SHERWOOD OAKS NEWSLETTER

January 2015 “For the residents, by the residents” Vol. XVI No. 1

The Oak

The trees, their winter bones display, Except the oaks which have a way To hold past beauty past the day

When others all have thrown away Their autumn glories.

We, like the mighty oak cling to our past glories, But build new lives and write new stories.

Eleanor Bauer

Reproduction Photo by Joe Asin

LYLE’S OAK Painting by Andrew Wyeth

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Born and raised in India, Wally had a very interesting childhood. His parents were Presbyterian missionaries in Pakistan. He, his twin sister and their three other siblings attended Woodstock boarding school. They had to cross the border between Pakistan and India to reach their school. (Woodstock is now an international school with a SAGE program which invites junior and senior high school students to attend Woodstock for a year.) Wally came to the States after high school, attended Westminster College and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. He interned at the University of Or-egon and returned to Pitt for his residency. Barbara chuckled when she said, "I was born nearby - in Butler - and graduated from the Butler High School." She has three degrees from the University of Pitts-burgh. Her BSN, MSN and ten years later, her MSIS (Master of Science Information Systems) all equipped her to be a hospital administrator. She held various nursing po-sitions in Pittsburgh and Butler. She ended her career in Michigan, where she not only served as an administrator but also taught at the University's School of Nursing. On Kelleys Island, Wally and Barbara are involved in the Methodist Church, the Landowner's Association, and the VFW. They are both Vietnam veterans. Wally was a Battalion Surgeon for the 1st of the 8th Artillery Battalion and Barbara served as a nurse at the 12th Evacuation Hospital in CuChi. They were probably the first married couple to be assigned to Vietnam. Their "hooch" (home) was 10' by 20' with no plumbing, no windows and only one door. However, "we were so fortunate," they both emphasized. We are certainly fortunate to welcome Wally and Barbara here.

WALLACE AND BARBARA CHRISTY 237

Interviewed by Harriet Burress

Having moved to Michigan in 1990 in order to pursue her career as Vice President for Patient Services at the Foote Hospital, Barbara says, "I've been looking forward to coming home." At that time, although Wal-ly was still on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, he was winding down his re-sponsibilities in direct patient care as an internist at St. John's Hospital. Their two children were in college so "the pieces just fell into place for us to relocate," comment-ed Wally. Now they are near their two grandchildren which brings smiles to their faces and "at home" at Sherwood Oaks. Wallace and Barbara are away much of the time. Their home on Kelleys Island on Lake Erie, still beckons, and they share quality time with her Dad in Florida. When they are at home here, they do hope to be ac-tive and involved. Wally is already ac-quainted with the woodworking shop and hopes to participate in a book club and Audubon group. Barbara's interests are varied as well. She likes needlework, reading, swimming, gardening and would like to try playing with the bell group. They

both enjoy traveling.

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TOBY EXTER 141

Interviewed by Betty Eichler

"Day lily lovers live one blooming day at a time." That’s the motto of new Sherwood Oaks resident Toby Exter. Toby had never been a gardener until one day her husband brought her a day lily plant – "a beautiful, red color. I loved it." Gardening became the love of Toby’s life, especially growing day lilies and iris. She soon joined the Pittsburgh Iris and Day Lily Society and took classes at Phipps Conservatory to be certified as a Master Gardener. In 1920, Toby’s father, then age sixteen, ran away from his home in Poland to escape the persecution of Jews. Toby cherishes a me-morial booklet of her father’s home town. He eventually made his way to New York and married. Toby and her siblings grew up in Brooklyn and Queens. She studied at City College of New York, then taught herself bookkeeping by studying the Encyclopedia Britannica. She worked as office manager for Ideal Shoe Company, on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh. She worked through many tran-sitions in bookkeeping methods and ma-chines, from hand-operated adding ma-chines to computers.

