goal over long period of time-our questions become somewhat easier to

answer.

As Art Director for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, I have been developing cultural programs for the elderly for nearly a decade and a half. In 1962, for example, I was privileged to introduce art classes into the Department's Golden Age Centers. For several years I traveled throughout the city opening and teaching new classes. What struck me most forcibly, however, was not so much the large number of persons participating in the classes, but the talent and versatility of the students' work.

As a consequence, the Parks and Recreation Department initiated a series of local exhibitions throughout

the city, and conducted the "First Annual Golden Age Art Exhibition." This developed into a citywide, then a nationwide exhibition for artists 55 or older. The exhibition was opened to the public in Manhattan in June, 1965, at the distinguished professional art club, the Society of Illustrators.

At the conclusion of this exhibit, a select number of paintings, including the prize winners, were placed on display at the New York World's Fair, and viewed by more than 250,000 visitors.

This year "The Twelfth Annual Golden Age Art Exhibition" was held at the Union Carbide Building Exhibition Gallery. During the art show's brief 12-year history, with the help of many volunteers, we were able to:

⚫ distribute over 100,000 entry blanks across the Nation,

⚫ draw entries from all over the United States,

⚫ obtain judges from among the country's leading artists,

⚫ gain sponsorships from some of America's leading firms,

⚫ attract governors and mayors to its openings,

create over 150 community exhibitions, and

⚫ assemble 12 national exhibits at Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Center, and the Union Carbide Building Exhibition Gallery.

This annual event evoked reviews from the press, was viewed by large audiences (more than 1 million people in 1968 alone), and built a following of art buyers who paid as

much as $1,500 for first-prize paintings.

Today the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum have similar annual exhibitions, as do several other agencies in the city.

The Senior Concert Orchestra of New York presented its initial concert in March 1967 to an overflow audience at Hunter College. Organized by the Senior Musicians Association of Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, the orchestra consists of approximately 65 retired, professional, instrumentalists who conduct free "Pop" concerts throughout the city and perform annually at Carnegie Hall. Under the direction of Mr. William Feinberg (a volun

Although the group did not incorporate until 1966, some of its members had been working as volunteers with the Department of Parks and Recreation since 1962. The basic purpose of the Council is to encourage elderly volunteers to promote art and extend cultural and educational opportunities to the elderly. SRCC serves as an umbrella agency, creating, coordinating and publicizing a variety of programs.

In 1969 many Council members participated in the public service radio series, "This Side of Living," an hour long weekly program on WHBI. Artists, writers, editors, and other noteworthy people in the community were interviewed in an attempt to

bring the problems of the elderly to the public's attention.

In 1970 the Parks and Recreation Department initiated a Free Theatre Ticket program in cooperation with "The Lambs Club" and Mr. William Buckley, their Executive producer. Thousands of senior citizens have benefited from this program, seeing-in addition to many other plays, Woody Allen's Broadway hit "Don't Drink the Water!" "The Deadly Delilah," presented in association with Gretchen Wyler Productions, Inc.; Henry Sleasar's comedy "The Four Cornered Couch"; and Martin P. Kelly's "By The People."

In an effort to showcase the work of elderly artists in a more comprehensive manner, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and SRCC, working in cooperation with Mrs. Arthur Reise, head of the City Center Committee on senior citizen projects, established the first permanent "Golden Age Art Gallery."

The gallery was officially opened

on Jan. 14, 1971. Among those who took part in the opening at City Center, 131 West 55th Street, were August Heckscher, then City PRCA Administrator; Norman Singer, executive director of the Center, and several of the artists whose works were on exhibit.

Stimulated by the success of the Gallery at City Center, a second "permanent" display area for senior citizen are work was opened on August 25, 1971, at The Fine Arts Theatre, 130 East 58th Street, Manhattan. On September 1, 1972 a third gallery was made available to the older artists. This was the Little Carnegie Theatre Gallery at 146 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. In 1973 alone, 36 exhibitions were held.

As a public service, the Camera Club of New York, Inc., 37 East 60th Street, Manhattan, working in cooperation with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and SRCC, developed a free course on photography. This was

open to a maximum of twenty-five senior citizens.

Classes, which were held once a week on Wednesday afternoons, commenced in February 1972 and terminated in April for a total of eight sessions.

The course included lectures on the history of photography; discussion on cameras, lenses, and the dedeveloping of films and papers for printmaking; and lighting for portraiture and landscapes. It also discussed demonstrations on developing, printing, and enlarging; constructive criticism of student pictures; and a field trip.

Upon successful completion of the course, the students were invited to exhibit their work.

The volunteer instructor for the course was Mr. Alfred Lowenherz, a Director of SRCC and a trustee of the Camera Club of New York.

The course was so successful that Mr. Lowenherz decided to conduct a second workshop that year from November to December. Over 130

elderly people applied for enrollment; unfortunately only 30 could be accommodated. An additional volunteer instructor, Mr. Richard Beller, has since joined the program and hundreds of senior citizens have attended the free wrokshops.

In 1972, New Yorkers 55 and older were invited to a free sculpture course for beginners at the Sculpture Center of New York, 167 East 69th Street, Manhattan. The program was a cooperative project of the Parks and Recreation Department, SRCC, and the Sculpture Center. While the course is free, a laboratory fee of $10 per student is charged by the Center to cover the cost of materials.

During the past five years, hundreds of elderly students have taken advantage of the workshop.

A recently formed professional theatre group of 25 young volunteer actors has experimented with theatre for the elderly. Donald Frankmano, director of the group, and a vicepresident of SRCC, wrote, directed and produced the play, a "Night of Horrors." The group also presented "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home in Manhattan.

Another member organization of SRCC is the Temple Emanuel Senior Citizens' Choral Group. Its founder and director is a retired music

As

s the snows of January continued to fall on western New York State, city streets, and country roads became impassable. Everyone was affected, but, the elderly were more vulnerable to the resulting complications. In spite of the obstacles, however, the network on aging used ingenuity and resourcefulness in meeting the hazardous conditions and continued to serve the elderly with snowmobiles, four-wheeled vehicles, CB radios, and Boy Scouts.

Even before President Carter declared nine counties in western and north central New York State a disaster area, the aging network was working to meet the needs of the elderly. Area agencies on aging, often on a 24-hour-a-day-basis, kept in contact with older persons isolated by the falling and blowing snow and

the extreme cold-unusual even in that section of the State accustomed to hard winters. Title VII nutrition projects in many places abandoned group meals in favor of delivering food to older persons in a "meals-onrunners" program when wheels couldn't roll. The network undertook some unusual efforts to assist the elderly in various parts of the ninecounty disaster area.

Boy Scout troops were mobilized to shovel out older persons and appeals were issued to volunteer fire departments to check on older persons and to deliver emergency supplies and medications. Aging network staff obtained food vouchers from Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Catholic Charities, shopped at night in open supermarkets and then delivered food supplies to over 100

elderly. Emergency home repairs for 24 elderly were handled by just one county area agency and when a gas leak threatened an elderly woman, utility workers ended the emergency by shutting off the gas. The area agency paid to have the leak repaired and the gas restored.

Staff of the aging network also arranged emergency dialysis for elderly kidney patients and took them. to another area when the usual clinic was snowbound. Telephone reassurance services were increased and expanded to cover 5,000 storm isolated elderly, 196 snowbound workers in a factory were fed by a Title VII nutrition site until the storm abated, and legal services in one county handled 22 storm-related problems, including fuel shut-offs.

CARE (Concerned Adolescents.