Iler Lodge residents keep up with community news

Mariah Vizi , January 11, 2006-
A group of Iler Lodge residents spent the morning of Jan. 4 doing what has become a weekly custom, reading The Essex Free Press with program aide Jennifer Tremblay.

“The residents wanted to feel a part of the community and participate in normalized activities,” said Program Manager Wendy Sevick. “The new position, called program aide, was created almost a year ago and reading the paper became an expected part of Wednesdays.”

Sevick said the residents refer to the program as “morning break” and the four houses of Iler Lodge take turns having Tremblay share the news. Everyone gets their coffee and snacks and settles in to see what is happening in the area.

“The residents have commented that the addition of colour has made the paper even better,” Tremblay said. “The addition of the community profile column is interesting to many because they often know the person featured or their family.”

“Every week I take a paper to my room and read it from cover to cover,” said Alma Trombley. Local news is the best but I read it all, the schools, the hockey and every ad.”

Some of the residents have also been on the pages of The Essex Free Press.

“I was in the paper just a few weeks ago when the Erie Shores Quilters’ Guild presented us with quilts,” said 86-year-old Rosemary Arsenault.

Ed Allen, 67, was featured in an article about the Day Away Program in the summer of 2004.

Sevick and Tremblay said the residents are committed to being informed of the area’s news. They like to have the news read to them and they like to talk about the news of years past.

“I was in The Essex Free Press in 1946 for being a war bride,” Vera Garrod of Essex recalled.

Garrod was read the Free Press Jan. 4 while sitting beside her husband, Walter. Sixty years have passed since they were the news in town, but reading the paper has become an important appointment for them. They are happy to spend the time together and look forward to next week’s edition.