montage #384 a gold watch and a park bench ......montage #384 "a gold watch and a park bench"...

MONTAGE #384 "A GOLD WATCH AND A PARK BENCH" Segment A Page 1

FADE IN A ROLL Cars down drive

Man carries flowers

People walk to tent

Pan along graves to

hearse and tent

People inside tent

Ex WS, hearse, tent in BKG

People walking away

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL pan up model in ad

SEGMENT A

:00

:05

:11

:20

:37

:42

:45

:49

:51

:59

33tt

D SOUND FULL (National sound, cemetery)

C SOUND FULL, D SOUND UNDER

ADAIR:

For all things human, this is the inevitable end.

A plot of ground and a few words ••• and if we are

lucky, friends and families who mourn ou. passing.

No matter where or how we begin•••or what we

did or did not do••• this is the final absolute.

It is the one thing in life that is so certain that

we have come to fear it almost above all else.

In our quaint view of the scheme of things, we

somehow cannot envision "Rest In Peace" applying

to us. But it will.

D SOUND FULL, C SOUND OUT

CONCLUSION OF SERVICES, END WITH "Rest in Peace"

!tfilcH.


ADAIR:

We dislike the idea so much that we have focused

our existence on the opposite extreme •••where

life is just beginning•••• On Youth•••

(C CON'T FULL, CROSSFADE TO MUSIC FROM D SO{!ND

••• and all it stands for. Smooth skin, agile

bodies, revelry••• and most of all, the lack of

M-384 Segment A Page 2

Sequence of ads

Women in exercise class

Old lady walking down street

Exercise class

Old man

women on bicycles

Three old men sitting on curb

women exercising

Old woman, pan to hand on cane

Sync, Mrs. Crowley

the lack of age.

1:05 C SOUND OUT, D SOUND MUSIC FULL

1:17 C SOUND FULL, D SOUND UNDER

ADAIR:

It is age, after all, that foretells the

inevitable. One does not die until one gets

old, the reasoning goes••• so if one never gets

old••••but then, we don't really believe that.

We still try to put some money away•••

(Think of the future, they say.)

••• check the pension benefit program once in a

while ••• (Just in Case!)

••• support any raise in social security payments •••

(We have to benefit later, right?) •••but

most of all, we try to look young.

This national preoccupation with youth for two

decades has brought us to an amazing point •••

1:49 ,(MUSIC OUT ON WORDS ••• (point") ••• at 1:49

Where we all but ignore ~bose among us who

have passed the arbitrary limit of usefulness

somehow placed at age 65. But in the state of

Ohio alone, nearly one million people are over

65, and by their own measure, it is time for a

change. They have been ignored and spurned

and put out to pasture long enough••• and they

want some things set right.

2:13 C SOUND CON' T FULL, D SOUND OUT

MRS. CROWLEY: rultl , If ,

We've gotten a raw deal. Oh, you hear1the s~ior

citisens want everything•••well, if we got


Sync, Mrs. Stanislo 2:1./ I

Sync, Mrs. Brooks

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 3:28

Man going across street

everything, we got a •••well, here's what I

always say. When I was young, I was told to

save for a rainy day. My husband and I saved for

a rainy day, but believe me the rains have come •••

and wash, uh, the rains have come and washed

that all away. And the rainy day didn't mean

a darn thing.

C SOUND Con't FULL

MARY:

Some people say, when I'm 50, I'm old. Well,

that's about the time you should start searching

for things in life that, if you have children and

they're on their own, you can find other young

people to associate with••• find love there too•••

you don't always have to find it from your own.

C SOUND CON' T FULL

MRS. BROOKS:

Cause I think we have lived in this world long

enough to have a little brain of our own and

what kills me is these social workers who tell

you how to live. You do this this hour, then

you move over here and do this. We're not

children. We're all three score and ten••• and

some of them twenty.

D SOUND UNDER, C CONTINUED FULL (FItIJE l:> :zN)

MRS. BROOKS:

So we don't need to be taught. We made it the

hard way. When we were coming up and when we


Man and group at bus stop

Old lady walks with grocery cart

Another man on street

Continue above

were working, we worked for a whole week for

less than what you get for an hour. But we

managed, and everything was different. We

had a mind of our own. You had your families

to raise, you had to stretch what few pennies

you had and yet you lived comfortably. But

now••• I don't know. They want to tell you

how to live your life.

C SOUND CON' T FULL, D CON' T UNDER

MR. WRIGHT:

1'_ still here at 74, so you can never tell.

I been young, you understand. I tell the boys,

they say, "You're old" ••• it's true. But you're

young, but now••• I've known you•••you don't

know me. I said, I've been young •••you ever been

old? No, well, I got the advantage over you,

ain't I? Because I said, I can almost tell

what you are thinking about because I've been

there where you're at. I said, you ain't never

been up here. I said, until you get here, you

don't know nothing.

4:26 C SOUND OUT, D SOUND FULL


ADAIR"

Tonight, MONTAGE explores the hidden world of

the over 65••• a world that most of us will reach

and unless we take a long hard look-at what is

there, it may be a very bitter place for some

Segment A Page 5M-384

Retirement party sequence

of us. Entry to this other world is free ••• the

4n1y requirement is that magic age of

retirement.

4:50 D SOUND FULL, C SOUND OUT

Masterof Ceremonies:

But this is, in a way, an odd retirement party,

because, you know, you don't often retire a boss.

