A 78-year-old newlywed, Martha
Moore Wooldridge recently celebrated her second wedding anniversary.

A native of Pennsylvania, Martha attended college in Vermont before marrying and moving to the Philadelphia suburbs. An English major, Martha worked at several nearby college libraries before leaving work to raise her two children.When her children were older, Martha returned to the workforce and discovered a passion for desktop publishing. “I was working at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, and I learned desktop publishing, and I really loved the computer; I love what the computer can do,” recalled Martha.

Martha’s passion for computers continued after retirement, and she found a new outlet for it when she moved to Ginger Cove. She is now editor-in-chief of the residents’ monthly newsletter. In addition to editing and laying out the articles submitted by her fellow residents, Martha also contributes original articles about her peers. “The people here are just really interesting, so I try to interview them and share their stories,” she said.

One of the many interesting stories at Ginger Cove belongs to Martha herself. A second-generation CCRC resident, she knew early that she wanted to plan ahead for retirement. Martha’s mother was living in a CCRC in Western Pennsylvania when she suffered a stroke. “We were 300 miles away and so relieved that we didn’t have to find nursing care when she got sick because the health center was part of her community. We decided then that we would move to a CCRC too,” Martha remembered.

Martha may have decided to move to a retirement community early, but she found her ideal community quite unexpectedly. “We looked at lots of communities around Philadelphia,” Martha said. “They were O.K., but none of them seemed exactly right.”

Martha and her husband Ken were visiting a nearby family cottage when they decided on a whim to check out Ginger Cove. Martha recalled, “They invited us to visit. It didn’t matter that we only had shorts to wear.” After their initial visit, they returned to the community for dinner and quickly decided they had found their new home.

Shortly thereafter, Martha and Ken made the move to a spacious apartment at Ginger Cove overlooking pretty Gingerville Creek. Unfortunately, they were just beginning to settle in when tragedy struck. “Six weeks after we moved in, my husband died,” Martha recalled. “We knew he was sick, but we thought it was going to work out, but it just didn’t.”

In addition to writing and outdoor activities, Martha’s busy
schedule also includes water aerobics.

After Ken’s sudden passing, Martha found support in her new community. “Even though I didn‘t really know anybody here, they all rallied around, and I got to know so many people so quickly,” she said. With the help of her new friends at Ginger Cove and at the nearby First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis, Martha began to heal. “I cannot imagine what it would have been like if I had been alone in that big house. It would have been so lonely,” she said.

Just over a year later, Martha and her family suffered another tragedy when she lost her daughter. “Again, these two new families — my Ginger Cove family and my church family — were there for me,” Martha remembered. “I didn’t have to be alone with my grief, so that part was wonderful.”

One of the friends who offered support to Martha was Tim Wooldridge. Much like Martha, Tim lost his wife just a few months after moving to Ginger Cove. The two became friends, and a relationship grew out of their friendship. “I don’t know quite how it happened,” Martha smiled as she recalled. “It just sort of evolved very naturally.”

On March 24, 2012, Martha and Tim were married. Their reception was held at Ginger Cove and was truly a community affair. To celebrate their first milestone as a couple, Martha and Tim had the help of many of the community’s residents and staff. Martha laughs as she recalls all the friends who wanted to be her ‘flower girls.’ “In the end I had four ‘flower girls,’ and it was really hysterical, but I gave them all little duties and called them ‘flower girls,’” she said.Beyond the major milestones, moving to Ginger Cove has dramatically improved Martha’s everyday life. “They take such good care of us here, and I think that lengthens our lives,” she said. “I also think all the socialization this community provides helps us live longer and better.”

From carefree entertaining to the 35 resident committees and countless activities, Martha and her peers can always find something stimulating to do. Martha’s busy schedule includes water aerobics, kayaking on the nearby creek, and participating in the creative writing group, as well as her work on the community’s newsletter.

