult Protective Services (APS) Unit is responsible for accepting and in-vestigating reports of abuse in the commu-nity of Rhode Islanders 60 and older by a family member, caregiver or person with duty to care for the senior. Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, financial ex-ploitation or abandonment. Self-neglect occurs when a person is no longer able to care for him or herself. Rhode Island law requires any person who has reasonable cause to believe that a senior has been abused, or is neglecting his or her basic needs to report it to DEA. Abuse and self-neglect reports can be filed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling 462-0555. Reports can be made anonymously and all reports are confidential. Failure to file a report can result in a fine of up to $1,000. In 2010, DEA received 987 re-ports of elder abuse and 935 reports of self-neglect.
After a report has been filed, the col-laboration with community agencies and public safety personnel begins in earnest.
DEA protective services workers begin an investigation to gather as much infor-mation as possible about the case. When the report is completed, DEA protective services sta" work with case managers to develop a case plan to stop the abuse or to construct a network of community-based services to mitigate self-neglect circum-stances. DEA and case management sta" monitor the plan to ensure that abuse or self-neglect does not reoccur.
It’s clear that if a senior is facing im-mediate physical or emotional trauma, the first call should be to 911.
It’s important to note that reports of possible scams that may be making the rounds in any community should be reported to the local police department. Public awareness is a key element in the battle to protect seniors from scams and schemes. !e Rhode Island Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Unit, established in 2005, is responsible for prosecuting all cases of crimes against senior citizens, including financial exploitation, physi-cal abuse and neglect, with the exception of those cases handled by the Medicaid Fraud Unit.
In 2010, the Elder Abuse Unit opened and disposed of 91 Superior Court cases, resulting in 64 years time in ordered sen-tences and more than $53,000 in restitu-tion for victims. Call 274-4400 for more information.
Rhode Island contracts with !e Al-liance for Better Long Term Care to run the State Long Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) program, which advocates for residents of nursing homes, assisted liv-ing facilities and those receiving home care or hospice services. !e LTCO is responsible for investigating complaints of inadequate care and abuse su"ered by seniors who are using long-term care ser-vices. All reports of abuse and neglect are confidential. Call 785-3340.
Under Rhode Island law, reports in-volving caregiver abuse, neglect or mis-treatment of a disabled adult between the ages of 18 and 60 should be made to the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH). !e disabled adult can receive crisis intervention ser-vices that are necessary to ensure their im-mediate health and safety. Reports should be made by calling 462-3234.
October’s collaborative panel dis-cussion was an excellent example of in-teragency and intergovernmental com-mitment to these objectives. Training participants gained greater clarity about what sorts of incidents must be reported to which entities. Beyond that knowl-edge, participants came away with two important principles.
First, anyone who works with the el-derly should develop a relationship with the Senior Police and Fire Advocates in their community, and reach out to them when there is a question about the safety of an elder.
Second, many cases of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation do not fall neat-ly under the auspices of one particular agency. !erefore, there needs to be open communication among stakeholders to ensure that we use all the tools we have at our disposal to promote the safety and well being of our elders.
I o"er my personal thanks to our hosts, Warwick’s Mayor Scott Avedisian and Pilgrim Senior Center Director Meg Underwood; to our panelists, DEA’s Mary Ann Ciano, Cumberland Deputy Police Chief Michael Kinch, Martha Crippen of the AG’s Elder Abuse Unit, Kathy Heren of !e Alliance for Better Long Term Care, and Jane Morgan of the Executive O,ce of Human Services; and to Cumberland Hill Fire Chief Richard Susi (Ret.), chair of the Citizens’ Com-mission.
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!e American Steamboat CompanyIn 1865, Captain William Winslow sold Rocky Point
to Byron Sprague, who spent a small fortune trying to make the park a playground for the very rich. He failed, and four years later the park was sold to the American Steamboat Company, which later became the Continental Steamboat Company.
In the late 19th century, many mills and factories closed for a week or two in July and provided transportation to Rocky Point for their employees. For many, such as the Eng-lish immigrants at Greystone in North Providence, this was as far as they ever ventured from the factory town in which they lived and worked. For many mill workers, the day at Rocky Point was the most enjoyable day of the year.
By the time the Warwick Railroad was running its line to Rocky Point, thousands took the ride on the railroad to meet and hear many politicians and celebrities.
President Rutherford B. Hayes !e rich and the famous also came to Rocky Point. One
of its most illustrious visitors was President Rutherford B. Hayes, who visited here in 1877, the summer after becom-ing president in the disputed Election of 1876. Hayes made history’s first presidential telephone call when he called Dr. Alexander Graham Bell from Rocky Point. Hayes later re-ported that he could understand words, but could not un-derstand whole sentences.
Rocky Point, like the railroad and trolley, had its share of good times, bad times, fun times and sad times. One of
the great problems was the fear of fire. Entrepreneur Byron Sprague, who had purchased the property from the Winslows for $60,000 in 1860 and added another $300,000 to build a three-story hotel, saw his dreams go up in smoke. His hotel, which was capable of housing 300 guests, and his observa-tion tower that was 10 stories high and 250 feet above sea level, along with a large 3-story mansion, were severely dam-aged when, in 1883, a spectacular fire demolished the Rocky Point Hotel. !e fire started on March 16, before the season opened, when there were only a few employees at the hotel. Unfortunately, Warwick had no fire departments that could handle a large fire. !ere was a fire engine, called the Little Giant, on the premises, but it was inadequate for this task and a cry for help was sent to Providence. By the time help reached the park, the amusement center, the hotel, clam dinner hall and boathouse were demolished.
Colonel Randall A. Harrington, Master Showman!e fire ended Rocky Point’s dual identity as a resort for
summer guests and day excursionists, as the hotel was never rebuilt. !e park continued, however, to be popular for an-other 100 years.
In 1911, R. A. Harrington purchased Rocky Point Amusement Park from the Providence, Fall River & Newport Steamship Company and ended wild speculation concerning the future of the park.
Colonel Harrington announced that he would keep the site as a summer resort and would add amusements so that the
PEOPLE AND PLACESA GLIMPSE OF RI’S PAST h i s t o r y w i t h D O N D ’ A M AT O
ROCKY POINT - Steamboats & Harrington
Rocky Point in the 1870s provided work for Warwick’s !sh-ermen and quahoggers as the shore dinner hall began to attract large numbers of customers. This old photo recalls the time when sailing ships and rowboats were on the bay in great numbers. (From the Henry A. L. Brown collection)
Warwick park would rival that of Coney Island. Harrington leased the park in 1888, and by 1900, his flair for the business had already made him the most popular resort proprietor in New England. He advertised extensively and drew customers from as far away as Maine and Canada. !e excitement of going to Rocky Point was so great that, often, excursions of hundreds arrived accompanied by their own bands. During the height of the season, trolley cars ran from Providence ev-ery five minutes, and boats came into the wharf on an hourly basis.
!e story of Rocky Point will be continued.
