The Ladies Behind Clothes Doors

By Marjorie McFarland, Diamond

Grace Hartley was born in Englandnear the Welsh border. During WorldWar II she was a fire watcher in Lon-

don.Her son was born during an air raid.Pret-ty exciting! But around Asbury, the excite-ment for Grace is gardening. In fact, the loveof Grace’s life is gardening and flowers. And

she is known as an exceptionally fine gardener.Grace moved to Asbury in November of

1992. By the spring of 1993 she had her firstplot in the gardens. She has gradually addedtwo more plots. She says she took them onbecause they were not well kept and shewanted her garden to be in a nice area.

Grace has developed 18 different beds

within the three plots, and has made paths ofwood chips so that she can walk without soil-ing her shoes. Despite her 95 years, when theweather is good she goes early in the morn-ing to work for about an hour. Sometimes shewalks, but more often lately she takes the

By Jeanne North, Trott

Overheard one April after-noon in the arcadebetween Trott and the

Crawford dining room: “I got it inthe Williamsburg Clothes Closet!”

Beth Kilgore, attired in a smartbright red suit, was responding toadmiring looks and commentsabout her new outfit. And Beth isnot alone. Many other residentsfind attractive clothes at bargainprices in the cozy shop located onthe ground floor of the Administra-tion building, just down the hallfrom the print shop. Open from 10a.m. to 3 p.m.Tuesday through Sat-urday, the shop is known on cam-pus and off as a fine place to pickup a good deal.

Donations come to the ClothesCloset from all over the campus.People can bring things directly to

the Clothes Closet, unless they’relucky and live near Wilma andWilbur Parker in Edwards-Fisher.Says Wilma: “I go out every morn-

ing and see what’s hanging on mydoor.” Luckily, the Parkers have acar so they can transport the dona-tions to the Admin building. Adds

Wilma:“Wilbur is my volunteer. Hevolunteers for me.”

All contributions go directly tothe laundry room down the hallfrom the Clothes Closet, whereEthel Hedrick sees that everythingis laundered before being taken tothe stock room for sorting.

In the stock room any number ofa crew of five-June Hall, Edna Har-grove, Yvonne Slygh, Elouise

May 2004Volume 11 Number 4

Residents, Associates, Families & Friendswww.asbury.org

A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE

INSIDE:When What You FearMost, Happens .....................7

Saving the Trees....................8

Russ Weber,Stuck on Stamps! ...............11

Grace Hartley in her garden at Asbury.

Give us Grace for Today... Grace Hartley,That Is!

Give us Grace for Today... Grace Hartley,That Is!

The Ladies Behind Clothes Doors

Continued on page 5

Continued on page 8

Some of the Ladies Behind Clothes Doors. l. to r.: June Hall, Elouise Weaver,“Laura,” Wilma Parker, Grace Dauster, Yvonne Slygh.

Photo: Louise Redding

2 May 2004 VILLAGE LIFE

VILLAGELIFE

EditorLinda Williams AberCommunications PublicationsCoordinatorAsbury Methodist Village201 Russell Ave.Gaithersburg, MD 20877301-216-4106 • [email protected]

Resident EditorsSally Schear, KindleyMelva Hiatt, MundLois Lord, TrottGordon Allen, 419Alice Furlong, E-F

Resident StaffBuilding 419: Genevieve WimsattDiamond: Marjorie McFarland,

Martha Grimm, and Louise Redding

Edwards-Fisher: Betty Goen,Joan Dunlop, Mary Rose Wells,Martha Hunt, Dorothy Welch,and Betty Savage

Kindley: Betty RiceMund: Judy Weaver, Winston

Taylor and Anne PorterTrott: Marjorie Brugger,

Marion Livingston, and Jeanne North (PACs)

Villas: Reginald Westlake, and Tom Wilkinson

Proofreaders:Jeanne North and Matilda Sugg

Design: Electronic InkPrinting:Chesapeake Publishing Corp.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S CORNER

Ifind myself not wanting towatch the news or read thepaper. Do I really want to be

informed and confronted? I thinkthe morning paper should be themid-day paper. I need somethingelse to "bring on the day!"

Lately, the weather has helped inthat process. The sun comes upand I hear the birds singing. I smellthe fresh air coming in the openwindow. I hear the sounds of theschool bus coming down thestreet.Honestly, I am not a morningperson, except in the spring.

How we start our day has greatimpact on those around us. Howdo we effect others? Do we sendout a warning before we meetthem or are we inviting?

There truly is a "cause" and"effect." I feel we always have achoice.

Some may disagree.The opportu-nity presents itself to us.That does-n't mean we won't experience dis-appointment and sadness. Peoplewill be drawn to us in ways thatsupport us and encourage us if wedecide to let them.

I am reminded of a bird I saw sit-ting beside a fallen nest after astorm. In the nest were theremains of the broken eggs. Thebird was a meadowlark. In themidst of her sorrow, the Mead-owlark was singing a beautifulmelody.

May we be reminded that thereare times when we need to sing orto just listen for the melody.

Jim MertzExecutive Director

Choices

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Village Life is published by Asbury Methodist VillageCommunications Department

“The mission of Village Life isto provide timely, interestingand entertaining news aboutthe lives, concerns and activi-ties of the people who reside,work and volunteer at AsburyMethodist Village.”

In the five years I have lived in Asbury Village, I havelearned at least one thing: it is a fact that everyonereads Village Life! So I am confident I speak for every-one in my assumption that they, like I, have noticedgreat improvement in the breadth of coverage sinceLinda Aber has been the editor.Among other things, Ifind it interesting and informative to read stories ema-nating from the Kindley and Wilson residents.

Not only have she and her campus-wide crew man-

aged to include previously un-emphasized sectionsand segments of our life here, but she has alsoapproached those stories with unique and interestingtwists.

Thank you, Linda, and your entire resident staff formaking our campus newspaper even more readableand exciting than ever before.

Mary Waldon, 419

When Asburyv e t e r a n s"talk," peo-

ple listen! In fact,when Britta Monaco,Marketing Director ofLakeforest Mall, readthe World War II sto-ries in the January2004 issue of VillageLife, she wanted tohear more.

After speaking withAlexis McKenzie,Director of Communi-ty and Public Rela-tions here at Asbury,the idea for creatingan exhibit showingWorld War II era pho-tographs and memo-ries provided by resi-dents of Asbury Methodist Village began growing.The end result will be featured at Lakeforest Mall fromWednesday May 19 through Monday June 14. Be sure to visit Lakeforest Mall and see the "Greatest Gener-ation" representatives from Asbury!

Lakeforest Mall PresentsAsbury's “Greatest Generation”

VILLAGE LIFE May 2004 3

There is something new on the wall of the417 lobby. It is a grandfather's clock, whichstarted out as a jigsaw puzzle! DorothyFarmer (Mund) was given the puzzle but itwas too large for the Mund puzzle table so shesent it over to Diamond. The Diamond puz-zlers put it together after much work. Mari-lynn Grotenhuis (Diamond) glued the piecestogether and put in a battery and some woodbacking. Look for the clock-it actually keepstime and from a short distance looks three-dimensional.

Dena Robinson's (Diamond) daughterBetty, who is on a sabbatical from Lewiston-Auburn College in Maine, spent a few days atAsbury to celebrate her mother's birthday alittle early.Dena later celebrated her real birth-day in Florida with her son and his family, andBetty went to the Republic of South Africa,escorting five students for a three-week stay.

Jessie and Ben Griffith (Diamond) plannedto spend time in New Mexico with their chil-dren, while their apartment is being renovat-ed. Their grandchildren were playing in con-certs and they looked forward to hearingthem. Martha Grimm (Diamond) also had agrandchild playing at her college. Marthawent to Florida with her family for the specialevent. It is nice to know that so many youngpeople are getting fine musical educations.

