Time Well Spent

Some of my fondest memories with my parents when I was a child include volunteering. Together we did things like fill grocery bags at the local food bank for needy families, spend a weekend sprucing up the church we attended, or paint a house for a family that soon would move in. Whatever the activity was, we did it together and it taught me a valuable lesson in how good it feels to give.

As time went by and into my adult years, I found myself running out of time to volunteer. I was just too busy with this and that and before I knew it I became a working mom with hardly a second to spend on myself. Recently I’ve rediscovered the joys of volunteering again through my work as communications manager with Front Porch and through the eyes of my own daughter.

It started a couple of years ago when my husband asked me what I wanted for Valentine’s Day. With a tight budget and not a lot of time to plan something elaborate, I felt I didn’t really ‘need’ anything. I asked him if there was an opportunity to volunteer at Walnut Village Rehabilitation and Care Center where he works and spend some time with the residents, some of whom I knew probably didn’t have family nearby to share the day with. That year with gifts graciously supplied by the California Lutheran Homes Auxiliary, we headed out to share the love with the care center residents.

Front Porch partner CLH has had a long and loving history of social ministry with the care center and we helped continue that mission by distributing gifts the CLH Auxiliary regularly gives to the care center residents. With each gift, a free hug or a mere touch of the hand, a greeting and a smile came with it. My daughter was five then. She was shy, reserved, and very soft spoken. But she soon realized that with every gift she handed out, a very grateful and sometimes emotional person was at the receiving end. Her confidence grew as we passed each room.

Weeks passed since that first visit and through the years, sometimes out of the blue, she would ask, “When are we visiting the grandmas and the grandpas again?” We did every chance we could. And now it has become my own family’s tradition to visit the care center during a holiday. Sometimes we bring friends, including other Front Porch colleagues and their children, to share the fun and satisfaction of bringing cheer, smiles, and free hugs to anyone that wished for one, or two, or more.

As a mom, I’m glad to have rediscovered volunteering through Front Porch and enjoy spending that time with my own family as I did with my parents. Now our daughter has her own ideas about how to cheer residents and how to get others involved and we encourage it. I look forward to her sharing the joy of volunteering with her own family someday.

— Jen Dixon

A Sense of Community

Having recently moved from Southern California to Northern California, I know that there are a number of questions and concerns people have about moving to a new place. For me, my biggest concern was finding a sense of community or a feeling of “belonging” for my family in our new location (we have a little one and live in a single-family home). Most of our friends still live in Southern California, and I can tell you, finding that sense of community has meant everything to us, especially since we live in a single-family residence. For us, that has meant working hard at meeting new people, trying to attend city/community activities, exploring the area. Forming new friendships.

If you’re a prospective retirement community resident, I’m sure you have some of those same issues and concerns. You want to feel like you belong. That’s why at our Front Porch communities we have resident life and activities directors, as well as other staff and your fellow residents, to help you feel immediately “at home” in your new home. We know that you want a true sense of community, and that’s what we strive to provide. When you’re at one of our communities, you truly feel like you are amongst friends. But my job here is not really to just tell you how great our communities are, I want to bring to your attention some of the things you may want to think about before making a decision to move into any retirement community.

Here is a short list of questions you and perhaps your loved ones may wish to consider before deciding how and where you want to enjoy your retirement:

• Are you really living your best life?
• How can I have more control of my life?
• What do you look forward to each day?
• Do you have concern for your spouse?
• Are you having fun or are you burdened with challenges of home upkeep?
• Do you spend quality time with your friends?
• Do you have opportunities to meet new people who share your interests?
• How easy is it for you to get around?
• How do you get your errands done? Is that working? What happens if there are changes?
• Do you drive at night worry free?
• What happens if your health needs change?
• Do you have access to emergency care should something happen?
• How dependent are you on other people?
• Do you feel safe?
• Are you confident your neighborhood will always be safe?
• What would happen if you fell or had an accident at home?
• Do you have an emergency response service?
• Is your home well designed to meet your future care needs?
• Who provides care or help when you need it?

I hope this list helps you in your decision making process.

Cheers and Prost!