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RETIREMENT OBSERVATIONS:Species of Retirees
SENIOR ISSUESRETIREMENT SPARKS b y E L A I N E M . D E C K E R
!e end of the year always sees the publication of various lists. Last year, Time’s end-December issue included a list of 10 new species, including the Tube-Nosed Fruit Bat, the Bluetooth Tarantula and the Giant Woolly Rat. I do not lie. Check for yourself.
As I’ve collected information for my retirement, I’ve identified a number of distinct species of retirees.
!e most familiar one is the Pot-Bellied Pensioner. He was fortunate enough to spend his entire working life at one large corporation. !ey gave him an irresistible buyout package that has enabled him to sit back and do nothing at all. His lack of motivation to augment his discretionary income has resulted in a substantial weight gain around his midsection, which has led to considerable health problems. He doesn’t care, however, because his buyout included full health care coverage. !e good news for our economy is that this species of retiree is on the verge of extinc-tion.
A large but relatively young group is the Double-Dipping Unionites. !ese former government functionaries and public servants received lucrative retirement packages around age 40, at which time they took a second job. !at job provided a similarly lucrative package that kicked in around age 60. Although I have yet to collect su,cient data to prove my theory, I believe that there is an unwritten but clearly understood system of job swapping among the Double Dippers. At age 40, those in career A trade places with those in career B, so that at age 60, they all retire with double dips. If enough of our cities and states go bankrupt, thus voiding all existing contracts, this species may one day become extinct, too. Don’t hold your breath.
!ose of you who live in more progressive states, like Rhode Island, have surely seen the Downy-Chested Community Organizer. Dressed in a pu"y insulated vest in winter, this activist retiree goes door to door trying to drum up enthusiasm, sig-natures and contributions. She champions such causes as Save the Bay, Don’t Feed the Pigeons, Protect the Tube-Nosed Fruit Bat and Free the Giant Woolly Rats. !is type of retiree shows no signs of impending extinction.
A particularly flamboyant species I identified is the Condo Commodore. Often self-appointed, but sometimes elected to his position, he patrols your community looking for violations of condo rules. Weather permitting he is dressed in a navy blazer with brass buttons, khaki slacks and white patent leather loafers. If he is a widower, you are done for. !e widows in the community will never support an uprising against him.
An unfortunately common species is the Red-Nosed Wal-Mart Greeter. Most of us are familiar with the three-legged stool concept of funding one’s retirement
(Social Security, some sort of income from a former employer, and your own 401K/IRA type of investment program). Sadly, the Red-Nosed Wal-Mart Greeter has a one-legged stool - the wobbly one of Social Security. She balances precariously on that stool at the door of your lo-cal Wal-Mart, alter-nately smiling a greet-ing and dabbing at her leaky nose. It seems as though the vital fluids of her life are draining slowly out of her, but it’s probably just hay fever.
!e last and most obnoxious retiree that I’ve identified is the Smug-Mouthed Investment Wizard. !is migratory creature had the foresight (and the time) to carefully manage his or her investments from at least age 40 onward. When it came to real estate, they bought at the low points in the market and sold at the high. !ey now own retirement-appropriate homes in every climate that the calendar requires, and they make sure everyone knows when they are making their winter pilgrimage to Sanibel Island. On the brighter side, each time they return to New England, their skin looks more and more like leather. !ere is a God after all.
Elaine Decker is publishing a collection of RetirementSparks posts. It will be available at Spectrum India on !ayer Street in Providence. E-mail [email protected] for more information.
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IN THE KITCHEN
CHEFSERIESPR I M ETI M E
FOOD & DRINK
Chef Paul Marcello, from NEW ENGLAND BAY ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY CARE in Coventry
What are the must haves in your fridge?Fresh herbs are essential - basil and parsley, in particular - as well as fresh seasonal
fruits and vegetables. And don’t forget the garlic.
Where did you train to become a chef?I started at my uncle’s country chowder shack at age 15 and developed a passion for
cooking. !at led me down (or should I say “up”) the path to the Culinary Arts program at Johnson & Wales where I started to hone my craft. I say, “started,” because the real training ground is real world experience. !ere’s only so much a teacher can teach. !e rest you have to learn on your own and by observing others.
On the surface, being a chef looks like a glamorous profession, but it’s a lot of hard work and requires skills in many more disciplines than turning out a sirloin steak at the perfect temperature and color.
Have you had any other jobs in the culinary industry?I worked all over Rhode Island until 1986 when I opened my first restaurant. I was
21 and ran it for 12 years before opening my second establishment in Smithfield in 1999. I still own one of them.
What’s the most popular item on your menu?At New England Bay, we o"er new things with the changing of the seasons,
so our menu is extensive and varied. While I can’t say for sure which individual dish is the most popular, the resi-
dents seem to love anything Italian - especially our chicken Parmigiana, lasagna and just about any pasta with our homemade meatballs.
What’s the strangest menu request you’ve ever gotten?A grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A tasteful memory from some-
one’s youth, I imagine. I made one to try before serving it and must say it was pretty good. !e crunch added something to it. Texture is important.
What’s the best part of your job?I imagine it would be the same for every chef - working together as a team
with my kitchen and dining room sta" to put a smile on the face of each and every resident, each and every meal. And it’s a bonus when we know that a dish they really love is also good for them. As a chef, what could be more rewarding than that? At the end of the day, that’s what all the e"ort is all about.
Describe your perfect meal?I have to say, the most fun for me is trying new things and sharing the ex-
perience with friends. So it doesn’t so much matter what we’re eating, but that we’re eating and doing it together. It’s even better when we do it locally and discover a gem of a place that’s convenient and can count on for a good meal time after time.
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!e sparkling white lights start going up in October at Garden City Center, but it’s not until Black Friday that the season o,cially begins. On Friday, Nov. 25, the holiday music comes on and the lights are bright for an experience that Garden City Marketing Director Janice Pascone says keeps shoppers coming back each winter.
“I would have to say it’s our stores and the atmosphere that makes us so special. We o"er a wonderful outdoor shopping experience undu-plicated anywhere in New England,” she said.
!e International Council of Shopping Centers estimates that holi-day sales in retail stores will post a moderate gain of 2.2 percent in 2011, but Pascone and Garden City owners !e Wilder Companies are hop-ing to see an even bigger improvement in Cranston.
Santa’s Helper“Garden City Center has been trending higher than the national
average, so we are optimistic for a successful holiday season,” Pascone said.
On Dec. 2, 9 and 16, the shopping center will host special shop-ping events that feature store sales and promotions, holiday entertain-ment and a live ice carving. Spend $100 or more and you can receive a $10 Whole Foods Market gift card.
To get ready for the holidays, we spent a day at a few of the center’s locally owned stores, picking out gifts for every recipient at prices rang-ing from $7 for a box of decadent chocolates to $10,100 for a Rolex. With “Winter Wonderland” playing in the background, encouraging us along the way, it was tough not to get into the spirit!
Sweenor’sWithout fail, you will forget to buy a gift for someone on your list, or someone you didn’t anticipate ex-changing with will surprise you with a little something. Avoid this awk-ward encounter, and the aftermath of guilt that goes with it, by stock-ing up on small, relatively inexpen-sive gifts that can work in a variety of situations for pretty much every potential recipient: chocolate.*Assorted tru-es: $6.75*Santa pants gift sets: $34.95*Non-pareils: $19.50 per pound
Ten !ousandVillagesLooking for a unique present with heart? Look no further than Ten !ousand Villages, one of the
newest additions to Garden City Center. Ten !ousand Villages is a non-profit retailer that showcases the handcrafted work of disadvantaged artisans from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and beyond.
