For many residents of Toronto’s Terraces of Baycrest, there aren’t enough hours in the day. When Elizabeth
Michnick grabs a couple of minutes to sit down and
chat, the busy 83-year-old has a list in her hand to
keep straight everything she does:
“Sports in the morning—chair exercises three
times a week. I do weight training in the gym, aqua
fitness, dance therapy and yoga. There’s the poetry
group—we read and do a little bit of writing; the
book club; the brain-twister program with funny
little puzzles; the Scrabble group; and I lead a singalong
group. Movies and concerts. There’s ‘Reading
Angels,’ where we go out to a local school and coach
the children in reading. That’s a really nice activity.
“That’s about all I can think of. . . Oh, yes, and I
show newcomers how to use the laundry machines.”
Bernard Rubin, 82, is in the middle of a 30-minute
session on a cycling machine. He’s often in the gym
and he’s now a regular at the Terraces billiards club.
“I’d never played before in my life till I moved
here,” he says. “Even now, I’m not sure if it’s
billiards, snooker or pool I’m playing! But I love it
and we have some real experts here so I’m getting
some coaching. We have a 95-year-old gentleman
and you should see the shots he makes. He’s
an artist.”
Creative art gets its due, too. Residents can try
their hand at everything from knitting to woodcarving
to stained glass. And Rachel Aronov is carrying on
the work she did for 60 years in Israel and Montreal
and as a volunteer at Baycrest before she moved in
as a resident.
She teaches the art of painting ceramic bowls and
ornaments. Her work is exquisite and such colours!
“We never had so many colours in my factory,”
Rachel says.
Bernice Krieger just finished a chair-exercise class.
She’s giving aqua fitness a miss for once, though,
she says, “when I’m in the water, I’m a bird. I don’t
have an ache or pain.”
Bernice is 89 and was also a volunteer at the
residence before she moved in. As she says, “I
know my way around. I’m the mailman for my floor.
And I do a tour of the place once a month for any
new employees.
“I like exercise. I’m doing it four times a week
and it makes a big difference. I’m much better for
it. I think I’m the only female resident here who
still drives!”
She takes computer classes too, as does Lawrence
Sandy. “I wouldn’t be without my computer,” he says
as he waits to have a massage.
Lawrence, 94, and his wife Kay, 89, are both in
the residence’s drama group. Members write and
stage their own plays. “Little things from life in the
Terraces,” he says. “We get together regularly and
talk about our experiences. It’s all taped and then
we make plays out of it.”
“We read our lines though. You can’t expect us to
be memorizing all this stuff!”
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