column

Honoring our centenarians

Every year, in the Summer issue of our quarterly THRIVE60+ newsletter, we honor Dutchess County’s centenarians and couples married 70 years or more.

And it’s getting crowded at the top. The number of centenarians and ultra-long-term married couples keeps growing. It’s a trend we really like to see, and a testimony to all the things our older adults are doing to maximize their chances of long, happy, independent lives.

So what’s their big secret?

We ask this question of as many of our oldest adults as we can find. They’ve given us some diverse and intriguing answers as to how they’ve been able to stick around for so long, and how we might follow if we did this same. They’ve sworn by good nutrition, strong faith, nine golden raisins soaked in gin, regular exercise, a sense of purpose ... wait, can we go back to that third one, the one with the raisins?

It’s a common European folk remedy, where the raisins are soaked, sometimes for weeks, in whatever the popular local spirit may be. There’s no science that we’re aware of to support the longevity claims, but we weren’t about to get into an argument with a 107-year-old. As always, it’s best to consult with a healthcare provider before attempting to treat yourself with any therapy that has not been prescribed for you.

We’ve been in touch with centenarians’ families, some for several years. When their centenarian family member passes away, they’ve often said something we never expected: we were surprised. How can that be?

The answer lies in a phenomenon that may be even more impressive than their long lives: How so many of them remained physically and mentally active, in many cases until they day they died. They were not only extending their lifespan; they extended their “healthspan,” the amount of time living in good health, free from chronic disease and disabilities associated with aging. And so, their next of kin tell us things like “He just mowed the lawn three days ago” and “She came in from the garden, sat down in her favorite chair, and passed away.”

The Office for the Aging is again looking for Dutchess County centenarians or 70+ year married couples. We honored 36 centenarians in 2024; and if current trends continue, we may honor 40 or more this year. If these unique examples of successful aging turn 100 or more, or celebrate their milestone anniversary at any point this year, we’d love to know about it and honor them in the Summer 2025 THRIVE60+ newsletter. Reach out to OFA at 845-486-2555 or ofa@dutchessny.gov to let us know.

Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging.

column
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.

Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Carter and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
history

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

In the company of artists

In the company of artists

Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute

Aida Laleian

For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.

Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”

Keep ReadingShow less
exhibit