EAST LONGMEADOW—Glenmeadow will offer a presentation called “Through the Binoculars: Birds, Wildlife, and Climate Change” on Friday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. to noon at Bay Path University.

Presenter Patti Steinman of the Massachusetts Audubon Society will lead a talk on New England birds and wildlife and share her observations on how climate change is affecting those species.

The Audubon Society oversees 79 birding areas in the state, representing populations from orioles to whip-poor-wills. Steinman will also talk about changes in the moose, black bear, bald eagle and peregrine falcon populations.

Steinman has been part of the Mass Audubon team for almost 30 years. She has a master’s degree in science from Antioch New England Graduate School and received the 2011 Non-formal Environmental Educator of the Year award.

The program is free, but space is limited and reservations are required. To enroll, call (413) 567-7800 or visit glenmeadow.org/events.

Glenmeadow Learning is one of many free programs Glenmeadow offers to members of the wider community. And these programs represent only one facet of the life plan community’s mission to serve seniors across the region and to operate as a socially accountable organization.

Established in 1884, Glenmeadow is a nonprofit, accredited life plan community; it provides independent and assisted living at its campus at 24 Tabor Crossing in Longmeadow and expanded Glenmeadow at Home services throughout greater Springfield.  

To learn more about Glenmeadow and its history and offerings, visit www.glenmeadow.org.

About Glenmeadow

In the 1800s, elderly individuals without family or means were sent to live at what was called “the poor farm.”  In 1884, a group of civic leaders raised funds among themselves and other area families and purchased a house on Main Street in Springfield’s south end, establishing The Springfield Home for Aged Women. Quickly outgrowing that house, land was purchased on the corner of Chestnut and Carew streets, where a new home was constructed and opened in 1900.  In 1960, the name was changed to Chestnut Knoll, and, in 1992, it began to admit men. 

In 1993, the organization purchased a 23-acre parcel in Longmeadow to build a new community that would provide both independent living and assisted living in one building with various common areas.  This was a new concept known as a continuing care retirement community.  Existing residents from the old Chestnut Knoll property were moved to the new campus in 1997.  Shortly after the move, the board voted to change its legal name to Glenmeadow to coincide with the name being used by the developer of the property. 

Continuing care retirement communities are now referred to as life plan communities, responding to the needs of the aging population with new opportunities for care, plus creative, educational and personal exploration. Glenmeadow offerings, which include everything from senior living options and handyman services to personal care and travel programs, are provided at its Longmeadow campus and across the region through Glenmeadow at Home. Glenmeadow strives to fulfill its mission of nurturing the whole person in mind, body and spirit.

The post Glenmeadow Offers a Program on Birds, Wildlife and Climate Change appeared first on Beetle Press.

As he read from his own work at a presentation on memoir writing, John Sheirer had me with an anecdote about the slaughtering of the family bull, Susie.

John is an author, and he teaches at Asnuntuck Community College in Connecticut. I’d invited him to speak on memoir writing for a client of mine, Glenmeadow, a life plan community for seniors that offers free educational programs in the Greater Springfield area.

In Glenmeadow’s offering, “Writing Your Life: An Author’s Tips on Crafting a Memoir,” John’s key point to the roughly 30 audience members was that memoirs don’t simply offer the events of the writer’s life; they communicate the meaning behind those moments.

John did just that with the bull story. Bull’s-eye.

The passage John read showed us that John was 18 when it was time to put Susie down, and he offered to pull the trigger, to prove his manhood. He talked to Susie, though, and told her she was the best bull the family had ever had. Then, John had to fire twice before Susie succumbed.

John didn’t tell that it was a traumatic moment. He showed us that it was. “I haven’t touched a gun since,” he said, reading from Growing Up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere; listening, I knew I wanted to buy the book.

“That was a significant moment in my life. I knew it was when it happened, but it took two decades to understand why,” he said. “The general theme (of what I learned) is that we don’t have to let other people define who we are. I could define manhood any way I wanted.”

