Volume 10 Issue 6 February 2006

20th AnniversaryTennis Club

February 2006 marks the20th Anniversary of thededication of courts 1 and 2at Hawthorne. Our articlereflects on those who have beeninstrumental in the creation ofour tennis facility andperpetuating the growth andupkeep of our sports complexenjoyed by all.

Colonial-Penn InsuranceCompany, the developer ofHawthorne, failed to foresee.theneed for tennis courts. Ourtennis players traveled todowntown Leesburg or to theHoliday RV Park to play. In1984 Phyllis Pence, an avidtennis advocate, organized the drive for courts atHawthorne. Our Cooperative was just one year oldwhen this matter came to it. The cost to build twocourts with lights was $20,000.00. The manyHawthorne tennis players and others contributednearly $7,000.00 toward this expense. Today thereare 18 individuals who made donations to that fundraising event who still live in Hawthorne. Theirfinancial commitment was a critical link in obtainingthe endorsement of the Board of Directors for thisamenity.

The first two courts were dedicated on February25, ~986. Phyllis returned the first ball followingthe ribbon cutting. This began the active use of thenew courts. The first week of play recorded 250games.

At the Tennis Banquet held this past week, twoold time players were honored. We salute these twoas grand ambassadors of the game of tennis atHawthorne.

Dot Usher at age 88 continues her 20·yeartradition of a weekly game of tennis. Back in 1986,she and her son were present for the opening of our

~ourts. He was an amateur player and participatedIn an exhibition game at that event. It was at thistime that Dot began a serious effort with tennis. Shetook lessons from her son and continues today asan avid tennis participant.. Garner Klair began playing tennis as a youth livingIn the Philadelphia area. In college he attainedrecognition as the school's top player. Garner tellsus that when he reached age 80 he prayed to God,"Please let me play tennis until I am 85." When hereached 85, and while recovering from a pace makerinstallation, he prayed again, "Please God, let meplay tennis until I am 90." Well, Garner is now atthat amazing plateau, and is having another talkwith God. He presently plays three days each week.Garner notes changes in the game over the years.The racquets are quite different with improvementsin design and engineering, and the players todayfocus on hard hitting of the ball. Garner feels atennis player is better off "playing smart tennis"instead. He demonstrates this with his game.

I~juries often sideline tennis players as in anyactive sport. Alex Bauerle was not injured on the

Continued on page 2

TennisContinued from page J

tennis court, but a broken neck due to a bicyclemishap would normally mean retirement from allactive sports. With his determination and excellentmedical treatment, Alex is back on the tennis court.He even went skiing over the Holidays.

In the past year, under the coaching of FranMcCreary, our first Women's Tennis League has beenestablished. This group of eight women havepracticed and trained weekly preparing forcompetitive contests. The women are matched intopairs, which constitute a team. They have recentlybegun competition with other women teams in thearea.

We congratulate the Hawthorne Tennis Club for20 years of active enjoyment.

Article by Pat HurlburtEditor's comment: We have been watching with

great interest another similar group at the tenniscourts. It's a very popular game called Pickle Ball.They are now engaged in a campaign to obtain theirown courts for play, and have been actively raisingfunds as a show of good faith. It is very likely wewill seea similar endorsement by Hawthorne's Boardof Directors. I wonder which game will be the morepopular 20 years hence?

Wandering Through Hawthorne,The Papaya pictured is one of the few survivors

along the northern fence of the Hawthorne GardenPlots. The great Jesse Murray once babied severalof these trees along the original fence. The fruit isdelicious and can form on both female and maletrees through a process called "parthenocarpy" -meaning the production of fruit without pollination.The reproductive system is one of the most complexknown. The fruitcontains anenzyme calle'dpapain. It mig.htbe noted that theWord papaya isconsidered anobscenity inCuba.

Mr. Murray wasan excellentgardener andstoryteller. Onmore than oneoccasion he hadscouts out lookingfor the elusivemamaya tree.

C. R. White

Golden 50/80 ClubThe Golden 50/80 Club held it's annual dinn-er

on January 10, 2006. Several highlights occurredthis year that may be of interest to our community.For those newer residents, the Golden 50/80 Clubis an open organization for all who are 80 years ofage, and additionally is open to all couples that haveattained 50 years of marriage, though they may notbe 80 years old.