In addition to all her regular activities, Martha is also thrilled to be serving on the Planning Committee for Ginger Cove’s 25th anniversary celebration in August 2013. The group is already busy coordinating an old-fashioned picnic complete with a parade. “It will be a fun day, and a great chance to celebrate this wonderful community,” she said.

Martha is preparing to help Ginger Cove celebrate its 25th
anniversary in August. She is a part of the Planning Committee that is coordinating an old-fashioned picnic complete with a parade.

During the past 25 years, Ginger Cove has continually expanded and improved its facilities to serve its diverse and active group of residents. Most recently, the community completed a major renovation and construction project, which added a casual dining room with an outdoor deck, a large indoor aquatics center, a Wellness Center, a spa and a business center. The project also included total renovation of the 61-bed skilled nursing and rehab center to include all-private rooms, airy family rooms and a beautiful 5,000 square foot open-air garden.

Whether you are celebrating a second anniversary or a 25th anniversary, the occasion provides an opportunity to think back and to look forward — to appreciate where you have been and anticipate where you are going. As the residents of Ginger Cove plan for the community’s upcoming anniversary, they are grateful to have found a home that is adapting to meet their needs while maintaining its dedication to quality care and strong connections. Those connections are perhaps best exemplified by newlyweds Martha and Tim Wooldridge, who both suffered great losses, but who, with the help of their friends and neighbors, are making new memories and marking new milestones.

From memoirs of vacations past to a standard naval reference, the work of these individuals showcases their experiences, wisdom and talents. Most importantly, they exemplify how residents of Ginger Cove stay active intellectually while enjoying the perks of retirement.

How do they feel about their literary accomplishments? Perhaps Thea Lindauer summed it up best for the group when she said, “I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’m on cloud nine.”

And they have every right to be. Thea’s recently published memoir, There Must Be an Ocean Between Us, relates her experiences as a one of a thousand children brought to the U.S. from Europe in 1934, ostensibly for “an experiment in education.” In reality, she was among the first of the Kindertransports, now known as A Thousand Children, Inc., which brought children to safety from Nazi Germany.

In preparing for her move to Ginger Cove, Thea rediscovered the letters her father wrote to her during that period, and rereading them inspired her to share her story.

“Writing this book has become my life now, and all the traumas I should’ve gone through when I was a child, happened in the last three years of reliving it,” she said.

Thea has a long history in cultural arts, having served as President of the Annapolis Opera and being the recipient of honors from the State of Maryland and the Anne Arundel County Arts Commission.

“The education I received in all the arts as a child is what stimulated me and fostered my tremendous interest in the arts,” she said.

Thea moved to Ginger Cove with her late husband, Harry, in 2001. “Ginger Cove has opened up a new world of family relationships, a closeness I have never before experienced,” said Thea.

Retired Navy Admiral Bob McNitt proves that being a published author does not require a formal writing background. The former Dean of Admissions for the Naval Academy and recipient of the Academy’s Distinguished Graduate Award realized that as the institution approached its 150th anniversary, one key element of its heritage had never been recorded.

“Having been involved with the offshore sailing program as a midshipman, and later as a coach, I thought it was a good time to write its history,” said Bob.

His published work, Sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy: An Illustrated History, has proved to be a useful standard reference for sailing within the academy.

“One book is about all I have in my system though,” he said, “And that book has done its job.”

Residents of Annapolis for 30 years, Bob and his wife, Pat, watched Ginger Cove grow from its earliest days. In 1998, they happily gave up the care of their large garden and the overall upkeep of their home.

“We were looking for a place where there would be a community of lively, interesting persons we could enjoy spending the rest of our lives with, and we found it here,” said Bob.

Not only did he find others with common interests at Ginger Cove, Bob found an old friend, Jim Winnefeld. Jim, also a retired Navy Admiral and published author, moved to Ginger Cove with his wife, Fredda, in 2002, and is grateful for making the decision when they did.

“The decision to move from your home of many years is never easy and it is easy to talk yourself into waiting,” said Jim. “You think tomorrow is another day or I’m not going to get older. But then you find out that when the time comes, you probably should have done it earlier.”