Toby and her husband lived in Boston, then Washington, DC, then Pittsburgh, where he worked for Westinghouse Corporation at the Bettis Plant. For the last eleven years, Toby has lived on Links Way in West Deer. (You guessed it — Links Way is beside the golf course.) Sadly, Toby’s husband died the day they moved there. Toby had studied both German and Yiddish in high school and college. She is a mem-ber of the Ohav Shalom congregation in Pittsburgh but also enjoys going back to her former, more conservative, congregation, Beth Israel, in Pleasant Hills. She volun-teered at the Alzheimer’s Unit of the Jewish Home for the Aged on Browns Hill Road, where her mother had been a patient. Two of Toby’s daughters live in California. Before moving west, one daughter a chef, opened the Chili’s Restaurant in Monroe-ville. A third daughter lives in Gibsonia. To-by has four grandchildren. Toby says she was adopted by a black cat who has moved with her to Sherwood Oaks. The cat’s name is Schmootzie, from the Yiddish and Ger-man word for dirt. Toby has an interest in sociology and loves music and the theater. She also loves books! In preparing to move here, she gave more than 500 gently used books to the li-brary in Gibsonia. She has traveled in Can-ada and also to Germany when one of her daughters was living there. Among memen-toes from her travels are many beautiful cups and saucers and other unique pieces of china, which are displayed in a large, glass-sided cabinet in her living room. Having experienced some mobility prob-lems, Toby has purchased a new scooter and is now able to travel about the campus with ease. When you meet her, give her a hearty welcome to our community.

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Connecticut and her MS in French from the Southern Connecticut State College. For 20 years she served as head of the Foreign Language Department at a private boys' boarding school. One enjoyable aspect of her job was being a surrogate mother to the foreign students. Another was making trips to France. Once she visited a tiny village of 50 people up in the hills of Burgundy and stayed with a family who were renovating a medieval home with walls a yard thick. "I loved going to see what was really French - not just Paris." Ralph and Judy met in church in Connecti-cut. Both went their separate ways, but years later reconnected in Atlanta. Ralph had moved there after Hurricane Ivan did its damage to Florida, especially to the inner coastal waterway where he loved to kayak. "I felt more secure about the weather in At-lanta." Judy was drawn to Georgia to be near a son who now lives in Indianapolis. Recently, her two sons and daughter en-couraged Judy and Ralph to move closer to them. Judy said, "It felt 'right' to move north." She told her daughter, "Sherwood Oaks wasn't what I was l was looking for, but I've found where I want to live." The architect in Ralph spoke up. "The center's entrance is a visual invitation; it invites you in." And of their patio home - "Whoever planned this did a great job. It works; the architecture works." Ralph has been a race car enthusiast for 58 years. He and Judy attended their first Grand Prix race in Indianapolis this spring. Judy is already planning to garden and join the bell choir. Having no children of his own, Ralph enjoys Judy's family and speaks of them as "smarter than smart, friendly, open." Welcome Judy and Ralph to Pennsylvania and to Sherwood Oaks.

RALPH GIBSON AND JUDITH BATSON 149

by Harriet Burress

Upon entering patio home #149, one is immediately impressed with the serious business taking place on two computers with larger double screens and an even bigger one in the middle. Although Judy and Ralph are both retired, they are still busy. Ralph commented, "It is very grati-fying to "solve the puzzle of a difficult and new program." Ralph was born in Hartford, Connecticut, where he grew up "with measurable snow every three days in the winter." He experienced colder winters and more snow at MIT where he graduated with degrees in architecture and civil engi-neering. His career for many years was with a firm which employed 50 or more architects. But he was a one-man de-partment focused on acoustical consult-ing. He later formed his own company which dealt with architectural acoustics and noise control. After having frost bite in a winter with 132 inches of snow, he decided Florida's weather was very ap-pealing and moved there. Judy, a native of Connecticut, received her BA in French from the University of

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nuclear engineering. Carol joined him and they were married in Madison. Carol, an experienced manager, became the head secretary (virtually a department head) for the Dept. of Agriculture at UW. Jim says that due to Carol’s expertise, newly-married life for the Millers was financially far superior to the usual struggling existence of newly-married graduate students. The Millers moved back to Pittsburgh and Jim worked at Westinghouse in nuclear technology. They bought a home in Murrys-ville where they lived for 40 years. Both were active in church and community af-fairs. They had two children, a son and a daughter. Their son became an accountant. He and his wife have one girl and two boys. Their daughter, who has a master’s degree in Orientation Mobility, is a teacher of blind children. She is the mother of two boys.

