The Senior Voice - July 2007

The Senior

I O C V E July 2007

Local Attractions • Scenic Places • History • Money • Health • News

Estes Ghost Park Town

And Rocky Mountain In Northern National Park

Colorado

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Peak Pioneer Longs Climbers Peak Outlaws Climb In Early in Wyoming

In 1871 Colorado

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2 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

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The Baby Boomers O

ver 75 million Americans will turn age 60 during the next 20 years—that’s 10,000 people a day. The impending retirement of the Baby Boomers will leave 91percent of America’s net worth controlled by seniors, making them targets for financial fraud and con games. The Securities and Exchange Commission convened the first ever Senior Summit last year to help develop strategies that safeguard retirees’ financial security I encourage seniors to thoroughly evaluate the background of any financial advisors before trusting them with finances, along with any company they plan on investing in. If you feel you are the victim of securities fraud, contact the appropriate agencies such as the SEC, the Colorado Division of Securities and law enforcement. For many people, their home is the most valuable asset they own,

By U.S. Senator Wayne Allard

also making it a target. Some unscrupulous lenders use false or misleading sales tactics to make high-cost loans to people in need of cash. Victims often cannot afford the loan, and they may be pressured to refinance a loan repeatedly and pay high fees each time. Borrowers who pledge their house as collateral and can’t repay the loan could lose the home in a foreclosure. You should be especially wary of unsolicited offers of home equity loans or refinancing. Review all documents carefully before signing, and ask a family member or other neutral party for help. Sometimes the criminals are closer to home. Even relatives and caregivers can prey on people in an attempt to bilk them out of their life savings and assets. ________________ You can call Sen. Allard’s Loveland office at 461-3530. ■

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The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 3

Estes Park: Then and Now VOICE The Senior

Published Locally Since 1980 VOL. 27, NO. 8

www.theseniorvoice.net PUBLICATION INFORMATION The Senior Voice newspaper has been published locally the first of each month since 1980 for 40,000 residents age 50-plus.

ADVERTISING Advertising is sold by fractions of a page: One full page, 1/2 page, 1/4 page, etc. Ad deadlines vary for publication the first of each month. Discounts for multiple issues. For rates, call:

Lord Dunraven’s Estes Park Hotel, built in 1877, was located on what is now the town’s 18-hole golf course. Photo from the book “Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: Then and Now.” By Bill Lambdin

“E

stes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: Then and Now” is a new book of historic and recent photographs, plus stories of the area from its early days to the present. Photographers Mic Clinger and Carey Stevanus show current buildings and scenes from the same views as early photographs, giving the reader a chance to compare the early views with those of today. This technique lets us see how things have changed or, in some cases, remained the same. Stevanus also helped write the book’s text. She is a longtime Estes Park resident who has collected historic photographs and vintage postcards of the area. The other writer is James Pickering, author “This Blue Hollow” and several other books about Estes Park. This is more than a book of pretty pictures. It contains many stories about people and events. Every photograph is accompanied by interesting information. Here is an excerpt about the Earl of Dunraven, who in 1877 built the first large hotel catering to tourists in Estes Park: “The Estes Park (or ‘English’) Hotel, which became the centerpiece of the Earl of Dunraven’s Estes Park Company, was built on a site selected by German-born artist

Albert Bierstadt for its view of Longs Peak… “The hotel was designed to cater to the well-to-do who wished to vacation in the comfort of subdued elegance, as opposed to the ruder fare provided by the valley’s familyoperated ranches. (It) offered manicured lawns, an artificial lake large enough to float small boats, tennis, and a nine-hole golf course.” “Over the years, the hotel would undergo a number of structural changes. The first of these converted the original second-story balcony to a roof (in order, it has been suggested, to reduce the possibility of late-night festivities).” Indeed, there were many “latenight festivities” at Dunraven’s place. He brought young women there each summer so he and his wealthy friends would not be lonely. The hotel was located near the present clubhouse of today’s Estes Park 18-hole golf course. Here are excerpts from the book showing how golf developed in Estes: “The Earl of Dunraven built the first golf course in Estes Park for guests of his Estes Park Hotel, which opened in 1877. The ninehole course, among Colorado’s earliest, began and ended in front of the hotel, and reportedly was designed with the help of ‘a golf expert from Scotland.’ “After the hotel building burned in 1911, the golf course was aban-

doned. By then, Estes Park golfers could use the nine-hole course that F.O. Stanley had installed below the Stanley Hotel…The Stanley course proved extremely popular with hotel guests, visitors and local residents, so much so that by 1916 another facility was needed…” The present 18-hole course was built in 1918 and still contains some elements of its original design, including several stone-outlined tee boxes and the small stone building that served as a cistern and stands on some rocks near the clubhouse front entrance. The book covers all of the early guest ranches and hotels, including the Stanley Hotel, Elkhorn Lodge, MacGregor Ranch and others that still exist—plus pioneer places that no longer exist like the Sprague Ranch and Squeaky Bob Wheeler’s place. It also covers places in Rocky Mountain National Park such as the Old Fall River Road, Bear Lake Lodge, the original Trail Ridge Road, the old mining town of Lulu City, and others. If you like the Estes Park area, you’ll probably enjoy this 272-page, hardcover book, available from local bookstores or by calling Westcliffe Publishers at 800-523-3692. ________________ COVER PICTURE: Early automobiles at the Grand Lake Lodge, taken by Estes Park photographer and book co-author Carey Stevanus. ■

Wolfgang Lambdin Advertising Director Associate Publisher Fort Collins (970) 229-9204

SALES OFFICES:

Ft. Collins and Greeley (970) 229-9204 Loveland and Estes Park (970) 482-8344 EDITORIAL DEADLINE Announcements and stories must be received by the 10th of the month. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Senior Voice welcomes readers' letters and contributions. Enclose a self-addressed envelope and return postage to: The Senior Voice, 1471 Front Nine Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525, or email [email protected]. Typed, single-spaced manuscripts are preferred. Manuscripts will be treated with care, but The Senior Voice assumes no responsibility for damaged or lost material submitted by readers.

© Copyright 2007 The Senior Voice EDITORIAL OFFICE:

1471 Front Nine Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525 (970) 223-9271 www.theseniorvoice.net No material may be reproduced by any means without permission of the publisher.

Dr. William Lambdin, Publisher

4 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Outlaws on the Wyoming Frontier By Robert Munkres

O

ne of the things that accompanied pioneers on their way across the Oregon Trail in Wyoming was criminal activity. Such activity sometimes was reported in journals and diaries in language that set the entries apart from more ordinary descriptions. John T. Kerns (1852) provided one example. Two days below the Upper Platte ferry, Kerns reported seeing “a notice of a man being hung for murder and robbery. The notice was headed ‘Dried beef for sale, wholesale or retail.’” The precise meaning of this caustic observation was not provided. Captain Albert Tracy (1860) reported an incident which took place on Box Elder Creek in Wyoming. The punishment inflicted for the crime committed was described in “engineer’s” terms not usually associated with such events: At Box Elder “... a party found by

a jury of his fellow-citizens to be guilty of mule-stealing, had been summarily executed by hanging—a couple of wagon tongues, elevated from their front wheels, and lashed at the top, forming the neat and sufficient derrick, or gallows, whereon to do the judgment—the culprit depending at the end of a lariat.” A final example involves what can only be called a perfect specimen of “Hobson’s choice.” In July, 1860, Vincent Page Lyman and other members of his party pursued, captured and shot a horse thief. They put up a head-board on the grave which read: “George B. Baker, shot on the 3rd of July, 1860, for horse-stealing and attempt to murder. We killed him because he would not give himself up to be hung.” ________________ Robert Munkres, Ph.D., lives in Estes Park and has written extensively about early Wyoming. ■

A lynching in 1888. Colorado Historical Society.

