Spilyay tymoo., November 17, 1978, Page 7, Image 7

NOVEMBER 17, 1978 PAGE 7
Seniors Settle Into New Homes,
Await Finishing Touches
Laundry flaps on a clothes­
line. Down the street pruned
juniper limbs heap up in a yard.
Occasionally someone ventures
out to pay a visit to a neighbor.
Relatives come and go regularly.
The new senior citizen com­
plex that promises to afford not
only housing but a way of life, is
slowly being populated ■and the
old folks are settling into new
routines.
Some left their old places
reluctantly, resistant to the idea
of uprooting their lives for a
move across town. Others wel­
comed the opportunity to leave
drafty, aging and often crowded
houses behind. One woman had
been packed since June, the
original date for occupancy.
When tenants finally re­
ceived their keys from welfare
worker Gale Rogers they opened
their doors on new furniture and
the promised wood stoves (“The
old kind!” they cheered).
Smoke-houses are only a few
steps away. But many of the
features that make the complex
unique among HUD develop­
ments have yet to be completed.
The community building —
PASSKEY
(top left) Keys to about half the
two-bedroom homes in the HUD
senior citizens complex have
been turned over to residents
after a quick check-in by welfare
worker Gale Rogers. The old
folks seem to like the warm,
attractively situated homes in
the quiet hilltop neighborhood.
LANDSCAPING
(above) Informed that landscap­
ing wouldn’t be completed until
next spring, Roscoe Stacona took
matters into his own hands and
(began trimming the many juni­
pers in his yard. Some Oregon
Grape and ponderosa pine have
already been planted throughout
the complex.
HAVE STOVE, NO WOOD
(above right) Senior citizens are
delighted to have old-style cast
¡iron wood stoves in addition to
their central electric heating.
Many, like Harriet Williams,
don’t realize that wood is avail­
able for the asking (through the
welfare department) and in the
meantime are scheming up ways
to cook Indian bread on top.
IS THERE ROOM?
(right) Annie Dick didn’t realize
how many belongings she had
accumulated until she had to
move them. She took a smoke
break to try to figure out how she
had crammed it all into a
tiedroom half the size of her new
one. Annie may be able to do
without her sizable collection of
sweaters because “chills” aren’t
as likely in her warm new home.
Story and Photos
by Cynthia Stowell
with fireplace, dining area,
saunas, whirlpools, and a park­
style patio — will not be ready
until the end of the year. By that
time a “senior citizens’ repre­
sentative” may have been hired
by the Health Branch to oversee
building functions and provide
escort services for the old folks.
A medical emergency fire
alarm system has been designed
for the complex and should be
installed soon. Panic buttons and
photoelectric smoke detectors
will automatically alert the po­
lice department to ensure in­
stantaneous response.
Other details such as land­
scaping and sprinkler systems
are also forthcoming.
Physical comforts are only
part of the community’s planned
profile. The old folks themselves
will be helping to design a
coordinated program of services
and social activities to make life
not just comfortable but stimu­
lating.
Meanwhile an air of content
ment is already spreading over
the community as the seniors
luxuriate in the knowledge that
they have not been forgotten.