Off the Shelf

On a 160-acre estate 60 miles north of Manhattan, it was like commencement time, but the class that, graduated last week was no ordinary one. The average age of its twelve members was 64. All had retired, and all had come to the Cold Spring Institute having no idea what to expect. As a matter of fact, the institute had no definite idea either. Still in its infancy, the institute had embarked on a bold experiment to find some sort of answer to an increasingly urgent problem: what to do about the growing population of older people now in danger of moldering on the shelf.

Founded and financed by Mrs. William S. Ladd, widow of the dean of the Cornell Medical College, the institute was born none too soon. In the last 50 years, the number of people over 65 has increased twice as fast as the rate of the population in general; by 1950 they had reached the 12 million mark. Their pensions and savings cut by inflation, some face years of dependency. But more important is their feeling that they have outlived their usefulness. Last week, as the institute's second class got set to face the world again, its twelve members had unanimously decided that they could still be useful.

Conversation & Cosmetics. In their nine months at Cold Spring, only two things were required of them. They had to take part in "rhythmic" exercises, and they had to attend a weekly lecture by some expert imported from outside. Otherwise, the twelve were encouraged to devise their own programs. They studied in the institute's well-stocked library, worked in its shops and greenhouse, tramped through its acres of woods, set up a whole series of heated round-table discussions. Under the deft guidance of Psychologist Ruth Andrus, they not only rediscovered the art of conversation, they also found a host of talents they had never suspected before.

A retired chemical engineer-schoolteacher organized a class to teach the ladies how to make their own cosmetics ("as good as any you can buy and a lot cheaper"). A retired geologist spent his time producing an elaborate map of the estate and learning to refinish furniture.

Vassar & Vistas. A former social worker found that she is a painter; a college professor's widow took up the recorder; and a former Philadelphia schoolteacher 1) learned Speedwriting, 2) became an amateur naturalist, and 3) found she was pretty handy at woodworking. From early morning until cocktail time, in fact, the twelve scarcely had a moment's idleness. They took trips to the U.N., attended the experimental theater at nearby Vassar College, spent the evenings reading aloud from Lord Dunsany, Thornton Wilder and Edna St. Vincent Millay. One man's blood pressure dropped 30 points; one woman's stomach disorder disappeared.

Sample experiences of the class of '55:

P: A 65-year-old former New York City schoolteacher had been drifting aimlessly since his retirement 18 months ago. Then one day at the institute, "I looked out and saw the frozen pond. I realized what I had been blind to, and I wanted to paint what I saw there, to preserve it." Now an ardent painter, the ex-teacher has also been working on an invention to simplify the building of small houses. Says he of the institute: "It has opened whole vistas for me. Almost too many, in fact."

P: Before coming to Cold Spring, Miss Ella May Holbrock, 77, found that she was far from satisfied with just keeping house for her niece. Now, with the new interests she has discovered, she intends to return to Watertown, N.Y., join a local dramatic society and put some zip in the Senior Citizens Club. "In an old-age group like that," says she, "there are too many who just want to sit around and play pedro."

P: Alice Robinson, 73, onetime art teacher at Ohio State, made a terrifying discovery in her later years: "I found I had lost interest in art. After retiring, my life came to consist of just going to church and rocking in a chair on the front porch." At Cold Spring she discovered a new talent: writing TV scripts. But more important, says she, "they have taught us to laugh here. I had forgotten how to laugh."

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