Jump To An Archived News Item
| Mar 12, 2008 |
RiverWoods has gala partner |
| Feb 24, 2008 |
RiverWoods founder sees need to expand |
| Jan 18, 2008 |
Linkletter on the best of Life |
| Nov 2, 2007 |
Diverse population resides at Riverwoods |
| Oct 21, 2007 |
RiverWoods' seniors share art passions with their peers |
| Sep 2, 2007 |
RiverWoods raises over $100g for Seacoast Hospice |
| Aug 28, 2007 |
RiverWoods raises funds |
| Aug 28, 2007 |
Market for senior living |
| Aug 7, 2007 |
Elderly vs. work-force housing: The former wins out locally |
| Jun 24, 2007 |
RiverWoods at Exeter keeps its residents in on the major decisions |
| May 29, 2007 |
RiverWoods hosts annual fund-raiser |
| May 15, 2007 |
RiverWoods Announces New Expansion |
| May 5, 2007 |
RiverWoods plans expansion |
| May 1, 2007 |
RiverWoods eyes expansion |
| Apr 30, 2007 |
RiverWoods Plans Major Expansion |
| Apr 21, 2007 |
Toomey is director of marketing at RiverWoods |
| Apr 18, 2007 |
RiverWoods to add third building |
| Apr 15, 2007 |
RiverWoods eyes expansion |
| Mar 24, 2007 |
Time to downsize |
| Mar 16, 2007 |
Exeter businesses honored |
| Mar 4, 2007 |
RiverWoods residents and teens join forces to keep 'Arts In Reach' |
| Dec 15, 2006 |
Tree Trimming at RiverWoods |
| Dec 12, 2006 |
RiverWoods Web Site Wins Award |
| Dec 10, 2006 |
RiverWoods Re-elects Executive Committee |
| Nov 22, 2006 |
Fruitful Program at RiverWoods |
| Nov 19, 2006 |
Teen Center Dedicated |
| Oct 17, 2006 |
RiverWoods residents share talent, stories |
| Oct 15, 2006 |
New leader for Community Outreach at RiverWoods at Exeter |
| Oct 13, 2006 |
The torch is passed |
| Sep 22, 2006 |
RiverWoods feels like home |
| Sep 5, 2006 |
New chance for adult learning |
| Aug 27, 2006 |
RiverWoods quilting group out to hook new members |
| Aug 1, 2006 |
CBS Evening News - Bill Smallwood Story |
| Jun 29, 2006 |
"Purely on Merritt" by Wayne King |
| Apr 11, 2006 |
Lifelong Learning Program for Older Adults in Exeter Area Attracts Crowd at RiverWoods |
| Mar 24, 2006 |
Entering cyberspace: RiverWoods helps seniors traverse the Internet |
| Feb 26, 2006 |
Twice in a lifetime |
| Feb 14, 2006 |
Peak of fitness is ageless |
| Jan 29, 2006 |
Exeter senior group stays active, helps in many ways |
| Jan 25, 2006 |
Officials foresee tough times, but are optimistic about growth |
RiverWoods has gala partner
Mar 12, 2008
EXETER— RiverWoods of Exeter, a Seacoast retirement community, announced this month that it has selected a new nonprofit partner for its annual gala auction, the RiverWoods Event. The recipient this year is Squamscott Community Commons, a nonprofit organization creating a community center on site of the former Exeter Area Junior High School on Linden Street. Last year, RiverWoods supported Seacoast Hospice and raised a total of $111,000 over three years for that organization through their annual gala auctions, which are open to the public and feature many unique and creative items. The gala auction will be held at the Woods campus at RiverWoods on Saturday, Oct. 4. For tickets or to volunteer, contact Penny Teodorczyk at 658-3031 or visit www.riverwoodsrc.org.
Back To Top
RiverWoods founder sees need to expand
Feb 24, 2008
By Jennifer Feals
EXETER — It was a revolutionary force in the 1990s, fueled by cookies and coffee during conversations around a dinner table, which has grown into a prosperous nonprofit continuing-care retirement community eyeing an expansion.
While one of the founders of RiverWoods at Exeter says the original group never imagined its ideas would turn into such a large organization, she says it is apparent that there is a need and demand for an additional facility.
RiverWoods proposes to create a new building on 59 acres near The Ridge campus, called The Boulders. RiverWoods at Exeter currently has two communities, The Woods and The Ridge.
The Exeter Planning Board is reviewing the project, which has received some opposition from The Ridge residents and abutting neighborhoods.
"I hope in terms of our development that people can understand why we are doing this. There is a demand and there is a need," said co-founder Maryanna Hatch, 85. "We will work it out some way. I am glad that residents are voicing their concerns. I think we are trying to address them as best we can. It will work itself out somehow, I hope, to the comfort of everybody."
Plans for The Boulders include 76 independent-living apartments, 16 skilled nursing beds, 24 assisted-living units and 24 cottages. The main building would include a common area, dining area, library, pool, fitness area, greenhouse and arts and crafts room.
In original plans, the access to The Ridge, through White Oak drive, was intended to be the entrance for The Boulders as well. In recent Planning Board meetings, the town requested that a proposed temporary access road linking to Pickpocket Road that would be used during construction become a permanent and public secondary entrance. A gated connection to Blackford Drive, to be used for emergency personnel and in the event of a natural disaster, is also being discussed.
The RiverWoods idea was a theme connecting through Hatch's life since college, where she studied to be a social worker. While in the field, Hatch understood the issues facing the elderly in her community of Durham, and she saw housing issues firsthand as a volunteer at the county nursing home. In the 1970s, Hatch helped build low-income senior housing in Durham and started a home-health agency for the elderly. She began to think that more should be done for the elderly than just housing.
In 1982, Hatch was introduced to Rosemary Coffin, also 85, who had already been investigating elderly housing options. Coffin was excited by a community in California where her mother-in-law resided, where residents had full social schedules and health care.
Knowing this was what they wanted to achieve, the women looked for areas around Durham that could accommodate the community. Hatch said they originally wanted to be near the University of New Hampshire, but "they weren't ready for us then."
"This was a revolutionary concept in New England. People were very skeptical. People who are living here now," she said with a smile.
The 10-year planning of the RiverWoods concept began in 1984.
"We spent a tremendous amount of time over a big, long table when and where we could get together," Hatch said. "Rosemary kept the gentlemen with us with her wonderful cookies."
"It progressed from there. We had wonderful cooperation from people. They really joined us in the risk of doing this," Hatch said. "It just sort of built like top seed; people became curious about this whole thing. We began to wonder if we were ever going to get it together."
The Woods portion of the community opened in 1994, and The Ridge was constructed in 2003. The facilities offer independent living, health care, educational opportunities, and an environment to meet new friends and even fall in love again, said President and Chief Executive Officer Justine Vogel at a Planning Board meeting Thursday. The facilities have served 1,000 families over the course of the organization's 13 years and they want to serve more, she said.
Throughout her life, Hatch has understood the need for an elderly facility like RiverWoods and how families and residents benefit.
After graduating as a gerontology major at the University of Oregon, Hatch immediately took a job as a social worker and was given a child welfare caseload. Within the first month, Hatch realized this was not where she wanted to be and was placed into an elderly caseload. She stayed with the work until after World War II when she was newly married and moved to the East Coast.
Hatch's elderly in-laws moved in with her family; she and her husband, John, cared for them until their deaths. Her father-in-law lived with the family 18 years, until he died at the age of 101. He was well until just two days before his death.
"It was a different situation than most people dealt with. There were so many other people not finding any kind of support, or if they did, it was stressing their caregivers out, because they did not have enough resources," she said. "I was so aware of how our situation was rare."
In the meantime, Hatch's mother, who lived on the West Coast, suffered an aneurism and was never able to talk again. Her father had retired to take care of his wife.
"He was remarkable. They always enjoyed each other so much that this was a unique situation," Hatch said. "But that is an unfulfilled part of my life."
In planning for RiverWoods, Hatch often referred back to what it would have been like if her parents were able to live near her family and know their two granddaughters.
As the RiverWoods community prepares for another expansion, some have raised concerns that one-third of its residents come from outside the area. One-third of RiverWoods residents are from New Hampshire, another third are from New England, and a third are from other parts of the country. But 99 percent of residents come to be near family in the area, Hatch said.
"It enables families to reunite and the quality of life is much better that way," Hatch said.
Back To Top
Linkletter on the best of Life
Jan 18, 2008
By Rachel Forrest
PORTSMOUTH — He was abandoned at a few weeks old and adopted, he's been a hobo and the chairman of the board for a mega-million dollar solar energy company. Art Linkletter is best remembered, though, for two of the longest-running shows in broadcast history, "House Party" and "People are Funny," and for getting kids to blurt out those embarrassing gems on "Kids Say the Darndest Things."
Now at age 95, Linkletter has published the latest of his 28 books, "How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life," co-authored with Mark Victor Hansen.
Wednesday at the Portsmouth Sheraton Harborside Hotel, his words of wisdom about aging and his own life prompted an audience of mostly 60- and 70-somethings to laugh at his anecdotes and sigh at some of his more tragic recollections.
The talk was sponsored by The Boulders at Riverwoods, a new senior living community coming to Exeter.
"The biggest change since I was 50 years old is that people are living longer," he told the audience. "Now we live 30 years longer. Most of you should be dead! I should have died in 1959! But now the doctors can replace anything you've got."
Energetic and full of stories about celebs and luminaries from his past, Linkletter recalled his life from growing up in Massachusetts and San Diego to becoming a hobo and an usher. He hung up raw liver for 42 cents an hour. He was a typist on Wall Street during the crash of 1929 and a sailor in Buenos Aires — all before he was 20 years old.
But it was a phone call in 1934 that got him into radio, and now 74 years later, he's interviewed 27,000 children for TV and books and lived long enough to have written three autobiographies.
The audience laughed when Linkletter tackled lighter topics, saying of sex for seniors, "It's no longer the Fourth of July, it's more like Thanksgiving." But they grew silent when he discussed the deaths of three of his five children, including the suicide of his daughter in 1969 and the recent death from cancer of son Jack.