Many people do not realize that this club wasformed in 1975, making it one of the longest-livedorganizations in Hawthorne. Another interesting factis that in spite of the advanced age of manymembers, it is a growing organization. Case in point- at the dinner in 2004 there were 140 in attendance:in 2005 there were 200; in 2006 we had 220 prese~t:I guess this means that we are getting healthier,living longer, staying married longer, taking bettercare of ourselves, or perhaps benefiting from all theadvances in medical science. Whatever - keep upthe good work!

This past year 15 couples joined our distinguishedgroup. There are now 215 couples in the 50 or morecategory. And how about this? - There are now 48couples that have been together 60 or more years.

In the 80 category, 38 people were added to thislist in 2006, giving us a total of about 240 long livers.Congratulations, folks. '

A giant thank you to Dorothy Sayles for the greatjob she has done the past two years as Chairperson,along with all of her committee members.

We are all looking forward to another special gettogether next year. Hang in there, folks!

Article by Art Lambright

CorrectionLast month we

listed the deathsfor the year 2005.We failed toinclude oneperson, G._RobertFish, who died inOctober 2005 atthe age of 96. Hiswife, Ellen, died40 days later.They hadcelebrated 70years of marriagein June. Ourapologies for thisoversight.

Some of the early activities theyparticipated in were: State Clubpotlucks, swimming (Lauramentioned that the youngClubhouse secretary taught theirclass), crafts, painting, SaturdayNight Dance, cards, shuffleboardand bicycling. Laura soon becamebusy being a seamstress again inthe park. She has done sewingwork for 53 yea rs a nd enjoyshelping others with this talent.They got to know new neighborsby seeing them outside andspeaking to them, welcomingthem to Hawthorne.

The Sofsky's decision to moveto Hawthorne was an easy oneafter their visit. They bragged to

friends at church and home about Hawthorne'sbeauty; they were very proud of their park! Williamdied in 2003 and Laura says she'll die here too. Theiryears at Hawthorne have been very happy.

Over the years Laura has seen tremendousdevelopment in and around Leesburg. She doesn'tdrive but takes the courtesy bus once a week toplaces she needs to go. She likes seeing p.r0gressand has noticed it around Hawthorne. She likes thebeautiful new homes going in around the park. Laurawas a walker in years past but now travels in hergolf-cart. She finds her neighbors past and presentto be so friendly and helpful. She has seen manyresidents move in and out of the park, after over 30years that can be expected. They have made use ofLRMC during their many years here too. Her doctortells her she's healthy and will probably live as longas her mother. She was 100 when she died.

An advantage of living in Hawthorne is being closeto everything. Security is terrific and the willingnessof people to do things for you really makes her happy.Laura feels the swimming and exercise have beenvery important activities for her. The only changesshe could think of making at Hawthorne, is toencourage greater care when driving on our roadsand greater utilization of the weekly bulletin andthe character generator (the TV-7 Drum). These twoareas could be a more effective means of sharinginformation from our Board of Directors andmanagement.

Laura's parting words of wisdom are: "When youretire and are ready to start living, come toHawthorne; it's a great place to live!"

Laura Sofsky" Laura (LePage) Sofsky was

oorn in New Brunswick, Canadaand was raised on a farm. Heroarents raised ten children, 5 girlsand 5 boys, in a large farmhouseNhere Laura was the fourth child.Her father was both a farmer and3 fisherman. Laura attendedschool in Charlo, New Brunswick,and after graduation she workedfor 23 years at Daillards in theLadies Exclusive Ready to WearClothing Department, doingalterations. It was located in St.John's New Brunswick, Canada.

In 1965, when she was 47 yearsDid Laura went to her sister's,home in New York. She got a jobat Fields Department Store as a seamstress. Shewas introduced to William Sofsky and he wanted toget married "soon", but Laura came from a familywith traditions and said they'd have to wait a year,since William had lost his first wife. They weremarried in 1967. William was a Teamsters Uniontruck driver for a company that shipped goodsbetween New York and New Jersey.

William always loved Florida and wanted to retirethere someday. Their sister-in-law knew aboutWilliam's desire and shared an article she'd read ina magazine regarding a new housing developmentnear Leesburg, called Hawthorne. They wereinterested and called to make arrangements to visitthe park.