After the children grew up, Jim and Carol traveled extensively around the U.S. On one plane trip they flew over the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Rockies. Alas, Carol did not like flying. In fact, she was ter-rified. But the couple loved traveling; so they traveled everywhere, by car, exploring the United States from coast to coast, Can-ada and all points in between. Jim quoted a friend who once said, “Jim and Carol were the only people you could meet who actual-ly enjoyed driving through Kansas.”

Jim’s wife Carol died two years ago. Jim remained in their Murrysville home until de-ciding to move to Sherwood Oaks. His chil-dren and grandchildren are not far away. As much as possible, he hopes to continue biking and, possibly, his old hobby of photography. (He did have a movie camera in his youth!)

Sherwood Oaks folks are happy to wel-come you, Jim!

JAMES MILLER 142

Interviewed by Betty Howard

Jim Miller was born in Lancaster, PA, “two days after Christmas.” His brother Jay, sev-en years older, was the family athlete while Jim had several interests in animals: cows, chickens, etc., and birds. He had a pet crow and also raised “parlor tumbler” pigeons. (Clever brother Jay acquired “spending money” by getting his buddies to bet on Jim’s pigeons: could pigeons actually jump into the air and turn somersaults? Yep!) After “falling into engineering” and earning a BS at Penn State, he had a deferment from the Army and spent six years in Oakridge, TN, the center of nuclear technology. He earned an MS in physics at the University of Tennessee. After working as an engineer at Union Carbide, he left for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. He began attending the Young Adults’ Fellowship (YAF) at South Avenue Methodist Church in Wilkinsburg where he met Carol. Jim decided to go to the Universi-ty of Wisconsin to work for his PhD in

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For Jean Anne and her husband, the parental role included lots of traveling to follow the boys in their college football games. “We followed the boys every-where.” All four boys played football at college - three at Pitt, one at Columbia. Three live in Pittsburgh area, one in Boston. The grown-up kids have celebrated their parents’ special anniversaries: for their 50

th they created a “wall quilt” from pho-

tographs of the family over the years. They joined in celebrating the 60

th when

their dad was honored by Camp Chal-lenge in Youngstown, which was found-ed for disadvantaged boys during the Depression. Jean Anne says that she is happy at Sherwood and is exploring ways to contribute to the community here. Sherwood Oaks welcomes you from Youngstown, Jean Anne Pelusi!

JEAN ANNE PELUSI 116

Interviewed by Betty Howard

Jean Anne Pelusi was born in Ravenna, Ohio. She had one brother, four years older, whom she described as very car-ing, looking out for her. Jean graduated from Ravenna High School, acquired her R.N. at Youngstown’s St. Elizabeth’s Nursing School and worked at St. Eliza-beth Hospital. One day while swimming at the hospital pool, she met John Pelusi, a life guard there. He was a high school biology teacher, counselor and football coach. They were married in Youngs-town in 1954--and lived there for sixty years. John Pelusi died in 2014. Shortly after, Jean Anne moved here. Jean Anne emphasizes the importance of family in her life. She worked part time in nursing. The Pelusis raised four sons who grew up in Youngstown, are all mar-ried and have made their parents grand-parents twelve times (and now a great-grandchild has arrived!).

Welcome to

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RUTH STIRLING 306

Interviewed by Betty Eichler

Ruth was born and raised in Meadville, PA, and graduated from Allegheny College with a degree in sociology and psychology. While raising her three children, she was a stay-at-home mom. She then began her career as an administrative assistant for Allegheny County. Her department established the re-cycling program for the county, which was later adopted by communities throughout Pennsylvania.

For twenty-one years as a Republican com-mitteewoman in McCandless Township, Ruth worked on political campaigns for many candidates, including Arlen Specter and George H. W. Bush. She had a long associ-ation with Elsie Hillman, well-known Pitts-burgh activist and philanthropist.

When her children were young, Ruth volun-teered at North Allegheny schools, Scouts, Little League baseball and other kid-friendly groups. Then for many years, Ruth was a volunteer and director of KDKA’s Call for Action. She traveled to several East Coast cities, from Boston to Miami, with other

directors for training sessions. Prior to mov-ing to Sherwood Oaks, she volunteered at Treasure House Fashions in Ross Twp., a charitable organization. The store accepts clothing donations which are sold to the pub-lic. Proceeds go to help women in crisis.

