Source: TIMOTHY KILLEEN
On 24 June we will visit Elizabeth Park’s rose garden, one of Connecticut’s premier cultural attractions. The roses should be in full bloom at that time and we will have a guided tour led by the best guide we could have – Marci Martin, the leader of the Friends of Elizabeth Park, the organization which maintains the rose garden.
Elizabeth Park was established by a Hartford banking and railroad magnate, Charles Pond, who bought the land and gave it to the City of Hartford. Is is named for his wife. Lying on both sides of Prospect Street, the dividing line between Hartford and West Hartford, the rose garden is in West Hartford.
The rose garden was laid out in 1904 by a Swiss landscape architect named Theodore Wirth. He had been trained in part at Kew Gardens, the English Royal Botanical Garden, where the roses are famous. To this day the Elizabeth Park rose garden is not only the oldest municipal rose garden but the third largest in the United states. It contains 15,000 roses.
We will have an hour’s tour beginning at noon.
Directions to Elizabeth Park:
From the east, take I-84 west to the Asylum Ave exit, turn right on Asylum and follow it about a mile to Prospect Avenue (at top of a hill with a traffic light). Then turn left on Prospect Avenue and almost immediately turn right into the Park drive. Follow drive to vicinity of rose garden on your right and park on the drive. We will gather at the Pergola in the center of the rose garden at noon
From the north or south take I-91 to its intersection with I-84 and then follow directions above.
From the west, you may find it easier to take the Sigourney street exit from I-84, then go north to Asylum Avenue and west to Prospect Ave.
Fred Cazel
Editor’s Note: Fred Cazel has lead several trips to the British Isles to view “Castles, Cathedrals, and Gardens” in different areas of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Some Emeritus Assembly members have had the opportunity to enjoy these trips and to profit from Fred’s extensive knowledge of famous gardens. As is suggested in the account above, he provides not only botanical names enough to satisfy the most ardent gardener, but also historical background for the more casual traveler.
Lunch Details
After the rose garden tour we will gather at Angelo’s on Main at the Rockledge Country Club on South Main Street in West Hartford (See directions below). The time of the lunch will be about 1:30 pm.
Our menu includes:
House Salad
Fresh Mesclun Greens with toasted sunflower seeds, golden raisins and sesame seed oil vinaigrette, topped with shaved Reggiano Cheese
Entrée Choices:
Penne Pasta Pomadoro
A classic with sweet tomatoes, garlic, basil, and fresh grated Reggiano Cheese
Grilled Fresh Atlantic Salmon
Ocean fresh and served with rice pilaf and seasonal vegetables
Roast Prime Ribs of Beef, au Jus
Served with seasonal vegetables and baked potato
Also included: Coffee, Tea and Decaf
There will be a cash bar.
The cost of the meal is $25.00 per person. Please be sure to mark off your choice on the registration form in Reservations and mail along with your check to Compton Rees before the June 17 deadline. If you have any questions, please call Tim at 860-423-2886.
Getting to Angelo’s from the rose garden
Turn south on Prospect Avenue as you leave the garden. Proceed to Farmington Avenue and turn right. Go on Farmington to West Hartford Center and turn left onto (South) Main Street. Angelo’s address is 289 South Main Street on the golf course and located on the right side.
Business meeting
There will be a fairly brief business meeting following lunch. The main agenda item of the meeting will be the election of officers. The Secretary and Treasurer positions are up for election this year and Richard Wurst and Jane Knox have been respectively placed in nomination for these two offices. We should all thank Mort Tenzer who continues to do a great job as Chair of the Nominating Committee and also thank Dick and Jane (sounds like a children’s reader, but that dates me!!) for their willingness to step up to the plate.
Message from the President
We are starting off the summer with a wonderful tour of the rose garden in Elizabeth Park. I would like to especially thank Fred Cazel for arranging the tour. We visited the same garden two years ago and it was such a success that we are going to do it again. I encourage each of you to make the effort to attend. It is an enjoyable and educational experience. Marci Martin, our guide is a rosarian who will share her knowledge and love of roses.
Two individuals have given exemplary service to the Assembly as officers and will now step down. David DeNuzzio served as Secretary and Compton Rees as Treasurer. My compliments to each of these gentlemen, it has been a pleasure to work with you over the years. I certainly hope that you are able to continue to be an active part of our organization.
There will be an executive meeting during the summer to plan our activities for next year. We will finalize the particulars of that meeting during the business meeting on the 24th. It will probably take place at Angelino’s Restaurant in Mansfield, sometime in early August. I will let you know when and where. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Even if you can’t, please email me any ideas that you might have.
If I don’t see you on the 24th , have a great summer.
Sincerely,
Tim Killeen
President
It is the Emeritus Assembly’s pleasure to invite all college and university faculty retirees to join our organization. Membership dues are only $10.00 per academic year. We have four meetings that are planned around relevant and interesting themes. For a more complete description of what we are, see Richard Wurst's writeup following Tim's Musings. If you wish to join us, fill out the membership form and send it in. If you have questions about membership, call or email any of the officers listed on the old home page.
Retirees can make their future healthier and happier
Every week I read articles encouraging me to take control of my health through diet and exercise, and every week I also run into individuals who have not moved in that direction and have a myriad of excuses not to. These excuses run the full gambit: I’m too old, I don’t have the time, it’s too inconvenient, I can’t control my desire for rich food, I’m not healthy enough etc., etc., etc.!!!!
