By Mary Beth Roach

To say that Syracuse resident and “play lady” at The Nottingham retirement community Ann Barnes has many interests is an understatement. She recently won swim meets in the Empire State Senior Games and is looking forward to being on a volleyball team in the upcoming Huntsman World Senior Games in Utah. But when she’s not in the pool or on a volleyball court, one might just find her directing a musical chorus or traffic around a fire in Onondaga Hill, playing piano, volunteering with Sunshine Friends pet therapy or taking some of the dogs she sits for to a local senior center.

Q. Ann, you recently competed in the Empire State Senior Games, correct?
A. I did volleyball — swimming and volleyball. I didn’t do racquetball this year.

Q. How many have you participated in ?
A. Probably every one for the last . . . since I was 50, so that’s quite a while.

Q. So are you going to Nationals?
A. No. If the volleyball team was going, I would go with the volleyball team. . . . I don’t want to go by myself. That’s no fun. . . . but I am going to go to the Huntsman World Senior Games in October in Utah and play volleyball with the Buffalo team.

Q. How do you train for the swimming, the volleyball?
A. No training. I swim a couple of days a week, but I don’t train.

Q. What do you get from participating in the sports?
A. I think it’s more a social thing now. I don’t think it’s about the competition or getting a medal or any of that. I think it’s just doing it because I’m 62 and I can still do it. It’s more of social thing

Q. You have a great many interests — share some of them.
A. .All my volunteer activities. I’m a volunteer firefighter at Onondaga Hill, and I’ve been doing that for almost 13 years. I don’t do interior attack anymore because I’m too old, but I am an EMT and I do fire police.

Q. You’re in Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
A. I’ve known Anna for five years, [Anna Matthews is Ann’s “little sister” in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program] and I got the Big Sister of the Year award, which I was really excited about. That was really special.  I keep in touch with my very first ‘little sister,’ who is about 21 or 22 now.

Q. How many Little Sisters have you had?
A. Three.

Q. You play piano professionally.
A. Looking for work any time. I play in the libraries. I have a trio.

Q. You have a great passion for dogs. Tell us about it.
A. I dog-sit . . . I had a therapy dog . . . Ted. He was a great therapy dog. He died suddenly. He was about 11. They have a plaque in Mundy Library with his picture on it. We started the reading Tails To Tell program there. I knew I didn’t want to get another dog. [She now dog-sits for more than 30 families.] I do a lot with the dogs. I take them to work with me. I take them out to the Heritage on the Loretto campus. There’s something about going there. The residents absolutely love it, and they’re so appreciative. No matter what kind of mood I’m in when I go there, I’m entirely different when I leave.

Q. What is your job at The Nottingham?
A. Play lady. I do trips and outings and I also direct the Nottingales Chorus. We just performed at the State Fair at the Art & Home Center. They got a standing ovation.

Q. How long have you been at The Nottingham?
A. A little longer than six years.

Q. What is it about that that you like?
A. I work a lot, but it’s part-time, but I have amazing flexibility. I can plan outings at night. I can plan them around my personal schedule. It’s getting to a point where the residents are really signing up for a lot of things. My mystery outing — I have six people on the waiting list already and it’s not ‘till the end of the month. I take them to the symphony, the opera, wherever they want to go. But their most favorite, besides the Mystery, is going to McNamara’s in Camillus for dinner and dancing. We go every Wednesday. They absolutely love it.

Q. You have no plans on slowing down, so what’s next for you?
A. I think the World Games are going to be a big thing. . . that’ll be really exciting. I would like to drive a race car. And I want to go to Alaska. I’ll probably end up doing that next year.

New York State AARP’s most prestigious award for community service, the Andrus Award, this year went to Alejandro Garcia.

The 2008 Andrus Award for Community Service recognizes 53 unique individuals — one from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — who have demonstrated the power to make it better in their communities in ways that are consistent with AARP’s mission, vision and commitment to volunteer service, and that inspire others to volunteer. The award is named after AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus.

That Garcia is from Syracuse University continues to illustrate how lucky we in Central New York are to have wonderful colleges and universities in our area that attract national figures.