(Laughter) This iaea about being a boss, Don's

always been quite a boss, and I went out to his

house here last summer, and I stopped there and

I pulled up in front of the house and parked

the car and walked up and there's a kid, one

of his grandchildren. They were playing around

in front of the house, and I said, '~here's your

grandpa?" "Why" the kid said, "he'S sitting

on the back porch, he's stroking his chin and

wondering whether he's going on vacation after

he retires." (Laughter) And I said, "well,

where's your grandma?" And the kid says, "She's

upstairs packing." (Loud laughter)

But actually, it's really been a good job and

he's really been a good boss. There'S no

question about it ••• a lot of times at banquets

or something like this, the guys•••you know, peoplf

will say really nice things about him. There's

no question about it, we had•••we all have had

arguements with our bosses, but in our case, we

had disagreements but by and large, Don'. the

best boss I ever had. He's the best guy I ever


worked with, and that comes from right here.

There's no question about it.

Man In Audience:

I agree with you. (Applause)

Second Man in Audience:

You know, I've been at quite a few of these

retirement parties••• in fact, I think we could

go back almost to 1935••• and it looks as though

this may be the last one. But I tell you one

thing Don, it's a good life. There is a lot

of retired people here, and I don't think you'll

find one that will complain too much about it.

I don't think you'll find one. And I hope

you enjoy your retirement at least as much

as I enjoy mine. And it's been real nice.

And I wish you all the luck in the world, Don.

(APPLAUSE)

MR. Husto.'s Daughter:

All I want to say is that I've got the best dad

in the world, and he's like good wine •••he

mellows with age. (LAughter and Applause)

NATURAL SOUND CONTINUES AS HE OPENS PACKAGE,

MAKES A FEW REMARKS •••APPLAUSE BEGINS AND MUSIC (For He's A Jolly Good FellOW) BEGINS•••


ADAIR:

Mr. D. B. Huston is one of the many Americans

who will retire this year•••

M-384 Segment A

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 8:13 door opens, walk down dark corridor to empty chair

8:17

8:38

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 8:44 Lady on park bench feeding birds

MATTE "Montage Special Report" 8:46

MATTE "A Gold Watch and A Park Bench" 8:46

FADE TO BLACK 9:00

Page 7

his world over 65 will not be much different

than before •••

C SOUND OUT •••D SOUND (MUSIC) HELD BRIEFLY, THEN C.-sSFADE TO CLOCK TICKING••• (VERY SLOW XFADE)


ADAIR:

But for a great many Americans, retirement•••

and the end of the working years, can mean

difficult times ahead.

They don't give out gold watches anymore, but

for thousands of senior citizens••• the remaining

years are expected to be spent clinging to a

make believe gold watch •••while they sit on

some park bench. Preferably, off the beaten

path.

C SOUND OUT, BRING MUSIC ER CLOCK •••~rAND GRADUALLY FADE CLOCK OUND OUT BY END OF DISS. MUSIC FULL TO END.

~~Dr MUSIC OUT

END, SEGMENT A

M-384

FADE IN A ROLL Elderly Building, downtown

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL old man walks down street

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL old lady walks

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL interiors, people in home

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL

Retirement Party

Segment B

SEGMENT B

:00

:01

:25

:34

:42

:58

Page 8

D SOUND UNDER (Downtown general)

C SOUND FULL, D UNDER

ADAIR:

Cleveland, like most cities, has many programs

for the senior citizen••• sponsored by churches,

civic organizations and government. There are

hot meal programs, mini-bus taxi service, legal

aid and others, but also like many cities

the programs in Cleveland suffer from duplication••

small service areas ••• limited resources ••• and

shuffling politics among various agencies to

control federal and state money.

But more and more, the over-65 population is

growing, and retirment income may not keep

pace. Inflation hits the senior citizen first •••

and stretching a fixed income over rapidly

rising prices can spell disaster. For some,

the old American idea••• (D SOUND OUT AT :42) •••of living the retirement years in comfort

and quiet fulfillment has been crushed in the

simple struggle to survive. Hoped for pensions

have not materialized••• life savings have been

wiped out by a single illness••• rising taxes have

cut into meager incomes. FIU)E ~1tI~

C SOUND CON' T FULL, D SOUND uNDER (PARTY)

ADAIR: CONTINUED

But there are many as well who look forward to

retirement •••with good planning and sound pension

M-384 Segment B Page 9

Retirement party sequence

Sync, Huston

Mr. Huston at Party

and retirement plans, a comfortable future is

possible. For people like Mr. Huston, the

future is much like the past.

1:10 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D CONTINUED UNDER

MR. HUSTON:

See, several of the supervisors that went ahead

of me that were my previous bosses•••well the

last one, he quit in '62 on an early retirement

basis. But I never had any intention of

quitting early, and they didn't force me out

like they have some of them. Stayed right up

til '65. Of course I have to get out now as

far as the railroad is concerned.

Actually, I really didn't do much planning for

retirement. I don't have any sport particularly,

or anything like that. In fact, I never

considered retirement.

1:50 D SOUND OUT, C CONTINUED FULL

HUSTON: CONTINUED

I never worried about it, that's for sure. But

now the way things stand right now, I won't

even be retiring•••actually I'll be doing

practically the same thing as I am now.

2:01 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER

ADAIR:

There are hundreds of people like Mr. Huston•••

Who are managing to live quite well on pensions

and retirement funds which provide a "moderate"

income. These are also the people who retire

M-384 Segment B

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 2:14 Fountain of Youth and Florida sequence

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 2:50 Jacksonville Park

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 3:27 Mr. Chase, Sync

Page 10

out of state••• to Arizona and California•••

and of course, to Florida.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND BECOMES DIFF. MUSIl

ADAIR: (CONTINUED)

Florida has held it's magical attraction for centuries •• since 1513 when Ponce de Leon set foot on American soil in se.arch of the legendary Fountain of youth. One taste,it was believed, would wash away years already lived• •• and thus prevent old age••• that inevitable forerunner of death. Tourists by the thousands still come to see that Fountain of Youth••• and many of those over 65 remain in Florida to live out their years in comfort. So many have retired to Florida that nearly every city has it's retirement villages

and new developments are springing up by the score

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL - D SOUND CON'T UNDER ADAIR: '. In Jacksonville, some 20 miles from Ponce de

Leon's paradise, St. John's Episcopal Church

and the Catholic Diocese of North Florida have

joined to borrow federal funds for Cathedral

Residences, a senior citizens complex for

those with incomes of no more than 64-hundred

dollars a year. It offers many programs and

hobbies ••• there is no minimum income requirement

and hot means and medical services can be

arranged for ' small fees. It amounts to a

small community with a family spirit about it,

and among the residents is a man from Cleveland

Heights, George Chase.

