24 May ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO AND DIVISION OF SENIOR SERVICES PRESENT AWARDS TO WINNERS OF ANNUAL SENIOR CITIZEN LEGACIES WRITING CONTEST
Published on May 24, 2019
Essex County Senior Citizens Experience the Joys of Writing by Sharing Anecdotes and Life Stories
Cedar Grove, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and the Essex County Division of Senior Services recognized the writing talents of eight Essex County residents during the Annual Essex County Senior Legacies Writing Contest Celebration Luncheon on Tuesday, May 21st. The Legacies Writing Contest encourages Essex senior citizens to write essays about the people and events that have influenced their lives.
“Our Senior Citizen Legacies Writing Contest is a unique way for our older population to share their life’s stories and describe the people and events that helped to shape their lives,” DiVincenzo said. “Our seniors’ stories make you laugh and they touch your heart. They provide us with a different perspective on historical events and what our society was like,” he added.
The Director’s Award was given to South Orange resident Lorrain Kerry Barnett who wrote “Remorse.” Winning stories were “A Night at the Opera” by Roger Birnbaum from Montclair, “Little Piggy” by Virginia Cornue from Montclair, “Marian Anderson and Me” by Gwen S. Toub and “Inevitably Invisible” by Robin Ehrlichman Woods from Montclair. Honorable mention stories were “The Myth of Invincibility” by Vincent Dahmen from West Orange, “Sumer of ‘55” by Ronald Merritt and “The Gift” by Belinda Plutz from Montclair.
“All our seniors have stories to tell, and our Legacies Writing Contest provides our older adults with an incentive to preserve their memories, and create a living history,” Essex County Division of Senior Services Director Jaklyn DeVore said. “Writing enables our seniors to share their memories with friends and families, allows them to reminisce about old times, and keeps their minds active. This is one of our most popular events because of the emotions and memories that are evoked,” she added.
Lorrain Kerry Barnett from South Orange wrote “Remorse,” which was recognized with the Director’s Award. Ms. Barnett was 7 years old when her father passed away. She felt a void in her life until her sixth-grade teacher Mr. Potts “adopted” her. Having a “father” again cheered her up and she excelled in school. Mid-year, however, a new student named Daisy came into the class and the teacher gave her more attention. In a fit of jealousy, she punched Daisy in the nose. “It really didn’t have anything to do with Daisy. It had to do with my fear of loss,” she wrote. Mr. Potts was disappointed, but after Ms. Barnett apologized he forgave her.
Roger Birnbaum from Montclair wrote “A Night at the Opera,” which was selected as one of the winning essays. He writes that in 2014 he read a casting call for the chorus of Verdi’s Nabucco being staged by the Opera Theatre of Montclair. Ready for rejection (the last time he sang was 50 years ago in his university glee club), he was accepted into the chorus. There were many times that he wanted to quit or thought he would be let go, but the director and fellow choir members were supportive and encouraging. “This experience proved to be one of the most challenging endeavors I’ve ever undertaken, but ultimately one of the most rewarding,” he wrote, promising it would not be last post-retirement experience outside of his comfort zone.
Virginia Cornue from Montclair wrote “Little Piggy,” which was one of the winning essays. Ms. Cornue recounts a summer when she spent a summer with her aunt and uncle on their farm in Missouri when she was 8 years old. She did her chores and enjoyed her time there, but was homesick and felt angry. One day she went to the pen where the hogs and sows were and poked at them with long needles she had picked from a tree. “I felt happy trying to hurt the pigs. Yet I also grasped even at that tender age how one could become a bully by wanting to hurt others. This was a life lesson that turned me away from purposeful cruelty, because I knew that I had it in me to be really mean and that it was my choice how I behaved,” she wrote.