Mary Anna Culkin (Diamond) spent herbirthday with friends down at AsburySolomons. ...Easter was a very busy time inthe 417 dining room.There were many familygroups. One family that came from probablythe farthest was Tom Hatsenbuhler with hiswife and son John who live in Heidelberg,Germany. They visited Jean and GeorgeHatzenbuhler (Diamond). Son John is anexcellent violinist at only 12 years of age. Hegave a musical program with his mother onSaturday before Easter, playing in the PurpleCircle. Each year during school break the fam-ily comes to the United States to visit Tom'sparents and every year young John gives a vio-lin recital. It is a real treat....Marilynn andMarshall Grotenhuis (Diamond) spent the

week after Easter at an Elderhostel down atChincoteague and Assateague State Park.

Elsa Tutwiler and Alice Smith (Mund), Eliz-abeth Reeve (Edwards-Fisher), John Nolan,(419) and Charles and Evelyn Kiser (Villas)will leave May 16 on the Asbury 10-day trip toIreland......Dorothy Murphy , (Diamond) and ,Paul and Betty Herfurth,Cathy Hugh,EmmaMichaels, and Helen Ferraro (Villas), and oth-

ers will be on the Asbury cruise up the NewEngland coast in June. Of the 49 passengerson the American Eagle, 40 of them will beAsbury residents. They'll stop at Martha'sVineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island.

On May 15 Andrew Frazier will be graduat-ed from Virginia Military Institute and com-missioned into the Navy. Two bars will bepinned on his uniform,one by his mother andthe other by his grandmother, Annamae Fra-zier (Edwards-Fisher).....In early June, Donand Shirley McKirchy (Mund) will leave for amonth in the Northwest. In Salem, Oregon,they will visit their daughter and her family,Pat, Dan and Amelia; in Camas, Washington,they will spend time with their daughterJeanne and her husband Ron.

Augusta Schilling (Mund) didn't want giftsbrought to her 100th birthday celebration onMarch 25, so guests dropped $442.50 for theBenevolent Fund into the basket by thedoor.....After Earl and Anna Kragnes (Mund)attended an Elderhostel in Pittsburgh April 29to May 2, they visited Earl's brother Alfred andhis wife,Annie

A note from Reg Westlake (Villas)-"Thehawks' attraction to villa territory continues.Last month I reported that a hawk haddescended on our front garden to attack asquirrel but had missed its prey. Today (3April) we had a different hawk visitor; thistime a small sharp shinned hawk. This timethe hawk won. Struggling in he hawk's pin-ions was a sparrow with no hope of escape.Not a pleasant sight of Nature's, red in toothand claw."

On March 31 Dennis Driscoll (Mund) pre-pared and served a spaghetti dinner in honorof Jack Busch's 85th birthday. Guests includ-ed Jack, Marian Fritsch (Villas) Ruthie Swainand Barbara Tenenbaum (Mund) and AllenCoale, (Trott).......The granddaughter of GerryJennings (Mund) came in 15th in the CherryBlossom Festival Marathon, competing with8500 people.

(Compiled by Judy Weaver, Mund and Marjorie McFarland, Diamond.)

Village LifeBits and

Pieces

Photo : Marjorie McFarlandMarilynn Grotenhuis finds this clock

puzzling-do you?

By Reg and Isabel Westlake, Villas

In April l944 southern England was an armedcamp. It was packed with British and Ameri-can forces, poised for the forthcoming inva-

sion of the Continent. The date and the choice oflocation lay in the future, but it was known to benot far ahead because all Service leave was can-celled. We were not to know any of this when wehad decided on April 20 as our wedding day.

Both of us were in the same small British Armymedical unit stationed in Oxford. Despite thetravel and accommodation problems at that peri-od, we had managed to arrange for family andfriends to come from various parts and attend thewedding.

The wedding was to take place in Oxford's12th Century church of St.-Peter-in-the East andwas to be conducted by a clergyman friend ofours. But would there be a wedding if we had no

leave? Fortunately for us the C.O.of our unit wasa civilian doctor called up for service, not yourtypical Army officer. And, bless his heart, he gaveus a 24-hour pass to get married. In fact he cameto the wedding.

And so, after our wedding in the morning andthe reception at a local restaurant afterwards, wewere able to go for a very brief honeymoon.Brief,because we had to return to the Army the nextevening.

Now, 60 years later, from war-torn England tothe peace of living at Asbury,we've so much to begrateful for. We have just returned from Englandwhere we joined our family (none of them live inAmerica) to celebrate our Diamond WeddingAnniversary and to revisit the church where wewere married. Now we have returned to join theranks of other Asbury residents who have passedthe 60-year mark.

A Diamond Wedding Anniversary

Happy Then, Happier Now


Linus Mundy has written abook entitled Keep-life-sim-ple Therapy. He practices

what he preaches. The book ispostcard sized and contains fewerthan 50 pages. Now here is a manto whom I am inclined to payattention!

For those who desire an unen-cumbered life, Mundy offers wordsof wisdom which, if they areembraced, just might lead to agreater appreciation of the simplerways of being. In the Foreword, hesays that by living more simply, wedo several things. We free up ourovertaxed personal resources—our minds, our emotions, our spir-its—from anxiety and we free upsome of the world’s overtaxed nat-ural resources.

By living more simply, we short-en our list of “stuff” to care aboutand that gives us the chance tocare more about what and who isleft. And by living more simply, we

open up our hearts to receive andbe one with The Source—our Godwho loves us and wants—very sim-ply—only our good.

For you who are interested inwhat is truly essential for anuncomplicated life, try living into...and then out of...one or more ofthese wisdom nuggets which rep-resent the whole of what Mundyhas to offer.

▲ Reduce life to its essence. It ismostly love that matters... andlasts.

▲ Reduce love to its essence. It ismostly a knowing and beingknown. Make the effort, do thework, of getting to know andletting your true self beknown...

▲ Celebrate the ordinary. Yourheart knows the comfort andthe beauty in common things.Let it tell your head.

▲ Do not pretend to be anything

that you are not. That way youcan always be consistent andtruly free.

▲ Look to nature for nurture. It isas reliable as the God who pro-vides it.

▲ Learn to value spiritual thingsover material things. They lastlonger, cost less, bring more.

▲ Don’t let work and play berivals. While each may have itsseparate place at times, bothcan also occupy the samespace.

▲ Strive to have access to things,not ownership of them. Pos-sess something and it possessesyou.

▲ Cultivate the simple virtue ofpatience. Anticipation is notthe only reward for waiting.

▲ Don’t forget that the longingfor simplicity is a spiritual long-ing. Asking for physical thingsto meet spiritual needs doesn’twork.

What Mundy says makes sense tome. Perhaps that is why I thinkwhat he offers is wisdom.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The Simple and Better Life

Martha A. BrownDirector of Pastoral Care

“Your food stamps will be stopped effec-tive March 1992 because we receivednotice that you passed away. May Godbless you.You may reapply if there is achange in your circumstances.”

—Department of Social Services,Greenville, South Carolina

Whatever women must do they must dotwice as well as men to be half as good.Luckily, this is not difficult.

—Charlotte Whitton

Collected by George C. Boddiger

By George!This Village Life

By Linda Aber

Those who have been in staffmeetings or Media PACmeetings with me have

heard my stories about BeaGudridge. I first met her on Tues-day, January 6, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. inthe Edwards-Fisher Library. As theVillage Life Resident Editor for theVillas, Bea Gudridge, attended myfirst staff meeting on that date, andI noticed her ever-cheerful smileand her enthusiasm for writing.

She wrote about the KeeseSchool. She collected love storiesof couples at Asbury and wroteabout them. And then, when herhealth slipped a bit and she movedto the Wilson Health Care Center, Iwent to visit her expecting only asocial hour. Instead, I found Bea sit-ting up in bed with an oxygen tanknearby and a breathing tube in hernose. She didn’t want to talk abouther health and she didn’t want tolament her unfortunate situation.No, Bea wanted to talk about hernext articles for Village Life. Infact, she had two written and readyto go!

One of those articles was herregular Keese School feature. Andthe other was called,“A View fromInside Wilson Health Care Center.”In her article Bea wrote, “Uponarrival, feeling lower than an ant’sesophagus, I was somewhatcheered by the pleasant room, afriendly roommate, and the mostlysmiling multi-ethnic staff...WilsonHealth Care Center gets a big andenthusiastic thumbs up.”

