W. Clyde Hampton 
Dec. 24, 1993 
W. Clyde Hampton, 78, Of Mercer Street, Berwick, Died Friday Morning At 
Berwick Hospital Center.

A Knight-ridder Newspapers Article That Appeared In The Times Leader On Nov.

By LISA SCHEID; Times Leader Hazleton Bureau Chief
 Saturday, December 25, 1993 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1 &amp; 12A QUICK WORDS: FRIENDS FIND AGE
DOESN'T MATTER 





HAZLETON -- Bill Oswald practically sprang from his wheelchair. He was so
excited to see his adopted grandchildren perform a Christmas show this week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Oswald, 79, is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and has a hard
time remembering Christmases of long ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But Oswald's memory has improved since a class of "special needs" students
from Locust Street Elementary School have come to call once a week on
residents of St. Luke Manor in Hazleton, said manor activities coordinator
Marla Piskel. Oswald's self-esteem has improved as well. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There have been improvements in other patients too. Through their gift of
song, students managed to elicit a long-overdue smile from Alzheimer's patient
George Howey. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Each Wednesday since the first week of October, a group of about 20
elementary students with emotional problems have visited Alzheimer's patients
at St. Luke Manor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sometimes they play games like modified volleyball or checkers together.
They talk and the children, bubbly with enthusiasm, relate their experiences
of the week at school. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For Christmas, the students invited their manor friends to their school for
a Christmas program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Student Tommy Ward tugged at his mother's sleeve for what seemed like the
millionth time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Come oonnn," the 10-year-old said as they walked past the Christmas tree
in classroom 18. "I want you to meet my granny." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Students call their friends from the manor their "grannies." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Special education teacher Joyce Taddei said the program helps improve
school attendance and helps children with emotional problems learn positive
social interaction. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The district calls the relationship an intergenerational program. It is not
a typical "young meets old" one-time visit program, Piskel said. It was funded
in part by a special state grant from the Governor's Office of Citizen
Learning and PennSERVE, which is designed to boost student learning through
service activities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "(The students) have a lot of love. They just don't always express it in
the right way," Taddei said. She teaches the special education class along
with Anne Fierro. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Children with special needs often hear negative words from their peers or
superiors. But the visits with patients at St. Luke Manor give them
self-esteem and something positive on which to focus, said school psychologist
John Rossi. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The exchange between patient and child is touching and beneficial to both,
Rossi said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When they know they are going up to that program it has a real calming
affect" on the children, Rossi said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rossi said the program will continue through next year. He hopes to draw
other students into the program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The visits with the "grannies" are earned as part of the classroom's reward
system for good behavior, said Taddei. As they receive their reward, they are
giving their attentions to people who need them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tommy Ward took charge of distributing sleigh bells to his classmates as
they sang "Jingle Bells" for the St. Luke's patients. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And in the corner, George Howey, who had been slumped in his wheel chair
and withdrawn from the activities, looked up and smiled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After singing in the Christmas show on Wednesday, the students served
refreshments to the patients and their parents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He likes it a lot," said Janice Hartley. Her 10-year-old son, Joseph, read
a Christmas story as part of the show. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I think it gives him a little bit of responsibility. The grandma he had
was in a wheelchair. He didn't want any one else to help her. I think it makes
him feel special." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 School administrators said the growing confidence the program instills in
the children will show in their grades, behavior and attendance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I like (visiting with the my granny),"said Tommy Ward before exchanging
gifts with Bill Oswald. The boy and his younger sister sat on the man's lap,
cuddling against his shoulder as they posed for pictures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The students saved money in a "granny fund" so that their teachers could
buy gifts for the Alzheimer's patients, the boy said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The patients painted Christmas tree ornaments for the students to hang on
their trees at home. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's better when we visit them because you get to go on a bus," said Ryan
Moressi, 10. He liked being responsible for wheeling a granny around, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As hostess Renita Torello, 8, walked around classroom 18 offering a tray of
peanut butter treats to guests, other students carried plastic cups of orange
juice to their grannies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gifts of slippers and handkerchiefs, gifts of song and ornaments. They were
shared between young and aging. But probably the most valuable of gifts was
the intangible, the gift of love.

Friends Find Age Doesn't Matter Some Children And Adults Two Or More Generations Apart Find They Have A Lot More In Common Than They Thought