"As you grow older, you'll lose friends before your time. You never know when your child walks out the door if they'll come back," he said.
The death of daughter Dawn of a drug abuse-related suicide prompted Linkletter to work tirelessly on the fight against drug abuse, serving on the President's National Advisory Council for Drug Abuse Prevention. He also worked on education issues with his participation on the Presidential Commission to Improve Reading in the United States.
He's served on many boards of directors, including MGM, Western Airlines, Kaiser Hospitals and the French Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease.
His energy is evident in his new book, written with "Chicken Soup for the Soul" co-author Hansen.
"The two of us with all of our contacts were able to schedule conversations with experts from finance to sex to faith. For exercise we talked to Jack LaLanne," said Linkletter on his break between talks. "When I was 30 or 35 years of age, people who were 70 were (seen as) sick or senile or sexless. There were so many myths about aging."
Linkletter also discussed Alzheimer's disease, something we see more of now that people are living longer, although at 95, his own memory seemed as sharp as a 20-year-old as he told stories about Rita Hayworth, Ronald Reagan and Bob Hope — as well as how he met his wife of 73 years, Lois, and their secret for staying together.
"I found her at a high school dance. I looked for free dances and she was a terrific ballroom dancer. I was a good dancer so we danced together for a couple of years and had a long courtship. We saw a lot of each other. Finally I said, 'well, I suppose we should get married or something.' And she said, 'We'll get married or nothing!' We got to know each other. Now today, people are in bed together right away. They don't know each other."
Linkletter says that Lois was always willing to take a chance with him through his many careers and projects and he suggests not just seniors, but younger folks so the same.
"You might not always be a success at everything you try but look for the thing that you do like to do and do it."
Back To Top
Diverse population resides at Riverwoods
Nov 2, 2007
By Dr. Thomas Adams
De Senectute
"Old age: the crown of life, our play's last act." — Marcus Tillius Cicero
Recently there have been letters and articles in the local newspapers about RiverWoods and particularly about a proposed expansion. One quote from a neighbor, I believe, was something like, "We don't want old people moving in, we want young people." Another article talks about the demographics of an increase in the elderly in the Seacoast area.
Maybe someone should try to elaborate who and what we are.
Who are we?
We are mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, great-grandparents, too. We are married couples or single, widows and widowers. We are people who come mostly from New England, but many others come from all over the United States and as far away as Tasmania. We have all worked for a living, like you. Many of us moved here to be nearer to family members.
What did we do?
We were homemakers and professionals, engineers and teachers, doctors and lawyers, librarians and booksellers, salesmen and saleswomen, farmers and gardeners, businessmen and businesswomen, veterans of foreign wars who fought in Germany and the South Pacific, teachers and professors, mountaineers and artists. We have had all kinds of careers. We have raised families. Most of us are retired, but some of us work part time and a few full time.
What do we do now?
We live in a community where we make new friends and share old stories. We do woodworking. We paint and quilt and make pottery. We play bocce and golf. We garden seriously. We row in sculls or paddle kayaks. We walk a lot and exercise as much as we can. We ride bicycles. We attend lectures and we give lectures. We read books and have written them. We are happy to share our life stories and exploits. We care about and for our aging friends. We are here because we want to be interdependent and less burdensome to our families.
Do we add to the community?
RiverWoods is a big taxpayer, yet, we do not occupy spaces in schools. We need and use health and emergency services, but we pay for them through our insurances. We have contributed in major ways to the New Outlook Teen Center and Seacoast Hospice by hosting fund-raising events. We do volunteer work through outreach programs. We use our skills to create fine furniture and works of art in paint and fabric and clay for auctions for nonprofit organizations. We improve walking trails like the historic Jolly Rand; and we help clear fallen trees from the Exeter River. We remove invasive plants. We enjoy knowing the staff who work here. We become their friends.
Our officers and the voluntary board of trustees feel that there is enough enthusiasm and interest to pursue further building on this last section of this property that RiverWoods owns. If more people come here it is because they find how glad we are to be here. Judging from the surroundings at the Woods and the Ridge sections of RiverWoods, it seems clear that we have respected our ecology.
For better or worse, populations are aging everywhere. People are living longer for multiple reasons, some related to new health care options. Places like RiverWoods (and there are more and more choices being offered in life care communities) are becoming more and more attractive to us elderly who want to be as independent as possible. While we live here we also try to be connected to the Exeter community.
And, finally, regarding "old people," I am reminded of an engraving on an old New England tombstone, namely: SUM QUOD ERIS (I am what you will be ).
Thomas W. Adams is a retired doctor who lives at RiverWoods and runs the pottery studio at the retirement community.
Back To Top
RiverWoods' seniors share art passions with their peers
Oct 21, 2007
By Jennifer Feals
EXETER — Over the last six years, RiverWoods resident Dick March has created nearly 500 Nantucket baskets.
The 85-year-old began making the baskets after he was trained by a fellow resident to carry on the tradition within the senior community. He now teaches other residents the skill.
"It takes quite a while to make a basket," he said of the intricate, time-consuming and detailed art. "I've been spending most of my time on baskets, but it's a rewarding hobby."
Art and talent is spread widely throughout the RiverWoods community. Paintings created by artists line the halls, while March's baskets and resident-created pottery pieces are displayed in the facilities' country stores.
March had never heard of Nantucket baskets until he moved to RiverWoods in May 1999, and saw a display created by residents. March sought out the teacher, Dick Demarest.
"He was 91 at that time and was very gifted with his hands," March said. "He could see I was catching on pretty well, and he said, 'You know, I'm not going to be around forever,' and asked if I would be willing to teach the class."
A wait list continues to grow as students look to create a basket with March.
Nantucket baskets are made over a mold and each piece of wooden thread is woven just so to create the basket.
"Each stage to me is fun and a challenge," March said. "When it's finally done, you are putting something in your hand that is very beautiful and strong. There's a lot of satisfaction."
Sixteen pieces of resident George Fisher's paintings are on display in The Woods, one of the continuing-care retirement community's facilities.
A clergyman for 40 years, Fisher, 92, did not start painting seriously until he retired in 1980.
"I've been drawing since I was 10, but never had time to get into it," he said. "I drew as a child and in high school took two semesters of art, and I liked it very much. When I hit retirement, I decided to go full-tilt."
Fisher paints every day in his building's art studio. His paintings, primarily oils and pastels, range from outdoor scenes, portraits and still-life.
"There's an individual paint style, but subject matter makes little difference," he said. "Some specialize in one; I like to do them all."
Fisher's favorite painting of his own is a scene at Bennington College, painted in the summer of 1999. The painting made its way back to Fisher after he sold it to a woman who later passed away.
"It's a lonesome road leading to the Green Mountains with trees on all sides. It was done in August, and at the moment the leaves were just getting colors of reds and oranges," he said.
He often sells his work to residents and their friends and family members. Some of his pieces are owned by people in 23 states and Ontario, Canada, the Philippines, New Zealand and Brazil.
When Tom Adams, 76, a retired pediatrician and potter, moved to RiverWoods, he needed a place to continue his pottery. So along with two other residents, Adams opened the pottery studio in The Ridge at RiverWoods and has led the ceramics program for residents since 2005.
Adams became interested in clay when he was a member of the Air Force stationed in Turkey in the 1960s. Throughout the country, clay tiles were found on buildings and elsewhere, he said, inspiring him to begin making his own.
"After that, I realized that clay had infinite possibilities. It was so exciting, I fell in love with it," he said.
Adams shares that love with other residents as he has led the ceramics program at RiverWoods since 2005. He helps them create their own functional pottery that can be used for decoration or even cooking.
"Where clay becomes art is the question, I think," said Adams, who also creates "art," under his own definition, with clay. An onion creation inspired by a poem hangs on the wall, while urns and jewelry are displayed throughout the pottery studio, items Adams says are more artwork than functional pottery.
Another resident, Polly Friedrichs, 79, uses fabrics of just the right colors and placed perfectly to create artwork.
Friedrichs' RiverWoods apartment is filled with quilts draped over beds and hung on walls, some of a more traditional sense and others like a fabric painting.
Friedrichs enjoys bringing objects to life through her quilts, as opposed to just looking at a picture, she said. In one room of her apartment, quilts are hung displaying each season. Light from a fresh sunset shines onto fallen snow in a winter scene, leaves swirl off the ground in an autumn quilt, and the brightness of spring flowers is shown through another hanging.
"It's my passion, so whenever I have a chance to work with colors and new designs and get things swirling in my head, I grab the chance," Friedrichs said.
Back To Top
RiverWoods raises over $100g for Seacoast Hospice
Sep 2, 2007
EXETER — It is expected that nonprofit organizations raise money for their programs through events. What is not expected is that other nonprofits will help — and yet that is what RiverWoods of Exeter has been doing for nonprofit Seacoast organizations for the past 12 years.
It began as part of the mission of Riverwoods of Exeter — that community living offered the opportunity to give back and be a part of the larger Seacoast community. Residents volunteer for hundreds of nonprofit groups, from mentoring at schools, to surrogate grandparent programs, to Arts in Reach with teen girls.
RiverWoods recently presented a check for $25,535 to Seacoast Hospice, the result of the 2007 fundraiser. This brings the grand total to $111,638 that RiverWoods has raised for Seacoast Hospice over the past three years. Most of the funds were raised during the annual "Light the Night" event; a live and silent auction held at RiverWoods. The money will go to support the Hospice Fund programs for patients who are without insurance or are underinsured, and for the Hyder Family Hospice House.
"We have enjoyed our connection to RiverWoods," said Susan Cole, chief executive officer of Seacoast Hospice. "This funding allows us to do such important work with patients and families who are in need."
"This has become an annual tradition of giving back to a good cause," says Diane Cira of the Light the Night committee this year.
This past year, the "Light the Night" event was held at the Ridge, which is RiverWoods' newer campus, and featured artwork, by residents during the live auction, which was well received.