Bea Gudridge was a good sportall the way. She was also a writer.She had an ear and an eye for agood story and she had the writingskills to produce it. Bea passedaway on April 20, 2004. Althoughour relationship was too brief, itwas a meaningful and inspiringone to me.What I learned from Beais to keep smiling, keep thinkingpositively, and keep looking for thestory in and behind everything.

I will miss Bea’s visits to myoffice and at our staff meetings.ButI can tell you one thing, I won’t bea bit surprised if an article arrivesin my mail entitled, “A View fromInside Heaven,” by Bea Gudridge.I’ll be looking for it!

Remembering Bea

Calling all Committee Chairs!Please make yourselves known to

Lexie McKenzie at x 4113 in order to facilitate better communication,

improved satisfaction, and campus unity. Your input makes our output better!


The Legislative PACMedicare on Our Minds

Politics, politics. In this season of war,taxes and electioneering, politics swirlaround us like the cherry blossoms that

have fallen to make a carpet of pink petalsbeneath our feet.Through all the discouragingnews, the Legislative PAC soldiers on, sustainedat its meetings by the delicious homemadecookies brought by Resident Co-Chair RosalieSilverberg.

Keeping tabs on legislative doings at the fed-eral, state, county and local level is the businessof the PAC. Key action at its April meeting wasthe reading—and approval—of a letter pre-pared by a PAC subcommittee about theMedicare bill.The letter, addressed to SenatorsPaul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski and Con-gressman Chris Van Hollen, urged that theMedicare Reform and Prescription Drug BenefitLaw signed by the President in December beamended before it goes into effect.The PAC let-ter urged, among other things, that the law beamended to:■ allow appropriate authorities to negotiate

lower prices for prescription drugs...;■ spread out the ‘doughnut hole’ in a pro-

gressive way so that benefits do not sud-denly stop when drug costs reach $2250, toresume as Catastrophic Coverage onlywhen beneficiaries have spent $3500 outof pocket...;

■ require insurance plans to make known inadvance what drugs their plan will cover...;

■ make coverage for beneficiaries at leastequal to that provided to Federal employ-ees and retirees.

Will our legislators listen? That, of course,remains to be seen. But speaking up is a pre-rogative of democracy, and a mission of thePAC.

The PAC also heard about the model programPACE, or Programs of All-inclusive Care for theElderly, which aims to coordinate and provideall needed preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so that older individuals cancontinue living in the community. PACE appliesto people on Medicare and Medicaid and over90% is funded by those agencies. PACE is not alobbying organization, but a service organiza-tion. PACE started in Oregon in 1971 and sincethen has been adopted by a few local nonprof-its across the country, including one near Balti-more.

Just how PACE would affect Asbury is at themoment unclear. As Rosalie often says: Staytuned.

The Cultural Arts PACA Must-See Show

May is the month! The Arts and Crafts Exhibit

sponsored by the PAC will open on Wednesday,May 5 and remain open through Thursday, May27. Don't miss it.

The Security, Reception and Transportation PAC

Park, Shop, Be Safe

In response to the son of an Edwards-Fisherresident unable to find a parking space inthe E-F lot, Asbury security has announced

that Asbury Drive in front of that residence forparking.Though unmarked in any way, parkingthere is legal and acceptable.

For transportation service on weekends, call4006 or 4008 and a car or bus will be providedas soon as possible.

The new Tuesday afternoon grocery shuttleseems to be working well.

A magnet with emergency fire instruction hasbeen distributed to all residents to stick ontheir front doors.

Shirley Whitman of Trott has joined the PAC.Will security guards make their rounds on

bicycles? That innovative notion was proposedin a PACgram from a Villa resident.Wouldn't thatgive a nice Old World touch to Asbury? Alas,once more practicality intervenes. Since securi-ty personnel have multiple responsibilities,including transporting residents, and mail, bicy-cles just won't work. Can you see residents in abicycle basket? Not likely!

(Jeanne North, Trott)

Peek the PACsat

The PAC FrontNews From Three Partnership Advisory Committees

shuttle bus. She says gardening isalso her exercise for the day. Whenshe goes back to her apartmentshe rests for the remainder of theday.

Grace has always shared herflowers with others. This springshe has brought beautiful daffodilsfor the 417 lobby desk and diningroom desk. She has always boughtthe best of bulbs from Holland andher flowers over the years havebeen very special. She regrets thatthe deer have eaten her tulips andgladioli, hyacinths and purple cro-cuses, and all the summer flowers.They have even eaten her rhubarb.But, she says, they don’t like yel-low. Unfortunately, they don’t likeweeds either, so the weeds are aconstant battle.

In addition to flowers,Grace rais-es vegetables, and for a time shehad raspberries. One hundred dol-lars realized by the sale of raspber-

ries at the produce cart in thebasement of Diamond was given tothe Benevolent Fund.

A number of years ago, Gracehad back surgery and had to cutback the raspberries. After her

operation, she hired a company totake her to the garden. She had abench brought in so she could sitdown and she had two youngwomen from the company dowhat she ordered them to do in

her garden.At an Open House at the gar-

dens,Grace got a nasty gash on herleg from a stake near her plot.George Oxx ran up to Edwards-Fisher to get someone to take careof her injury.That incident precipi-tated getting a telephone installedin the gardens.

Grace’s motto is “Keep the gar-den well.” She certainly has donethat. As a result, Grace Hartleyreceived a “Certification of Appre-ciation.” It reads as follows:

“This Certificate is awarded toGrace Hartley in recognition of theinspiring example she continues toprovide in her 94th year, by main-taining the beauty of three gardenplots, contributing produce andflowers for the enjoyment of otherresidents, and for the support ofthe Benevolent Care Fund.

Freeland Memorial GardensScott Brewer

October 14, 2003”

GRACEContinued from page 1

Grace Hartley, dressed to till!Photo: Louise Redding


By Marjorie McFarland

Dorothy Hoopes (Diamond) has a won-derful family. She does not have a fami-ly tree-she has a forest, as you can note.

As of now, there are 27 great-grandchildren.Her four children were widely separated: Jim

wa in college, Pat in High School, Suzanne wasin Junior High and Virginia was in grade school.They have always been a very closely Knit fam-ily. Jim’s wife has said that this family always hadso much fun together, that they would rather betogether than have a lot of other peoplearound.

James Summers, Jr. has three children. Patriciahas four children. Suzanne has three and Vir-ginia has two.You will notice the main branch-es on the trees.The little twigs represent theirgrandchildren-Dorothy’s great-grandchildren.

Dorothy said there was only one prob-lem-there are many Joe’s in the children’sfamilies. She told Virginia when she start-ed dating,“Just don’t date anyone withthe name of Joe, we just can’t handleany more Joe’s.”

Dorothy, the matriarch of this family,loves music and dance. She often keepstime with her feet while she is movingaround the apartment.

Here are the oldest and the youngest ofthe family. Little Haley Marie Summers wasborn on February 27,2004.But Dorothy saysthere just might be a great-great grandchild inthe offing.We will keep you posted.

Photos & Illustration of Family Tree: Marjorie McFarland

Dorothy Hoopes, at left, the oldest of the family.

Haley Marie Summers, at right, the youngest of the family.

A Family Tree? No, A Family Forest!

By Betty Rice, Kindley,

as told to the Editor

Everyone has treasures. Tosome they may be jewels.Toothers they may be books or

paintings or poems or any numberof things. But for Betty Rice, treas-ure is in the form of a very specialphotograph from 19ll. It’s this pho-tograph,which shows Betty’smother, a friend of her mother, andher grandfather trying out theWright Brothers’ plane on the Mallin Washington, DC on Easter Mon-day. From left to right, here areBetty’s grandfather, Hugh Morri-son, a friend of Betty’s mother,Phebe Stine, the pilot, Rex Smith,and Betty’s mother, Nellie GraceMorrison.

It’s this photo and her family his-tory connected to it that hasturned Betty into somewhat of acollector of Wright Brothers sto-ries and articles. She’s proud to bethe daughter of a mother who’sfather, Hugh Morrison worked forCongress once. And she’s evenmore proud to pass along copiesof this photo to her two daughtersMarjorie and Janet. For Betty Har-lan Rice, a little bit of historymeans a lot!

