The Blue Marble - In Memory of Elmer Kramer by Lois Brown Dale

  Thirty three years ago Elmer served the gongregation of Calvin Presbyterian Church as supply pastor when the minister was on vacation. His text that day was for Levticus 10 - Verse 18:

   "Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

  Elmer spoke of our need to be loving and kind to our fellow person and respect and honor that person's efforts as we do our own.

  It was a very moving sermon and at the end he placed small marbles in the collection plate and asked each of us to take one and always remember the admonition not to retaliate when hurt, but to remember our obligations as Christians to honor and love our neighbors as we honor and love ourselves.

  I have carried that marble in my cosmetic case all these years.

  Many times when angry or frustrated by some one else's behavior I've taken out my little marble and thought through Elmer's sermon. Probably it has been one of the most powerful influences on me I've known.

  I spoke to Elmer about two weeks ago and we laughed and talked of that sermon.

  * Written by Lois Brown Dale now Angel Lois - on two pages of pink stationery.

  *  I was going through a box that had a few more of Mama's things. There was a yellow edged zipped cosmetic case with a two sided mirror, some other small items and a blue marble. I took the items out and put them elsewhere - the powder puffs - one, I'm using, the other feathery one - I'm enjoying just looking at it.

  The marble? I took it (not knowing its meaning) and placed it with a solitaire marble game and put it along the groved edge with several other loose, extra marbles. Now I know the "mystery" of one lone marble in Mama's cosmetic case - and how did this all come together? Angel Lois, of course! Finding the letter - as I go through her files - and the marble, too. The "timing match" is amazing!

  Wow! Thank you, thank you Mama now Angel Lois.

  Love, Karen

Dear Mr. Benson - Letter from Lois Brown Dale (sometime after 1982)

To: William F. Benson - The Benson Group - Washington, D.C.
From: Lois Brown Dale - Clermont Senior Services, Inc. - Retired Executive Director

Dear Mr. Benson:

Thank you for taking your time to listen to a lot of rattling along about how Clermont County was able to pass the first one half mill County Levy for Senior Services.

As an excuse for so much verbage - - - my intent was to show you that running a tax levy for Seniors, took a lot of analysis of needs local, the tenor of things Federally, educating the electorate to those needs.

A weekly column was instituted before the Four Initial Centers were even opened. Informational articles as well as the activities a the Centers were incorporated. Then as the agency insititued the various programs, homemaker-health aides, Meals-On-Wheels, Foster Care, Adopt-a-Gran, Telephone Buddies, Transportation, Health Profiles, Audiometric Screening, GAINS - a program for stroke victims, etc. Actually, we had fourteen programs going by 1980, plus the agency was responsible for all Protective Service for Adults in Clermont County.

All of this was well-documented to the print press as occasional TV coverage.

All STOPS WERE PULLED OUT for the first campaign.

The legislation had been passed to allow the levy on the ballot. As I mentioned to you, the cooperation in Clermont County was gratifying.

Cash was solicited for printing posters and signs and such. Endorsements were forthcoming from the Chamber of Commerce, various businesses nd many friends. This allowed us to run a very low-cost campaign. Bumper Sticker hats, Sandwich boards from the Posters, at the polls, 4 foot by 8 foot yellow wtih black printed signs were placed in strategic locations. No one turned us down to put a sign on their property. There were many yard signs. There were volunteers making phone calls (over 400 volunteers) plus many of the employees' families. Everyone worked diligently to pass the levy. Failed in 1980 fo 1000 votes, failed in 1981 by 600 votes, and passed in 1982 by 1000 votes.

We ran into a snag with the Prosecuting Attorney who determined the agency  had to go to bid for the money - then asked me to write the bid specifications!!!!!

Every Campaign has been managed in almost exactly the same way. My daughter wrote a parody on "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" (Vote for the Levy). We purchased small audio systems and mounted them on all our vehicles, plus some other interested citizen's vehicles and that song blared all over the County the week before election. It ws used every election. I think I can sing it now.

As you can see the techniques are those used in a lot of campaigns. All those involved went at t with a lt of enthusiasm and determination tht it had to pss if the gency was to stah viable in the eighties and nineties, and give excellent service to the Senior populations.

One thing we always kep in mind "the human need for socialization". You can not build any business or service without  that factor. On these words of wisdom I'll close.