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 5

Property Taxes he Notice of Valuation from the county assessor detailing how much the value of my property has gone up always scares me, because it could mean I will be paying a lot more in property taxes next year. Property taxes don’t go up as fast as the valuation goes up because of a state law that requires the mill levy for schools to drop as valuations go up. This has protected us for a long time from huge increases in our property taxes. But that may change. Governor Ritter and Democrats in the Legislature eliminated this with an amendment to the school finance act at the very last minute of the legislative session. The plan is called the “Mill Levy Freeze,” which makes you think it might freeze taxes. But it does just the opposite because it isn’t the mill levy that raises your taxes, it’s the increase in valuation. They want the mill levy to stay the same, so when your valuation goes up, your taxes go up along with it. I believe this property tax increase is a violation of TABOR in our state constitution. TABOR requires a vote of the people on any “tax policy change directly causing a net tax revenue gain.” Colorado’s Attorney General John Suthers agrees with me. His

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DIGNITY office issued a memo stating that this property tax increase violates TABOR and our Constitution. The people of our state have made it clear they want to vote on any tax increases. If Governor Ritter feels that we need more local property tax money for schools, he should take the question to a vote of the people just as Governor Owens rightfully did with Referendum C two years ago. Forecasts predict the Mill Levy Freeze will result in $1.7 billion more in property taxes paid by Coloradans over the next 10 years. This is a massive and illegal tax increase. I am sure it will be challenged in the courts, and I hope it is overturned. The ironic thing is, this won’t mean more money for our local schools either. That’s because money for schools is made up of local taxes plus state taxes. After the local taxes are figured, the state kicks in money to reach a certain funding amount. If we raise our local taxes, that just means the state share will be less. What this property tax increase will do is free up more state spending for other areas of the state budget. ________________ You can call Sen. Johnson in Fort Collins at 223-8045. ■

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Longs Peak. Senior Voice photo. (Editor’s Note: Greeley historian descents of 2,000 feet where a Hazel E. Johnson wrote the single wrong step would send following story years ago.) them into an abyss. At 9:30 a.m., they reached the By Hazel Johnson summit of14,255 feet. Meeker wrote, “The summit is level and n 1871, a group of young men covered with granite (rocks) occuand women in Greeley decided pying about five acres. Two or to climb Longs Peak. three (rock) towers six or eight feet Ralph Meeker, son of Greeley high have been built as memorials founder Nathan Meeker, was along of their architects’ ascent.” and wrote about the trip. They found the names of Most in the group knew nothing several other people who had of climbing in the wilderness. climbed the peak. “Major Powell’s Some young men came equipped bread, papers and other articles with lariats fastened to their were examined,” said Meeker. saddles. The girls laughed at their John Wesley Powell had climbed own dresses and iron-clad brogans. the peak in 1868 and left some They camped the first night at items in a tin can, including a the entrance to St. Vrain Canyon. biscuit. Moving out at daylight, they jourMeeker recalled: “We looked neyed among high mountains and over the gorge on the east side of gorges with seemingly no outlets. the peak. Few nerves could bear it. It appears three days were It was 2,300 feet in a sheer, consumed in reaching Estes Park, perpendicular descent down to the “traveling over difficult and lake below. dangerous roads,” said young “On three sides of us were Meeker. mighty gulfs, bounded by granite, Only part of the group made the space and eternity. Fear fled. final ascent to Longs Peak, Something deeper, nobler and keeping a lookout for bears and grander filled the soul. other beasts. Morning found their “On one side, the waters flow ropes frozen stiff as pokers. After a to the Atlantic. On the other, they hasty breakfast at 5:30, they started sweep through a chain of mounthe trek. tains larger than half of Europe, to Their goal was 26 miles the Pacific.” (including an ascent of 6 miles and Then some young person in the descent of 6 miles) all before night group remarked, “What a place for fall. They viewed perpendicular a wedding!” ■

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The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 7

Using Trusts for Estate Planning By Ron Rutz Legal Correspondent Q. I enjoyed your column about different kinds of Trusts that appeared in the last edition of the Senior Voice. But when do you use Trusts and when don’t you recommend them? A. I try not to use Revocable Living Trusts (also known as Loving Trusts) to avoid probate. Most of the time, such devices in Colorado are more complicated, expensive and prone to being inoperable when compared with having a Will and using unsupervised court administration, even in large estates. I do not like Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITS). If not structured properly, the insurance policy and/or the money becomes entombed within the trust. I shy away from generation skipping trusts. The hand from the grave

trying to control descendants 80 or more years after death never has struck me as a good way for society to structure itself. Think about if your grandchildren’s lives were being financially dictated by a document constructed and implemented during the great depression? On the other hand, I do use a large number of Testamentary Trusts to minimize or even eliminate estate taxes. (A living trust is not the only way to do so.) If property is left directly to a minor, a court appointed conservator would have to be named. But a trust in a Will can be used to stay out of court but provide the legal framework needed by a minor. In fact, a trust can be set up to hold an inheritance beyond the age minority. Recently I have had parents set up Testamentary Trust for children to last until the children were in their 90’s! Trusts can be used to help disabled beneficiaries by preventing the asset from being taken by Social Services in order to reimburse it for past support, or having the inheritance disqualify the beneficiary from eligibility. Trusts can be set up for special reasons—to provide for education, to care for pets, or for short term management of assets (i.e., give a beneficiary more time to mature, protect the inheritance from a gold digger, etc.). Back in the 19th and early 20th century, businesses were organized through trusts. Although key tax and internal legal structures prevent a trust from returning to those glory days, I have effectively used trusts in business settings. Trusts can also be used to hold a family business, the farm, or maybe even the family cabin. Sometimes a Limited Liability Company or a Partnership is just not the right fit. Trusts, when used with Wills, can provide a vast array of useful solutions. Just identify the problem and often a Trust can be the answer. ________________ Attorney Ron Rutz will answer questions sent to [email protected], mail 2624 Redwing Road, #180, Fort Collins, CO 80526, phone 970223-8388. ■

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Basic Investment Strategies By Scott Burns Financial Writer Q: You said these days a safe investment pays only 5 percent. However, you talked about a 9 percent return on a person’s money. Sorry, I do not understand. A: A safe return is one that is certain, like the yield on a short-term CD or Treasury obligation. If you are willing to accept some uncertainty and assume some risk of loss, it is possible to achieve a higher return. The long-term return on large common stocks, for instance, is nearly 11 percent. This figure includes reinvested dividends and capital gains. Unlike interest payments posted to a savings account, however, this return varies from year to year. You can also have years when the value of your investment declines. One way to reduce (but not elim-