Gifts run the gamut from ornaments and earrings to purses and scarves. Purchas-ing a gift at Ten !ousand Villages provides a fair liv-ing wage to a struggling art-ist in a developing nation.*Cu" bracelet: $18*Handcrafted lamp: $74*Assorted woven scarves: Starting at $48
Crabtree &Evelyn!e locally owned Cranston Crab-tree & Evelyn is part of a national network of bath and body stores that keep customers smelling great and feeling relaxed. Beyond the lotions and body sprays, Crab-tree & Evelyn also o"ers bags, headbands and other accessories. If you have a Secret Santa coming up, the gift sets are a good idea for any recipient.*Vera Bradley pens: $19 / Station-ary: $18*Watering can gift set of Gardener’s hand therapy lo-tions: $55*La Source relaxation gift set: $78, or collection pieces sold separately
ProvidenceDiamond Co.It’s not right for Secret Santa, or for the White Elephant party at your o,ce, but if you’re looking for a gift for your signifi-cant other that will render them speech-less, Providence Diamond Co. has more than a few options for you. Just remember, you’ll have to save your pennies for this one! Providence Diamond Co. carries a huge inventory from David Yurman, and the items featured here are Yurman pieces unless otherwise noted.FOR HIM:*Cross necklace: $585*Cu" links: $395 per set*Rolex watch: $10,100
FOR HER:*Bracelets: $495*Pearl drop earrings: $495*Peridot and diamond ring: $1,450
Studio BA big trend in gift giving is to skip the wrapping and opt to give the gift of services. Studio B is a great place to do just that. It may not be on your special someone’s list, but they’ll be thrilled to receive such a di"erent and thoughtful present that allows them to take some time o" and really pamper themselves. A woman’s haircut is $35 and up, and men’s cuts start at $25. !ey o"er color and styling services, lash tint-ing, waxing, manicures and makeup consultations. Owned by Steve and Kristi Beaman, the salon opened up in June and is quickly making a name for its self.*98% natural, vegan cosmetics - Lip balm: $5 / Body polish: $25*Makeup application (pictured here is owner and makeup artist Kristi Beaman): $55 / Consultation: $70 for adults
Only online
Don’t have time to make it to Garden City, or to other shopping malls around the state? Many people turn to the Internet to do the work for them, and avoid the crowds at the same time. GoodShop.com is an online shopping mall that donates up to 30 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause. !e same concept can be found at Gift-s!atGive.com and GlobalGoodsPart-ners.org, among other shopping sites with a purpose.
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS
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By day, DB Hebb is a physician.!e adults gathered in the base-
ment of the Central Congregational Church on Angell Street also have day jobs, working as teachers and lawyers and retailers.
But one night every the fall, these adults morph into a combination of Martha Stewart and a referee as they
watch over 50 boys, ages 6 to 10, decorate holiday wreaths.With spray-on snow (lots of spray-on snow, notes Hebb, the scoutmaster of Cub
Scout Pack 88), the Scouts slap on pinecones, Mardi Gras beads and assorted deco-rations that parent-volunteers have collected throughout the year. !e result: sellable wreaths.
!e wreaths are part of the annual holiday tree sales that this troop has mounted for more years than East Siders can recall. Ed Bishop, a Boy Scoutmaster 40 years ago, recalls that the tradition was well established, at least for 10 years, when he took over as Scoutmaster. In those years, the boys traveled to Parson Pete’s farm. Parson Pete, the minister of the Roundtop Church on Beneficent Street in Providence, had retired to Sci-tuate, where he planted trees. Later, the boys bought the trees from a farm in Voluntown, Conn. With parental help and supervision, the boys would cut down the 70 to 100 trees, haul them to a few trucks parents had lent and deposit them in the yard of the church.
!e boys would be in charge of marketing the trees - walking would-be customers through the lot, helping them decide on the best tree, collecting the money, lopping a few inches o" the bottom of the tree and hauling it to a waiting car. !e income from that sale subsidized Scout activities throughout the year.
Over time, a few details changed.!e Boy Scouts relinquished the sale to
the Cub Scouts. !e boys no longer go to a tree farm. Today Al Jac’s on Valley Street delivers the 100 trees to the Angell Street playground. But the Cub Scouts still walk customers through the lot, help them pick the best tree, saw o" a few inches from the bottom (sometimes with adult help), then
haul it to a customer’s car.!e boys learn a bit about
salesmanship. Hebb recalled one longtime customer patiently re-minding his Cub-Scout-salesman, “Are you going to ask me whether I want to donate anything extra to the troop?”
!ey collect money, they count it and they know that it is their kit-ty for the year.
Are the boys learning to be entrepreneurial whizzes? Hebb ac-knowledges that most of the boys enjoy the excitement of being out-
doors with their friends on a cold night, walking around the lot, showing o" the trees and drinking hot chocolate, all accompanied by lively music. Although trees have morphed into symbols of Christmas, Troop 88 looks on the sale as a time-honored ritual - not just of Christmas or the winter solstice, but also of fundraising.
!e income from the trees subsidizes Troop 88’s activities. !e Central Congrega-tional Church has chartered a Scout troop for 54 years, and for 54 years, boys have gath-ered in the church’s basement to plan camping trips, the annual pancake breakfast (slotted for this March, another ages-old East Side spring tradition), the food collection (an Octo-ber ritual, as Scouts put out bags that neighbors can fill with canned goods) as well as this Tree Sale. !e troop welcomes boys of all religious and non-religious persuasions.
!e boys share in the excitement of a snowy tradition, as do East Side customers. Many have come for years to buy “the” tree for their home. Indeed, Ed Bishop each year buys two trees. He puts one inside his house, the other in his yard. For Valentine’s Day he decorates the tree with red gizmos; for St. Patrick’s Day, he adorns with green gizmos. He, as well as the birds, loves extending the tradition up until March.
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It is the time of year to dust o" those great Christmas classic CDs, listen to church choirs singing our favorite hymns, and hopefully, attend a live Christ-mas concert.
Church, school and community choruses around the state are busy rehearsing for their annual concerts.
!ey will be performing at shopping malls, churches, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, singing familiar carols we remember from our childhood.
!e West Bay Chorale, now under the direction of Amanda San-to, is in its 31st year of providing beautiful music year-round.
!ey rehearse every Monday night at 7 at St. Mark’s Church in Warwick, and always welcome new members.
!e Chorale started as the Warwick Ecumenical Choir, drawing from local churches but has since expanded to include members from as far away as Charlestown, Exeter and Barrington. !e only require-ment is a love for singing good music.
While members of the chorale were checking out the music for their annual Christmas Concert, I asked a few about their favorite Christmas songs.
