USA: Rural Life May Be a Plus for Elderly

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (St. Louis Today), May 30, 2006: For the first time in a quarter-century, no pumpkins were in Gene Engemann's field last October. Fatigue or failing health were not why the 84-year-old did not produce 18- to 25-pound pumpkins. Last summer, the plants bloomed but didn't produce any fruit. The ground, not the farmer, needed a break. Engemann took the situation as a sign that maybe he should scale back as well. After many years of growing the same crop, the field along Highway TT in Warren County needed a furlough. Longer life spans and more in-home services have increased the number of elderly poeple who stay in their own rural homes, said Share Decroix Bane, who researches aging at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Elderly residents of rural areas often face greater challenges than their urban and suburban peers in gaining access to transportation and health care. Missouri ranks 13th in percentage of population over 65 with 1.5 percent of the state population older than 85, the 2000 Census said. "The two major things that elderly always, particularly rural elderly, will talk about in terms of need ... it's always health care and transportation," Bane said. Despite the challenges, some studies have shown benefits to spending one's autumn years in the countryside, particularly for men who farm. Why some farmers have better health as they age is unclear, Bane said, but some positive factors include physical activity, closeness of family and eating fresh produce. Of those over the age of 85 living in rural areas, most are living in longtime homes, said Daryl Hobbs, a rural sociologist at the University of Missouri's Center on Aging. Rural seniors are more likely to own their own homes. Though he misses his pumpkins, Engemann says he's fortunate to be able to live in his own home and continue tending a sizable garden. "Every day you get up and feel well, you better count yourself lucky," the World War II veteran said. The desire to stay in one's own home can be even more pronounced among rural elderly people, who tend to report a better quality of life and feel more comfortable where they are, Bane said. "In some of the communities, people are very attached to the land, and identify with place," she explained. "The topography is familiar and it's not going to change as readily. You know your neighbors and they know you." For many of the Warren County seniors receiving home-delivered meals, the delivery person is the only human contact they have each day, said Ken Cleeton, director of the Warren County Senior Center in Warrenton. Drivers have to cover great distances between deliveries and can't stop and chat too long. Cleeton sees more seniors staying in their own homes in Warren County, and he says that for many, services like home-delivered meals allow them to do so. Engemann receives such meals five days a week. For those who don't share Engemann's good health, living in the country can be challenging. It is harder to educate rural homebound seniors about available services, said Pam Windtberg, director of the Northeast Missouri Agency on Aging, which serves Warren County. Those people also are more likely to be cut off from social activities. Engemann said living alone has at times been lonely during the 11 years since his wife died, though it helps to have his younger brother, Leonard, 77, next door. Winter is harder, he said, but when the weather is good, he keeps busy, including keeping bees for honey. On a recent rainy morning, Engemann complained of bad weather for planting. Jars of honey were stacked on his coffee table from the swarms of bees he keeps; Engemann attends beekeepers meetings in Union. Though his pumpkin field is now overgrown with weeds, Engemann tends two rows of potatoes, Roma tomatoes, peanuts and decorative gourds in a garden. "I shouldn't plant that many, but I like to see them grow," he said. By Tom Long, St Louis Today