Betty Rice Has the Wright Stuff

Betty Rice’s mother catches an early flight.


By Paula Strain, Edwards-Fisher

The air during the winter of2002 and 2003 was espe-cially beautiful.A series of

continuing snow storms fromabout Christmas to early Marchbrought a fall of white feathers orsilver pinheads of snow, followedby several days under cloudedskies in which silvery water mol-ecules evaporated upwards. Itwas the first Sunday in Marchthat I realized no one else wasseeing what I was seeing. Some-thing was wrong with my eyes.

I had an appointment with myophthalmologist in a few days soI waited for it.When I was in hisexamination room in Bethesda,eyes dilated, Dr. M took one lookat my eyes,walked out and didn’tcome back for a quarter of anhour. When he returned he said,“I’m sending you down to a spe-cialist in Friendship Heights right now.”

I drove down, parked the car,and found my way to a 15th flooroffice, where the receptionisthustled me into another exami-nation room. For the next twohours, a series of technicians andpossibly doctors visited me, say-ing nothing, but continuing dilat-ing my eyes occasionally. Finallyone doctor came in and said,“Youhave wet macular degeneration.Wecan’t do a thing for you. Here’s anappointment with a doctor whohandles low vision. Good-bye.”

In a state of shock, I found myway back to the car and into north-bound traffic. I will never knowhow I managed the 20 miles upWisconsin and Rockville Pike toAsbury Village without being ableto see cars to the left and right ortraffic lights. I reached Asbury safe-ly and I haven’t driven a car since.

My dentist suggested I get a sec-ond opinion. I did and the first wasconfirmed. But I was offered a pos-sible operation not approved byMedicare. I was hopeful. I had theoperation, but it did no good.

I went to Asbury’s Care Manage-ment Office and asked whatAsbury might do for me. “Notmuch,” I was told, but the on-cam-pus occupational therapist wassent to my apartment to take thehandles off of my stove burnersand mark my doors with tape so Icould find the lock.They also rec-ommended the Upper Mont-gomery County Low Vision Sup-port Group which meets in theSenior Center in Gaithersburgtwice a month. But how was I toget there?

In April I was feeling quite low asmy sight was getting dimmer and

dimmer, and my mail more difficultto read. When I was especiallydespondent I stood by the waist-high railing on my balcony, whichis there to protect the elderly. Iknew I was agile enough to climbover and drop off to hit the groundeight floors down. Then, I lookedover the railing. Just below me wasa tree in brilliant white blossoms. Iwould hit that tree when I fell andruin the blossoms. I couldn’t dothat.That’s when I knew I was notgoing to commit suicide.

Finally, in May the time for myappointment with Dr.A arrived. Heand his technician provided mewith half a dozen local sourcesfrom which I might find some formof help.The most useful was that ofthe Maryland Social Workers forthe Blind, two of whom servedMontgomery, Frederick and possi-bly Washington Counties.They pro-vided me with a white cane andsome training in how to use it tocross streets and move in traffic.They also gave me other help, suchas marking my microwave andattempting to get me free 411directory service. After consider-able effort they were unable to doso primarily because at the timeAsbury had a contract with a tele-phone company which did notadmit to providing that service.(After considerable contact with

Administration I have sincelearned that free 411 service isavailable to any resident, not onlythose with low vision!)

My eyes continued to deterio-rate.What I could do on Thursday Icouldn’t do on Monday.And what Icould do on Monday I could cer-tainly not do by Friday. I organizedmy piles, my desk, and my habits. Ibegan to put my apartment keys inthe same place every time Ireturned to the apartment. I col-lected my phone numbers and putthem in a more readable list.

At the end of June I sent a size-able check to the Cross CreekCemetery Association for the main-tenance of the Strain family ceme-tery and the family lots in the localchurch yard. That check was nei-ther acknowledged nor cashed. Iassumed it went to the dead letteroffice. That convinced me that Ineeded help in my business mat-ters. I got weekly help in typingmy letters, checking my clothes forfood stains, and labeling my frozenfoods so I would know how longto cook each item. I also got some-one to act as my legal representa-tive in case of necessity.

During the summer and fall Icontinued to take my mail down tothe magnifying machine in the E-Flibrary. Eventually that becameimpossible to use. So I moved to

the stronger machine in theResource Library at Rosbor-ough. That too eventuallybecame impossible to use.Meanwhile, I had been trying toavail myself of the BlindnessRehabilitation Program of theU.S. Veterans Administration,which I’d been told about by Dr.A. and a friend. But federalbureaucracy moved slowly, andit was not until March of thisyear that I was called oneWednesday afternoon and toldthat I could go up to WestHaven, Connecticut the follow-ing Wednesday and enroll in theprogram. I was to take five daysof clothes and three months ofmedicine for an indefinite stay.

I went up to Connecticut onthe train by myself. Fortunately,it was through train. I enteredfour weeks of very useful train-ing. It included practice inwalking through traffic, in theskills of living, such as pouringcoffee without spilling it,threading needles, and also inusing other gadgets andmachines. I returned to Asburyloaded down with talkingclocks, a talking calculator, andan optical character reader,which is supposed to be able to

read printed or typed materialback to me. I am settling in with allthis equipment and trying to con-tinue living independently.

I will still have to depend on thereceptionist for sorting my mail andat least removing the “please con-tribute” letters from my mail. I amnot yet sure whether the new infor-mation about the free 411 servicewill ease my telephone problems.Up until now I have been limited tomaking calls only between 10 and 4on weekdays when I can ask thereceptionist to tell me the numberI need and return to my apartment,muttering the number as I go, tomake the call.

Another problem I have is that Icannot recognize people whoaddress me by name, whom I donot know, because I’ve never seentheir faces. I wish they would say,“Hello, Paula, I’m so and so,” butfew think to do so. I can’t carry atune, so recognizing voices is alsodifficult.

Asbury is a very helpful place forpeople with low vision. But there’swork to be done. For example, theAsbury bulletin boards and televi-sion channel remain blanks as faras I’m concerned. But I have heardrumors that something may bedone to make them available topeople like me.

I have hope.

When ThatWhich You FearMost , Happens“When I was especially despondent I stood

by the waist-high railing on my balcony,which is there to protect the elderly. I knewI was agile enough to climb over and drop

off to hit the ground eight floors down.Then, I looked over the railing. Just below

me was a tree in brilliant white blossoms. Iwould hit that tree when I fell and ruin the

blossoms. I couldn’t do that.”—Paula Strain


By Genevieve Wimsatt and LouiseEbbett Redding

This is the story of a Norwayspruce and two dogwoodtrees which were saved

when bulldozers started clearingthe site for the 419 Building inDecember 1997. Today, the treesare alive and well on campusthanks to well-known campus pho-tographer and resident,Louise Red-ding of the Diamond Building.

Back in the early to mid 1990’swhen planning for Building 419was underway one stark factbecame evident. The land wherethe building would have to be washome to a fine stand of maturetrees. Neighbors, especially in theDiamond Building, were extremelyconcerned about what would hap-pen to “their”grove,which coveredthe area from the 417 buildingwest to Russell Avenue and northto Odenhal.

Ground breaking ceremonieswere held on November 18, 1997,and it was learned that the sitewould be cleared of all trees eventhose near the roadside.This newsbrought great consternation to allresidents.To Louise,who had spentso much time among these treesstudying and photographing them,it was devastating:

“I walked the grounds trying toimagine the changes.Then one dayon the top of the hill near the con-tractor’s construction quarters Icame upon this glorious Christmastree. It was so near the bulldozersthat I knew it would be taken. I hadthe urgent idea to try to save it.Yes,I wanted to save just one tree! Ienlisted the help of two of theAsbury Clowns (Betty Goen,Edwards-Fisher and CathyHugh,Villas ). I photographed themin full regalia as they paradedaround the tree with colorful bal-

loons and banners ) to publicize itsplight.

“With photos in hand I appealedto the Administration, ‘When somany trees are to be destroyed,

couldn’t just ONE be saved andplaced out of harm’s way?’