C SOUND CONTINUED, D SOUND OUT (FADE MUSIC OUT ON WORD ••• "1955"

CHASE:

1955, the last year that I worked, I had an

early retirement on accountof my health.


DISSOLVE TO A ROLL People walking, sitting in park, around building

CHASE: CONTINUED

I was hoping to quit when the , when it came

the time that I think I should quit •••yes, I

looked forward to it, and I might add, that

everything that I looked forward to seemed

to be realized. FAl>t" """,;.S/~('l>rt> H WD~b "lltllr~J ~1f"'·",.J'~ I J :.~)

3:50 C SOUND CONTINUED, D SOUND UNDER (MUSIC)

CHASE:

I have found people that are a little disappointed

however, I, I don't know why they should be

unless there's a desire to keep on working and

not step aside and let somebody else run with

the ball. After all, you can do so much and the

WI"'''time,- on, let somebody else••• I don't know

why they are disappointed but I have seen some

pe9ple that cannot be content and they probably

were not content when they were working.

C SOUND CONTINUED, D CONTINUED UNDER

MISS KOPETKA:

Well I think a lot of people think retirement

means just sitting back and waiting to be

entertained and taken care of instead of s.",.lJ.i1lg,

getting out and doing blj@lI. There are 50

many places where they could contribute their

services , where they could get so interested

in thinks they wouldn't think about themselves

sometimes. Not all of our ailments are real.

I know, I have them too. But if I get interested

J.~",.in~ Job, I forget all about it.

M-384 SEGMENT B Page 12

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL Miss Kopetka sync

Mr. and Mrs. CavagFla

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D CON' T UNDER

ADAIR:

Miss Josephine Kopetka.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D CON' T UNDER

KOPETKA:

I started thinking about retirement•••

5:00

KOPETKA:

•••when I was about 60, but then I didn't

retire until I was 68. So I thought about it,

but I didn't do anything. I didn't know what to

do, and when this came up, it was just like an

answer. Working a little bit part time when I

came downhere ••• and now I have given up that

part-time work so my time is my own. I still

don't have the time to do all the things I

want to do.

C SOUND CONTINUED:

ADAIR:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cavagna.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL

MRS. CAVAGNA: W.ll

Y"We thought about a place that would be easy to

take care of, that wouldn't be a burden I

suppose you would say, we were tired to taking

care of the garden; we love gardening, but

you know, there's a limit to how much you can do.

You get kind of stiff knees, achy back and a


few things, raking of leaves, which gets

to be an awful problem, and then trying to

find somebody to do it for you when you don't

feel that you can do it anymore.

I think you're as old as you think, and if

you think young•••your flesh of course, you

know, it's the falling apart that bothers you

morethan anything. (Laughs~ It isn't your age.

Anybody, you know, well I,as I say, you don't

feel old until you start looking in the mirror

or you know, you get up and you're a little stiff all

and that kind of thing•••

(MR. CAVAGNA: Feel old? IN BKG)

MRS: CAVANGA:

But getting old doesn't enter my thihking.

Does it enter yours?

MR. CAVAGNA:

Well, I know I'm already old••• and

MRS. CAVAGNA:

Well you think you are •••he's five years

older than I am so he feels his seniority•••

LAUGHS••• I miss being busy, but my job I could

do without at this point because it was getting

to be a greater burden all the time. I was

putting in about 10 hours a day ••• and you do that

with a home and a husband to take care of and

you've about had it••• so, and just then weekends,

do things you want to do ••• so I just couldn't

Segment B

Florida Christian Home 7:21

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 7:46 Man down street

8:00

FADE TO BLACK 8:01

Page 14

wait to do the things I wanted to do

instead of al~ the things I had to do•••

I go up to the Bpiscopal Child Day Care and

Learning Center each week and work with the

children up there.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER (MUSIC)

ADAIR:

Cathedral Residences and many other church

sponsored homes for senior citizens provide

not only shelter and comfort but social contact

as well. And unlike the "old folks home" of

yesterday, the resident is urged to take part

in activities and functions of many kinds. In the

new "retirement community", the emphasis is on

living life to its fullest •••where age

brings wisedom and not shame.

C SOUND FULL, D SOUND UNDER CONTINUED

ADAIR:

But in every city, there are hundreds of people

over 65 who cannot afford and do not wish to

retire to Florida. They like home •••

regardless of the struggle.

MONTAGE will continue in a moment.

C SOUND OUT

D SOUND OUT

END, SEGMENT B

M-384 SEGMENT C Page 15

SEGMENT C

FADE UP ON A ROLL :00 D SOUND UNDER (Quiet street sounds)

Tremont neighborhood :01 C SOUND FULL, D SOUND UNDER

ADAIR:

On the near west side of Cleveland, just across

the flats from Terminal Tower, there is an

organization of people who call themselves the

Senior Citizens of Tremont. It is a genuine

"grass roots" organization made up of a

score o~ more of ethnic backgrounds tied

together by a common need.

Mrs. Helen Melnick is the president ••• and she

also serves as secretary of the Tremont

Community Churches organization, which sponsors

various programs for all segments of the area's

people.