Past nonprofits that RiverWoods has supported through this program include Planet Playground and New Outlook Teen Center, among others. RiverWoods will host its next fundraising event on Oct. 4, 2008, and a charity will be named in the fall.
Back To Top
RiverWoods raises funds
Aug 28, 2007
By Chris Haas
chaas@seacoastonline.com
August 28, 2007 6:00 AM
EXETER — RiverWoods has been around 14 years and has raised funds for other nonprofits for 13 of them.
This month, it donated $25,535 to Seacoast Hospice, bringing its grand total to $111,638 that it has raised for Seacoast Hopsice the past three years. The majority of the money was raised during the annual "Light the Night" event at RiverWoods.
"It is a gala with a live and silent auction, said Diane Cira, vice president of operations at RiverWoods.
This year's auction included art work by RiverWoods residents. Money raised helps fund Seacoast Hospice's programs for patients who are without insurance or under-insured and for bereavement programs for families.
"This funding allows us to do such important work with patients and families who are in need," said Susan Cole, chief executive officer of Seacoast Hospice.
RiverWoods' fundraising began in 1995, a year after it opened with a road race that raised money to build Planet Playground in Exeter. RiverWoods then spent three years raising approximately $130,000 for the New Outlook Teen Center in Exeter. When that project was complete RiverWoods began efforts with Seacoast Hospice.
"It is part of why we are RiverWoods," said Cathleen Toomey, vice president of marketing at RiverWoods.
Toomey said RiverWoods residents also devote thousands of hours to different programs every year.
"We are not a nursing home," Toomey said. "RiverWoods is an independent community whose residents take an active part in the decision making about the life of the community."
Back To Top
Market for senior living
Aug 28, 2007
By Jennifer Feals
EXETER — Though a proposed addition to RiverWoods sparked criticism and concerns from residents and abutters, the organization and others say the expansion is necessary and beneficial.
RiverWoods at Exeter currently has two communities, The Woods and The Ridge. The continuing care retirement community proposes to create a new building on 59 acres adjacent the Ridge campus. Current plans for the approximately 285,000-square-foot building to include 76 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted living units and 16 skilled nursing beds.
Justine Vogel, RiverWoods president and chief executive officer, said the expansion is beneficial for a number of reasons given the steady growth in people age 62 and older in the area, state and region.
"From a business perspective, there's definitely a market. From a mission statement, there's definitely a need," she said. "We feel it's a coming together of the market and our mission and if we can provide for 100 more families, why shouldn't we?"
RiverWoods' original building, The Woods, opened in 1994. It contains 201 independent apartments, 20 assisted living units and a 40-bed skilled nursing center. The Ridge, which opened in 2004, has 81 independent living units, 11 cottages, 27 assisted living units and 23 skilled nursing beds.
A non-profit organization, RiverWoods provides a full continuum of care to seniors as they progress through the aging process. The majority of RiverWoods residents enter the community living independently and once there, have the freedom of staying in the community and receiving services should they ever need it, from home care to assisted living or skilled nursing.
"People tend to think of RiverWoods as a retirement community or nursing home, but 97 percent of our residents live independently," said Cathleen Toomey, RiverWoods director of marketing. "They kayak, bike, garden, walk their dogs. They come and go."
Residents Judd Alexander and Ron Bernasconi both agree RiverWoods offers a number of opportunities that they could not find elsewhere. For that reason, they support an expansion that could provide those opportunities to potential residents.
Alexander, who came to RiverWoods a year and a half ago, said he has lived in nine states the last few years, saw a number of retirement communities, but found the Exeter community to be the right fit.
"I appreciate very much the fact that the people who first expanded RiverWoods made it available to me and I am very pleased that a hundred more, maybe my friends, will be living nearby," he said.
Common areas similar to the existing RiverWoods campuses will fit into the proposed building, including a living room, library, arts and crafts room, fitness center, pool, aerobics studio, pottery studio, cafe, a large commons room, beauty parlor and barber shop and a dining room with a private dining room for special occasions.
"If I had to replicate my own wood shop, photography shop, swimming pool, exercise equipment, library ... I would probably need to have a 25,000-square-foot house. It's all here if I want to use it," Bernasconi said.
Vogel said RiverWoods provides residents a lifestyle.
"Residents make new friends, fall in love ￢ﾀﾔ we've had quite a few marriages ￢ﾀﾔ it's someone to play bridge with. People are connected," she said.
With the proposed addition to the community, Vogel and Toomey say they expect concerns from abutters and residents, as there always is in development. But Vogel said, "Our goal is to keep as much green as possible and serve our mission as much as possible."
Vogel said a RiverWoods' expansion is a better fit on the land and near the existing neighborhood than large businesses and homes, which could be built there.
"We don't cause much trouble," Alexander said. "But, did you hear about the wild party so and so had the other day. His lights were still on and it was nine o'clock."
Back To Top
Elderly vs. work-force housing: The former wins out locally
Aug 7, 2007
By Jennifer Feals
jfeals@seacoastonline.com
EXETER — With two recent proposals for elderly housing in Stratham and Exeter, there is a split on whether more of such housing is needed.
In New Hampshire in the year 2000, 175,000 people were older than 62; in 2010, that number will rise to 227,000; and in 2020, it will be at 324,000, according to the Census Bureau.
Justine Vogel, president and CEO of RiverWoods at Exeter, said the numbers show a definite need.
"From a business perspective, there is definitely a market. From a mission statement, there's definitely a need," Vogel said.
"We feel it is a coming together of the market and our mission, and if we can provide for 100 more families, why shouldn't we?"
RiverWoods currently has two retirement developments, The Woods and The Ridge.
The company has proposed a new complex on 59 acres adjacent to The Ridge.
Plans for the 285,000-square-foot complex include 76 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and 16 skilled nursing beds.
In Stratham, Jones and Beach Inc. engineers have presented a preliminary plan to the Planning Board that would bring a 22-unit assisted-living, retirement-home development to town.
It would be on a nine-acre site that abuts the New Hampshire Community Technical College campus on Route 33.
There are already a number of housing communities with a variety of options for the elderly in the area, including Wadleigh Falls Senior Housing in Newmarket, Langdon Place and Sunrise assisted-living centers in Exeter and Rockingham County Nursing Home in Brentwood.
Of the two recent proposals, Peter Francese, director of demographic forecasting for the New England Economic Partnership, said there is no relation.
As a continuing-care retirement community, RiverWoods, he said, is a cross between housing for the elderly and a nursing home that provides medical assistance as well as dining rooms and activity rooms such as art, wood shop and a library.
"RiverWoods is a different facility entirely from the age-restricted housing being proposed in Stratham," he said. In Rockingham County, there are more than 1,000 such age-restricted housing units, Francese said.
"So is there a need for more age-restricted housing in this part of the county? From a demographic point of view, the answer is clearly no," he said. "What demand there was appears to have been pretty well satisfied, if you are talking about local residents."
There may, on the other hand, be some additional need for continuing care, he said.
The short-term benefit of age-restricted housing for a town, Francese said, is that it is not putting any kids in their schools. But it does attract older residents from other states who find the housing a bargain.
"As a result, the population 65 or older is growing a lot faster in New Hampshire than it is in other New England states," he said.
The resulting imbalance between elderly residents and those in the work force is going to cause trouble in the long run, Francese said.
"Is there really a need for more elderly housing, and particularly in Stratham, compared to the need for work-force housing? There is no comparison.
"There is a far greater need for work-force housing," he said. "Whatever age-restricted housing is going up in Stratham, once it is built, they might, for example, need one property manager.
But at RiverWoods, the issue will be where are they going to find enough people they will need to provide the continuing care for their residents? They and other health-related facilities near here must find caregivers, and right now you can't pay them enough to live around here. Housing is just too expensive."
Stratham Planning Board Chairwoman Janet Johnson agrees there is a need for work-force housing, but said she also supports more elderly housing in the area.
"When people are downsizing and that sort of thing, they need to be able to afford to downsize and that's a difficult thing to do right now, and to be able to stay in the area. I definitely think there's a need," she said.
"One of the problems is that you've got the not-in-my-backyard mentality and people not really understanding what it entails. That it can be done tastefully so it can fit in with the town, the landscaping and all that.
Back To Top
RiverWoods at Exeter keeps its residents in on the major decisions
Jun 24, 2007
By: Denis Paiste
EXETER — Residents of RiverWoods at Exeter are fully involved in their continuing care retirement community, including serving on the committee planning a new, 285,000-square-foot additional neighborhood adjacent to the Ridge campus.
Judd Alexander, 82, a member of the Futures Committee, said adding a third living area to the community will strengthen the financial base of the non-profit institution.
"It makes it easier to attract top-rate employees and continue their loyalty because there is more chance for promotions and development," said Alexander, who has been a resident for 14 months.
Expansion
The original Woods campus has 200 residents in independent living, while the Ridge has 100. The expansion will bring in another 100.
"With more size, it gives you more flexibility, for example, people have a right to ask for help in assisted living or the other stage of full nursing," Alexander said. "It's kind of hard to balance needs, but with a bigger environment and another location that has those things, we have more flexiblity to work that out. I think that would be an advantage to people."
"It also continues to make this place stronger and therefore more desirable," said Alexander, a retired corporate executive who jokingly refers to RiverWoods residents as "the inmates."
Not-for-profit
Alexander said as a not-for-profit, RiverWoods puts back into the facility any money it makes. "The expansion would be handled by new money; it would be borrowed," he said. The debt would be paid off from funds brought in by new people moving in, he said. So current residents of the Woods and the Ridge would not be responsible for funding the new construction.
The estimated $47 million project will be financed with tax-exempt bonds.
Alexander said he is enthusiastic about the project, "I'm very happy to be here, I think it's a wonderful place," he said.
RiverWoods at Exeter director of marketing Cathleen A. Toomey said the community is firmly committed to moving forward with the expansion project. "We are very confident in our ability to successfully develop and fill this new community, much as we did several years ago with the Ridge," she said.
