seniors

June events at the Council on Aging

June 4, 2014

Below are June events sponsored by the Lincoln Council on Aging. For more information, call the COA at 781-259-8811.

Coffee with artist Ellen Milan
June 5 at 2:30 p.m.
Indulge your senses in the grace and liveliness of paintings on silk, prints, pastels, and scratch board engravings by Ellen Milan in the Bemis Hall Artists Gallery this month. You are also invited to meet Ellen at the “Coffee with the Artist” on June 5 at 2:30 p.m.Ellen’s work has been included in public and private collections and shows in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York, Israel and Europe. Locally, her work has been part of group shows at the Danforth Museum, Concord Art Association and elsewhere. Last year she had exhibitions at the Lincoln Library and the Harvey Wheeler Community Center. You can see the full scope of her work in various media, including wearable art, at www.ellenmilan.com.

Isbell gets special award from COA

May 14, 2014

Isbell’s award.

Susan Isbell (right) receives her “Woman of the Year” award from the Council on Aging.

Susan Isbell of Virginia Road received a special award at the recent Lincoln Council on Aging volunteer luncheon, was proclaimed “Woman of the Year” for her extensive work helping at Bemis Hall during the medical leave of COA assistant director Pam Alberts. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging and hosted by St. Anne’s church, the luncheon was enjoyed by over 100 COA volunteers at a buffet catered by Richard Silver of the Pierce House.

Council on Aging events for May

April 24, 2014

Here are the events scheduled for May by the Lincoln Council on Aging.

Sublime sunflowers: pastel paint like the masters
May 2 at 1 p.m.
The COA is pleased to present award-winning pastel artist Greg Maichack who will offer his new hands-on workshop for beginners to advanced artists in pastel painting on Friday, May 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bemis Hall. Maichack will provide insights into the lives of sunflower painters van Gogh, Monet and O’Keefe, and then participants will be coached to create their own sunflower paintings. The workshop is free, but please call the COA at 781-259-8811 to sign up. This workshop is supported in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Early May is packed with Lincoln events

April 23, 2014

Here are just a few of the events coming up in Lincoln early next month. Click the links for details in the Lincoln Squirrel calendar or on the website of the group that’s running the event.

May Day Merriness — Thursday, May 1
1-2:30 p.m., Drumlin Farm
We’ll make and decorate May baskets, then gather flowers from spring’s bounty to fill them. Plant some flower seeds in the garden and some to take home. This is a great family program for all ages. Registration is required; $12 for Mass Audubon members, $15 for nonmembers. More info…

Council on Aging events in April

April 8, 2014

Following are events scheduled by the Lincoln Council on Aging for the rest of April.

Gentle yoga
April 9, 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14 at 9 a.m.
Would you like to try yoga but are concerned it may be too rigorous for you? Try the COA’s new gentle yoga class with experienced instructor Jai Kaur Annamaria San Antonio. The class will be held on six Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. beginning on April 9 at a cost of $30 for the course. You may do the class on the floor or in a chair and the instructor will help you adapt the poses to your special needs. You may try one class free. Please sign up in advance by calling the COA at 781-259-8811. This class is subsidized by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs

Community center, Bemis Hall studies move forward

April 2, 2014

By Alice Waugh

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the funding and timeline for school repairs, the town will move ahead with investigating specific sites and costs for a community center as well as the cost or renovating Bemis Hall to help Council on Aging in the more immediate future.

Ohio man writes column on memories of Lincoln

March 27, 2014

Bruce Thomas hasn’t visited Lincoln in decades, but he always remembered his grandfather’s hometown with affection—and he wrote a column about it for his local newspaper.

Thomas’ column, which appeared in February on the website of the Tribune Chronicle in Warren Ohio, reminisces about summer visits in the 1930s to the Lorreys, his grandparents and aunt who lived on Farrar Road. He recalls playing near Farrar Pond and, much later, watching the moon landing on TV with his grandfather.