Joan Martin liked “!e Mass in Honor of St. Michael.”“I first sang it in 1998, and I know it well and love it,” she said.Deborah Bergeron chose the “Wexford Carol,” a song the chorale was rehearsing
that evening.“It reminds me of my childhood,” she said. “Every year my father would buy the lat-
est Firestone Christmas Album for a dollar, and that song was my favorite, and still is.”Sandra DiPalma liked “In the Blue Mid-Winter,” with lyrics by the famous poet
Christina Rosetti, which she has sung since she was a child.Amanda Santo said she “likes them all ... and I have the job of picking them every
year.” But she did admit a preference for the Russian folk tune, “Sleigh Bells” (Not the Leroy Anderson one).
Judy Dewey, who also sings with the Edgewood Congregational Church choir in Cranston, has been singing with the chorale for over 20 years.
“Silent Night,” she said. “I was in Jerusalem, in the Church of the Nativity, standing with other travelers from all over the world, and sing-ing the carol. !ere were a group of Germans singing it in their native language. !ere wasn’t a dry eye in the church.”
!ey all had their favorites, but admitted that “!e Twelve Days of Christmas” wasn’t one of them. One of the men suggested that any-thing Frank Sinatra sang was his favorite.
He also mentioned that the chorale is looking for more men to join.
!e chorale has sung at Gaspee Days, First Night and other Rhode Island events. !ey have done concerts with the American Band, Atwater-
Donnelly and have performed at the Breakers and other famous Ocean State venues. !ey also perform Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.
Santo has a Masters degree in vocal performance from the Hartt School of Music, is a graduate of Rhode Island College, and teaches at CCRI. She’s
a soprano soloist at Beneficent Congregational Church and a student of Ma-ria Spacagna.
Accompanist Susan Carroll has a certificate in sacred music from Yale, is the Min-ister of Music at Beneficent, and accompanist for the Ocean State Children’s Choir,
teacher and recitalist.West Bay Chorale’s Christmas Concert will be held Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at !e
Church of the Ascension, 390 Pontiac Ave. in Cranston. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children.
For tickets and more information, check them out at www.westbaychorale.org.
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Imagine you’ve just spent an hour cruising the store racks, finding the perfect gift for your child. You sit down with a hot cup of co"ee while the present is being festively gift-wrapped, and imagine the smile on his or her face when they descend upon the tree on Christmas morning.
For thousands of Rhode Islanders, holiday shopping is nowhere near as idyllic.
Maybe this year, presents aren’t a possibility. !is year, you have just enough money to put food on the table.
But at Blessingdales, the holidays are filled with joy for every family.
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It’s a real shopping experience, created through the grace of God.
– Matt Cairone
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served at the Harrington Hall halfway house, and still more are given to shut-ins in Providence.
When Cairone began volunteering at the shelter more than seven years ago, a busy night meant 30 meals and 25 people to shelter.
“!e need is there. It has grown tremendously,” he said.On !anksgiving too, Rhode Islanders who have fallen on tough times are able
to enjoy the holidays.!e Saturday before !anksgiving, the Mission served approximately 750 meals
between the hours of 12 and 6 p.m. Another 300 or so people enjoyed a hot meal on !anksgiving Day.
Meanwhile, more than 30 volunteers helped to assemble !anksgiving boxes, complete with turkeys, that were distributed to an astonishing 2,000 families just in time for the holiday.
Preparations for the !anksgiving and Christmas celebrations start in March, and PRM is always on the hunt for more donors and more volunteers just to keep up with the increased demand.
“It’s a big event so we need all the food we can get. With the tough economy, a lot of places say no now, but it’s worth the call. If every grocery store or supermarket gave us two bags, we could feed a lot of people,” he said.
A donation of time is just as important, as volunteers do 90 percent of the work at the Mission. On any given day, volunteers are making beds, cleaning house, cooking meals and delivering plates to grateful men and women.
!at gratitude, Cairone says, is what makes the work worthwhile.“!e reality is, when they’re out in the world, they’re not always treated nicely.
Here, you’ll always have that respect,” he said. “Here, you’re important because you’re a human being. Everyone matters and everyone is respected. We’re here to help.”
For more information, visit providencerescuemission.org or call 274-8861. To drop o" a donation of a new, unwrapped gift, visit the Mission at 627 Cranston Street in Providence.
Blessingdales transforms a basement room of the Providence Rescue Mis-sion into a department store where parents who are struggling financially can provide the holiday their children deserve.
“It’s a good shopping experience. !ose parents find something their child will love and they’re excited about it,” said Matt Cairone, a full-time
volunteer at the Providence shelter. “We don’t want the kids to know it came from the Mission. !is gives the parents some peace of mind, and it helps families enjoy the holiday.”
Blessingdales has recreated the typical shopping experience since 2002. In order to participate in the program, parents must register in advance. !ey provide the Mission with the ages of their child and a copy of their birth certificate, in order to ensure that only parents are taking advantage of the resource.
Tags with the child’s information are added to Giving Trees around the state, and gifts come flooding in from individuals, churches and businesses. Gregg’s Res-taurant is one of the Mission’s largest supporters.
Families are encouraged to drop o" new, unwrapped gifts to the Mission from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Once the gifts are assembled, Blessingdales opens up for five days in the middle of December, and parents are able to choose three presents and a few stocking stu"ers with the help of a personal shopper.
“!ey’re participating in something that doesn’t feel like it’s a free giveaway,” Cairone said. “It’s fun for all of us and we hope it’s enjoyable for the parents. It’s a real shopping experience, created through the grace of God.”
!e Providence Rescue Mission was established in 1999 as a non-denomina-tional, faith-based non-profit that houses approximately 100 men, women and children each night. !e Mission also o"ers dental services, emergency food, cloth-ing, a place to bathe and a discipleship program for homeless individuals trying to rehabilitate their lives after addiction.
Preserving the dignity of the men and women they serve is a top priority for the Providence Rescue Mission, not just on Christmas, but all year round.
Each night, the Mission serves about 125 sit-down meals from their Cranston Street shelter. !ose numbers swell during the winter months, with an increase of as much as 20 percent during December and January. Another 125 meals are
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THAT’S ENTERTAINMENTb y D O N F O W L E R
LIFESTYLES
Fine food and wine... and cupcakes?
Know where you can get some great food, a wine slushie and the best cupcakes in Rhode Island?
Head over to Razzle, the new restaurant in Cranston that o"ers a unique dining concept.
!e brainchild of owner Maureen Pergoni, Razzle opened recently in the shopping complex at 1460 Oaklawn Avenue, around the corner from Mardi Gras and across the street from Phred’s Drugs.
Pergoni, daughter of former Cranston Councilman Ed Ferns, has always been praised for her incredible cupcakes. With her baking talent, plus 27 years in manage-ment, she decided to open her own shop, adding a restaurant and unique wine bar to the mix.
“It’s the Cheesecake Factory concept, “ Maureen told me. “O"er them good food and add a gourmet cupcake for dessert.”
!e fruit-infused wine comes from a Coventry winery, Shela Lara, and has been given the name, Gaspee. We tasted the strawberry and watermelon “slushies” and are convinced that Maureen has something good going here. !e wines can also be used in making frozen drinks.
Currently, Razzle is one of only two places in Rhode Island o"ering this unique experience.