RiverWoods at Exeter, which opened in 1994, is 97 percent occupied and has a waiting list for some units.
The Woods, the original building, has 201 independent apartments, 20 assisted-living units and a 40-bed skilled nursing center. The Ridge, opened in 2004, has 81 independent-living units, 11 cottages, 27 assisted-living units and 23 skilled-nursing beds.
The new building will be adjacent to the Ridge on 59 acres. Plans are that the building will include 76 independent-living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and 16 skilled-nursing beds.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010.
Dick Aplin, who has lived at RiverWoods for 10 years and chairs the Construction Oversight Committee, said each campus has its own personality even though it's under central management.
RiverWoods strives to provide residents with an intellectually, emotionally and socially vigorous environment. "The residents create the community along with the administrators," Toomey said. "Everything is co-created, everything is decided together. There is virtually no other organization that I know of nationally that does this like RiverWoods."
"We call it the three-legged stool," Aplin said, referring to the partnership of residents, staff and trustees. "That's what makes us unique. Residents have a real input into decisions."
Dawn Barker, RiverWoods director of human resources, is in charge of the expansion project. "A good example of that is that our environmental committee demands of us that we look at sustainable options for this project," Barker said. "We're looking to make it a greener project. So we were hiring a green consultant to work in tandem with our design team to help introduce some of these concepts for the project."
Residents make a permanent investment in their RiverWoods at Exeter by purchasing their unit under contract that guarantees a refund of 90 percent of their entrance fee when they leave or pass away.
New entrants have to be at least 62 years old. A third of residents come from New Hampshire, a third from the rest of New England and a third from other parts of the country.
Aplin, 78, a retired professor of management at Cornell University, became a widower at RiverWoods. After his wife, Joanne, died, he met another resident who had been widowed 18 years. He and Peggy Hoyt subsequently married. "We had the wedding here; all the residents were invited," he said.
"A good reason why we're expanding is to be able to offer that quality of life to more people," Barker said.
Sheila Hull, 81, moved into RiverWoods one year ago after living in Durham for 46 years. Like many residents, Hull has a dog. Her dog, Benjie, is a mix of poodle and Shih-Tzu, a hybrid known as a Shih Poo.
"It's a great place. When you get old enough, we'll let you in," she said to a reporter, chuckling.
Residents buy into RiverWoods with entry costs from $200,000 to $600,000, depending on the size of their unit, which range from studios to cottages.
Additionally, residents pay a monthly service fee of $1,500 to $3,000, which covers one meal a day in a congregate dining room, apartment cleaning every other week, laundry and other services.
"What people are purchasing is the life care contract with RiverWoods," Toomey said. "You pay a one-time entrance fee, 90 percent of which is refundable to your estate, and then you have fixed monthly costs.
"So if you have an event, and require assisted living for a period of time, you get that care, right here, at no additional cost." she said. "It's the same with skilled nursing -- if you need that, there is no hike in your monthly fee. You can receive that quality of care right at RiverWoods, among your friends and neighbors. On the outside that skilled nursing would cost $8,000- $10,000 per month.
"You're really buying long-term care insurance as part of the package," Aplin said.
Back To Top
RiverWoods hosts annual fund-raiser
May 29, 2007
By Melissa Lattman
EXETER — Light the Night with fine cuisine and quality art at RiverWoods on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
The evening of live and silent auctions features juried-quality art made by resident artists. Sample boursin-stuffed cherry tomatoes or creamy pecan chicken chowder. Bid on an oak occasional table made from 100-year-old former church pews or a molded Nantucket basket. The benefit is the third in a series of three annual fund-raisers for Seacoast Hospice. Of more than 250 auction items, RiverWoods community member artists created 40.
"The Art of RiverWoods" is new to the event this year. The emphasis this year was on engaging the residents, Diane Cira, director of resident life, said. In the event program are stories about the art and its creator. Dr. Tom Adams likes turning mud into gold by making wonderful things from clay, he said. Adams developed his passion for pottery when he lived in Turkey, which is rich in tiles and mosaic work. After service in the Air Force he returned to Boston and studied pottery and glazing along with his profession as a pediatrician.
A RiverWoods tradition continues with Nantucket-style basket-making molds and skills passed between residents. In 2001 Dick March learned basket-making at RiverWoods from Richard Demarest. After Demarest's passing, his family donated the molds and tools to March with the proviso that he continue teaching residents the art form.
March has made more than 400 baskets to date and has taught 40 students who have made about 200 baskets since 2002.
Wine pairings included in the ticket price with the gourmet food are new this year. Guests can sample items such as salad, chowder, steak, butternut risotto and an assortment of chocolates and pastries.
A nonprofit helping another nonprofit goes back to River Woods' start with a focus on education and community. The residents volunteer at more than 100 organizations in the community, Cira said.
Currently they are in the third year of helping Seacoast Hospice with $100,000 raised from the first two years, Cira said.
This year's event benefits Hyder Family Hospice House, a new 14-bedroom home in Dover that provides care to folks at the end of life in a homelike environment. The money goes to the hospice fund to help people without insurance pay for services, said Cathleen Toomey, RiverWoods director of marketing.
Contact Penny at 658-3031 for event tickets, which include gourmet dining and wine. The tickets are $75 each and are on sale are up until the day of the event.
Back To Top
RiverWoods Announces New Expansion
May 15, 2007
The Senior Times - May 2007 Edition
Exeter, NH - RiverWoods at Exeter, the Seacoasts area's premier life care community has announced plans to add an additional neighborhood to their existing campuses in Exeter.
The new building will be sited on 59 acres, adjacent to the Ridge campus, and will be approximately 285,000 square feet. Current plans are that the building will include 76 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted living units and 16 skilled nursing beds.
"RiverWoods is here to serve the community, and it has become clear to us that in order to respond to the need, we should create space to serve more people," said Frank S. Crane, III, Chief Executive Officer of RiverWoods for 12 years and will be retiring in April.
"We do not enter into expansion lightly," said Justine Vogel, Chief Operation Officer, who oversaw the development of the idge project. "We have reviewed the numbers and examined the details with our Board of Trustees and we are confident thisproject will be a success."
Within the new building, there will be common areas similar to the existing RiverWoods campuses, with a living room, library, arts and crafts room, fitness center, pool, aerobics studio, pottery studio, cafe, a large commons area, beauty parlor/barber shop and a dining room for special occasions.
The pre-construction marketing phase of the project will launch next month, and a waiting list has been started. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010. The construction of the project, which is estimated to cost $47 million, will be financed through a new issuance of tax exempt bonds.
Currently, RiverWoods at Exeter has two campuses, about three quarters of a mile apart. The Woods, which is the original building, has 201 independent appartments, 20 assisted living units, and a 40 bed skilled nursing center. The Ridge, which opened in 2004, has 81 independent living units, 11 cottages, 27 assisted living units and 23 skilled nursing beds.
The architect on the project is Mark Moeller, a LEED accredited architect and principal with JSA Inc, and architectural company based in Portsmouth; and the construction company is LeCesse Construction from New York. Both JSA and LeCesse are veterans of RiverWoods' last development, the Ridge. The design team will also include an environmental energy consultant.
The idea of RiverWoods was born around a kitchen table in the 1980's, by a grassroots group of Seacoast residents interested in creating a community-oriented, positive, creative and secure environment for retirement age living. They worked for more than 10 years before opening the Woods in 1994.
Founder Maryanna Hatch, a resident of the Woods puts it this way, "We knew a retirement community would be a godsend to the people in Durham and Exeter, but we had no idea how this would take-off."
RiverWoods at Exeter is a non-profit organization, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) that provides a full continuum of care to seniors as the progress through the aging process. The majority of RiverWoods' residents come into the community while they can live independently, and once at RiverWoods have the freedom of staying in the community and receiving services should they ever need it, from home care to assisted living, or skilled nursing, as their long-term care needs dictate. In most cases RiverWoods residents remain in the community for the balance of thier lives.
For more information on the new campus, or to join the wait list for the new campus, contact Cathleen Toomey at 603-658-1587.
Back To Top
RiverWoods plans expansion
May 5, 2007
New Hamshire Business Review - 4/27 - 5/10 issue:
RiverWoods at Exeter, a life care community, has announced plans to add an additional neighborhood to its existing campuses in Exeter.
The new 285,000-square-foot building will be sited on 59 acres, adjacent to the Ridge campus. Current plans call for 76 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and 16 skilled nursing beds.
Officials said the new building also will feature common areas similar to the existing RiverWoods campuses, with a living room, library, art and crafts room, fitness center, pool, aerobics studio, pottery studio, cafe, a large commons room, beauty palor/barber shop and a dining room for special occasions.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010. Construction of the project, which is estimated to cost $47 million, will be financed through a new issuance of tax exempt bonds.
Architect for the project is Mark Moeller, a principal with JSA Inc, Portsmouth. Contractor is LeCesse Construction of New York.
Back To Top
RiverWoods eyes expansion
May 1, 2007
By Shir Haberman
EXETER — We've heard about it so much that it's become a given in American society ￢ﾀﾔ more people are entering their senior years now than at any other time in the nation's history, and they are living longer, requiring increasing levels of care to maintain healthy and productive lives.
A quarter of a century ago, two local visionaries ￢ﾀﾔ Maryanna Hatch of Durham and Rosemary Coffin of Exeter ￢ﾀﾔ recognized this situation and began working on a solution. That solution evolved into the RiverWoods complexes that sit just off Route 111 in Exeter.
It took until 2001 to open RiverWoods' first complex, dubbed "The Woods." It consisted of 201 independent living units, 20 assisted-living units, and a 40-bed skilled nursing center.
The second complex, called "The Ridge," located on the other side of Route 111, opened in 2004, and consisted of 81 independent and 27 assisted-living units, along with 11 cottages and 23 skilled-nursing beds.
Now, this private nonprofit is poised to expand again on a 59-acre parcel adjacent to The Woods complex. Plans are for the new complex to include 79 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and a 16-bed skilled nursing center (Resident speaks out against expansion proposal, Page A11).
