First Place: Scavenger Help
Submitted by Lisa, who won a copy of Cook'n 2000--

During my first year of college, we (my roommates and friends) started an activity we called "scavenger help" We split into three groups each equipped with two lists. One list contained names (or locations since we didn't know most of them!) of elderly, widowed or needy people in the area. The other was a list of services (tasks, chores, etc) that could be offered. We also equipped ourselves with a lawn mover, working gloves, rakes, shovels, mops, etc. At first we were hesitant to go knocking on doors of complete strangers, but we soon found that we were very welcome. Our activities included lots of yard work (weeding!), mopping kitchen floors, listening to old stories, admiring antique collections, eating homemade peach pie, comforting the lonely, baby-sitting, and listening to old records. I was actually surprised at how much we enjoyed ourselves. It was a great way to meet our neighbors and make new friends.

Second Place: Olympics for the Aged
Submitted by Sue Fisher, who won a set of DVO recipe cards.--

Our family activities are totally involved with Family Reunions in the summer. One idea that really was a lot of fun for everyone was "Olympics for the Aged". We gathered several pictures of ancestors and laminated them to puzzle blanks. At the reunion, the "Oldsters" put the puzzles together under a stopwatch. They then had to identify the people in the puzzles. They got started on stories about the people in the family pictures, and we learned both good and bad about our ancestors. Another thing we have had fun with is dressing up as and acting out the exciting life stories of our pioneer ancestors (riding for the pony express, surviving an Indian raid or shipwreck, etc.). We all learn a lot and have fun doing it.

Comments? Write to the author: desi@dvo.com
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