-Rob Klose

A Culinary Trip to New Orleans

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that what I love most is food, travel and good bottle of wine: I imagine I’m not unique in that sentiment. And there is no greater place to enjoy such activities than the city of New Orleans. In my opinion it may very well be the greatest restaurant city we have in the United States. I’m certain I’m not unique in that opinion.

For those retired and living at or near England Oaks (Front Porch's adult living retirement community in Alexandria, Louisiana) a trip to New Orleans would make a great day/overnight trip. For those living further away, a culinary trip to New Orleans is something everyone should undertake.

It’s often said in New Orleans that while eating one meal, people will be talking about where they are going to be eating their next two. In other words, food and restaurants are on everyone’s mind when in The Big Easy.

Giving a list of one’s favorite restaurants in New Orleans is an interesting task. Everyone (and I mean everyone) who has ever visited New Orleans has their list and their opinions. In other words, it’s a restaurant city filled with favorites on top of favorites. There is no consensus, only culinary debate when it comes to New Orleans. After numerous trips to New Orleans, my list has been an exercise in evolution. Each time I go a revision to the list is made. Among those making my list would have to be:

• Cochon - for its rabbit and dumplings
• Domilise - for its po’boys
• Brigtsens - for just about everything, but mostly its sauces
• Mr. B’s - for its bbq shrimp and their quintessential gumbo
• Restaurant August - for its refined take on Creole cuisine
• Bayona - for its veal sweetbreads, its rabbit entrée, and a perfect courtyard
• Butcher - for its pork belly sandwich
• Arnaud - for its foie gras stuffed quail
• Galatoire’s - for its history
• Commander’s Palace - for its brunch

Most of these places are well known to seasoned travellers of New Orleans and many are familiar names to even the first time traveller (as they each have a strong reputation and great reviews precede them). But tops on my list would have to be a little known neighborhood restaurant called Clancy’s.

Far from the madding crowd of the French quarter and tucked in a fairly quiet Uptown area (near Audubon Park), Clancy’s offers a warm and inviting environment and a taste of what quintessential Creole cooking is all about. Items such as their soft-shelled crab entrée (which is first smoked, then fried, then topped with lump crab meat and served with a German potato salad) truly exemplify what is great and unique about New Orleans cooking. Couple that with a couple bottles of Abita beer and you have the recipe for a great time.

The saying in New Orleans is laissez les bon temps rouler. Let the good times roll. In a certain way, it’s not that different than Front Porch’s philosophy, “Live life your way.” Enjoy and embrace life. Maybe take time for a trip to New Orleans, and when you return, email and tell me about it. Or maybe just email me and tell me what your favorite restaurant city is, or simply what your favorite dish at your community is. By the time you read this, I will have just returned from my yearly NOLA trip, so maybe I’ll have something new to add to the list. In any case, I’d love to hear more about what you like.

Live life your way, et Laissez les bon temps rouler!

— Rob Klose

Retirement Communities Have Long Storied Pasts (Part Two of Two)

In part one of this blog, I talked about my love of history and the interesting discoveries I made about Front Porch communities when I became communications director seven years ago. I talked about our oldest retirement community Fredericka Manor and its association with the inventor of the roller bearing Henry Timken. I talked about Wesley Palms and its connection with famed horticulturist Kate Sessions. I also talked about Kingsley Manor, one of Hollywood’s first retirement communities and how it was built before the town was known for its soundstages and back lots.

For part two, I’ll continue the journey and talk about a retirement community that was at one time the playground for Hollywood’s elite, made famous by some very special water.

Although Carlsbad By The Sea celebrates 12 years as a luxury state-of-the-art retirement community, it has a long history of not only serving seniors but also for being a world class destination for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and military families.

The Carlsbad-California Mineral Springs Hotel opened in the late 1880s. Back then, according to a newspaper article in the San Diego Union, the resort offered hot and cold mineral and fresh water baths. The four-story hotel, with 85 guest rooms, boasted full furnishings “with all modern conveniences,” reported the San Diego Union in 1890.

