The Gray Hawk - uira.org.uiowa.edu

The Gray Hawk

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA RETIREES ASSOCIATION October 2021 • Vol. XXVI, Issue 2

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October Programming Exploring the Trails at Kent Park

Marci Trana, Johnson County Conservation education specialist/naturalist

Thursday, October 14, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Kent Park Conservation Education Center

Participants will receive a map of the park’s trails and can choose from four different options for this in- person meeting. Marci Trana will lead a ½-mile prairie hike around the Education Center including the bird blind or you may go part of the way or stay near the Education Center. A second option will be to meet with one of two park rangers, learn about their role at the park, fishing and camping options, and walk around the lake (1.4 miles). A third option will be an opportunity to talk with Director Larry Gullet, ask questions, and learn about recently acquired JCC properties. The fourth option will be to explore a hiking trail on your own using your newly acquired map. The Education Center and a nearby picnic area will be available at noon if you want to bring a picnic lunch. For a preview of Kent Park trails, see two Nature Note blogs created by the naturalists. They contain maps and a description of what one might see on a hike. You may also choose shorter segments of any of the trails. jccnaturenotes.wordpress.com/2020/03/20/kent-park-trails-you-probably-havent-hiked-part-1 jccnaturenotes.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/kent-park-trails-you-probably-havent-hiked-part-2

uira.org.uiowa.edu The Gray Hawk, October 2021

In-Person Guidance at Kent Park

Following CDC guidance, Kent Park requires that masks be worn inside the Conservation Education Center and bird blind, regardless of vaccination status. Participants are encouraged to bring their own water bottle and hand sanitizer.

What’s New and Old at the Museum of Natural History

Liz Crooks, director of the Pentacrest Museums Thursday, October 28, 10:30 a.m. via Zoom

Did you know the museum is the oldest university museum west of

the Mississippi and stores approximately 140,000 specimens, objects, and artifacts with collections beginning in the late 1800s? Have you heard the story of the City Park Zoo lions? Or how the whale skeleton came to Iowa City? In the museum, Iowa Hall offers a wealth of information about the geol-ogy, plants and animals and people who have lived in Iowa including a Devonian coral reef diorama, based on a coral reef found north of Coralville. The museum's bird col-lection includes over 1,000 birds on display with nearly all the species recorded as resident or seasonal visitors to Iowa. One can see specimens from aardvark to zebra in the Mammal Hall. The Laysan Island Cyclorama is a century-old 360-degree view of Laysan Island, an outpost of the Hawaiian atolls. Join us for a Zoom tour of the museum—an incredible resource hidden in plain sight on campus.

Upcoming Programs UIRA Benefits Sessions Coming in November

Thursday, November 11, 2:00 p.m., via Zoom Making the Right Health Insurance Decision Gary Schwartz, SHIIP counselor

Thursday, November 18, 1:00 p.m., via Zoom Annual Insurance Options Q&A Session Sonatina Fernandes, UI benefits specialist, and Anne

Thurston, community and broker liaison with Health Alliance Medical Plans

Mark your calendars for these annual insurance seminars in November! Based on positive feedback from our two benefits programs last year, the UIRA is offering two benefits programs again. Gary Schwartz will discuss the various medical pro-grams available to seniors, including the UI health benefits programs. Sonatina Fernandes and Anne Thurston will provide an overview of the health plans availa-ble to UI retirees and any changes for the upcoming year.

uira.org.uiowa.edu 2 The Gray Hawk, October 2021

A Conversation with the UI President

Barbara Wilson, UI President Thursday, December 9, 1:00 p.m., via Zoom

Come meet the new UI president to hear her insights about the uni-versity and ask your own questions.

President’s Column

Happy Fall, Y’All! As I walk around my neighborhood, decorative signs, pumpkins, scarecrows, and Hal-loween decorations welcome autumn. Mother Nature signals fall’s arrival with red su-mac, leaves just beginning to turn, and cicadas that are singing a bit more quietly than in summer. Nature is beginning to take its annual rest, while UIRA remains hard at work.

