Ortonville- Half a century or more separates the participants in age, but the conversation flows, the coffee and lemonade (?) is sipped, and cookies are eaten.
It’s a Friday afternoon at the Brandon Township Library and in the conference room, area senior citizens and students from Sharon Voyer’s fourth-grade Harvey Swanson class are bridging the generation gap.
Nathan Frantz, 10, and Lauryn Jeffrey, 9, sit and listen as Joyce Atkin, 70, shares with them bits of her childhood.
‘We didn’t have electricity,? Atkin says. ‘They were putting it in when Pearl Harbor was bombed. We couldn’t buy new dresses during World War II, there wasn’t any.?
Similar scenes play out around the room as the two generations share information about themselves.
The exchange is part of a project called ‘Blast from the Past,? organized by Marie Ahonen, a room mom for Voyer’s class. She came up with the idea a few months ago as an effort to bring the generations together.
‘Not all seniors have grandchildren or family in the area and I wanted to bring them together with the kids,? she said.
Each child was paired with a senior citizen from the Edna Burton Senior Center and the fourth-graders made booklets telling about themselves and asking the seniors questions about the schools they went to, their activities as children, clothes and hairstyles they had, and whether they lived during the Great Depression and what they remember about that time. They also asked how the community has changed over the years, what one thing they would like to see during their lifetime and advice for the younger generation.
Not all seniors could make the May 19 meeting, so students shared seniors.
Agnes Oakley, 81, enjoyed the program.
‘It’s neat,? she said. ‘I’m sure some of these kids dono’t have grandparents or if they do, they don’t live around here. I’m learning about them, too.?
Lela Lyon, 10, and a Girl Scout, was surprised to learn that Oakley was also a Girl Scout, and later, a Boy Scout den mother.
Oakley notes it is hard for the kids to fathom that during the Depression, her family didn’t have money, a phone, or indoor plumbing.
Nathan Frantz thinks the lack of electricity Atkin had sounds like fun, although she tells him there was a lot of work, it wasn’t all fun.
‘It’d be fun without a television,? he insists, ‘playing board games and cards instead.?
Joyce nods.
‘In some way, it was a nicer life than these kids live, quieter… I love to tell kids about what is and what was important.?