Food sorting area and sequence C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND BECOMES NAT. SOF

ADAIR:

Among them is a cooperative food shopping venture;

for a small membership fee, the grocery orders

of many people are combined and purchased in

bulk from wholesale suppliers to take advantage

of lower prices. The program was originally

set up to combat hunger in the community, but

many seniors have found it a literal lifesaver.

The members of Senior Citizens of Tremont may be

more representative of the great majority of

the over-65 population••• people who struggled

Segment C

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 1:04 Melnick home

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 1:46 Helen walking down street

Page 16

through the depression, lived their lives as

good citizens, and now ask only to be allowed

to continue.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, NATURAL SOUND, D OUT

MRS. MELNICK : (On phone)

These are curtains that people threw aw~ in

the garbage across the street in the Valley

View, and uh, Mrs. Rambert picked them up and

she says, Helen, you want 'em? I said sure,

I says •••Look how pretty they are. I washed

them and they threw them away.

I don't know•• I feel very bad because they waste

so much. They could use them over there ••• it's

hard for her to come to the phone because she's

on the walke;. It takes quite a while for her

to get there. Mrs. Gordon? Helen Melnick •••

is it all right if we come over now? Thank

you. I'll bring your order. Thank you.

(HANGS UP PHONE) She was all right.

C SOUND FULL, D SOUND UNDER ~1t:J#' IN J) oN wu~o0 "" "H7 .,.ilAt ..

ADAIR:

There are a thousand problems facing the

average "retired" person today••• in Tremont

as elsewhere, they range from low incomes to

safety•••but there is also a firm determination

to enjoy life despite it's problems. Take

Mrs. Gordon for instance. She has a 70 year

old son who is also retired••• and she is a

hearty 95.

M-384 Segment C Page 17

Sync, Mrs. Gordon ~: 0 , C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND OUT

MRS. GORDON

I didn't feel a bit worse than I did when I

was 70••• 50 and 70 years old or about 50 and

70 years old. I went down and got a job at

Higbees when I was 70 years old one day. But I

couldn't take it because I couldn't stand the

climbing up and down the stairs up there at

the '. other place you know. I was upstairs

there, and I couldn't get up and down the stairs

enough so I have to give it up.

I can't do anything••• I can't do anything. My

hands are gone, my legs are gone. Without this

I couldn't walk at all.

I don't do much of anything••• I'll tell you I

sit here and look at four walls and watch

them fix the cemetery yard down here •••

I'm waiting to see them get it cleaned out once.

(Laughs) I haven't been outside of this house

for a year now. I look out the doors, look out

the kitchen door and out this door, out the

windows and that's all. Well, I'm going to

try it again a little bit this summer, if I can.

I'm gonna see if I can't manage this a little

bit.

MRS. MELNICK:

Well, Karen said that she'll come with the

wheelchair. We got two wheelchairs now that

they said they're gonna giveus so if you wanna

go with us, we'll be glad to take you.

Segment C Page 18 M-384

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL people getting in car

We took Mrs. Caldwell last year in the wheelchair

because she could not walk. And we took her to

Chippewa Lake. So we're gonna go again•••do you

want to go with us? We'll go to Sea World.

MRS. GORDON:

If I can I will.

MRS. MELNICK:

Good.

(UtNl'~ IGYFJ

(PAUSE) •••We want what we want, not what they

want to give us.

3:38 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER (NAT SOF) ( I'A.1I" .INb ',y'l.4JtI~D ,~..)

MRS. MELNICK:

What ••what, excuse me, but you young people •••

what do you know what we need? What do you

know? She needs companionship ••• I need

companionship. We want to get a senior center

in this neighborhood for Tremont. Tremont has

never had anything, have they••• in all these

years since we've been here. We're the forgotten

people in Tremont, especially the seniors.

Really and Truely. Mostly we need a center. We

need transportation••we need money. We haven't

had the money to charter a bus ••• and we need

buses that we could step into that the

steps are low enough •• that's our problem.

C SOUND CONTINUED •••D CONTINUED UNDER

4: 1/ ADAIR:

Mrs. Melnick invited MONTAGE to come meet some


members and attend a Valentine's Day

meeting. What we found was a warm, strong

group of people who wear their age with

SLOW DISSOLVE TO A ROLL People singing

4:22

dignity. ,. ..,.. c J)t> SLow f #H.J~AIK' - :.*,_

C SOUND FULL, (MUSIC IN CHURCH) D SOUND OUT

CARRY SONG BRIEFLY

4:42 C SOUND UNDER, D SOUND FULL

MRS. MELNICK:

I always felt if you can do it, why can't I

do it, and maybe I was raised with that

feeling. You know what's left for most of the

people? A rocking chair and television.

But I like hand work, I like things. I noticed

with some of our golden agers, all they look

forward to is our Wednesday meeting ••• to get

dressed up in there and to fix their hair•••and

to come to the meeting. They're not interested

much in anything else. But what else is

there to live for them? Someof them are •••when

they get older like that, they just give up

and that's wrong. That's very wrong. That's

very wrong. They shouldn't give up. She

didn't give up. I didn't give up••• some of our

golden agers didn't give up.

5:23 C SOUND FULL, D SOUND OUT (SONG, GOD BLESS AMERICA)

then•••

Sync, Mrs. Melnick MRS. MELNICK:

Now what we want in this neighborhood•••


Tremont has always been the forgotten••• we

would like to have a Senior Citizens Community

Center and that's what our main proposal is for,

for just us right here at Tremont.

I wrote a letter to Mrs. Anne Brown and asked

her about it and I reminded her about it, and I

set up a date with her for February the 28th

and the people who drew up the proposal •••Mrs.

King and some of the other golden agers that I

took with me. The proposal will be ready and

we are going to present it to them•••and

yesterday I was handed this in the office there

and believe me, there's an awful lot of money

for the seniors. Now let's hope that it will

all come through.