Good luck on your project and if we can be of further help give a call.

Sincerely,

 Lois Brown Dale

Sue Long's Letter to Clermont Sun - Sept. 9, 1993

  I became acquainted with Clermont Senior Services in the spring of 1988. My husband had a stroke in January of that year and the doctors had left me with little or no hope that he would ever improve. A friend had given me a newspaper clipping about the GAINS program. I called the number and within a few days I had an appointment to talk with Toni English and Dennis Shinkle and within a few more days my husband was part of the GAINS program.

  GAINS was started by the previous director, Lois Brown Dale, who is a great lady but this letter is not about her although I do not mean to slight her.

  Through the care and the constant effort of the GAINS staff my husband improved tremendously. The doctors were amazed at his improvement.

  Sorry to say, Toni English is no longer a part of  Clermont Senior Services nor of the GAINS progrm. Due to budget cuts, they say they are no longer able to pay her salary. It was through her caring and expertise that the GAINS clienets were encouraged to take that first step or to take on a difficult task and to speak out for themselves. It was said that she made the GAINS clients too dependent upon her. What a laugh! What ignorance! She gave GAINS clients dignity and the ability to regain control of their lives where before had only been frustration and hopelessness.

  There has not been a new person taken into the GAINS program in over a year. Current GAINS clients are to be mainstreamed into the senior programs. There will be no consideration of their special needs. But, the worst part of this is that no other stroke patients will be given a chance. Toni English will not be there to help them. It would be dangerous with the present staff to continue the GAINS program and would do more harm than good. A special lady would make it work.

  Toni, we thank you for your years of excellent service that went far beyond your paycheck. We apologize for the cavalier treatment of the current administration and we damn them for not allowing you to at least say goodbye. You are a special person and we will never forget you.

  This seems like the end of the story, but it's not. There is a revolt going on in the senior program. Many of these people depend on the senior buses to bring them and when the buses quit coming they have no way to attend the progams. Many are afraid to speak out as they need senior services to survive.

  Prior to 1990, Clermont Senior Services was a place that the elderly of Clermont County could go for hot meals, socializing, or just to talk to the staff or many caring volunteers about their problems. When you walked in the door there were always tables or chairs or something conveniently located so that those who were unsteady would have a place to stop and rest or to hold onto to steady their progress across the room. There were always staff members or volunteers close by to either open the door so that you could get your walker in without difficulty or to just greet you and make known that you were welcome.

  If it was your first visit you were taken by the hand and introduced to the others and every effort was made that you did not sit alone. Knowledgeable staff would attempt to place you in a group that shared your interests or problems.

  Now, if you walk in the front door, at which no one is present, your first impression is of a great void. Most of the tables and chairs have been removed to give the atmosphere of openness. This for people who are only secure when they are touching a table or chair and many who cannot even see where the tables are. I realize that more seniors are being served with meals than previously through Meals on Wheels and the neighborhood centers. But, programs have been stripped of their feelings of caring. Every program that Clermont Senior Services had that was a thing of pride has been slowly undermined. Caring employees have been terminated either through frustration or firing.

  Seniors who were not part of the programs prior to 1990 will not kow of these drastic changes. If you have a relative or friend who was part of the program to 1990 ask them about the changes. Ask them if they are getting the care they got prior to this date. Ask if they are satisfied or would like the programs to be returned as they were before. Or, if they had previously gone to Clermont Senior Services, but have stopped, aske them why. These programs are paid for by taxpayers and are yours to question how your money is being spent.

  *Note: Letter written by Sue Long of Moscow.  (Hoping things are better now).

Levy Makes Difference for Clermont Seniors - LBD Column 1996

  Yes, you have made a difference and, because of you, Clermont County is different in the best way possible.

  Since 1982, you, the voters, have seen the needs of our older citizens and have helped provide for their needs by supporting the senior services levy. This issue will come before the voters again March 19th.

  For more than 26 years, Clermont Senior Services, Inc. has provided specialized services for older adults. The services have made Clermont County an enviable place to live. The senior services levy helps make these services possible.

  One of these services is especially unique because it is only available in Clermont County. GAINS (Gaining Assistance in Necessary Skills) is a program for individuals who have experienced strokes. This program provides speech therapy, occupational therapy, assistance with daily living skills, and other helpful services that we could not have without the levy.

