When 67-year old Geraldine (Jerrie) moved to Providence ElderPlace at Glendoveer in April of 2006, she immediately became an integral part of the community. Within days, it seemed, Jerrie knew most of the other residents’ names, quite a feat considering the number of residents at Glendoveer hovers around 90.
During the 2006 holiday season, another ElderPlace participant mentioned to Jerrie that the Glendoveer newsletter had been dormant for a while. He thought she’d be a great author/publisher. At first Jerrie brushed him off, but after some not-so-gentle prodding from her peers, was convinced to give newsletter writing a whirl.
Her first edition hit the Glendoveer front lobby in January 2007 and was an immediate hit. The 10-page newsletter included biographies of several staff and participants, messages from the various disciplines, such as nursing and therapy, and lists of new participants. In between were bits of local news, poetry written by Jerrie and other participants, word puzzles, trivia and jokes.
Although Jerrie had no formal news writing experience, she wrote poetry while growing up in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood and attending David Douglas High School. As a young woman of 18, Jerrie briefly wrote scripts for the channel-12 series “High Times,” but left to start a family and pursue other career interests.
Writing the Glendoveer newsletter has been, “A challenge.” Jerrie adds that it’s, “Pretty time consuming, taking anywhere from one to three weeks from start to finish.” But, she admits that she’s thoroughly enjoying it. She has decided to switch to an every other month format, so she has time to pursue some of her other interests, like going to museums, shopping, exercising, and visiting with friends and family. She recently finished an epic task: reading the bible from cover to cover. “It took about a year,” Jerrie reports.
In order to get the other participants involved in the newsletter, Jerrie held a “Newsletter Naming Contest.” The winning name, “The Glendoveer Guide,” won fellow participant Gary C. a $10 Albertson’s gift card. Jerrie is, “Very pleased,” at the wonderful reception her newsletter is receiving and is busy planning the next edition.