NATURAL SOUND BRIEFLY••• THEN

VOICE:

Gatta sing happy birthday•••

SONG••• CARRY NATURAL SOUND FULL•••

7:31 D FULL, C SOUND UNDER

MARY:

I'm awfully grateful to God that I lived to

experience such a joy•••

7:36 D SOUND OUT•••C CON'T UNDER

7:39 D SOUND FULL, C SOUND CONTINUED UNDER

MARY:

I have fondest memories of way back••• a childhood

•••and it was beautiful, and its beautiful

',M-384 Segment C Page 21

now. Birthdays•••yes, I ••• it's not •••we ••• it's

not the individual that's old, it's your bones.

You're not old. You're mind is young•••only

you gotta keep your mind alert and regardless to••

the uh••• conflicts you•••you can •••you can be

real spry. I don't feel old.

I love people, and I enjoy going out and doing

work for ••• taking care of people that are ill,

and various things like that you know. I do

go out occasionallyand help out in private

homes, for the welfare as a volunteer worker••••

8:41 BEGIN SL(loI FADE OUT OF C SOUND, D CON"T FULL

(BE OUT BY 8:43)

••• and I do Vblunteer work also for the RSVP.

8 :48 C SOUND FULL t D SOUND OUT

MARY STANlLSO: FAST DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 8:49 I don't expect youth to fall allover me beacuse Sync, Mary

uh, even if God let's me live to be 73, I

don't want youth to fall allover me. I do

want, I like respect ••• l don't feel that they

have to pity me because poor grandma is going

to the store alone •••you know, you have to

learn to help yourself.

For instance, in this building here there is a

lot of them that just always stay in the

building; they won't go out, you know, and then

they think that everybody is against them.

Well, no body's against yOu, but you feel that

M-384 Segment C

Exterior, St. Augustine Church 10:12

People leaving church

woman gets into car

10:34

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL Mrs. Rambert sync

10:]6

Page 22

way•••you're lost, see. You just don't know how

to mingle and what to do.

We just can't let everything knock us down just

because of our age. We've got to get out there

and do things ourselves too•••not wait for

somebody else to do it or, or we don't want

pity. We want understanding, and we want to

show that age does not have anything to do with

things that are going about. We still have to

be interested in the welfare of not only

ourselves but all citizens, or senior

citizens. It's not just our group••• it's for

everybody.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER (NAT.SOF)

ADAIR:

The Senior Citizens of Tremont are bound

together by a mutual need to look after one

another, but all too often each one has

become a victim of one of society's ills. The

most common is robbery and assault •••because

old age is viewed as weakness. Mrs. Rambert,

88 years old•• is typical. Weak in Body perhaps,

but ne~ in spirit.

C SOUND FULL, D SOUND OUT ON DISS (10:36)

MRS. RAMBERT:

I was going to the doctor ••

I came from here, the second apartment there,

fl."'."and I had my purse ___ my arm, and I had to go to the doctor and I was to meet some lady. So

M-3B4 Segment C Page 23

this fella, I seem him coming a-running from

this way•••but I didn't •••he came in back of me.

see? Then he swivelled me on•• Oh I had a

bruise up here big as~a goose egg •• and then

he hit me in the back and yet he couldn't get the

purse. So then he kicked me and knocked me

down••• he kicked me in the side, so I had two

fractured ribs and internally injured. So they

took me to the hospital and she said, told my

daughter that, You watch your mother ••• if there's

any sign of blood or anything, bring her right ~ 1

back because she might have an internal

hemorrhage••• I only had two nosebleeds, that's

all. Huh••• so it was 14 weeksbefore I ••• !

couldn't even lay in bed, I had to sit up

straight like this ••• I couldn't lay••• and

when I came home, I had to put a pillow under

here••• I couldn't ••• but it still hurts. I

had a blood clot here •••

I don't want to go in a nursing home. I

told my Children, I said, never put me in a

nursing home. I don't wanna go there. It's

nice, but I don;t know••• I wouldn't feel right

in a nursing home ••• like I called my sister

Sunday, and she said are you still alone ••• I

said Yeah•••She said, look, I'm over here and

you're still alone. I said, that's all right •••

I want to be alone til as long as I can manage.

If I can't manage no more, then the heck with

me. (LAUGHS)

M-.384 Segment C

13:18

1.3:21

1.3 :23

FADE TO BLACK 1.3:24

Page 24


MRS. MELNICK:

We're not complaining. I'm not poor. We

don't consi er ourselves poor. I think we're

rich, we really are. I think we're happier, I

says •••uh, Annette is happ'y~ and all of us are.

We don't want much. All we want, all we want is

like we are now. A roof over our heads, enough

money to pay our bills, to take care of our

utilities •••we don't want fancy homes •••

none of us.


MRS. RAMBERT:

I can manage ••• if I ain't got it, I do without

it. I'd never ask. My daughter and that bring

me some stuff you know, so I get along all

right. I got along all right on 97-dollars

but then I, I paid 40 dollars rent here ••• and

my hospitalization was only 9 dollars, now it's

over 14 dollars. I got enough••• a junk that'll

outlive me. (laughter) I give half of it away

already. When I give it away my neighbors

here, they're wearing it. (Laughter) I got so

much stuff. (Laughter)

C SOUND OUT

C SOUND FULL

ADAIR: MONTAGE will continue in a moment.

C SOUND OUT

END SEGMENT C

M-384 Segment D Page 25

SEGMENT D

FADE UP ON A ROLL Man walking to camera

:00

:04

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL :28 Mrs. Crowley

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL Black/white historical stills sequence

D SOUND FULL (MUSIC)

C SOUND FULL

ADAIR:

As a society, we have reached one of those

curious points of time where a person of 70

has seen, eXperienced and lived through

more developments in the world in his lifetime•••

than have occured throughout the history of

mankind. And one of the most dramatic changes

has happened to the family. Mrs. Katherine

Crowley.