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inate) the uncertainty of the return on common stocks is to build a portfolio that contains both equities and fixed-income investments. A portfolio that was 70 percent equities and 30 percent fixed-income, for instance, could be expected to return about 9 percent. The return would vary from year to year, and it would still be possible to have a losing year. But the long-term return— say 10 or 15 years—would very likely be about 9 percent. Why take the risk? Simple. It takes about 15 years to double your money if your return is only 5 percent. Raise the return to 9 percent, and your money will double in only eight years and will nearly quadruple in 15 years. Q: I am 67 and retired. My retirement funding is from Social Security, and 100 percent of my nest egg is in five equity funds, from which I make periodic withdrawals. I’ve often heard that as one gets older, more funds should be shifted to bonds. Is this still true after retirement? A: In general, yes. The finetuned answer depends on your appetite for risk, your age and your need for income. Some retirees are quite happy living on their Social Security, supplemented with small withdrawals from their savings. Retirees in that position can afford to take more risk because they are not depending on their savings for a regular flow of income. The more essential that cash from your portfolio is to your day-today well-being, the more attention you need to pay to risk. This means making certain that your portfolio has diversification and a higher commitment to relatively short-term fixed-income holdings. One good measure is to ask how long you could pay your ongoing bills (after Social Security benefits and pension income) with money you have in cash, savings accounts and short-term fixedincome mutual funds. If the answer is less than two or three years, you should probably increase your fixed-income investments. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 9

Scenic Drives By Bill Lambdin

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his drive, the Gold Belt Scenic Byway, is in the mountains just west of Colorado Springs, on the west side of Pikes Peak. It includes the famous goldmining areas of Cripple Creek and Victor, and runs mainly from those towns south to Florence and Canon City. It involves three roadways: •Phantom Canyon Road follows the path of what was once the busiest narrow gauge railroad in the West, from Florence to Cripple Creek. It is an unpaved, narrow road winding along steep dropoffs. Vehicles over 25 feet in length are not allowed. But passenger cars can make the drive in dry weather. Don’t try it when the road is muddy. •High Park Road is paved most of the way between Cripple Creek and the Royal Gorge road west of Canon City. Early prospectors used this route to go from the gold fields to the Arkansas River valley. This is the easiest drive of the three and is as scenic as the other two. •Shelf Road, blasted out of the steep walls of Fourmile Canyon years ago, carried stagecoaches and freight wagons to Cripple Creek from Canon City. It is a high, unpaved road winding along steep dropoffs, narrow and onelane in places, definitely a four-wheel-drive vehicle road. It used to take stagecoaches six hours to climb this road from Canon City. A lonely cowboy named Bob Womack started the gold rush here in 1890. Locals called him “Crazy Bob” because they thought he was wasting his time digging holes all over the mountains around Cripple Creek. But Womack struck it rich, and the Cripple Creek area became the second richest gold camp in the world, producing what would today be billions of dollars in ore. Over 500 mines in the area produced more than 21 million ounces of gold, exceeding the

production of the California and Alaska gold rushes combined. Gold was so plentiful that two men struck a vein while digging the foundation for a hotel. Later, at the Cresson Mine, prospectors discovered an underground chamber completely covered in gold crystals. Here are some things to see: At Florence, visit the Pioneer Museum and historic downtown area. This little town was once the area’s center for gold processing. Railroad cars filled with ore traveled down Phantom Canyon from 1894 until 1912. Nearby Indian Springs Fossil Site is a National Natural Landmark containing 460-millionyear-old tracks and burrows of arthropods such as horseshoe crabs and trilobites. The village of Wilbur in the late 1800s was the largest settlement on the Phantom Canyon Road, with a population of 60. A local school teacher once wrote to his fiancee: “I think everybody in Wilbur has been broke for the last two weeks as they have all been pretty sober. But there is a payday coming.” In the town of Victor, see the historic Victor Hotel and Lowell Thomas Museum (named for the famous newsman who grew up here). Also see the Independence Mine, a National Historic Site. This mine produced the area’s first multi-millionaire, Winfield Stratton. Cripple Creek sits at nearly 9,400 feet in a huge bowl on the west side of Pikes Peak. It was the center of the mining district, boasting two opera houses, 75 saloons, many other businesses and an embarrassing number of brothels. See the Mountain View Museum and Cripple Creek District Museum. Go down into the Mollie Kathleen Mine, visit the Homestead Parlor House or ride the narrow gauge train to Victor. The Garden Park Fossil Area is on the south end of Shelf Road. Here in 1876, huge dinosaur bones were discovered, including those

The three roads on the Gold Belt Tour, from left: High Park Road, Shelf Road, and Phantom Canyon Road. from Stegosaurus, Allosaurus and Diplodocus. Specimens from here are displayed at the Smithsonian Institution and other museums worldwide. At Canon City, see the homestead Rudd cabin and other artifacts at the Municipal Museum, and visit the Dinosaur Depot for a glimpse of what the area was like during the Jurassic Period. West of Canon City, the famous Royal Gorge is an awesome chasm rising high above the Arkansas River and spanned by the world’s highest bridge, 1,053 feet above the river. On the High Park Road north of Canon City, you get a view of 14,110-foot Pikes Peak from a vantage point few other travelers have. Along this road in the 1800s,

cowboys herded Texas longhorns to the high mountain valleys for summer grazing. They herded them over 800 miles on drives that lasted many months and went through dangerous Indian territory. The village of Florissant north of Cripple Creek was founded in 1870 along an ancient trail used by the Ute Indians. Florissant was the first settlement on the western slope of Pikes Peak. Mountain men and Indians traded here long before gold was discovered in the area. The village also contains the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, delicate plants and insects dating to 35 million years ago when violent volcanic activity preserved them in ash. The town also has a Heritage Museum. ■

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10 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

1800s Stage Stop and Trading Post (Editor’s Note: Fort Collins historian Josephine Clements wrote the following story years ago.) By Josephine Clements

T

he old trading post in LaPorte just north of Fort Collins was

for 32 years in the first third of 1900s the domain of F.E. Baxter, storekeeper and postmaster. It was a mecca for traveling people and a stop for the early stage coaches and automobiles. The building was a landmark from the early years when LaPorte

The LaPorte stage station and trading post. Colorado Historical Society. was a bustling business center and a home station on the Overland Stage Line. The building was constructed in the early 1860s but records do not show just when or by whom. Its property abstract was researched by Ruth Hereim in 1957. Jerry Kershaw, according to Ansel Watrous’ “History of Larimer County, Colorado,” was said to have owned LaPorte’s first store in the 1860s, but whether in this building or not we do not know. LaPorte was an established village of log cabins and a trade center for French-Canadian fur trappers. It boomed when Ben Holladay routed his Overland Stage Line through LaPorte in 1862. Various residents of LaPorte occupied the trading post in the 1860s storekeepers and sometimes postmasters. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., list John

Peabody as the first postmaster, appointed June 15, 1862. The second postmaster, appointed in 1863, was Henry Chamberlain, who owned and ran the store. The post office was discontinued in 1864 but re-established in 1866. The store and position of postmaster changed hands often in the next 10 years. In 1937, F.E. Baxter, then age 85, resigned as postmaster. In 1939 Mr. and Mrs. B.V. Stover took over the old store. They sold sorghum, potatoes, hay and apples, and used the building for storing apples from various orchards they leased. In 1947, they purchased the building and put in a large stock of groceries. In 1957 the Stovers sold the business. A few years later, the building was torn down. LaPorte and Larimer County lost a significant landmark. ■

Asthma Treatment Research

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he FDA is considering approval of a new treatment for asthma that uses radio waves to burn off overgrown muscle in airways. A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine said the treatment (called bronchial thermoplasty) should help asthma sufferers breathe better and use less medicine. It is the first non-medical treatment to be developed in some time, said researchers; and it shows

considerable promise. Wires inserted into the lungs emit heat that burns off some tissue in the airways, opening them and making it easier for people to breathe. It could be especially helpful for severe asthma sufferers, especially those who end up in an emergency room, said researchers. Study participants receiving thermoplasty reported an average of 40 symptom-free days, compared to 17 days for the others. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 11