“Finally, in late November, to mydelight ,I learned that the answerwas affirmative, that moving

arrangements could be made andthat not one but three trees wouldbe saved—my little Christmas tree,together with two beautiful dog-woods—one white and one pink.Henceforth they would keep eachother company between the twoAsbury ponds.”

In a bitterly cold Decemberdawn bulldozers rolled in andwithin a few hours the woods onthe building site were completelydemolished. It was most disheart-ening to the residents who hadgathered.

But wait, a new work crewappeared. These professional treemovers proceeded to dig up, wrapwith great care, transport regally inthe buckets of the bright yellowtree-moving equipment, andreplant the three trees! Excitementamong spectators grew as thiswork progressed. With residentswatching the operations at the dig-ging and planting areas were Mrs.Ruth Steen and her husband Dick,of the Diamond Building and theWilson Health Care Center. Bydusk, the mission of the day hadbeen accomplished.All three treeshad been carefully moved to newhomes out of harm’s way.

Now, five years later “little Christ-mas tree” with friends white dog-wood and pink dogwood are livingreminders of one of the majorchanges woven into the tapestry ofcampus history. So, we celebratethe fifth anniversary of the fineuser-friendly apartment buildingwhich is 419. We honor the hand-some grove of trees which itreplaced. We especially delight inthe Asbury tradition, which contin-uously enhances our beautifullandscape and has given us manynew trees, not only on site 419 butthroughout the campus.

How Campus TreesWere Saved From

Bulldozers


Cathy Hugh and Betty Goen send in the clowns to make a serious statement-”Save Our Trees!”

How Campus TreesWere Saved From

Bulldozers

Weaver and Wilma-sorts the itemsto check that they are goodenough for sale in the shop. “Wesee what’s needed in the shop,”explains Wilma, “store seasonalthings in the attic, bring thingsdown when seasons change.”Elouise Weaver dresses the man-nequin-whom she named Laura,after the

First Lady-in fashionable outfits.Anything not considered appropri-ate for the shop is sent to one ofseveral local rescue missions orchurches.

People stumble into their jobs at

the Clothes Closet, Mund:“I movedhere eight years ago in June, andstarted a month later, after BonnieFansler insisted I go there with her,Next thing I knew I was workingas a cashier. I said ‘I can’t possiblydo that!’ but Mildred Seymour said‘Oh, you can do it.’” Yvonne stillworks as a cashier, but also serveson the 9-person Steering Commit-tee that manages the shop: BettinaCurtis, June Hall, Ethel Hedrick,Wilma Parker,Yvonne Slygh,RachelThrasher, Elouise Weaver, HelenWilliams and Lillian Zinser.

The Committee meets everyother month with Joni King of theAsbury Foundation to review the

CLOTHESContinued from page 1

Photo: Joon Kim

Ethel Hedrick—For the countless hours she has devoted to work at theClothes Closet, as well as for her other volunteer jobs, Ethel was given theprized Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award at the volunteer appreciation

day ceremony in the Rosborough Theatre last month. Continued on page 9



Louise Redding and her camera capture Mother Goose and her little goslings on film. Notice howthe mother gives Louise a “Hiss Boo Bah!” as she shields her babies from fine feathered fame!

By Genevieve Wimsatt, 419

Building 419, smallest andyoungest of the Asbury Vil-lage apartment dwellings,

recently turned five. Its residentsare celebrating with characteristiczest for they have much aboutwhich to be positive.

The program held on May 1,2004 in the 417 Auditorium includ-ed a variety of events which show-cased the talents of those who callBuilding 419 ‘home.’ Well knownpersonages associated with 419were on hand to reminisce.A musi-cal interlude featured Bob andIrene Stuart and a quartet revealedwhat ‘Mr.Asbury Dreams’.

A power point presentation byBob Bernero detailed intriguingaspects of the Building’s history.Delicious party foods and libationscompleted the party.

Building 419 differs architec-turally in important respects fromthe four previous campus apart-ments. Differences were dictatedby site peculiarities but the con-tractor’s imaginative solutions to

the problems, resulted in an unusu-ally resident- friendly building.

There are no long narrow corri-

dors—no seemingly endless walk-ing to get to where you want to be!The unusual “Y” shape permits

short corridors and readily accessi-ble public spaces which bring resi-dents together as

they go about their daily activi-ties. The first floor communityroom and the library, together withthe well appointed lounges onevery floor, are magnets for occu-pants and have contributed muchto the development of the fine feel-ing of camaraderie among resi-dents.

From the earliest arrivalsonward, residents have proved tobe talented and decisive. Withinfour months they had written andapproved a constitution and by-laws, drawn up and approved aslate of officers. They becameactive volunteers not only forBuilding 419 but also for campuswide activities.

Now, on their Building’s fifthanniversary and recognizing thatThe Golden Years are not continu-ously golden they still make onecomment with great frequency—Iam glad that I am here!

months’ work, discuss policy (debits, creditsand so forth) and look for ways to improve theworkings of the Clothes Closet. In May, DebiPeeks will be taking over as liaison betweenthe Foundation and the Clothes Closet. Forthe shop,space is a problem.“In the early days,says Wilma, we didn’t get so many donations.”Now, with the expanded campus, donationshave increased. Just last month, more than 40pairs of shoes were delivered from a singledonor. Says Yvonne Slygh: “We get so muchstuff in we could use a larger shop. Unfortu-nately no more space is available.”

For some on the Committee, the best part ofworking at the Clothes Closet is being able tolook through the big bags of goodies thatcome in and find prized labels and fine cloth-ing; for others, it’s meeting the customers whocome in, sometimes to buy clothing to send totheir “home country;”for all, it’s the enjoymentof the camaraderie and esprit de corps thathas developed among the friends who spendhours each week doing work they believe in.

Says Yvonne Slygh:“We all think it’s the mostworthwhile thing to do because it helps thosein need of help. Our money goes up into theBenevolent Fund.”

And indeed,at the end of the day, the cashieron duty carefully counts the cash and deliversit to Cassandra Hoye in the Foundation office.Since March,1989, when Zelah Conley, ErnaGisriel and Mildred Seymour launched theClothes Closet, the enterprise has contributedmore than $238,000 to the Benevolent Fund.

CLOTHESContinued from page 8

Building 419 CelebratesIts Fifth Anniversary

First 419 Resident Council. Seated left to right: Mitchell Wendell, Frances duBois, Keith Steele, Carolyn Harwood. Standing left to right: Harmon Shaw,

Carol Barquist, Mary Waldron.

By Vivian Otto

One thing certainabout the resi-dents of Asbury,

we’re an intelligent andwell-read community andthe success of the AAUWBook Sale the week ofApril 12-17 is pure proofof that fact!

Asbury Methodist Vil-lage cooperated with theGaithersburg Branch ofthe American Associationof University Women inallowing them to hold their annualbook sale in Rosborough Center.The turnout was grand and sowere the profits. The Branch ofAAUW is exceedingly grateful, astheir net from book sales was$6500, which will go for scholar-ships for women doing graduatestudies. This is the largest amountthe group has realized in 25 yearsand the co-chairmen attribute it tothe location and the Asbury resi-dents who came the day before thesale officially opened and boughtover $1,000.

On opening day, book dealersstarted arriving at 6:30 a.m. Theywere grateful that we allowedthem inside as other locations keptthem outside whether it was rain-ing or cold. Thirty-seven personsworked over 300 hours sorting,selling and cleaning up. We areextremely grateful to Asbury per-

sonnel — grateful to the/ mainte-nance crew who setup the 40tables, emptied trash and tookbooks that could not be sold to therecycle location, to the groundscrew who assisted in putting in thedirection signs to the sale, to thefood department who had extrafood on hand to sell to workersand attendees, to security whowere ready to help if the mob gottoo large, to Community RelationsOffice who assisted in our publici-ty and finally to Jerry Hart whosupported and aided us in manydifferent ways.

When you start cleaning yourbookcases out this summer,remember to call Vivian Otto(5299) in the Diamond Building orCarolyn Iverson (6966) in Trott.

We are starting now to collectfor another book sale in March2005!! (Easter is early.)


