The Town Too Busy To Retire

by Thelma Heatwole "No person can say what happiness is for another," says Mrs. Ray Nygren. "But no one, I'm convinced, can be happy who lives only for himself.

"The joy of living comes only from immersion in something that we know to be bigger, better, more enduring and worthier than we are," she adds.

Mrs. Nygren is founder and president of the Sun City Puppet Club whose members sew and sell items with proceeds earmarked for welfare and needy children.

The Puppet Club will be twelve years old in October. Already they have taken in $90,000, all going to such projects as day care centers, schools, cancer research and for blind children, with the exception of cost of material and equipment. Each month they choose a different recipient for their funds.

In another avenue, there is the Sunshine Service, Inc., probably the only organization of such magnitude and purpose in the world. It brings "sunshine" into the lives of the ill and bereaved. Sunshine Service loans from a stockpile of sickroom equipment valued near $100,000 and saves residents thousands of dollars each year in rental fees.

This unique service is financed solely by contributions and memorial gifts. It is beamed from a building worth $100,000, also acquired through contributions.

Chief dispenser of Sunshine is the Rev. Duane Thistlethwaite, 81, who makes more than 100 calls a week to homes and hospitals.

An army of 400 volunteers helps with the Sunshine work. There are those who went to Sun City to enjoy hobbies, golfing, bowling, cycling, arts and crafts and a homebase for travel. But legions also relish helping others donating time and talents to service projects.

Some find civic roles their dish. And with the expertise drawn from a lifetime of career work, they have much to offer.

Sun Citians manage their own community affairs. An unincorporated town, residents organized the Sun City Home Owners Association, the Taxpayers Association and Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. And when the day comes for home rule, there will be qualified men and women to take over the municipal helm.

Sun City has great human quality. That humanness is evidenced by the friendliness of the great majority who hail from every state in the United States and several foreign countries.

Both men and women donate to Dysart Center, a haven of help for the poor and one of Sun City's greatest outreaches.

Willing hands sew for the center's needy or teach sewing and cooking classes. Many women, trained in the Laubach Literacy program, am, teach adult basic education in reading, writing and English to Mexican-Americans and other nationalities at the center. Others, in a needed service, teach citizenship classes.

Gertrude Flyte, who launched the evening instruction program at Dysart, said that Dysart Center is what today's young people would call a "Love Project." It is supported entirely by the goodwill and generosity of Sun City and the surrounding area.

The Sun City Players is a "little theater group" with the triple-header purpose entertaining Sun Citians, donating to charities and improving themselves professionally.

"Meals on Wheels" is a valuable program put in action by warm-hearted Sun Citians. For a fee slightly below cost, meals are delivered to those unable to cook for themselves, either permanently or temporarily.

The Community Fund, formed in 1966 to help Sun Citians with need, has also contributed to 26 organizations. Recently, in an outreach beyond the community, a generous gift from the fund went to the Westside Food and Clothing Warehouse that meets emergency needs of persons on the westside of the Salt River Valley.

The community has built or is in the process of building 17 churches of many denominations, each traditionally supporting missionaries and social needs.

Eight hundred members of the Friends of the Library donated 25,591 hours in four years time to the Sun City Library.

Clubs organized around the hobby and craft facilities in Sun City's recreation centers are among the most productive in bolstering charitable causes.

Woodworking shops, for instance, in good neighbor efforts made 269 chairs for the Arizona Crippled Children's Colony, wooden toys and blocks for the Glenhaven Retarded Pre-school Children, and bed-boards for the Sunshine Service.

Ceramic, mosaic and clay clubs contribute to charities and scholarships and local organizations of national clubs contribute to a myriad of causes. Sewing clubs, too, use their talents to boost giving, and singing and handbell ringing groups give of their hearts and talents for worthy projects.

The Walter O. Boswell Memorial Hospital Auxiliary story is one of work and dedication, with thousands of hours logged in volunteer service. Through the auxiliary's efforts several pieces of valuable equipment have been added to the hospital. Leading money producer for the hospital is the Resident's Gallery, conducted by the auxiliary. There, Sun Citians sell their craft work on consignment with one-third the price going to the Gallery. Sales have increased from $22,600 in 1969 to $88,200 in 1973. The Webb Co. thoughtfully furnishes the space, rent free for the Gallery.

In the last five years more than 1300 consignors brought merchandise to the Gallery in the Sun Bowl Plaza Shopping Center. During each month 135 auxiliary members volunteer 1800 hours service. The Gallery, of course, is of twofold benefit. It makes money for the hospital and serves as a needed outlet for products created by Sun Citians.

The untold hours of work by individuals is a story in itself. And, Mrs. Elizabeth Sullivan, 83, is a case in point. Her self-appointed goal is to sew an average of a dress a day for the poor. Already she has cut out, fashioned and sewed 1,000 dresses. Most are channeled through the Catholic Church, some to children in El Mirage. Others go to charitable organizations.

"Get busy," she advises seniors. "The day is twice as long if you are idle."

"I have a wonderful time," she adds.

Work of Sun Citians in another sphere is indicated in the Sun City Sheriff's Posse, a helping arm to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Fifty men and four women were sworn into office initially by Sheriff Paul Blubaum. Others have since been processed for the ranks.

The list of clubs and groups serving this active community could go on and on. But, a cross section does indicate the mood and the spirit of Sun City. It's quite true Sun Citians are just too busy to retire.