"RiverWoods is here to serve the community, and it has become clear to us that in order to respond to the need, we should create space to serve more people," said Frank S. Crane III, the current RiverWoods CEO, who will be retiring this month.
Incoming CEO Justine Vogel, who is currently functioning as the continuing-care retirement community's COO, said RiverWoods' management and board did not take the idea of another expansion lightly.
"We have reviewed the numbers and examined the details with our board of directors, and we are confident this project will be a success," Vogel said.
That confidence is based not only on a need that is based on the influx of older residents to this area, but on the nature of the RiverWoods complexes themselves.
"RiverWoods is a place at which to age gracefully, while living a rich and engaged life," Marketing Director Cathleen Toomey said.
Most of the people who spend up to $400,000 to buy into the continuing-care facility and between $2,000 and $4,000 a month in maintenance fees are healthy people, usually 75 years old or older.
They are tired of taking care of larger homes or properties, but seek a community in which they can continue living independently, while being guaranteed lifelong care.
The majority of RiverWoods residents remain active, live independently, and continue to be involved in the things that always interested them or have the opportunity to develop new interests.
The residents and staff are members of various nonprofit boards in the area, volunteer at many organizations, and fund-raise for causes.
As an example, RiverWoods fund-raisers allowed the Teen Outlook Center in Exeter, which helps teens struggling with the many choices they have in their lives, to purchase its own building.
"We have the ability to enrich our own lives as well as those in the area," said Hatch, who is a resident along with Coffin, of the community and remains very involved in it.
Hatch said that even she is amazed at the sense of community that has sprung up at RiverWoods.
"We knew a retirement community would be a godsend for the people of Durham and Exeter, but we had no idea how this would take off," she said. "It's a very integrated place that helps people live longer and stay healthier."
RiverWoods is just beginning the process of getting approvals from the town for the planned $47 million expansion, Crane said. Initial conversations have been held with town officials and abutters.
"We don't anticipate any problems," Crane said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of next year, with completion scheduled for 2010.
Pre-construction marketing of the third phase of the RiverWoods project will launch in May, Toomey said, and a waiting list has been started.
Back To Top
RiverWoods Plans Major Expansion
Apr 30, 2007
EXETER — RiverWoods at Exeter has announced plans to add an additional neighborhood to their existing campuses.
The new building will be sited on 59 acres, adjacent to the Ridge campus, and will be approximately 285,000 square feet. Current plans are that the building will include 76 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted living units and 16 skilled nursing beds.
"RiverWoods is here to serve the community, and it has become clear to us that in order to respond to the need, we should create space to serve more people," said Frank S. Crane, III, CEO.
"We do not enter into expansion lightly," said Justine Vogel, COO, who oversaw the development of the Ridge project. "We have reviewed the numbers and examined the details with our Board of Trustees and we are confident this project will be a success."
Within the new building, there will be common areas similar to the existing RiverWoods campuses, with a living room, library, arts and crafts room, fitness center, pool, aerobics studio, pottery studio, cafￃﾩ, a large commons room, beauty parlor/barber shop and a dining room with a private dining room for special occasions.
The pre-construction marketing phase of the project will launch soon, and a waiting list has been started. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010. The construction of the project, which is estimated to cost $47 million, will be financed through a new issuance of tax exempt bonds.
Currently, RiverWoods at Exeter has two campuses, about three quarters of a mile apart. The Woods, which is the original building, has 201 independent apartments, 20 assisted living units, and a 40-bed skilled nursing center. The Ridge, which opened in 2004, has 81 independent living units, 11 cottages, 27 assisted living units and 23 skilled nursing beds.
The architect on the project is Mark Moeller, a principal with JSA Inc, an architectural company based in Portsmouth; and the construction company is LeCesse Construction from New York. Both JSA and LeCesse are veterans of RiverWoods' last development, the Ridge. The design team will also include an environmental energy consultant.
The idea of RiverWoods was born around a kitchen table in the 1980s, by a grassroots group of Seacoast residents interested in creating a community-oriented, positive, creative and secure environment for retirement age living. They worked for more than 10 years, before opening the Woods in 1994.
For more information on the new campus, contact Cathleen Toomey at 603-658-1587.
Back To Top
Toomey is director of marketing at RiverWoods
Apr 21, 2007
EXETER — RiverWoods at Exeter has added a new staff member to its senior leadership team.
Cathleen Toomey has joined the nonprofit organization as director of marketing, and will be responsible for managing the branding efforts for RiverWoods. Toomey brings more than 25 years of marketing, public relations and advertising to the new position.
She has worked for consumer brands such as Lender's Bagels, Timberland, and most recently, several years as vice president of communications for Stonyfield Farm. In addition, Toomey has nonprofit experience handling public relations, marketing and events at University of New Hampshire and Babson College.
She began her career working in an agency in New York City, and has worked for advertising and public relations agencies in Boston and Portland, Maine. Toomey received a bachelor's degree from Fairfield University and her graduate degree from Fordham University. She lives in Exeter.
Back To Top
RiverWoods to add third building
Apr 18, 2007
Union Leader -
Exeter - RiverWoods at Exeter will add a third building to its continuing care retirement community in a $47 million expansion, the company has announced.
Currently, RiverWoods has two campuses, about three quarters of a mile apart. The Woods, the original building, has 201 independent apartments, 20 assisted-living units and a 40-bed skilled nursing center.
The Ridge, opened in 2004, has 81 independent-living units, 11 cottages, 27 assisted-living units and 23 skilled-nursing beds.
The new building will be adjacent to the Ridge, on 59 acres, and cover approximately 285,000 square feet. Plans are that the building will include 76 independent-liing apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and 16 skilled-nursing beds.
With an aging general population and the success of the RiverWoods project, which opened in 1994, "We should create space to serve more people," said Frank S. Crane III, CEO, in a news release.
Crane has been CEO of RiverWoods for 12 years and will be retiring in April.
The pre-construction marketing phase of the project will launch next month, and a waiting list has been started, the company said. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010.
Back To Top
RiverWoods eyes expansion
Apr 15, 2007
By Shir Haberman
shaberman@seacoastonline.com
Portsmouth Herald
EXETER — We've heard about it so much that it's become a given in American society — more people are entering their senior years now than at any other time in the nation's history, and they are living longer, requiring increasing levels of care to maintain healthy and productive lives.
A quarter of a century ago, two local visionaries — Maryanna Hatch of Durham and Rosemary Coffin of Exeter — recognized this situation and began working on a solution. That solution evolved into the RiverWoods complexes that sit just off Route 111 in Exeter.
It took until 2001 to open RiverWoods' first complex, dubbed "The Woods." It consisted of 201 independent living units, 20 assisted-living units, and a 40-bed skilled nursing center.
The second complex, called "The Ridge," located on the other side of Route 111, opened in 2004, and consisted of 81 independent and 27 assisted-living units, along with 11 cottages and 23 skilled-nursing beds.
Now, this private nonprofit is poised to expand again on a 59-acre parcel adjacent to The Woods complex. Plans are for the new complex to include 79 independent living apartments, 28 cottages, 24 assisted-living units and a 16-bed skilled nursing center.
"RiverWoods is here to serve the community, and it has become clear to us that in order to respond to the need, we should create space to serve more people," said Frank S. Crane III, the current RiverWoods CEO, who will be retiring this month.
Incoming CEO Justine Vogel, who is currently functioning as the continuing-care retirement community's COO, said RiverWoods' management and board did not take the idea of another expansion lightly.
"We have reviewed the numbers and examined the details with our board of directors, and we are confident this project will be a success," Vogel said.
That confidence is based not only on a need that is based on the influx of older residents to this area, but on the nature of the RiverWoods complexes themselves.
"RiverWoods is a place at which to age gracefully, while living a rich and engaged life," Marketing Director Cathleen Toomey said.
Most of the people who spend up to $400,000 to buy into the continuing-care facility and between $2,000 and $4,000 a month in maintenance fees are healthy people, usually 75 year olds or older.
They are tired of taking care of larger homes or properties, but seek a community in which they can continue living independently, while being guaranteed lifelong care.
The majority of RiverWoods residents remain active, live independently, and continue to be involved in the things that always interested them or have the opportunity to develop new interests.
The residents and staff are members of various nonprofit boards in the area, volunteer at many organizations, and fund-raise for causes.
As an example, RiverWoods fund-raisers allowed the Teen Outlook group in Exeter, which helps teens struggling with the many choices they have in their lives, to purchase its own building.
"We have the ability to enrich our own lives as well as those in the area," said Hatch, who is a resident along with Coffin, of the community and remains very involved in it.
Hatch said that even she is amazed at the sense of community that has sprung up at RiverWoods.
"We knew a retirement community would be a godsend for the people of Durham and Exeter, but we had no idea how this would take off," she said. "It's a very integrated place that helps people live longer and stay healthier."
RiverWoods is just beginning the process of getting approvals from the town for the planned $47 million expansion, Crane said. Initial conversations have been held with town officials and abutters.
"We don't anticipate any problems," Crane said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of next year, with completion scheduled for 2010.
Pre-construction marketing of the third phase of the RiverWoods project will launch in May, Toomey said, and a waiting list has been started.
Back To Top
Time to downsize
Mar 24, 2007
By JEANNÉ MCCARTIN
features@seacoastonline.com
Editor's note: The following is the sixth story in a Home & Family series on the American Dream home. Send comments to features@seacoastonline.com.
Lots of catch phrases are bantered about for folks in their 60s: "active adults," "not your dad's retirement group" and "aging baby boomers." They are anything, anything but old folks, warn national advertising advocates. No one is listening louder than real estate.
This age bracket doesn't view itself as old, and doesn't intend to act it, at least in the earliest decade of the golden years. And, according to national aging groups and local real estate organizations, they want to enjoy what they've built, while keeping a thoughtful eye on their life's transition.
