Celebrations of Community

Kendal at Granville is a genuine community. We enjoy each other's company, we rejoice and play and grieve together, we arrive at our decisions by emulating the Quaker discipline of consensus-building, and we party together. A coincidental juxtaposition of events this past week – each a celebration of this spirit of community – has triggered these happy thoughts and underscored some of the reasons we are pleased to call Kendal at Granville our home.

The first event occurred at dinnertime on Tuesday evening. We call it "Harvest Festival." The fall weather was glorious, and the fare provided by our culinary crew – hotdogs, brats, chicken, corn on the cob, salads, candies, a variety of light and heavy sweets, and lots of other items – gave the celebration the air of a festive party. Everyone was invited: residents, their families, employees, their families and children (of all ages). A horse-drawn hayride was available to anyone bold enough to climb in. (Many did.) And the proximity of Halloween meant of course that costumes were in order. Kids wandered about during the dinner hours – shepherded by adults and dressed as superheroes, TV characters, denizens of the Star Wars universe, and princesses. At one point the costumed kids marched in order through the dining halls to receive candy that had been thoughtfully arrayed on all the occupied tables. As you might guess, given the national decision in recent years that kids shouldn't have sole claim to the fun of Halloween, many grown-ups donned unusual gear too. The wait staff all wore identical baseball-themed tee-shirts, and witches, farmers, a few bearded folk, a married couple straight out of "Mad Men," and characters from the world of Harry Potter could be found dining and chatting with one another or strolling through the halls, perhaps holding hands with a young tiger. Community, indeed!

The second event, very different in tone but equally emblematic, occurred the very next evening. It was a wine-and-hors-d'oeuvres reception for both the residents and the members of Kendal's board of trustees, organized with the explicit purpose of giving these two groups an opportunity to get to know each other more fully. Kendal's board consists of fifteen men and women. They come from a diverse set of professional backgrounds, and all of them are active in leadership roles throughout the Granville and Licking County communities. It is hard to find a time when they can all get together. But this event was important for board members, and despite the press of their busy lives every member of the board attended. Residents came out in large numbers too, and so for half an hour the Amelia Room rang with the sounds of friendly and sometimes animated conversation. Doug Helman, the Executive Director, initiated the more formal portion of the occasion by inviting the crowd to answer a series of trivial-pursuits type questions about the board by-laws, and several residents showed themselves startlingly well versed in the governance rules of Kendal. Doug then invited the board members to introduce themselves to the gathering and to briefly and in turn tell everyone a bit about themselves. The tone of the introductions was sometimes light and sometimes earnest, some illuminating anecdotes emerged from the remarks, and ultimately everyone had reason to come away from the event feeling confident in the vitality and wisdom that undergird the Kendal project.

It was a quirk of scheduling that positioned these complementary celebrations back-to-back. But such calendrical serendipity invites a pretty obvious conclusion: that the Kendal community is real, thriving, inventive, and happy. That's a nice thought to go forward with as we enter the month that ends with the holiday we call Thanksgiving. 

Kendal at Granville's 11th Anniversary Party

Although Kendal's 11^th Anniversary celebration was more low-key than the tremendous bash we had last year, it was noteworthy nevertheless. The event was held in the late afternoon of June 22 in the Amelia Gathering Room. Besides residents and staff, many of the prospective residents on the Priority List were invited and came. Extra chairs even had to be brought in as more people came than expected.

Tom Carroll, a local jazz musician and Denisonian, came and provided background music, much to everyone's delight. And it was truly background music – not so loud that we couldn't converse. And converse we did! I personally had a wonderful conversation with a Priority List member who is getting closer and closer to making that magic decision! And my spouse spent quite a bit of time talking to another member who is also contemplating joining Kendal in the not-too-distant future.

The food consisted of delicious hot and cold appetizers that went quickly, fresh fruit, and a mouth-watering red velvet cake. Red and white wine as well as beer and fruit-flavored water were also available. I have heard that more wine was consumed at the party than even at last year's gala!

Executive Director Doug Helman spoke to the crowd and noted that even though it was intended to be a low key celebration, the fine turnout spoke volumes for how significant the anniversary was. He also introduced three new staff members who have recently joined the Kendal at Granville family.

It was a fine afternoon and a great way to celebrate 11 fabulous years!

