The Marion Star from Marion, Ohio • 29

Good for laughs Whoopi Goldberg's new film is good for some laughs as the character actors steal the show. Page 3D. Senior Class 1D The Sunday Star Sunday, June 28, 1992 4 I Helpong hand 1 i Rubecks devote energy to others Concept of aging changing By Judith Y. Brachman Ohio Department of Aging The concept of aging is swiftly evolving in this country. People are not only living longer, they are doing so with better health and more energy than ever before.

Retirement, once predominantly a time of rest and relaxation, is increasingly a time of renewal and continued activity. An active body is a healthy body. And it is never too late to reap the benefits of physical fitness and longevity; that even i 1 1 1 i ft I 1 ALBERT AND MARY ROSE RUBECK AT WORK usually makes them as gifts. She has made Christmas trees for their four daughters and daughter-in-law, as well as Easter bunnies for each of their grandchildren and recently made ceramic graduation dolls for two granddaughters who graduated from the eighth grade. One of the joys of the Rubeck team is to help serve lunch to the Head Of The Class children at St.

Mary School every Monday during the school year. "He (Al) is a great tease to kids," Rose said. "The kids have gotten used to him and don't pay so much attention anymore. We really enjoy it. It's one of our greatest joys." But then children are not the only recipients of their altruistic team efforts.

Recently the Rubecks assisted Ruth Masters in serving the reception to honor Jo Daniels, retiring Marion Catholic High School teacher. Rose also praised the efforts of Carolyn Ward, who had solicited 71 people to donate cookies for the event. Al, who was in charge of the punch bowl, said more than 12 gallons of punch were consumed that day. The Rubecks met after one of Al's cousins in Newark married Rose's aunt, they said They would visit the Rubeck farm near Marion a couple of times a year and on one of those visits brought Rose along. Al and Rose were married in 1947 in Newark.

is the youngest of seven sons and the first of his siblings to have a son, Rose noted. In addition to their membership at the center and St. Mary Church, the Rubecks are also active in the Over 50 Club at St. Mary. Al is also a past president of the St Mary and Marion Catholic High School boards of education and was also involved with Boy Scouts.

Al enjoys reading, particularly health-conscious recipes, and assisting with canning of produce from their garden. In addition to ceramics, Rose also enjoys playing euchre and sewing for both her grandchildren and herself and overnight trips with the senior citizens. She is also an election day poll worker, having previously served as presiding judge 16 years. geries, Al and Mary have swapped roles. He does most of the cooking and she does the lawn care chores.

They have two spots in the garden area at the senior center and Al dees enjoy puttering around in it, he said. With no particular cooking specialty, Al cooks a variety of foods and according to Rose they're all "terrific." Because of strict dietary restrictions, Al has learned to smoke meats and has become quite competent at smoking turkey, chicken and fish, she said. The Rubecks are the parents of four daughters and one son. They are Mary Helen Dowling, Brunswick; Irene Bookwalter, Westerville; Elizabeth "Beth" Kanable, Marion; Mary Joan Yanokos, Parma; and Frederick Joseph Rubeck, Pickerington. They have 11 grandchildren.

Al Name that goose i 1 i Al, a former Marion City Councilman from 1960-1966, is retired from Homes where he served as building superintendent. Duties in that capacity, he said, included not only overseeing numerous projects simultaneously but also helping with the actual construction of subdivision built by the firm, including Fair Park, West Lawn and Chateau Ridge. He also helped pour footers and erect trusses, among others. "I helped put in sewer lines, sidewalks and anything else called for in the project," he said. He retired from in 1979 due to ill health after 25 years service.

He underwent triple bypass heart surgery in 1988 and quadruple by-pass surgery in 1988. Since his retirement, Al has kept himself busy with several hobbies including woodworking, cooking and gardening. He has been busy making furniture for his grandchildren including rocking chairs, tables and chairs, cribs and cradles. He has also re finished furniture for both their home and for some of their children, as well. "I just love to work with wood," he said.

A cook in the U.S. Army 1943-45, Al assists with the Men's Brunch at the senior center once a month. "It's fun!" he said. "We just cook the already- planned menu and have a good time doing it. I even enjoy the clean up." Since his retirement and sur- c) days, but I don't notice wrinkles." I beg your pardon, but that's so much horsefeathers, and unseemly vanity.

How about some presidential attention to nursing homes, those under-utilized veterans hospitals and our national long-term care dilemma, which qualifies as a disgrace? Furthermore, is it too much to ask of this jogging, jabbering chief executive that he finally appoint a permanent director of the National Institute on Aging? Since August 1991, the key job has been vacant. Or, rather, it's been under a nervous acting director, Dr. Gene D. Cohen (M.D. and Ph.D.; psychiatrist, researcher, author), who deserves to be appointed today or told that the White House has other ideas.

Consider, here is the most a By BRENDA J. DONEGAN Staff Writer Keeping busy doing for others through volunteering is considered a ministry by Albert and Mary Rose Rubeck. Both are active at the Marion Senior Center, their church, St. Mary Catholic, and St. Mary School.

At the Marion Senior Center, Mary, also known by many as Rose, performs such tasks as answer the telephone, takes transportation reservations and reservations for events at the center. A member of the center the past three years, both Rose and Al help in the kitchen and were in charge of the kitchen for the center's recent flea market. They also help with the center's annual Christmas bazaar and other events whenever and wherever needed, Rose said. A native of Newark in Licking County, Rose retired from Marion General Hospital where she had worked as patient tray tech in the dietary department for nine years. For personal enjoyment Rose attends ceramic classes Wednesday mornings at the center.

