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SMC Luncheon Speaker: John Ryder of the Michigan Heroes Museum

On March 26^th, John Ryder (replacing Mike Grobbel) spoke to us about the Polar Bear Expedition of 1918-1919. The Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth celebrates Michigan’s military and space heroes and among those remembered are Detroit’s own Polar Bears. The American North Russian Expeditionary Force (ANREF), consisting of the 339th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of the 310th Engineers, the 337th Ambulance Co. and the 337th Field Hospital of the U.S. Army’s 85th Division, was nicknamed the “Polar Bears.”

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SMC Luncheon Speaker: Becky Caulfield, Neighborhood Club

On March 12th, Becky Caulfield, the Wellness Program Manager for the Neighborhood Club, told us about the importance of exercise for seniors and how the Neighborhood Club can help. The Club is a community nonprofit that was established in 1911 to provide a professionally organized program of recreation and wellness services for families and individuals of all ages. Becky is a personal trainer, a group instructor, a yoga teacher, and a triathlete.

Becky explained that we need 150 minutes a week of exercise. It doesn’t have to be an intense workout and can be split into short blocks. It could include activities such as walking, gardening, singing, dancing, swimming, tennis, and bowling as well as more traditional exercise. Exercise is important for mental as well as physical health and can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. It can improve our balance to help prevent falls, and can reduce body weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, joint pain, and loss of bone density and muscle mass as we age. It also improves sleep and mobility as well as your mood and outlook on life.

SMC Field Trip Report: The Holocaust Memorial Center

About 20 members and friends of the Senior Men’s Club went to the Holocaust Memorial Center for a talk by a survivor of the Holocaust and then a tour of the museum.  Finally, we had lunch at the Stage Deli, close by the Memorial Center.  As you might imagine, and with Bob Vogler’s moving brief comments on the tour, it was both educational and appalling just what happened back before some of us were born. Read more