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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager GUEST COLUMN WINGS empowers education for women W hat can we in our community do to improve the lives and prospects of our local women and children, who have so much potential to make Clatsop County a more vibrant and equitable place to live and work? We can give them WINGS! We are gearing up for the 16th year for WINGS (Women Interested in Going to School) and close to 800 women have taken advantage of this free conference. It offers sessions with college staff, who provide useful information and timelines to get started on an educational track. Sessions include infor- SARA mation on earning a GED, MEYER costs and financial support options, learning about Lives in Transition (LIT), conquering math anxiety, Clatsop Community College degrees and certificate programs. This one-day conference also includes a LATINA WINGS track in the morning, with Spanish-speaking staff volunteering their time to help women know that they can come to the community college to gain English skills and further their education. More importantly, they’ll learn that the college welcomes them. What is great about WINGS is that women will begin the day with trepidation about their perceived barriers to learning, and leave with relief and enthusiasm as they figure out they can and should get on with their education, be it seeking a degree, a GED or workforce job training. The conference is packed with how to plan and begin, what support and programs are available, and who can assist them. This year the WINGS conference takes place this Saturday, Feb. 10 at Clatsop REGISTER It’s not too late to sign up for Saturday’s conference. If you or someone you know would benefit from attending WINGS, have them register for free at wings-clatsop.com or call Pat at 503-717-1852 (503-338-2379 for Spanish). The Daily Astorian Michelle Hartman is an alumnus of the WINGS conference, which helped her secure a $4,000 entrepreneurial scholarship at Clatsop Community College. ‘Don’t be afraid to do it,’ Hartman told The Daily Astorian’s readers in 2017, ‘because once you’re in there, you’ll feel so much better, just knowing that people care.’ Community College. Registration opens at 8 a.m. and wraps up by 3:30. It is free to all par- ticipants, with breakfast, lunch, and child care provided. The morning begins with a “can do” speaker and greetings from people in leader- ship. We hear the real work done and accom- plished from WINGS graduates. Attendees see and hear about the community that supports their education. To broaden the world of work potential, there is a presentation from women working in non-traditional jobs. Everyone working this WINGS conference volunteers their time and knowledge because we know how important a good education is. Members of Astoria and Seaside American Association of University Women (AAUW) and staff and faculty at the community college organized this conference beginning in 2002 to give women the information, support and encouragement needed to return to school. The day focuses on moms who had to quit their educations to raise kids, enter the workforce, or just weren’t ready for college after high school. We reached out to women who might be ready to increase their skills to advance in work. AAUW had its beginnings in 1881, when too few women were allowed to obtain college degrees. Some of those graduates knew they needed to have an organization that would speak out for education and equity issues, and further their own craving for learn- ing. AAUW is a national organization with more than 115,000 members today. The Astoria Branch formed in 1927 and the Seaside Branch followed in 1942. Both branches continue advocating for that inclu- sive dialogue that can come with an educated and informed community. We invite the pub- lic to attend our programs, and join AAUW if they support our mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, educa- tion, philanthropy, and research. Please, if you or someone you know would benefit from attending WINGS, have them register for free at wings-clatsop.com or call Pat at 503-717-1852 (503-338-2379 for Spanish). Money donations are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated. Send checks to CCC Foundation (put WINGS on the informa- tion line) and mail to CCC College, 1651 Lexington Ave. Astoria, OR 97103. Sara Meyer of Astoria is a member of the American Association of University Women and co-chair of the WINGS conference. SOUTHERN EXPOSURE Secret to success is ‘good genes, wine and chocolate’ popular fixture in the community, Marion Blake and her daughter Mary Blake — the retired director of Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District — live together. Marion will be 100 years old this year and a big celebra- tion is planned. “Marion Blake was an avid golfer, before age caught up with her,” Chel- sea Gorrow wrote in a 2014 Daily Asto- rian profile. “She now uses a cane with four