November 2025 Edition
November 2025 Edition
Editor's Note: National Centenarian's Day was Sept. 22. The day honors those who've celebrated 100 birthdays or more. We're publishing several profiles of people who have hit this milestone this fall. The Alaska Commission on Aging is working with the Governor's Office, Pioneer Homes and Long Term Care Ombudsman to celebrate Alaska's centenarians. This interview was made possible thanks to the Alaska Commission on Aging. Genevieve Armstrong, known as Jean, has lived long enough to see airplanes...
Dear editor, I look forward to getting my copy of the Senior Voice every month. There is so much information in each copy. I have saved them for some time. I always look for Maraley McMichael’s columns first so imagine my delight in seeing her on the cover of the October issue I received today! Thank you. Mona Painter Dear editor, The Matanuska-Susitna Valley is a place of natural beauty; lakes, rivers, and streams have long been at the heart of our community’s way of life. As our population grows and ages, and with new senior housing...
One intrepid postman set out from Nome in November 1905 with his team of dogs, led by a wolf, on a 15-month odyssey that would test his resolve and capture the public's imagination. Eli Smith, a seasoned mail carrier from Nome, embarked on an epic 8,000-mile trek to Washington D.C., all to settle a high-stakes wager. Born around 1855 in Wisconsin, Smith led a life of adventure long before his famous mushing expedition that would test the limits of human and canine endurance. He worked various...
I bought my first computer in the late 1980s. I paid $1,200 for a used Kaypro. It was the size of a sewing machine carrying case, had sturdy all-steel housing, and it weighed 26 pounds. The manufacturer didn't have the nerve to call it "portable." We proud Kaypro owners called it "luggable." I sidled up to the evolving technologies over the decades because, as a practical matter, I thought they could help me be a better educator and communicator. And now: artificial intelligence (AI). Yes, it...
My husband Gary and I were snowbirds back in 2009. Having left our kids' families in Colorado, we headed to Texas by way of Branson, Missouri. We found a nice RV park in Carthage to park our truck and travel trailer, which was only 15 miles from LaRussell, the small-town home of one of my dad's good friends, Jim Brock. I wanted to go to Jim's house to visit and give him a program from Dad's memorial service, rather than enclose it in our Christmas card to him. Jim and Dad worked together at...
The Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) and Doyon Foundation will co-present a fundraiser screening of “Spirit of the Wind” a 1979 film about George Attla. The event is in recognition of November as Alaska Native/American Indian Heritage Month. Shot on location in Fairbanks, the film follows Attla from his life as a young Athabascan trapper in rural Alaska, to a tuberculosis diagnosis that meant years in sanitoriums in Tanana and Sitka and how he goes on to become a champion sprint dog musher. The film will be screened at...
The motto of the Salvation Army, "Sharing is Caring," applies well to the Salvation Army Family Store in Fairbanks. On a recent fall day, along with the first snow of the season, three MASST participants gathered with Capt. Jon Tollerud, store manager Penny Turnbull, and three other volunteers. The crew was reorganizing the entire thrift store, closed for the week, for a grand reopening in October. It was clear that they had already done loads of work over the past weeks and months. Winter was...
Nov. 1-30 National Family Caregiver Month Set aside to celebrate and recognize the efforts made by family members caring for loved ones as they age. Nov. 1-30 National National Native American Heritage Month. As early as 1916, when New York became the first state to declare an “American Indian Day,” efforts have been made to acknowledge the many contributions and achievements of Native peoples. In the 1970s it was a week. In 1990, Congress passed and President George H. W. Bush signed into law a joint resolution designating the month of...
AARP survey data reveals that 86% of service members and veterans have faced at least one service-related scam in the past year. These thieves specifically target veterans, with losses amounting to $477 million in 2023, according to the latest Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data. AARP's report, "Scambush: Military Veterans Battle Surprise Attacks from Scams and Fraud," highlights the top scams facing the veteran and military community. Often, veterans are targeted by scammers who exploit their...
As Alaska’s population of working-age adults shrinks, according to economists, other demographic groups have become bigger segments of the labor force: seniors and teenagers. Residents who are 65 and older made up 6.2% of the Alaska worker population in 2023 after steadily increasing over two decades, according to an analysis by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. In 2003, that age group made up just 1.8% of all working Alaskans, according to the data. For teenagers, the...
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for $3.26 million for a research project to address coronary heart disease among Yup'ik Alaska Native people in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region. The project focuses on blending an elder-designed program based on ancestral principles with workshops on traditional foodways-a break from conventional hearth health interventions. The tribally driven project, "Neqpiaput Iinruugut (Our Food is Medicine),"...
Alaskan Way is a new nonprofit based in Anchorage with a focus on serving elderly and medically fragile individuals who are unable to meet their Activities of Daily Living (ADL) needs-a population often overlooked in traditional shelter and housing systems. Started by Theresa Hankins, the nonprofit is in the funding stage so that it can open its doors. The nonprofit's website has more information, but it's centered on providing 24/7 staff support, personal care assistance, case...
A single course of low-dose radiation therapy may provide a safe and effective alternative treatment option for people with painful knee osteoarthritis, according to a new randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study showed patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis reported significant reductions in pain and improved physical function in the four months after receiving the low dose of radiation (just a small fraction of what’s used to treat cancer). The study included a...
Note: I am departing from the travel column to share with readers what I have observed in the decades caring for seniors and observing their good and bad habits. When I was 15 1/2 years old, I worked as a nurse's aide at Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts. No candy striper gig, I saw and did what no girl my age should working in medical-surgical, newborn nursery, operating room, psych ward, and emergency room, often questioning "Are you sure I'm supposed to do this?" Off and on in my...
Despite its name, the 17-mile Sacramento River Trail isn't tied to California's state capital but to a section of the 400-mile river that winds through Redding. However, don't panic. If your knees are protesting at the thought of attempting this long trek, you can still enjoy the popular path's highlights via a much shorter walk & drive combo that includes stops at three amazing bridges that span the Sacramento River. Begin the adventure at the South Trailhead, located by the parking lot off...