Throughout a long writing career that overlapped his naval career, Jim wrote for a nonprofit corporation and was a sports editor. Having recently published two works of fiction, he finds the genre more challenging. He also enjoys writing for Ginger Cove’s resident quarterly publication, Literary Lite, which serves as a creative outlet for those with literary interests and talents.

“It’s great fun to read,” he said, “You find out a lot about your fellow residents, such as what is important to them and how they think.”

His fellow residents, however, also enjoy learning about Jim’s writing style and mindset. Although he keeps his fiction paperbacks, such as To Maine with a Vengeance, supplied in Ginger Cove’s library, they have all but disappeared from the shelves.

“They are somewhere around Ginger Cove,” he said with a laugh, “Trying to find them is like an Easter egg hunt.”

Virginia Pritchett has also enjoyed a warm response from fellow residents with her recently published work, Beautiful Land Across the Waters. A journal of vacation memories enjoyed on Maryland’s Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, the book was launched at a publication party held at Ginger Cove in February 2007.

“I talked to Beth Thomas, director of Resident Services, and she said, ‘We’d love to have it here,’” said Virginia, “It was a wonderful party and I was able to sell my book.”

Virginia began writing poems as a child in Illinois. As time went on, her poetry was published in literary magazines and performed at various venues. She has also published a book of poetry.

Virginia came to Ginger Cove a little over two years ago. “I have found it to be a very stimulating place,” she said, “There are so many opportunities here to cultivate and share your talents.”

And she certainly has been sharing her talent. Having led a ‘Poets Night Out’ group at Barnes & Noble for the past seven years, she plans to start a poetry group at Ginger Cove. Like Jim, she has been a member of the writers group and written for Literary Lite, as well as the residents’ monthly newsletter, The Ginger Cover.

Among Ginger Cove’s group of talented authors, Byron Lee is the newest member, having moved there several months ago.

Byron decided to move after his wife, Donna, passed away and he found that the upkeep of their large home in the country was too much to manage alone. “I really had a hard time coping with the cooking part,” he said with a laugh.

Although he investigated other places, he already knew several people at Ginger Cove and was impressed with its Board of Directors, whom he felt had the residents’ best interests in mind.

“As soon as I could empty and sell my house, I moved here, and haven’t regretted it,” he said, “I’m learning who the people are and I’m making many friends.”

It was the retired naval officer’s successful book on his former historic home, “Parkhurst,” which prompted the Anne Arundel County Historical Society to seek him out to write his latest book, a biography of an early American naval hero.

The work, Naval Warrior: The Life of Commodore Isaac Mayo, turned out to be a bigger job than he had originally thought as he searched through letters and information in Navy Department records and national and state archives. Three years later, the book was completed.

These five individuals prove how following one’s passions can lead to great satisfaction throughout one’s life. And with new opportunities for collaboration, creativity and friendship within the active community that is Ginger Cove, an inviting horizon for these Annapolis residents lies ahead.

As Thea said, “Let’s see where we go from here.”

_The writing life is just one way residents stay active and healthy. The community hosts a robust fitness and activities program, and recently announced expansion and renovation plans that will further enrich living at Ginger Cove. _

_Its new Health and Wellness Center, a project three years in the planning, will expand opportunities for wellness, enhanced amenities, and flexible service programs for residents now and in the future. _

_The Wellness Center will provide expanded space for fitness classes and exercise equipment, multiple indoor pools, and a spa, complete with massage therapy. Adjoining it will be a casual dining room, offering one a choice of indoor or outdoor terrace seating, and additional classrooms to house the residents’ many special interest gatherings. _

_An expanded and renovated Health Center, centered around an outdoor garden and designed to provide a homelike setting, will provide private rooms for all residents with the latest technologies, within the context of four residential “neighborhoods,” each with its own family room and caregiver station. _

_Construction of the project is expected to begin soon. _