Senior News September, 2004 Vol. 25. No. 9

 

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

Silver Quills celebrate 25th anniversary

Berg outlines aging plan

Working takes on deeper meaning over the years

Simple tips to delay diabetes symptoms or complications

Alzheimer's patients place a much greater demand on caregivers

The practice of democracy is a sacred act

September Calendar

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The Silver Quills writing group is celebrating its 25th anniversary by publishing a limited edition of our new book, Silver Quills, Prose and Poetry. The selections, written by members from 1979 through 2004, reflect the colorful lives, personalities and talents of the 36 local authors.

The writing group was an outgrowth of The Way It Was writing project of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) initiated in 1979 by Charlotte Tropp. We dedicate our new book to her, and the profits will go to the Charlotte Tropp Endowment Fund at the Humboldt Area Foundation that supports the RSVP. I was named coordinator for The Way It Was; and once the brochures and publicity for statewide contests were released, strangers from all over telephoned to ask, "How do I start?" "What do I write about?"

Locally I responded by forming three writing groups, one each in Fortuna, Eureka and Arcata. The Arcata writers named themselves the Silver Quills. Only this group is still active, having assumed a life of its own. Other than the meetings, the only social event is the Christmas luncheon initiated by the late Fred Hibler.

By providing an opportunity to express, to create and to share personal experiences and feelings with others, the group has answered a need in the older community. Men and women with little in common except age and a desire to write enjoy a healthy camaraderie.

Meeting places changed - the Quills met in homes, the Methodist Church, Claire Marx's basement and other venues. Most memorable was the cold, damp Boy Scout hut in Arcata Redwood Park. During the winter storms we huddled around a heater while buckets caught the leaking rainwater. Once, finding ourselves without a key, we settled around a park table. When the Arcata Public Library became available, we flourished in luxury.

Anyone older than 60 is welcome. The meetings are all business - we serve no food. After members read their pieces aloud, constructive criticism from the group encourages and helps develop our writing skills. Handing out duplicate copies became routine with the advent of computers and copy machines, although some members still write in longhand. Common courtesy prevails to guarantee a comfortable atmosphere for sharing personal thoughts.

An all-day writing workshop held in 1993 at the Senior Resource Center, chaired by Marion Kofford and Lucile Manley, was by far the most ambitious project undertaken by the group. Noted writers in the county led different interest sessions. The successful event spawned other writing groups and increased our membership.

The Quills polished several books for publication. We are proud to have contributed to social history and family records by encouraging older people to write their stories - a satisfying and fulfilling task. Our new book, Silver Quills, Prose and Poetry, will help support RSVP which has supported us for 25 years.

Only 600 copies are being printed. To reserve yours contact Howard Vierra, 839-4362, or send a check for $25 payable to both him and Joe Collins at 1690 Blackhawk Ln. #26, McKinleyville, CA 95519. Books will be on sale at the RSVP office, 3300 Glenwood, Eureka.

Gayle Karshner founded the Silver Quills. In 1994 she published A Bell Rang in Uniontown, the First Hundred Years of Arcata and its Methodist Church.