December 30, 2020 | By The Active Age
HESSTON — For many people, sitting down to write their memoirs might seem like a daunting task. But a program that assigns participants to write their life stories in two-page increments made believers out of a half-dozen Harvey County residents. The “Life Stories” workshops were led over the course of six weeks by Jill Schmidt […]
| By Julie Doll
Is it selfish for Americans to oppose debt forgiveness for all former and current college students in the country? That’s the motive many on the left ascribe to opponents of proposals to cancel the $1.4 trillion in student-loan debt owed by about 44 million Americans. President-elect Joe Biden has said he’s interested in providing debt […]
December 1, 2020 | By Nancy Carver Singleton
It was a slow Sunday in December some years ago when big, wet snowflakes started falling at Windy Knoll Tree Farm northeast of Derby. “We got so busy in a short time because of the heavy snowfall,” recalled Susan Grelinger, who owns the cut-your-own tree farm with her husband, Bob. “Everybody wanted a memory.” Snow […]
| By Mary Clarkin
CHENEY – A small-town nursing home with a strong record of health and safety inspections has been identified as one of Sedgwick County’s deadliest COVID-19 clusters with 12 resident deaths. The 45-bed Cheney Golden Age Home eluded the coronavirus until the fall, when it compelled the nursing home to dedicate two of its three wings […]
| By Mary Clarkin
Despite the pandemic and even with restrictions on outside visitors, nursing homes are taking new residents. Patricia “Patsy” Chvilicek, 82, moved into Villa Maria, Mulvane, June 4. She had broken her leg previously and is confined to bed. Her mobility is expected to improve, but she plans to make Villa Maria her home. The move […]
| By The Active Age
Who says all holiday meals have to be based around turkey and ham? A bierock casserole recipe submitted by Mindy Wooten of Halstead would make a great brunch or lunch main centerpiece, especially considering Kansans’ fondness for bierocks. That’s why Wooten’s recipe was chosen the winner of The Active Age’s first holiday recipe contest. As […]
| By The Active Age
Cheesy Ziti and Beef Pasta Bake 1 lb. dry ziti pasta 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 lb. lean ground beef 2 (26-oz.) jars spaghetti sauce 6 oz. pkg. sliced non-smoked Provolone cheese 1½ cups sour cream 6 oz. finely shredded mozzarella cheese 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Directions: Bring a large pot of lightly […]
| By Leslie Chaffin
For the past couple of years, I’ve served as a human guinea pig in clinical trials of drugs. It feels good to know that I’m helping to further science and that someone somewhere can be protected from a potentially deadly disease. And, yes, the money is nice, too. My introduction to clinical trials came via […]
| By Dave Gear
I asked myself a question early into the pandemic: Beyond wearing a mask and social distancing, what could I do to be part of the solution to our current COVID-19 crisis? As a result — and over the objections of most of my family — I entered into AMR Wichita’s COVID-19 vaccine trial. The vaccine was […]
| By The Active Age
When the pandemic hit, Adrianne Smith responded the way she best knew how: through art. However, doing it through cartooning was different for Smith, who was a fine arts major in college (Wichita State, ’80) and grad school (University at Albany, N.Y., ’85) before working in graphic design […]
| By Pat O’Connor
[Christmas 1912] I cut a small sycamore tree in the woods, three feet high. Mother patiently cut sprigs of pine and bound them, with heavy linen thread, to the graceful limbs of the little sycamore. Two holy candles were lighted on each side of the tree, at a safe distance. We arose at half past […]
| By The Active Age
Veteran radio broadcaster Carla Eckels and Wichita business leader Junetta Everett were among five people inducted into The Kansas African American Museum’s Trailblazers Hall of Fame last month. Eckels, who is Director of Cultural Diversity for News and Engagement at KMUW, has been an announcer and news producer for KMUW since 1996. She hosts the […]
| By Ted Blankenship
Dorothy and I have reached a certain age. I’m going to stop right there and do a little complaining about the English language as we Americans know it (which is not so well at times). This “having reached a certain age” bothers me because no matter how old we are, we have reached a certain […]
| By Sharon Van Horn
As this crazy year of 2020 has unfolded, we have come to recognize and be thankful for many groups of people we, until now, have taken for granted: medical workers, first responders, truck drivers, store workers and teachers to name a few. To that list I would add one more group that showed their valor […]
| By The Active Age
Catholic Charities, Wichita, is partnering with Kansas Eviction Prevention Program to help tenants and their landlords apply for up to $5,000 in rental assistance. The program is designed to help Kansans who are facing eviction because of financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of Kansas has designated $35 million of CARES Act […]
November 20, 2020 | By Mary Clarkin
CHENEY – A small-town nursing home with a strong record of health and safety inspections has been identified as one of Sedgwick County’s deadliest COVID-19 clusters with 12 resident deaths. The 45-bed Cheney Golden Age Home eluded the coronavirus until the fall, when it compelled the nursing home to dedicate two of its three wings […]
November 17, 2020 | By Mary Clarkin
When Sedgwick County announced Sept. 1 that Meridian Rehabilitation and Health Care Center was a COVID-19 cluster with 18 cases but no deaths, the families of some residents knew the situation was even worse. Two residents, Roseshell Adams and Jack Van Es, had been infected by the virus by the time they died in late […]
November 2, 2020 | By Joe Stumpe
It took Elizabeth Bishop a couple tries to get over the electoral hump. But for the second election in a row, she can rest easy. The state representative from southeast Wichita, who lost her first four races for office, drew no opposition on the Nov. 3 election ballot, something of a rarity for a […]
| By The Active Age
“Without Passageways, I would be homeless. Or worse.” — Military veteran Sometimes even heroes need a hand. That’s the idea behind an organization that aims to keep homeless veterans from living and dying on the streets of Wichita. Nearly seven years ago, Jennifer Garrison and her mother, Susan Moellinger, left their careers to start Passageways, […]
| By Mary Clarkin
COVID-19 made a rapid, deadly march through the 106-bed Meridian Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, claiming nine lives and infecting 78 people in a matter of weeks. The long-term care facility at 1555 N. Meridian, which has a history of health inspection problems, was identified last month as Sedgwick County’s second-deadliest COVID-19 cluster. Only Clearwater […]
| By The Active Age
Share your favorite holiday recipe with The Active Age for a chance to win a cookbook. We are looking for recipes in every category — main dish, side dish, appetizer, dessert. The only requirement is that the recipe not contain more than 10 ingredients (not counting water, salt and pepper). The prizes for the top […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Photos by Joe Stumpe A temporary version of Southwinds Casino (left) opened in Park City last month. A few days later, Amazon announced that it would occupy a massive warehouse under construction in Park City (right). PARK CITY — When John Todd started advertising homes for sale here, he purposely […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Is Adriene Rathbun crazy? Putting out a cookbook called “Social: Holidays and Happy Hours” in the current environment might seem like it. “This may be a horrible time in the middle of the pandemic, but I also think people want to daydream,” Rathbun, food columnist for the Wichita Eagle, said. “We’re going to get past this eventually and […]
| By Pat O’Connor
Midtown was Wichita’s original neighborhood. In 1869, it held about a dozen buildings, all on Waco between Murdock and 9th Street, belonging to Darius S. Munger. Broadway was then Texas Street, and Market Street was Chisholm. Wichita Street and Waco were named in honor of the indigenous Native American tribes. Things had obviously changed by […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
When our family needed to make a trip to the Chicago area for a family funeral in early September, we decided to make some memories and fit in some educational adventures for the school-age grandchildren, as well. With the Chicago area being under a quarantine order, our plans of saying hello again to the T-Rex […]