  The six social centers are great places to make new friends or to get reacquainted with long lost ones, and there are many of those stories that could be told, even stories of people who have met at the centers, fallen in love and married.

  What a joy it has been for me to see people having fun, learning about a variety of new things, and sharing skills and memories.

  Now we have three friendship centers, where a hot meal is available five days per week, along with interesting activities, dancing lessons and fitness classes, and an emphasis on staying healthy - physically and mentally.

  The caregiver support groups and the expansion of a comprehensive library of resource materials have been great help to people caught in the web of being responsible for a frail older adult, while also still working or raising their own children. Listening to those who have been helped, and who then help new members of a support group gain perspective on the day-to-day problems, could fill a whole book.

  Transportation is a biggie with all older adults. Getting to the doctor, the grocery store, the bank, to visit a loved one in the hospital or nursing home, or even the hairdresser (and what a treat that is) can be a real hassle - and even worse if you have a disability. Transportation is vital, and especially for those in remote areas. The friendships that have formed riding the van to the centers and on trips helps give meaning to live.

  These and other services that help older adults stay as independent as possible in their own homes have been made possible by you, a caring electorate who have faithfully supported the senior services levy since 1982. It demonstrates our heritage, that we do our good works, as we should, for the benefit of our fellow human beings. Health screenings, Meals-on-Wheels, homemaker, home health aides, home repair, Friendly Visiting and Telecare are just some of the other services that help make life a bit better for those who are homebound.

  It is good to come back to tell you how your dollars have been used to make life better in Clermont County for our older citizens.

  Now it is time to replace the levy passed in 1991, to assure that needed services continue to be available to as many people as possible.

  I hope you share my sense of responsibility, of accountability to our older citizens, and I urge you to continue supporting the progrms that have given "life to living" for Clermont County's older citizens.

  Please join me and vote for Issue 2 on March 19th.

* Milford resident Lois Brown Dale founded Clermont Senior Services in 1969, and served as director of the agency until she retired in 1991.

Centers Offer More Than Service - Oct. 6, 1987

*Intro. by Bob Proud - Columnist "Senior Scene" for the Journal Press North

  If it is true that variety is the spice of life, Lois Brown Dale, executive dirctor of Clermont Senior Services, Inc. (a United Way Agency) provices the "spice" for this week's Senior Scene column. This beautifl column, wrtten by Lois, is sure to touch your heart.

****

 

 "Without friends one is never a whole person." Recently I heard that statement and it gave new meaning for me to the social centers and congregate meal centers.

 

  Eighteen years ago, Oct. 169, we began a project that opened four one-day-a-week social centers: Batavia, Bethel, New Richmond and then Milford. Bethel Methodist Church, American Legion halls at Milford and New Richmond and the YWCA, opened their doos and welcomed those persons eager to make new friends and renew old friendships. (Some found relatives they had not seen since high school).

 

  It was a lovely time as I, too, made new friends and began to unravel the mystery and pain of widowhood, trying to become a whole person again.

 

  I learned to play cards, (never before my favorite way to while away time), the the joy of being with others and the fun of matching wits soon brought cries of "come on fill in here, we need a fourth." I made new friends as programs were planned as well as crafts and activities with the center participants.

 

  We worked together making nighties for Children's Hospital, lap robes and bibs for veterans in the hospitals, layettes for newborns of needy mothers, tray favors for nursing homes for special occasions, Christmas ornaments for the home-bound, dresses and shirts and scarves and hats and mittens for little ones, dressed dolls for Christmas, held white elephant sales to generate dollars to help young people go to their proms.

 

  It was fellowship to be treasured as we planed outings together, attended ball games, went to picnics and short trips and enjoyed the trips of others through slides and talks.

 

  All of this is still going on 18 years later.

 

  Learning of other persons' life struggles and overcoming adversity and periods of wonderous pleasure as they raised their children or nieces or nephews, or with one childless family and their 131 foster children, made my life richer and gave it meaning.

 

  The bingo games and dominoes were a part of being together and sharing. Shuffle board and pool for the men also contributed to the sense of social well-being as they came together to define and settle the world's problems.

