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Chapter
News |
BASKING
RIDGE
(Somerset Hills) |
Monday
Sept. 14 2009
ALL ARE WELCOME! |
Somerset Hills YMCA Chapter will
be opening on Monday, September
14 with an Orientation meeting
at 11:00 am in the Lobby, Swim
Session starts at 12:00 to 1:00
and Social Hour to follow, 1:00
to 2:00. (Click
here for contact information) |
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BRIDGEWATER |
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FANWOOD / SCOTCH PLAINS |
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FLEMINGTON |
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MADISON |
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MORRIS
CENTER |
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SUSSEX COUNTY |
2009-02-09 |
e Newsletter Feb 9th |
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2008-11-24 |
SWIM, Inc. Press Release |
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WEST
MORRIS / RANDOLPH |
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WILDWOOD
CREST |
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Dear Swimmers,
Volunteers and Friends,
September 2007
Last June when
Chapters were getting ready for a summer
hiatus, I joined the Flemington Chapter
for a grand celebration of the program
year at a local Chinese restaurant. One
couple sitting next to me shared their
story, one of inspiration and
encouragement. With their permission, I
share it with you. Their names:
Margaret and Frank Maleski.
John Stephenson, President
FROM WHEEL CHAIR TO WALKING
Photo by Bill Kover
Eight
years ago on July 4th 1999,
Frank and Margaret were driving over to
their son’s house for a picnic when a
driver, failing to stop at a STOP sign,
rammed their car, nearly killing
Margaret. It was a year later before
she returned home after being
hospitalized in five different hospitals
and being treated with various kinds of
therapies. Margaret remembers nothing
from the accident or from the year of
hospitalizations. The costs of medical
and dental bills were astronomical.
Fortunately they had health insurance
which helped with most but not all the
costs.
Margaret
said, “Things happen… life goes on. I’m
not doing any sit-down meals for company
any more. It’s buffet style in our home
when family and friends come for
dinner. But then we are not getting any
younger either. I tire easily. Frank’s
eighty-one. I’m seventy-nine.
“About
twelve years ago, before my auto
accident, I had had a stroke that made
it very difficult to lift my arms above
my shoulders. I also lost my peripheral
vision on the left side. I was very
fortunate that that was all that was
affected.
"But the
accident compounded my vision problems.
I had a broken neck and brain damage
that resulted in a loss of balance and
‘floating eyes’ or ‘six nerve palsy.’
About a year and a half ago, I went to a New YorkUniversityMedicalCenter where they also discovered that I had
double vision and one eye turned inward,
a condition called strabismus. I didn’t
even know I had it. Anyway, they were
able to correct both the double vision
and the strabismus.”
I asked,
“Tell me, how does SWIM come into this
picture? You had mentioned that SWIM
was such a wonderful program and had
made such a difference for you,”
“About
four or five years ago, three or four
years after my accident, my friend,
Anne, told me about SWIM. So my husband
began taking me to the SWIM program at
the Deer Path Y and he also helped me in
the water. When I began, I was wheeled
into the “Y” in a wheel chair. Now I am
walking, thank God. I still have
problems maintaining my balance so I
often depend on my husband’s arm and
cane. Around the house, I usually can
walk from one thing to another without
any assistance. But twice a day my
husband and I do walk down to the road
to get the mail and the newspaper. I am
usually puffing by the time I get back.
Our six children and my husband have
been very supportive.
After the
accident, Frank took over completely.
He has been my caregiver right from the
start, plus cooking, cleaning and doing
everything. We will be married
fifty-seven years in October. “In
sickness and in health” is a vow he has
surely kept and for which he will be
surely blessed one day. In addition to
getting around, as I do now, I am
actually a help. I can fill the dish
washer, Frank empties it. I can clean
the kitchen and bathrooms and help with
the cooking. I’ve always enjoyed people
and having gatherings at our home and I
still do. I’ve just learned to make it
possible by doing things an easier way.
The hardest part of all of this was
losing my independence. And SWIM has not
only made me stronger, I know because
people are always telling me how much
I’ve improved, but SWIM has also helped
me regain some of my independence.
“Now when I
wake up each morning, I exercise here at
home. And every Friday I’m off to
SWIM. Flora, a pool employee who
donates her time to lead exercises for
SWIM, is wonderful. I follow all the
exercises as she leads us. I also walk
back and forth across the pool with my
husband’s assistance and hold on to the
side of the pool and kick with my feet.
I used to swim, but I don’t know if I
could any more. I never was a strong
swimmer. I remember being rescued once
when I got caught in a rip tide and was
being drawn further out to sea – a
frightening experience. SWIM doesn’t
require me to be able to SWIM. Everyone
wears a safety belt provided by SWIM.
SWIM is such a wonderful program. It
has helped me walk and regain my
independence and given me many new
friends.”