Cathy Walch of Coldwell Banker in Stratham, says the most notable trend in real estate for the 60-somethings is downsizing and preparation. Downsizing, in their case, doesn't necessarily mean a huge slash in footage, but in responsibility. One of Walch's clients moved from 25,000 square feet to 18,000. More importantly it was a move from a home with roof, cellar and yard worries to a condo, where much of that is tended to for her.
"If you have gardens, land in the back, maybe you want it. But you want a smaller version," she says. That's exactly what another couple came looking for. These clients loved and kept a large garden. They also had a swimming pool. "But, they just wanted to go away "" walk and enjoy themselves. They were in a place where they had to deal with mowing the grass and shoveling the snow. "¦ They were exhausted. "¦ They downsized. I think the smart 60-year-old, that's what they're doing. They have the same neighborhood, same network of friends, but not in the same house."
Most in this age bracket haven't retired, but they're planning the moves, says Walch. Buying the smaller house now can be a lead-in to two homes later, one near family and friends; another in Arizona, California or elsewhere. But, she adds, they want something nice. Letting the big, former family home go can make it possible, with lower taxes, and less cost in upkeep.
There's also the change in the capital gains law, in the last decade. "The change was, if you're a permanent resident and lived in (your home) for two years or more, a single person has the $250,000 exclusion, and the couple a $ 500,000 exclusion you don't have to pay taxes on, Walch adds. "In the past they'd have to pay tax on the entire gain."
The earlier practice had people holding on to homes that were too large for their new lifestyle she says. "They probably didn't have the money to pay the (capital gains) tax."
Walch says the moves in this bracket don't necessarily denote wealth. "It's not the level of income here. "¦ It's obviously people that have worked hard. There's just a lot of choices for people in sixties. The condo market for one." There are also communities for active adults, such as RiverWoods at Exeter.
RiverWoods is a life-care retirement community, fairly novel here, but more popular in other areas of the country, says the community's Director of Marketing Cathleen Toomey. The minimum age for the retirement community is 62. It's a place with a twist "" one that underscores Walch's observation that this group wants to live life to the fullest while preparing for later decades.
"We're a CCRC, "¦ a continuing care retirement community; it's a life insurance contract," says Toomey. RiverWoods was formed out of a grassroots movement, started by two area women, who wanted to remain in the community as they aged. It took 10 years to put together and was established in 1994.
RiverWoods, like similar places, offers lots of choices. In the case of the Exeter organization there are 31 floor plans, studio apartment to freestanding cottage. Regardless of the space, it comes with all the community's amenities. That includes a pool, pool tables, hiking trails, gardening, a weight room and soft activities, like yoga and strength and balance classes. There's even a woodshop.
Some of the similarly structured active adult developments throughout the country offer spa treatments, lifelong learning classes and other health and fitness programs "" no shuffleboard. Not all offer the life-commitment component, but are available only to the active.
Gretchen Diefenbach has lived at Ridge, RiverWoods newer campus, for more than four years. The choice was a calculated one on numerous levels. Diefenbach had transferred five times while working, which meant she hadn't created a strong community. "There was no place I called home," she says.
She moved to Exeter from Washington, Pa., because a sister lived here. She chose Ridge because of the active lifestyle and community. "I was single, lived alone for 20 years. "¦ I wanted permanence, people around me and activities. I sure got them here."
She was also very interested in the long-term care component. "I was looking to be taken care of in my final days. "¦ The (lifetime contract), was important. You've been alone, and you don't want to rely on children, or neighbors."
Today her days are filled running the communities country store and sitting on the committee of the in-house television station. "It's definitely a good thing for me."
When you initially buy into RiverWoods you must be able bodied. But once in, you're there for life. If you eventually need assisted living short or long term, or skilled nursing, you have it right there, it's a lifetime contract living situation.
And even those living in this style and non-lifetime contract communities opt for two homes, living part of the year elsewhere. "They're interested in living their life out actively "¦ fully," says Walch.
Back To Top
Exeter businesses honored
Mar 16, 2007
The Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce recently recognized and honored local area businesses at the Galley Hatch Conference Center as Businesses of the Year.
Accepting the award on behalf of their businesses are, from left: David Black, president of db design for Business Services; Frank Crane, CEO of RiverWoods for Health Care; Amy Goodrich, Paul Gallant and David Goodrich, W.S. Goodrich for Retail; Kathy Rush, owner of Prudential Rush Realty for Real Estate; Roland Brewer, president of Sea View Technologies for Technology; and Sarah Illingworth, executive director of New Outlook Teen Center for Non-profit.
Back To Top
RiverWoods residents and teens join forces to keep 'Arts In Reach'
Mar 4, 2007
EXETER — The Outreach Committee of RiverWoods at Exeter has teamed up with Arts in Reach for a series of gatherings at the Exeter continuing care retirement community designed to encourage young girls to express themselves through various creative endeavors.
As part of the ongoing workshops, a number of RiverWoods residents are meeting with the girls around the theme "Who Am I?" where they discuss poetry, writing, and photography.
In some cases, the residents are able to share their years of experience in these areas with the middle and high school age girls. In other cases, they simply serve as sounding boards and offer encouragement and positive feedback.
At the most recent RiverWoods workshop, AIR member Trisha Lindstrum worked with RiverWoods women on creating original poetry.
"It's amazing just talking to the women here and listening to them," said Lindstrum. "It is so much fun sharing the poetry with them and they all listen to you. I think it is a great learning and growing experience on both parts."
According to RiverWoods resident Maddie Woodward, the relationship is definitely a two-way street.
"Sometimes I think we derive at least as much satisfaction from these sessions as the girls do. Their talent and creativity are truly inspiring to us. If we can encourage them to express themselves and give them a little more confidence, we feel like we have really accomplished something," said Woodward.
AIR is a nonprofit organization serving the Greater Seacoast Area of New Hampshire. The program offers teenage girls arts experiences in dance, poetry, singing and the visual arts. The goal is to provide an environment for positive forms of self-discovery in a safe and supportive atmosphere. More information about AIR and their programs is available at www.airnh.org.
The recent gathering at RiverWoods was one of several intergenerational creative workshops to be held at the Exeter retirement community during the first half of this year. On March 10, at the Portsmouth Public Library, poets from AIR and RiverWoods will be guests at a panel discussion entitled "Who Am I?" held as part of the first Seacoast Women's Project. Together they will share the poems and photographs they have been working on during the series of workshops held at RiverWoods.
RiverWoods at Exeter is a full service life care community, started in 1983 as a not-for profit organization designed to provide new opportunities for those reaching retirement age. Information about RiverWoods and any of its activities is available by calling 772-4700 or by visiting www.riverwoodsrc.org.
Back To Top
Tree Trimming at RiverWoods
Dec 15, 2006
EXETER - RiverWoods residents dipped into their private supplies of Christmas ornaments to add a highly personal touch to their tree decorating efforts at this year's Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce Festival of Trees.
The efforts of dozens of volunteers made a difference for needy children in the area as the beautifully decorated tree was auctioned to the highest bidder at the eighth annual event, held on November 30.
The RiverWoods tree was one of many decorated and sponsored by local businesses and organizations to raise money for the Chamber Children's Fund. The popular event raises thousands of dollars annually to make
sure needy children in the 10-community area served by the Exeter Chamber of Commerce have warm hats, gloves, mittens, and coats to wear in the cold months ahead.
Using the theme of "An Old Fashioned Christmas," the RiverWoods tree was decorated with 'more than 100 colorful ornaments, each carefully selected and donated from the personal ornament collections of residents.
According to Jean Ingwerson. and Mary Jo Kremer, the RiverWoods residents heading up the project, "Many of the ornaments were quite old and had some personal significance to those contributing them. Because the ornaments came from so many different sources, we ended up with something unique and quite special."
Some of the more interesting and significant decorations included a variety of wooden and soft toys, some of them quite old. In all, more than 75 RiverWoods residents contributed ornaments and assisted with the decorating efforts. ,The Festival of Trees is one of many community service activities organized annually by the RiverWoods Outreach Committee.
RiverWoods at Exeter is a full service life care community, started in 1983 as a not-for profit organization designed to provide new opportunities for those reaching retirement age. Information about RiverWoods and any of its activities may be obtained by calling (603) 772-4700 or by visiting www. riverwoodsrc.org.
Back To Top
RiverWoods Web Site Wins Award
Dec 12, 2006
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. December 20, 2006. – CrystalVision, a Portsmouth based web development and eMarketing firm, has been awarded a 2006 MarCom Creative Awards Gold Award. Winners were selected from over 200 categories in seven forms of media and communication initiatives, such as marketing, publications, marketing/promotion, public service/pro bono, creativity and electronic/interactive. The Gold Award was received by CrystalVision for outstanding design and development on the RiverWoods at Exeter web site, www.RiverWoodsrc.org, in the category of Web Site/Overall Site.
"We are excited to receive this recognition from our peers for our creative and technical expertise. More importantly however, we are pleased that these efforts have translated into successful results for our client, RiverWoods at Exeter," said Deb Brewer, president and CEO of CrystalVision.
The MarCom Creative Awards is an annual international awards competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. The competition received more than 5,000 entries from throughout the United States and several foreign countries this year. Typically about 15% of the total entries qualify to win Gold Awards. Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.
About CrystalVision:
CrystalVision provides businesses with the web-based capacity to reach current and potential clients while also implementing powerful tools to streamline corporate productivity.
CrystalVisions expertise is in fully integrated, customized solutions which include web design, web application development, e-commerce & security, content management systems & maintenance, search engine optimization & marketing as well as other specialized web & e-marketing services.
Through delivering innovative web and e-marketing solutions while forming long-term collaborations with an extensive and flourishing client base, CrystalVision has produced award-winning results for over ten years. Clients feel secure knowing that CrystalVision is dedicated to providing results that support their continued growth and exceed their online goals.
To learn more about how CrystalVision utilizes web technologies to give businesses, corporations and organizations their own niche on the World Wide Web, contact them at 603-433-9559 or visit their web site at www.crystalvision.org.