C_,80UND CONTINUED FULL, D CON' T UNDER

MRS. CROWLEY

Everybody lived together, and you had your own

little community••••

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL t D SOUND OUT - FA1>,;' l> ()vr

MRS. CRIMLEY:

The children lived in your community, where

since the war, the children leave, and the next

thing you know, they are moving out of town.

My daughter lives in Miami••• she's lived there

now for sixteen years•••

D SOUND UNDER (old music) C CON' T FULL

MRS. CROWLEY:

Years ago that wasn't, you couldn't move•••

And consequently, we had our own older folks

and we took care of the older people. You


2:07

either had your mother or father living with

you, or your grandfather living with you or

your grandmother living with you•••you took

care of them. And when this social security

came in, well, that's a horse of a different

color. The younger people today, they don't jt'll'"

want any part of their parents.1rThey've been

raised different. During the war, they were

on their own, mothers went to work, kids went

to school, and they came home, they were on

their own. And there was not the love of a

family like it was when you were •••when we

were children. Fifty years ago, there was

more love in a family too. I have an eighth

grade education•••we went to the 8th grade

then we went to high school•••well, I had a year

and a half of high, then I was taken out and

went to work. I worked for the telephone

company for five dollars a week, which I

thought was great. And every six months, we

got a fifty-cent raise. But then you lived at

home, you loved your parents andthat••• and you

gave your money to your parents, where today,

the kids, they have too much, and they don't

appreciate what they have. The senior citizens

are fighting and they tell us we are trying to

get too much. We appreciate what we are given.

But they don't realize what we need. Our needs.

D SOUND FULL (MUSIC) C SOUND OUT

M-384

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL Terminal tower ••• pull back to Halko house

Interior, apartment

Mrs. Halko, sync

Interior, Halko house

Segment

2:19

2:20

2:34

2:43

3: 18

D Page 27

D SOUND BECCMES NATURAL SOUND AND UNDER

C SOUND FULL, D CON' T UNDER

ADAIR:

For anyone over 65, the single, most constant

fear is that of crime••• of being victimized by

almost anyone. And the results can be

devastating. Mrs. Halko and her husband pay

twenty dollars a week for this small apartment,

and when we went to visit, she had been without

water in the house for a week. Her husband is

in a local hospital••• he was apparently

beaten by kids in the neighborhood.

C SOUND CON' T FULL, D SOUND OUT

r-mS. HALKO:

Well he just got in on the 18th, it takes time

you know. When you gte hit over the head, you're

done for you know, he's an old man, you know.

It don't heal like young fellas. They'll let

me know if anything happens • They'll come over

here andlet me know. Well••• I'm on relief,

I'm getting on there tomorrow again••• I got

to go down•• I'll help him out and he can get that

Social security, see, I'll go with him••••

welfare office, a whole gang up there today

when I went up there. I had number thirteen

and she called number thirteen and I seen all

them papers and everything•••

C SOUND CONTINUED, D SOUND UNDER (Presense)


Mr. Wright

Wright, sync

ADAIR:

Mr. and Mrs. Halko, like many people their

age, are harassed by the very young who see

them as novelties ••• and in some distorted

way find pleasure in teasing them. Two dogs

offer some protection, but there is no end to

the frustration they feel. And they are not

alon~. One can be victimized without violence •••

3:37 C SOUND CONTINUED DULL, D SOUND UNDER(voices)

ADAIR:

••• like Mr. Thomas Wright. A coal miner for

more than 30 years ••• 20 years with the same

company, Mr. Wright has yet to receive union

pension benefits, or compensation for the

black lung disease he brought with him from

the coal mines of West Virginia. It is not

so much the money that is important, it is

the principle.

3:55 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND OUT

MR. WRIGHT:

I was like all the other miners. You know we are

saving when you first come out. When I get old

enough, I'll retire and get my pension, I'll live

off my retirement. But you see, I was unfortunat~

to get any of that. All those years, I didn't

save money. And I paid union dues from '33 to '53.

VOICE:

And nothing to show for it?

MR. WRIGHT:

And nothing to show for it. All I got was

14-384 Segment D Page 29

silicosis and broke down. So I see I'm like

all other miners with it •••but still everybody

else figures we go along as we can, but in the

end, you can see yourself go. It just ain't

theve no more. I applied for benefits for

black lung, and I haven't received anything,

they told me to wait, if I was eDgible, they

would let me know. One letter said I had it,

but not enough to pay for it, and another

one told me just to wait ••• there was a new law

passed and they were looking into my claim.

They had several claims like mine and it might

take some time and don't protest it, just

wait.

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL Man with cane on street

5:12 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND TmnER FJI];)$ 1> IN -1Iik'1fl> efir

MR. WRIGHT,

And so that's what I've been doing •••waiting.

5:14 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D CON t T UNDER

ADAIR:

Many organizations have sprouted around the

country to do something about the kind of

injustice Mr. Wright and other seniors have

experienced. One of the most successful

organizations•••

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 5:24 C .AND D CONTINUED•••.L Man up steps with walker

••• to concentrate on gathering political clout

for the senior citizen is Seniors of Ohio, which

boasts a membership of some 35-hundred and

M-3B4 Segment D Page .30

growing fast. You can find members in

nearly every gathering, and they intend to

lobby for what they feel are the rights of the

golden agers. Statewide president of Seniors

of Ohio•••Mrs. Marie Brooks •••who was a

delegate to the White House Conference on

Aging last year.