Please
help us to help you. We are in need of
the following
An historian to organize
and help save historic documents for
SWIM. Records may be stored in the SWIM
Office in the
PeopleCareCenter, Bridgewater.
Call (908) 685-0040 or John Stephenson, (908)
231-9523.
CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION AND
APPRECIATION
PRESENTED
BY THE BOARD DURING 2005-2006v
DORIS
HOLLINGSWORTH,
Professional Nurse and Humanitarian
Sometimes our
afflictions provide our “raison d’etre,”
our reason for being. While you began
your career as a nurse, caring for
others, this initial motivation was
shifted in a particular direction as you
became afflicted with arthritis.
Seeking to cope with such an infirmity,
you and Russ installed a pool in your
home so that you might benefit from
exercising in water. You found water
therapy most beneficial. You could have
lived your lives in private, enjoying
your pool with family and friends.
Instead, you followed your higher
calling as a nurse and caregiver. You
opened your heart and home so that
others might benefit from free water
therapy. In so doing, you discovered a
still greater calling, “your reason for
being.”
We, who count
ourselves among the recipients of your
kindness and largess, now recognize and
appreciate, the exceptional gifts that
you have offered to so many. By
founding SWIM, you and Russ have shaped
an organization that will seek to
replicate your initial hospitality for
generations to come.
We, swimmers,
volunteers and friends of SWIM say,
“Thank you,” from the depths of our
beings for modeling a higher calling
that we may all seek to emulate and
perpetuate.
DOROTHY
GARVEY
For Meritorious Service
For years you participated in SWIM as a
swimmer, a therapy to improve your own
health and welfare, and
discovered the truth in the saying,
“To find joy in
work is to discover the fountain of
youth.”
Gradually SWIM
became central in your life and
interest.
Indeed, you have
displayed that youthful experience in
all that
you have done through many years of
dedicated service.
Your life is a fine example of the
supportive, uplifting spirit that
pervades the SWIM family.
You have given of
yourself freely and generously, in heart
and soul,
a helping hand joyfully outstretched,
thoughtfully seeking others. We
recognize today what SWIM has done for
you, and what you have done for SWIM, as
a leader and as president for
many years. You have done well, indeed.
On behalf of
swimmers, volunteers and friends, we
honor and thank you.
BARBARA
“BABS” WILSON
For
Exceptional Service
Now that your home
is permanently at the Jersey shore,
which you have always loved so much, we
will miss your more active
participation. We are confident that
you will continue to be a real asset to
the Cape May Chapter. You were the
cheerleader in the early days of SWIM,
the confidant and strong supporter for
its founder, Doris Hollingsworth. You
will be forever remembered for your
absolute and infectious enthusiasm. No
one was ever handicapped in your eyes –
you made everyone feel included and
appreciated. Through the years, you
have brought great enjoyment to many
through your “bubbly” personality that
overflows with fervor, enthusiasm,
excitement,
joy and warmth.
Your influence directly and indirectly
spread the good news of SWIM from
Somerset County to Cape May and
Morris Counties and untold numbers of
persons have been the beneficiaries.
As swimmers,
volunteers and friends of SWIM, we say,
“Thank you.” We have all been richly
blessed through you and your influence.
You have made a significant difference
and have provided exceptional service as
a volunteer, a long time Chapter
Coordinator, and as a Trustee and friend
of SWIM.
ANNE
REGAN
For Exceptional Service
Sometimes friends
influence us in ways that change our
lives and the lives of many others. We
recognize that your friendship with Babs
Wilson became a life changing
relationship for you and for many
others, some of whom you may never have
met nor may ever meet.
Because you took
the initiative and cared enough for the
best interest of other folks and became
the Founder and first Coordinator of the
Cape May Chapter in Wildwood Crest in
1980 and continued to guide the Chapter
through its early young life, we now
recognize your sacrifices and
dedication, your generosity and
compassion, your tenacity and
perseverance.
On behalf of all
the swimmers, volunteers, and friends,
past, present, and those who are yet to
participate in the Cape May Chapter, we
offer you our thanks and appreciation.
JEAN AND
HERB KAMMER
For Excellence In
Community Service
Many retire to a
life of self-indulgence, but you folks
continue to share your skill, talents
and interests with your beloved
community. Herb, you still own the
kitchens regardless of the properties on
which they are located. The same high
standards developed in your bakery
business - that won the trust and
confidence of your community - continue
to be maintained with confidence and
care. And Jean, you cherish the special
qualities of folks. You love telling in
graphic and exquisite detail their
stories. You labor to preserve the
history of the community. Your lives
have been richly blest and you so enjoy
sharing your good fortune with others -
from the children to the eldest. Even
in retirement, you reserve only a couple
of weeks for yourselves and travel,
preferring to stay in harness, enjoying
lives of selfless service. You give
generously of yourselves in so many
ways. SWIM swimmers, volunteers and
friends wish you a relaxing, restful
summer, good health and many more years
of gracious living. You are richly and
delightfully appreciated. We love you!