Back To Top
RiverWoods Re-elects Executive Committee
Dec 10, 2006
EXETER - RiverWoods at Exeter retirement community re-elected members of the Executive Committee to serve an additional term of three years.
The re-elected officers are Raymond J. Goodman Jr., chair, board of trustees; Robert W. Beecher, vice chair, treasurer, clerk, chair of finance; Frank S. Crane III, president/CEO; Jane Derby, chair of health care; Naida Kaen, chair of board governance; and Robert Lietz, chair of strategic planmng.
Goodman also serves on the board of directors for The National Association for Senior Living Industries, the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, the New Hampshire Lodging and RestaurantAssociation and The International Institute of Quality and Ethics in Hospitality and Tourism.
Back To Top
Fruitful Program at RiverWoods
Nov 22, 2006
EXETER - Residents and staff at RiverWoods at Exeter recently wrapped up a week-long series of fun and educational events designed to promote awareness of the United Way and its community activities.
The program, called "An Apple A Day Helps the United Way," featured a number of apple-themed events designed to entertain and encourage participation.
Each of the two RiverWoods campuses started the week with an Apple Breakfast and a kickoff meeting addressed by RiverWoods CEO Frank Crane and Christine Bennett, Loaned Account Executive from the Greater Seacoast United Way.
At the meetings, residents and staff learned how their United Way contributions will be used in the Seacoast area and found out how they could earn raffle tickets for chances to win some great prizes after turning in their donor cards.
More than 70 prizes were donated, including handmade Nantucket Baskets, fine pottery and stuffed animals, as well as numerous gift cards to local area businesses.
Throughout the rest of the week, apple treats, word games, fun activities like "apple-fishing" and a bake sale helped make sure that awareness for the United Way remained at a high level.
Then on Monday, November 20, the prize drawings were held during a Fall Ice Cream Social complete with hot apple crisp, cinnamon ice cream, and pumpkin frozen yogurt.
"Our residents and staff share, a special bond with the United Way," says Diane Cira, director of resident life at RiverWoods. "Our entire community looks forward to contributing to this campaign each year and has a growing appreciation for the work the United Way does."
In planning this week of education and fun, Cira's goal was to combine elements of both.
"This is a week of sharing time together, having fun, and raising substantial money for a good cause. Everybody comes out a winner," she says.
RiverWoods at Exeter is a full service life care community located on over 100 acres along the Exeter River. Incorporated in 1983, RiverWoods is a not-for profit organization designed to provide a-quality lifestyle for those reaching retirement age. For more information www.riverwoodsrc.org or by calling (603) 772-4700.
Back To Top
Teen Center Dedicated
Nov 19, 2006
EXETER -- The Teen Outlook Community Center dedicated its building to the RiverWoods retirement community and honored those who have contributed to its program over the years.
The ceremony was held outside of the building at 120 Front St., on Monday. RiverWoods President Frank Crane came to receive the honor and take a tour of the space to see all that's happening at the center today.
"We will always remember that (RiverWoods) helped us find a home," said Executive Director Sarah Illingsworth during the ceremony.
Teen center founder Dr. Burton Dibble was also at the dedication and was honored for all he has done to make the center a success.
Dibble and a group of teachers, health-care professionals and behavior specialists came together in the late 1980s to develop a community center for teens. At the time, a succession of suicides prompted the group to find alternative activities for teens, said Dibble.
The group started the program in the upstairs recreation room and then moved to the church basement before arriving at the current location.
The opportunity to purchase the building came about five years ago, and RiverWoods stepped in to help make it happen. New Outlook became the beneficiary of a multi-year fund-raising initiative.
"(The center) has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations," he said.
Between 25 and 50 students frequent New Outlook each day. In the main room, there are pool and Foosball tables and computers, along with couches and tables.
In addition to the main program space, it also has a new designer kitchen. The kitchen was designed by Renee Carman of Mandeville Canyon Designs and built with support and contributions from local businesses and community members.
Every Thursday, New Outlook sponsors cook's corner, where kids come in and learn to cook.
In the fall of 2005, New Outlook also renovated its backyard space, with the help of Timberland Serva-Palooza and the United Way Day of Caring. Where there was once an empty, overgrown lot, there is a garden, picnic tables, a life-sized chessboard and a large grassy area.
In the garden, teens planted vegetables, including mesclun greens and tomatoes that are used during cook's corner.
Other features of the facility include a Laundromat that it currently leases to Front Street Laundry. Eventually, plans call for converting it into more space for the center and it will cost about $7,000 to complete, said Illingsworth.
During the tour, student Nicole Quinn sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" for Crane. He was so impressed he invited her to someday sing at RiverWoods.
"I am so pleased with the progress New Outlook has made in recent years, said Illingsworth. "Not only do we have a wonderful program space, but we offer a diverse selection of high-quality activities. I truly believe that New Outlook gives area teens a sense of community, a safe place to spend time with friends, and countless opportunities for personal growth. And we owe our continued success to the greater community -- to the individuals, volunteers, and foundations that support us."
If you would like to support New Outlook, please contact Whitney Edgar at 778-3933 or by e-mail at whitney@newoutlookteencenter.org.
Back To Top
RiverWoods residents share talent, stories
Oct 17, 2006
EXETER -- Residents of RiverWoods at Exeter are contributing their time and talent to help improve the quality of life for members of SteppingStones, a community-based day program for people living with brain injury.
"If any of our residents can aid in this process by sharing skills and life experiences, it really becomes a win-win situation," said Van Claxton, RiverWoods' outreach committee chairman.
SteppingStones, part of The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation in Portsmouth, is a post-rehabilitation, holistic day program for people living with brain injury from trauma, tumor or stroke. Its programs focus on empowering members to live meaningful, productive lives post-injury.
So far, three RiverWoods residents have agreed to meet with SteppingStones members to share their knowledge and expertise. Don Bassett, a longtime amateur artist, spent one-on-one time with Russ Moore, a SteppingStones member artist, to guide him in the preparation of greeting cards using Moore's original artwork.
Tom Adams, known as RiverWoods' "gardening guru," met with Robert Boutin, master gardener at SteppingStones, to lay groundwork for a spring garden.
Bill Smallwood, a World War II veteran, will visit SteppingStones to tell his story of courage and resiliency while surviving a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Smallwood's story was featured on the CBS Evening News earlier this year.
Carol Davis, program coordinator of SteppingStones, says visits from people like the RiverWoods residents mean the world to those recovering from brain injury.
"Through their involvement, we are able to enrich our members' quality of life by reinforcing socialization skills, their ability to communicate, their sense of independence, and a generally more positive outlook on life," Davis said.
The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation was founded in 1995 by David Krempels, whose own world was turned upside down by brain injury. The foundation's SteppingStones day program is located in Portsmouth. Anyone interested in providing financial or volunteer assistance may call 603-430-7668, send an e-mail to Davis at cdavis@krempelsfoundation.org, or visit www.krempelsfoundation.org.
Back To Top
New leader for Community Outreach at RiverWoods at Exeter
Oct 15, 2006
EXETER -- After nearly seven years of effectively leading the efforts of the Community Outreach Committee at RiverWoods at Exeter, 88-year-old Kel Doyle decided it was time for someone younger to take the reins.
Enter Van Claxton, an 81-year old resident who recently moved from Tucson, Ariz. to the Exeter continuing care retirement community.
Claxton, a veteran of many years in the aircraft engine business with General Electric, feels quite a responsibility with his new duties.
“Kel Doyle is really a legend at RiverWoods and the surrounding community. He has led the efforts to have RiverWoods residents be involved in dozens of worthwhile community activities and he has made a real difference during his tenure,” says Claxton.
Recent activities facilitated by the Outreach Committee at RiverWoods have yielded some impressive results.
Within the past year, some of the activities of the Committee include participating in helping raise more than $25,000 for the United Way, donating a decorated holiday tree for auction by the Exeter Chamber of Commerce to provide winter clothing, organizing a successful program to collect sample containers of toiletry items for 70 impoverished nations, and fielding 300-400 phone calls at the New Hampshire Public TV Spring Auction.
And that's just a few of the activities initiated by this energetic committee.
Currently, the committee is coordinating a program with SteppingStones, a post-rehabilitation, community-based, day program of The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation in Portsmouth.
Several RiverWoods residents are already scheduled to make presentations and conduct workshops on topics that include graphic design, horticulture and a recounting of POW experiences during World War II.
Claxton is proud of the many contributions RiverWoods residents continue to make to the community.
“The people here have such a richness of professional and public service experience and are happy to share it. I am looking forward to continuing Doyle's work and doing what we can to provide meaningful support to worthwhile community organizations,” he says.
RiverWoods at Exeter is a full service life care community, started in 1983 as a nonprofit organization.
Both RiverWoods campuses, The Woods and The Ridge, are involved in ongoing community outreach projects.
For information, call 772-4700 or visit www.riverwoodsrc.org.
Back To Top
The torch is passed
Oct 13, 2006
EXETER -- After nearly seven years of leading the efforts of the community outreach committee at RiverWoods at Exeter, 88-year-old Kel Doyle decided it was time for someone younger to take the reins.
Enter Van Claxton, an 81-year-old resident who recently moved from Tucson, Ariz., to the continuing care retirement community.
Claxton is a veteran of many years in the aircraft engine business with General Electric. He feels quite a responsibility with his new duties.
"Kel Doyle is really a legend at RiverWoods and the surrounding community," Claxton said. "He has led the efforts to have RiverWoods residents be involved in dozens of worthwhile community activities, and he has made a real difference during his tenure."
Recent activities facilitated by the outreach committee at RiverWoods include participating in helping raise more than $25,000 for the United Way, donating a decorated holiday tree for auction by the Exeter Chamber of Commerce to provide winter clothing, organizing a successful program to collect sample containers of toiletry items for 70 impoverished nations, and fielding 300 to 400 phone calls at New Hampshire Public Television's spring auction. And that's just a few of the activities initiated by this very energetic committee.