Ruth has fond memories of two cruise vaca-tions. One was to Alaska which included travel by rail and bus, as well as time in Denali National Park and Preserve. She re-members seeing bear, eagles, elk and whales. The other cruise took her to a com-pletely different climate through the Panama Canal. She even swam with dolphins.

Although she used to be very active in sports, skiing, racquetball and walking, she has had to give up most of that activity. Her present hobbies include reading novels and biographies, listening to music and attending plays, musicals and Pops concerts.

Her family includes two sons, a daughter, their spouses and children — seven grand-children in all. The youngest two grandchil-dren live nearby and Ruth’s favorite pastime is spending time with them, even though, “I can’t crawl and roll on the floor with them like I did when the older ones were this little.”

Ruth lives with a cat named Max, whom she inherited from her son when he moved to France. Ruth arrived here in November and by Thanksgiving her house was beautifully decorated for Christmas. She says, "I have found Sherwood Oaks to be as delightful a community as advertised. The people are friendly and welcoming and have made the transition so much easier for me.” She hopes that her new home continues to be a good living arrangement for her. She sends “Kudos to the Welcoming Committee and all who have worked so diligently to make sen-ior living a good experience.”

And a warm welcome to you, Ruth!

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WHAT’S NEW WITH SORA?

December SORA Board report:

Treasurers’ Reports – The proceeds from the Bake Sale of $1,572.35, plus some income from Activity Fees, have brought the total in the Contingency Fund to $3,682.87. The Memorial/Special Projects Account received $595.00 in November, bringing the total in the account to $72,748. Liaison Reports Special Needs Committee: will have a mailbox built with pigeon holes. It will be placed in the Personal Care Unit so that residents receive all notices. The Committee is recommending updates on some phones to make it easier for visually impaired residents to dial. Trips and Tours: A Cabaret Theater trip is planned for January 15, and a trip to the Bayernhof Music Museum on January 21. Finance Committee: The following au-dits have been completed by residents: Operating Treasury account – Bette Cecil; Employee Appreciation Fund – Jim Blum; Memorial/Special Projects Fund — Marilyn Brown. No discrepan-cies were found. Sherwood Gifts was audited by J. P. Myers, Professional Auditors. The accounts were found to be correct; some suggestions were made and will be considered. Sherwood Gifts: Proceeds from the recent jewelry sale were $182.00. Health Affairs: the November meeting began with a remembrance of the key role of Chairperson, John Davis, who died recently. A collection of unwanted and expired medications will be held January 16-17. More information to come. A meeting will be held with a

representative of the Passavant Hospital Foundation to discuss Support Group Sessions that provide seminars in the Cranberry community. Movies Activity: is recruiting volunteers to help in showing movies on Saturday eve-nings. Interested residents should con-tact Dorothy Dean. Management Report – Mark Bondi reported: In recent years we have invited some

of our local service providers and oth-ers from the Cranberry area to attend the Annual Christmas Party. This is part of an effort to engage with the broader community. We will ask these guests to wear name tags this year so that residents can identify them.

New Business — President Broeren announced appointment of a Granny’s Attic Task Force to: 1) Identify potential replacements for Bob

and Carole Fletcher, who are stepping down as furniture managers.

2) Identify storage solutions with admin-istration.

3) Identify ways of making the job easier for volunteers.

4) Identify locations where furniture may be stored and/or shown.

5) Identify ways of moving furniture both to a "showroom" and to potential buy-ers’ homes.

6) Other items deemed necessary by the task force.

Our appreciation was expressed to Bob and Carole Fletcher for their good work as managers over the past several years.