An Evening of the Blues

Each summer the town of Granville sponsors a set of Concerts on the Green, the "green" in this case being an area on the Denison campus adjacent to the music building, the art museum, and a smaller performance hall. Last Sunday evening twelve Kendal residents took the Kendal bus up to nearby Denison to be entertained by Teeny Turner and her blues band. Because it was a warm evening, we chose to set our folding chairs up in the shade of a stand of large trees. The boxed suppers that Kendal supplied were light and delicious – cubed ham, sliced pineapples, bean salad, a cookie, and cold water. The amplified music was a treat. And why not? Evening is a great time of day for listening to doleful love songs, as performed by a seasoned singer and a fine band. They were lively reminders of the great American blues tradition.

But the evening offered other pleasures too. Across the broad expanse of sun-splashed green separating the audience from the performers we could watch children play. Apparently oblivious to the music, they kicked soccer balls about, kept large plastic balls aloft, tossed frisbees at various targets, ran races, tussled on the grass, all the while laughing and shouting and doing what kids do.  Nor were adults shy about participating. To one side a father helped a son learn how to throw and field a baseball. Off to the other side three young women swayed from side to side as they waved their arms to the hypnotic rhythm and patterned harmony of the music. Across the sprawling middle of the green a mother tugged kids about in an old-fashioned red wagon.

As you know, many of our visions of past days that were supposedly quieter are just concoctions of an unwarranted nostalgia for what we would regard as more communal times. And I will make no great claims for the deeper significance of our Concert on the Green. But for a few happy minutes it was possible to envision oneself in the world of Norman Rockwell. That's not a bad take-home result from an evening of music.

Roman Rudnytsky

Concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky brought his extraordinary keyboard prowess to Kendal at Granville last evening to gift us with a memorable concert. The program consisted of eight works, from a variety of periods, each of which Mr. Rudnytsky introduced with a few words designed to set historical contexts. The result was that we were at once educated and delighted. At the end of the evening a packed Amelia Room showed its appreciation with a standing ovation. 

To point up the differences between the Classic era and the Romantic era, Mr. Rudnytsky opened the recital by offering Brahms's lovely nineteenth-century "Intermezzo in A" before Haydn's fiery eighteenth-century "Sonata in D." Programs ordinarily present works from these two eras in chronological order, allowing the listener's mind to move from the orderliness of the Viennese music to the shifting shapes of the Romantic era. By turning this convention on its head, Mr. Rudnytsky succeeded in foregrounding both the lyricism of music from the later period and the clarity of music from the earlier period. 

Debussy's beautiful "Clair de Lune" was Mr. Rudnytsky's example of the Romantic era's shift into one of its offshoots, Impressionism. This famous piece stood out from among all the others on the evening's program because its effect rested solely on its wispy and poignant simplicity.

Three examples of nationalism in music followed. The first was a composition that was unfamiliar to me, "Hutzul Dance," by Antin Rudnytsky, the performer's father. It was a delight, built upon folk tunes and rhythms from the composer's Ukrainian homeland. Percy Grainger's "Molly on the Shore" drew on an Irish folk tune, and Fryderyk Chopin's "Ballade No. 3 in A Flat" showcased the great composer's musical vision in his younger days, when his Polish homeland bore most heavily upon his musical imagination.

The final two pieces were virtuoso compositions by Franz Liszt – the "Grand Galop Chromatique" and the "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2," the latter being familiar to the many Kendal listeners who recall television ads from the 1950s. Only pianists with a full command of keyboard technique and the confidence to go public with it offer these challenging works. Mr. Rudnytsky's performances were dazzling. This is called closing a concert with a bang.

Our printed program informed us that Mr. Rudnytsky, a Juilliard graduate, had recently retired after a long career as piano instructor at the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. It added that he has traveled the globe to present concerts and recitals. Reflecting on these biographical points, we at Kendal can only surmise that over that career Mr. Rudnytsky has brought great happiness to a great many people. For that's sure what he did for us.
 

John Diffey's Lesson

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week Kendal at Granville hosted John Diffey, the retiring President of Kendal Corporation. John played a signal role in the launching of Kendal at Granville, above all by spending half a year in the town over ten years ago to assist in ongoing conversations with political and civic leaders even while encouraging and assisting the group of local residents – the Gordons, the Hellers, the Richards, and others – who were enthusiastically spearheading the campaign to create a Kendal affiliate in central Ohio.

Kendal at Granville, in short, owes an enormous debt of gratitude to John Diffey, not only for his long-time leadership of the Kendal project, but also for his particular labors on behalf of our Granville home. And so, during this recent visit – first at a community reception, and then at a dinner and a board meeting – Kendal tried to let John know how grateful we all were. 

