By Susan Shinn
Salisbury Post
If you’ve lived a long life, chances are you’ve got plenty of stories to share.
That’s what the residents of Trinity Oaks thought, so why not publish these stories?
Last spring, a group of almost two dozen residents began publishing “The Acorn,” a quarterly publication.
The fourth issue is due later this month.
These publications feature profiles on new and established residents, poetry, jokes and fun facts, reminiscences and more.
The editors are Char and Ron Molrine, who live in a cottage at Trinity Oaks. Ron, a retired Episcopal priest, is president of the Trinity Oaks Residents’ Association or TORA ó is that a cool acronym or what?
Ron writes a monthly column, and there’s a guest column by a Trinity Oaks staff member.
“It’s just been a wonderful addition to the community,” says Mike Walsh, Trinity Oak’s executive director. “It’s an informal opportunity for residents to get to know each other more. It’s really neat to be able to put out their life stories. We all look forward to each and every edition.”
Ron served as chaplain at a retirement community in Williamsburg, Va., and there was a similar publication there.
“The people really looked forward to it,” he says.
“There are so many interesting people here,” Char says. “The publication needed to be done by residents. We had a mission statement and a contest to name the publication.”
The winter issue will cover a lot of ground ó January to March ó so there will be likely news about Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Lent, Easter and the first day of spring.
All of the 175 residents in the cottages and apartments were invited to participate. Some residents do interviews; others serve as proofreaders, others do layout and still others distribute The Acorn.
The newsletter is set in 14-point type so it’s easily readable. J.C. Medlin serves as photographer. It has black and white photos, as well as clip art.
The Acorn’s staff gathered Jan. 12 in the hobby room at Trinity Oaks.
Like any other staff of a publication, they made editorial decisions about content.
There was one humorous story about a man’s sex life that they decided would probably be offensive to some readers.
(It’s really funny, though. If you want to hear it, you’ll have to call Ron and Char.)
They also deliberated the length of some stories (where have I heard that one before?!)
Since new residents are always moving in, an effort is being made to interview each one. Assignments were made for that.
Harriet Bolstad, 96, is the group’s primary reporter.
She served as society editor of an Oregon newspaper 65 years ago, and she’s enjoyed writing ever since.
“I’ve done quite a few interviews of people here at Trinity Oaks and written them up for The Acorn,” she says. “I love people. I came here from Florida not knowing a soul. There are some wonderful, wonderful people here at Trinity Oaks. I truly enjoy talking with people and learning about them and telling other people about them.”
The Acorn also includes submissions from residents’ grandchildren.
Lallah Heath’ granddaughter wrote a terrific poem to be included in the next issue.
Carolyn Wilkerson is interested in history, so she’ll be writing about historic churches for the next issue.
As Char wrote in the inaugural issue, The Acorn’s editorial board hopes this quarterly publication will continue to be a “pleasant read” and a way for residents to get to know each other better.
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Contact Susan Shinn at 704-797-4289 or sshinn@salisburypost.com.