 

  We are all different yet all the same in our need for contact with fellow humans. We are social beings and watching the "newcomers" at the centers, as they re made welcome - some shy, some determinded to remain a bit independent, some eager and outgoing, but all needing companionship. The centers are a blessing to the community as they help to meet the needs of those persons who attend.

 

  We should not be critical or judgmental about the needs of others. Recently, Robert Webb, an editorial writer (Cincinnati Enquirer) quoted in his column the following from Dr. Jerald D. Richmond, educator:

 

  "He asks: 'Do our own elderly and ill citizens deserve less? Are contributing and caring members of our society to be shuttled around like so many old boxes on dusty shelves because they are unfortunate enough to grow both old and ill at the the same time? I hope not! They deserve our best effort.'

 

  Richmond is, of course, right." (says Robert Webb in his column).

 

  Lois continues . . . I am always saddened when I vist the centers and miss familiar faces. A lot happens in 18 years to older persons. Deteriorating health, loss of family members, nothing stays the same.

 

  Sometime ago, a woman said to me, "Six days a week, I can scarcely drag myself out of bed, my arthritis hurts so, but on that seventh day, I am up, bathed, powdered and painted and fed by 7 a.m., waiting for the bus, (it doesn't come until 9 a.m.) to pick me up to go to the center for a good meal and to meet friends. For a little white I forget my troubles and whn I comehome, I think about all I did that day. I think I'd just curl up and die if I didn't have the center.

 

  Now, 18 years later, the centers offer many health and nutrition education programs, a variety of health screening services. Many participants are volutneers, as friendly visitors for the home bound, Telecare visiting (phone calls), helping at the centers, planning activities and crafts.  There is a whold lot of hugging and patting as the center participants stream off the buses and meet each other.

 

  Community service is a continuing one, doing all the things we started out with and adding many more. Goodness is the greatest force in this world. It overcomes meaness and pettiness. I'm grateful for the goodness and kindness of many persons as the centers have grown.

 

Written by Lois Brown Dale - Oct. 6th, 1987

 

 

 

 

 

 



My Turn - by Lois Brown Dale Sept. 10, 1986

Forty years of living in Clermont County has taught me a great deal.

  * There is an independence of spirit and the need for a little more space around one's self here.

  * The eagerness to keep moving, to look to the future, to make things better, to work together.

  * It may not be perfection, yet when driving from Bethel to Felicity and the lovely rolling hills and the beauty of spring green or the orange, red and browns of fall, it almost seems so.

  * Pleasant-Hill-Wolfpen Road is a joy as it winds its way to the East Fork. Under a full canopy of luxurious shades of green, sometimes I feel myself irritated by the driver behind me riding my bumper and want to say, "Look, a bit at the loveliness of this. You may not pass this way again."

  *Coming North over I-275, the medieval castle look of the buildings at Park-Tech in the dusk.

  * Or the slant water tower on Rt. 131 looks like something ready to land from outer space.
 
  * The calm look of the landscape in the early morning light as you rise to the top of the hill near the hospital. There is a peacefulness, even with the movement of the traffic.

 * One wonders about the people leaving the Ford Plant. Where do they live? Are they eager to get home to families? Where are they going?

 * The mostly old-fashioned look of the churches, the steeples pointing heavenward.

 * The small towns each the same, yet so different.

 * The character of the people clustered together or widely separated, do they look at the changing scene, or do they wonder "What next?"

 * Meeting and being helped by knowing so many people --- people in churches, 4-H girls, League of Women Voters, P.T.A., Civic Clubs, neighbors, politics, grocery stores, all the facets of day to day living that bring one into contact with other beings makes a kaleidioscope as these beings mingle and change when viewed from different angles.

 * Yes, I feel blessed to have had all the opportunities Clermont County has given me. I appreciate its landscape, I appreciate the people and I appreciate their spirit. I appreciate the friendship and the kindness shown to me. Here I have grown old in years, but not of heart.

Lois Brown Dale, Miami Township, is the Executive Director of Clermont Senior Services.

This was published Thursday, Sept. 18th, 1986 in the Clermont Courier.

Senior Service Levies - History (side bar by Mike Payne)

Lois Brown Dale

Like the mighty Mississippi, the origin of senior-service levies in Ohio - now a rapidly rising $90 million annual enterprise - can be traced bck to a small, unlikely source. For the river, it's little Lake Itasca in the woods of northern Minnesota; for the levy, it's 88 - year-old Lois Brown Dale of the tiny town of Milford in rural Clermont County, Ohio.