In response John reminded his Granville friends of the values that made Kendal a special sort of enterprise. He encapsulated these values in the handy mnemonic of the "four G's."

First there is GOODNESS. Many institutions, he noted, aspire to greatness. Kendal, however, aspires to goodness. And throughout the fabric of its life – in the conduct of its employees, the expectations for the residents it serves, its dealings with partners and other businesses – the goal of "being good" remains a central element in Kendal decision-making.

Second there is GOVERNANCE. John's point here is not simply that goodness arises from the actions taken by those who have responsibility for guiding the Kendal project, but rather that Kendal's structure of governance maximizes the autonomy of the individual affiliates, encourages experimentation in accordance with local circumstances, and facilitates the sharing of information and the swapping of ideas. The Kendal project rests on the principle of subsidiarity, which in turn is grounded in convictions about trust and optimism.

Third there is GROWTH. And here a quick word is in order to avoid misunderstanding. For although the Kendal project has in fact seen the steady and planned addition of new affiliates over the past four decades, John's point is not that Kendal thrives by expansion. Rather, it is that Kendal fosters and values the growth of the people who are associated with it. For residents, there is personal growth – the broadening (or perhaps deepening) of interests, the cultivating of friendships, the realizing of the opportunity to use this new stage of life to become fuller persons. But equally important, there is the chance for employees to grow. Kendal aims to be a model employer. It therefore supports and encourages plans by its employees to extend their educations and widen their professional competences.

Fourth there is GENEROSITY. The Kendal ethos inspires those associated with it to be generous in spirit, generous in time, generous in substance. Philanthropy is seen as an opportunity and a duty. 

When John completed this useful precis of Kendal's principles, he then related a story. On one recent occasion, when he had invoked the "four G's," a person in the audience suggested a fifth: GAIETY. And when we heard this tale, we could only agree. There is something about the spirit of Kendal that manages to confer happiness. Certainly not for everybody. Certainly not all the time. But nevertheless, palpably and broadly, participation in the Kendal project fosters gaiety.

I'm much inclined to think that in this encapsulization John has put the matter right. It seemed to me that he was saying that Kendal manages to elevate those whom it touches. That may sound a bit pompous or boastful, but it is also true and an achievement of immense importance. It was therefore appropriate that John Diffey, the outgoing leader of the Kendal project, be the person to remind us of the truth. It was his parting gift to us.

Kendal University, cont.

The course offerings at Kendal University continue to dazzle. Three evening lectures over the past month, all delivered by current residents to standing-room-only crowds in the Amelia Room, make the point.

In the first, Susan Richardson spoke about the internment of Japanese men, women, and children (including American citizens) during World War II. An emerita professor of English at Denison, Susan has edited the memoirs of her friend, Toyo Suyemoto, under the title I Call to Remembrance. Susan told of life in the internment camps, of the ways in which the internees worked to recreate the habits and organizations of their pre-internment days (such as churches, Scouts, choirs), and of the difficulties they faced in post-camp life. She interspersed her account of camp experiences by reading several of Toyo Suyemoto's poems and by showing sketches of camp life drafted by interned artists. A warmly appreciative audience had many questions and comments after Susan's remarks.

About a week later David Skeen spoke on "Positive Psychology." David is a Denisom alumnus who went on to a distinguished career at Muskingum College, where he taught psychology, served a long term as dean of students, and retired with the president's commendation that he was "the quintessential professor" ringing in his ears. After a brief history of the subject of psychology – a history that had all too often focused on psychological maladies – David noted that in recent decades psychological research had also turned to exploring the foundations for psychological health. Pointing to the results of empirical research, he introduced the audience to concepts and web sites that might help them understand themselves (and others too, no doubt) more constructively. Once again, a cascade of questions and comments followed the presentation.

Just two days later David Bayley spoke on "Governing the Police." He situated his topic by noting that all societies work for some balance between freedom and order, and that in democratic societies it is the police who are the public face of the instrumentalization of that balance. David is a rock star among scholars of policing. He has studied policing in many societies, he has written a number of books on the subject, and he has advised United Nations bodies and young nations on sound policing. In his talk David drew on his studies of policing in six Anglophone countries – the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and New Zealand. His focus was on the interplay between the role of the police and the role of the politicians who, either directly or indirectly, oversee their work in all those nations. Yet again, when the talk was over, the comments and questions began.