Reached by phone in Ohio, Thomas’ wife Sally (who spoke for him because his speech has been affected by a stroke), said Bruce, now 83, grew up in western Massachusetts. He’s retired after a career in software and nonprofits.

News acorns

March 8, 2014

New “spring greens” CSA offered by The Food Project

To get a jump-start on the growing and distribution season, The Food Project has launched a brand new “Spring Greens” community-supported agriculture (CSA) share. For $200, you get five weeks of cooking and salad greens (4 pounds a week on average) grown in our high tunnel greenhouses in Lincoln. Distributions on Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. will start in May at the Lincoln farm on Baker Bridge Road (the exact start date will be determined depending on the weather). Visit The Food Project website to sign up online, or call 781-259-8621 x20. Spaces are limited.

Codman Community Farm and Drumlin Farm are also offering CSA shares—see the Lincoln Squirrel, March 5.

Meals on Wheels needs delivery volunteers

The Lincoln Council on Aging needs people to deliver Meals on Wheels either regularly or as occasional substitutes. Drivers pick up the meals in Concord at about 10:30 a.m. and deliver them to two to three homebound residents in Lincoln. The meals are absolutely essential to those who receive them, and we would be so grateful if you could help! For more information, please talk to Carolyn at the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811. Meals on Wheels is administered by Minuteman Senior Services.

Fill out your File of Life

A File of Life is a red plastic envelope that attaches to your refrigerator or a small folder to put in your wallet that holds a piece of paper with essential information that would be needed by emergency medical services should you ever have a medical emergency. Lincoln residents of all ages are welcome to pick up one more free Files of Life at the Council on Aging at Bemis Hall anytime Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You will receive both the envelope or folder and the paper that goes inside with spaces to fill in your information. You may also call the COA at 781-259-8811 and they will mail a File of Life to you.

Financial help with winter fuel, other emergencies available

February 7, 2014

If you need help paying your winter fuel bill, the Commonwealth’s Fuel Assistance Program may be able to help. The program provides a cash benefit (payable to an authorized fuel provider) for both home owners and renters whose incomes are eligible. How much you receive depends on your household income, how many people you have in your household, and your heating costs. Recipients may also be eligible for other benefits, such as weatherization services, heating system repairs, discount utility rates, and Citizens Energy heat assistance programs.

To apply for fuel assistance, residents of all ages should call Pam Alberts of the Lincoln Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 to set up an appointment. The Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) will review the application to determine whether you are eligible or not.

For Lincoln residents who have an unforeseen and extreme financial emergency that threatens their wellbeing, the Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF) and the Small Necessities Project may be able to help. LEAF provides assistance of up to $700 per year or $1,000 per lifetime in those situations where that amount will allow someone to stay in our community. LEAF is supported entirely by the Ogden Codman Trust, the First Parish Church, and donations.

The Small Necessities Project can provide immediate help if a resident has no food in the house, needs emergency medication, needs a night or two of lodging due to a fire or flood, or has a similar need. This project is funded by the Ogden Codman Trust and donations.

For more information or to ask for assistance, call Pam Alberts at the COA at 781-259-8811.

Church members serve lunch at homeless center

January 29, 2014

A multigenerational group of First Parish Church parishioners prepared and served lunch to guests on January 20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) at the Community Day Center in Waltham, which serves homeless people in Waltham and several other western suburbs. The center also received a donation of $6,559 gathered from the annual Christmas offering organized by the church’s Outreach Committee.

The church supports several local and international groups and also serves lunch several times a year to Boston homeless people at the Arlington Street Church.

First Parish Church members served lasagna and salad lunch at the Community Day Center in Waltham. Left to right: Beth Taylor, Julie Land, Marilyn Lee-Tom (center director), Mary Gaylord, Geoff Borggaard, Student Minister Rebecca Hinds with (front row) Alex and Owen Finsthwait and Atticus Borggaard. Also helping but not pictured: Stephen Brand, Peter Pease, Doug Swain, Susan Taylor and Linda MacMillan.