!e comfy restaurant and wine bar has 38 seats, plus 24 for outside dining. It is the former site of the Pippin Orchard Dairy, and more recently a Japanese and then Chinese restaurant, and now sits next to another Asian restaurant.
Pergoni did extensive remodeling (“My life savings”) in the front of the house and the kitchen, which provides her with her own baking area, plus plenty of room for Chef Cindy Viggiano to prepare lunch and dinner.
Viggiano’s family owned Barbara’s Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in Cranston for many years, and many of her father’s recipes have made it to Razzle’s menu.
!e luncheon and dinner menus, like the entire concept, have some unique items.We skipped the typical calamari and bruschetta items and went for the tuna and
avocado tartare rollups, served with wasabi soy sauce ($8.95) and the Razzle Egg Rolls, Italian hams and provolone cheese topped with marinara sauce and Romano cheese ($9.95). Both were absolutely delicious.
!e appetizers, like the entrees, are huge, and enough for two.Joyce ordered the Shrimp Razzle, which was an enormous bowl chock full of
shrimp, roasted red peppers, black olives, mushrooms, and garlic sautéed in a wine and garlic sauce over linguini (penne and rice pilaf also available) for $14.95. Joyce, who can be a discriminate critic, said it was one of the best meals she has ever had, bringing half of it home for the next day.
!e serving was bigger (and tastier) than one ordered recently at a chain restaurant that claimed to serve three. Chef Cindy said that the recipe was her father’s favorite.
I ordered a salmon burger, fresh salmon ground with fresh herbs and spices, topped with pineapple salsa on a toasted bulky roll ($11.95). If you are a salmon fan, you’ve got to try this one. It came with hot potato wedges, lightly sprinkled with delicious Belgian spices. !e burger was huge, so I removed the top of the bun and ate it as an open sandwich.
Razzle has a full menu of grilled pizzas ($9.95/$10.95), hamburgers ($9.95), wraps and panini ($7.95 to $10.95 for the tuna/avocado supreme), plus pasta, chicken, sea-food and steak entrees.
Don’t leave without a visit to the cupcake counter. While we were too full for des-sert, we did take out six di"erent cupcakes, from a carrot cake to a mocha, and couldn’t resist trying one later that evening. !ey were gone within two days. !e cupcakes are $2.75 each, $15 for a half dozen, $29 for a dozen. !ey are to die for.
Pergoni donates unsold cupcakes to various charities and organizations in the area.She reminds us that these are gourmet cupcakes, and are best eaten with a fork.When I mentioned to our waitress Andrea that the portions were so large, she said
that most people enjoy taking some home for the next day. We certainly did. And with the check comes another unique twist; a special Razzle candy that turns into chewing gum.
Razzle is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pergoni plans to start a Sunday brunch soon, with Belgian wa-es, French toast, crepes and all the fix-ings. For more information, call 463-7299, or visit them online at www.razzlecupcakes.com.
18 | P#$%&T$%& D&'&%(&# )*++ D&'&%(&# )*++ P#$%&T$%& | 19
LIFESTYLES
Fine food and wine... and cupcakes?
Know where you can get some great food, a wine slushie and the best cupcakes in Rhode Island?
Head over to Razzle, the new restaurant in Cranston that o"ers a unique dining concept.
!e brainchild of owner Maureen Pergoni, Razzle opened recently in the shopping complex at 1460 Oaklawn Avenue, around the corner from Mardi Gras and across the street from Phred’s Drugs.
Pergoni, daughter of former Cranston Councilman Ed Ferns, has always been praised for her incredible cupcakes. With her baking talent, plus 27 years in manage-ment, she decided to open her own shop, adding a restaurant and unique wine bar to the mix.
“It’s the Cheesecake Factory concept, “ Maureen told me. “O"er them good food and add a gourmet cupcake for dessert.”
!e fruit-infused wine comes from a Coventry winery, Shela Lara, and has been given the name, Gaspee. We tasted the strawberry and watermelon “slushies” and are convinced that Maureen has something good going here. !e wines can also be used in making frozen drinks.
Currently, Razzle is one of only two places in Rhode Island o"ering this unique experience.
!e comfy restaurant and wine bar has 38 seats, plus 24 for outside dining. It is the former site of the Pippin Orchard Dairy, and more recently a Japanese and then Chinese restaurant, and now sits next to another Asian restaurant.
Pergoni did extensive remodeling (“My life savings”) in the front of the house and the kitchen, which provides her with her own baking area, plus plenty of room for Chef Cindy Viggiano to prepare lunch and dinner.
Viggiano’s family owned Barbara’s Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in Cranston for many years, and many of her father’s recipes have made it to Razzle’s menu.
!e luncheon and dinner menus, like the entire concept, have some unique items.We skipped the typical calamari and bruschetta items and went for the tuna and
avocado tartare rollups, served with wasabi soy sauce ($8.95) and the Razzle Egg Rolls, Italian hams and provolone cheese topped with marinara sauce and Romano cheese ($9.95). Both were absolutely delicious.
!e appetizers, like the entrees, are huge, and enough for two.Joyce ordered the Shrimp Razzle, which was an enormous bowl chock full of
shrimp, roasted red peppers, black olives, mushrooms, and garlic sautéed in a wine and garlic sauce over linguini (penne and rice pilaf also available) for $14.95. Joyce, who can be a discriminate critic, said it was one of the best meals she has ever had, bringing half of it home for the next day.
!e serving was bigger (and tastier) than one ordered recently at a chain restaurant that claimed to serve three. Chef Cindy said that the recipe was her father’s favorite.
I ordered a salmon burger, fresh salmon ground with fresh herbs and spices, topped with pineapple salsa on a toasted bulky roll ($11.95). If you are a salmon fan, you’ve got to try this one. It came with hot potato wedges, lightly sprinkled with delicious Belgian spices. !e burger was huge, so I removed the top of the bun and ate it as an open sandwich.
Razzle has a full menu of grilled pizzas ($9.95/$10.95), hamburgers ($9.95), wraps and panini ($7.95 to $10.95 for the tuna/avocado supreme), plus pasta, chicken, sea-food and steak entrees.
Don’t leave without a visit to the cupcake counter. While we were too full for des-sert, we did take out six di"erent cupcakes, from a carrot cake to a mocha, and couldn’t resist trying one later that evening. !ey were gone within two days. !e cupcakes are $2.75 each, $15 for a half dozen, $29 for a dozen. !ey are to die for.
Pergoni donates unsold cupcakes to various charities and organizations in the area.She reminds us that these are gourmet cupcakes, and are best eaten with a fork.When I mentioned to our waitress Andrea that the portions were so large, she said
that most people enjoy taking some home for the next day. We certainly did. And with the check comes another unique twist; a special Razzle candy that turns into chewing gum.
Razzle is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pergoni plans to start a Sunday brunch soon, with Belgian wa-es, French toast, crepes and all the fix-ings. For more information, call 463-7299, or visit them online at www.razzlecupcakes.com.
