2003 SENIORS EXPO DRAWS CROWD.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist LANCASTER - Seniors from throughout Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley crowded into Challenger Memorial Hall on the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. to see who would be the 2003 Senior of the Year, hear guest celebrity Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an Academy Award-winning singer and actress, perhaps best known for her role as "Shirley Partridge," the widowed single mother of five children, in the television series The Partridge Family and take advantage of health care services and information. Consuelo ``Connie'' Gersten was named Senior of the Year at the Seniors Expo on Thursday, chosen from five finalists including Doris Case, Mary Ellen Harler, Joanne Strauss and Nelloice Gatson. ``There are so many other deserving seniors who are never nominated,'' Gersten said. ``I share this award with them because they do so much to help others and do it from the heart.'' Gersten had been nominated by her daughter, Sylvie Rodriguez. Celebrity guest Jones, an Academy Award winner who has starred in movies, stage productions and television shows, talked about the benefits of staying active. ``Age is not about numbers. It's about how young you feel and how much you do. Never stop doing,'' Jones said. ``I'll be 70 in March,'' she said, ``and I'm happy to be here among my peers.'' When she was young, Jones wanted to be a veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. and she is still interested in animal concerns, she said. But once she was discovered by Richard Rodgers - of Rodgers and Hammerstein - and her plans changed. Jones said she always gets comments about how good she still looks. ``When I first came into the business,'' she said, ``the first questions I was always asked then were: Where were you born? How did you get in show business? and, Is Shirley Jones your real name? Now that it's 64 years later, the questions I'm asked now are: How old are you? Have you ever had a face-lift? and, Are you ever going to retire?'' Jones said she was born and raised in a very small town in Pennsylvania called Smithton. ``My family was in the beer business,'' she said. ``My grandfather built a brewery, called the Jones Brewery Company, and my father and his brothers worked in the brewery in this little tiny town. Needless to say, I had a lot of dates in high school.'' Shirley Jones is her real name, she said. She attributed her youthful look to good genes. ``Have I ever had a face-lift? No. Not that I couldn't use one. I'm just chicken,'' she said. Noting she probably will never retire, as long as her legs and voice don't give out, she said, ``I'm still giving concerts all over the world, by the way - doing concerts everywhere - so it's still there.'' Jones' career has encompassed starring roles in such shows as ``Carousel,'' ``South Pacific'' and ``Oklahoma'' but she perhaps is best known for her role as the mother on the ``Partridge partridge, common name applied to various henlike birds of several families. The true partridges of the Old World are members of the pheasant family (Phasianidae); the common European or Hungarian species has been successfully introduced in parts of North America. Family'' television series. Dr. Charles Myaing Lim, administrator of the High Desert Medical Group and Heritage Health Care, the Expo sponsors, said he believes his medical group was right to start the expositions 13 years ago. ``We want all seniors to be happy and healthy and one way to help them do it is to have an event like this,'' he said, ``where they can get all kinds of health information, meet other seniors and just have fun.'' Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster and Palmdale have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk for a suggested donation of $2. Reservations at least a day in advance are now required. Monday: Holiday. Tuesday: Pinto beans pinto bean n. A form of the common string bean that has mottled seeds and is grown chiefly in the southwest United States. Noun 1. with ham, parsleyed carrots, marinated salad, grape juice, peaches. Wednesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes n. pl. 1. Potatoes which have been boiled and mashed to a pulpy consistency, usu. with sparing addition of milk, salt, butter, or other flavoring. It is a popular accompaniment to a meat course [U.S., 1900's], providing bulk and calories to a meal. , Normandy vegetables, creamy coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , Jell-O with pears. Thursday: Lasagna, green beans green beans Noun, pl long narrow green beans that are cooked and eaten as a vegetable , garden salad A garden salad is a salad consisting of lettuce and simple vegetables found in a small vegetable garden such as tomatoes, carrots, onions, and dressing. , pineapple juice, lemon pudding. Friday: Creole chicken or fish fillet fillet /fil·let/ (fil´et) 1. a loop, as of cord or tape, for making traction on the fetus. 2. in the nervous system, a long band of nerve fibers. fil·let n. 1. , rice pilaf, spinach, tossed salad, citrus cup. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Consuelo ``Connie'' Gersten was named Senior of the Year at the Seniors Expo held in Challenger Memorial Hall. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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