“[The world] changes everyday but when you stop and think about what it was like when we were kids.. There’s no comparison,” Centennial Park Retirement Village resident Bob Venezie said. No matter your lifestyle, beliefs, or where you come from, it’s undeniable that every aspect of society is constantly changing. The senior citizens of the North Platte community have observed great changes over the course of their lifetime. Bonnie Erickson, also a resident of Centennial, lived through the Great Depression and has noticed changes in the things we take for granted, such as electricity. “When I was a little girl, I went out and picked up cow chips and corn cobs to heat the house,” Erickson said. “I don’t think the kids of today can even imagine what it was like.”

Venezie said even though they didn’t have much as kids, they still really enjoyed themselves. “We didn’t have anything. A hoop and a stick to go out and play in the street [with] was great fun. Tin cans on the bottom of your feet, so you were clopping like a horse and so forth,” Venezie said. “Nowadays, you’d look like an idiot.” Erickson recalled making her own toys as a child too. “We would go outside and play, we didn’t have toys– we made our own. Nobody gets to make their own toys anymore,” she said.

Even in today’s technologically advanced society, Erickson still enjoys using her typewriter. “There’s a lot of good about the computer and the computer age, but I also think there’s lots and lots of things bad about it,” Erickson said. “Maybe more bad than there is good.” She believes the development of technology has caused children today to use their brains less because nearly everything can be done electronically. “They’re using the machine; they’re not using their brains,” she said.

For most of Franklin Oman’s life the country has been at war. “I was in the Air Force, and I was next in line to go overseas because I was an electronic specialist for the B-29 bomber. The B-29 was the one who carried the [atomic] bomb, and I was next in line to go overseas. They dropped the bomb, so I didn’t go,” the Linden Estates resident said. Oman said the past several years have been the most peaceful of his lifetime. “I think that’s one thing Obama did a very good job [with]; he tried to get along with people. There’s always the [threat of] China and Russia, and Iran; they’re all violent [and] wanting to develop a bomb, but right now, it seems like everyone is behaving pretty good,” Oman said. On the note of world peace, Oman believes the refugee situation should be approached differently. “I think [the solution] is every country is going to have to take some, divide it up,” he said.

Vira Combs ‘s husband was in World War II. “My husband was there when they raised the flag on Iwo Jima. In the famous picture, he was right there,” The Linden Estates resident said. Venezie said he never expected the Iraqi war to break out. “I knew we would have trouble with the far East, but I never expected anything dramatic like a war,” Venezie said. With the memories of how war has shaken the country, there is a great fear among the senior citizens of future wars developing. “Having gone through the war years, we’re very conscious of our peace,” said Linden Estates resident Anne Baxter.

In addition to experiencing periods of war and peace, these seniors have witnessed great economical change. “You might find [that] a 3 cent stamp is now 37 cents I think… That’s been a big change,” said Baxter. To Oman, national debt is a big issue that needs to be addressed. “It seems like the government doesn’t pay attention to their national debt anymore. It’s what? $17 trillion or something like that?” Oman said. “It’s unbelievable.” Venezie fears the issue of having unstable water in the future. “There’s something coming that people don’t realize is even more of a catastrophe than [what] we’ve had up to this point ,and that’s our water,” Venezie said. “Whoever is taking care of our [available] water is bad.”
As societal change continues to occur, these citizens have several other concerns. Most are surprised by the recent election and they’re not sure what to expect during Donald Trump’s presidency. “He’s unpredictable,” Oman said. “Nixon was a little different; there’s been a lot of em’ that are different, but nothing quite like this,” said Oman. Linden Court resident Mary Hepburn was surprised to see a woman get so far in the primary election. “I thought it was wonderful. I think that women should receive the acknowledgment and pay that is deserving,” Hepburn said.

Although there are doubts and concerns, there is still great hope for the future. In North Platte elementary schools, there are aspiring dentists, accountants, scientists, teachers, bakers, doctors, FBI agents, nurses, police officers, professional athletes, singers, radiologists, and Lego movie filmmakers– all with different ideas of how to make the world a better place. These children have bright ideas for taking care of those in need, taking better care of the planet and developing more efficient ways to do things. Many of them hope to start creating positive change right here in the community with projects like a community garden to bring people together in beauty. Their opinions on the future are represented in the graphic at left. Hepburn says her hope lies in these young people and their desire to work and change things.

The community elders believe the best way to keep moving forward in the world is with love and gratitude. Erickson says people need to be more open and loving towards one another, and that we should criticize others less and give more praise. She also believes in the healing importance of hugs and expressing appreciation. “It doesn’t take long to say ‘I love you,’ ” she said. “Love is like a pebble thrown in a pond, it spreads ,and it spreads, and it spreads. But you can put hate in the same pool, and it will spread too.”