LIFESTYLESWHAT DO YOU FINK? b y M I K E F I N K
Having some Rumanian roots, I refuse to divulge my age on the occasion of the anniversary of my birth. It’s a Gypsy thing; Death might grab you thinking, “!at’s enough.” !e day, though, was the 12th and likewise the month - 12/12. !at’s all I will declare.
Twelve is my lucky number.I would, however, like to scribble somewhat a few lines
about the destiny that was inscribed on or before that un-named year. !e o,cial anniversary gem is the turquoise and the horoscope is the horse ... the kind with wings, Pegasus, the sign of the poet, or perhaps the Centaur.
I was told my first word was “house.” I wrote it care-fully, painstakingly, but without the final “e.” !at too was an omen. Like the scriptural Jacob, I cling closely to the hearth. My elder brother likes to list my shortcomings.
“You never helped with the outdoor chores. You just went in the house and sulked, over a glass of wine.”
He will say such things in front of my children!Or: “You were stung by a bee at summer camp and
yelled all across the grounds and around the lake, scream-ing!”
My eldest brother annoyed by me and long ago tired of my impertinent questions after his dates, shouted “Drop Dead!” to me, at the table!
My siblings both claim that our father was always fed up with me. !at is, especially as the middle bro insists, until I brought Isaac Bashevis Singer, the famous Nobel prize-winning author, as my guest to the house for lunch. On that occasion, I was forgiven for all my eccentricities and di,culties.
Yeah, after a certain age, you sort-of forget almost the embarrassments of your childhood and youth, or you keep them as secrets fit only for your own private company as
you toss and turn in bed. You achieve the dignity of work, of paying the bills for your own homestead, of holding your grandchildren on your lap and lying just a bit about your life’s adventures. Exaggerating and editing, anyway. But there is always somebody who brings up the awful truth, the dreadful things you said and did. Better by far to say such things yourself, before somebody else makes it sound even worse than it was.
My grammar school days have the innate charm, or intensity anyway, of that era. We started out in kinder-garten after the Hurricane of 1938 and still during the Depression and at the very start of World War II - I still call it the Duration. Israel became a state while I was in Nathan Bishop Junior High School. I can list that as a major event of my generation, to witness the birth of the post-war phoenix nation. Also, I was never afraid to ask a pretty girl out for a date, and although I was certainly not a lady-killer, still, at least I could handle the details: the corsages, the identification bracelets, the zoot suit key chains. So much for Junior High.
At Hope we learned how to get along with all kinds of kids. For me, it had nothing to do with athletic fields of combat and cooperation. I had to debate, to conquer the stage, and to spend the “stag” evenings either at the nearby North Main Street bowling alley, or at the pubs in Central Falls.
I really spent a lot of time in the “hous” alone, per-haps down cellar, maybe up in the attic, hunting for sou-venirs. My parents were at work in their small furniture store over the bridge in East Providence. My siblings were helping in the warehouse or on the delivery truck, or they were playing poker with their crews of chums.
I did have a group of buddies of my own: Larry and I often walked about the streets of town, admiring the new
and old houses or just talking about the meaning of life, or laughing at the latest jokes, or mulling over the new and old movie stars. My father wasn’t crazy about Larry, partly because if I talked him into doing something mis-chievous, he took the full blame for my instigations and foolishness. As a youngest, I may have been spoiled in some ways, but in other ways I was the one looked down on like the family pet, the brunt and the runt.
“!at damned dog,” our dad would declare if he had any trouble with a chore, even if the poor pooch was far away from the scene of the minor disaster.
I think that describes my plight as well. Now, that logo of Dec. 12, the flying horse, the longtime symbol of Mobil Gas, suggests aiming high, the rhythmic hoof beats of verse, and the love of trying out adventurous new directions. I would rather see myself, at a birthday sol-stice, with those metaphors, rather than go through all the doubts, dilemmas, dull reminders of wasted days and opportunities, mistaken milestones and outrageous mis-fortunes that pile up in the subconscious, unless you find a way to dispose of them. My way is laughter, elaborate interpretations or ritual cleansings, like putting out the trash on Sundays, swimming as often as possible, tak-ing your week’s linens to the cleaners, having my beard trimmed and the car washed. Pretty soon, on the dead end of December, the month to remember, the whole world celebrates its annual anniversary, just a fortnight after my personal turn of the screw, lost as it often is among the holidays of the season when the year dies and is reborn.
Recently, 300 members of the Rhode Is-land Health Care Association (RIHCA) gath-ered at an awards luncheon to pay tribute to some of their own - five winners of the RIHCA Distinguished Service Awards.
Long-term care is often the distant cousin of health care, receiving much less attention than hospitals or the latest insurance issue. But once a year, RIHCA, whose membership is comprised of roughly three-quarters of Rhode Island’s skilled nursing and rehabilitation fa-cilities, honors a select few of the extraordinary people who work to insure the best care pos-sible for the short- and long-term residents of Rhode Island’s skilled nursing and rehabilita-tion centers.
“Without a doubt, caring for Rhode Is-land’s eldest and most infirm residents requires special skill and a special heart. !eir job isn’t easy and they don’t often get the credit they de-serve,” said Virginia Burke, RIHCA president/CEO. “!e Distinguished Service Awards are just one way to say thank you to some of the people that go out of their way to make sure that our eldest loved ones are well taken care of. !ey’re a special group and they deserve special recognition.”
SENIOR ISSUES b y K E R R Y P A R K
!is year’s recipients of the RIHCA Distinguished Service Awards, chosen by their peers, are:
• Long-term Care Nurse of the Year: Marianna Macdonald, director of Nursing at Forest Farm Health Care Center in Middletown.
!is award highlights the competence and dedication of a long-term care nurse who handles the various responsibilities of the job with skill, compassion and unparalleled dedication.
•Social Worker of the Year: Kelly Cookson of Scallop Shell Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Peace Dale.
!is award acknowledges a social worker who is revered by his or her peers and who works as a liaison between patients, families, discharge planners and sta".
• Distinguished C.N.A. Award Winner: Indira Hernandez of Elmhurst Extended Care in Providence.
As the front line of care in a skilled nursing center, Certified Nursing Assistants (C.N.A.) are often the primary contact for residents and their families. !is award honors a certified nursing assistant who goes above and beyond the direct care responsibilities required of them and rou-tinely exhibits competence, compassion and dedication to those they care for.
• !erapy Resources Management Spirit Award Winner: Janet Somerville of Elmhurst Ex-tended Care in Providence
!is award recognizes a long-term care worker whose energy and positive attitude enhances the morale of those around them.
• Chair’s Award Winner: John Gage of Health Concepts Ltd. in Providence. !e Chair’s Award, chosen by 2011 RIHCA Chair, Joan Woods of Grand Islander Genesis
Health Care, recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions over time to the long-term care community.
Caregivers recognized for ‘special hearts’
RIHCA Distinguished Service Award win-ner John Gage poses with RIHCA CEO Virginia Burke.
Lucky number 12
20 | P#$%&T$%& D&'&%(&# )*++
A WORTHY CAUSE b y M I C H A E L J . C E R I O
It is one of the state’s most recognizable non-profit organizations, one that helps people from Woon-socket to Westerly meet their most basic of needs: putting food on the table.
