A C T I V E S E N I O R S
N E V A D A C O U N T Y
L I V I N G
VICES AND RELOCATION
Never Think You’ re Too Old!
By Paula C. Collins
SENIORS IN NEVADA COUNTY can find plenty to do and are found lifting weights at the fitness center, participating in chorale groups and community theatre, mentoring young people, practicing yoga and serving on non-profit boards. Seniors do a lot!
“ If you’ re not active, you’ re waiting to die,” is something Nedom( Bud) Paul hears from his doctor. At 90, Paul definitely falls in the active category.
Looking for a place to retire, he and wife Theresa discovered the area through friends and moved to Lake of the Pines in 1985. Through his retirement year’ s, Paul’ s life has been filled with activities from installing lifeline units for the elderly, helping out at a Ronald McDonald Camp to playing golf and traveling.
Although he has slowed down some over the past few years, he still does volunteer work, and at age 87 became a docent at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, which fits perfectly with his life-long interest in history.
He continues to exercise by walking, enjoys his clock making hobby, is an avid reader and two years ago took up baking. The results are enjoyed by his fellow volunteers at the railroad museum.
Reyes. They are approachable to those with problems.“ If a kid gets lost at a Thursday Night Market, he doesn’ t mind going up to a grandma,” she says. This did happen to Reyes, and his family was quickly found.
Born and raised in Southern California, Bryon Glenn and his wife Gloria fell in love with Nevada City as they explored the Gold Country for a place to retire. They moved here, but picked a spot where it snowed a lot, so it was off to Arizona. They are now back for good, but at a lower level.
Glenn fills his time with a variety of activities. He is on the 49er Rotary Club of Nevada City Board of Directors and is in line to become president. Having lost his mother to the disease, he is also working with the Alzheimer’ s Outreach Project sponsored by the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation.
When he is not volunteering, 71-year-old Glenn does a lot of“ tinkering.” He likes to fix things and considers himself a“ home problem solver.” He still has his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and especially enjoys riding the Downieville loop.
The Glenns“ love to get on the water and love islands,” so it follows they also love to sail, especially in the Caribbean. They take short trips alone, longer ones with friends or family.
Ten years ago it was time for 84-year-old Peg Veilbig and her husband Joe, 87, to downsize, so they moved from Lake Wildwood to a house in Eskaton Village where they discovered there was a lot to keep them active.
The Veilbigs participate in aqua exercise, and take Qi Gong and fitness classes. Peg is also on the Eskaton Landscape Committee which is very active, and she is proud of the fact she still does all her own housework.
For years, the couple took to the road in their RV. They still like to travel and try to take a cruise once a year and short trips around Northern California.
According to Peg, they have lots of social interaction with friends and get together for lunch or dinner, and they attend many of the activities held at the Eskaton Lodge including live music events.
Donna Reyes, who moved to Nevada County from Wisconsin 15 years ago, says she has never been able to sit still long, so her volunteer work with the Grass Valley Police Department is a good fit.
Ten years ago, she heard about a Crime Scene Investigation class offered by the GVPD. It sounded interesting( her son is a retired police officer), so she enrolled. At the end of the class, they were asked if they wanted to become part of the volunteer police program. She did and signed up.
The process involved six months of training, and Reyes now 73, admits she was“ kind of scared” to drive a patrol car at first. Today, her duties include traffic control, making court runs, working events like parades, as well as some inside work.
Working alone or in pairs the volunteers serve a sort of public relations role says
Donna Reyes
KATY HIGHT
152 NEVADA COUNTY GOLD