Antique Inkwells By Arlene Ahlbrandt

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ne of the most unique hobbies is collecting antique inkwells, which John Kochenburger of Fort Collins does. In the 1600s, the first known inkwell was made of metal. In the 1700s and 1800s, wealthy people had very ornate inkwells, hand

few dollars to thousands. Some in John’s collection are rare, with a rainbow of colors and minerals— blue cobalt, amber topaz, wedgewood, crystal, blue and white Delft from Holland. There are also some English bone china, white milk glass and one beautiful iridescent Loetez type from Germany. He has animal inkwells, a bear from Russia, an owl from Bavaria and a collection of porcelain clowns. Wooden inkwells were used by soldiers during the Civil War. The Society of Inkwell Collectors’ 2007 convention will be held in Vancouver, Washington; and John is looking forward to meeting his friends there. ■

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Judge John Kochenburger with a few of the antique inkwells he has collected for years. painted and intricate. Some people remember the bottle-shaped inkwells that fit in a small hole in an old fashioned school desk. Kochenburger is a retired District 8 Court judge. His parents were from New York, but he was born in Greeley. He practiced law and was a judge for 25 years. He married June Meyer, and they had two children. June passed away but they enjoyed sharing their hobby and collected over 300 inkwells that are beautifully displayed in their home. He is a member of the Society of Inkwell Collectors. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the society has about 800 members from 13 countries. Inkwells vary in value from a

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Register for IRA Educational Class An Individual Retirement Account is typically a retired person’s largest personal investment asset. It’s also the most confusing. If managed improperly the fees, penalties, and taxes assessed can often significantly reduce the value of an IRA, and in certain circumstances, totally eliminate any and all tax advantages associated with investing in an IRA. If you would like to learn more about IRAs, how they work, how they are formed, the laws governing them, what happens when you inherit one and the issues all seniors must understand when they reach the age of 701/2 and Required Minimum Distributions must begin, mark your calendar for an exciting, 3-part educational class this August at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Co-sponsored by the City of Fort Collins, and taught by Jim Saulnier, CFP®, the 3-part class begins Monday August 13th, and runs the next two Mondays, August 20th and 27th from 1:30PM until 3:30PM. Register beginning this August by contacting the Senior Center. In addition to class instruction, ample opportunity will exist for addressing questions from attendees.

Jim Saulnier, LLC 322 East Oak Street Old Town Fort Collins 970-530-0556 JimHelps.com [email protected] Securities and advisory services offered through Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC. Financial Network and Jim Saulnier are not affiliated companies.

12 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

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Remembrances of a Loveland Pioneer

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Editor’s Note: Loveland pioneer James Virden wrote the following remembrance years ago.

Jennifer Cecil, MD

Margaret Rado, OD Contact Lens Specialist

By James Virden

I

came to Colorado in 1861 and made many subsequent trips

across the plains as a freighter between Omaha and Denver. Later I owned a sawmill in the mountains west of Golden and sold lumber to the Colorado and Southern Railroad. When I came to Loveland in 1882, all of the best homesteads had been taken up, so I bought a quarter section of school land four and a half miles north of Loveland, and made that my home. The Louden Ditch was put through in 1880 and enlarged in 1884. When the Seven Lakes were made, part of my land was bought for the lake bed. We built a little schoolhouse across the road from the Alfred Beebe home. Mary Virden, a cousin of mine, was the first teacher. A church organization held services in the school and called it the Mt. Hope Sunday School. The school district took its name from that. Boyd Lake was a natural lake from the rains and snows. When the Barnes Ditch was made, it emptied into Boyd Lake and enlarged it. My children saved up their money and bought me a fiddle. A bunch of people would gather at our two-room house, clear the furniture out of one room, and have a dance. I would play “Turkey in the Straw,” “Irish Washerwoman” and some polkas, waltzes and schottishes. I believe the young people enjoyed that one old fiddle as much as the young people of today enjoy a big orchestra ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 13

Famous Cow Pony in Wyoming Editor’s Note: Wyoming historian Margaret Laybourn wrote the following story years ago. By Margaret Laybourn

W

hat a horse he must have been!

At the turn of the century, when thousands of range horses were still used in the cattle business, Muggins became the most famous of them all.

These were the only marks on his beautiful body when he died at the remarkable age of 38. Sam Moore, a foreman of the Swan outfit, noticed the movements of the colt and his total attention when he was among cattle. Moore took him for his own mount. Muggins’ obituary said he was trained by famous hired gun Tom Horn. But history proves that was another of Horn’s exaggerations.

Horses in Wyoming. Senior Voice file photo. At the time of his death in 1928, he was known throughout America as a neck-reined wonder. Foaled in Oregon in 1890, the beautiful chestnut was driven with his mother and a remuda of mares and colts to Cheyenne, Wyoming. As a three-year-old gelding, he was purchased by the Swan Land and Cattle Company, and their Horseshoe 2 Bars brand was placed on him.

Muggins was trained by two cowboys named Thernal and Roach, who realized that he moved instinctively with only the pressure of the reins on his neck. Muggins was Moore’s top horse for 17 years, during which time Moore worked him on the range and exhibited his skills at rodeos, parades and in movies. Working on the range, it was said that more cattle were roped

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from Muggins than from any other horse in the West at that time. His final owner, Charley Camp, took Muggins with him into retirement to California. But both found living near suburbs difficult. Camp persuaded officials of the Los Angeles Union Stockyards to provide Muggins a home. At the stockyards, he was always treated with the respect of a star. He

By Margaret Laybourn

was well fed and pastured in a lush meadow. Expert horsemen vied to exercise him. Before he was buried, his neck and head were mounted by a taxidermist. The stockyards donated the mounting to the Wyoming State Museum, where it hung for half a century as a tribute to the intelligent cooperation between a cowboy and his mount. ■

14 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Remembering Elvis Presley By Joanna Biggar

E

lvis Presley’s home in Memphis, Graceland, is a place of gold, glitz and gaud. In a way that could out-Hollywood Hollywood, everything about the mansion (purchased by the 22-yearold Presley in 1957 for $100,000 cash) is larger than life—from the suspension of taste to the mythical sense

surrounding the star who filled the size 12-D blue suede shoes. Visiting Graceland is like revisiting adolescence, when every Elvis gyration was an act of rebellion. One line he crossed was the beltline, forcing on America the facts of life below the waist. And a short film shown at Graceland makes that point with scenes of screaming teenagers in front of the swiveling King, before it

cuts to preachers and other authorities denouncing the evils of rock and roll. Another line crossed by Elvis, the poor Southern boy, was the color line. His music, with its strains of Memphis Beale Street blues, Grand Ole Opry and gospel, paid homage to his local roots and the black musicians who were so much a part of the heritage. And lest one forget it, at Graceland the voice of Elvis is everywhere,

appointments of gold, stained glass and lightning-flash motifs. There is a room with peacock decor and peacock blue drapes, a turn-of-the century billiard parlor with 400 yards of fabric on the wall and ceilings, and the jungle room with skin-covered furniture and the throne-like chair to remind Elvis of Hawaii. Versailles may have its Hall of Mirrors, but Graceland has its Hall of