Guests were charged $2 per day with special rates for families. A hotel brochure informed guests: “The Carlsbad waters come forth from the bosom of nature. Already many arise and call the American Carlsbad blessed.”

Visitors from across the country made their way to Carlsbad lured by the community’s charm. Celebrities like Greta Garbo and the Barrymore family made frequent visits in the 1930s when a second hotel offered Swedish massage.

The hotel suffered tough times during the Depression but saw a boon during World War II when the hotel was filled to capacity with families of military officers who were stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton.

In 1956, Lutheran Services bought the hotel and transformed it into a retirement community which offered residents the same resort-like services. In 1964, California Lutheran Homes acquired the property. By the early 1990s, CLH decided to raise the old buildings and begin anew. Taking its cues from the luxury hotel it once was, the new Carlsbad By The Sea which opened in 1999 replicates the unique mission style architecture of the original structure.

Let’s move from California to Louisiana and Florida for some history about Cecil Pines and England Oaks. These two adult living communities have a unique history. Unique, because they were the first retirement communities in the history of the US to be housed on former military bases.

The pioneering idea to create retirement communities from former officer military housing on these two bases was the brainchild of Front Porch partner, California Lutheran Homes and Community Services. It was originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base when it opened on October 21, 1942 in Alexandria, Louisiana. On June 23, 1955, it was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lt. Col. John Brooke England, commander of the 389th Fighter Bomber Squadron, who died in a F-86 crash while in France.

In 1992, England Air Force Base was officially closed and California Lutheran Homes and Community Services, leased the land in 1996 and began an exciting renovation of the former officer housing and landscape, resulting in England Oaks Adult Living Community. One hundred-year-old oak and almond trees still provide shade to residents.

Cecil Pines has a similar story. Commissioned in June, 1941 as Cecil Naval Air Field, activity at the base ramped up later that year following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And in the early 1960s, it was RF-8 Crusaders from VFP-62 out of Cecil Field that detected the presence of missiles and monitored the Soviet buildup during the Cuban Missile Crisis. But after almost 50 years of service, California Lutheran Homes and Community Services once again leased the land and in 2000 opened Cecil Pines Adult Living Community which still houses military families, many of whom were stationed and lived at the base.

Moving back to California, the city of Claremont is the home to seven world class institutions of higher learning known collectively as the Claremont Colleges. The city is also home to Claremont Manor Retirement Community. How are the two connected? Well, Russell K. Spitzer, the founder of Spitzer College, was the cousin of Lee Spitzer, a prominent Claremont citrus rancher who donated the 10-acre site on which Claremont Manor Retirement Community now stands. In fact, with dedication ceremonies planned for April 30, 1949, it was Pitzer who took matters into his own hands when he realized just days before dedication ceremonies the community was “surrounded by black dirt, blacker mud and some orange trees.” With a sledge and a team of ranch horses Spitzer, by the Saturday afternoon of the dedication, had smoothed a road from Harrison Avenue south to the front entrance of the Manor.

With glorious flower arrangements from local Claremont businesses adorning the third-floor hall, Claremont Manor was officially born. During the remainder of 1949, the original “Lords and Ladies of the Manor” lived without the amenities of sidewalks and contended with, as one resident put it, “dust when dry and mud when wet.” But the residents numbered 177 by the end of that year, and according to one account, “kept arriving as fast as their rooms were ready. Each new improvement was greeted with joy.”

My final look back at the history of Front Porch communities is my personal favorite … the story of a retirement community located on one of the most picturesque locations on the California coastline – Casa de Mañana in La Jolla.

Casa de Mañana first opened not as a retirement community but as Hotel Casa de Mañana in 1924. The hotel was the dream of Mrs. Isabel Morrison Hopkins. On one sunny La Jolla day while visiting her mother nearby, the Colorado native stood high above the cliffs overlooking the Pacific and envisioned an elegant, luxurious hotel harmoniously situated on the edge of the sea. What Mrs. Hopkins would soon create was much more than a hotel - she created a legend. On July 4, 1924, Hotel Casa de Mañana had its grand opening and the 'House of Tomorrow' began an incredible legacy that continues today.