"For me it is more or less a get-together or a morning out. If someone has a birthday, we take along a cake to celebrate it and then those of us who can usually go out to lunch together," she said. Rose gains much satisfaction in the completed product and Leisure, can be positive By OR. MICHAEL FREEDMAN The Associated Press NEW YORK Few of us have had successful retirees as role models. Instead, we have seen people mark time in old age; retired couples grow old before their time, without goals or projects or interests.

It's no wonder that vast numbers of people fear retirement and dread the leisure time, which they equate to nothingness. In reality, leisure time can provide many positive opportunities such as: Furthering your education and keeping your mind alive and active. Shaping up by maintaining your body for mental and physical health. Letting your latent talents flower in painting, writing, and gardening, to name a few. Volunteering in your community.

Fulfilling some of your fondest dreams such as travel. After all haven't 30 or more years of work earned you that right? You also find a measure of self-esteem through personal achievement with any or all of the above activities. For living well many years beyond your retirement age, it is important to maintain a good diet, reasonable amounts of exercise and sound health habits. We must try to stay happy by staying sociable and developing loving and close relationships throughout life. From all current demographics, it is clear that most Americans in retirement now can expect to live into their 80s.

Dr. Michael Freedman is the Diane and Arthur Belfer Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Director of Geriatrics for New York University Medical Center. Hit ti HI If 1 persons 90 years old can more than double their muscle mass and improve their cardiovascular systems through regular exercise. It is not unusual to hear people in their 60s or 70s saying they find themselves in the best shape of their lives, thanks to regular physical activity. You will find more than a few good examples of this at the Senior Olympic games, held locally, statewide and nationally.

Each year in Ohio, thousands of older persons compete in a host of these athletic events, from shuffleboard to the shot-put, including team sports such as basketball, volleyball and doubles' tennis. Contestants range from 55 years of age to nearly 100. All around our state, you hear about these people: an 81-year-old running the 100 meters in 15.5 seconds; a 71-year-old running kilometers in under an hour; a 94-year-old hitting 15 of 25 free throws, the last 10 in a row; tennis partners in their 80s. For some, the accomplishments represent a continuation of athletics from younger years. Roughly, 1,000 of these older athletes will gather July 16-25 for Ohio's 13th annual State Senior Olympic at the University of Dayton.

As many as 400 may qualify for the (biannual) national senior Olympics, "The U.S. National Senior Sports Classic," which win be held in Baton Rouge, June 12-18, 1993. At last year's national senior Olympics in Syracuse, N.Y., the Ohio delegation of older athletes placed second in the country in overall medals won, with its women's 65-plus softball team taking the silver medal. The Ohio Department of Aging salutes all of these vigorous older Ohioans for their achievements and the example they set for young and old alike. For more information, please contact Dr.

Mary Leonard, Games Coordinator, Ohio Senior Olympics: 513-229-2772. Judith Y. Brachman is director of the Ohio Department of Aging. FOOTCARE; courtesy of the American Podiatric Medical Association. Nobody asked me, but the American Association of Retired Persons spent $4 million on its biennial convention, and nobody I know went.

Maybe that money should have gone to older women living alone. Quotes we like: "When there is no cure, there is quackery. a fact: The diseases we know as "arthritis" consume some $35 billion per year in health-care costs and lost wages. Bard Lindeman welcomes questions from readers. Although he cannot respond to each one individually, he will answer those of general interest in his column.

Write to Mr. Lindeman in care of this newspaper, P.O. Box 119, Orlando, Fla. 32802-0119. 1 J).

Ik I StarPhotoBrenda Donegan Residents in the Alzheimer's Unit at Community Nursing Center invite The Star's readers to help them name the two cement geese which now reside at the unit The geese, a male and female, were donated to the unit by Coffee Cement and Craft Shop, 475 Jefferson St, Lori and Darrell Coffee and Darrell and Diane Shoffner, owners. Shown with the new gifts are, from left: Margaret Lockwood; Margaret Yager, activities coordinator for the unit; Beverly Skaggs, unit coordinator; and Ernest Rowe. Names for the geese may be sent to the unit ging. In fact, why not invite Gene Cohen to run with you? He's fit, in every sense of that word. PRIME NOTES: Jim Nabors, N.Y.

Gov. Mario Cuomo and Valentino, the designer, all turn 60. And Tammy Wynette is 50. "Writing is easy," said Mark Twain, "all you have to do is cross out the wrong words." Highway sign we celebrate: "If you don't want a mammogram, maybe you should get a heado-gram." Sorry, forgot to report May as "Foot Health Month." Did you know one-fourth of all nursing home patients (about 350,000) cannot walk at all, and another one-sixth (about 250,000) can walk only with assistance. The message: Do not suffer foot pain in silence.

Get treatment. For a free booklet, call 1800- Bush should turn attention to seniors jL Bard sV Lindeman In Your Prime Q. Don't you agree that George Bush, perhaps the best-conditioned of our modem-day presidents, makes a splendid role model for us senior Americans? A. Yes, and no! Granted, this 68-year-old chief executive whirligig, now our fifth-oldest president, runs 2 miles in under 20 minutes and then sprints off to play golf, pitch horseshoes, fish or skipper his gas-guzzling powerboat. Furthermore, he enjoys leaving the less-athletic press corps members winded and gasping in his frenetic wake.

Recently, as he approached his birthday (June 12), he told Hugh Sidey, long-time Time magazine correspondent and a friend, that "I don't feel old. I feel young. The aging process is pretty gentle There's a little extra gray these important and most visible of all aging officers in the federal government and for almost a full year the position has been ignored, unaddressed, untended by 60-plus president who, among other things, would like to regard himself as "The Aging President," with emphasis on Aging (capital A). Pick up the telephone, Mr. President and then go jog.