Kendal at Granville Tenth Anniversary Reflections

June 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of Kendal at Granville.  Residents and staff have been preparing for months to observe this occasion with a celebration indicative of the significance of this date.

A variety of activities are on the agenda.  As a prelude on June first members of the Gallery Committee   installed a Photo History Exhibit  entitled “From Conception to Reality” in our Art Gallery.

The schedule for the official Kickoff of Anniversary Week Activities set for Monday, June 15 follows:        
          4:30  Group Resident Photo Shoot
          5:00  Official Opening of Photo History Exhibit
                   Ice Cream Social (Always a big favorite here)
          7:15  Premiere of Kendal at Granville Video
                   Introduction of “Mound and Tower”, a   Kendal Anthem
                   Distribution of Anniversary Edition of "Tower Tales"

            
The schedule for Wednesday, June 17 includes:
         8:00 Continental Breakfast
         9:00 Founder’s Reflections
       10:30 Guided Hike to The  Pond
       11:30 Community Luncheon
         1:30  Tree Planting and Dedication
         4:00 Anniversary Program with Speakers,
                 Trivia Prizes and Service Awards
                 Appetizers and Cocktails
          9:00 Release of Luminaria

 

The fact that an anniversary is by definition an observance of a past event of significance inevitably leads to reflections on the past.  

As I look back over my ten years here I recall how when those of us who were early arrivals found ourselves with what seemed to be a sea of mud. The recently sown grass had not yet taken hold and there had been a lot rain.  We discovered in short order that the ground was very hard since the top soil had been removed during the construction phase and the heavy equipment had compacted the soil until it seemed to be as hard as concrete. We tackled the task of transforming our grounds with hard work, mulch, more hard work, (sometimes resorting to pick axes) and finally flowers.

The dinner hour was a great time to take a break from unpacking and spend timer getting to know each other – where we came from, what we did before coming to KAG, details about our families, etc.  We shared stories about progress or problems with unpacking.  I remember one couple couldn’t find their toaster for several weeks.  Finally when they got to the last box which was left to last because it was labeled “pictures” they found the missing toaster.  (Wonder what genius of a mover packed it there!) I wasn’t so lucky.  I discovered that the movers had managed to lose a drawer from one of my small stands.  Fortunately I can still use it with the opening for the missing drawer facing the wall.  (Ever so often I wonder what the movers did with that drawer.   Of what use is an orphan drawer to anyone?)  Many of us discovered that we had more downsizing to do when everything was unpacked and arranged.  So we organized a garage sale to dispose of our excess and improve the treasury  of our Residents’ Association.

As we settled in we grew to appreciate some of the distinct advantages of life at Kendal. Some of the great conveniences and joys we uncovered here are 1. grass mowing done by summer temporary help, 2. a maintenance crew on hand to change light bulbs, handle plumbing emergencies, shovel snow,  and all that sort of thing, 3. a housekeeping staff who appeared every two weeks to relieve us of the household chores that have to be done over and over as a part of life, 4.  a dining staff who made meal planning, food shopping and preparation and KP a thing of the past for the most part, and 5. drivers to take us to medical appointments.  Best of all the people who provided us with all of these services were and still are a group of understanding caring people who manage to always make us feel that they wouldn’t want to do anything else but be there.

 

 

Together these five groups have seen us through several very trying times with ingenuity and hard work.  Two electric power outages that lasted for days not just hours and one water line break.  You would have thought they rehearsed what to do in advance.  Actually, as I look back, I realize they had prepared by learning to work together for the good of  all us here at Kendal.  It seems to be the Kendal Way.  It certainly is true here at Kendal at Granville.

One of the things I have come to truly appreciate is the diversity of residents.  Many come from Granville.  They help orient newcomers to the area. We have a goodly number of retired college faculty members representing diverse fields of study. e.g. anatomy, athletics, chemistry,computer science, history,  literature. philosophy. Other persons here have retired from careers in accounting, administration, architecture, banking, business, ministry, nursing, and  teaching – to name just a few of the occupations in our pasts.

Reading the biographies of our residents or better yet talking with them about their lives in person reveals fascinating information often unexpected.  I remember well Mary H. who

ho came from a small farm community in southern Michigan.  As I got to know Mary better I discovered that this apparently quiet unassuming woman was active in civic affairs back in Michigan and served on the Board of Education.  I was amazed to learn that during WWII she served as a WAVE and helped decipher Japanese code while stationed in the state of Washington.

Having taken a look back to ten years ago when I arrived here at Kendal and looking at Kendal as I experience it in my daily life now I can see how Kendal has grown with grace to fulfill its vision of transforming the lives of seniors.  I have come to appreciate what it means to live in a community where my joys are multiplied and my sorrows divided because I am able to share  them with friends and neighbors. Looking ahead I am thankful I chose Kendal at Granville for my “forever home.”

 

 

 

  

 

"Deepening the Conversation on Aging"

Have you ever wanted to have a chance to contribute to a conversation aimed at providing guidance for national policy discussions? Kendal at Granville had the opportunity to host such an occasion on Thursday, May 28, when it became the site of an intergenerational  discussion on aging. The event was called "Deepening the Discussion on Aging." It was part of a schedule of discussions held all around the country, focusing on the problems facing aging Americans and designed to provide streams of advice to the The White House Conference on Aging, which will hold its national gathering in July. Kendal Corporation was invited to play a major role in this enterprise, and it in turn invited four affiliates, including Granville, to host discussions.

Seventeen panelists – including four Kendal residents, high school and college-age students from Licking County and Columbus, attorneys, a local judge, and social service professionals – participated in a sharing of views. David Skeen, a Kendal at Granville resident, was the facilitator and reporter for our event, and everything was coordinated by leaders in Philadelphia. Because the sprawling event was streamed, the various participating panels had opportunities to receive reports from one another.

Each of the four host Kendals had been assigned a specific topic to discuss. Granville's subject was "Elder Justice." After receiving encouragement from a prosecutor in San Diego – ah, the wonders of streaming! – we plunged into our work, and even though our guide may have wanted us to focus on crimes of violence against seniors, we found ourselves returning again and again to discussion of the types of scams that, when successful, rob the elderly of their wealth, dignity, and ability to sustain an independent life. Perhaps the gravitational power of this subject was provided by the poignancy of the tales that many panelists shared of friends or relatives who had been tricked by criminals. 

And the subject turned out to have complexities. As those versed in the law explained, there is nothing illegal about an elderly individual whom society deems competent to make whatever decisions he or she wishes about the disposal of personal wealth. So among the themes that emerged from our conversations were these: the need for people – children, friends, doctors, clergy, bankers, social service professionals, and neighbors – to remain unintrusively attentive to what seniors are doing; the value of having adult children maintain lines of communication with their elderly parents; and the importance of social organizations' working assiduously to keep an awareness of the dangers posed by those who prey upon the elderly before the eyes of the community.

The Granville participants felt that the conversations had been eye-opening. And so, no matter what happens nationally, there is already talk of organizing follow-up activities here at Kendal. The protection of seniors in our society against those who would target, rob, and cheat them seems an eminently appropriate task for a community like Kendal at Granville to undertake.