Lois was a Clermont County Administrative Assistant in 1967 when the idea first bubbled in her had that perhaps money for senior services could be raised the same way that it was raised for mental health and mental retardation services - through a county-wide property-tax levy.

However, she was told, such a levy would require an act of legislation from the Ohio General Assembly, and local politicians and owers-that-be were not encouraging. "Keep quiet and forget it, you're never going to get it passed," she remembers being told by one political official in the early going.

But people like Lois don't need much encouragement - only time, in this case, 12 years. "Oh, I've always been a meddler," Lois recalls, only half-joking of her motivation almost 40 years ago. "I'd been active in the community with United Appeal and was working for the county commissioners, seeing how levies worked for other social services, and it just seemed that I was "in the right place at the right time". Sometimes situations present themselves, out of the blue, and there you are in a position to do something about it. And, I've always liked to meddle."

So, the enegetic wife of a business consultant and mother of three kept working away on the idea, first to obtain funding to assist older persons in Clermont County in need of rural transportation services, and later to help fund centers for senior services that were scattered amont the county's churches and American Legion and VFW facilities in Milford, Bethel, Williamsburg and New Richmond.

Still having no luck at the local level, and "a lot of walking on eggs" about politics, Lois got the support of  Martin Janis, then - director of the Ohio Commission on Aging. She organized busloads of older Ohioans to attend the commission-sponsored 1979 Ohio Governor's Conference on Again, and, with Janis's help, led them in petitioning then - Governor Jim Rhodes to assist in passing a law to allow countywide senior service levies.

Ever the-politician and ever the-loyal friend, Rhodes saw the point of his old buddy, Janis, and his constituents, and realied the logic in letting others raise taxes for him. "I was getting no help from the legislature," Lois recollects, "then Jim Rhodesput the squeeze on them and the law was passed that year, in 1979, just like that."

In 1980, Clermont County put its first senior-service levy on the ballot and saw it defeated by 1,000 votes. *Defeated again by 600 votes in 1981.  In 1982, undeterred, Lois and her supporters took the levy back to the voters and finally won approval of a .5 mill levy that brought in $543,700 to help set up services for those needing transportation to and from medical appointments and to fund hearing-loss programs at the county's four senior centers. The levy hasn't failed since and tody raises some $4 million, annually.

Across the state, other counties gradually followed Lois's lead. Today, 59 of Ohio's 88 counties are collectively raising in excess of $90 million a year via senior-service levies.

Lois has been quick to downplay her monumental role in making it possible to raise so much money for so many older Ohioans in great need of the valuable services procured via senior levies throughout the state.

I was of that generation where you did what was expected of you, and more if you could," lois explains. "Maybe others didn't expect me to do certain things, but I expected it of myself. And, like I said, I always liked to meddle." 

Written by Mike Payne for Scripps Gerontology Center

*Note - As I went through Mama's notes/papers on Clermont Senior Services leview - I think they lost the first two levies and finally won on the third try. (I'll double-check). Karen Kelly

More Lois Lessons by Roger Landock

Back in February, 1987, I was laid off from U.S. Playing Cards after 18 years. The unemployment agency sent me to Clermont Senior Services for an interview. I sat down with Lois and liked her right off the bat.

We talked about 10 minutes and when I told her I had no experience driving, she just said, "Roger, I like you and I'm willing to give you a chance." That was 22 years ago and I have had great respect and love for her since.

One day we had a birthday carry-in at work for one of our drivers. I offered to get the cake since whe other driver was a good friend. Well, the cake was a little "naughty" and we tried to hide it from Lois not knowig how she would react.

Lois came in and asked what was going on (there was wome whooping and laughing over the cake) so she wanted to see the cake. She took a long look at the cake and burst out laughing and said "I'll take a piece!" And, we all had a good laugh!

The birthday boy and I still talk about it today.

Written by Roger Landock

Lois Lessons by Roger Landock

Lois had been retired maybe 7 or 8 years when I was scheduled to pick her up at the doctor's office to take her home. I hadn't see her for a long while. I went in to get her and she was checking out, with her back to me.

I said that I was there to take her home and she smiled and said, "Okay". I said to Lois, "Do you remember me?"

