Community Corner
Seniors Enjoy Leaves, Pumpkins and Masks
October is here and with it comes foliage watching, pumpkin carving, costumed Halloween parties and preparing for keeping warm in the winter.
Pumpkin carving is more imaginative these days with thousands of different transfer patterns available on the internet. Using a transfer pattern to decorate your pumpkin avoids any cutting. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the good old jack-o-lantern we all remember cutting out. Seniors are still young at heart and enjoy pumpkin carving.
Vermont is recovering from Hurricane Irene and has put out the welcome sign for autumn travelers to come and enjoy the foliage. According to the latest foliage report, Vermont will be experiencing moderate color by the time Portland Seniors travel there to visit the Vermont Country Store on Wednesday. The Vermont Country Store is an old-time country store stocked with nostalgic and unusual items, making it great fun to browse.
Talking about recovering from Hurricane Irene, the East Hampton Commission on Aging is working with the town on the possibility of using a Reverse 911 plan. Reverse 911 is a public safety communications plan used to notify residents in emergencies, such as Hurricane Irene. The system uses a database of telephone numbers and associated addresses, which when tied into geographic information systems (GIS), can be used to send mass emergency notifications. This is a voluntary program, which residents would have to sign up for. The Commission wants to hear from the seniors in the community about what they think regarding a Reverse 911 program.
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East Hampton Senior Center is an intake site for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Programs. Appointments for those over 60 or disabled continue to be made Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout October, November and December. Appointments are held in the meeting room at the town hall. Call 860-267-4426 and leave your name and phone number so you can be called to arrange an appointment.
It’s never too early to start your holiday shopping, so the Portland Seniors will be visiting the Christmas Tree Shops on Oct. 19.
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Halloween is the holiday that’s most connected to October. The practice of dressing up in costumes to celebrate Halloween (All Saints’ Eve or All Hallows’ Eve) can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The Portland Seniors will find out how 18th century people celebrated Halloween when they visit Sturbridge Village on Oct. 13.
Both East Hampton and Portland Seniors will be continuing the practice with costumed Halloween parties on Oct. 31. East Hampton will also be celebrating their monthly birthday party that day as well.