Resident Facility Date of Death

Altha “Bonnie” Stewart 419 March 13, 2004

Harriet Johnson WHCC March 16, 2004

Jon Linthicum 419 March 17, 2004

Ann Torrey Villas March 21, 2004

Eleanor McIntosh Diamond March 21, 2004

John Brown WHCC/Kindley March 25, 2004

Elvin Howard WHCC April 4, 2004

William Kubicek WHCC April 5, 2004

Betty Miller WHCC/Kindley/Home April 6, 2004

Robert Wooden WHCC/Kindley/E-F April 7, 2004

Lyle Faxon WHCC/Kindley/Mund April 8, 2004

Martha Burdette WHCC/Kindley/Mund April 8, 2004

Edith Hitz WHCC/Home April 9, 2004

Jane Wyatt WHCC/419 April 12, 2004

Judge Wingate E. Underhill Kindley/Home April 12, 2004

Frank Luff Diamond April 17, 2004

Ruth Loevinger 419 April 18, 2004

Elizabeth Carmichael WHCC April 19, 2004

Margaret McDaniel WHCC/Home/E-F April 19, 2004

Beatrice Gudridge WHCC/Villas April 20, 2004

Richard Reardon WHCC/Trott 4-22-04

Harold Koeln WHCC/Kindley 4-25-04

Anita Lambe WHCC/E-F 4-27-04

Louise “Bunny” Stever Kindley/Villas 4-28-04

IN MEMORIAM

One forthe Books!One forthe Books!

By Reg Westlake, Villas

Russ Weber and his wife Phyl-lis are among the originalresidents of Diamond, hav-

ing come when it opened in 1991.Soon afterwards Russ started hisvolunteer work for Asbury and hascontinued ever since, aided muchof the time by Phyllis.

He took on the job of Treasurerfor Diamond’s Resident Counciland holds it still. Later, he becamethe CCAV auditor for a couple ofyears and has assumed it againmore recently, together with thatfor the 419 Council.

To complete the score he is alsocurrently the Treasurer for theAsbury Guild. These positions fallnaturally to Russ because for manyyears he was with Price Water-house. As light relief Russ was inthe square dance and line dancegroup in Campus Capers for anumber of years.

Then he and Phyllis worked inthe Clothes Closet in WilliamsburgLane, that wonderful source ofgood quality attire at very lowprices, and all run by volunteers.

Russ is well known nowadays forrunning Asbury’s postage stamprecycling project for the Benevo-lent Fund.The project was startedin 1997 by Ann Torrey of the Villas,asking for volunteers from eachbuilding to help her. Russ and Phyl-lis are stamp collectors and joinedAnn in her work. They were thecollectors for Diamond and 419when dear Ann died in March thisyear and Russ took over the com-plete running of the project. It rais-es considerable proceeds for thebenefit of the Fund; over the yearsits contribution has amounted tonearly $6000. .

Each building has a collectionbox, which the collector for thatbuilding clears. After doing anynecessary trimming (assistants wel-come), the collector sends the con-tents to Russ’s apartment. Consid-erable quantities also come in fromMethodist churches in the region.The stamps are sold by weight andthe dealer requires them to betrimmed to a quarter inch margin.For stamps from other countries

this is not required and the wholeenvelope or postcard is sufficient.

The Weber apartment becomes astamp depot where Russ and Phyl-lis sort through the stamps and bagthem up. Fortunately they havesome storage space in the Dia-mond Arts and Crafts Room, whichwas just as well recently when asmany as 18 bags, each weighing 6pounds,had accumulated.The deal-er comes, buys the stamps and theBenevolent Fund gets another valu-able contribution. But Russ says

that, good though it is, there ispotential for a lot more.

Throwing stamped envelopesinto the trash is throwing dollarsaway. All that is needed is to getinto the habit of tearing off adomestic stamp neatly, or savingthe complete envelope or cardwith an international stamp, andwhen enough have been gatheredtake them to the building’s collec-tion box. Postcards are particularlydesired. It all means money for theBenevolent Fund.Associates in par-ticular, many of whom receive cor-respondence from their homecountries,could be a rich source ofstamps for the project

Russ, with his Price Waterhousebackground, is also the longestserving member of the FinancePAC, where he brings an eagle eyeto bear on the Administration’sbudgets and financial reports andaccounts for Asbury Methodist Vil-lage, and is known for his keenquestions.

In addition to all their work forAsbury he and Phyllis have spentmany years in an outside volunteeractivity which is very dear to theirhearts and continues to this day.Every Friday, all year round exceptwhen snow closes the road, theyjourney to Harpers Ferry wherethey work in the office of theAppalachian Trail Conference, thelargely volunteer non-profit bodyof enthusiasts that is responsiblefor the maintenance and properuse of the Trail. Many years agoRuss first met Phyllis on the Trail.Now they have been married for27 years.

Spare time? Russ is too busy put-ting his recently acquired stampproject on a solid footing to havemuch of that. Russ definitely getsour stamp of approval as a first-ratevolunteer!


Travel CommitteeDay Trips and Tours

Date Event Contact

May 21 Kennedy Center Otto (x5299)National Symphony

May 26 Arena Stage Curtis (x5657)“Orpheus Descending”

June 4 Kennedy Center Otto (x 5299)National Symphony

June 12 Olney Theatre Allen (x 6660)“Necessary Target”

Are you watching Asbury View?If not, then why not?

Contests, news, information, comedy, dramaand words of wisdom and inspiration!

By Asbury and for Asbury. Weekdays. Everyday. Be in Touch with Asbury View

RUSS WEBER -HE’S STUCK ON STAMPS!


Betsy and Burton RushTrott 413, x4848

Betsy and Burton Rush came to Asbury fromOssining, N.Y. Betsy grew up outside of Boston,graduating from Cambridge School in Weston,

MA; Vassar, with a BA, and Columbia, with anMA.

Butron lived in Brooklyn, NY, graduating fromErasmus Hall High School, Columbia College,with a BA and Columbia Teachers’ College withan MA.They met and married in New York City,lived in different suburbs while Burton com-muted into New York City to work.

After teaching for two years, Burton joinedthe Pictograph Corp and soon started theGraphics Institute with a partner. They agreedto separate and Burton became owner anddirector of Visual Services, providing charts,maps and graphs for major textbook publish-ers.

Betsy worked at the foreign desk of UnitedPress during WWII. Then she mothered theirfour children. When the youngest was 6, shebecame a children’s librarian at Ossining PublicLibrary for 20 years.

The entire family traveled on a 7-week camp-ing trip across the U.S., and the next year wentcamping across Canada. The couple enjoyedtraveling, visiting over 40 countries, includingEgypt and China, and European countries.While traveling, Burton became interested in

photography. He has had five solo photographyshows, and began giving illustrated slide talks,based on their travels, to ten retirement andcommunity organizations.

Betsy was a member of the committee whichselected the 1973 Newbery and CaldecottAwards for outstanding children’s books. Herfavorite hobbies are reading, walking, tennisand bridge. For 20 years she volunteered in thelibrary of a school for emotionally and mentallydisturbed children and gave book talks. Betsyalso volunteered in a nursing home, playingbridge with the handicapped. Burton handledtennis instruction at a club and played in tour-naments, sometimes in doubles with Betsy.

One son lives in Chevy Chase, two in Lees-burg,VA and their daughter lives in CA.

They are interested in participating in cam-pus activities, especially bridge.

(Lois Lord, Trott)

Ethel WillcoxonEdwards-Fisher Apts. #411, X5314Ethel Willcoxon felt the warm and caring

atmosphere at Asbury was just what she need-ed when she moved here on February 27. Shewas recovering from a broken femur and whileshe had excellent family support, she knew thisenvironment would be helpful.

She was born in Pinetown, North Carolinaand moved to Washington, D.C. to help in thewar effort. She began at the Commerce Depart-ment, moved on to the War Department andwas in the fourth year of employment at theHome Loan Bank Board when she met and mar-ried her husband.

Ethel was a stay-at-home mom for five yearsraising two children, Robert and Jackie. Sheresumed her government career at the NationalInstitutes of Health where as receptionist andconference coordinator she met many of thefamous medical personages of the era includingthe renown heart transplant surgeon MichaelDeBakey. She retired after twenty years of serv-ice.