Betty Eichler Reporter

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The Wyeths bought a small deserted, rundown, one-room school house, just downhill from the Lyle home, for Betsy Wyeth to use for “downtime”, relaxation and practicing her hobbies. RD assisted in repairing the interior and exterior of the house; in addition, he made a wood-chip trail and built a small wooden bridge across a stream which allowed Mrs. Wy-eth to walk from “The Ark” to her “home-away-from-home” rather than having to drive to it. One of Betsy Wyeth's hobbies was knitting. RD is the lucky owner of a magnificent heavy wool sweater made by Joan under Betsy’s direction. One day, Andrew Wyeth approached RD and asked him if he minded if he (Wyeth) brought over his “portable studio” (his station wagon) and made a painting of the 300-year-old oak tree on RD's prop-erty which had been a sapling during the historic Battle of Brandywine Creek. RD readily consented and the painting was produced. Much to RD's surprise, “when Betsy and Andy came over for coffee cake and “Irish coffee” the following Christmas,” the Wyeths presented RD with the painting, “Lyle's Oak”, as a sur-prise Christmas present. RD framed the painting in wood from a fallen branch of “Lyle's Oak”, then mounted it between two pieces of glass, thereby allowing the painting to be shown on one side and Wyeth's original pencil sketch of the tree on the other. Many years later, when the famous painter was awarded a Congres-sional Medal honoring his work, he gave RD a replica of the medal, now displayed on the cocktail table in RD’s patio home.

(Continued on page 10)

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW

RD LYLE

Of the many oaks here at Sherwood Oaks, none is as famous as “Lyle's Oak”, a painting by the renowned Amer-ican artist Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009). What is not widely known is that the “Lyle” in the painting's title refers to fel-low Sherwood Oaks resident RD Lyle. RD and Joan Lyle were neighbors and very close friends of Andrew Wyeth and his wife, Betsy, during the more than 20 years that the Lyles lived in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Andrew and Betsy actually had two houses located close to RD's home. Their main house, across the road from the Lyle's, was located in the flood plain of the Brandywine Creek of Revolution-ary War fame. (1) Their second house, known as “The Ark” was on the other side of the road, a little bit uphill from RD's and was used by the Wyeths whenever the Brandywine flooded. The Wyeths and Lyles dined together often. Joan and Betsy normally shared cooking chores. Both were exceptional bakers…Joan's specialty was baking pies and Betsy's was baking bread and rolls. Every year, late in the spring, “when Betsy was away in Maine getting the Wyeth's summer home ready for oc-cupancy, Andy would often come over to dinner by himself.”

While Andrew Wyeth's artistry was painting, RD's art was woodworking, construction and general “handy man”.

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The original painting of “Lyle's Oak” now hangs in the home of RD's son, an acoustical engineer, who, incidentally, designed and installed the original sound system in the Wyeth home.

Mike Rose (1) The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Gen-eral George Washington and and the British army of General Sir William Howe on Sep-tember 11, 1777 near Chadds Ford, PA. The British defeated the Americans and forced them to withdraw.

CURIO CABINETS

A variety of crèches will be the focus of the curio cabinets until January 6. There is Linda Blum’s crèche of hand painted stones, the late Penny Russell’s figurines carved from ivory soap bars, Ed Neidhardt’s wood crafted crèche and many others worth seeing. Each crèche is unique and has a story to tell. My daughter-in-law donated most of the Hanukkah items in one of the cabinets. Betty and Joe Asin donated the lovely Hanukkah display on the buffet near the doors to the auditorium. It is a “must-see”. For a few months, Gussie Dimmick will as-sume responsibility for the curio cabinets. On January 8, her camera collection will take center stage. If you remember her mineral display, you know viewing her cameras will be a real treat.

Fran Borrebach

PROGRAM ON ECONOMIC

INEQUALITY

Focus on the World will present an unusual program dealing with the subject of eco-nomic inequality. It is a video titled “With Economic Justice for All,” starring Sister Simone Campbell. She demonstrates the problem in a format that is understandable and inspiring. Sister Simone is widely known as “The Nun on the Bus” who has been involved nationally with issues of so-cial justice. The program will be presented Thursday, January 15 at 7:15 PM in the Auditorium.

Ellie Castle Focus on the World

The Acorn Co-Editors Ruth Becker

ruthbb@zoominternet.net Sally Donnell

donnells@zoominternet.net Reporter

Mike Rose mike1005@zoominternet.net

Profile Coordinator Marianne Davis

marianne.davis@zoominternet.net Production Editor

Tabby Alford alfordtl@sherwood-oaks.com

Photographer Joe Asin

Bio Photographer Ed Borrebach

Ex Officio Mark Bondi

bondi@sherwood-oaks.com

The next deadline is Thursday, January 15.

