London's 'Golden Girls'
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Lawns A g i n g W e l l Celebrating the Young at Heart May 2019 London’s ‘Golden Girls’ Co-housing: popular alternative for seniors 2 Aging Well May 2019 C O N T E N T S 3,4 The Editor’s Notes with Pat Moauro Goodbye to LFP building attracts nostalgic former staff 5 “It’s Not Right!” workshop targets ageism and abuse 6,7 London’s ‘Golden Girls’ help overcome lonliness with shared, co-housing 8-10 Co-housing: popular alternative for seniors 10 Memorial service held for radio personality, playwright Michael Wilmot 11,12 Spiritually Speaking with Rev. Dr. Sheila Macgregor Use the extra ‘room’ to redesign A g i n g W e l l the last half of your life Celebrating the Young at Heart 13, 14 ‘Growing Somewhere’: Aging Well is an e-magazine published by Live fully in the second half of life Morcom Media Group, with news, information, and commentary for people as they age. 15, 16 Mark Konrad: an Agitated Published 10 times a year: January/February, Agitator, Agitating March, April, May, June, July/August, September, October, November and December. 17 EmPOWERing You Annual subscription: $19.95. with Sheila M. Stevenson Make cheque payable to: It takes everyone to recreate Morcom Media Group, a healthy home planet 80 Centre St., Unit 32, London, ON N6J 1T5 Publisher/Editor: Pat Moauro 18, 19 About Computers with Bob Totten Email: [email protected] Password manager programs remember passwords Associate Editor: Glenn Cutforth Email: [email protected] 19 Jazz for the people — Free Concerts May 22: Jim Clayton Group Editorial contributors in this issue: June 26: Catherine McInnis Claudette Sauvé-Foy and Jenny Nauta Susan Scott 20 Writer finds hospital parking Rev. Dr. Sheila Macgregor can be a pain By Claudette Sauvé-Foy Sheila M. Stevenson Bob Totten Spotlight on the Arts 21-22 with Susan Scott Glenn Cutforth Summer theatre takes centre stage Pat Moauro Cover photo by Aging Well 23, 24 CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEW Copyright © 2019 Morcom Media Group. with Glenn Cutforth All rights reserved. Reviewer rates Network 9/10 Aging Well May 2019 3 The Editor’s Notes with Pat Moauro Goodbye to LFP building attracts nostalgic former staff n 1965, this former Lon- don Free Press reporter Iwas among several hun- dred staff members who moved to a then “state-of- the-art” building at 369 York St. Fifty-four years later, on Friday evening, April 26, this now retired reporter joined former colleagues for a nos- talgic visit and goodbye to the building. The building was the ful- fillment of a dream by the late Free Press publisher Walter J. Blackburn. He was a well-respected, caring employer whose employees These 10 former reporters, editors and a photographer were usually deferentially referred among about 50 former London Free Press staff members to him simply as “Mr. Black- who joined current employees to say “Goodbye” to the Free burn”. Others affectionately Press building at 369 York St. on Friday, April 26. It was the referred to him as “W.J.” last evening in the building before the newspaper moved to a The two-storey buff brick new store-front building at 210 Dundas St. at Clarence Street and glass building, straddles in downtown London. - Photo by Mona Taylor a block-long strip of proper- ty between the south side of of its former white-haired staff Free Press has been advere- York Street and the CN Rail- members. In fact, after leaving sly affected by the changes way tracks, between Water- the newspaper in 1986 (after brought on by the Internet and loo Street on the west and 26 years) and returning for the the digital age. Colborne Street on the east. Goodbye Party April 26, it was Total editorial staff has The publisher and staff a bit of shock for this former been drastically reduced to considered the move from the employee to see the changes about 38, including nine re- newspaper’s former outdated in the aging building. porters, compared to the staff building on Richmond Street The Editorial area at one members from the 1960s to at Queens Avenue to the mod- time bustled with activity in- the ‘80s. ern 369 York St. building as volving more than 135 edito- Two years ago Postmedia, a major step forward for the rial staff, including reporters, the newspaper’s current own- newspaper. The Richmond and editors and photographers. er, decided to sell the build- Queens site now has a mod- In more recent years, the ing with its asbestos insula- ern building, occupied by Da- same editorial area was a tion to Fahri Holdings. Fahri vid White’s men clothier. much subdued place, primarily