And, as the state’s economy continues to struggle, its work has never been more important.
Each month, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, through its statewide network of emergency food programs, provides help to 60,000 people – an astound-ing 50 percent increase over just three years ago.
“Hunger is truly a statewide issue,” said Andrew Schi", chief ex-ecutive o,cer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “Every one of our member agencies has seen an increase, and our network is pretty much at the point of having reached capacity. Most of the folks we talk to don’t see a way to feed more people.”
In an e"ort to meet the growing demand, the Food Bank distrib-uted 9.4 million pounds of food last year. People who never before needed help found themselves in line at food pantries.
“Distributing more than 9 million pounds of food sounds like a lot, and is a lot, but if you look back to 2008 when we were serving 40,000 people each month and distributed 8.3 million pounds, it’s not the same increase as the 50 percent jump we’ve seen in demand,” said Schi".
What was once seen as an urban problem a"ecting low-income individuals and families has now seeped into the middle class and suburban communities. At risk, too, are seniors who live on fixed incomes. To further compound the problem, food donations to the Food Bank have slowed in recent years as less surplus product be-comes available from manufacturers, distributors and the supermar-ket industry.
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, one in eight Rhode Islanders live in poverty, something the Food Bank sees as a driving force behind the growing demand.
“With increases in the costs of food, fuel, and utilities, household budgets are squeezed and people need to turn to a food pantry to avoid going hungry,” said Schi". “A good thing about Rhode Island is that there are emergency food programs across the state to help people. No matter where you live, it’s possible to get assistance.”
Of particular concern to the Food Bank is the growing number of seniors turning for help, and the impact that poor nutrition has on one’s health. Schi" says that 10 percent of the people served are seniors, and for those living in poverty, the rate of food insecurity is even greater.
A recently released Census report indicates that seniors are fall-ing into poverty at a faster rate, with one in six Americans over the age of 65 now living in poverty – an increase from one in nine just a few years ago. Another factor impacting poverty among seniors is the growing number of those caring for grandchildren. For seniors living on a fixed income, it can be di,cult to provide additional meals on an already limited budget.
Food for the Soul
The need for food assistance in Rhode Island has increased by 50 percent over the past three years.
D&'&%(&# )*++ P#$%&T$%& | 21
PEOPLE AND PLACES
“If you are over 65 and in poverty, you are at a high risk for hun-ger,” said Schi". “But, no one should ever be embarrassed to ask for help.”
Fortunately, there are resources available to help during times of need. !e Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called Food Stamps, helps people who are struggling buy the food they need through a specialized debit card system. Over the past four years, the number of Rhode Islanders receiving SNAP benefits has doubled. !e program now helps 165,000 people each month.
While many seniors are eligible for the program, Schi" says some are reluctant to apply due to the stigma of asking for help, and their belief that others may lose access to benefits once more people enroll. However, SNAP is an entitlement program and available to everyone who is eligible.
“!e stigma of receiving Food Stamps has definitely been reduced since the program began using Electronic Benefits Transfer cards,” ex-plained Schi". “When you’re shopping in the store, and paying for food, no one knows that you have food stamps. Some individuals are eligible to receive a maximum benefit of $142 per month, and for those who need it, it’s a big help.”
Along with SNAP benefits, there are additional resources that help seniors get the food they need. Many senior centers o"er meal programs, which are open to everyone and reduce stigma by serving food in a communal setting. And, Meals on Wheels has been an in-valuable program for homebound seniors for over 40 years, currently delivering more than 2,000 meals in Rhode Island each day.
For those who may not know where to turn, or need additional information on the resources available in their community, United Way 2-1-1 in Rhode Island is there to help. United Way 2-1-1 is an information and referral help line that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. !e helpline o"ers referrals to many other resource programs.
With an economic outlook that remains bleak, and tens of thou-sands of Rhode Islanders out of work, the Food Bank anticipates that the need for food assistance will remain high. In response, the orga-nization is in the midst of its Holiday Meal Drive, which continues through the end of December. As part of the e"ort, members of the community are encouraged to visit the Food Bank at 200 Niantic Av-enue in Providence to make a donation of food or money.
!e Food Bank also wants to stress that while many view the holi-days as a time of increased need, hunger has no o"season and support is needed throughout the year.
“!ere’s no question that every dollar, every can, makes a di"er-ence,” said Schi". “But, we can make a dollar go very far. Cash dona-tions allow us to bring food into the state through Feeding America, the nation’s Food Bank Network, and also allows us to purchase foods that are not often available through donations, like rice and cereal, but are very important and nutritious.”
!anks to the e"orts of the Food Bank, thousands of Rhode Is-landers at-risk of hunger have access to the nutritious food that they need. With the holidays and cold winter months upon us, the Food Bank is hoping for everyone to get involved and help their neighbors in need.
“We’re asking everyone to do a little, and if everyone does a little, it adds up,” said Schi".
You can help the Food Bank by making a secure online donation at www.rifoodbank.org or by calling 942-MEAL.
Food for the Soul
For seniors who care for grandchildren, it can be a struggle to provide additional meals on a !xed income.
22 | P#$%&T$%& D&'&%(&# )*++
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-Janet
Prepare for the future with Lynn PohlAmerican adults increasingly have a basic understanding of long-term care and its
costs, but most seem ill-prepared to pay for their own care if they need it. November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month and a report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance finds that three-quarters of adults recognize that one year of care in a nursing home can be more expensive than four years of college.
!e study finds that few adults over age 50 have a plan in place should they or a spouse require long-term care at home or in a skilled facility. To call attention to the importance of awareness and planning, the U.S. Congress has urged Americans to recognize this as an opportunity to learn more about the potential risks and costs, and the options available.
“Americans are living longer lives and that makes long-term care awareness vitally important,” said Lynn Pohl of Lynn Pohl LTC, Inc., in Providence. “We are committed to creating awareness and educating more people during the month. !e federal gov-ernment now o"ers tax incentives to encourage individuals to initiate a long-term care plan, the local professional explains. For example, certain small business owners may be able to fully deduct the cost of protection that can pay for future long-term care.”
For more information on long-term care planning options or a no-obligation cost quote for long-term care insurance, call Lynn Pohl at 274-7213 or e-mail her at [email protected].
CALENDAR OF EVENTSWinter rite of passageFestival Ballet Providence will present “The Nutcracker” at the Providence P e r f o r m i n g Arts Center from Dec. 9 through 11,
with night and afternoon performances. Tickets range from $23 to $98, and fami-lies will be captivated by the classic holiday tale of a Nutcracker doll that comes to life. For tickets, call 421-2997 or visit ppacri.org.
Making it through the winterThroughout the month of December, hear the history of the Wanton-Lyman-Haz-ard House, circa 1760, including how its residents survived the winter in the 18th century. A costumed historical interpreter leads the program, and reservations are required. Tours are o"ered on Dec. 3, 10 and 17 at 11:30 a.m., and depart from the Museum & Shop at Brick Market. Admission is $15 per person, $10 for Newport Historical Society members and $5 for children 12 and under.
