Pets are great companions and offer endless amounts of love and affection, wet kisses and apparently better health. For older adults, pets can provide companionship, longevity and numerous health benefits.

Prince William Sound has deep water that doesn’t freeze in winter. It is hidden from the sea and clouds are almost always heavy.

Our travels took us to the small town of Healy, Alaska, and the Motel Nord Haven on the Parks Highway. The town is called the gateway to Denali National Park and Preserve, a park originally established to protect large mammals. It covers six million acres and is home to Mt. McKinley.

While 4-H is typically for kids, adults who serve as leaders tend to enjoy it just as much.

Those having friends who are senior citizens 65 years or older who will be celebrating birthdays or anniversaries soon may send their names and addresses to include them in the Cheers Report. Also, know people listed in this column? Then send them cards to remember them on their special day.

“I don’t want to work for anybody now that I’ve worked for myself,” Julie Walters, partial owner of Time Out Trailers in Elkhart, stated.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Each month Senior Life will be printing a short story by Woodworth, which relates to days gone by. This is the first of two parts on the chapter titled “Hot cocoa in the wintertime” from the book “Growin’ Up Poor.”)

Kirts started rowing in July 2011 after his insurance, which offers the Silver Sneakers program, allowed him to get a free membership at the YMCA of Elkhart County.

Uncomfortable or joyous, at their very best class reunions are a mixed bag of expectations and experiences. It’s not too often, however, the rite of passage is called a “spiritual journey.”

Remember cutting out paper snowflakes from folded paper? You were actually doing a form of scherenschnitte.

Buerger’s disease is a rare condition of the arteries and veins wherein they become inflamed, swollen and clogged up with clots. This causes an interruption in circulation, damages or destroys the tissues and can lead to infection and gangrene, which then necessitates amputation.

Influenza activity continues to increase in the United States, with most of the country now experiencing high levels of influenza-like-illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weekly flu report.

Retirement for Phil and Jan Biehl has meant time to devote to hobbies. Both are avid practitioners of a particular hobby and support the other one in its pursuit.

A former Elkhart resident, Sharon Alm, fondly recalls the days of the 1930s softball teams.

In my dad’s generation, virtually every able-bodied male enjoyed pitching horseshoes. Just as the younger boys had their games, the older boys and men had theirs.