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The Senior SentinelVolume No.2 Issue No. 1 October, 2004 Newsletter of the IUPUI Senior Academy
Academy Officers, 2004-2005 As reported in the last issue of the Sentinel, Ursula Roberts succeeded
to the office of President for this year. Elected at the August
Board meeting were Don Shultheis, Vice President and Bernice Hopp,
Secretary. Vic Childers was reelected Treasurer. A Letter from the President I would like to greet our continuing members and welcome our new retirees who have received a complimentary membership for the first year of their retirement. After that first year of enjoying Academy activities, I believe new members will elect to join our continuing members who pay $10 annually or our lifetime members who pay a one time dues of $100. Looking at the calendar of Senior Academy events, I can see plenty of reasons for maintaining membership. For instance, at the September Compare and Share event David Snyder, an expert on estate planning, discussed how to avoid retirement tragedies and answered members’ questions. Following his advice will help our members save a great deal of money on their taxes and avoid serious mistakes. Another member perk is the opportunity to learn about members’ travel experiences. Carlyn Johnson’s pictures from her trip to the Pantanal, the world’s largest freshwater wetland, were fascinating and beautiful -- a great way to “see” the wonders of that place without enduring hours of travel in that hot, rainy climate. On another occasion, Ron Frank gave insights and showed colorful pictures of Costa Rica. A different kind of satisfaction and fun can be derived from our service activities. This month members are serving as “Chili for Charity” cashiers, helping make the event a success and enjoying samples of different types of chili. Also, we have the ongoing satisfaction of providing scholarships to two students each year and are planning for the possibility of adding one more. A small group of members will be part of a project reviewing student’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning folders. Still another benefit of membership is the opportunity to join in the Academy’s social activities. This year members have already visited the Flower Barn in Lebanon for a tour and lunch and will be going on a trip to the Fort Wayne Lincoln Museum this month. The holiday dinner at Hollyhock Hill in December is an Academy tradition. In the spring we will be trying something new -- an overnighter.
We’ll be staying at the lodge at Clifty Falls and enjoying
activities such as tours to see the Lanier Mansion and the spring
wildflowers. I’m looking forward to seeing you at many of our events this
year. Member Experiences In this, the fourth of our articles on members’ experiences,
Vic Childers shares his participation as a volunteer in Chile during
February and March of this year. Mission to Chile I was invited by long-time missionary friends to join a United Methodist “Volunteers in Mission” project they were going to be leading to southern Chile in early 2004. It seemed like a good time to trade Indiana’s winter for some summer weather on the other side of the equator, so I signed on. The project was to work on construction of a new parsonage for a small Methodist Church in Huequen, Chile, which is near Angol, about 275 miles south of the capital, Santiago. There were sixteen people in the group. Most were from California, but Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana were also represented. My trip was complicated by a weather delay which caused an unscheduled overnight in Atlanta. The people in Chile were able to adjust, so I missed only the first round of orientation and some sightseeing. The group stayed in the guest house of the El Vergel agricultural school, a long-standing Methodist mission project which is very highly regarded in Chile. Our daily schedule started with a wake-up song by our leaders; then a quick shower, brief devotional, and breakfast in the guest house. We either walked the mile or so to the building site or rode in the back of the box truck of the resident missionary whose job is to manage construction projects of the Methodist Church throughout Chile. The missionary started with a class in bricklaying, and added short courses in cement mixing, brick cutting, and construction of forms for columns. My first thought was, “Great! I’m going to learn bricklaying and that could be the basis for a second career in case my retirement funds run low.” For some reason, I was assigned the job of cutting bricks. This was the most dusty, dirty job of all. Fortunately, I had taken a safety mask for the eyes, a supply of dust masks, and heavy leather gloves. I used a power tool with interchangeable blades for cutting bricks and reinforcing bars. There were also abrasive wheels which I used to sharpen tools and knives from the church’s kitchen. When at a pause with no brick-cutting orders on hand, I delivered bricks and mortar to the people who were building walls. The women of the church served a mid-morning snack, lunch, and dinner. They served large portions of tasty foods that were typical of the region. Given the physical activity, our appetites were large. We were grateful for the generous food supply. Since it was their summer time, there were also fresh fruits and vegetables. For some reason they were not serving bananas although we saw heaps of bananas in the fruit stands. The simple solution was to stop and buy our own bananas while passing fruit stands on the walk to the guest house. This part of Chile, home to the Mapuche civilization, never submitted to Spanish control during the colonial period. The Mapuche maintained their independence and resisted the Chilean central government until the 1880s. At that time this “Indian territory” was opened to settlement by immigrants from Europe, and missionaries began opening schools to prepare the Mapuche for participation in the national society. We were introduced to a variety of alumni of the El Vergel school who now hold important positions in regional and national governments. About half a million Mapuche still live a traditional life style near the city of Temuco, whose airport served our flights from and to Santiago. Although it has a long history, The Methodist Church of Chile (they don’t use the word, “United”) is struggling in a country that is predominantly Roman Catholic. The people expressed sincere gratitude for our coming to work on the parsonage while at the same time wishing that they could do such projects on their own. The Huequen congregation was small with at most thirty members, most of whom were women. However, the pastor and three or four men from another small church in a nearby town painted the inside and most of the