5:46 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D CONTINUED UNDER

MRS. BROOKS:

I don't know•• I think we were talked to too

much, we were not allowed to talk ourselves

sufficient to give••• l thought we were to

go there with our problems, but to me it

was just lecture,lecture, lecture. And I skipped

one of my workshop meetings and went to

another one on purpose ••• and it was the same

thing.

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL Mrs. Brooks, sync

6:17 C SOUND CONTINUED FUll., D SOUND OUT IFIJ'" 1> ~ \ ~ """Ill) CUE')

MRS. BROOKS.

I didn't go to Washington for a trip, I went

there thinking I would learn something and

be able to do something when I came back. Why

I didn't aee •• it wasn't available as far as

I was concerned. And that's a general opinion

of most of them that went, because the meetings

that we have had in Cleveland, it seems

that others voiced the same opinion. And as

I said earlier, they prefer these small

M-384 Segment D

CU Senior Power button 7:24

FADE TO BLACK 7:26

Page 31

regional workshops. Now we go to other

cities around in the state or you have them with

yourown city, then they combine and that way

you are getting more and gaining what you

are trying to gain. But frankly, just in a very

few words, to me the White House Conference

was a farce. All of those millions of dollars

they paid to take all ofus there could have

been used much better for the elderly poor,

andlet us do what we are doing now than to

have wasted that money••• that's what it was.

C SOUND CONTINUED

ADAIR:

MONTAGE will continue in a moment.

C SOUND OUT

END SEGMENT D

M-384 SEGMENT E

SEGMENT E

FADE IN A ROLL :00 Meeting, Bohn Center

and sequence :01

Lady in audience

Meeting continued :48

Page 32

D SOUND UNDER

C SOUND FULL

ADAIR:

In countless meetings held in senior centers

and churches and private homes, Senior Citizens

are organizing to find out what the score is and

then hopefully to do something about it.

At the Ernest J. Bohn Golden Age Center, meetings

such as this are typical. A representative

of the Social Security Administration was

invited to explain new regulations, and

answer questions. Open to all who wish to

participate, such meetings may signal a change

in the long dormant power of the senior vote.

D SOUND OUT, C SOUND FULL

LADY IN AUDIENCE:

I was very sick, I couldn't get ••• I could hardly

calIon the phone ••• so I finally called on the

phone, and I asked them to please come up and

do something, because I need help, and they

said they, they can't come up.

D SOUND UNDER, C SOUND CONTINUED FULL

MRS•. CRCWLEY:

We have the same amount of debts and incurred

expenses that the other people have •••

M-384 SEGMENTE

Meeting ends :55

People at meeting, faces 1:00

Mrs. Crowley, sync 1:50

Sync, Mrs. Brooks

Page 33

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND OUT

MRS. CROWLEY:

When we started out with medicare and Part B,

(D SOUND OUT.....1:oo) (on word cue "Part B,t) we paid three dollars and that was I think

in 1966 because I turned 65 then. Well, now

in July it's going to go up to six dollars and

twenty cents I think. Just double the amount.

And they are taking everything away.. They

are raising the amount,the cost that is

exempt, they are raising that. And I just

don't know how a person is going to live.

What medicare started out for was to help

older people, but it's turned out to be a farce.

The doctors are going overboard with their

fees. Look at the hospitals, fifty dollars a day

years ago, now over one hundred dollars a

day. Who can afford that? And then when they

do h}l.v.e a doctor, the doctor charges exhorbitant

rates and then it goes into Medicare•••

Part B of medicare, and they wait a long time •••

if they have to pay it out of their own pocket,

they have to wait so long for them to come

through with it, to process these things.


MRS.. BROOKS:

The transportation now is our big problem••within

a few days, according to the way it was set up

we are going to have to go back to our old form

M-384 Segment E

Sync, Mrs. Crowley 2:52

Page 34

of transportation. I spent some time down here

yesterday and Mrs. King is going to follow

through with it on trying to encourage these

people, which we have a lot of people that come

here from other areas of the city will help

to get the information spread where theytll

pass it to their neighbors. Writing to all of

our legislators effective in .this area to

do what they can to encourage a subsidy for

us for transportation.

C SOUND COUNTINUED

MRS. CROVLEY:

When you go to the store, you pay the same

price for meats and groceries that the other

M...384 Segment E Page 35

Mrs.Brooks, sync

Food Bus, Seniors of Ohio exterior

Food Bus, interior

people have that are getting 15 and 2o-thousand

dollar salaries. And we with our little ole

pensions and perhaps social security which

runs anywhere from one thousand dollars to

maybe four thousand dollars,we have to live on

that. And if the government would live on

their budget the way the senior citizens have

to live, believe me, the government would be

in the black. They wouldn't be in the red.

3:30 C SOUND CONTINUED

MRS. BROOKS:

We started out with five •••oh I don't know

exactly what you would call them, but we had

five particular things that we thought were

very important to the elderly which was

health, income, housing, transportation and

nutrition.

3:53 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER, (food bus exterior) 1([1f' 11Ft'll i. bW

MRS. BROOKS:

You have probably seen it, you've heard about

it •••our Seniors of Ohio grocery •••mobile

grocery.

Zi.:Ol It seems to be going very good from the reports

that I hear about it. Because the older people

seem to feel that food, although it's so very

important and they do enjoy it, but they make

food last on the list when it comes to

spending their small amount of money. They

Segment E

Mrs. Brooks 4:38

Mrs. Crowley looking through 5:18 newsnaner

Page 36

have their doctor bills, and like everyone

else I guess in this building here take some

form of medication to go on from day to day.

As we all know, medicine is high now and by the

time they get through and get down to their

food, it's a very small amount.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND OUT

MRS. BROOKS:

I'll give you an example of a lady who lost her

husband. I was sitting in the room with her

and she came out witha little patty••• about

like this ••• and there were no vegetables. She

had this and some bread and spread, butter or

oleo, and a half a cookie. That was her

supper with a cup of tea. We know••• l don't

know what she had the rest of the day, but

you know that is not a meal, and that's the

way a whole lot of these people eat.

