[/caption]Carol Forsloff---Tucked in a verdant valley surrounded by lush trees and majestic mountains sits a Shangri-La for seniors, a place where time stands still and where the present holds the key to all things possible in a place called Ryderwood. But all of this could be upset by a feud taking place that could set legal precedent.
Three deer cross the lawn. A doe and her fawns pause to peer through an open doorway, and then dart quickly on to visit another neighbor or two before nestling under some bush in safe and sound repose. Nature is juxtaposed with man in a self-contained village shut away from the noise and pollution of the world outside and where aging is embraced in place in sharing, loving ways.
This is no 1960’s hippies commune, but the love is surely there in Ryderwood, not with the proverbial pot and booze but the life-enhancing fellowship the community promotes. This comes from the sharing of time and service that allows a group of 280 senior households (approximately 400 people) to live those golden years in a green environment made to perfection over decades of time and a hope-filled future.
Here is a place where businesses work to one end: to make life good for all. Ryderwood began in 1923 as a logging camp designed for families, and although its status changed, some of that Shangri-La utopia remained. The logging camp was sold to Senior Estates Inc. which developed as a retirement community that continues to flourish in the pocket of beauty that brings people from all over the world who meet the minimum age requirement of fifty-five to settle in Ryderwood. Seniors arrive by RV, truck or auto to stay all year or leave for warmer climes at the sign of the West’s first frost.
Ryderwood is located about 70 miles from Portland, Oregon off the Interstate 5 route to Seattle, Washington. The main streets boast a post office, a one-room library of donated books, a café where residents enjoy snacks or full meals served by volunteers and a community center with exercise equipment, dining tables and a large gymnasium for group exercises or variety shows. Two parks provide additional wooded bliss for a serene setting where folks can linger and watch the deer and squirrels vie for top attraction among the wandering wild.
Craft shows, variety shows special dinners and an open mike for amateur and professional entertainment are among the activities enjoyed by townspeople. An early morning stroll or a ride around on a bicycle or in a golf cart on a leisurely afternoon adds to the casual fun.
But there is trouble in this Western town, the kind that upsets long-term residents, Delphine and Barbara Taylor, who are especially active in service activities in their tiny town and enjoy its over-55 provisions. Delphine says, “It’s not fair to try to change this town to one that brings in people of all ages when it was set up to be a retirement community, and people signed an agreement to abide by the bylaws that clearly state the rules. Most of us moved here because it is a retirement location where people support one another and look out for one another. There is, however, a group of people who want the town to be something that wasn’t the original intent of the seniors who located here. Hopefully the problem will be resolved, and we will be able to keep our town as it was intended because we love it here, as does virtually everyone who comes to this community.” Other residents agree. In the meantime there appears an initiation of a “battle of ‘for sale’ signs,” as posts against the homes outlined in red may or may not commit the owner to a sale.
[caption id="attachment_8894" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Delphine and Barbara in the town of Ryderwood"]
[/caption]There are many over-55 communities in the Pacific Northwest as well as across the country. A lawsuit hovering over the town of Ryderwood could set precedent if the court favors those who want to expand the residence requirements to include people of all ages. That could perhaps impact the lives of thousands of seniors around the country.
It’s an old West feud taking place in Ryderwood that disturbs the otherwise peaceful setting of this Shangi-la for seniors, yet nary a shot has been fired in the fight; and most folks just want to stay quiet and hope the ruckus soon ends.