feet to get around. But that’s the only vis- ible sign that she’s 96 years old. The petite and fit woman wears glittery nail polish, stylish white- framed glasses, pink lip- R.J. MARX stick and gold jewelry, including a beautiful bangle bracelet and fashionable rings. Her daughter shared that Marion Blake weighs the same as she did in college.” Four years later, all still holds true. We caught up with the Blakes at their Seaside home, alongside canine friends Ruby and Sunshine. A Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Marion Blake, right, poses for a photo with her daughter, Mary Blake. ♦ ♦ ♦ Q: When is your birthday? Marion: April 29. I’ll be 100 in two- and-a-half months. I was born in 1918 in Denver, Colo- rado. I was raised in Denver. My mother died when I was 13. And my father was a pharmacist. Actually, I had kind of a sad childhood, then I had a dynamite college career at Colorado State in Fort Collins. I married the big man on campus. Football, basketball and track. Q: You started a family? Marion: We married and had our first child in 1941. My husband was a veteri- narian. He taught medicine and surgery at the University of Missouri, and then we moved to Phoenix where he had a small animal clinic. I worked in the practice with him as surgical assistant and girl Fri- day. I played golf and had a lovely time at the salt mine. Mary: My father’s father was also a veterinarian. Q: Did you have other children? Marion: I have three daughters. Two of them have gone to their happy hunting grounds. Very bad. Mary: I was the baby and I wouldn’t have changed that for love or money. Q: How did you get to Seaside? Mary: This was the house my mother and sister and her husband decided to live in together. Once my mother settled in here, my oldest sister wanted to be close. Everybody was pretty happy. Unfortu- nately my sister’s husband got cancer, then he survived that. My sister got can- One of Marion Blake’s pets sits obediently at her feet. cer, and she didn’t (survive). Her husband died of a broken heart. Marion: I think I adjust to my circum- stances. Two daughters and a husband gone. I’m super, super blessed to be living with my daughter. That’s what’s making my life so pleasant. Q: You’ve always had a great relationship? Marion: Very good. Q: I don’t want to ask what is your secret … but what is your secret? Marion: The secret is good genes, red wine and dark chocolate. And I like a dry “martooni.” It’s good for partying. I’m still playing bridge four days a week. I play duplicate. I play at the Asto- ria Country Club, at the Bob Chisholm Community Center once a week and twice a week in Astoria at the senior center. It’s fun, but it’s very competitive. I have good partners. I watch a lot of TV. Q: What do you like? Marion: I watch Stephen Colbert. I am a night owl. I get in the sack and I watch until 1 a.m. Q: And you wake up when? Marion: I wake up at six and at seven. I don’t waste a lot of time sleeping too much. Mary: She does her stretches when she gets up. She’s very flexible. She was a swimmer and swings on the swings higher than anybody else. Marion: I’m a big sports fan. Q: What’s your favorite sport? Marion: Football. Q: Pro or college? Marion: Pro. Q: What’s your favorite team? Marion: Well, the Seahawks. Mary: And also the Denver Broncos. We were big fans when John Elway was the quarterback. Q: Who’s your favorite president? Marion: Oh, the one now! (rolls eyes.) Mary: When Hillary was there it was really quite a moment to be able to vote for a woman president. She (Marion) fol- lows that really closely. Marion: I like Rachel Maddow. I like her coverage. Q: Are there others in town who are your age? Marion: I’m always the oldest one in the crowd. Q: Any regrets? Marion: No regrets over the years. Accent the positive. Q: What do you have planned for your birthday? Mary: We are going to do a party out at the club. We did a big party for her on the 90th with a slide presentation, so we were able to pull up some of the terrific pictures. Q: Any goals for the new year? Marion: Just play more bridge and kick butt. Q: Whose butt are you going to kick? The other bridge players? Marion: Oh yes, the opponents! Mary: I always knew she was going to be 100, so I asked her, “When are you thinking about passing?” She said: “Oh, I think I’m going to live forever.” I said, “Well, that’s very spiritual but what does that mean?” She said, “114, 117 — that would be OK.” She’s a real inspiration. Whenever any- thing comes up, she’s always eager to get into the car, go for a walk with Ruby — it’s amazing. And she didn’t want to go to assisted living. She said: “You know there are a lot of old people there.” Marion: Heaven forbid assisted living! The way I feel now, I have a lot of time ahead of me on this planet. Mary: She says: “I don’t mind a rou- tine, but I hate a rut.” R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South County reporter and editor of the Seaside Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette.
