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September 2005 Vol. 24. 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.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Unsung heroes One quiet act of service helps Trinidad seniors by Barbara Clark
Every Tuesday morning a small task goes almost unnoticed at Murphy's Market in Sunny Brae. But the results of the task are certainly noticed by seven seniors in Trinidad. The conduit for this action is Carlos Avelar, senior manager of Murphy's Markets. Every Tuesday, Larry Cofer of the Humboldt Senior Resource Center's home-delivered meal program brings the four large boxes of frozen meals to the Sunny Brae store, and Avelar loads them into his personal vehicle or a company truck. Then either he or his produce manager drives the meals up to the CDF firehouse in Trinidad, where long-time senior volunteers Florence Couch and Dorothy Erickson unload the meals, organize them - sometimes helped by the fire fighters - and deliver them to the Trinidad residents. "A year ago one of our customers, a staff member of the Senior Resource Center, asked if we could help out," Avelar said. "She knew we had a store in Trinidad, and wondered if we went up there on a regular basis." That was home-delivered meals program coordinator Cheri Beechel. Until that request, Avelar had not made the trip up to the Trinidad Murphy's regularly. With the agreement to deliver the frozen meals, "this gave us a good reason to go up there every week," he said. "The ladies are always waiting for us, and they start unpacking and get the deliveries out before noon." Why this small, seemingly insignificant service? "We're trying to help somebody out and save the senior center a bit of money," Avelar explained. To me, Avelar represents a large number of people in our area whose claims to fame are seldom hailed, who don't make the front pages of newspapers, but who quietly, positively and consistently add to the web of life of which we are all a part. Senior News enjoys celebrating these unsung heroes in our September issue. Avelar has been with Murphy's Markets all his adult life and was there as a high school junior working as a box boy when Murphy bought the Westwood Market and other local grocery stores. He has worked in the Cutten Murphy's and Mark & Save before rising to senior manager of all the markets. But like most heroes, Avelar is not an all-work kind of guy. He's also well known to local Little League families as coach of Arcata Little League for 27 years. He took a year off, and then has been coaching McKinleyville Little League for the past three years. He coaches the eighth grade girls basketball team at Pacific Union School and the eighth grade boys team at Sunny Brae. He also coaches the AAU traveling basketball all-star team for the past six years. A father of three grown boys and grandfather of one boy, Avelar also officiated football and soccer games till his sons grew up. He formed the first Humboldt County soccer team. He makes sure his store sponsors several youth baseball and soccer teams in Eureka, McKinleyville and Arcata too, and helps by giving the teams a good price on concessions. He still enjoys playing on local softball teams, and even though at 52 he qualifies for the Humboldt Senior Classics, the senior softball league, he said he likes playing with the 30-year-olds. "It keeps me feeling young," he said. Barbara Clark is editor of Senior News. |
Senior News
