October 27, 2023 | By The Active Age
United Way of the Plains is recruiting 160 volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that will operate Jan. 31 through April 15 in 2024. The service is offered at no charge to households making $64,000 or less annually. Funded through an annual grant secured from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and managed by […]
October 6, 2023 | By Jim Miller
How seniors can save on prescription drug costs Dear Savvy Senior, I take several medications for multiple health conditions and the prices keep going up, even with my Medicare prescription drug insurance. Can you recommend any tips that can help cut my costs? Tapped Out Tina Dear Tina, The high cost of prescription […]
October 2, 2023 | By Joe Stumpe
Think all spelling bee champions are overachieving middle schoolers with minds racing as fast as their metabolisms? Meet Charlie Hunter, who won KMUW’s first spelling bee last month at age 77. Granted, the event was an adult spelling bee, but Hunter still bested a field made up largely of twenty-, thirty- and forty-somethings. He became […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
More than just physical fitness motivates a group of Wichitans to hit the gym at 5:45 a.m. three days a week. They’ve found friendships and — whether they know it or not — maybe a boost of mental health wellness. The group’s members first came together in September 2008 when Steve Rainbolt, Wichita State University’s […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Standing near where he and other young Wichitans made history 65 years ago, Galyn Vesey recalled the steadying influence of lawyer Chester I. Lewis during the Dockum Drug store sit-in. There had been threats from some white residents opposed to the lunch counter’s desegregation, and if violence broke out, the police response wasn’t hard to […]
| By Bonnie Bing
We are in that season where some days it’s tough to know what season we’re in. Cool in the morning, very warm in the afternoon, brisk in the evening and even cooler at night. There’s also the problem of some people not knowing when to turn the air conditioning off until next year. But on […]
| By The Active Age
Holiday Tables returns for 56th year The table decorating creativity of local businesses and residents will be on display next month during Mark Arts’ annual Holiday Tables fundraiser. It’s the 56th year for the event, which is organized by Designing Women, an auxiliary of the community art center. The event runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. […]
| By Ted Blankenship
A few years ago, while working on a story about Wichita at night, I interviewed a pharmacist who worked across the street from a hospital. I asked him about his most unusual experience working nights. “Well,” he said, “one night just before closing time, a tall senior citizen showed up holding a flower pot containing […]
| By Tammara Fogle
Congratulations to Joan Stadler of Derby, winner of a $25 gift certificate to The Spice Merchant for this month’s international recipe. Kolaches are a pastry filled with sweet or savory ingredients that Stadler describes as the most popular recipe among people of Czech descent. They can be served as a bread or roll at any […]
| By The Active Age
Wichitans with young grandchildren have a new destination — the Family Place Library located inside the Children’s Pavilion at the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. 2nd St. It’s designed for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, their parents and caregivers. The Family Place includes: • A specially designed welcoming space in the Children’s Pavilion for families with young […]
| By The Active Age
The Sedgwick County Health Department is offering the updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and flue shots. The vaccine targets the dominant variant for much of 2023. The updated vaccine can be received at the same time as the flue vaccine. Last month, the first flu cases were reported in Sedgwick County, which is earlier than usual. […]
| By Ted Ayres
“Write for Your Life” by Anna Quindlen (Random House, 2022, 215 pages, $26.00) As a new high school teacher in Long Beach, Calif., Erin Gruwell was assigned students with learning disabilities, disciplinary issues and juvenile records — so-called “unteachables.” After Gruwell had them start keeping journals, they wrote about gang warfare, sexual assault, suicide attempts, apartment […]
| By The Active Age
The Sedgwick County Health Department is offering free training in self-managing disease and wellness. Each 2½ -hour workshop consists of six sessions. Attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required. Participants need to attend at least 4 of the 6 sessions to receive a certificate of completion. The sessions are: Session 1: Healthy sleep […]
| By Diana Morton
Empire House Players, at Old Cowtown Museum. Dracula: A Comic Thriller starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson. Oct 13, 14, 20 & 21, 7pm; Oct 22, 2 pm. Tickets $15 adults, $7 children. Buy tickets at Buytickets.at/empirehouseplayers Forum Theatre, at the Wilke Center, 1st United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber […]
| By The Active Age e
The Active Age is now available in a digital edition that allows you to flip through pages and increase the size of the print. It is emailed to subscribers on or before the first of each month. To sign up for it, contact joe@theactiveage.com.
| By Tim Marlar
Print newspapers were long a staple in most homes, providing a source of news, information and entertainment. In recent years, however, the popularity of print newspapers has declined as more and more people have turned to digital news sources. Despite this decline, print newspapers such as The Active Age still play an important role. For […]
September 5, 2023 | By The Active Age
The Sedgwick County Health Department has received reports of influenza (flu) among residents of Sedgwick County with no history of travel. According to a news release, in most years, the first reports of flu begin in October or November. Flu shots are recommended in September or October for anyone 6 months and older, unless otherwise […]
September 1, 2023 | By Joe Stumpe
PBS Kansas chief Victor Hogstrom says there’s a simple reason why the public television station is bringing back the Senior Expo this month. “We knew it was a very popular event,” Hogstrom said. “Our audience is also that audience.” Hogstrom is all about audience engagement, and resurrecting the Expo is just one of many moves […]
| By Joe Stumpe
When Kenneth Simons says he’s been raising watermelons all his life, he’s only exaggerating slightly. He started helping his dad raise them when he was 5 years old, or 85 years ago. “All I could do was walk around and be under his feet,” Simons, of Haysville, recalled. Within a few years, he was driving […]
| By Rose Conlon; KMUW
Before Beck Bright-Samarzia gets down to work, she suits up: back brace, gloves, N-95 mask. Inching through one of her clients’ living rooms, between stacks of boxes and bins, she explains she used to wear an industrial-grade mask here — before they got the dust under control. “It might look like not a lot has […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Like the protagonists in his current film project, Ken Spurgeon faced some challenges while making “Sod and Stubble” this summer. First came the strike by the actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA. Then came the blistering heat. After shutting down for a few days, Spurgeon received a waiver from the union that allowed him to resume filming, as […]
| By The Active Age
Square dancing classes back The Village Steppers club is offering lessons for the next several months in addition to holding its regular dances. Starting Sept. 19 and continuing into early December, the lessons will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Oaklawn Elementary school, 5000 S. Clifton. The lessons cost a […]
| By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about green funeral options? At age 80, I would like to preplan my funeral and make it as natural as possible. Old Environmentalist Dear Environmentalist, Great question! Green funeral options are becoming increasingly popular in the United States as more and more Americans are looking for environmentally […]
| By The Active Age
The McCormick School Museum has received a donation that will allow it to move forward on several key projects, including a security system, masonry repair, accessibility, an audio-visual system and a sign to advertise the museum. In a news release, the museum said it had received “a generous donation from the Langel family, who became […]
| By Ted Blankenship
For the most part, I believe horses are noble animals, and I’m sure they had a lot to do with making this country what it is today. Yet, my experience riding them has not always been satisfactory. My first attempt came when I was about eight years old. A neighbor had a sorrel saddle horse […]