John told the Glenmeadow audience that memoir “digs into the meaning of events.” I completely agree. Memoir isn’t about dates and facts. It’s about human emotion, the images that demonstrate learning and personal growth.

I can’t wait to read John’s book to see what other pivotal moments he experienced in his life thus far and how he expresses them on the page.

I have previously read John’s book, What’s the Story, which offers prompts for writers in the form of 50 photographs and 1,000 inspiring ideas. His other books include Loop Year and several titles for children that feature his dog Libby.

John alternated readings from his books with writing prompts for audience members. He read a passage from one of his books about childhood discovery, for instance, and then had them write about something they discovered when they were young.

“If your mind is blank,” he said, “keep your pen moving. Your mind will eventually fill in that void. Doodle. Write the same words over and over. Get the ideas down on paper. That’s a really important thing to keep in mind. If there’s never anything on paper, there’s never anything that’s going to get written.”

Another piece of good advice. John was full of good advice that day. He even offered many tips around writing a memoir, including these:

• Weave dialogue into a memoir. “We remember the words that people say, and the feelings, the emotions, the significance connected with those words.”
• Appeal to all of the senses. Show readers’ sights, sounds, surroundings. “Let the readers share the experience with you.”
• Offer vivid character descriptions. “While the memoir is about you, there are many other people involved in telling the story of your life. Describe the people who are involved, physically, their personality, and the connections between the two.”

Learn more about John and order his books on his website.

The post Memoirs Offer Meaning appeared first on Beetle Press.

EAST LONGMEADOW—Glenmeadow will present “Writing Your Life: An Author’s Tips on Crafting a Memoir” on Tuesday, May 23 from 10 a.m.-noon.

Author John Sheirer will talk about his creative writing life and his work leading English and communications courses at Asnuntuck Community College, and he’ll read from his memoirs, Loop Year and Growing up Mostly Normal in the Middle of Nowhere. Sheirer will also offer participants guidance on writing a memoir and will lead them in a writing exercise or two, using prompts he developed on his own and features in his book What’s the Story?

Sheirer has taught at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut, for 24 years. He is the author of a dozen books, including several works for children featuring his dog Libby.

The program will be offered by Glenmeadow at Bay Path University on its East Campus in the Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center, Room 222. The center is at 1 Denslow Road.

The program is free, but seating is limited, and registration is required; call (413) 567-7800 or email learning@glenmeadow.org. Visit glenmeadow.org/events for more information.

Glenmeadow Learning is one of many free programs Glenmeadow offers to members of the wider community. And these programs represent only one facet of the life plan community’s mission to serve seniors across the region and to operate as a socially accountable organization.

Established in 1884, Glenmeadow is a nonprofit, accredited continuing care retirement community; it provides independent and assisted living at its campus at 24 Tabor Crossing in Longmeadow and expanded Glenmeadow at Home services throughout greater Springfield.

To learn more about Glenmeadow and its history and offerings, visit www.glenmeadow.org.

About Glenmeadow

In the 1800s, elderly individuals without family or means were sent to live at what was called “the poor farm.”  In 1884, a group of civic leaders raised funds among themselves and other area families and purchased a house on Main Street in Springfield’s south end. Quickly outgrowing that house, land was purchased on the corner of Chestnut and Carew streets, where a new home was constructed and opened in 1900.  In 1960, the name was changed to Chestnut Knoll, and in 1992, it began to admit men.

In 1993, the organization purchased a 23-acre parcel in Longmeadow to build a new community that would provide both independent living and assisted living in one building with various common areas.  This was a new concept known as a continuing care retirement community.  Existing residents from the old Chestnut Knoll property were moved to the new campus in 1997.  Shortly after the move, the board voted to change its legal name to Glenmeadow to coincide with the name being used by the developer of the property.

The post Glenmeadow Learning Offers Author Talk on Crafting a Memoir appeared first on Beetle Press.