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FOOD BANK COLLECTION

Food is collected for the Cranberry Food Bank in January, April, July and October, the second week of the month. The dates for January are 11-17. Several residents spent a morning at the Pittsburgh Food Bank and were impressed with the scope and efficiency of the opera-tion. Our host was Peter Broeren, who is a volunteer there.

Ellie Castle

HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH A major project of the Health Affairs Com-mittee continues to be the up-dating of the women's restroom on the main floor of the Sherwood Oaks Center. The Committee is sponsoring a collection of unused and outdated medications on Janu-ary 16 and 17. This is a way to dispose of your unused and outdated medications safely and properly. Watch the bulletin board for details.

Submitted by Betty Eichler

THE DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND Thursday, January 29 at 7:15 PM

in the Auditorium.

The Dixieland Jazz ensemble will present a style of jazz developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20

th Century and which

spread to Chicago and New York in the early 1900s. Our own Mimi Fleming will be performing at the piano. Let’s all gath-er in the auditorium for an evening of great musical entertainment.

Helen Haberlein

ODE TO MY CUBBY HOLE

(The gift that keeps on giving) My Cubby is a tiny space nestled in a larger place It doesn't need a lock or key and it doesn't keep secrets from me There's nothing marked "occupant” or gift catalogs And once a month there's only one bill but sometimes a script for my special pills What other treasures will you bring each day? Christmas cards and birthday greetings times and places for my meetings Menus that will whet my appetite so I look forward to dinner each night You can have your voice or e-mail or wait for the postman each day But I choose My Cubby It's the Sherwood Oaks way.

Carol Caum

A REMINDER TO SORA COMMITTEES/ACTIVITIES

Copying materials that are copyrighted is illegal. Please do not ask reception-ists or other persons to make copies of materials that are under copyright law. SORA standing rule voted by the Board February 4, 2014.

Madelin Clements, SORA Board

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Worth the Time by Ed Vidt

Knocking on Heaven’s Door Katy Butler 973.3 (But)

Agony! This book is a comprehensive factual summary of one woman’s ways of dealing with her parent’s paths through dementia to death. It is a really difficult read, especially for us folks who are on a “path.” On page 279, mention of “life care facilities with strong nursing departments” does give us some credit for finding a good way to cope. So, perhaps, we Sherwood Oaks residents may not benefit much from the time spent reading this book! But, it is also a well-written summary of what we see happening around us, and so it may give us some solace. Life after Life Kate Atkinson F (Atk)

This is a fantasy of life, over and over, from infancy with the cord around her neck, to Ursula’s eventual brain hemor-rhage death. Her life repeated, from 1910 to 1967, gives us insights into British and German angst, as well as into their societies, their morals and their pleasures. It is a difficult novel to read because of the disjointed narra-tive, but I found it well worth the time… especially the parts that detail her attempted assassination of Hitler, and her marriage to an officer in the German Army. (Continued on page 13)

SHERWOOD GIFTS There is a bright little corner in the lobby where Sherwood Gifts is located. This shop is staffed entirely by volunteers. There are many ways you can volunteer your time and talent in Sherwood Gifts. We need you! Some volunteers are cashiers; other vol-unteers select inventory for candies, sundries, jewelry, scarves and purses to see in the shop. In the Granny’s Attic section, the volun-teers may sort, pack, price and display donations. Other volunteers photograph items too large to display in the shop. The photos are found in an album on a table in the shop where customers can “shop by viewing.” Several volunteers function as treasur-ers. They enter data in the computer, make bank deposits, pay sales tax bills and invoices for purchased items. The profits of the shop go to the Memori-al/Special Projects Fund. Last year over $30,000 dollars was given to this fund. Please consider giving some volunteer time to Sherwood Gifts. It would be a great way to start the New Year!

