Important Information

VOTING
The last date for early voting is Sunday, November 1. Take your walker and a cane or two. This may ease your way to the front of the line!

Sign up at the Front Desk for Election Day (Tuesday, November 3) van trips.
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GIVE AND TAKE TABLE
It’s that time again, and the Give and Take Table will be up and running from Sunday, November 1 through Saturday, November 7. Please remember: no food, clothing or sharp objects.

It is also important to wear your mask, use the hand sanitizer provided, and maintain social distancing.
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COFFEE KLATCH RETURNS
The Health and Wellness Committee announces a Coffee Klatch with Chris Appel on Wednesday, November 4 from 10:00 am –11:00 am via Zoom.

An email invitation will be sent on Monday, November 2.
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TRANSPORTATION NEWS
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will be no KoH transportation on Thursday, November 26 or Friday, November 27, as all the drivers will be on vacation.

Extra shopping trips will be scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that week.

Great Decisions Discussion Program

The next session of KoH Great Decisions Discussion Group will be held on November 2 via Zoom.

The topic will be “US Relations with the Northern Triangle (countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala)” and will be led by Len Andrew.

The program will begin with a DVD on the topic to be shown on Channel 1970 at 10:00 am followed by the discussion on Zoom at 10:30 am.

Information Technology News

Interested in Information Technologies (IT)? If so, you are invited to attend a meeting of the KoH Residents Computer Committee Friday, November 6, at 3 pm in the Gathering Room. 

The Committee is planning a workshop for November 20 on Zoom about streaming digital video on a TV or other device, proposing a way to contribute some computing power to conduct research on COVID and other health issues, revising their page on the Residents website, providing and maintaining computers and copiers in the Computer Room and KoH Library, and more. 

If any of these things interest you, come join us. 

Peter Bermas and Caroline Persell (Co-chairs)

Staff Appreciation

Since there is no tipping at Kendal, twice a year we show our gratitude by contributing to the Staff Appreciation Fund.  Let’s stop and think of all the ways the staff has been indispensable, especially during the pandemic (dining, cleaning our apartments, health, shopping, transportation, etc.). 

Think about the staff you may never see, yet they play an important role in making Kendal run as smoothly as it does. This is the time we have the opportunity to show our gratitude to the staff. You will find a letter in your cubby on November 1.

Please respond to the request for funds as generously as possible.

Thanks!

Maria Harris and Gene DuBow,   ☺  ☺
Staff Appreciation Committee

Phelps Vitality Programs for November-December

There are virtual seminars and presentations on Keeping Memory Alive, Arthritis with Dr. Gutwein, Osteoporosis with Dr. Hellerman (postponed), Healthy Aging with Dr. Kandarappallil, Osteoporosis with Dr. Smith, and Keeping Memory Alive— Nutritional Guidance. In addition, there are the following Support Groups and Wellness Activities: Laughter Yoga; Parkinson’s Support Group; Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group; Monday morning Weekly Chat; and a Bereavement Support Group. There are also exercise videos. Click here for full program details.

Lecture: “The 2020 Census,” November 2 at 7:30 pm

The decennial census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790, almost always in the midst of some controversy. Then President George Washington, conferring with his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, concluded that the count of 3.9 million for the nation was too low.

While the census has evolved from those early days of the republic, the controversies remain, given the fact that the census is key to the distribution of political power and dollars.

Joseph J. Salvo’s 7:30 pm Zoom talk on November 2 will focus on controversies surrounding the 2020 Census and the impact of the current social and political climate on the conduct of the 24th  enumeration of the nation’s population. 

Mr. Salvo is New York City’s Chief Demographer. He has testified before Congress, been an advisor to the Census Bureau, served on panels at the National Academy of Sciences, and was an expert witness in the citizenship lawsuit headed by the New York Attorney General.  

Dr. Salvo is presently participating in a national effort to monitor and evaluate the 2020 Census and the use of methods to protect the confidentiality of census data while protecting its utility for data users.

Most recently, he was engaged as an expert in the lawsuit by the New York Attorney General aimed at pushing back on the administration’s efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census count. 

Residents will receive a Zoom invitation from Jeff O’Donnell in advance of the lecture.

Used Clothing and Household Goods Collection: Follow Up

As previously announced, the collection of Used Clothing and Household Items is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4. Kendal will make a driver and bus available to take your donations to Goodwill in Elmsford.

In the meantime, please separate men’s and women’s clothing and accessories, textiles, and household items and pack them in closable plastic bags or boxes. Please no open shopping bags to prevent scattering.

All items must be clean and in good/workable condition. No perfume scents, please.

If you want a donation receipt for income tax purposes, please make a list of your donations and add your name and address.

Detailed instructions will be in your cubby as soon as logistics have been worked out with our driver.

Questions? Speak to Ursula Hahn

Election News

Please remember! Kendal is NOT a polling place!

If you have not yet filled out and returned your absentee ballot, please do so as soon as possible to ensure timely receipt by the Board of Elections.

Fold and place the completed ballot in the ballot envelope, and sign and date the envelope on the reverse. Place the ballot envelope in the larger return envelope and affix a first-class stamp; otherwise your ballot may not be counted.

For those who wish to vote early in person, Kendal will run shuttles to the Joseph G. Caputo Community Center, 95 Broadway, Ossining, on Monday, October 26, between 9 am and 3 pm, and on Thursday, October 29, between 12 noon and 3 pm.

If you have your own transportation, you can also vote there any day from October 24 until and including November 1. Hours vary, but the Center is open every day between 12 noon and 4 pm, including Sunday.

If you plan to vote on Election Day, November 3, Kendal will run shuttles to our regular polling place at Phillipsburg Manor between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm.

Please sign up at the front desk in Mary Powell for your choice of dates.

If you have question, contact Martin Smolin.

Library News

Until now, there has never been a due date for Kendal library book returns. This has resulted in borrowed books being kept for long periods, often ending up misplaced entirely.

The Library Committee therefore requests that all books be returned within 60 days, or earlier if someone else has requested one of them.

Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

The Committee also announces that the library will soon switch to a new system that will allow all residents to access the catalog of KoH books and their status from their personal electronic devices. More information to follow.

January Courses Announced

The Education Committee announced two new courses for January 2021. Both will run from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm via Zoom.

Tuesday, January 5, 12, 19: Kate Farrington: Theater Course, topic to be determined.

Resident Dramaturg for The Pearl Theater in NYC from 2006-2017, Kate Farrington received her MFA from Brooklyn College, CUNY. She has worked with many NYC theaters including New York Theatre Workshop, the Public, and Vital Theater. She is an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College and has become a very popular guest lecturer at Kendal.

Friday, January 8, 15, 22, 29: Edward Berenson, “History of Paris”

This course will cover the earliest civilizations (Lutecia); Paris as a center of revolution; the creation of the modern city under Napoleon III and how his redevelopment led to Impressionism and inspired several of the greatest writers of the 19th century; the Jazz Age of the 1920s and ‘30s; and Paris as the jazz capital of Europe.

Professor Berenson teaches history at NYU and NYU’s Institute of French Studies and is Chair of the Department of History. He is a cultural historian specializing in the history of modern France and its empire, with interests in the history of Britain, the British Empire, and the U.S. In 1999, he received the American Historical Association’s Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2006, French President Jacques Chirac decorated him as Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite.

Dr. Berenson spoke at Kendal in January 2020 about his book The Accusation: Blood Libel in an American Town.

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November Course Reminder

Professor Marjorie Miller will teach a course on “China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Future,” by Zoom on Tuesdays, November 3, 10, 17, and 24, from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm.

Questions? Speak to Fran Kelly.