A former administrator and current professor at SU School of Social Work, College of Human Ecology, Garcia’s areas of expertise are the elderly, particularly Hispanic elderly, and adequacy of income in old age, policy analysis and social welfare, and human diversity.

Having just completed his term as chair of the AARP National Policy Council, he will remain on that body for another two years with broader northeast regional responsibility. Additionally, he is assuming the important role of chairing the National Policy Council’s nominating committee.

I have known Garcia for a number of years and always found him to be a fascinating, complex person. In addition to being an expert in multicultural issues in aging, he is an excellent photographer, a lover of the arts and a humanitarian.

We recently discussed what in his background brought him to focus his academic career on social issues.
Here’s what Garcia had to say:

“I was raised in a very poor family in South Texas. In the schools in Texas at the time, Mexican children were taught that they were inferior and so I convinced myself that was the case with me as well. It was only slowly that I realized I could compete with others on an academic basis.

That was also when I started to appreciate my ethnic background, my culture and learned to celebrate who I was.

There have been role models all along the way who helped me become who I am. For instance, when I was about 15 or 16, the Latino vice-principal at my high school invited me to attend a Rotary Club luncheon where I had to wear a coat and tie. I remember that vividly as I didn’t have a coat and tie but my Dad helped me find them and even taught me how to tie a tie.

“When we lived in a poor neighborhood, my mother was conned into buying a musical instrument for me. We lived in Brownsville, Texas, which was in the poorest county in the United States. To be able to play the instrument, I had to change schools.

“I went from a 100 percent Latino school to a school across town that had non-Hispanic white students from a higher socio-economic status and with higher career aspirations. This started me thinking about what I could become and in turn, gave me access to attend the University of Texas on a band scholarship.

“At UT I studied languages: Spanish, English and Italian. Then I enlisted in the Army. Toward the end of my service I was in a serious car accident and was bedridden for a long time. That forced me to think what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and when I started to think about social issues, in particular, social justice in relation to Hispanics. This thinking led me to obtain a master’s degree in social work at California State University in Sacramento.

“After being in clinical practice for a couple of years and joining the staff of the National Association of Social Workers in New York City, I decided to pursue doctoral studies. One of my major influences and role models was Dr. Juan Ramos, a Brandeis University alumnus and a high official in the National Institute of Mental Health. He encouraged me to think about applying to the doctoral program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis.”

How have your ideas changed over the years?

“I went from not liking myself very much to learning to appreciate myself and seeing myself as part of the larger Latino community. My extensive collection of Mexican masks and other folk art is related to my background. When I started amassing my collection of this art, I was often asked why such a disparate collection? My answer was that each piece of art that I collected contributed to my self discovery and celebration.”

How has our country responded to the growth of Latinos in our communities?

“It varies. From acceptance in many areas, to fear and hatred in others. Some people are threatened by too many Latinos and concerned about how their way of life will affect America. But the fact is that Latino cultures have influenced the United States. For example, salsa is now preferred over catsup; Mexican food has become part of regular menus; and we celebrate Cinco De Mayo without knowing what it really is. We see Latino influences in our architecture, and in the names of our communities, such as Mexico right here in Central New York. The names of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are such an integral part of our vocabulary that we don’t consider them as foreign names.”

Do you think we are taking the best advantage of our country’s diverse populations?

“No, I think the majority society could learn a lot from Latinos. For instance, the fact that they have a long life expectancy in spite of their poverty. One reason for their long life is an extremely strong family support system.”

Let’s talk about your love of photography.

“I bought a camera when I was in the military and started taking pictures in the Arctic when stationed in Greenland and it’s evolved ever since. I like to capture people involved in activities and I feel good that this is a gift I can share with others. I have been especially drawn to Mexican folk art and ceremonial dances when I visit Mexico. In my family, when someone dies, relatives already know that they can come to me for family photograph archives.”

I know you have had a unique volunteer experience using your photography.