Sonja DeGray

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The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin 347.73 (Too) The United States Supreme Court is tak-en apart and then put back together in a fascinating way by Mr. Toobin. The court is taken apart via reviews of cases, such as “Roe vs. Wade” on abortion, the case that chose “W” as the winner in Florida’s messed up presidential election and the case that revoked a previous ruling mak-ing homosexual acts criminal. Then the court is put back together by careful sum-maries of the background and capabilities of each of the court's justices. This book gave me insights into our Supreme Court function and operation that I had not pre-viously understood.

COLETTA MCKENRY LIBRARY

ACCESSIONS

FICTION INCLUDING LARGE TYPE:

The 6th Extinction James Rollins © 2014.F/ROL Above the East China Sea Sarah Bird © 2014.F/BIR All That is Solid Melts into Air Darragh McKeon © 2014.F/McK A Bad Day for Scandal Sophie Littlefield © 2011.F/LIT Beautiful Day Elin Hilderbrand © 2014.F/HIL The Beekeeper's Ball Susan Wiggs © 2014.F/WIG/L.T. The Betrayers David Bezmozgis © 2014.F/BEZ Bones Never Lie Kathy Reichs © 2014.F/REI Burn James Patterson © 2014.F/PAT/L.T.

The Burning Room Michael Connelly © 2014.F/CON Chestnut Street Maeve Binchy © 2014.F/BIN Choir of Angels Debbie Macomber © 2014.F/MAC Cop Town Karin Slaughter © 2014.F/SLA Found Harlan Coben © 2014.F/COB The Girl Next Door Ruth Rendell © 2014.F/REN Lila Marilynne Robinson © 2014.F/ROB The Pact Jodi Picoult © 1998.F/PIC Power Play Catherine Coulter © 2014.F/COU/L.T.

The Wind is Not a River

Brian Payton © 2014.F/PAY

NON-FICTION INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES:

Agent Storm: My Life Inside Al Qaeda... Morten Storm ©2014. 327.12/STO America the Beautiful Ben and Candy Carson ©2012.973/CAR Daredevils over Niagara George Bailey ©2005. 797/BAI Fall Guy Joe Renckly ©2000. 508.2/REN Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting Editor Ann Hood ©2014. 746.43/HOO The Lost Continent Bill Bryson ©2001. 917.3/BRY Mothers & Daughters Carol Saline ©1997. 306.847/SAL Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children Dorie McCullough Lawson ©2004. 808.86/LAW

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THE WHALE AND THE FLEA Donald E. Gowan

It was the early 60s and we were watching the Jackie Gleason show. He had just done one of his rare acts in which he pretended to be the maestro of a flea circus. He had no real fleas on stage, of course, but was using a cleverly rigged apparatus making it appear that his invisible fleas were perform-ing phenomenal tricks. When the act was over, I commented that as a boy I had once seen a real flea circus. “No you didn’t!” my sister-in-law Marlene exclaimed. “Fleas can’t do tricks like that!” I tried to explain that the tricks certainly weren’t like Jackie Gleason’s, but that I did see a man with a little table and some tiny apparatus, and remembered the fleas pulling a little chariot. (Since then I have learned that they don’t pull it; the table slopes and the chariot is actually pushing them.) I don’t remember any of the other tricks, but couldn’t forget that, — as his grand finale, — the man pushed up his sleeve and put the fleas on his bare arm, to show us how he fed them. Still, Marlene didn’t want to believe me, and when I described the occasion on which I had seen the flea circus, I’m afraid my case didn’t get any stronger. It was sometime in the late 30s, for I was quite young, when we learned that a pre-served whale was touring the country by rail, on a flatcar. I don’t know where it began its journey, but someone had decided that Americans far from the ocean would pay to see a real whale. This one had been doused in formaldehyde, loaded onto a flatcar with screens around it, and had ar-rived in Cherokee, Iowa, our county seat. We were in the midst of the depression and my parents did not spend money lightly, but whales are hard to come by in northwest Io-wa and the opportunity to see one was not to be missed; so we went to Cherokee,