On that day, the new electric railroad line inaugurated its route between San Diego and La Jolla and the first street lights were installed on Prospect Avenue – two “historic” events that coincided with Casa’s grand opening. Overlooking the sea with picturesque arches, tiled roofs and authentic Spanish architecture (features that still remain today), Casa de Mañana quickly became the social hub of La Jolla.

Social events at Casa ran the gamut from weddings to banquets to civic and social club luncheons to concerts, poetry readings by noted artists and musicians of the day. A headline from La Jolla Light of February 17, 1925 announced: “Casa de Mañana Ball Room Scene of Pretty Valentine Party” and went on to report that Miss Jane Kaftenbach, “the first Valentine of the pageant, was exquisite with her shy, girlish expression and modest demeanor.” Accommodations were exquisite and the cuisine world-class.

And if you talk to some of its retirement community residents today, many remember attending proms and other social events at the hotel. How about that for living history?

In 1953, Hopkins sold the hotel and soon after Casa de Mañana had a second grand opening as a luxurious retirement community with 108 charter members in residence.
So there you have it, a little Front Porch community history. If you would like to learn more about the history of these and other Front Porch communities, you can connect to all of the communities through frontporch.net. Enjoy!

— Mike Martinez

Front Porch Retirement Communities Have Long Storied Histories (Part One of Two)

When my kids were younger they loved to collect souvenirs from vacations. Nothing fancy – rocks, pine cones, cracked shells, a photo that they drew of the motel room. They would bring them home and place them in a box. Every so often they would open the box and remember the trips we took and the circumstances of how they came about the different items. In a way, what they collected was their own personal history of where they had been. Now that they are older, each one has his or her unique fascination with history – something that I love because of my love of history.

To put it in the simplest of terms, I love history because I can literally study anything for the simple reason that everything has a history: ideas, wars, numbers, baseball (my personal favorite), musical instruments, countries, pencils, cars, rocket science and yes, even retirement communities. So when I came to work at Front Porch as communications director, I noticed that many of our retirement communities had long and storied histories.

In part one of this blog I thought I’d talk about a few of those communities and in part two a few others.

Let’s start with Front Porch’s oldest community, Fredericka Manor. Fredericka Manor was built in 1908 in Chula Vista, California. That would make it 103 year’s old. Of course the current and modern Fredericka Manor is nowhere near as old as the original structure from which it originated but nevertheless its historic roots run deep.

Constructed in 1908, the retirement community was built before Chula Vista, the city in which it’s located, became a city. Fredericka Manor was the dream of Emma Saylor, a turn-of-the-century business woman who with the generous support of ball bearing inventor Henry Timken created Fredericka Manor, a community with a warm, homelike atmosphere, with no hint of regimentation. It was one of the first of its kind because usually retirement communities (or old folks homes as they were called back then) were often very restrictive and structured. In a way, Front Porch’s philosophy that residents should live life their way, began more than 100 years ago at what would become a Front Porch community.

In homage to its founders, Fredericka Manor’s memory support accommodation, The Saylor Unit, is named after Saylor, its assisted living accommodation, Timken Lodge, is named after Henry Timken and the retirement community itself is named after Fredericka Timken, Henry Timken’s wife. Both Saylor and Timken were quite the visionaries.

Now let’s move up the California coast to Pacific Beach, the home of Wesley Palms Retirement Community. In 2012 Wesley Palms will celebrate 50 years in the community. While not as old as Fredericka Manor, Wesley Palms has its own fascinating history. Named after 18th Century theologian John Wesley (which reflects its Methodist roots), the campus sits on about 35 acres near the top of Mt. Soledad, an 800-foot-plus peak that provides Wesley Palms residents an awesome view of Mission Bay, downtown San Diego and the Pacific Ocean.

The campus is home to plenty of mature landscape. In fact more than 150 varieties of trees and plants. Its landscape was inspired by Kate Sessions, the famed San Diego horticulturist and “Mother of Balboa Park.” When original owners Pacific Homes Corporation purchased 35 acres of lush real estate high atop majestic Mt. Soledad in 1962, Soledad Mountain Road (the first road built to lead to the top) was not yet built. So the Wesley Palms dedication ceremony took place at Kate Sessions Memorial Park, looking upward toward the Wesley Palms property. This proved to be prescient, because the architect who designed Wesley Palms certainly had Ms. Sessions and her beautiful Balboa Park firmly in mind.

