Ageless Awards: And The Winners Are...
By Tom Peterson
Have you heard of the golden rule?
"Do not do unto others what you do not want to be done to yourself.”
Chinese philosopher Confucius taught that some 2600 years ago.
He also championed that respect and care for one's parents and elderly family members are the root of humanity.
Some local seniors are turning that principle on its ear reaching deep into their 70s and 80s to continue to care for others and pour thousands of hours into community service.
They were recognized on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center. It held the second-annual Ageless Awards in front of a crowd of 75.
“People forget the tremendous contribution older people make,” said Senior Center Director Scott McKay. “We have people 75 and older doing fantastic work in their communities.”
So with no further ado, here are this year's winners:
Sherry Munro was recognized for her efforts with The Dalles Kiwanis and the Civic Auditorium. The Ageless Awards were sponsored by Copperwest, Dennis Morgan, Cherry Heights Living and AgePlus.
Sherry Munro, Age: 85
Munro and her late husband, Robert, moved to The Dalles in 2000 after operating a bed and breakfast.
In her first year, she was attending a Ross Baily wine tasting event and Jill Durrow invited her to a Kiwanis meeting.
“I saw what they were doing for kids and it got me excited,” Munro said. The Kiwanis quickly made her secretary, a position she has held for 14 years and she also held the position of president for two terms. It also led to seven years of Key Club at The Dalles High School and Builders Club at the Middle school.
She helped Gary Honald run the “Apple Squeeze” where middle-school students rotated between squeezing their own cider and fishing at Honald’s pond.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said of Kiwanis. “Now, you couldn’t get me to leave The Dalles.”
Munro is also an avid reader with students, participating in Start Making A Reader Today at all of The Dalles Elementary Schools as well as at Headstart.
In 2006, Dennis Morgan also recognized the spark in Munro. And soon she was on the board of the Dalles Civic Auditorium Historic Preservation Committee, a seat she still holds. You can still find her at the Civic volunteering on a daily basis.
“I refuse to die until the Civic Auditorium is done,” she told the crowd on Wednesday.
Duane and Sue Powell, Age: Both 79
The Dufur couple are a powerhouse in the kitchen and at getting food to those who need it. They have been volunteering with the Pioneer Potlatch senior meal program for decades.
McKay said he visited the Dufur Meal Site at the Methodist Church on Second Street last Tuesday.
“I had a terrific taco casserole,” he said, noting the couple told him, “They never feared the rocking chair but never had the desire to use it.”
“Service to humanity is the best work in life,” Duane told the crowd. He and Sue put in long hours, sometimes 40 a week volunteering to bring a community meal to Dufur and keep the Potlatch warehouse stocked. “The pots and pans get heavier all the time,” Duane joked.
“This has actually benefited my health,” he said. “It allows us to be around wonderful people.”
They put in a lot of drive time on their own vehicle in gathering food for the Pioneer Potlatch warehouse on West Second Street in The Dalles. Three meal sites operate through the program in Mosier, Tygh Valley and Dufur.
And they gather food from the Food Bank in the Port of the Dalles as well as at Safeway on Wednesdays - early.
How do they keep doing it?
“It’s not how, it’s when,” Duane said, noting they get up at 5:45 a.m. a lot of days. “I set two alarms.”
Darrell and Darlien France
Darrell France, Age:77
France and his wife Darlien took on the Dufur Community Cemetery six years ago, when the grass had grown over the headstones.
Darrel knows each one, having cut back the grass and mowed around them once a month. There are about 2,000 headstones. And the Cemetery is about 5 acres.
In his spare time, he and friend Bill Hamilton have a crew that builds ramps for people needing wheelchair access at their homes.
“They have done 60 ramps in the last five years,” McKay said, noting that equates to one per month. “His faith is central to his life. He told me the Bible says to help widows, children and the poor.”
France said there were more deserving people than him.
“Most of the time, we would not get the job done without someone helping you,” he said. In his spare time, France helps people with firewood, willing to swing an ax to warm another’s home.
Mary Davis
Mary Davis, Age: 76
When Davis got the nod for her service as a Fort Dalles Floozie, cruise ship greeter and history ambassador, she refused it.
Mary Davis and the Fort Dalles Floozies
Scott McKay
She insisted the Fort Dalles Floozies should receive it as a whole. The group dresses in era-correct floozieness and are accompanied by a brothel inspector and sheriff to provide living history to the tens of thousands of tourists who disembark from cruise ships in The Dalles. They also entertain at the Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles and attend other events such as funerals.
“Not fun? It’s done,” was the motto Davis carries with her, McKay said.
“Next year, we're going to have close to 170 dockings,” Davis told the crowd about cruise ships. “These greetings make a big difference,” she said, noting tourism is a big piece of the local economy.
She also said that Floozies are doing other community service work, such as assisting at the election polls.
“That’s P-O-L-L, Scott, not P-O-L-E,” she said to the crowd’s delight.
Members of the Floozies are in their 70s, 80s, 90s and there is even one member who is 100.”
“People our age can still shake a booty,” Mary said laughing, Leona Smith or Miss Bubbles at her side.
“Life is too short, not to do something silly,” Mckay said in closing remarks.