When I left this last talk I felt that I needed to prepare a blog entry about the remarkable lecture program we have here at Kendal at Granville. For not only are the speakers first rate, so is the audience – attentive, curious, and ready to challenge. Together, speakers and audience make up a great combination, allowing Kendal at Granville to be an arena for exciting educational events. I find that a very satisfying thought.

Easter Sunrise Service

No, I'm not talking about religion. I'm talking about Kendal's fine maintenance service! At dawn today, March 27, Easter Sunday, our cozy cottage felt as cool as a cucumber. Sure enough, the programmable thermostat was calling for 72 degrees but it was reading only 63. And our normally very reliable furnace wasn't coming on.

I opened the circuit breaker panel cover and found that the furnace breaker was still engaged. It hadn't tripped. Nevertheless, defying logic, I turned it off and turned it back on again. The inducer blower came to life. Aha! Then 30 seconds later it went off. Awww…

I called the after hours maintenance number. Greg answered and I told him the problem. He came right over, looked over the situation, and played with the inducer blower a bit. That's the safety device that makes sure the furnace vent is working so combustion exhaust gases go up the flue and carbon monoxide doesn't come into the cottage. Greg got it working, got the furnace to come on, and said he'd go check to see if they had a spare replacement for the blower. Meanwhile the cottage rapidly heated up to temperature.

A few minutes later Greg returned with a new spare part in hand. He deftly proceeded to remove the old inducer blower, replaced it, tested its operation, and declared it working fine. Maybe it was 10 minutes, not more. And he left, with thanks for a great job. And my wife and I said to ourselves, if we were living at our former residence and the furnace wouldn't start on Easter morning, would we have a prayer of a chance of getting it going before Monday? We are SO glad we live at Kendal, where small inconveniences like this are taken care of quickly and competently, thanks to the well-trained and very able maintenance staff.

Music of the Season

On Tuesday evening, March 15, the Vintage Voices entertained at Kendal. A fine community chorus composed largely of Granville seniors and noted locally for appearing at holiday celebrations, the Voices were bringing their Easter program to Kendal. The group was introduced by Teddy Westlake, a former conductor of the Voices and a resident of Kendal. Their annual concert here is much anticipated, and this year performance was, as expected, beautiful. 

The program included several numbers that were unknown to me – pieces that were moving and dramatic. It was a mark of the strength of the chorus that at least a half dozen singers had solo opportunities. The highlight for many in the audience was undoubtedly the world premier of a new sacred piece by regional composer Cliff Davis who – no coincidence here – is known to many Kendal folks as the son of Kendal resident Irmagene Davis. It is a work that deserves wider and frequent hearings. When the concert ended with a vigorous performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah, the dazzled audience signaled its appreciation with an explosion of applause. The appearance of the Village Voices on the Amelia Room stage was yet another sign of the vitality of musical programing at Kendal. 

Kendal University – Yes, Really

As home to Denison University, Granville is a college town. The residents of Kendal at Granville have long benefited from the advantages of living in proximity to one of the country’s finest liberal arts college. But the first two months of 2016 have demonstrated yet again that Kendal all by itself itself is a center of education, and the breadth of its curriculum is authentically impressive.

I was prompted to think about this point when the marketing department invited two other residents and me to give lunchtime presentations on subjects dear to our hearts, as part of a once-a-week lecture series. This three-week program was dubbed “Kendal University,” and participants from the priority list could earn a “degree” by attending all of them. All three of us presenters were retired professors, and we chose topics that were at once dear to our hearts and close to our scholarly interests. I drew on my interest in British history to speak on “Brexit,” the short code term for the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union. David Skeen, a professor of psychology in an earlier life, spoke on the reasons some people are happier than others and how we might work to bring more happiness into our own lives. Susan Richardson, a literary scholar and author, spoke about her experience with the editing of Tuyo Suyemoto’s I Call to Remembrance, her memoirs of her internship during much of World War II.

I confess that , yes, “Kendal University” was a somewhat cute-sy term for the series. But it was also apt. And in fact – and this is my broader point – it is not inapt as a description of the entire Kendal at Granville experience, at least for residents who remain curious about the world we all live in. As proof of the claim, I give you the calendar of educational events for January and February, which reveals the flow of academic opportunities that have been available to residents since the beginning of the new year.