A final note about Mt. Soledad itself … Mt. Soledad was the last home of children’s author Dr. Seuss. His widow, Audrey Geisel, still resides there in a home that includes an observation tower that is referred to as the Seuss house, by the locals.

Our final stop in part one of this blog is Kingsley Manor which is Hollywood’s oldest retirement community. It too will be celebrating an anniversary in 2012. When the land for the community was donated in 1912 by a group of German Methodists, it was surrounded by a quiet farming community lined with country roads and crops ranging from hay and grain to subtropical bananas, pineapples and oranges – not the Hollywood of today. The original four acres of land was soon dotted with hundreds of shade trees outside a tabernacle and bungalow that welcomed retirement community residents.

Founders Margaret and Conrad Ammann, local landowners and leading community members, felt a strong desire to fulfill the injunction, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” And by 1919, Kingsley Manor was officially in operation. As Hollywood soon began growing into the film and entertainment capital of the world, Kingsley Manor soaked up the town’s vibrant personality and cultivated a rich tradition and history of its very own. The mystique of old Hollywood will wash over you as you stroll through Kingsley’s stately ivy-covered brick buildings adorned with frescos, statuary and beautifully landscaped grounds.

Around the same time Kingsley Manor was built, the Nestor Company opened Hollywood's first film studio in an old tavern on the corner of Sunset and Gower. Not long thereafter Cecil B. DeMille and D. W. Griffith began making movies in the area as they were drawn to the community for its open space and moderate climate. In fact, DeMille’s daughter-in-law lived at Kingsley Manor for a time, among others who worked (and played) in old Hollywood.

In part two of my blog, I’ll continue my journey through the history of Front Porch communities and talk about two former luxury hotels along the California coast that were transformed into luxury retirement communities, two communities that sit on former military bases first opened at the height of World War II, and a retirement community in California’s Inland Empire that when it first opened in 1949 was “surrounded by black dirt, blacker mud and some orange trees.” Stay tuned.

—Mike Martinez

When There is a Will Involved, Always Find a Way ... to Get it Done

At about 11,000 feet above sea level, the ledge was cold despite that fact that it was the middle of summer. Overtaken by 80 mile per hour winds, my climbing partner and I had just been forced off a summit attempt on Lone Pine Peak, near Mt. Whitney. We descended until it was too dark to continue. Anchored by our rope to the wall, we felt relatively safe until the rock fall started.

At that time I had one son and no will. I had a long, mostly sleepless night to contemplate the fact that, while Melissa and I had talked about a will even before Kellen was born, he was four and a half years old and we had yet to put together the most critical part of our estate plan. How ironic it was, that in my role as an executive for the Pacific Homes and FACT foundations, I had given a presentation on the importance of having a will to the residents of Wesley Palms Retirement Community in San Diego a few months before my trip.

Oftentimes estate planning is derailed by thorny decisions. For Melissa and I, it was the issue of who would raise Kellen if we were both gone. Family dynamics in such matters can create uncomfortable tension in spousal and other relationships and sometimes it seems easier to say “let’s talk about it later.” No one wants to ruin a nice dinner with an argument about guardianship.

Last month, a resident at another Front Porch retirement community, Casa de Manana, shared a similar story with me. She had recently revised her will after agonizing for many months over choosing an executor. Her estate planning had been stalled out of her fear that choosing one child over another would cause conflict with and between her children. She was pleased to relate that, after discussing the matter them and opening up long-closed lines of communication about finances, end-of –life choices, and personal values, her relationships with her children had actually grown deeper. She found that the decision she had feared for so long was a blessing in disguise.