In February of 2008, I could feel the sands of time creeping up on me. We had just gotten off a cruise ship in Florida and I had put on about 10 pounds during the two week cruise. Now I was up to 225 with a good portion of it around my middle. My yearly physical was scheduled in two weeks. Carol and I had arranged to remain in Florida for a few days with college friends who lived in Orlando. We went to dinner with them at a Brazilian steak house. That was probably my real turning point. It was a carnivore fairyland. Waiters wandered with an infinite variety of meats on skewers and if you had the “go” side of your coaster signal up they would place more meat on your plate; filet mignon, stuffed pork chops, rack of lamb, prime rib, sirloin, etc. I ate very little and enjoyed it even less. I knew it was time for me to take control of my own health.
I retired from UCONN in 1997, thank you John Rowland, and throughout my life I never had any interest in either diet or exercise. From the time that I graduated from undergraduate school (1962), I pretty much ate and drank as I wished. About a year after my retirement, my father passed away at the age of 83. He suffered from congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes. I was his primary care giver during the last few months and that experience continues to have a profound effect on me. One of his cute sayings was, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” I think that that says it all. Medical science can prolong our lives, but only we can improve the quality of that life.
Let’s get back to the sequence of events in 2008. In the beginning of March I go for my checkup. I have been on high cholesterol and high blood pressure medication for between 10 and 15 years. Prior to the medication my cholesterol was over 250 and blood pressure 150/90+. Both of these were controlled with the meds but the physician now informs me that my blood sugar, which has been creeping up over the past few years, is now close to 130, pre-diabetic and type 2 diabetes will soon follow. I don’t want this to happen to me. The doctor tells me that if I lose 10 to 15 pounds I may avoid the inevitable. I now resolve to do something positive.
I sign up for Weight Watchers on the following Thursday and set a goal of 182 pounds. My wife was still not convinced of my resolve. Weight Watchers was a choice that I made since it was convenient and I was pretty sure that I would need a crutch to change lifelong habits. I am not trying to sell Weight Watchers, but it worked for me. Any number of other options might have worked also. In May 2008, after falling under the 200 pound mark, I’m feeling very light-headed. My blood pressure has dropped to about 100/50 and it is time to cut my rather strong hypertension medication in half. A month later the blood pressure is still at 100/50 so I drop the bp meds altogether and the blood pressure stabilizes to about 115/65. In September I become a “Life Member” of Weight Watchers at 175 lbs. I now weigh in once per month as a check to maintain the 182 lb goal. In September, I also join the Future Fitness gym in North Windham to help keep the weight under control over the winter and to complete the other half of the two side diet-exercise program. As of this writing, I continue to enjoy a rather rigorous workout 4 to 5 times a week. My visit to the doctor this winter went a little better than the previous year. Here are the numbers: weight 178, cholesterol 130, blood pressure 116/64 with a pulse rate of 66, blood sugar 86. All this, and I no longer take prescription drugs. My diet continues to be high fiber, low fat, low sugar, low alcohol, and not much red meat. I religiously read nutrition labels and reject items that show moderate or high fat or sugar content. Because of my commitment to diet and exercise, all aspects of my life have markedly improved over a year ago and my wife and family are now convinced of my resolve.
I feel that I am very fortunate to have been healthy enough to accomplish what I have in spite of my years of indulgence. I encourage each of you to consider your life style and its effect on your quality of life. If it is appropriate, make permanent changes for the better. You will find that it is not as hard to make a positive commitment as you might think. Even if your current health might not allow you to participate in a rigorous exercise program, a regular increase in physical activity along with a healthy diet can show the way to positive results. Each day I see many physically limited individuals in the gym who refuse to give up the fight. I am sure that they are much better off for their efforts. I also have a friend who will say to me, “With diet and exercise you won’t live any longer, it will just seem like it.” I don’t believe it.
Tim Killeen
May2009
WHAT are we?: Officially, we are the Emeritus Assembly of the Connecticut State Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Inc. Unofficially, we are a group of retired college/university faculty, librarians and other academic professionals which usually meets four times each academic year to learn and to enjoy each others company.
WHEN do we meet?: We meet 2 times in the fall, October &; November, and 2 times in the spring, April & May. The fall meetings tend to be "issue oriented" and have comprised such topics as retirement and/or health care issues, recent changes in the law that affect out members, public opinion of higher education, future directions & trends in higher education, public polling techniques, etc. The spring meetings tend to be "cultural events", such as visits to various museums, displays of items of historical interest, attendance at musical performances, etc. Visits to gardens, talks on travel experiences, presentations on ecological issues and disaster relief have been suggested.
WHERE do we meet?: The meeting sites vary with the theme of the meeting. They have included such venues as the Legislative Office Building (Hartford), various campuses, Museums, restaurants, etc. The schedule and themes of the meetings is set by the Executive Committee in the spring or summer before the program year begins. Assembly members are invited to make suggestions on themes and places to be considered for the schedule.
WHO can be a member?: Any retired college or university faculty member is welcome to join. Spouses are welcome to accompany members at meetings.
WHY was the Assembly formed? (November 3, 1986): To promote the social and professional interests and general welfare of emeritus professors of institutions of higher learning in Connecticut." It continues because it comprises people who, though retired, are still interested in learning about events and issues that may affect them and their active faculty colleagues, who like to attend cultural events, and who enjoy socializing with other emeritus faculty. Interested in joining us?
Please contact our Membership Chairperson, Tim Killeen. Email address: Killeen3@charter.net.
Submitted by Richard P. Wurst June, 2006