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Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis (Graceland) continues to draw crowds years after his death. Maturity News Service. crooning, rocking, crying: “You can knock me down, step on my face, Slander my name all over the place, Do anything that you want to do, But uh’ uh’ honey lay off of my shoes, Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.” At the entrance to Graceland Plaza are the movie theater, the customized touring bus and automobile museum. Here there are 20 of Elvis’ cars, including the famous ‘55 pink cadillac, motorcycles, motorized toys and a mock-up drive-in 50’s style. There are also shops selling music and memorabilia, restaurants, a post office and visitors’ center. Across the busy highway, where visitors are taken by bus, is the mansion itself. Its decor is just this side of high Trumph while the costumes on display might have inspired Liberace. Inside are the 14 TV sets and

Gold, a narrow room lined on both sides with gold and platinum albums of the only recorded voice to sell a billion records. Then there are the photos and costumes, recording the transformation of the young boy who swayed in tight pants and open shirts while he sang the hazards of “Heartbreak Hotel” and begged “Don’t Be Cruel” to the older, flamboyant star with sideburns, bejeweled jumpsuits, capes and flashy rings. Outside the mansion in the Meditation Garden, with its hearts, flowers and inscribed tombstones, are the graves of Elvis and his family: grandmother Minnie Mae Presley and parents Gladys and Vernon Presley. And if the King ever pleaded “Love Me Tender,” it’s clear that the plea is still heard here. Fan clubs from around the world continue to send cards, flowers and other signs of devotion. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 15

Colorado Crosswords

“The entire staff at Kirk Eye Center is so caring. I have become friends with everyone here.”

By Tony Donovan

— Claude Earl Kissack Berthoud

Earl Kissack doesn’t let his struggle with diabetes keep him from experiencing life. His home in rural Berthoud allows him to enjoy gardening, farming and working with his horses. Making sure that his eye health is taken care of is an essential and regular process.

1. 7. 10. 11. 12.

14. 15. 16. 19. 21. 23 25. 27. 29. 30. 31. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 42. 46. 48. 49. 51. 53. 54.

Fishing and water sports area near Loveland 555 ÷ 5 = ? (Roman numerals) Opposite of “aweather” at sea Coffee holder ___ Packer was berated by a judge who supposedly said, “There was only six Democrats in Hinsdale County and you ‘et five of ‘em.” Joplin milieu “___ Willy,” 1993 orca flick Apt description of many nights in the mountains Ford mistake Drew or Mariah Silver ___ near the Eisenhower Tunnel “All Things Considered” venue, briefly Button engraving on a seaman’s coat Doorbell alternative Stagnant pond surface coating Ceran and Marcellin of Bent’s Fort trading fame Investment vehicle involving real estate, for short Logan County locale between Sterling and Julesburg Book jacket info, briefly A bit of work? “___ ___ in sight” Pitcher Hershiser and others Lincoln County winter oasis often for stranded travelers on I-70 ___ Bells, oft photographed site near Aspen Alec Guinness was one in Star Wars Sushi fare ___ de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado Chair or rest lead-in Chief ___ exit on I-70 west of Denver

ANSWERS

55. “Born in the ___,” Springsteen hit 56. Teen’s exclamation upon seeing something “cool” (3 words)

John W. Colvin, OD & John D. Kirk, MD, FACS

DOWN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 13. 16. 17. 18. 20. 21. 22. 24. 26.

28. 29. 30. 32. 33. 34. 39. 41. 43. 44. 45. 47. 49. 50. 52.

What cows do in the spring TV’s friendly ogre Ships nemesis in storms ___ Haute, IN Former Aspen resident Ken of Enron infamy Spooky Slide a smooth stone on ice in front of someone with a broom “Although the injury looked serious, no ___ ___ ___ showed anything Gerund ending Somewhere you might find an oracle ___ Pass on Hwy. 14 Charlemagne’s empire, briefly Broncos’ pro bowler John ___. Town founded in 1858 at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River The___ and Toltec Scenic Railroad operates between Antonito and Chama, NM Clear tables County between Elbert and Kit Carson counties Spanish word for “town,” this site was near the confluence of Fountain Creek and the Arkansas River and named for an adobe trading post close by Decorations for a party or parade Name on yellow earth moving equipment T-bones or ribeyes (abbr.) “Mortis” preceder Lots Nickname for baseball’s Boston or Chicago Beginning of a “Nazi?” ___ National Forest in NW Colorado named for Colorado’s first governor ___ Springs is in Clear Creek County Major’s opposite Cheyenne Mtn. Group Feminine sounding town near Fairplay ___ de cologne Carson who died at Ft. Lyon in 1868 Cookie selling org. founded in 1912 by Juliette Low, briefly

Colorado Crosswords are created exclusively for The Voice by Tony Donovan, who lives in Loveland.

3650 East 15th Street Loveland, Colorado

669-1107

“Dr. Kirk really takes time to get to the bottom of any problems that I am having. He has done several laser surgeries for me, and takes the time to make sure that I have the best eyesight that I can. The staff calls to check on me regularly. The quality of treatment, the commitment to optical health and the respect for patients at Kirk Eye Center is absolutely the BEST!” If you’d like to see your future more clearly choose Kirk Eye Center as your eye care provider. You’ll be glad you did.

w w w. K i r k E y e C e n t e r. c o m

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Since 1886 650 West Drake Rd. • Ft. Collins (970) 482-3208 2100 N. Lincoln Ave. • Loveland (970) 667-1121 702 13th Street • Greeley (970) 352-3366 1302 Graves Ave. • Estes Park (970) 586-3101 www.allnutt.com

©2006 MKJ Marketing

ACROSS

Another eye doctor who wasn’t experienced to handle the problems caused by diabetes referred Earl to Dr. Kirk. Once a month Earl comes in to have his eyes checked. He also meets with another specialist who comes to the Kirk Eye Center to help keep Earl’s eyesight stabilized.

16 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Hospice Opens New Events and Exhibits Office in Windsor J By Cynthia Hayes

H

ospice of Larimer County’s Windsor office opened June 4. The branch at 1226 West Ash Street, Suite B, will serve as an operational hub for Hospice of Larimer County Chief Executive Officer Jean Hall, administrative and clinical staff, and volunteers who attend to patients with lifelimiting illness and their families in western Weld County. Additionally, the Windsor office will provide a community resource and counseling center, offering grief and loss support groups, counseling and resources for bereaved Weld County families, and anyone in the community who is experiencing a loss from death or serious illness, regardless of whether they have been a patient or family member served by Hospice of Larimer County. Information about grief and loss groups and classes can be

obtained by calling (970) 674-9988. Full programs and services will continue at the Hospice of Larimer County main office in south Fort Collins at 305 Carpenter Road. “As Northern Colorado has grown, we have continued to expand our service area in order to provide hospice care and services wherever the need exists,” said Jean Hall. “We have long been traveling to care for patients who live in Weld County, and Weld County residents have been traveling to Fort Collins to participate in our support groups, counseling and classes.” The Hospice of Larimer County Windsor office is the only community-based non-profit hospice agency with an office in Windsor, and it will continue to provide hospice care and loss counseling services to anyone in the communities, regardless of their ability to pay. The Windsor office phone number is (970) 674-9988 ■