Lois replied, "I should, I hired you, Roger!"

That made me feel so good, and we talked all the way home. She asked what was going on in my life and I told her about my grandson. Every time after that, when I was lucky enough to be able to pick her up, she would always ask about him and even remembered his name!

I know I only told her his name one time and she always remembered!

She was an amazing lady and will always hold a special place in my heart, even though I am no longer with Senior Services, I am deeply honored to have known her.

Written by Roger Landock.

Lois Lessons by Joyce Hutchinson

My lucky day was when Lois came into our salon. She wanted a hairdresser closer to home. I truly loved and looked forward to her apointments with me. The last time I did her hair at her home, I was still learning from her wisdom.

She refused to go to a nursing facility and to take medications that were pushed her way, back when Viox was OK she was smart enough to refuse it.

Two funny comments I remember, were "Old men were just looking for a nurse and a purse." And, she was kind of disgusted because she had to buy a new water heater, she said she thought for sure she would leave before it did!

Also at her lovely memorial I was able to make friends with her wonderful grandaughter.

Written by Joyce Hutchinson (Peppermint Pig).

*Note: When Mama left her home to come live here with me - living in The Cottage - the task of forwarding Mama's household goods was made easier by having Joyce and her husband pack up items that could be sold at Peppermint Pig to benefit "our furry friends".

Aunt Lois by Barbara Bowman

Aunt Lois' short notes always brought a smile to me. She would send a clipping from a magazine or newspaper and invariably her note would include a story she remembered.

I loved hearing her stories - she was a wealth of information about our family and other happenings.

I appreciated the Karch Family History and the additions she sent. Looking back through the pages and photos, I am reminded how much life has changed!

We will miss her very much.

Written by Barbara Bowman

*Note: Barb and Bill sent Mama a wonderful, happy quilt of many colors and a special cat quilt piece. Mama would put that cat near by her as she pulled the quilt up over her. Mama had a cat mug that matched the one on the quilt. After Mama went to Heaven and became Angel Lois I sent the quilt and the mug back to Barb and Bill to treasure as a special memory of Mama and what it meant to have the quilt covering her here in "The Cottage" during her last years on this planet. Karen Kelly

Lois Lessons by Esther J. Klotter & daughter Melanie Garner

We did so enjoy the gathering on Lois' Birthday and found it to be a lovely tribute to a lovely lady.

During the trip home Melanie and I talked about our 4-H years and the fun we had. Melanie said she and her friends were anxious to get through the first years and move on to serious sewing. The requirements she remembered well. Making a bean bag taught us machine sewing, the needle book taught blanket stitch, and hemming a tea towel was last. She has found her ability to hem neatly very valuable. Her reward has been that her son stops by with trousers to finish.

I am most grateful for the encouragement Lois gave to me to open the first Nutrition Site in Clermont County. It was July 1976 at Mt. Moriah United Methodist Church and was well-received. I already had a group of Seniors meeting at my church and those involved gave me a real education as a lot of love.

My experience with all of them has caused me to age more gratefully. I will be 89 on Oct. 21st, 2009. I am so happy that you had years filled with riches. Your care of your mother was outstanding.

Written by Esther J. Klotter & daughter Melanie Garner

The Old Days - James Whitcomb Riley's "Songs of Home"

The Old Days
  by James Whitcomb Riley

The old days - the far days -
  The overdear and fair!
The old days - the lost days-
  How lovely they were!
The old days of Morning,
  With the dew-drench on the flowers
And apple-buds and blossoms
  Of those old days of ours.

Then was the real gold
  Spendthrift Summer flung;
Then was the real song
  Bird or Poet sung!
There was never censure then, -
  Only honest praise -
And all things were worthy of it
  in the old days.

The bide the true friends -
  The first and the best;
There clings the green grass
  Close where they rest:
Would they were here? No; -
  Would we were there!
The old days - the lost days -
  How lovely they were!

Contributed by Linda L. Lang - Friend and Employee of Clermont Senior Services for 31 years.
This book was given to me by Lois.

A Tribute to LBD - Lois Brown Dale - a unique, caring lady with foresight. by Linda L. Lang

The lessons learned from Lois were many and varied. Here are a few that have special meaning:

- Never mind meddling. This 'meddling' was done out of caring and compassion, and for the benefit of another.

