Lifestyle

Area fire departments had their hands full throughout much of the summer, logging hundreds of miles to cover their own service areas and provide mutual aid to neighboring departments during one of the most active fire seasons in recent memory.

Rising prices affect all of us, but are particularly challenging for older adults on fixed incomes. Approximately one in 10 persons rely on Social Security only and received a 2022 cost of living increase that’s well below the inflation rate.

Hope Pregnancy Center’s annual fundraising gala is Saturday, September 10. It will include a dinner and concert by the Southern Gospel group The Erwins.

Seniors may have more time for leisure and recreation than working adults, and the summer months provide ample opportunities to get active. After months of chilly temperatures, seniors in various parts of the country may be eager to get outdoors and enjoy some fun in the sun.

The Van Zandt County Genealogical Society held its regular monthly meeting on Saturday, July 23, at the main county library in Canton. In addition to the group’s regular business, President Carrie Woolverton spoke of the Society’s newest project: To restore the very old Huffer-Rohrer Cemetery in southern Van Zandt County.

The Neches River Chapter NSDAR met in Canton July 14. Chapter member Patricia Thibodeau gifted a Lantern for the chapter to Vice Regent Rose Ann Ward. The chapter has received Lantern Status from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

By the time people reach their fiftieth birthday, many have begun to imagine what their life in retirement may look like. Though data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates the number of people working into their 70s increased significantly during the first two decades of the twentieth century, the vast majority of professionals still call it a career sometime during their 60s.

Word games continue to be popular pastimes and provide a great opportunity to engage in lighthearted competition among family and friends. Wordle is perhaps the most popular word game to become popular in recent years.

Perhaps due to the popularity of social media among a generation of young people who grew up with it, platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are often associated with people born in the 21st century. However, a 2018 study from the Pew Institute found that 65 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 64 used Facebook and 68 percent used YouTube.

Van Zandt County’s Therapy Dog Teams, and members of Alliance of Therapy Dogs, mourn the passing of another one of their beloved therapy dogs, Ladybug, a 12-year old Giant Schnauzer, who lost her battle with cancer on May 25.