outside of the church building while we were working on the parsonage. It was as if they felt the need to demonstrate that they could successfully carry out a project. The Methodist Church of Chile is an autonomous church. This means that missionaries and volunteer groups like ours serve in Chile at the invitation of the Chilean church. The Bishop of the Methodist Church of Chile came to Huequen to meet with us and thank us for coming. He and one other delegate were planning to travel to Pittsburgh in April for the General Conference which is held every four years. To keep in touch with family and friends, we made use of the two internet cafes in Angol, a nearby town that was the provincial capital. The cafes were busy with teenagers surfing the internet, so we sometimes had to wait a few minutes for a computer to open up. The charges were nominal and most of the time service was good. Travel to Angol was via collectivos, cars that pick up and drop off passengers along a more-or-less fixed route, charging each person a small amount. There are many of these cars, so we never had to wait for long before being picked up. One day was set aside for R & R. A bus was hired to take us to a recreational area a few miles outside of town. This was a private operation centered around some old stone quarries which are now filled with sparkling clear, deep blue water. There were paddle boats to rent, horses to ride, trails to be hiked, and a swimming pool (old swimming hole would also be descriptive). Cool water flowed through the pool, pumped directly from the quarry, so this was a delightful dip during the mid-day heat. The women of the church prepared a variety of meats on an outdoor barbecue. Set up and cooking took so long the bus driver got tired of waiting and drove off. To return to the guest house, we crowded into the box truck and the pastor ferried a couple of loads in his small pickup truck. I arranged a two-day stopover in Santiago on the way home. Another family in the group made the same stopover and had even booked the same hotel. We teamed up for a private city tour including small van, driver, and English-speaking guide (of German ancestry). We saw the variety of life styles in this world-class capital city located in a country where many sectors are still in the process of development. When you visit Santiago, be sure to watch the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace. Awesome! … Vic Childers COMPARE AND SHARE David Snyder made an impressive presentation, "Retirement
Tragedies and How to Avoid Them" at the session on September
14th. If you would like to pursue this topic, a Work/Life Workshop
sponsored by Human Resources is scheduled for Friday, October
15, Noon-12:50 p.m. Also, mark your calendars for these future events. All will take place at the IUPUI Center in the Glendale Mall starting at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, October 7th Retirement Communities: Meadowood, Marquette Manor, and NORC; a sharing of experiences pro, con and a new initiative. Participants will include: Dr. Ralph McDonald, former Dean, School of Dentistry; Professor Rebecca Markel, former Associate Dean, School of Nursing; Professor Pat Beall, formerly School of Social Work; Lori Moss, from the Albert & Sara Reuben ElderSource Program. Ralph and Becky are residents of Meadowood in Bloomington. IU retirees have had, and continue to have, a close association with Meadowood. Others have expressed interest in learning more about Meadowood. Pat Beall resides at Marquette Manor in Indianapolis. Lori Moss will inform us about NORC, an acronym for “naturally occurring retirement community.” NORC’s goal in Indianapolis is to enhance the ability of seniors to continue living independently in the community through increased access to supportive services. Tuesday, October 19th “Computers with Kent Sharp.” Topics to be considered: a) Buying on eBay – a demonstration of making purchases on eBay followed by a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages b) Solving computer problems – share your computer problems and let the attendees share their solutions. The goal: Everyone to leave with a solution c) Continuation of the May 11th discussions on protecting ourselves against internet hackers. Friday, October 22nd A panel on the projected outcome of the November 2004 presidential election. Jeannette Roe is the panel coordinator. Panelists include: Pat McGeever and Charlie Winslow, retired from the Department of Political Science; and John Clark from the Sagamore Institute. You have seen/heard Pat, Charlie, and John comment on elections in the past. Come and hear their views on this year’s election. Tuesday, November 9th A discussion of our experiences with different travel formats lead by Jordan Leibman and Ron Frank. We are fortunate to be able to travel in our retirement and there are many formats from which to choose. This includes, but is not limited to educational tours, cruises, excursions, walking formats, and other specialty formats. We want the best plan to meet our needs for the cost. Senior Academy members have traveled using these formats and are aware of the advantages and disadvantages. This program seeks to identify the best format for you. The audience is expected to share their experience. SOCIAL EVENTS You have already received flyers for the Social Committee’s
scheduled events Also, if you have not already done so, plan to join the group for the October 13th trip to the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne. Let Carolyn Tungate know, gtmidwes@tds.net or 317-892-4078. The holiday dinner this year is scheduled for Wednesday December
8th at Hollyhock Hill. Watch for the flyer with the formal announcement
and details for making reservations. Plan to join your Academy colleagues
for what is always the group’s best attended event. United Way CAMPAIGN IUPUI’s Central Indiana United Way campaign began on September 27th and runs through October 29th. The campus goal for this year is $300,000. Of the over 100 “contribution units” on campus last year, the Senior Academy with contributions of over $20,000 had the largest total for all units. You should have or shortly will receive your United Way solicitation
letter for this year’s campaign. Let’s keep the record
going! VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Additional volunteers are needed to serve as cashiers at the Chili for Charity event, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 5th. Volunteers are also needed for IUPUI’s Day of Caring on Saturday, October 9th, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Contact Barbara Zimmer at 253-7867 to volunteer. JOHN BUHNER John C. Buhner, a former vice chancellor and IUPUI' s first Dean
of
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