At Zoom meetings, the board has discussed ways to continue providing quality educa-tional and enjoyable programs. In September, the board welcomed Deb Cobb and Vicki Siefers as new members. Chuck Dayton, Benny Hawkins, Lois Lembke, and Billie Townsend continue to serve with dedication. Ed Dove began his year as president-elect while Pat Mason-Browne continues as secretary and David Fitzgerald as treas-urer. Sam Cochran is not taking a rest as past-president; he is chairing the program committee.

This month we are dipping our toes in the water with an on-site program. The pro-gram committee welcomes you to meet in person, which we think will be a safe get-together. We understand if you are not ready for an in-person meeting.

The program committee works behind-the-scenes to make programs happen. They meet monthly to brainstorm ideas and schedule programs. Members contact potential speakers to arrange details. Between meetings, they communicate by email. Nancy Williams, Billie Townsend, Alice Atkinson, and Sam Cochran share generously of their time. Emil Rinderspacher deserves a special thank-you for sharing his Zoom expertise and helping the rest of us learn. Ed Dove and I attend the meetings and get a sneak preview of upcoming programs.

UIRA provides many opportunities to stay connected with old friends and meet new people. In the next couple of months, there will be opportunities to get active by serv-ing on the nominating and awards committees. Please consider volunteering to serve on a committee, as a board member, or an officer. We will all be glad you did. As we navigate the continuing pandemic, UIRA brings a breath of fresh air and cool, crisp, colorful days into our lives. Please join us.

As always, I’m available at [email protected].


Welcome to Our New UIRA Members

Jana B. Christen CHSC—Decorah

John Leonard Anderson Environmental Health and Safety

Wendy Berg Stead Family Hospital, Center for Disabilities and Development

Ronald Berg Spouse

Peter Brokaw Information Technology Services

Charles Connerly School of Planning and Public Affairs

Dawn Flaherty Internal Medicine/Pulmonary

Donna J. Friel College of Medicine—Dept. of Pediatrics

Mary M. Grabe Information Technology Services

Victoria Green College of Dentistry Administration

Becky S. Hagerty Muscatine Family Med Clinic

Michael C. Hagerty Spouse

Nancy Hall State Hygienic Lab

Francine Hauschild Nursing/Admission and Transfer Center

Mary (Beth) Hochstedler State Hygienic Lab/Vice President for Research

Deborah Hubbard Nursing CWS

Beverly Jones Spouse

Dianne Jones Information Technology Services

Douglas Jones Computer Science

Joyce M. Kral UI Business Manager's Office

Kim Marra Theatre Arts and American Studies

Jeff McKinney Spouse

Mary McKinney Nursing

Ted E. Miller Housekeeping EVS

Jeff Parsons Hospital Facilities

Suzanne Parsons Facilities Management

Nancy Rahe Dept. of Family Medicine

Carol Smith Tippie College of Business

Debra Tappan UI College of Dentistry—Clinic Administration

Ila Zimmerman Health Care Information Systems


Schedule Your Flu Vaccine by the End of October While you may be keeping up on the latest COVID-19 vaccination information, don’t forget about your annual flu vaccination. According to the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention, all persons over 6 months of age who do not have contraindica-

tions should receive one. The vaccine should be ideally administered by the end of October, but the CDC indicates you should still receive one after that because the influenza viruses could be circulating locally.

Remember, there will be no UIRA flu vaccina-tion clinic this year, so contact your physician or local pharmacy to schedule a flu vaccine.

The Gray Hawk Writers Special Interest Group This month, we share one of the pieces written by a member of the Gray Hawk Writers special interest group (with apologies for the small type in order to fit it all in). Are you considering joining the group? Visit as a guest—you may decide to join! Contact Doug Paul at [email protected].