“Dedicated to Serve” Locally Owned and Operated Since 1959

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uly events at the Red Feather Lakes Library: • July 7, Friends of the Library book sale. • July 12, Library volunteers workshop. The Library welcomes volunteers. • July 12, Travelogue: Arizona National Parks, including the Grand Canyon and Saguaro, by Margie and Larry Caswell. • July 13, Special Story Hour: Be a rock detective, by Margie Caswell. • July 14, Mountain biking basics workshop with local mountain bikers. • July 17, Children’s program: make a mask class. • July 18, free computer basics class, by Lynette Perry. • July 25, library board of trustees meeting. • July 28, ice cream social. Ongoing Events include Story Hour every Friday, Summer Reading Program, Knit & Stitch, Writers Group, and Watercolor Society. Also Ruth’s Art Gallery: Photography by Adrian Davis. Call 881-2664. The Fort Lupton Museum will present a pottery exhibit throughout July and August at 453 First Street in

Fort Lupton. You can exhibit your own ceramics or china. Call 303-857-1634. The Poudre Canyon Volunteer Fire Department will host its annual Barbershop Quartet Show, August 25, 7 pm, at the Indian Meadows Resort, 29839 Poudre Canyon Highway (30 miles up Poudre Canyon from Ted’s Place). This year’s show includes five barbershop groups: Rapport from Denver; UltraSoniX from Denver; 24 Karat Ring from Denver; Classic Knights from Longmont; and Best Regards from Loveland. Other events that evening include a raffle for quilts made by Poudre Canyon residents, an impromptu performance by all the barbershop groups, and desert. Cost for the event is $10 a person. Call Laura Stahl, 970881-2929. The Drylanders Museum at 775 3rd Street in Nunn depicts the settlement of the northern Colorado high plains. Exhibits include a covered wagon, livery stable, homestead shack, blacksmith shop, native Indian exhibit and other items. Free and open Sundays 1-5 pm or by appointment. Call 970-897-2356. ■

Low Ranking for U.S. Health Care

R

esearchers at the Commonwealth Fund say health care in the United States doesn’t compare well with care in England, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. We spend far more on health care per person than others but rank near the bottom for quality of care, access to care and efficiency of care. The other countries have governmentrun, tax-supported systems that insure all citizens. We also have millions of citizens who have no

family doctor who can follow their health issues closely. Those things cause problems, said researcher Karen Davis: “Our failure to ensure health insurance for all and encourage stable, long-term ties between physicians and patients shows in our poor performance on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity and health outcomes.” She added, “In light of the significant resources we devote to health care…we should expect the best, highest performing health system.” ■

Research on Skin Cancer

D 1525 Riverside, Suite-B Fort Collins

o people with dark skin have to worry less about skin cancer? No, they can get deadly skin cancer (melanoma), and in fact are more likely to die from it than people with lighter skin. Recent studies reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine and the Archives of Dermatology say dark-skinned people have a lower risk of skin cancer, but they get more aggressive forms of it. That may be in part because they think

they do not need skin protection and overlook the warning signs of melanoma. Researchers found that blacks, Asians, Hispanics and American Indians were more likely to have late-stage melanoma than lighterskinned people. And they had a lower survival rate from melanoma. Even though their darker skin can filter out more ultraviolet radiation, they still need sun block lotion of SPF 15 or more. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 17

Laughter: Best Medicine Dear Abby: I’ve never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I have suspected for some time that my wife has been cheating on me. She has been going out with “the girls” a lot recently, but when I ask their names she always says, “Just some friends from work.” I decided to hide in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could see if she really came home with “the girls.” While crouching behind my clubs, I noticed that the graphite shaft on my driver had a hairline crack right by the club head.? Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the pro shop? Ralph and Edna were patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped in and sank to the bottom. Edna jumped in and pulled him out. The director saw this and decided Edna was sane enough to be discharged. He told her, “I have good news and bad news. I think you’re mentally stable, and I’m going to let you go home.” “What’s the bad news?”

“After you pulled Ralph out, he went back to his room and hung himself with his bathrobe belt.” “He didn’t hang himself. I put him there to dry. When do I go home?” Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb and Quasimodo applied to be in the Guinness Book of Records. Sleeping Beauty emerged from the interview and said, “They’re entering me as the most beautiful girl in the world.” Tom Thumb emerged and said, “They entering me as the smallest man in the world.” Quasimodo said, “I’ll bet they enter me as the most disgusting person in the world.” He emerged from the interview and said, “Who the hell is Rosie O’Donnell?” Two men were sitting next to each other at a bar. One says, “I can’t help but think, from listening to you, that you’re from Ireland.” The other says, “Aye, that I am.” “So am I. And where abouts from

Ireland might you be?” “Dublin, I am.” “So am I.” “Sure and begora. And what street did you live on in Dublin?” “McCleary Street.” “Faith and it’s a small world. So did I. And to what school would you have been going?” “St. Mary’s.” “What year did you graduate?” “In 1984.” “The Good Lord must be smiling down upon us. I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. I graduated from St. Mary’s in 1984 my own self!” Another man walks into the bar and orders a beer. The bartender says to him, “It’s going to be a long night. The Donovan twins are drunk again.” Two men were at a coctail party. One pointed to a man across the room and said, “He runs a hedge fund and is worth over $1 billion.” The other said, “He’ll never have what I have.” “What’s that?” “Enough.” ■

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18 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Beware of Travel Scams By Barbara Read Better Business Bureau

T

he Better Business Bureau advises consumers to be on guard for vacation and travel related fraud, which costs travelers more than $10 billion annually. Out of the 3,900 industries the BBB monitors, the travel industry consistently ranks in the top 25 for number of complaints. Unscrupulous marketers make their pitch via unsolicited telephone calls, e-mails and direct mailings, and some also use Internet pop-up advertisements. Bait-and-switch tactics account for many complaints. Promotions advertise rock-bottom prices but hide fees until contracts are signed or initial payments are made. Some firms promise luxurious accommodations and services but deliver far less. Don’t be fooled by professionallooking Web sites or e-mails. Few legitimate businesses can afford to give away services of real value or substantially undercut other companies’ prices. Ask detailed questions and get it in writing. Get names of airlines,

hotels, car rental companies and travel providers. Consider contacting these businesses directly to verify arrangements. Always ask for confirmation of your travel arrangements in writing and be sure you receive copies of cancellation and refund policies. Pay with a credit card and avoid deals that require you to book 60 days in advance. Credit card companies may allow consumers to dispute a charge within 60 days of purchase. Representatives from eBay also caution consumers against paying with personal checks and strongly recommend paying with a method such as PayPal that has built-in protection measures. Contact the BBB if you are a victim of fraud. The BBB helps consumers and businesses through complaint and dispute resolution services. Ultimately, consumer complaints expose bad businesses and help other consumers avoid becoming victims of vacation and travel-related fraud. For additional consumer tips, visit www.mountainstates.bbb.org or call 970-484-1348 in Fort Collins. ■

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR

September 12, 2007 • 9 am-4 pm 3RD L UA N N A

Big and Bger e in 200 tter 7

Admission to Expo is FREE! FREE Parking!

Location: 1st National Bank Exhibition Building - East Hall; The Ranch Complex, Loveland, CO

Nelson Riddle Orchestra Live in Concert Presented by:

Two Separate Performances: 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM Concert Tickets $10.00 • Available at King Soopers NORTHERN COLORADO’S LARGEST SENIOR EXPO For More Information Call: 970-461-2609 Presented by:

Delay Your Social Security?

