Volunteer of the Month
Archives

July 2019
Charles Roberts

Photo of Charles Roberts

This month we’d like to give thanks to a familiar face, but one you might not know of in relation to the Highland Senior Center. Charles Roberts is the former editor of the Highland Community News, where he was a big supporter of the Highland Senior Center and would often visit the center to cover our events and activities. However when he retired at the end of 2017, he continued to support our center, but in a different capacity. Before retiring, he asked Jeff, the Outreach Director if we could use some volunteers, as he did not want to become bored. Well, he asked the right person, as he was immediately made a Transportation Assistance Program (TAP) driver. He volunteers to drive just about every weekday, and sometimes on weekends as well. Yet his helping us out doesn’t stop there. He also helps out in our Food Program, three days a weeks. He sorts outs the food we bring in and then helps us to pass it out to our seniors. We would also like to thank his wife, Myrna, who gives him time off from his retirement Honey Do list to help us out.

Featured Class

Italian
Date: January 18, 2019
Time: 9:00 - 10:00 am
Length: 8
Cost: $8 members
      $8 non-members
Instructor: Rita Sicilliano
Location: Game Room
Description: We welcome back an old class, Italian. The class is taught by Margherita Sicilliano. Margherita, who also goes by the names Margo or Rita, and is from the old country. Born in Caserta, Italy, she was actually born in the Italian Royal Palace (the Reggia di Caserta). Her mom was touring the palace when she went into labor. Not many people can say that they were born in a royal palace, much less a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Raised and educated in Italy, she was still in college when she came with her family to the United States. She continued with her education getting a Bachelor's Degree. She then went back to Italy to get her Master's Degree. Her teaching experience spans 42 years and includes teaching high school French, Spanish, and Italian in New York, as well as French and Spanish Advanced Placement classes at the local Aquinas High School. After retiring some friends told her about the center. She took a trip here and discovered a fellow Italian, Virginia Kautzman, and the two became friends. Margo also found out about our University Language classes, and decided to get back into teaching. She approached us about teaching here, and after offering a choice between Italian and German, everyone decided that Italian would be perfect. Now it is the only Italian class being offered in the area. Student’s need to bring only a pencil and paper to class. There is a work book students can purchase through Amazon for $16, but it is not necessary. The class is open to absolute beginners and those who wish to keep up their Italian. A presto! See you soon!

Featured Activity

Cribbage
Time: Mondays 10:00 a.m.
Cost: Free members
      Free non-members
Location: Dining Room
Description: Cribbage is one of the older games that we play here at the center. Introduced in the early 17th century, is a card game traditionally for two players, but can be, and is, commonly played with three, four or more. The game involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. To get started all you need is a standard 52-card deck, (cards are assigned a point value equal to rank. Aces are low and count 1; face cards count 10) and a Cribbage board. A regulation board has four rows of 30 holes, marked off in groups of five and organized in two rows of two (two for each player). The pegs that come with the board are typically different colors to identify individual players. Each player has two pegs. Before play begins, the four pegs are placed at the start end of the board. The movement of the pegs, up the outside row and down the inside row back to the start, shows the progress of each player's game. The complete trip of the pegs is equal to 61 points. The traditional game is two trips, or 121 points. Use the two pegs in alternating fashion (the first peg indicates the previous score; the second peg indicates the most recent score); in this way, scores can be checked for accuracy. If you'd like to try Cribbage before you buy a board you can use a pencil and paper. It's a fun game that, due to its longevity, must be entertaining! The Cribbage group meets on Wednesdays from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm in the dining room. If you'd like to brush up on the rules first, a complete set of rules can be located in the Program Office.

Member Spotlite

This month we’d like to “introduce” you to another one of our longtime members, Molly Lopez. Molly has been coming to the center since the center was new. She was first introduced to the center by a founder, Wilma Payne. Unfortunately Molly was too young to join, so she had to be accompanied by an adult! However, once she was old enough to join, she did.
She did walk with the Striders, but health issues keeps her from doing that…for now. Now she mostly comes for the companionship, as she considers the center and it’s member as her family now. So if you see her make sure to stop her and say “Hi.” There’s an old saying that you can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends. It looks like Molly found a way to do both.