Category: Features

How Does Your Garden Grow? – November 2014

Louise Grabell It’s November already! How did that happen? Well, while you are thinking that the gardening season is over, let me tell you what you could and should be doing at this time of the year. Get your shovels ready! There is one important gardening don’t that you must remember: now is not the…

Baseball caps for children with cancer

Ellen Efron, Sue Hagerty and Carol Bidwell

Sy Efron Ellen Efron, Sue Hagerty and Carol Bidwell have made their annual contribution of baseball caps to the Diamond Children’s Center. The caps are mainly intended for children stricken with cancer and who are undergoing chemotherapy. There are usually extra caps to go around for the other children as well, especially when people get…

Abdominal strengthening: it’s not just about the six-pack

Susan Dawson-Cook While some are still chasing the dream of six-pack abdominals, others are thinking, “I’m not twenty-five anymore so having a washboard stomach isn’t exactly top priority.” It’s important to note that until the fat layer around the midsection is shed (which can only be accomplished by diet and cardiovascular exercise induced fat loss;…

Home invasion by a Javelina

Jerry and Gladys Lujan As Foreign Service Officers we spent many years living in exotic places like Algeria, Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Our dwellings were always well protected by security grillwork on the doors and windows. It was restrictive but necessary where personal security was at risk. When we returned to…

In Passing – November 2014

M. Eugene Speicher M. Eugene Speicher, born December 26, 1921, died peacefully on October 10, 2014, in Twin Falls, Idaho, with his son by his side. Eugene and Genevieve (Connie) were graduates of Columbia Medical and Nursing Schools, married in 1952, moved to Sacramento, CA in 1958 and practiced Urology until 1980. Connie and Gene…

A tribute to Martha

Sandra Sowell Martha, Martha, the birthday girl Each morning she takes us for a little whirl Zigging this way and that Along boulevard and cul-de-sac The pleasure of it is quite a pearl Martha Hackworth, that is. “Fearless, spirited and glamorous” as former SaddleBrooke Hiking Club President Michael Reale has described her. And so she…

Artist of the Month – November 2014

Artist of the Month, Elena Willets

SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild’s Artist of the Month is Elena Willets. A SaddleBrooke resident since 2003, Willets has been studying art since early childhood. Since her father was an artist, her parents encouraged her to draw and paint in whatever medium she wanted to explore. Willets says, “I had an early interest in drawing and…

The Empty Chair

Joan Elder It was his chair. No one had to label it or even place a reserved sign on it. We all knew it was his chair. He sat in the same chair in the same spot in the Saguaro Room every other Saturday morning for the Writers’ Group. He sat in a similar chair…

History up close: AmaWaterways Paris to Normandy River Cruise

Britni Dutz This year France celebrates the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings of World War II. The history and world-changing events that surround Normandy are legendary, and recently Bon Voyage Travel agent Susan Gould had the chance to see the unforgettable historic sites of these events on the seven-night Paris and Normandy AmaWaterways River…