Blog archive
November 2024
Event of Remembrance
11/22/2024
Phishing Scams: What You Need to Know
11/22/2024
Pupusas Family Style: Another Adventurous Dining Winner
11/22/2024
Celebrating the Holidays
11/21/2024
Genealogy Group: Discovering Our Pasts
11/21/2024
Nathan Wolford – From Tragedy to Ministry
11/21/2024
Pasadena Village Board of Directors: A Brief Overview
11/21/2024
President's Message
11/21/2024
The Day of the Dead (Dia de muertos)/ Mexican Culture/Community
11/21/2024
Vintage Celebration: Aging Like a Fine Wine
11/21/2024
Review of Racism in Our Local Past
11/20/2024
Creative Juices Flow in The Village
11/19/2024
Checking In by Ed Rinderle
11/15/2024
Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo
11/15/2024
I Shall Forget You Presently, My Dear (Sonnet IV) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
11/15/2024
Pictures From Brueghel by William Carlos Williams
11/15/2024
October 2024
ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024
Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024
Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024
Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024
Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024
Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024
Message from the President
10/29/2024
Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024
What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024
1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024
Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024
Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024
Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024
In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024
September 2024
Connecting with Village Connections
09/30/2024
Betty Kilby, A Family History
09/27/2024
Reflection on Life
09/20/2024
Expanding the Possibilities
09/19/2024
Need a Ride? No Problem!
09/17/2024
Security When Aging (Especially If You Are Single)
09/17/2024
The Bridge Begins at Thanksgiving
09/17/2024
The Power of Collective Service: Putting the Village First
09/17/2024
Tino Melchor - A Mentor for Young Teens in the Making
09/17/2024
Village Party Bus Delivers FUN
09/17/2024
We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know: That’s Why We Have Educational Programs
09/17/2024
On Rereading Tolle by Ed Rinderle
09/10/2024
Autumn Leaves
09/09/2024
August 2024
1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024
1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024
First Anniversary
08/19/2024
Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024
Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024
The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024
Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024
Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024
Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024
Future Housing Options
08/15/2024
Message from the President
08/15/2024
There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024
Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024
A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024
Haikus
08/13/2024
One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024
Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024
Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024
July 2024
Alma Stokes, The Struggle in Pasadena
07/25/2024
A Poetry Gathering: Liberating Experiences Available
07/19/2024
Civil Rights Movement Series
07/19/2024
Happy Hours in Pasadena: A Villager’s Perspective
07/19/2024
Pasadena Village and the National Dialogue on Villages and Healthy Aging Research
07/19/2024
President's Message
07/19/2024
The Kern River Rafting Caper
07/19/2024
The Village Artists Group creates creative camaraderie
07/19/2024
An Example of Inherent Racism
07/14/2024
Current, Upcoming Events
07/04/2024
June 2024
No Real Recourse For Discrimination
06/30/2024
A Personal Statement of Strength and Well-Being
06/25/2024
Juneteenth Reflections
06/24/2024
Reflections on 2023-2025
06/21/2024
Reactions and Reflections Re: Juneteenth
06/19/2024
As Our Organization Grows, Villagers Recall Personal Highlights
06/17/2024
From the Outgoing President
06/17/2024
Letter from the Incoming President: Beginning Our ‘Lagniappe’ Year
06/17/2024
The Editorial Team Looks Back: Creating the Voice of the Village
06/17/2024
This Year's Resource Fair was the Most Successful Ever
06/17/2024
Telling the Whole Story
06/12/2024
Nashville
06/10/2024
May 2024
Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024
Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024
Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024
Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024
Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024
Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024
Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024
Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024
Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024
Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024
Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024
No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024
An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024
Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024
Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024
The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024
Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024
April 2024
Rumor of Humor #2410
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2411
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2412
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2413
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2414
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2415
04/28/2024
Rumor of Humor #2416
04/28/2024
Stimulated by "Caste"
04/22/2024
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
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
By Karen BagnardPosted: 03/25/2024
So many things come to mind when I think back to the “Women’s Liberation Movement.” There was so much that came back to me all at once. This was a time that all of us in the “elder” age group remember in varying ways.