M

any financial advisers tell people to begin drawing their Social Security at age 62, and most Americans do. But at least one says waiting until age 66 or 70 is better if you can afford it. Boston University researcher Laurence J. Kotlikoff says Social Security payments increase 7 percent a year from age 62 to 66, and 8 percent a year from 66 to 70. That’s a higher percentage than most

people can get on bonds and other conservative investments. For example, a 55-year-old person making $75,000 would get $15,888 a year in Social Security at age 62. If he waits until age 66, he will get $21,768; and if he waits until 70, he will get 29,436, according to Kotlikoff. He admits that many people cannot afford to wait, and they should take Social Security at age 62. ■

Do People Distrust Medicines?

N

e arly half of the people with chronic health conditions do not take the medicines their doctors prescribe, according to studies reported in the journal “Cancer” and other medical journals. That includes people with serious conditions such as heart problems, breast cancer, osteoporosis and epilepsy. For instance, about 30 percent of patients taking daily or weekly osteoporosis treatments quit six to 12 months after they begin.

Researchers think the main reason people do not take their medicines may be a fear of side effects, though no one is sure. One study found that 22 percent of breast cancer patients stopped taking tamoxifen within a year even though they had been told to take the medicine for five years. Even wealthy, well educated patients often do not follow their doctors’ advice about medicines. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 19

Our Health Care System By Lois Hall

T

he U.S. health care system is “a dysfunctional mess,” says Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is chairman of the ethics department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). His opinion and that of others contradicts the popular belief that we have the best health care system in the world, a view that many Americans have held for years. Recent research by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says the U.S. spends more than twice as much per person on health care as other industrialized nations but has higher infant death rates, higher diabetes rates, fewer physicians per 1,000 people, and shorter adult life spans. Research by the Commonwealth Fund says the U.S. is at the bottom of six industrialized nations for safe health care. A report from the World Health

Organization rated the U.S. 37th out of 190 nations for health care quality. The U.S. does rate better than other countries in a few respects. Breast cancer treatment is better, say researchers. Some preventive measures like colonoscopies are better. More new medicines are developed here than in other countries because we do not have government limits on what drug companies can charge for their products— though the absence of limits turns out to be a negative for millions of Americans who cannot afford the high cost of medicines. We have some great hospitals, such as Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic. But most Americans cannot afford them. In the past, when Americans criticized drug prices and other things, politicians often said, “Ah, but we have the best health care system in the world.” “If a politician declares that the United States has the best health care system in the world today, he or see looks clueless rather than patriotic or authoritative,” said Dr. Emanuel. ■

Heart Attack or False Alarm

CT

scans might be better than the usual electrocardiograms and blood tests used by emergency rooms to determine if a patient with chest pains is about to have a heart attack. That was the conclusion reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology by researchers at William Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. The researchers said the CT scan, which is done in a few minutes, is

quicker and cheaper than the the usual treatment that requires 24 hours in the hospital. About 65 percent of such emergency room cases turn out to be false alarms; the patient did not have a heart problem. Other researchers, however, question whether CT scans will become common practice for such procedures. The scans require advanced CT technology and specialists that many hospitals do not have. ■

  

Prostate Cancer Treatments

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edical researchers recently compared the effects of two common prostate cancer treatments: surgery to remove the prostate, and radioactive seed implants. They surveyed over 400 men for up to 24 months after treatment and found that men who had surgery were more likely to experience impotence and urinary incontinence. Those who had radioactive implants were more likely to experience urinary

frequency, urinary urgency, and pain. Men with seed implants reported a better quality of life immediately after treatment; but after 24 months, those with surgery reported a better quality of life. The cost of each treatment was similar: about $10, 700 for seed implants, $11,600 for surgery. The study was reported in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. ■

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20 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Rare Disease Linked to Cancer

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Columbine cares for seniors

yositis is a fairly rare disease that causes extreme weakness, muscle swelling and inflammation, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. It is often not identified by doctors even though medical scientists have known about it since the early 1900s. It is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue, somewhat like the way rheumatoid arthritis works.

It is often mistaken for symptoms of ageing or depression, and one study says that the average patient with myositis sees seven doctors before getting an accurate diagnosis. There are various forms of myositis (pronounced my-o-SIGHtis), and some are often associated with cancer in the lungs, breast, ovary and colon. Researchers are trying to determine the link between myositis and cancer. ■

caring

Brown Sugar More Nutritious?

heritage

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family Introducing our new logo

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s brown sugar more nutritious than white sugar? No, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both contain basically the same amount of calories. Manufacturers simply add molasses to white sugar to give it a different texture and taste. Sometimes they call it “raw sugar,” but that is merely sugar that has not been fully refined—still no more nutritious. The molasses does add a few

minerals that white sugar does not contain: calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium. But these occur in such small amounts that there is no real nutritional value. The Department of Agriculture says white sugar contains about 17 kilocalories per teaspoon, and brown sugar contains about 16 kilocalories per teaspoon. The molasses in brown sugar does affect baked goods and gives them a different taste. ■

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The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 21

Strange Names for Kids By Bill Lambdin

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ome people give their children strange names. Researchers have discovered one young lady named Dagmar Sewer, another named Julie Barefoot, and one called Mary Lou Wham. Little boys have been named Ansen B. Outhouse, Oscar R. Apathy, and Emil E. Buttermilk. In the 1800s, South Carolina Governor William Gist patriotically christened his son States Rights. The boy graduated from Harvard in 1852, joined the Confederate Army in 1961, and was killed at the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. And that’s what happened to States Rights. For those who wonder where E Pluribus Unum went, he was discovered in Oklahoma City with the last name of Husted. But if E Pluribus thought he had the most patriotic name in Oklahoma, he was wrong. That honor went to a Ponca City resident in 1901 named Loyal Lodge No. 296 Knights of Pythias Ponca City Oklahoma Territory

Smith. You wonder how the boy’s mother called him to dinner. Many actors have changed their names to suit a Hollywood image. John Wayne’s real name was Marion Morrison; but what red-blooded American would believe a rough-andready cowboy could be named Marion? And how many women would have found Tony Curtis so charming if moviemakers had billed him by his real name: Bernard Schwartz? The same might have been true for Cary Grant, whose real name was Archibald Leach. Names of places are also curious. Chicago is from an old Indian word meaning “skunktown” or a place of bad smells. Sometimes Indians were irritated by white settlers’ requests for a name for everything and gave them names that translated “That’s a river, stupid.” America used to be full of places like Frazier’s Bottom, Boozerville and Jackass Flats. Most of those have given way to modern, blander names. But there is still a Hot Coffee, Mississippi; an Oblong, Illinois; and a Gizzard, Tennessee. Colorful names are nice to have, but some pose problems. What do

John Wayne or Marion Morrison? you call residents of a place like Michigan? They have been called Michiganders, but that doesn’t seem polite. Nor will it do to call Chicago residents Chicagorillas, as some have done. The folks from Omaha at one time did not object to being called Omahogs, but lately they resent it— as do the residents of Baltimore when they are called Baltimorons. But what do you call a person from Maine besides a Mainiac? ■