KAMMER, HERBERT W.
90 - of Erma, passed
away at Cape
Regional Medical
Center on Monday,
September 21, 2009.
Herb was born in
Philadelphia, later
moved to Wildwood
Crest, and was a
graduate of Philip
Baker Elementary
School and Wildwood
High School. He
attended Bordentown
Military Institute
before joining the
Navy. Herb served in
World War II in the
South Pacific with
the 7th Seabees
Battalion. He
returned to Wildwood
where he owned and
operated Kammer's
Bakery for over
forty years with his
wife. Herb was a
former member of the
Wildwood Crest Beach
Patrol, Wildwood
Kiwanis Club, and
Wildwood Recreation
Commission. He
currently belonged
to the Pine Avenue
Fire Company (60+
yrs.), Masonic
Lodge, Wildwood
Crest Historical
Society, and Warrior
50 Club. He was
coordinator of the
Wildwood Crest
Chapter of SWIM Inc.
(Specialized Water
Interest Movement),
an R.S.V.P.
Volunteer at the
Glenwood Avenue
Breakfast Program,
and a very active
member of the First
United Methodist
Church of Wildwood
Crest (50+ years).
Herb (Herbie) was a
loving husband to
his wife Jean. They
were blessed with 61
years of marriage.
Through those 61
years they worked
side by side at the
bakery and after
retiring, received
many awards through
the years for their
volunteer activities
in the community.
But his job as
husband, father, and
grandfather was his
grea joy. Herbie
felt fortunate that
his family lived so
close and that he
had the opportunity
to watch his
grandchildren become
adults. Herb is
survived by his wife
Jean Yorker Kammer,
his daughter Linda
and her husband
Joseph Jackson,
daughter Paula and
her husband Stephen
Carroll,
grandchildren
Rebecca, Allen
(Lisa), Matthew, and
David Jackson,
Rachel and Kyle
Carroll, and his
brother Theodore
Kammer. A memorial
service will be held
at 11:00am Friday,
September 25, 2009
at the First United
Methodist Church of
Wildwood Crest (6700
Atlantic Avenue).
Friends may call
from 10 to 11:00am.
Interment will be
private. In lieu of
flowers, donations
can be made to the
First United
Methodist Church of
Wildwood Crest.
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Published in The
Press of Atlantic
City on 9/23/2009
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CHARLES
“CHICK” HARRIS
For
Meritorious Service To Humanity
The qualities and
motto of Scouting are woven into the
very fabric of your being - your love of
the out-of-doors, of hiking and
swimming, are but the tip of your
interests and in servicing others.
Qualities like, “A scout is trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous,
kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,
brave, clean and reverent,” stand out in
you boldly. You found in SWIM a cause
worthy of your best energies and loyalty
and have devoted your life
whole-heartedly to serving others
through SWIM. For many years you were
the face of SWIM to the uninitiated –
sharing the program through slides and
enthusiastic talks. Your loyalty,
dedication and competence have been an
inspiration to others. You exemplify
being “Prepared.” For years we have
seen you arrive early to set up
equipment for those who may be
participating in SWIM today. You live
in the here and now – preparing to make
the most out of the moment, whether
teaching someone how to swim or slicing
cheese for hungry swimmers and
volunteers. You are a man with a
twinkle in your eye, a big smile,
welcoming words, and kindly deeds. For
all these qualities, we thank and
appreciate you. Keep up the good work.
May you continue to be blest with many
wonderful years ahead.
VIRGIL
CHIAVETTA For
Dedication And Unusual Gifts Of Caring
For People
Your sincerity,
compassion and tenderness make you a
welcomed presence. Your faithful
attention to old friends and colleagues
is as much appreciated as is your
openness to new folks. We feel the deep
bonds of affection for you in the Arbor
Glen community, among friends you meet
over coffee, and certainly within the
SWIM family as well. Perhaps it is
because you have already journeyed down
some of the roads that others of us are
only now transversing. You have an
understanding manner and much wisdom to
share. When you speak, we listen and
pay heed to your sage advice. You often
do possess the “oil,” the lubricant that
makes things run more smoothly. You are
Father Confessor - the father we wished
we had had or had and lost – the one
from whom we draw strength and solace
when life gets rough and tough. You are
also such a funny man, always quick with
a story, a joke or one of life’s lessons
learned. You are always up for helping
someone joyfully, as though you had
nothing else to do of consequence. And
when parting - a twinkle of humor,
laughter and joy - remain. What a
breath of fresh air!
Thank you for your
home-spun wisdom and humor and down to
earth practical way of looking at life.
