A Legacy for Baby Boomers
Article submitted by Debra Sheridan, President of IVY Marketing Group.
For more information, she can be reached at 630-790-2531.
There was Woman's Suffrage. And Civil Rights. Now, Chicago seniors residing at Montgomery Place Retirement Community are speaking
out as never before in an award-winning book available on Amazon.com entitled, In
It Together: Making a Retirement Community.
In It Together was written by eight residents with contributions from more than 70 of their neighbors in the
Chicago lakefront high-rise retirement community, Montgomery Place. In growing numbers, this generation is successfully living into
their eighth and ninth decades and have plenty to show for it.
For more than three years, the writers collected more than 100 stories about their experiences of creating a community and the
lives they led through a very important century. While the book itself is outstanding and would be a pleasure for anyone to read,
the story of how to continue to live life regardless of obstacles including the death of a spouse or friend, painful physical
limitations, diminished sight or hearing and many other challenges.
In It Together: Making a Retirement Community has three primary sections:
- The first section traces the roots of Montgomery Place to its predecessor, the Church Home which was established to
accommodate female "inmates" in the late 1800s. The Church Home's sponsor, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago was among
the many benevolent institutions that rescued the elderly who lost their position of importance in the family during the
Industrial Revolution. Prior to the Revolution, elders held a revered role in our families - that of teachers, mentors,
champions of traditions. They watched the youngsters as the parents worked in the fields. Theirs was an important role. When the
family began to splinter, seeking urban rather than rural opportunities, the role of elders as contributors nearly vanished.
Society began to provide "care" and choosing what it believed was the best for this frail segment of our population.
Although usually well-intended, this demographic came to be seen more as a drain rather than a wellspring to our society.
- Section two is rich with more than 70 vignettes from residents who talk about creating their own retirement community. It is
funny, poignant, and inspiring for people of all ages. It holds many lessons for seniors who consider this lifestyle. Montgomery
Place is an example of a typical retirement community attempting to establish policies, create efficiencies and programs
believed to be in the best interest of the residing seniors. However, the activist population of Montgomery place was no more
willing to be told what to do, or when to do it, than they were during any other period of their lives.
- The final section of In It Together is an interesting journey through the 1900s. As the world dealt with WWI and
WWII, POW camps, the Depression, Civil Rights, Urban Renewal, and less troublesome endeavors, residents' stories lend a sense of
humanity, often humor and sometimes horror about living through these times.
This book is a tribute to the lives and times of the people of a great generation. It is also a gift to future generations since
the proceeds from this book will be placed in a Care Assurance Fund for those residents who outlive their resources.
What lesson is drawn from In It Together: Making a Retirement Community? Truly it is this: listen to your elders;
you never know what you may learn. Anyone, who aspires to be successful in old age, should read this book.
In It Together: Making a Retirement Community may be purchased through www.Amazon.com. Hard Cover is $29.95 and Paperback is $19.95. |