Gwen S. Toub from Short Hills wrote “Marian Anderson and Me,” which was selected as one of the winning essays. Ms. Toub writes that she was selected to receive the Daughters of the American Revolution Medal for Citizenship and was asked to play the piano at the ceremony, which was a great honor. However, the principal of later informed her that the honor had been rescinded and was being given to a male student and she was no longer invited to participate: “my introduction to anti-Semitism,” she writes. She likened the event to when the DAR prevented Marian Anderson from performing at a Washington, DC, concert because she was black, but First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter. If Ms. Anderson could rise above discrimination, so could she, Toub concludes.
Robin Ehrlichman Woods from Montclair wrote “Inevitably Invisible,” which was one of the winning essays. She writes that as people age, they become more invisible in the community. Older Americans lose the color in their hair, are no longer a coveted target audience of advertisers and are taken for granted by politicians, for example. But just because someone gets older doesn’t mean they should be overlooked. “I’m not a hopeless old coot who needs help swiping my bank card, purchasing a book of stamps or pouring my own cup of coffee. You’re making assumptions about me, and you are wrong,” she writes. As a senior, Ms. Ehrlichman Woods concludes that she will not fade away.
Vincent Dahmen from West Orange wrote “The Myth of Invincibility,” which received an honorable mention award. Mr. Dahmen was 17 years old and just graduated from high school when he found himself at the funeral of his best friend Bill, who accidentally fell out of a tree while working for a landscaping company. He reminisced about how popular his friend was, the influence he had in high school and the times they spent together. Bill was the “coolest guy in the world. We all wanted to be like him,” Mr. Dahmen wrote. But reality struck at the funeral and “at that moment the idea of invincibility was exposed for what it was, just a myth.”
Ronald Merritt from Nutley wrote “Summer of ’55,” which received an honorable mention award. It was the end of the school year and Mr. Merritt’s best friend would be away for the whole summer. To occupy himself, he decided to spy on his neighbor Elizabeth. He watched as she climbed a tree, nestled on a branch and began to read a book. She waved him to come over and sit with her and offered him a book to read, “Penrod” by Booth Tarkington. As an 11-year-old, he wasn’t fond of reading, but he loved the book. “I spent many days that summer sitting in the tree with the girl who had introduced me to the joy of reading,” he wrote. “Wherever you are Elizabeth, I thank you for inviting me into your summer tree and changing my life.”
Belinda Putz from Montclair wrote “The Gift,” which received an honorable mention award. Her story is about a day trip her family took with the friends from the hospital where her mother worked as a nurse. “There were families and lots of kids. WE played ball together and tag. There was lots of laughter. As an overly-sensitive only child, all I felt was friendship and kindness,” Ms. Putz wrote. “I know that I felt and what I felt was absolute acceptance and true joy. It has been a gift beyond measure.”
“You don’t have to be a professional writer to participate in our Senior Legacies Writing Contest. Our seniors are very talented and they write from the heart,” Essex County Director of Citizen Services Anibal Ramos said. “Every year, I am impressed with the emotion and quality of stories. I congratulate every one for participating,” he added.
Reading the stories were students from the Essex County Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology: juniors Alaysia Coffield, Vishnu Antar and Nyasha Colon and sophomore Nafir Willey.
Sponsored by the Essex County Division of Senior Services, the Legacies Writing Contest was started in 1996 and was part of a national contest which encouraged senior citizens to discover the joys of writing while sharing their stories with others. Although the national contest was discontinued in 1998, the Essex County Division of Senior Services continued to sponsor the Legacies Writing Contest on a local level. Entries are judged on the writer’s ability to engage the reader with humor, emotional impact or rich descriptions. Winning stories were selected by a committee of volunteer judges and staff from the Essex County Division of Senior Services.
The Essex County Division of Senior Services offers a wide range of services to eligible Essex County senior citizens. The Division offers adult protective services, provides basic transportation services, administers adult day care centers, offers counseling services for caregivers, provides home delivered meals and offers visiting nurse services. For more information, please call 973-395-8375.
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