“Over the years I have been invited by a former colleague, Dr. Susan Taylor-Brown, to participate as a volunteer in a camp for families who had at least one individual diagnosed as being HIV positive or having AIDS. Over the years my job was to take photos of the families, many of whom were Latino or African American, and for many, these were the only family photographs that they had. The families loved having the photographs as well as getting the family together and posing for them. Over the years, the family changed, some members died and sometimes unrelated persons became part of the family. It was interesting to see these dynamics at play and how people sought love and support from other people and how much we were willing to give in spite of our own trials and tribulations.”

Former Fulton mayor still finds time and energy to volunteer

Q. When and where were you born?
A. I was born on Nov. 23, 1919 in Guttenberg, N.J. In 1963, we came to Fulton because my husband Joe got a job at Nestle Co. He retired from there in 1984.

Q. What do you enjoy most about being a longtime resident of Fulton?
A.: I find that the area is very beautiful, and the people are stable and hard working. I feel safe and very comfortable with my surroundings. I don’t think people realize how fortunate we are to live here. I certainly do. We live on Forest Avenue, right down from Struppler’s Fulton Big M. Our neighbors are absolutely fantastic. They put our newspaper on our steps in the morning and mow our lawn. You can’t ask for better neighbors than that.

Q. How are you spending your retirement?
A. I broke my hip two years ago, so I’ve been kind of out of it. I do what I can on the phone to call members of the Professional Journalists & Communicators [former Oswego County Press Club] for meetings, and my husband takes me to meetings when I need to go. I’m not as free to come and go as I used to since my hip replacement, but I enjoy my own space. I love to read and knit, and love to watch politics on the tube. I’m fully entertained and taken care of and try to participate as best I can.

Q. Being a political “junkie,” who do you see as the most favorable presidential candidate: Barack Obama or John McCain?
A. I have no favorite candidate and am not satisfied with either choice. I’m very much worried about our society and wonder whether either candidate can solve or help solve the very difficult situation we have today. We’re deeply involved in a conflict that takes enormous amounts of money and our own people are suffering considerably. I don’t think we’re highly loved in the world at large, and that’s unusual for us.

Q. Are you still active in the community? How?
A. I’m a charter member of the Professional Communicators & Journalists of Oswego County. I majored in journalism when I attended New York University in New York City. I worked for Cooper Union, and went to NYU at night. I attended classes for five years and was editor of the school newspaper.
That experience helped me develop contacts with people in New York City and I formed friendships that have been lasting for many years.

Q. What do you do to keep yourself healthy and fit?
A. My husband is a health freak, and we’re careful about the foods we eat. We try to exercise as much as we are able to. We’re interested in things outside of our own home. It’s important to be part of the community and we try hard to do that.

Q. Tell us about the “ritual” you and your husband have on Friday nights.
A. We both worked very hard at our jobs, and on Friday evenings, we celebrated having weekends free to ourselves. I cook a very good meal, mix up a Manhattan, and watch political news shows on PBS. There’s a string of very good programs on that station. That’s how we spend Friday nights, and are still doing it.

Q. What do you feel was your most important contribution as the former mayor of Fulton?
A. I was mayor of Fulton from 1987-1991. I tried to create activities that would bring people together to enjoy, like Riverfest and several other festivals that folks enjoyed being part of and attending.

Q. How did your experience at Cooper Union in New York City help shape your life?
A. One of the most important things was that I met my husband Joe there.
I was at Cooper during World War II, and there were fears at the time of being attacked. We worked together at Cooper to protect our institution. I was a member of the “suicide squad,” which was prepared to race atop the roof and put out fires.

Q. What’s new and exciting in the city of Fulton that residents can get excited about?
A. I think the city has done a great job restoring houses. Certainly, the Community Development Agency has worked hard to acquire housing and then upgrade it.
I think the city has also done a terrific job maintaining streets and makes every effort to make Fulton a comfortable and safe place in which to live and work.

Q. What has been the secret to your long marriage with Joe?
A. We’ve been married for 64 years and have really had fun. I’m not in a position to give advice. Life is luck. Together, we have had a good life and raised four children.
Our oldest boy is in Toronto, our second oldest is in Key West, Fla., and our daughter lives in California. Our other son died several years ago. They seem to like to come home once in a while, which makes us happy.