where the whale was parked on a siding next to the railroad station. They paid what must have been a small admission fee and we climbed onto the flatcar. There we were able to walk all the way around the whale. It seemed quite large, but then I was small at the time. I just remember three things about it: its jaw was propped open so that we could see into its mouth, it had a harpoon sticking out of its back and it smelled really bad. Across the tracks in the railroad station, was the man with the flea circus. He wasn’t a local person; so we assumed that somehow he had made himself part of the entourage of the traveling whale. What a zoological extravaganza — a whale and fleas in the same afternoon! But my story about seeing a whale in Cherokee, Iowa, didn’t seem to help per-suade Marlene that there really are such things as flea circuses. Years later, I was leafing through a copy of the Carnegie Institute’s magazine and noticed a review of a new book on whales. The author of the review began his article by recalling a boyhood experience — how he once saw a preserved whale touring the country on a flatcar, accompanied by a man with a flea circus. At last — a second witness! It must be true and I kept that article. But alas, my sister-in-law had died young and we never had a chance to renew our debate over the whale and the flea. I wonder what they ever did with that preserved whale. Note: Acorn staff would welcome more “recollection” submissions from our readers. Do you have a memory you would like to share? Let us hear from you!

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ACTIVITIES IN THE CHAPEL

Women’s Bible Study First and Third Mondays

10:45-11:45 AM

Men's Bible Study Weekly, Wednesdays

10:00-11:00 AM

Holy Communion, Episcopal Rite First Tuesday of the month

11:00 AM

Quaker Meeting for Worship Fourth Sunday of the month

10:30-11:30 AM

CHAPEL NOTES

The Chapel Committee has completed the calendar of ministers for 2015. Forty pastors have accepted our invitation to lead chapel services during the coming year. We hope you will join us and them on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM in the auditorium. January 4 - The Rev. John Rodgers, Sherwood Oaks resident, will begin the new year. January 11 - The Rev. Ron Brown, Hope Lutheran Church, Cranberry Twp., Communion Service January 18 - The Rev. Bruce Stewart, Sherwood Oaks resident. January 25 - The Rev. John Jefferis, Harmony/Zelienople United Methodist Church. February 1 - The Rev. Connie Frierson, Calvin Presbyterian Church, Zelienople. We are most grateful to our resident musicians - Nancy Baker, Mimi Fleming, Pearl Habashi and Joan Treleaven - who provide us with fifteen minutes of music as we gather for worship each Sunday.

Agnes Peebles

IN MEMORIAM

Memories are precious possessions that time can never destroy. For it is in happy remembrance that the heart finds its greatest joy.

Jennie Keeler December 6, 2014

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A New Year’s Resolution

A resolution is no solution It’s only a promise to try

It’s made with great sincerity Which fades as time goes by.

On New Year’s Day, Twenty pounds sounds real And, with Weight Watchers, Should be no big deal...But

By the end of the month, When you’re down only two

The goal becomes ten, Although seven would do.

On March 1st, still down just two, Your goal suddenly falls to five.

Only three more pounds to shed, and You vow that you will strive.

On April 1st, with weight loss stalled, You realize your worst fear

You buy a quart of ice cream, and Resolve to try again next year.

Mike Rose

Employee Appreciation Christmas Gifts

Thanks to all residents who contributed to the Employee Appreciation Fund. Since we cannot tip employees during the year, this is our chance to thank them with a gift. Approximately $140,000 was collected and distributed to employees at their December Christmas party. They were very appreciative and many sent thank you cards which are posted on the bul-letin board. Special thanks to Donna Fasone and Ed Alo for their help in providing information and printing the checks.

Gary Brandenberger

Did you travel with Trips and Tours last year? If not, Here's what you

missed:

Overnight trip to Niagara on the Lake; tours of WQED, Nationality Rooms at Pitt and Hartwood Mansion; concerts with Noah Bendix Bagley and Shobi Tabuchi; carriage rides and wine tasting, plus Pitt, Steelers and Pirates games. Don’t miss out this year. Resolve to read the bulletin board and sign up for a trip or tour.

Jim Long

Have you made your New Years resolutions? If not, we have a few suggestions…be active, get involved — give

some time to the Gift Shop, to a SORA committee or another activity of your choice.

And we resolve to remember our thank yous.

...to the hosts of the Eggnog Party, to the musicians for their concert, to management for the Holiday Party, to the New Years Eve Party Committee, we give a resounding Thank You!