Melissa and I had a similar experience in updating our will when having frank (and long overdue) conversations with our respective families. Here are my suggestions in approaching your estate planning:

• Assessing the overall goals of your estate plan is the key to getting started.
• Don’t concern yourself with asset distribution initially. First determine what you want to accomplish for friends, family and charity after you are gone, then think about finances in the context of those goals.
• Oftentimes, though not always, consulting family members about a difficult estate planning decision can reduce your anxiety.
• Once you have established your over-arching goals, your professional advisors can help you implement your plan.

Melissa and I have three boys now and a will. Kellen climbs with me regularly. And I always check the weather forecast before we go.

—Keith Church

Love on a Leash

Being the CFO of Front Porch is a pretty intense job, so when I’m not working, I like to do things that are totally unrelated to business and money. One of the passions I’ve discovered since coming to Front Porch is having a dog and sharing him with the community. In 2010, my husband and I decided to adopt a rescue dog. We were fortunate enough to find Mowgli, a Pomeranian mix who is one of the best dogs ever! Not only is he really cute, but his personality is perfect for his new “career.”

Mowgli is a certified four-legged therapist, and I’m his handler. You may wonder what a certified therapy dog is. Therapy dogs provide comfort, companionship and plenty of smiles to hospital patients, retirement community and care center residents, school children and countless others throughout the United States. Their purpose is to make people happy by sharing their love. Mowgli and I have been to several Front Porch communities to visit with the residents, and also regularly volunteer at St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach. It is really gratifying when patients who see him each week say, “Oh, I’ve been waiting for him” or comment about how much better they feel just to be able to stroke his fur and look into his soulful brown eyes. Mowgli is a big kisser too; if people want “doggie kisses,” he is happy to lick their hands and faces for hours.

I’m often asked how dogs can become certified therapy dogs. Many schools, skilled nursing care centers and hospitals require that a dog be certified through a reputable organization before they will allow the dog to come for visits. This is a good idea because certified therapy dogs have to pass a test confirming their reliable behavior in a variety of circumstances that could be stressful for many. The organization Mowgli is certified by is called Therapy Dogs International (www.tdi-dog.org), which is the oldest and largest therapy dog organization in the United States.

In addition to having a current veterinary exam certifying good health and current vaccination certificates, in order to become a therapy dog through TDI, a dog must pass 15 tests. There is a complete list of the tests on the website, but generally the tests confirm the dog’s ability to obey the handler’s commands, react well to other dogs and people, and react well to things commonly present in a hospital or care center setting such as walkers, crutches, etc. If you have a dog that has a calm and obedient disposition, yet is friendly, affectionate and confident, you and your dog could be ideal candidates for the TDI program.

There are many organizations that appreciate therapy dogs, including hospitals, senior communities, care centers and schools. At some point in their lives, almost everyone has owned or been close to a dog. It is amazing to see people’s eyes light up when they have the opportunity to pet a dog and remember their own special friends from the past. Several times, nursing staff has commented to me that residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia became noticeably more responsive when Mowgli came to see them.

It is really rewarding to be able to care for and share my special doggie. One of the misperceptions I had before I got him was that dogs like to be indulged and treated like people. I learned that they really don’t. Dogs need structure and positive discipline, and they are happier when their owner is the “pack leader.” They actually get stressed out when their owner doesn’t take a firm lead because they think they need to step in and fill the void, but don’t really know how. This is what often leads to bad dog behavior. One great piece of advice I read was not to tolerate any behavior in a small dog (such as jumping on people) that you wouldn’t tolerate in a large dog. Mowgli’s obedience training helped me become a better dog owner/handler, and prepared both of us well for the TDI testing. When Mowgli won his first place trophy in novice obedience, I knew he was a special boy!

Many people comment to me that they wish they had a dog, but just can’t because they live in a condo or apartment. I understand that challenge, and used to think the same thing. My husband and I live in a 4th floor condo with no access to a yard of any kind, so we have to walk Mowgli three or four times per day. We already had two cats and weren’t sure how well they would like living with a dog. It was an adjustment for all of us, but has been SO worth it! Not only do we stay on a regular exercise program more easily, but the joy and love he has brought into our lives far exceed the extra work involved. If you’ve ever thought about getting a dog, I encourage you to take the plunge. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without your furry friend!

— Mary Miller