In the ’60s I was working for the Pasadena Star-News in the National Advertising Department. We only wore dresses, suits or skirts to work. There were a couple of women in the sales department who did wear pants. They were looked upon as radical.
After applying for a new position in the department, I was told I could not have it: “You don’t need the job. You have a husband.” I was disappointed but I accepted it. That’s just how things were then.
Soon women were wearing pants to work … although we were often restricted to pant-suits. It was a great change. “Hot pants” came on the scene quickly after that. While they didn’t last long, they were fun for a time.
Out in the field, up on the pole
One of our Villagers, Patti La Marr, was working for Pacific Bell. In the early ’70s she found herself in the forefront of a changing work environment for women.
Patti remembers: “In the early ’70s AT&T was required to develop an affirmative action program which led to women going into jobs that had been filled by men only. I took advantage of that program and ventured into formerly male-dominated positions.
Patti working on telephone pole
I was working in the dial tone switch room at the telephone company and the PBX technicians were telling me what a great job PBX installation was. But if I wanted that job, I had to be a station installer first.
At the time Pacbell was encouraging women to apply for outside jobs that were considered non-traditional for women. The telephone company offered an ‘on your own time’ training class. We met for six Saturdays. We did warm-up exercises, crawled under structures, carried and extended 30-foot ladders against a building and against a wire strand, secured ourselves to the strand and, of course, learned to climb a telephone pole: All of the things one would do if they were out in the field installing phones.
The photo is of me climbing a telephone pole with gaff hooks. It was a great experience, although I chose a different route and stayed in the switching side (dial tone equipment) of the telephony. Many fond memories of my time at Pacific Bell.”
Breaking credit barriers
When my first husband and I divorced in 1972, we had excellent credit. After the divorce, I could not get a credit card for myself or apply for any kind of a loan. He had all the credit he wanted. JC Penney and Sears Roebuck were two of the first retailers to offer credit to women. At least I could buy my daughter school clothes.
In 1974 I became one of the first women in Altadena to purchase a home with an FHA loan. A friend in real estate told me, “we are going to find you a home.” That almost didn’t seem possible as a single woman with a small child, as I couldn’t find anyone who would rent to me. I finally moved in with my brother. While pickin’s were slim for homes I could afford with my meager income, I did find a place. Little did I realize at age 29 that this home would become filled with rich memories and become the most valuable investment of my life! This month I have been in my home for 50 years.
Ask a guy out? Ask a guy to dance? What a concept! But we did it. We had given ourselves “permission” to learn what it was like to take that risk. Guys had been taking this risk for years. Now it was our turn. It was fun and most guys liked it.
Forward or backward?
So where are we now? How much progress have we made in the last 50-plus years? Women still earn far less than men do for equal work. Gender pay-gap statistics show that women earn about 82% of what men do in the same work. Globally the wage gap is about 77% for women, with even less for women with children.
Roe v. Wade passed in 1973, allowing women legal and safe abortions. Now, it has been overturned, 50 years later. In my opinion, this is probably the most significant step backward yet. We Village women are of an age to remember the world when women and teen girls could not access safe abortions in this country. Abortions were risky on every level … unless your family had money and could get you to a country that had safe, legal abortions. That left most of us out. It’s frightening to think we are back there.
Are women as well-represented in government and leadership positions as they need to be? Not yet. It’s changing but we still have a long way to go. Equal representation in leadership is the key to equality. This is true for women as well as people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. There has to be equality from the top down. We still have a patriarchal society that fights hard against that.
We have come a long way, indeed; however, we have more work to do. Changes come through elections, activism, taking a stand for justice in ALL situations and teaching our young people that diversity, equity and inclusion makes our whole country stronger. It is essential to a democracy.