The committee is coordinating a program with SteppingStones, a post-rehabilitation, community-based, day program of The Krempels Brain Injury Foundation in Portsmouth. Several RiverWoods residents are scheduled to make presentations and conduct workshops on topics that include graphic design, horticulture and a recounting of prisoner of war experiences during World War II.
"I am looking forward to continuing Kel Doyle's work and doing what we can to provide meaningful support to worthwhile community organizations," Claxton said.
For information on RiverWoods at Exeter, call 772-4700 or visit www.riverwoodsrc.org.
Back To Top
RiverWoods feels like home
Sep 22, 2006
By Scott E. Kinney
Atlantic News Staff Writer
EXETER | When Ed Knapp and his wife Carol began looking for a place to call their own during the golden years of their lives they knew what they were looking for.
Carol’s parents were taken care of in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Pennsylvania, run by Quakers.
“We were familiar with the concept,” said Knapp.
Their search began in Hanover, at a well-known facility in the area. Knapp said it lacked that certain something that he and his wife were looking for.
Knapp said the two walked into the facility, walked around and didn’t go back.
“It did not feel like home,” he said.
It was around that same time that Knapp saw an advertisement in the Dartmouth alumni magazine for RiverWoods at Exeter. He said he and Carol happened to tour the facility during an open house.
Knapp said he was especially taken with RiverWoods’ dining room, complete with two giant fireplaces, one on each end of the room.
“It just looked comfortable,” he said.
That impression has stuck with Knapp for the now more than three years that he and Carol have lived at RiverWoods. And it began from their first night of residency.
Knapp related a story of when he and his wife attended dinner on the first night that they moved in. He was impressed with a staff member’s attention to detail and his ability to spot the new couple.
“We didn’t know anybody, but he said, ‘Good evening Mr. Knapp, welcome to RiverWoods.’ It’s about the friendliest place we’ve ever been,” said Knapp. “All of the staff knows our names.”
Knapp said the difference between RiverWoods and the facility in Hanover is that although the cost of residency is similar, what is done with the money is very different.
“The money that isn’t needed goes back to your estate when your apartment is sold again,” he said.
In addition, Knapp said there is always plenty to occupy the residents and maintain an active lifestyle. That activity is reflective of RiverWoods residents, said Knapp. He points to the community’s line dance instructor, who is now in her 95th year and Steve Richards, 85, who rows competitively.
“He wins in his age class because there aren’t very many people in his age class,” joked Knapp.
Now Knapp sings as second tenor of the barbershop quartet, which practices weekly and performs often for the residents of the community. He also plays trumpet with the Seacoast Wind Ensemble, a 50-piece band that plays throughout the region. (As a side note, the band will be performing at the Music Hall in Portsmouth on Oct. 22.)
With an exercise room, massive swimming pool, and countless programs for its residents, it’s no wonder that RiverWoods is named among the top CCRCs in the country.
“I was impressed when I heard that,” said Knapp. “I always thought that it was.”
Back To Top
New chance for adult learning
Sep 5, 2006
By Nancy Rineman
hamptonunion@seacoastonline.com
EXETER -- A community inspired educational opportunity will debut in the Seacoast this fall, following a successful pilot program launched here in the spring.
For the past two years, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Granite State College has offered diverse areas of study for adults in the Concord and Manchester areas. Now the same member-driven organization will offer a curriculum to Seacoast residents who still yearn to learn, with the addition of a Granite State College Center in Exeter.
Available to adults age 50 and over, a yearly membership of $25 entitles them to participate in programs throughout the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Network in New Hampshire. This fall, 42 classes will be offered at the three centers, seven of them in the Exeter area.
There is an open house for the program on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at RiverWoods at Exeter, 7 RiverWoods Drive, Exeter, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Newcomers to the Lifelong Learning Institute may be surprised by the unique classes, lectures, and even field trips, at their disposal. Classes are facilitated by volunteers who are hungry to share their knowledge, interests and talents with other similarly motivated adults just for the sheer enjoyment and involvement. Volunteers may be retired teachers or experts in a particular field.
The local committee that organized the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute here is led by co-chairpersons Jeff Hillier, of North Hampton, and Nancy Warren, of Exeter. Hillier retired after a 37-year career in teaching, guidance and administrative capacities for the Exeter School District. Warren is a retired learning specialist and occupational therapist in SAU 16 school.
Locally, a course titled "Life on the River: A Study of the Exeter and Other Rivers," will be led by Peter Richardson, a former science teacher and current member of the Exeter River Local Advisory Committee. Another selection, "Aquaculture: The Why and The How," examines the need for farming of plants and animals in fresh and salt water in a slide program at the Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne Point in Rye.
A day trip to Concord may be attractive to music appreciation enthusiasts, or in Manchester, it's "Computer Basics 102" for hands-on instruction on Microsoft Windows. Theatre Workshop, Intro to Stock Investing, Writing, Historical studies, and literary discussions are other highlights of the program. And "Astronomy for Everyone" will deal with questions asking such questions as How big is the universe?
There is the course, "What causes the seasons?" The facilitator is Robert Veilleux, an astronomy and science teacher who taught in Manchester for 35 years. When he applied for the "Teacher in Space" program, he was selected and was runner-up to Christa McAuliffe. The final class for this course will feature a visit to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is made possible by the efforts of Bernard Osher, a Maine native now living in San Francisco, Calif., who has dedicated his life and fortune to his belief that "Learning should never cease."
Granite State College, formerly the College for Lifelong Learning, applied for the grant from the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. OLLI at Granite State College consists of three part-time staff members who, with support from the University System of New Hampshire, work with committees of volunteers and 320 members statewide.
Virginia Martin, program coordinator for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Concord, said the spirit of the program was best exemplified by one student who described the lectures and classes like "being in a roomful of teachers."
As the OLLI catalog states, "There are no tests, no grades and no need for prior college experience -- just the chance to join your peers in learning for enjoyment."
OLLI members will enjoy programs offered during the day, possibly participating "as a learner, as a local volunteer committee member, as a class facilitator -- often at the same time!" And while some of the single session programs are free to OLLI members, multi-session programs have modest course fees.
The open house will include an address by Dr. Stephen J. Reno, chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire at 11 a.m. At 11:15 a.m. there will be a fall program overview to meet with facilitators. Class and member registration will start at noon. Interested parties are asked to bring cash or a check.
For more information, call 513-1377, or visit www.granite.edu/olli/.
Back To Top
RiverWoods quilting group out to hook new members
Aug 27, 2006
EXETER | Two residents at RiverWoods at Exeter just may be onto something. Following a display of their hand-made quilts on the “gallery” walls of the Exeter retirement community, enough interest and excitement has been generated to start a monthly gathering of quilting enthusiasts.
Tommie Byrd and Rhoda Rochat, both relatively recent arrivals at River-Woods, got together and arranged to adorn the walls of RiverWoods’ gallery display area with their colorful creations. Then the rave reviews started pouring in.
The resulting monthly get-togethers represent kind of a modern version of the 19th century “quilting bees,” when the rural population would gather in the afternoon and work together on designing and sewing quilts.
The two RiverWoods quilters hope members of the community who wish to learn more about quilting will join their monthly events.
Tommie, who lived in Hilton Head, NC, before moving to RiverWoods, was a dyed-in-the-wool knitter until she was bitten by the quilting bug.
“I’ve been at it for about 20 years ever since I saw an article about a full length quilted coat and decided to make it,” says Tommie. “On Hilton Head, I was in a group of 150 women quilters who enjoyed lectures and seminars presented by nationally known quilters.”
Rhoda, who moved to RiverWoods from New Jersey early last year, started quilting in 1976 to make a gift for her first daughter’s wedding. She worked part time at a quilting store in Basking Ridge, NJ, and, through the years, made each of her eight children quilts as wedding gifts.
Rhoda is quick to say that the art of quilting is not strictly reserved for women. History shows
that men were quilting back in the Civil War era when injured soldiers would work needle and thread as a form of physical therapy to regain full use of their hands. Since then, it has become a means of artistic expression for men in all walks of life.
“Men can be great quilters,” she says. “We’ve already seen some interest from men in our first meetings.”
The idea of starting a quilting group at River-Woods — and opening it to residents and community members alike — is an exciting prospect for both Tommie and Rhoda.
“We are thrilled about having the opportunity to share with others the joy and satisfaction of quilting,” they agreed. “Making a quilt is a chance to produce something beautiful while creating an instant family heirloom at the same time.”
Anyone interested in attending meetings of the RiverWoods quilters should call Pat Favreau at (603) 658-1572 for more information.
RiverWoods at Exeter is a full service life care community, started in 1983 as a not-for-profit organization. The community occupies two campuses on more than 100 wooded acres on the banks of the Exeter River. Additional information is available by calling (603) 772-4700.
Back To Top
CBS Evening News - Bill Smallwood Story
Aug 1, 2006
View the video of the CBS Evening News story which aired on May 28th, 2006, featuring WWII veterans Bill Smallwood, a resident at RiverWoods at Exeter, and Howard Tunstall who crossed paths 60 years after their first meeting at a German POW camp. You can also read their story,
Twice in a lifetime, in our news archive.
Left-click the format type to view the video, or right-click and select "Save Target As" to save the video to your computer.
Format -
Size
Windows Media (.wmv) Low Quality - 4.8 MB
Windows Media (.wmv) High Quality - 14.2 MB
MPEG (.mpg) High Quality - 26.0 MB
Back To Top
"Purely on Merritt" by Wayne King
Jun 29, 2006
Purely on Merritt
By Wayne D. King
The halls of Riverwoods at Exeter, a beautiful retirement community in Exeter NH are covered with the art of some of New Hampshire's 20th Century art icons, among them John Hatch and Mary Taylor - providing me with a pleasant diversion as I wait in the lobby for Richard Merritt. I pause for a moment before a large oil painting by Hatch of the Franconia Ridge.
Grasses
By printing his image much lighter than reality would have indicated Richard Merritt emphasizes the form and beauty of this simple subject.
"Look at the person on the bottom right," I hear a quiet and fam