When the long holiday season receded, we launched our second semester here on January 19 with a history presentation, as lifelong Roosevelt scholar Dick Lucier spoke on “FDR and the New Deal: What Was It and Why Did He Succeed?” The very next evening David Baker, an award-winning poet at Denison, delivered readings from his his latest book of poetry, featuring “nature or environmental poetry with kind of a political edge to it.” On the 25th the Diversity Book Club discussed Debbie Irving’s Waking Up White, a much-acclaimed examination of her long journey to awareness of the place of race in American society.

The pattern continued in February. On the 10th Alan Miller, the new editor of the Columbus Dispatch, spoke about the general challenges facing journalism in the country today and the specific challenges facing the Dispatch, the state’s best and most ambitious newspaper. For this subject we could not have had a more front-line speaker. On the 23rd the acclaimed string quartet ETHYL, currently in the second year of a three-year stint as artists in residence at Denison, presented a concert of twenty- and twenty-first century music from a variety of countries and culture. On February 29 Marilyn Donahue, a docent at the recently reopened and expanded Columbus Museum of Art, talked about the museum’s history, its collection, and its plans for wider community engagement. In short, across the first two months of 2016 Kendal sponsored presentations in six different academic disciplines: history, politics, journalism, literature, psychology, and music. Kendal at Granville is truly a university for seniors.

And looking just beyond the Kendal campus, there was more to be found. The Lifelong Learning Institute, which holds classes around Licking County, offered a varied set of courses in January and February, among them “Human Trafficking: Modern-Day Slavery,” “Lake Erie: Critical Issues,” “Music Music Music: From the Fundamentals and How to Read Music, to the Trends,” and “Beginning Genealogical Research.” Meanwhile, for those who like theater, the two months offered  nearby performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Richard II.

Finally, for those who enjoy getting into a college classroom with real live undergrads, there are Denison courses galore available to Kendal residents. Just offhand I know of residents in at least two of them this semester: Medieval History and Modern East Asian History. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t add at this point that across the past eight years – and this will be a very incomplete list – I know of residents who have sat in on Denison courses in economics, English, geology, German, music theory, philosophy, religion, and studio art.)

The facts speak very much for themselves. Kendal residents have a wide range of opportunities to expose themselves to educational encounters. Perhaps it goes without saying then that at Kendal we pride ourselves on our lively minds.

C'mon, Spring!

February has come and gone. Winter has been fairly mild this year, with only one serious snowfall and that was a mere 4 inches! The temperatures have dipped to single digits, but not below and not for long. We've not worn boots or parkas all that much, in fact. Maybe we'll pay for this in July and August, but for now we're okay with a mild winter!

With March here our thoughts are definitely aiming at spring. Those who are into gardening are anxious to get outside and start to do their activity. At Kendal at Granville, the outer perimeter of 6-8 feet around our cottage, villa, and apartment, is pretty much ours to do what we want in terms of landscaping and gardening. If we want to tend roses, mums, and daffodils, we can do that. If we want to plant corn and soybeans...well, not many of us do!

I'm not a gardener. I learned my lesson early when my father tried it and ended up providing a banquet for the squirrels and rabbits. I prefer to have a professional landscaper create a nice appearance to our cottage with creative and elegant plantings which are not expensive, require minimal maintenance, and don't appeal to the local wildlife. I'm a fan of hostas and day lilies and they look good outside our patio.

Speaking of patios, each cottage, villa, and apartment comes with one. Most are enclosed “three season rooms” and ours is a lovely, carpeted room, about 10 by 10 feet, which we can use whenever the outside temperature is above 50 F, with the help of a small space heater. The room is all glass on two sides, with three sliding doors that can be opened in warm weather (protected by screens), and it faces the woods in back of our cottage. It contains two lounge chairs, two rocking chairs, a bookshelf for my wife's library of knitting books, and a sewing cabinet with leaves that fold down. There's a lamp on the cabinet, an overhead lamp on the ceiling fan, a wall sconce, and her high-intensity lamp for knitting. It's our favorite place to sit and relax, enjoy happy hour or a meal, watch the birds in the trees, and see an occasional resident walk by on the paved path between our cottage and the woods.

We got a fleeting taste of the patio last week, after a long hiatus of not being able to use it since November. We had a warm Sunday and it was really nice to have one day when it was comfortable on the patio. The woods are still bare and the grass is still brown, but the sky was blue. This one day of warm weather, teasing though it was, was enough to revive our spirits in anticipation of a great spring season ahead!