Blog archive
April 2024
Tulsa reparations, Religion and Politics
04/09/2024
March 2024
Trumps War with Black Women
03/31/2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
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.