Investment Questions By Scott Burns Financial Writer

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Q: I just received a notice from Fidelity about three new funds: FLCEX, FLGEX and FLVEX, all of which carry a 0.45 percent expense ratio. Not one of these funds has a track record yet. Do you know anything about these that would potentially make them worth the extra expense versus a true index fund, and can you comment on their reference regarding “institutional investment strategies A: I believe many of the ETF index offerings and enhanced index mutual fund offerings flooding the market will wither and die due to poor trade-offs between performance, expenses and risk. With the enhanced index fund strategies, relative risk is a central issue. We won’t know about the new Fidelity offerings until there is a track record. When there is a record, however, the first thing to check is

whether any increase in return was matched by an increase in risk, as measured by standard deviation. Q: I invested $4,000 in a traditional IRA during the dot-com bubble. I held stock of a local company that was sold at pennies. My account is now worth about $120. I don’t know whether I can take out that money and declare a loss on the stock. Or should I keep the money as is and painfully watch it grow to $150 over the next 20 years? A: You can’t take a loss because IRAs hold pre-tax income. This is one of the reasons we should never use qualified plan money for speculative purposes. If you’re going to speculate, do it in a plain vanilla taxable account. Then you can take losses and, if necessary, deduct them (up to $3,000 a year) against earned income. ________________ You can send questions to: [email protected]. ■

22 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

Information on Heart Attacks By Bill Lambdin

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hen it comes to heart problems, only about half of the people who need treatment get it, and half of those who are treated get the wrong treatment. That’s the conclusion of some researchers who say we could greatly reduce the number of heart attack deaths if we simply did what medical scientists know should be done. More than 16 million Americans have heart disease, and nearly 500,000 die from it each year, according to the National Institutes of Health. Many of those deaths occur becauses victims do not get treatment soon enough. When warning signs occur, a heart attack victim needs hospital treatment within one hour to open arteries and avoid permanent heart damage. Fewer than 10 percent of victims get to a hospital that soon. Many call a relative or friend and wait for them to arrive and discuss whether hospitalization is needed. Some attempt to drive themselves to a hospital instead of calling an ambulance. And those who do get to a hospital soon enough often do not get the right treatment because the hospital is not able to give it. Many hospitals that try to treat heart attack victims actually lack the medical specialists and equipment needed to do so, according to Dr. Elizabeth Nabel at the National Institutes of Health. Of the 5,000 acute care hospitals in the United States, only 1,200 provide angioplasty, a treat-

ment needed by many heart attack victims. Patients in rural areas should probably talk in advance with their doctor about the possibility of being transferred to a hospital with adequate facilities in case of a heart attack, said Nabel. In some places, that is possible by helicopter. But patients themselves are most to blame for inadequate treatment. Many stop taking their heart medicines even after their doctors tell them they should continue the medicines for the rest of their lives. Others are not careful about taking the right doses; they do not follow dietary advice, lose weight or exercise—all things that researchers know will reduce the number of heart attack deaths. Many do not really recognize the warning signs of a heart attack. They think it means acute chest pain when actually it’s usually just chest pressure, a feeling of heaviness and shortness of breath. Other signs are discomfort in the neck, arm, jaw or stomach. Also nausea, shortness of breath, cold sweats, exhaustion, blue lips, blue hands or feet. Mature people, especially women, often have less obvious symptoms. They may notice only a sudden feeling of exhaustion and attribute it to something else. They may barely notice the chest pressure or attribute symptoms to something they ate. So mature people need to pay special attention to heart attack symptoms, say experts. ■

By Peggy Hunt

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ature people concerned about vision loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) might consider taking high doses of vitamin E and beta carotene, according to some researchers and a report by the National Eye Institute, which examined 3,600 people with AMD in a six-year study. About 13 million Americans, mostly over age 60, have AMD; and it is the leading cause of blindness among mature people. The most popular vitamin treatment for it is Bausch & Lomb’s PreserVision, which uses two pills containing more than 1,000 percent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin E and about 600 percent of the daily amount of beta carotene. The National Eye Institute study said such treatments slowed vision loss by about 25 percent. Another product similar to PresrVision but costing less is Ocuvite. Researchers say vitamins may slow the progression of AMD but not cure it. Another study reported in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology said the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may reduce the risk of AMD. The researchers said tuna and salmon are among the best sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. The fish ideally should be baked or broiled, and four ounces should be eaten at least twice a week. That study included over 4,500 people ages 60 to 80 over a six-year period. Yet another study reported in the Archives of Ophthalmology says vitamin D may also reduce the risk of

AMD. That study involved over 7,700 people. AMD occurs when the macula, located at the back of the retina, deteriorates with age. Researchers believe that the growth of new blood vessels in the retina may be a major cause of the disease. Vitamin D may prevent the growth of those blood vessels, said researchers. The same benefit may be derived from Omega-3 fatty acids from fish and the other vitamins (A and beta carotene). British researchers believe they might have a cure for age-related macular degeneration within five to ten years. Using stem cells, researchers at University College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and the University of Sheffield say the treatment will be made possible by an $8 million grant from an anonymous donor who was frustrated by restrictions on stem cell research in the United States. British medical scientists have not had such restrictions and have been working on stem cell research for years. The new treatment is intended to benefit patients with so-called “dry” macular degeneration. A treatment for “wet” macular degeneration already exists with a product called Lucentis available from Genetech, Inc. But that treatment is successful only for about one in ten patients, said researchers. AMD affects millions of mature people worldwide. Some researchers think genetics may be involved, in addition to other causes such as smoking. ■

Shoulder Injury Exercises

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fter rotator cuff surgery, men who want to regain maximum strength and range of motion should gradually build up to intense strength exercises with free weights, according to researchers at ATI Physical Therapy, an Illinois based research group. Traditional physical therapy involving range-of-motion exercises works for most people who don’t need or want to regain their full strength. But for men who want

more, exercises with overhead presses, squats and dead lifts were recommended. Study group participants, ages 19 to 59, gradually built up to workouts lasting fours hours a day, five days a week using free weights instead of machines. At the end of the study, 96 percent of the men met or exceeded their previous levels of job-related functions before surgery. Two years later, the re-injury rate was only seven percent. ■

The Senior Voice • July 2007 • 23

Humor: Academic Definitions By Robert Munkres • FACULTY: A collection of academics who advance by degrees as they learn more and more about less and less, until they know almost everything about practically nothing. • SOCIOLOGY: The study of society by those who (1) reject it, (2) disapprove of it, (3) don’t understand it, or (4) all of the above. • POLITICAL SCIENCE: A contradiction in terms spreading over more than 90 odd sub-fields, some of which are odder than others. • BEHAVIORALIST: One for whom counting is a prerequisite to thinking— and frequently a substitute. • THEOLOGY: The study of the sublime by the ridiculous. • PHILOSOPHY: The area of specialization of those who seek to light the lamp of truth but who cannot agree on the definition of a match. • ECONOMICS: A field in which reality is defined by assumptions. Economics is rarely taught below the secondary level because children see through it too easily. • ZOOLOGY: The study of the animal kingdom by its most recalci-

trant progeny. • POLITICIZE: To shout instead of to think; to engage the ego rather than the brain. • CONSERVATIVE: One who, having made it, wants to replace the ladder to success with a greased pole. • IDEALIST: One who sees the world as you saw it when you were twenty. • REALIST: One who sees the world as it really is, in other words, as you do. • LAW: One of the major professional exceptions to the truism that practice makes perfect. • FREE ENTERPRISE: An economic philosophy based on the notion that nothing is free. • COMMUNISM: A politicaleconomic system in which the people in theory own everything, but in fact control nothing. • CIVIL WAR: A contradiction in terms. • NATURALIZED CITIZEN: To be distinguished from the native-born citizen, who, one supposes, remains unnatural. ________________ Robert Munkres lives in Estes Park and has written numerous history stories for The Senior Voice. ■

Little Bo-Peep Has lost her jeep It hit a tree When she went to sleep. – Burma Shave

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24 • July 2007 • The Senior Voice

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