No pandemic will slow these seniors

Six months have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic forced area seniors into quarantine to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

With a little help from their friends, family and various agencies, however, they are making the best of it.

Celina senior Debi Squire said she is diligent in following the suggested steps to safeguard against the virus - wearing a mask, practicing social distancing and limiting her trips to the grocery store. However, she has become aware of the importance of maintaining some social interaction.

"It took me three and a half months to figure this one out," she said. "I realized this is the long-term effect of COVID, we are limiting our interactions, which is very damaging to long-standing friendships."

"I do get out and I do see my family," she added. "I will not give up my life for this. I will guard as much as possible and do everything I need to do, but I will not live in a box."

Squire, a cancer survivor, said she stays active with friends on the phone.

"I sit outside with friends to have coffee and we are all 6 feet apart."

They haven't been able to go places as much as they would like due to the pandemic, but Celina sisters Sandy and Joanie Lotterer haven't lost their sense of humor amid the national health crisis.

"We'd love to go more but it's not safe. We went to Portland (Indiana) one day. We're real world travelers," Sandy Lotterer quipped.

"We are pretty content," she said, noting that she and her sister enjoy reading and doing puzzles. And since the Auglaize-Mercer Counties Family YMCA has reopened, they walk and attend water aerobics classes. "We have a front porch, and if it's not too hot, we sit out there and watch the grass grow."

The sisters, who are Dayton natives, retired to the Grand Lake area. Sandy was a teacher and school counselor, while Joanie worked in an insurance claims office.

"You have to take it as it comes, but you have to be careful," Joanie Lotterer said of the pandemic.

"I'm not COVID scared, but I'm COVID cautious," Sandy Lotterer added, noting they always wear masks when going out in public and pack hand sanitizer in their cars.

Some area seniors are keeping themselves busy by undertaking projects they previously didn't have time to do.

"I started doing projects that I put off during my working career," said retired electrical engineer Allen Alameda of Celina. "I have projects on the back burner so I don't think I'll ever get bored."

Alameda said he has a goal of becoming "proficient on a musical instrument before I die," so he has crafted flutes out of plastic pipes. He drills holes in the pipe to make a variety of musical sounds.

Spending time on his ham radio is another hobby. Alameda said he talks to people around the world on his shortwave radio.

"You might as well enjoy what you're doing," he said. "This is my new normal."

He said he spends most of his time inside because of the pandemic, but he does visit a friend's farm to enjoy the outdoors.

For many years New Bremen residents Ed Huecker and his wife, Suzanne, loved nothing more than spending a Saturday night on the dance floor with their fellow square-dance enthusiasts. Like many other forms of entertainment, the dances have been canceled.

The couple also looked forward to meetings and activities at the New Bremen Senior Citizens. After several months of inactivity due to the pandemic, the group hosted its annual Fourth of July picnic, complete with hot dogs and hamburgers. Huecker, who is in charge of the rental of the group's hall in the village, said the picnic usually attracts about 80 people but this year's event drew just 36.

The New Bremen Senior Citizens has since stopped its meeting due to a state ban on gatherings of more than 10 seniors.

"We're staying at home a lot more than we did," he said. The couple also spends more time sitting on the front porch.

"We keep contact with family and call square-dance friends," he said. "We take drives out into the country to see a different change of scenery."

They also remain serious about keeping the virus at bay.

"We've been cautious and wear our masks," he said. "We have sanitizer in our kitchen and keep it in our car," he said.