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alittle lovethat/whatBristol isfBy ELEANOR RODGERS NORWOODAccent! contributing writerseemspraise Bristol:birthday he will be as old as the 20thCentury; he halt; town for almostrighthighHarry’s one-room apartment, furthermore, is perched, literally, on top of the borough:‘‘1 live on the 15th floor and I have a most marvellous view of the river. I can have breakfast and watch the boats going by.”His view takes in the whole borough, southto the turnpike bridge ; east across the Delware River to Burlington; north past steamy Rohm Haas From such heights, Bristol looks sometimes like a sparkling sul dusty city; but mostly 19th Century mill town 20th Century.crampedHarrydominatesbeblares out in its contemporary message of foresight, progressging town recognizeand preserve the dignity of age.All this was not lost on Harry Graham. His accent may have faded a bit, but he still found the best description of Bristol in an old British expression;“It’s a ‘little love.’ Yes, that’s what Bristolis.unky man with a seemed to reflectpositionhome:“It’s a very English town in that people are close; they.love to know everyone else. I go up and down Mill Street and have a chat with the merchants and people on the street. If people don’t talk to me first, I just say ‘hello’ and we’re off.“I think Bristol is a most fascinating little town.”Despite the physical isolation from Bristol living in the Towers (especially the 15th floor) seems to create, Harry Graham does not feel alienated from the community. Instead, he fully participates in all it has to offer:“I am vice-president of the Senior Citizen’s Organization where we come daily for lunch, for Bingo on Tuesday and Saturday, for pinochle and square dancing. I also go to St. Jamesy fChurch nearby.This inter-action with the community and its response to him has been his fortification against loneliness. He said wistfully:“It’s all right to live alone, but,” he added with a twinkle, “I still love to be loved.Feeling loved rather than lonely and forgotten is a major problem of older persons, according to Barbara Kupersmit, Housing Authority caseworker assigned to Grundy Towers.“I counsel the people there mainly on how todeal with loneliness: When a spouse dies; when a family does not seem to care; when sickness comes. I try to get them involved in some kind of activity within or without the Towers.”She has found the Bristol community instrumental in solving that particular problem: “People in Grundy feel a part of Bristol and the community seems to understand them andis ready to help.”She pointed to the Senior Citizen Center as an example.“The only isolation from Bristol is physical. The Towers looks like it’s close to town but for someone handicapped, it is quite a walk. I guess for a young healthy architect in his 20s, it seemed like an ideal location, but it’s often very hard for an older person to get around. Some do feel stranded there.”Kopened and have never regrettedminute. ) doesfeel stranded. Grundy To much to offer its residents:10-dayda,’’ she revealed. “Grundv Towers SeniorAccent! photo Horry Sircely. . . and looking away The Delaware and beyondzens and Friends ran the trip and I was coordinator.’*An energetic 73 years old, ( Why don’t you say 37!’”) Rose Dahms is president of the Towers Resident’s Council, a group made up of elected representatives from each floor, and is an avid supporter of its programs.“Once a month we have a birthday party in the recreation room and, usually, once a month also we have another special party with a three-piece musical ensemble for dancing. We serve chips and pretzels and punch, of course — spiked with 7-Up and lemonade. “Come on Rose,” a friend kidded, “I'veseen you add water that looked suspiciouslylike vodka or gin! ’ ’This was emphatically denied Rose continued to list activities:“Grundy Library shows a film once a month and Rohm Haas Travel Service Club shows slides of various countries. Then there is always the recreation room with its color TV, piano, new stereo, and activities like Bingo on Wednesdays and pinochle on Thursday.”Her greatest enthusiasm, however, seemed to be for the trips:“We run day trips to Lancaster, Hershey, Reading; we will have a week trip in June to Wildwood Crest, and are planning a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to see the Grand Ole Opry. I'm looking forward to that Southernhospitality!“Living in Grundy is fabulous,” she rhapsodized. From her apartment on the 14th floor, she claimed, “I can see forever.”“And Rosie doesn’t miss anything!” her friend joked.She ignored him:“You’ve heard of men saying, ‘Come up and see my etchings;’ I say, ‘Come up and see my view.’ But I also say, Thank heavens I don’t have to go up and down those steps.’ ”She then grew serious:“You know, it’s so comforting to know that once you become a widow or widower, you can live alone and not be lonely. Here we are not a burden to our children. I often think, wouldn’t it have been wonderful if our parents had had all this?”She paused.“What’s more important, isn’t it great that here we can do so much for ourselves9’’Jo Anne McCarthy, program manager at Grundy Towers, expressed Rose Dahms’ last point in different words:“Here people feel they have dignity. They are not burdens on anyone; they are just people.”She gave examples:“They have a great buddy system. If they don’t see each other for a while, they call us and say, ‘Let’s check.’ If they are having an affair and someone seems left out, they go grab them. There are not too many places whereMORE on Page 4Wo nt/ \nril 2.». I‘7lt;» IIGrundy (boro hall, left) Towers:Looking up, up . . .
Newspaper Details
Bucks County Courier Times
Levittown, Pennsylvania, US
Sun, Apr 25, 1976
Page 88
Full Page
Clipped by
Margaret R.
PA, USA 28 Apr 2022
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