Date: Fri 26-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Ashlar-summer-Olympics

Full Text:

w/photos: Let The Games Begin!

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Ethel Ferris, 100, played the opening bars of "Bells of St Mary" on the piano,

prompting the 16 members of the bell choir (whose average age is 94) to begin

the musical prelude for the opening ceremonies of the Senior Olympics at

Ashlar of Newtown on Monday afternoon.

Soon a red Mercedes convertible came down the long, winding driveway of the

Masonic geriatric home on Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook. The car's two

passengers, Bob Boyce and Lillian Helm, residents of the Masonic Geriatric

Healthcare Center in Wallingford, brought the Senior Olympic torch which

Ashlar Director Thomas Gutner used to light two other torches - one on the

front lawn and another held by Isobel Frager, representative of the Ashlar

residents.

Two weeks of summer games are scheduled at the two Masonic homes and at Ashlar

Village in Wallingford. Each facility will host its own Olympic events; the

winners will come together to participate in the closing ceremony and awards

program in Wallingford on August 2.

The Senior Olympics events, adapted for the physical and mental abilities of

the contestants, include word games, geography contests, trivia, bingo, and a

discus throw. Campers in Summer Friends, Ashlar of Newtown's summer program

for children aged eight to 12, will join in intergenerational shuffleboard and

wheelchair races.

The Senior Olympics event at Ashlar was organized by Carl Anderson,

recreational therapist, and other members of the staff.