Blog archive
June 2023
Bridget Brewster Discovers Village Benefits
06/04/2023
Rumor of Humor #16
06/04/2023
Communications Project with Cal State LA
06/02/2023
Creative Aging
06/01/2023
May 2023
One Villager's Story
05/31/2023
Pasadena Area Liberal Arts Center
05/31/2023
Pasadena Village Responds to Rainbow Flag Burning at Pasadena Buddhist Temple
05/31/2023
Plan Ahead - And Be Prepared
05/31/2023
Tuesday, May 23 Pasadena Celebrated Older Americans
05/31/2023
Reparations, Social Justice Activity
05/24/2023
Rumor of Humor #14
05/19/2023
Rumor of Humor #13
05/12/2023
Issue #12
05/09/2023
Science Monday - Review of Meeting on April 10, 2023
05/09/2023
Conversations Re African American Artists Before 1920
05/08/2023
Beyond the Village – Suzi and Phil Hoge
05/01/2023
Congratulations Wayne April! Honored at UNH
05/01/2023
Table Topics
05/01/2023
Volunteer Appreciation at the Village
05/01/2023
“ACCIDENTAL HOST—The Story of Rat Lungworm Disease”
05/01/2023
April 2023
Jumbo Joy
04/24/2023
Pasadenans Recent Experience With Racism
04/23/2023
Recent Events Reflecting Racism
04/23/2023
Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
04/18/2023
Photography for Social Justice
04/11/2023
Issue #8
04/07/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Catherine Deely
04/06/2023
Creative Writing in Older Adults
04/06/2023
Gifts of Love
04/06/2023
March 2023
Issue #7
03/31/2023
Issue #6
03/26/2023
Great Decisions update
03/14/2023
Dominion Lawsuit, South Africa and 710 Stub
03/08/2023
February 2023
2023 DEI Progress
02/27/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - Doug Colliflower
02/26/2023
CONVERSATIONS WITH ART
02/26/2023
GREAT DECISIONS
02/26/2023
OLDER ADULTS RESOURCE FAIR
02/26/2023
The Important, Influential Books in our Lives - Revisited
02/26/2023
History, Resolution of the 710 Freeway
02/19/2023
Eminent Domain, 710 Highway
02/13/2023
Bernard Garrett, 710 Freeway
02/06/2023
Men's Times Gatherings
02/03/2023
January 2023
Pasadena's Senior Commission
01/30/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - JIM HENDRICK
01/27/2023
GRATITUDE - IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
01/27/2023
JEFF GUTSTADT - FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
01/27/2023
Bernard Garrett, Incredible Black Entrepreneur
01/17/2023
What is the "Spirit Talk" Group About?
01/16/2023
Same Ol’ New Year, Brand New Me
01/12/2023
Review of 2022, Consideration of 2023
01/06/2023
BEYOND THE VILLAGE - PATTI LA MARR
01/03/2023
FROM THE CHAIR
01/03/2023
WALK WITH EASE
01/03/2023
BARBARA MADDEN - An ordinary life
By Blog MasterPosted: 05/25/2021
BARBARA MADDEN – AN ORDINARY LIFE
The Member Connections presentation by Barbara Madden was titled “Highlights from an Ordinary Life.” As Barbara sees it, “there is nothing extraordinary about my life – except perhaps my living this long.” And yet, after an engaging hour getting to know more about Barbara and her life, we all realized, again, that life is extraordinary, often more by chance and opportunity than design.
Barbara’s father immigrated with his family to Oregon from Germany when he was 13. Her mother was a 2nd generation Italian farm girl from San Jose. Neither of them went to school beyond the 8th grade. They met in a boarding house in Oakland during the depression; each working and sending money home to their families. They were both 18 and married at 20. She is sure that neither family expected that their child would marry an “outsider”.
Barbara was the first of three children. She remembers her parents as resourceful, hard working and optimistic. At that time, a white working class family could thrive. Her neighborhood in East Oakland was economically and ethnically diverse, though not racially. She was quite aware of the differences in people, families and financial status. Her father often pointed out the differences, and it was clear that her parents now considered themselves more American than German or Italian.
“The economics of the time were different”, explained Barbara. A working class family could get by. During World War II, because he had children and was exempt from the draft, her father got a job in the Oakland Police Department although he lacked a high school education. His status and salary as a civil servant enabled the family to purchase a small home that became the foundation of their stability as a young family.
A quiet and studious child, Barbara loved to read, especially fiction. By immersing herself in the fictitious lives portrayed in books, she became further aware of the differences in people, the twists and turns that life can have. She was a good student but without any sense that she would go to college, as this was not in the experience of her family or neighborhood. However, as she graduated from high school, San Francisco State College was expanding and looking for more students. After passing an entrance test, Barbara found herself in college. “This was another instance of chance and opportunity playing a role in my life; an affordable college education provided by the state of California”.
She met her husband, John, in college when he was a teaching assistant, and she a student. They married during her senior year. After graduating with a degree in Social Work, Barbara went to work for the welfare department. Before long there were two children, and in 1961 they moved to Altadena when John got a job at Pasadena City College.
Barbara attributes her long career as a clinical Social Worker to chance. In Pasadena, Barbara took her two young children to a Mommy & Me class at the Pasadena YWCA. She found it emotionally life-saving, and, eventually she began teaching the class. The encouragement and example of YWCA staff, led her to graduate school at USC, with John helping out on child care duty. Again, another opportunity; tuition was manageable. After completing her Master’s degree in Social Work, she was a clinical therapist for the next 30 years, ending her career as an outpatient therapist at Cedars Sinai Medical center. “I helped ordinary people with ordinary problems.”
In 1970, John received a sabbatical from PCC and determined that the family was going to spend nine months travelling through Europe in a camper – not exactly an ordinary undertaking. So Barbara and John, and their two pre-teen children, embarked on a journey through Europe, from West to East, from colder climes to warmer ones. “Life became very simple, focused on the daily necessities. We got very good at living in a close space, so much so that when we returned home we would have long conversations standing in the hallway.”
Barbara and John were married for 59 years. They joined the Village, at Barbara’s instigation, before it was even completely formed. “I had spent my professional life outside of Pasadena and I knew I didn’t have enough friends in my own community.” A chance receipt of a flyer inviting interested seniors to a pot luck led to an introduction to Pasadena Village. “And when John died I felt completely surrounded with caring in a most natural way. That is the true value of being part of a Village.”
Today Barbara is an active member of the Village – very active. She is a Board member (her second term), a member of the Services Assessment Team, the coordinator of the Neighborhood groups, and on many committees. She is proof that really there is no such thing as an “ordinary” life.