Parker and Janet Dorman

Bldg. 419 219, x 4909e-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Parker Dorman and Janet movedinto Asbury on March 31, 2004. Parkerwas born on July 13, 1922, in Washing-ton, D.C. He attended Western HighSchool and then Amherst College inthe class of 1944 but, because of thewar, graduated in 1943.

Janet English was born in West Hart-ford, Connecticut, on December 20,1922 and attended Smith College. LikeParker, she entered in the class of 1944, butgraduated in 1943. Having met at a summercamp in 1937, they married at the end of1944.

Parker signed up with the Navy,but finishedcollege and started medical school at the Uni-versity of Maryland before being called toactive duty.

After completing medical school and aninternship he was commissioned and spenttwo years during the Korean war on a Navytransport ship in the Pacific. He specialized inUrology, entered practice with his father andbrother in Washington and Bethesda, andretired after 40 years. He belongs to and haspresided at, the Southern Society of UrologicalSurgeons and the Mid-Atlantic Section of theAmerican Urological Association. He was onthe clinical faculty of Georgetown UniversityMedical School and headed their residencytraining at Suburban Hospital.

After college Janet spent a year as a labora-tory assistant at Princeton, working with

newts (salamanders). She and Parker have sixchildren and 11 grandchildren, and their fami-ly is their main preoccupation,Parker keepingwritten memoirs.They have traveled togetherto several countries for his medical meetingsand also on ElderHostel trips.They have gen-erally spent their summers at a family homeon the shores of Damariscotta Lake in Jeffer-son, Maine, very near to where they met. Forthe past 11 years they have spent part of eachwinter in Barbados.

They are both active in the Bethesda UnitedChurch of Christ. Parker has served on theBoard of Bethesda Cares and was previously adriver for Bethesda Help. He is active in theBethesda Kiwanis club,which raises money toassist children’s programs in MontgomeryCounty. He is a fund-raiser for Amherst Col-lege. Janet worked at the Montgomery CountyVolunteer Bureau placing volunteers wherethey were needed. She belongs to the Wash-ington Smith Club which raises scholarshipmoney. Parker and Janet used to bicycletogether which they both enjoy.

Mike Hua photograph

WELCOME NEW RESIDENTS

Betty Goen photograph

Lois Lord photograph



Travel has a big appeal for Ethel and she hascombined this with helping with her threegrandchildren’s child care; both at home andoverseas. Before her mobility was restricted shewas an avid walker and hopes to become oneagain soon. Her religious affiliation is Catholic.

Ethel was fortunate to have known somefriends who became Asbury residents and theirrecommendation led her to move here.

(Joan Dunlop, E-F Reporter)

Edna ProschanEdwards-Fisher Apts. 409, X5254

Edna Proschan was looking for “a view”whenshe moved into apartment 409 of Edwards Fish-er on February 13, and she found it. She wasborn in Asheville, North

Carolina and received a BS in psychologyfrom the University of Washington in 1963, fol-lowed by a BS in nursing from Florida State Uni-versity in 1974.

She has always worked outside the home,often holding office type jobs.At one time Ednawas a computer operator although she claimsnot to be “computer literate.” She was HouseSupervisor at Gadsden Memorial Hospital inQuincy, Florida from 1980 to 1985.

Edna’s hobbies are reading, nursing and ball-room dancing.At leisure she indulges in spiritu-ality (hardly a hobby).Although she was raiseda Southern Baptist she is studying to convert toJudaism. Her volunteer work centered aroundnursing and answering the Crisis Hot Line.

Edna is the widow of Frank Proschan, thefamous mathematician. She has a daughter whois the mother of twin girls and a son who hastwo boys. Edna decided to move to Asburybecause. [COPY MISSING HERE?]


Agnes McDermottTrott 404, x4731

Agnes Harding McDermott was born inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in theScranton area. She graduated from high schoolin Pittston, then started nurse’s training at thePittston Hospital. After about two years there,she got tuberculosis-as did some other nurses atthe hospital-and spent 11 months in a TB hos-pital in rest and recuperation.

After the death of her mother, she decidednot to continue nurse’s training. In 1947,through a friend from the hospital, she metJames McDermott, and in 1950 they were mar-ried. Mr. McDermott, who served in World WarII in Manila, worked for Bell Telephone.

After 15 years, Agnes’s husband asked for atransfer, and they moved to Maryland. Theyspent 8 years in Wheaton and then moved toRockville. Her husband died last October, andafter that Agnes’s children urged her to move toAsbury. She moved in on April 9, 2004.

Agnes has seven children, all of whom live inthe Washington D.C. metropolitan area. She hasnine grandchildren, two of them girls.

From 1972 to 1986, Agnes worked with thegovernment, with the weather service, whereshe was in personnel. She was fond of readingand writing and decided to take courses atMontgomery College. Three weeks before her60th birthday she graduated with an Associate’sdegree.

Besides reading,Agnes loves music. She had apiano, and started to take lessons. Unfortunate-ly, about that time she developed maculardegeneration. She joined a group at the JewishCommunity Center in Rockville, and signed upwith Metro Access. She plans to go to the Low-Vision group on campus. Now that she isunable to read, she listens to books on tape.

Agnes is Roman Catholic and enjoys beingable to walk to the Health Care Center for Mass.She very much enjoys Asbury’s beautiful cam-pus and the lovely view from her corner win-dow. She appreciates the friendliness of peopleat Asbury and the willingness of residents to gowith her to church, invite her to dinner, andhelp out in little ways.

(Jeanne North, Trott)

Mary Ann Diamond1101 Diamond, x4795

Mary Ann moved to Diamond January16,2004. She was born in Washington, D.C. andeducated at the Campus School-Academy of theHoly Cross-Trinity College.

She worked for the CIA from 1953 to 1955.From 1980 through 1983 she worked for theNavy Alcohol, Safety Action Program. From1986-1999 she was Assistant Director of Dioce-san Relations at Catholic University.

Mary Ann’s hobbies include needlepoint,knit-ting, scrabble, wood carving and watercolorpainting. She has eight children and eighteengrandchildren.

Mary Ann chose to come to Asbury after itwas highly recommended by members of theNorth Bethesda Methodist Church. Her reli-gious affiliation is Roman Catholic.

(Marjorie McFarland, Diamond)

Elwood “Woody” SchneiderBldg. 419 312, x5083

e-mail [email protected] was born in Haselton, PA. After start-

ing college at Penn State, he left to enlist in theAir Force, where he served for 4 years in radar



Mike Hua photograph

Mike Hua photograph

Continued on next page



maintenance, including 19 months in Germany.After his service, he spent 37 years with com-puters at Remington-Rand (which becameSperry Univac), the first 15 years in computermaintenance, then in customer-support pro-gramming. He took early retirement and wentto the National Institute of Standards and Tech-nology,where he worked for 7 years, again withcomputers.

He moved to Asbury on March 5,2004.He hasbeen married for 52 years to Anetta, now in Wil-son HCC. They have three children and 5 grand-children living in Bethesda, Germantown, andLake Linganore, MD.They lived in MontgomeryVillage before coming to Asbury and have livedin the Gaithersburg area for 36 years.

His hobbies are woodworking and photogra-phy. He hopes eventually to put many of hisphotographs on CDs to give his children.

(Gordon Allen, 419)

Kathryn O. WarnerEdwards-Fisher 807, x5376

Kathryn Warner was no stranger to the ideaof Asbury as a caring community when shemoved in on March 25th because as a memberof Bethesda Methodist Church she was anenthusiastic participant at the annual AsburyBazaar back in the early days of the campus.

She was born in Virginia and graduated fromStrayer College after which she worked at NIHin Bethesda, Maryland which turned out to bean exciting and challenging job.

Kathryn was married and looks back on themany lovely trips she and her husband havetaken together. Now she loves to play bridgeand mah-jongg and enjoys watching mostsports. Knowing how beneficial exercise is, shetries to spend an hour, three times a week, atthe Fitness Center.

With Asbury in her family, Kathryn had a sis-ter and brother-in-law, Frances and Mack McK-eon who passed their last days here in 1991,shemoved into Edwards-Fisher to experience thequality of life they enjoyed.