December DreamsVisit the Providence Performing Arts Center from Dec. 13 to 18 for Cirque Dreams Holidaze, directed by Neil Goldberg. An international cast of more than 30 cos-tumed artists performs acrobatic feats in this performance with original music. Call 421-2997 for tickets.
Giovanni FolcarelliChapter #1
Disabled American Veterans
Christmas PartySaturday, December 3 • 12:00 Noon
Kelley-Gazzerro Post #28121418 Plainfield Pike • Cranston
Lower Meeting Room
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SCANDINAVIAN RETIREMENT CENTERAn Assisted Living Community50 Warwick Avenue Cranston, RI 02905
401-461-1444Email: [email protected] non-profit organizationA CareLink Member
Come see what sets us apart!• Assisted Living since 1992
• Spacious one bedroom apartments & shared studio apartments• Priority admission to Scandinavian Home Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
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398 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840 • (401) 849-6600
HeatherwoodNursing and
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ON BUSINESSspotlightON BUSINESSspotlight
Victoria CourtA Pacifica Senior Living Community welcomes
adults with Memory-related impairments
Welcome to Victoria Court in Cranston, festooned for fall, and regularly open for tours.
!is is not just your ordinary residential facility for those living with memory-related impairments such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; indeed, this is a place that feels more like home. Nestled against a wooded area, but still on a main road and thus easily accessible, is Victoria Court, a Pacifica Senior Living Community in Cranston. Victoria Court is a private-pay, long-term residential home whose primary focus is the safe, compassionate and respectful care of your loved ones. !e words “there is no place like home”, posted here for all to see, echoes their philosophy that if a loved one can’t be in their own residence, this is the next best thing – a place of comfort, serenity and dignity.
Located on Oaklawn Avenue, Victoria Court has 45 private, semi-private or shared suites designed to approximate a small, apartment-like setting. Each suite has a full bathroom as well as a small kitchenette (including a sink, small refrigerator and ample storage space). As soon as you enter the lobby, you are immediately aware of the homey setting ~ soft comfortable chairs, a baby grand piano and private gather-ing areas greet you. !e smell of delicious food wafts through the air, enticing you to enter the nearby dining area where elegantly set tables await you. On the premises, you will also find a full-service salon as well as laundry and housekeeping services to address all your loved one’s needs. !ere is even a lovely courtyard to linger in on warmer, sun-bathed days.
While the setting and ambience are important when considering this level of care for a cherished family member, they would matter little if it weren’t for the compas-sionate care provided by the skilled sta" at Victoria Court, including a full comple-ment of service directors, nurses and therapists. !ey are united in their desire to keep your loved one active, engaged, inspired and nurtured. Along with skilled nurs-ing care, Victoria Court residents are engaged in a whole assortment of stimulating activities such as daily physical exercise, entertainment by local musicians, and quiet time for games, art projects and important socialization. !ere is also time carved out for spiritual enrichment. A special note for animal lovers considering Victoria Court – if you can provide the care; you may even keep a small pet in your suite.
On Nov. 29th, the sta", the residents and their families spent an entire evening learning about safety concerns at their “Safety Matters at Victoria Court” symposium. !e following organizations addressed the audience on issues such as ambulances designed especially for Alzheimer’s Patients, services to help with adults who tend to wander, as well the emergency programs provided by the City of Cranston; they are MainStreet MD, Safety Net (LoJack), Coastline Ambulance, the Alzheimer’s Associa-tion, and both the State of RI and the City of Cranston 911 Emergency System and Medical Services. As always, the safety and security of your loved one is of paramount importance to the sta" at Victoria Court.
Along with its full-time residential services, Victoria Court also o"ers Adult Day Care from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Mondays through Fridays. If you are exploring the option of assisted living, memory care or adult day care, contact the loving sta" of Victoria Court. Come to 55 Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston for a full tour, or call 946-5522 to speak to director Lillian Jean Delmonico. You will find more detailed information on their website: www.pacificaseniorliving.com.
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URQUHART-MURPHYEdward L. Murphy - Director
800 Greenwich Ave.Warwick 737-3510
BARRETT & COTTERFUNERAL HOME
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CARPENTER-JENKSFUNERAL HOME & CREMATORYStephen E. Carpenter - Director
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Closing the gender gapMetLife Foundation recently awarded
a $1,000 Volunteer Ventures Grant on behalf of Susan A. Pomfret to the Se-nior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island. Pomfret, a MetLife employee and the co-chair of the Board of Directors who has volunteered with the organization for many years, proposed the grant in support of Project G.R.O.W. (Gaining Resources for Older Women). !is is a one-year community education project that will seek to raise the economic security issues facing older Rhode Island women that deserves community response. !rough
a statewide series of community presenta-tions, it will educate the community about the declining economic status of many older women and the gender-related dis-parities in their average income compared to older men. Pomfret will be assisting in these community educational series. Pic-tured here, Pomfret presents the check to Senior Agenda Coalition Executive Direc-tor William F. Flynn Jr. For more infor-mation, call 401-274-6900 or visit www.senioragendari.org.
Excellence in Action at TockwottonTockwotton Home received the Excellence in Action award for employee satisfaction
from My InnerView. !is national recognition was awarded to the Providence-based nurs-ing and assisted living center as a result of scoring in the top 10 percent of 5,930 qualified nursing homes in the nation surveyed for employee satisfaction.
“!is year’s awards recipients were first recognized by their own employees,” said Amanda Twiss, CEO of My InnerView-OCS, a division of National Research Corpora-tion. “!ere is no doubt that these nursing homes understand the value of measuring quality improvement over time, as evidenced not only by their outstanding scores, but the di"erences that they are making in the lives of their residents and employees.”
!e Excellence in Action Award is presented annually to leaders in the senior care profession who score in the top 10 percent of their peer group with a response rate of 30 percent or more and is based on the results of a survey given to employees about job satisfaction.
“Our sta" enjoys their jobs because they understand that being a part of residents’ lives is an honor and a privilege for us at the Tockwotton Home,” said Executive Director Kevin McKay. “!is award rea,rms the value of our family-centered approach. We treat everyone - employees and residents alike - with dignity and respect. !is award a,rms the value of those core values.”
Holiday Craft FairOn Dec. 10 and 11, the Knights of Co-lumbus will host Holiday Craft Fair 2011 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, and shoppers can peruse more than 35 crafters and vendors with unique holi-day creations. The Knights of Columbus is located at 28 Fish Road in Tiverton. Go to www.cherishthemoments.net for more information.
Christmas on the CloudOn Dec. 11, experience the holidays at the Clouds Hill Victorian House Museum in Warwick from 12 to 4 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors, and guests can enjoy music, cider and cookies as they check out the holiday decorations. For more information, con-tact Anne Holst or Wayne Cabral at 884-9490.
Join the Block PartyGrab the grandkids and go to the Provi-dence Children’s Museum on Dec. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids can stack blocks of all shapes, sizes and col-ors to create towering structures. Ad-mission is free for members and $8.50 for non-members. The museum is lo-cated at 100 South Street. For details, go to www.childrenmuseum.org or call 273-5437.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
D&'&%(&# )*++ P#$%&T$%& | 27
Professional DirectoryESTATE PLANNING
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