July 1, 2020 | By Beccy Tanner
Since Wichita State University began offering free Lifelong Learning courses to Wichita area senior citizens five years ago, the program has grown from one course with 40 students to 10 courses with more than 1,000 students. As one of the teachers, I love these classes. Students bring unique perspectives to the classes through their own […]
| By The Active Age
More senior centers across the area are planning to reopen this month, although plans for exactly what that will look like were still being finalized as The Active Age went to press. In Wichita, four centers – Downtown, Linwood Park, Orchard Park and Northeast – are scheduled to reopen July 13. A news release from […]
| By Ted Ayers
“Dead Land” by Sara Paretsky (William Morrow, 2020, 405 pages, $29.70) Sara Paretsky was 4 years old when her father accepted a faculty position with the University of Kansas in 1951. After graduation from the University of Kansas, Paretsky moved to Chicago in the late 1960s and she has lived there ever since. She earned a PhD […]
June 12, 2020 | By Mary Clarkin & The Active Age
HAYSVILLE – The latest nursing home COVID-19 cluster in Sedgwick County has accounted for the county’s most recent death from the virus. On Wednesday, the Sedgwick County Health Department announced Diversicare of Haysville was a cluster for the virus, with 14 residents and eight staff testing positive, but no deaths. But on Friday, county spokeswoman […]
June 9, 2020 | By Mary Clarkin & The Active Age
Many residents of a Clearwater nursing home where 11 deaths from COVID-19 are now being reported were not given baths for more than five weeks, its former director of nursing says. Christine Zeller, a registered nurse with a master’s degree in nursing, described the lack of bathing as part of a pattern of substandard care […]
May 27, 2020 | By Bob Rives
“Where do you think you got it?” Friends ask me that about the Covid-19 that felled me for much of this spring. The answer, unfortunately, is I have no idea. There are guesses. There were crowds at the gym, in church, stores and restaurants. But I don’t know anyone in those places who has been […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Click the DVD cover below to watch the documentary on YouTube. Thirty years ago this month, Gregory Boyd filmed history in the making by documenting the genesis of Wichita’s first gay pride parade. He captured both sides of the story — organizers still fearful of anti-gay prejudice and violence and opponents led by the controversial […]
| By Joe Stumpe
If there’s a silver lining to these last few months, it may be this: People are discovering an outdoors they’ve previously experienced mostly through car windows. The greater Wichita area boasts numerous scenic paths for biking and walking, and they’ve been packed as never before. For the most part, the region’s flat topography makes them […]
| By Mary Clarkin
Roz Hutchinson believes her mother receives excellent care at Chisholm Place, a memory care home on Webb Road in Wichita. Seven deaths among residents from COVID-19 haven’t shaken that opinion. “I believe that they have done everything that could or would or should have been done to protect the staff and to protect residents, and […]
| By The Active Age
The Senior Expo is apparently no more. The Central Plains Area Agency on Aging, which hosted the long-running event each fall, notified sponsors last month that it would no longer be involved. No other organizations have stepped forward to assume that role. The Expo annually drew thousands of participants with its health screenings, flu shots, […]
| By Harry Clements
I am part of what’s popularly known as the Greatest Generation, which survived both the Great Depression and World War II, two decidedly challenging eras in American history. We are now experiencing a quite different but equally challenging period, the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s compare these episodes. The Depression was a condition of stagnant economics never […]
| By Joe Stumpe
A Newton woman expanded her culinary horizons during the coronavirus pandemic. Is it any wonder that someone whose last name is Kitchen-McKinney enjoys cooking? Speaking of names, she goes by Kevin, her middle name. “I was supposed to be my big brother’s little brother. I’ve met two other women with the same name.” Regarding her […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
The 1960’s brought tremendous improvements to Wichita, including a new zoo, library and Art Association building. Take this quiz to see what else you remember about Wichita during the Swinging 60s. 1. The Wichita State Shockers basketball team made its first Final Four appearance in 1965. Who defeated them in the semi-final game of the […]
| By The Active Age
When aircraft from McConnell Air Force Base soared overhead last month in a tribute to those fighting the coronavirus, Roberta Seiwert Lampe couldn’t help feeling thankful. Thankful for medical personnel, first responders and others on the frontline of the battle. Thankful for the pilots and base personnel who made the air show possible. And thankful […]
| By The Active Age
Sedgwick County Commissioners are dealing with an interesting problem: how to spend nearly $100 million given to the county by the federal government to battle the coronavirus pandemic. At least some of the $99.6 million will go toward programs and services geared toward older residents, commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said last month. “You’ve heard nationally, […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Last July, Sedgwick County manager Tom Stolz promised a review of the Department on Aging and its funding. Stolz has kept his word, enlisting help from the Public Policy and Management Center at Wichita State University. In April, a research assistant with the center called to ask me my opinion, which I’ll share here as […]
May 14, 2020 | By Mary Clarkin & The Active Age
The concentration of COVID-19 fatalities in one Wichita long-term care center is greater than previously reported. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Chisholm Place, 1859 N. Webb Rd., said seven of its residents have died of the virus. When Sedgwick County announced April 29 that Chisholm Place was the second COVID-19 cluster site at a long-term […]
May 1, 2020 | By Joe Stumpe and Leslie Chaffin
Normally this time of year, Jim Unruh would be puttering around the house, traveling with his wife or working part-time for a funeral home. “Just a very relaxing lifestyle,” he says. The coronavirus pandemic has thrust him into a new role: Two mornings a week, the retired banker volunteers to shop for and deliver groceries […]
| By Joe Stumpe
The lifting of stay-at-home orders caused by the coronavirus — whenever that happens — won’t signal that things are back to normal, a health expert says. “The world’s going to look different even after the peak of this epidemic has passed,” said Dr. Garold Minns, an infectious disease specialist who serves as Sedgwick County’s health […]
| By The Active Age
You walk, bike, stretch, garden. Lift weights, swim, do yoga and water aerobics. Team up with neighbors, friends and spouses. Turn for help to physical trainers and therapists. Age is no barrier, and you’re not letting the coronavirus slow you down, except for maybe those trips to the gym. Readers of the active age shared […]
| By Keith Wondra
Postcards from the past: The original Kansas Masonic Home, left, was built as a residence in 1889 by early settler Robert Lawrence. It was bought and enlarged by the Masons in 1896 before being destroyed by fire in 1916. Wichita Hospital, center, located where QuikTrip now sits at Seneca and Douglas, opened in 1898 and […]
| By Beth Bower
So. Five weeks and counting of staying at home and trying to be creative with dinner. Breakfast is toast, lunch is soup or a sandwich but dinner … that requires a little more thought. Fortunately, my husband Guy and I like to cook. He creates recipes, I use recipes others have developed and manipulate them […]
| By Kollen Long
It’s obvious where Bob Lutz stands on the pressing issue of American cheese on crackers. Clearly against it, as evidenced by a debate on his daily radio show with his son and co-host, Jeff. Lutz’s opinion on soccer has been made clear. All good if you are watching your kids play the sport, but a […]
| By Diana Breit Wolfe
Hmm…what was I doing when I was 28 years old? That’s what came to mind as I wrote to one of my one of my great-nieces on her 28th birthday. I have plenty of time to send cards and write stories in them — just as you do, Dear Reader — since we are all […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
How much do you remember about life in Wichita during the 1950’s? Remember eating at Wolf’s Cafeteria, seeing performances at the Wichita Forum and attending sock hops? Try your hand at these questions, and let your mind drift back to a different era. The answers are on page 14. What legendary star gave two performances […]