C SOUND CONTINUED FULL, D SOUND UNDER

MRS. CR

M-384 Segment E Page 37

on hand •••well so much the better. But that's

the way the senior citizens have to shop.

Mrs, Crowley at store 6:00 You end up going without period. Your clothing

you stretch those. Maybe you••• (laugh) ••• a lot

of us when they have the sales you know,

centers have flea markets or something like that.

You go and buy your clothing there, and maybe a

pair of shoes for 25-cents or 50 cents•••well,

you can afford that.

6:21 C SOUND OUT, D CONTINUED UNDER

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL 6:22 Springbrook ~pts.

6:23 C SOUND FULL, D CONTINUED UNDER

MRS. BROOKS:

There are young people who put their parents

in here, maybe one parent, and they don't bother

about coming here. We had a couple to move (6:32) (FADE OUT D SOUND ON WORDS " •• to move")

out of here about six weeks ago ••• and they both

cried••• they didn't want to go. They came in

the same time we did when the building was new.

And these children rented them an apartment in

the suburbS, and they told them they didn't

want to go. Well, they said you go there or

else, because we are not coming back down here.

You see this area has the worst name of any

area in town. Roaring Hough is bad enough, but

there is••• some of the same things that are

happening in the other part of the city••• and

with the crime conditions in the city today, I

can not see that it's so much worse than

M:"384 Segment E Page 38

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL man walking along street carrying grocery bag

DiSSOLVE TO B ROLL man crossing street in middle of traffic

DISSOLVE TO A ROLL Interior, Springbrook Apartment

anywhere else.

MRS. CROWLEY:

Some of our people are so depressed it's

pathetic. And if you stop and talk to some

of them, they will say well, what's the use•••

7:22 •••our president doesn't do anything, our

Congressmen don't "ao anything, and that's

why I say we should fight back with our letters.

We are trying to educate out members not only

at Cudell but at different centers in this

community, or in this city, we are trying to

7:43 educate our members on the political issues.

And if we can find out how our politicians

vote, we know who to put into office next time.

7:54 C SOUNDCONTINUED FULL, D CONTINUED UNDER

MRS. CRONLEY: CONTINUED

They try to tell us how to live. Alright, you

think a senator, a representative could live

on anywhere from one-thousand dollars to

four-thousand dollars a year? They got

twelve-thousand five hundred dollars and

weren't able to live on _that ••• they had to

raise it. Now they want expenses •••where are

we going to get out expenses from? I don't

understand this ••• the politicians spend

thousands of dollars trying to get in office•••

after they are in office, they forget about

the ones that put them there, and they go


Mrs. Crowley, sync

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL Lady walks with group of

kids

about their own business. They say

what's the use •• they don't listen to us

anyway. But I say there again, if you write

letters to Washington, if you write letters

to Columbus, they will sit up and take

notice.

8:35 C SOUND CONTINUED FULL

MRS. CROWLEY:

Capital gain••• that was the first time I

started fighting on••• then from there on I

fought for everything that came along. I

fought for half-fare for seniors on buses.

I was down at City Hall twice fighting for it.

Now that finally went through. And then I

fought for this Homestead•••for the income

tax when that came out which wasn't right for

the federal and private pensioners •••you

take a select few and exempt them from the

pension and the other ones were left out in the

cold. Well ••• that's when we started fighting

again••• and you've got to fight for everything.

9:16 C SOUND CONTINUED, D SOUND UNDER (Street noise) FAl>F /H 1> (PV WDI( J) (.v{;

ADAIR:

It may not have occured to some that the

large group of people we have always referred

to as "the elderly" and the "aged" actually

make up one of the largest minorities in the

nation. And while Mrs. Crowley and others

may not consider themselves political activists


(FADE OUT D SOUND BY "citizen" ••• fade back they are slowly helping the senior citizen

in after"place" ••• sneak up) to claim his rightful place in the scheme of

things. SlfJfAJ DISSOLVE TO A ROLL 9:38 C SOUND OUT, D SOUND FULL (SNEAK IT UP)

Cudell Dance


ADAIR:

On any given day in at least one gathering

place somewhere in the city, people over 65

meet to discuss their future. It may be both

a social and political time, such as this

afternoon dance at the Cudell Center in West

Cleveland.


DANCE MUSIC


ADAIR:

If it seems odd that people over 65 should look

to the future, perhaps it ought to be remembered

that most of the promises made to them have

never been realized. For most, social

security and pensions remain below the poverty

level •••medical care is more expensive at a time

when they are sick more often••• taxes go up and

the amount left for food goes down••• they are

easy prey to gypsters, cheats and muggers •••

and politicians and family ~li~ have

turned a deaf ear.


FADE TO BLACK ON A ROLL

FADE IN A ROLL

Dance scenes

MATTE TITLES

ttA Gold Watch and a Park Bench"

"Adair"

"Robinson/Markin-Miller"

"Goulden/Mrzena"

uRoe-Zbr"

"Co-op # 1"

"Co-op # 2"

" MRA-Montage"

DISSOLVE TO B ROLL

Facesand people

fAST .FADE TO BLACK

Without question, there are people who

become senile ••• but there are many more

who look upon the infirmities of age as

temporary bothers. Like most of us, they

are proud••• and while some may be able to

see the promised land, they are not content

to sit on a park bench until it arrives.


11:26 FADE D SOUND OUT

11:28 FADE IN C SOUND FULL (.$l.tlCAJ~y) DANCE MUSIC

12:15

12:48 C SOUND OUT WITH VIDEO

End, SEGMENT E

montage #384 a gold watch and a park bench ......montage #384 "a gold watch and a park bench"...

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