Thomas R. NikelsEdwards-Fisher Apts. #404, X5316Tom Nikels arrived at Asbury on March 11th,

about the time when the first brave robins werechecking out our weather. He was born in NewJersey, the Garden State, and earned his BS inMarketing/International Relations from NewYork University.

Travel became Tom’s avocation when he vol-unteered to escort some college students goingto Bermuda. While he was still in school, heheld a variety of Bermuda related travel agentpositions. After graduation it became his voca-tion when he joined the Furness Bermuda Lineconducting programs aboard their cruise ships.A bad case of sea sickness made transfer to landduty seem expedient and subsequently Tomjoined the Bermuda Department of Tourismeventually transferring to become the managerof the New York Office with jurisdiction overthe entire United States. He went on to estab-lish his own firm representing trade and hospi-tality interests as well as planning meetings andgroup travel.Tom was president of the Assemblyof National Tourist Office Representatives fortwo succeeding terms.

During the Korean War, Tom served in the25th Infantry Division and was awarded theBronze Star as well as receiving a commenda-tion for meritorious service by the President ofSouth Korea. He concluded his tour by servingas a Court Reporter.

He enjoys the theater, opera, and old moviesand still loves to travel both in the United Statesand abroad. Tom has done volunteer work forthe American Cancer Association and hasworked with local hospitals soliciting for theirThrift Shop Sales. His religious affiliation isCatholic.

Tom is single with a sister in California and abrother in New Jersey and is happy to settledown here at Asbury.


D. Whitney CoeEdwards-Fisher Apts. #404, X5316

[email protected]’s difficult to think of Whitney Coe as a new

resident since he joined us at Edwards-Fisheron December 19 of 2003, but his settling-inprocess has been ongoing. He was born inOswego, New York and received his BA fromSyracuse University in International Rela-tions/Russian Studies,his MA in Russian Historyfrom University of California at Berkeley and hisMLS - Library Science - from Syracuse.

Whitney spent thirty-six years at the Prince-ton University Library as his career advancedfrom Cataloging to Collection Development.Along the way he was a member/chair of a vari-ety of committees in the American Library Asso-ciation’s Division, Association for Library Col-lections & Technical Services and the Interna-tional Relations Round Table. His proudestassignment was as an American Library Associa-tion / United States Information Agency LibraryFellow to Seoul National University Library inSouth Korea for a period of nine months. He isa current member of the Bibliography Section,International Federation of Library Associa-tions.

A loyal alumnus of Syracuse University,Whit-ney is an enthusiastic fan of Syracuse sports -football, basketball and lacrosse and here is adirect quote, “I bleed orange”. He is an operabuff, a subscriber to two Saturday matineeseries at the Metropolitan Opera for the pasttwenty-five years.

He is interested in Korean culture and histo-ry, also international librarianship (especiallyKorea) and has traveled extensively both hereand abroad.

Whitney is single and a Methodist. He choseAsbury because of the friendly and stimulatingresidents and the activities and services avail-able. His brother and sister-in-law expect to bemoving into Park View in 2005.



Betty Goen photograph Betty Goen photograph


Sarah WantMund 609, x4505

Sarah grew up in Leesburg,Virginia, and aftergraduating from James Madison College in Har-risburg, enrolled in the nursing school at StuartCircle Hospital. After teaching 1st and 2ndgrades in Lucketts, Virginia, she married andmade her home in Arlington. Her husband,employed by the US government,was posted inthe United Stastes and several locations outsideincluding Cyprus for three years, Bern, Switzer-land, for three years, and Manila for two years.

After his death Sarah made her home in

McLean,where she remained for forty years.Foreleven years she worked for the Dolly MadisonPre-school. She is a member of St. John’s Epis-copal Church in McLean.

Sarah selected Asbury as her retirement com-munity because one of her two sons lives inDamascus. Her other son lives near Atlanta,Georgia.Two of her three grandsons are in col-lege; the other is in the second grade.

(Judy Weaver, Mund)

Harry ReillyMund 808, x4700

Harry was born in Philadelphia.After gradua-tion from Temple University in 1947 he servedin the US Army Transportation Corps for twoyears. After four years as chief clerk for thePhillips Petroleum Company he moved to theGeneral Services Administration.After a year hewas promoted to management of maintenanceof the 5000 tank car fleet of the TransportationCorps, where he remained for 30 years. At hisretirement he was managing the Army’s fleet ofmore than 6000 locomotives and 10,000 piecesof rolling stock in 93 installations throughoutthe country.

In 1957 Harry married Rosalie Agnes Foley ofPhiladelphia, and in l960 he built a house nearLaytonsville, Maryland. Rosalie became Registerof Wills for Montgomery County and was activein the Democratic party, serving as State Chair-man of the Maryland Democratic Party underGovernor Donald Schaeffer.

Harry was precinct chair from l984 to 2003

and was one of the founders of the Democratsfor the 90s, resigning in 1997. He has traveledextensively,visiting Europe,South America,Asia,Australia and New Zealand. His favorite countryis Ireland, which he has visited six times sincel945.

Harry has one daughter, Erin, an attorney forthe State of Maryland,who lives in MontgomeryVillage. Harry misses working on his two acres,but the view from the Mund eighth floor issome compensation.

(Judy Weaver, Mund)


Betty Goen photograph Anne Porter photograph

Sue PattersonApartments/Villas

The Apartments and Villas areproud to announce that Sue Pat-terson of the HousekeepingDepartment is the Associate of theSecond Quarter. Sue has beenwith Asbury for 18 years.

The residents are very thankfulthat Sue is at Asbury. One of hermany duties is to make sure thatassociates are scheduled to cleanresident apartments. Sue is also

loved by her coworkers.She treatsthem fairly and always takes aninterest in their lives.When she isnot here, everyone wants to knowif she is okay and when will shebe back. They miss her smilingface and friendly personality.

Reina EspinalWHCC

Reina has been a HousekeepingAssociate for over nine years. She

hails from El Salvador, and hasmade Gaithersburg her home for16 years. Reina and her husband,Fidel are the proud parents of twodaughters, Mirian and Ibeht.Theyalso have five grandchildren.

The pride that she takes in herservice to her residents (Reinalikes to consider them “her” resi-dents) is recognized by them, herfellow Housekeepers, and by theother staff on 4 South. She trulydeserves this honor.

Beatrice AnnumKindley

Beatrice Annum, RN, has been aCharge Nurse in Kindley

Assisted Living for 3 1/2 yearsand is usually found in the 3rdFloor nurse’s station covering the3 - 11 pm shift.

Beatrice was born and raised inAccra, Ghana. She moved to Ire-land for her nursing training andafter that, went to London tostudy and become board certifiedin midwifery. Opportunities were

available to Beatrice in LittleRock, Arkansas and she movedthere to work in the OB-GYN unitof a hospital.

After a year in Little Rock, Beat-rice decided to relocate to theWashington, D.C. area wheremany of her family members hadsettled.She then began working ingeriatrics and home care whichled to her current position atAsbury.

AMV Associates of the 2nd Quarter 2004! Congratulations!


Asbury Methodist VillageCommunications Department201 Russell AvenueGaithersburg, MD 20877-2801

Address Service Requested

Non-ProfitOrganizationU. S. Postage

PAIDRockville, MD

Permit No. 4297

Poetry 101

“Paint with words,” the professorsaid.

“Paint with colors, gold and red.”Paint with colors? I’m confused!Where are the colors to be used?

“Paint with words both bold and mild;

Show the pink of a sweet new child;

The purple moods of grievingfaces,

A shade of grey in worker’splaces.”

“Paint the white of soaring bird,The trill and thrilling songs

you’ve heard;The pulsing of the blue-green sea,The give and take ‘twixt you and

me.”

“Paint with words,” the professorsaid,

“Paint feelings from inside yourhead.”

Paint with words? Oh, now I see!Write vivid words from the soul

of me.

—Bobbye Calvert Kudzma,Trott(from “Asbury Poets, Spring 1997”)

Tulips are better than one! Photo: Louise Ebbett Redding

Documents

The Ladies Behind Clothes Doors