With May being declared “Older Americans Month”, Aletha Nelson and Rosemarie Flom were recognized May 31 at Newcastle Village Apartments in Newcastle, Nebraska by USDA Rural Development and the Vakoc Construction Company for their contributions that make Newcastle Village Apartments a great place to live. The submission for the award was provided by the management company with USDA concurrence.
Aletha Nelson has lived at Newcastle Village Apartments since December of 2003. In June, Aletha will celebrate her 99th birthday and is looking forward to it! She is a delightful person and has lived an active life. She enjoys life and participates in the community activities as she is able to. She went up in an open airplane and flew up and down the Missouri River two different years. Last year she was in a small plane to see the area at night. She truly is an adventurer. She enjoys her family tremendously and is a regular at the monthly coffee hosted at the complex.
Rosemarie Flom joined the apartments in December of 2002. She too is delightful and celebrated her 97th birthday in March. She has been active in the community most of her life. She ran a restaurant in Newcastle with her parents for many years. Rosemarie has a large family and enjoys cooking for them. Her daughter and son raise a huge garden and until the last couple of years, she did most of the vegetable canning. One year she canned tomatoes, juice, salsa, green beans, froze corn and other vegetables and shared them with others. She is a regular at monthly coffees where she is always upbeat and optimistic.
Newcastle Village Apartments offers six units of affordable housing. The complex is owned and managed by Vakoc Construction Company. Carolyn Vakoc does an outstanding job as the manager in keeping the apartment complex a safe and viable place for residents to live.
There are currently 188 apartment complexes funded by USDA Rural Development in Nebraska. Of those complexes, 55 of them hold an elderly designation, where only disabled individuals or individuals 62 years of age or older are eligible tenants. Across the state, there are 1,113 units that are being occupied by elders who are “Aging Out Loud”.
Today older Americans are working longer, trying new things, and engaging in their communities in different ways. What it means to age has changed. This year’s theme for Older Americans Month is “Age Out Loud” to celebrate the contributions the older Americans are performing to make life even better.
For more information contact Kimberly Fehringer at (402) 371-5350 or kimberly.fehringer@ne.usda.gov. Information on Rural Development’s Multi Family Housing Programs can be found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/multi-family-housing-programs.