also owns the building at 210 More than half a century because of a drastic cut in staff. Dundas which the paper now later, the York Street building Like many newspapers across continued on page 4 is showing its age, like many North America, The London share spacious home The 4 AgingNew Well May 2019 Building After 50 years as a fixture on York The new building. Street the London Free Press will As in: “It will all be better when we get to the new building.” soon be vacating the building that Such was the running joke shared by the was hailed in 1965 as the start of a employees of the London Free Press as they new era in newspapers and prepared to leave their Richmond Street head- broadcasting quarters in 1965 and take possession of a new state-of-the-art newspaper building on York Street. The joke continued years after they Produced by Morris Lamont moved in whenever something didn’t go as planned. 369 York Street open and ready for business in 1965 Above, the London Free Press building at 369 York St. at it looked in 1965. Goodbye to LFP building ... from page 3 occupies. The much reduced editors and reporters sitting in pecially when things didn’t go editorial staff continues to front of computer monitors. as planned. With the move to gather local news and assem- Overhead lighting was also 210 Dundas, maybe the staff ble news pages for the London much subdued, casting an will have to come up with a Free Press, as well as five oth- almost gloomy pall over the new joke. er Postmedia-owned newspa- former well-lit, bustling edito- Joke or not, this former pers in the London area. rial area. A staff member ex- “Freeps” employee wishes The once huge printing plained that overhead lighting the LFP staff much success as presses that churned out thou- had been dimmed to prevent they continue to deal with big sands of copies of newspapers light from reflecting off com- changes in their industry. in the 369 York St. building puter monitors. are gone. All printing has been Of course, it was also the centralized at the Hamilton last night of work on the next Spectator, and the newspa- day’s newspaper, and supplies pers brought back to London and equipment had already by truck daily. been moved to the new edito- As former employees from rial space at 210 Dundas—the different departments, includ- paper’s seventh home in its ing reporters, editors and pho- 170-year history. tographers, mingled and rem- A running joke among inisced with past colleagues, it “Freeps” staff back in the mid- was hard to escape the harsh 1960s was “It will all be better reality of the changes in their when we get to the new build- Pat Moauro former work area. ing.” Pat Moauro is Publisher/ The most stark changes in- The joke continued years Editor of Aging Well. cluded the much subdued edi- after they moved from the He can be reached at: torial area, which, on the eve- Richmond Street building to [email protected] ning of April 26, had only a few the York Street building, es- Aging Well May 2019 5 “It’s not right!” workshop targets ageism, elder abuse Abuse of aging people is “a crime of entitlement and power,” seniors attending a workshop at the Kiwanis Se- niors’ Centre were told last month. Elizabeth Macnab, Ex- ecutive Director of the Ontar- io Society of Senior Citizens Organizations, presented the workshop, “It’s Not Right!”, detailing how people can rec- ognize the warning signs of abuse. Speaking during a Lunch and Learn session on April 25, Above, from left to right are: Elizabeth Macnab of Windsor, Ex- Macnab advised seniors to ecutive Director of the Ontario Society of Senior Citizens Organi- use their “You Power,” adding zations (OSSCO); Andrea Myers (behind), Program Coordinator “when you say something you at the Kiwanis Seniors’ Centre, and Valerie Smith-Waines of mean it. Don’t let people dis- London, Secretary to the Board of Directors of OSSCO. respect you as you age. You — Aging Well photo have the right to be free and things they don’t want to do,” balance,” the speaker said. safe from abuse and neglect.” Macnab said. “Abuse of older “It’s raging and terrifying. It Ageism, which involves adults limits or controls their can be verbal, physical, finan- negative comments about ag- rights and freedoms.” cial, sexual and spiritual. It ing people, is a factor in abuse Abuse can involve husbands may also be more subtle and that is associated with age beating their wife and/or sexu- hard to see...where someone discrimination against older ally abusing their children, and controls your every move and adults, simply because of adult children threatening their your money, too.” their age.