On Labor Day 1974, they flew from New York toJacksonville, then on to Ocala (in a small plane),where they were picked up by Hawthorne Salespeople and driven to the park for a tour. The tourwas very helpful and successful, so the Sofskysselected a lot on 11'3 Chestnut and went to themodels set up by the Sales Office to choose just theright model home for them! Now their new homewas being built at the factory. They flew home toNew York and Laura kept calling Hawthorne withquestions and sent her deposit for the new home.In January of 1975, they packed up and had UnitedMoving Company bring their things, including aparakeet to Hawthorne. It took four days for theirfurniture to arrive, so Hawthorne housed them at amotel in Clermont.

When they moved in, there were no closeneighbors. The park was still being developed andthere were many vacant lots around them for a fewyears. They felt Hawthorne had a lot of potentialand William was especially happy to be retired andin Florida.

Interview by Nancy Apsey

Hawthorne: A ContemporarySurvey and View of Its Past

A planned retirement community faces achallenging and complex dilemma as the residentsbecome older, take less active roles in thecommunity, and in some instances may requirehealth or social services that were not part of theoriginal plan. If the community wishes to retain itslevel of viability, it must attract new residents whoare younger, active retirees. These new residentsare needed to purchase the homes of residents wholeave the community. Thus there is a sensitivebalance required to maintain concern and assistancefor long-time residents who wish to live in thecommunity, and also attract new residents who willbuy the property and take an active part in thedemocratic governance, and in the wide range ofactivities that are integral to keeping the communityvital and attractive.

Hawthorne has accomplished this delicatebalance as shown by the findings from the 1994survey. The overwhelming majority of responseswere positive. Most residents are highly satisfiedwith their lifestyle, the facilities, the programsavailable, and the general upkeep of the community.However, in a community of almost 2,000 people, itis to be expected that there is some divergence ofopinion. Not everyone is equally satisfied and a fewpersons wrote complaints. On the other hand, others'volunteered enthusiastic comments.

From topic to topic in this report an importantand interesting finding relates to the responses of astatistical minority. Their concerns, while notreflecting those of the majority, are significant tothem and should be considered and addressed if itis kconomically feasible to do so. A particular issuethat may affect their lives and their feelings is not atrivial matter. Minority concerns may not have animpact on the entire community. An issue becomesimportant' to thecommunity when a majority or alarge plurality of residents and the leadershipbecome concerned and involved. The outstandingexample of how Hawthorne can be mobilized is theway in which the residents purchased the communityand formed the Hawthorne Residents CooperativeAssociation. Many considered the potential sale toan outsider as life threatening to Hawthorne at thattime.

These observations should not be interpreted assuggesting that Hawthorne can only mobilize andtake action when the entire community is threatened.There are issues that may involve a statisticalminority of the residents. Their needs are seriousfor them and their families. On some issues of thiskind, Hawthorne's leaders and some residents may

take action. Looking into the future, there are issuesof home care of frail residents that may warrantmore involvement by some persons or groups in thecommunity. Hawthorne has a well-deservedreputation as a special place for older Americans tolive successful and meaningful lives during their lateryears.

Many older persons realize that they may befortunate in not requiring the special services latein life that a neighbor or friend may require. However,there is also the deep- seated awareness that onenever quite knows when adversity may strike andneeds and services may suddenly shift and help isrequired. A community - even one that is wellorganized and has caring residents - cannot alwaysrespond like family and friends. But a well managedcommunity with a history of caring, adaptability,and cooperation can perhaps have more foresight,as a community, than less cohesive livingenvironments. The results of the 1994 surveyindicate that most respondents are optimistic aboutthe future of Hawthorne.

Article by Dr. Gordon F. Streib, Department ofSociology, University of Florida, Gainesville - May1994. note-this survey was sent to 400 homes and351 responded.

Editorial Comment: This report done in 1994raises a number of items that we should investigateand discuss. Our Realty Division evidently has noproblem in finding new owners when our olderresidents move to other places. We must beattracting younger and active retirees who are joiningin the lifestyle we project through the activities ofClub Hawthorne. That covers the majority of us.But we do have in our midst those whose needs havechanged. The needs of those minority residentspresent the challenge to us and to our leadership interms of involvement and economic feasibility - andalso in terms of liability. The complete 1994 surveyis available for your examination in the HawthorneMuseum/Conference Room in the Clubhouse.

CommentOur edition today welcomes two guest writers.

Pat Hurlburt and Art Lambright. Each has items ofinterest for you.

Hawthorne RemembersPublished by Hawthorne Historical Society

Editor George WolfWriters Nancy Apsey

Lee ManausaC.R. White

Photography Bob Mann