Country club starts meeting in Emo Opens with talk on Kenya

EMO —It’s a country club, but not the elite, exclusive, social retreat that may come to mind.
Instead, the Emo Community Country Club, hosted by the Emo-La Vallee Healthy Communities Coalition, is an initiative enabling district senior citizens to explore the world by gathering to hear residents speak about different countries.
The group started up last Thursday afternoon at the Golden Age Manor in Emo with Bernice Campbell, Emo’s Senior Citizen of the Year, talking about her time in Kenya.
“We’re just looking to offer some type of activity to seniors in the area,” explained Cora Chojko-Bolec, a health educator with the Northwestern Health Unit.
“It just came up as an idea someone had at our meeting,” she added.
“We have a few people who are a little more in touch with the senior population in our group and thought that it would be something they would like to do, would be interested in doing, and it would be a good way to connect seniors in our community together.”
She noted she was happy to begin the club with Campbell’s experiences.
“She’s quite well-known in the community and I think people will be looking forward to hearing her stories,” Chojko-Bolec remarked.
More than two dozen seniors listened intently as Campbell recounted the five years she spent in Africa from 1971-75.
She recalled how her husband, who was in the air force, was offered a position in Kenya and how she and her children had moved there, as well.
“On Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. we arrived in Nairobi,” Campbell remarked. “And we spent three weeks in a hotel, which was nice because we were waited on hand and foot.”
Then she described how they had moved into a four-unit apartment building with some other English and Dutch families, and that they purchased a car.
“It was 80 degrees and sunny every day,” she added, noting they had no air conditioner.
She talked about the money, noting they had a difficult time with how cheap everything was—they could get a sirloin steak for a quarter. But they only had a small fridge, and no vacuum or washing machine.
“I washed my clothes in the tub,” Campbell indicated.
She also told of an incident where someone tried to steal her purse.
“I was holding on for dear life,” she recalled, explaining how two boys had been able to help her. “From then on whenever I walked, I was constantly checking over my shoulder.”
Campbell also brought along several items like an ostrich egg, necklaces, wooden figurines, walking sticks, and photos for the seniors to view before coffee, tea, and dainties were served.
“I think it went very well and there was a good turnout,” said Chojko-Bolec. “But we’ll just see what the response is for the next couple . . . and go from there with if we should carry on or look at something different.”
The Emo-La Vallee Healthy Communities Coalition hopes to hold country club meetings every two months, with the next one planned for December.
“If anyone is interested in coming and sharing a story, either about a country where maybe their heritage is from or somewhere they’ve lived or visited, they should call [the Northwestern Health Unit],” Chojko-Bolec said, adding they do not have another speaker lined up yet.
“They could talk about a specific country or just Christmas in a specific country.”
She said they would like to incorporate a question-and-answer period at the end of the talk, and will have “passports” on hand for participants to collect stamps of the countries discussed.
“We’re always open to suggestions if there are ideas people have, about subjects they’d like covered or want more information about,” she added.
“It’s targeted toward seniors, but we’d obviously welcome anyone who is interested in coming.
“It’s a great way to learn about other people, cultures, and just to socialize,” Chojko-Bolec stressed.
(Fort Frances Times)