From the Hills of Indiana to the Shores of California: Life After Age 60

It started in 1979.  And what is it?  “It” is the passion to write this book about the wonders of life with a focus on age 60 and beyond.

Life was good for the two sisters who authored this book.  In 1979, Charlotte was a successful businesswoman who was employed as a Graphic Arts Manager by a major real estate consulting firm while freelancing as a graphic artist.  Her photographs and layouts appeared in a number of publications that were widely read by individuals interested in emerging trends in real estate.  She had traveled extensively and had developed an interest in capturing the facial features of people from different climates and different cultures in her photographs.  Her black and white photographs of buildings and landscapes appeared in publications and were framed for display in special showings.  After settling in California, she had a dream of someday writing a book and including some of her artwork in the publication.

Geneva was an administrator who had succeeded in what had been called a “man’s profession” of Deputy State Director of Vocational and Technical Education in the State of Indiana.  Few women occupied this position in the United States at that time.  Her achievements were featured in national publications under titles including “Women Take Leadership Role in Vocational Education”; “To Be an Administrator, and A Woman”; and “Strengthening the Role of Women in Vocational Education Leadership Positions”.  Her work on State and National Boards and Commissions resulted in numerous articles and papers being published in professional journals.  She was eager to be published in a national magazine outside of her chosen profession.

As the two women approached 40 years of age, Geneva wrote an article and Charlotte edited it for possible publication in a well-known national fashion magazine.  The manuscript, on "Becoming Forty", was about the joys and anxieties of approaching age forty.  This educational and entertaining article ended by stating that “Age probably has never been any good as an index to people, but a lot of emphasis has certainly been placed on it.”

The manuscript was mailed to the magazine in New York City on March 27, 1980.  The sisters celebrated.  A response was received less than two weeks later.  What a disappointment!  The five-paragraph form letter dated April 9, 1980 stated "I’m sorry I cannot answer your letter personally, but I do hope this letter helps you understand why we were unable to accept your Viewpoint.  Again, thank you for your interest…" in our magazine.  The magazine's Editor signed the letter.

The Editor did respond to the letter personally.  She wrote a personal note at the bottom of the page that read:  “P.S.  I’m sorry, but very few of our readers are 40.  This topic is inappropriate for us.” (See Appendix 2 for a copy of the letter)

This came as a shock to the sisters as they both read the magazine and believed the magazine was ignoring the interests of a large group of its aging readers.  The authors felt discarded by the magazine because of their age, and they no longer subscribed to it.  This narrow approach that left out the majority of the population was not in keeping with their philosophy of being glamorous by being in tune with one’s body, mind, and emotions regardless of age.

This rude awakening from this national fashion magazine caused the authors to be even more sensitive to the aging process and to the wonders of life, regardless of a person’s age.  It created a passion to learn about people of all ages.  For more than eighteen years the authors have collected information about the talents and contributions of people from the hills of Indiana to the shores of California.

Both of the authors are now over the age of 60.  Through this book, they are sharing the information that they have learned about people...people age 60 and beyond.

Charlotte Gore and Geneva Shedd-Wright are sisters.  They are the second and third born in the Sluss family of five children.  Geneva was born in 1940 and Charlotte was born three years later...in 1943.

In their former life adventure, Charlotte and her husband, Joe, resided in Northridge, California.  She was a Human Resources Manager for a major national bank in Northridge and assured that equal opportunity was provided to all of the bank’s employees.  Recently, Charlotte and Joe demonstrated it is never too late to start a new life adventure.  They recently traveled the U.S. collecting new life experiences.

Geneva resided in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband until his death in October 1997.  Until her retirement in 2001, she was the Director of Indiana’s Bureau of Aging and In-Home Services.  She administered a budget of more than $265 million per year and provided services to individuals age 60 and above and to individuals with disabilities of all ages who needed assistance in order to maintain their independence.  During retirement she has enjoyed traveling, missionary work, building Habitat for Humanity Homes, visiting nursing home residents, church work, and other volunteer activities as a part of her new marriage to the Reverend Maurice Wright.

The two sisters were taught at an early age that all things are possible through hard work, a positive attitude and a sense of humor.  They lived with such sayings as:  “It is the little things that make a big difference”; “Anything is possible if you believe that it can be done”; “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”; “Together we can accomplish more than can be accomplished individually”; and “Good is not good enough if you can do better”.  Variations of these old-time sayings later became popular and were converted to works of art and placed on the walls of offices to inspire personnel.

As the sisters approached age forty, friends started making reference to the big 40...in a joking way.  They did not feel any different and could still do the things they could do at age 20 and age 30 so why was all of this attention being given to becoming age 40?  Charlotte stopped telling people her age, and Geneva decided to submit an article on “Becoming Forty” to a major magazine and both sisters were shocked at the response.  This shock was converted to a passion to dispel the attitude that age limits what can be accomplished.

It is with this passion that they scanned magazines, newspapers, and other publications for more than eighteen years to spot articles on the many valuable contributions of individuals of all ages with a focus on age 60 and beyond.  This book was written in an attempt to share the sisters’ findings during those years.  It is not intended to be a research document, but rather a document that highlights the contributions of individuals age 60 and above and the fact that their contributions appear in major publications in the United States on a regular basis.  This book intends to educate and inspire people of all ages.

For example,  during just a few weeks (in the summer of 1994, winter of 1995, and a two-week period starting in March 24, 1996) at least one positive article concerning individuals age 60 and above appeared in major newspapers and magazines the sisters read each day...some publications had multiple articles.  (Endnote # 1)

From 1994-1996, the individuals highlighted in this book created a moment in history that serve as an example to us all.  No attempt has been made to follow these individuals through the ensuing years.  The authors maintain that whether any of the individuals continue to achieve greatness does not impact the moment that they were highlighted in national publications.