- Stories teach many lessons from experience. Lois was a great story-teller always with humor and flair.

- We are here to help others. This showed through on the many programs at Clermont Senior Services; i.e. transportation, senior centers, nutrition, health care, hearing testing/health screening, protective services, adult day care, support groups.

- The importance of each and every person's contribution to the agency (encouragement). Lois had the ability to bring out the best in everyone using those qualities to benefit the agency programs.

- Co-ordinate with and assist other groups to answer people's needs, i.e. hospitals, businesses, human services, YMCA, veterans, libraries, etc.

- How to plan, organize, write and budget programs. Always ask for more dollars than needed because you will most likely receive less than requested.

- Go after the dollars needed for services and programs. Meet with the County or State officials to make requests when necessary. When Lois did not sleep; I always had lots of work to do!

- Volunteers are the backbone of the communities. Without them we could not accomplish nearly as much.

- Enjoy all avenues of life: family, friends, work, crafts, sewing, art, culture, reading, writing, religion, music, poetry and on-and-on.

Lois contributed to so many lives. She knew what was needed, could see future needs and worked tirelessly to achieve success. Lois is remembered as a marvelous, wonderful person, who provides unique memories for so many. Lois will always hold a special place in my heart.

Written by Linda L. Lang

Lois Lesson by Karen Chandler

Lois hired me almost 29 years ago. She inspired me from the day I started working with her way of dealing with every aspect of life and every aspect of the agency (Clermont Senior Services). She was kind, loving, caring, exceptional with words, a friend and always striving to make you feel good about yourself.

The agency continues to be the greatest organization because of the leadership, inspiration and compassion of its founder, Lois Brown Dale. Lois always treated her employees with respect and love, and guided them when she could.

My heart fills with pride when I think of how fortunate I've been to be part of her life and the agency's. When she retired 18 years ago she continued to be a part of our lives. During the 18 years she never forgot my birthday, or holidays, or just notes to tell me she was thinking of me - I even received my birthday card on the Monday after she passed away. I will miss her always, and she will forever be in my heart. 

Written by Karen Chandler

Remembering Lois by Wilma Kurz

She could have been a storyteller/writer -
the likes of Garrison Keilor.
Drawn in by her words and
introduced to people you had never met
but wished you had.

She would have been a poet,
on a level with one whe loved so much,
James  Whitcomb Riley.
If in doubt just read -
"Nobody remembers the Potashes' farm but me".

She could have bren an executive of a large company -
growing and making it a success
with an uncanny ability
of seeing "down the road" and
knowing what needed to be done.

She could have been a teacher
because of her lifelong love of
learning and wanting to share
that love with others.

She could have been any one of these
but she "bloomed where she was planted"
as the poem says and Clermont County
benefited from it.

One woman with a desire to help and make life better for others.
One woman who dreamed it - started it and made it work.
One woman who wouldn't be denied.
One woman - Whose family must have been so proud.
One woman - We were all blessed to have known.
One woman.
One woman.

Lois Lessons - Angie Arnold 9 8 09

I didn't meet Lois until January of 2007. Karen had found a box of tapes that Lois had dictated after her retirement from Clermont Senior Services. According to the tapes, Lois's health was causing her problems and she had trouble sleeping. It is hard to find something constructive to do in the middle of the night when ou are alone, not feeling well, and can't sleeep night after night.

But, guess what?? Lois thought up something! Lois had an interesting life and she knew it. So she used her night time to record parts of her life. There seemed to be no plan, she just talked about her life as various subjects came to her mind. This was not an easy task, for her to revise, revise, change and mold her book, called "Sleepless Nights -Ramblings". But she did it! Her mind was SHARP, her editing skills were superior. At the age of 91, she worked hard on her project. She worked hard, just as she had done all her life.

The thing that I learned was tht there is something constructive we can all do even if we are bed-fast, but attitude must come from somewhere deep within.

I guess the thing that I take way from my time with Lois is the attitude "When life gives you lemons - make lemonade". Be content with what you have to work with, don't complain, keep working.

Lois was a " work horse" with a good attitude and a good sharp brain.

Written by Angie Arnold - Sept. 8th, 2009 for "Lois Lessons" a way for friends and family to share their special memories of lessons learned from Lois Brown Dale.