Riding Reva By John Boswell Hudson

Farming with horses was a way of life for my grandfather until he sold his farm in 1942 and retired to an acreage on the edge of town. I was a twelve-year-old from Wenatchee, Wash-ington visiting my grandparent’s farm just outside of Edina, Missouri. There was no warning during my visit that summer that their way of life was about to change. Nor did I realize that my childhood summers of running barefoot on the farm were to end forever.

Grandad trusted me that summer to ride his saddle horse, Reva, a black mare that was gen-tle yet responsive. Standing by Reva’s left side and holding the bridle, I gently forced Reva’s mouth open and guided the bit with my fingers, feeling her soft wet lips against my hand as the bit slipped between her teeth. Then I lifted the bridle over her head as the crownpiece fell into place behind her ears with the browband across her forehead, and I finished by fastening the throatlatch under her neck.

With the bridle in place and the reins secured to a fence rail, I picked up a saddle blanket and enjoyed its textured wool against my hands before placing it on Reva’s back. Grandad of-ten rode Reva bareback, or with just a sheepskin fastened with a leather belt, even though he had a western saddle. I felt it was easier to stay comfortably seated in a saddle—stirrups pro-vided a stable place for my feet and kept me from falling off should the horse suddenly star-tle or bolt.

I knew how to saddle a horse by myself, having had my own Shetland pony for two years. Grabbing the leather saddle and holding it against my right hip, I tossed it up and onto Reva’s back, settling it neatly on the blanket. I lifted the left stirrup and put it over the saddle horn to get it out of the way. Reaching under Reva’s belly and catching the cinch hanging down the other side, I pulled it under and up so that the latigo could be threaded through the cinch ring. Anticipating that Reva would take a deep breath and inhale, I waited a few moments for


her to breathe out; then I pulled the cinch up tight to keep the saddle on securely and tied off the latigo. A loose cinch can be dangerous, allowing the saddle to shift and cause the rider to fall off. I admired Reva and the dark leather saddle, polished by years of riding, with its sad-dle horn in front and its cantle behind for comfort and security. The feel and look of a west-ern saddle appealed to me, with its associations with the romance of cowboys, ranching, and the open country of the West.

Putting my foot in the stirrup and climbing into the saddle, we set off across the meadow. Grandad’s Missouri farm was lush and green with corn, hay, and pasture, and areas of trees along fences and the creek. To sit a horse and see the rolling landscape from the saddle, hear-ing the creak of leather and feeling the gait of the horse, can be very satisfying. There is a sense of adventure in riding and much joy. I was confident and proud of my ability. I leaned forward to pat Reva’s neck, silky smooth beneath her dark mane. Her ears were cocked for-ward, her head held in alert attention. Walking Reva was enjoyable, but urging Reva to a gal-lop was more fun. “Come on, Reva,” I whispered, “let’s gallop.” With a gentle prod to her flanks with my heels, Reva took off along the fence, down a hill and up the next. I enjoyed matching my movements to the rhythm of the horse, hearing the tempo of Reva’s hoofs against the ground, and feeling the breeze against my face. I leaned forward into the wind, my body molded to the saddle, horse and rider as one.

© 2021 John Boswell Hudson

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2021-2022 (year term on board expires)

Carolyn Wanat President (2023) [email protected] Ed Dove President-elect (2024) [email protected] Sam Cochran Past President (2022) Pat Mason-Browne Secretary (2023) David Fitzgerald Treasurer (2023) Lesanne Fliehler Editor, The Gray Hawk (2024) Phil Klein Webmaster (ex-officio) Charles Dayton Director (2022) Lois Lembke Director (2022) Benny Hawkins Director (2023) Billie Townsend Director (2023) Vicki Siefers Director (2024) Deb Cobb Director (2024) Frank Mitros EFC representative (ex-officio)

Monthly meetings of the UIRA Board of Directors are held online via Zoom at 1:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month.


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