By Emily Steele
If you have been reading this bi-weekly column you have seen my byline under each title. I have enjoyed interviewing and writing each article, which has led me to a deeper involvement with Just Older Youth Inc.
Recently I was hired to act as program coordinator while Betsy Baste is on vacation. From May through September, I will have the wonderful opportunity to interact with instructors, volunteers and participants at each Wednesday JOY Center gathering. I come to the position from a background in education, as a classroom teacher, professor, educational consultant and researcher.
I am a native of Southern Ohio, growing up in a small town 50 miles southeast of Cincinnati (lovingly called “The Nati” or “Cincy”) and have strong connections with “Cincy,” where most of my teaching experience occurred. I am proud to say I earned a doctorate in education at the University of Cincinnati.
I started my professional teaching career late in life. Previous to that I was a farmer’s wife. My husband, Robert Schroth, and I managed a thousand-acre corporate farm, where we raised corn, soybeans, wheat and Angus cattle. I spent days out in the fields driving tractors, feeding farm hands and walking among the vast fields. It was there that I learned corn grows at night; the loud popping and cracking sounds it makes, along with the chirping of crickets, hooting of owls and rhythmic display of lightning bugs create a dioramic, natural symphony like no other. The beauty and mystery of Ohio farmland, throughout the seasons, will always be a part of me.
I came to the Keys to help a friend rehab a 43-foot Pearson trawler. It was his dream for some time to sell his farm, auction his home furnishings, tools and equipment; leaving only what would fit in his car and come to the Keys to live on a boat. And, that is what he did. I came down to help and stayed with him for three years until the project was far enough along to meet his needs. He was 75 and I was 68 at the time.
While working on the trawler I fell in love with the Keys. Seasonless as they seem to be, always green, mostly bright and surrounded by sparkling water. The endless motion of the bay, the swells of the ocean, living reefs and diverse Keys have their own beauty and mystery, which compel me to live here. In addition, the Upper Keys is a place where the senior citizen population impacts the community.
A friend of mine persuaded me to go to a yoga class at the JOY Center. I then volunteered to teach a writing class. Now, I am working as a program coordinator with a group of seniors who are dedicated to creating a community center to serve the needs of the larger community. I will be 72 on June 12 and plan to continue challenging myself to grow old with grace. Just Older Youth Inc. and the Florida Keys gives one a place to do just that.
JOY PROGRAMS
Every Wednesday at St. James Church, 87500 Overseas Highway
9-10 a.m. — Tech Savvy Senior Forum
10:30-11:30 a.m. — Storytellers Cafe
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — Stretch, Strength & Balance
12:15-1 p.m. — Lunch
1- 2:15 p.m. — Ukulele
2-2:45 p.m. — Book Club
2:15-4:15 p.m. — 5 Crowns
3-3:45 p.m. — American Sign Language
4- 4:45 p.m. — Line Dance w/Carlene
