VILLAGE MEMBER STORIES

Ralph Lincoln & Jane Chisholm, New Castle

Village members Ralph Lincoln and Jane Chisholm live in New Castle, where we recently caught up with them. They wanted to share their experience with other members, and to thank the many volunteers that have been assisting them.

Ralph voluntarily gave up his driving last year due to his feet not being able to react quick enough on the gas pedals. “It was scary,” he recalled. “My reflexes were not as quick as I needed, and our house sits on a curve. After a few close calls trying to pull out onto the main road, I pulled the car into the garage and hung up my keys.”

Last fall, Jane had a bad fall in her garden, hitting the back of her head on the hard ground. A bleed in her skull had her in the hospital and rehab for weeks. Ralph needed to visit her, and when Jane got released, her medical appointments doubled. Taking a ride-share no longer made financial sense, so they contacted the office to begin putting in ride requests. “Our computer use is limited, so we just called the office and set up the appointments with Cari, who has been extremely helpful,” said Jane. 

Ten Village volunteers have responded to calls for Ralph and Jane, creating a community of support for them for rides to doctor visits, to grocery shopping, and even bringing them mail from the local post office box. “It’s been a humbling experience,” Jane said. “To go from independent to pretty much being home bound and relying on others.” 

“Everyone has been so nice, we’ve made new friends,” said Ralph, sitting in their living room with Jane and volunteer-member Linda Benton (pictured above, center) and her husband, Richard Kirkpatrick. “Linda and I got to talking during a ride to a doctor’s office and it turns out her husband is a descendant of Abraham Lincoln just as I am. We have been comparing genealogy since then.” 

“We are so grateful to the Village and to the volunteers. We aren’t in a position to volunteer, so we wanted to give back by helping to spread the word about the wonderful volunteer services that the Village provide,” said Ralph. Ralph and Jane plan to look at the Village’s busy calendar for low-key activities that would be comfortable for them to attend.      

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