CHAT WITH MARY
By Mary Kaempfen Special Writer
I recently went to the Somerset County Senior Citizen Center (sometimes called Senior Nutrition Center) on South Branch Road in Hillsborough, where I found a group of regulars who enjoy the camaraderie and good food at the center.
There were four men at the center who are in the octogenarians age group who responded to my call for age-related stories, Peter Pakines, Richard Noll, Otto Gross, and Art Arrants, who has been active in Hillsborough for many years.
Mr. Pakines, 88, who has been married for 58 years, after working as a longtime machinist, and who has a daughter Regina and a son Peter and grandson, Manesquan. Mr. Pakines likes to go to the library to read; he also likes movies and taking short trips.
Mr. Noll, 86, single, was a custodian at Hillsborough High School; he has relatives in the area whom he sees, and he likes to watch television and to cook for himself.
Mr. Gross, 83, was married for 52 years to Ursula (now deceased), has two children (Suzanne and Heidi) and four grand-children. Mr. Gross worked as a maintenance mechanic for Atlantic Metal in Springfield for 33 years. He describes himself now as a “house frau,” as well as a man who likes to go pleasure driving.
Amwell Road resident Arthur Arrants shared his thoughts and philosophies with me, recalling how much has changed since he finished with high school in the early 1930s.
He followed in his father’s footsteps in a family-owned sign business called Harry L. Arrants in Westfield, which he left in 2001.
”There’s not much time left,” he said, while reflecting about writing a book concerning his lifetime experiences, and he is referring to his four score and six years that have settled upon him now.
But he referred to a lot of incidents and details of his life while we spoke. Sign making was in his working past, but he recalled how electric neon signs came into being and changed his business, which incorporated in the 1940s.
He looks askance at anyone going into business today because “there’s no room for small business there used to be opportunities but now there’s gridlock.”
His old customers were good he tells me, they were close and they were very complimentary about a job well done. Then he says, “They say the sun never sets on the British Isle … well, the sun never set on our signs one company bought our signs and put them all over the world!”
I asked what Mr. Arrants thought was the “most interesting thing” that happened in the world, and received a surprising answer: “My wife, Betty (now deceased),” he said. “She was pretty, bubbly, honest, and a dancer for local shows.”
I was touched, especially since I was prepared to hear him comment on medical cures for the world, etc.
And what did Mr. Arrant believe to be the most catastrophic thing that has happened since 1923? “Both World War II and Hiroshima,” he answered. Because of this sad and reflective mood Art tried to speak more encouragingly: “We must put aside things from the past and think of the future.”
I paused a bit in my inquiry to talk about aging and how he felt about it. Rather vehemently he answered, “I’m angry the way people treat me because I’m old. I have a lot to say and people don’t want to hear it. They interrupt. They talk over me.”
I was surprised to hear this from the man who generally radiates happiness with his almost perpetual smile.
I asked Mr. Arrants if he agreed that the United States as a degenerate country, as some believe.
”Yes,” he replied, “and I feel helpless about it.”
If he could, what would he like to change more than anything else in the world? I wondered if this told something about himself when, taking a scant time to ponder, he said that he wished everyone could be “honest,” an approach that is maybe lacking in sophisticated circles but is redolent of sheer goodness.
He added that he also believes “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
How does he feel about the war in Iraq? All wars in the world have been distressing to him. “War is anti-human and it should not be an option when there is an altercation in the world.”
I thought that I would stir up our talk a little and so I asked Mr. Arrants what he thought about electing a president of a different sex or race from what we have known. He admitted having some confusion about the issue while musing hesitatingly, “A man is usually best .. .,” then he conceded, “There are so many women out there why couldn’t one be the best?”
What does Mr. Arrant do with his spare time? He has a lounge chair he gets benefits from at home and when he is not using those benefits he makes frequent visits to the Somerset County Senior Citizen Center, where he happily mingles with guests of different ages and citizenship.
Before he gets to his stop as he rides the bus that takes him home he gallantly strolls over to each lady remaining on the bus and says, “When will I see you again?”
Computers don’t interest him because he was not used to them in his business days. As for today’s music, it sounds “angry and tough” and gets turned off by him. Jazz is still a favorite.
Over the years, Mr. Arrants has been busy in helping build Hillsborough he was one of the initial members of the Postal Advisory Committee, leading a 15-year battle to get the U.S. Postal Service to open a post office in Hillsborough (which finally happened in 2000).
In the 1970s, the Hillsborough Taxpayers Association flourished under the partial guidance of Mr. Arrants, a participant of the association whose work was efficacious and informed.
The group often agitated for reform at Township Committee meetings, but Mr. Arrants hastened to assure me that his group often defended the actions of the committee, too. He favors having an elected mayor, even though through voting about it Hillsborough citizens caused the township to retain an appointed mayor.
I told him what I thought about him: “You have a reputation for being a Mr. Nice Guy; you are easy-going and accessible. Are there times when you let your guard down, or blow your cool?”
He tells me, although it’s hard to believe, that he can get “nasty when aggravated,” but “ he’s a diplomat who won’t judge or hurt anyone” (for as long as I’ve known him I can attest to that). To all this he added, “Some people won’t give in. I say what I have to day and it’s done.”
Before we finished our interview Mr. Arrants mentioned his interest in and love of railroads. As a youngster he was given miniature trains and in time, Mr. Arrants developed more than a cursory knowledge of railroads in the United States.
He has visited train stations, speaks knowledgeably about the New York Central railroad and has almost a scholarly view of railroad history as he tells how the B&O Railroad began a route over the Alleghany Mountains to Pittsburg in 1825, and how Elizabethtown ran a route to Somerville in the same year.
Both men and women 60 years or over form the group at the Somerset County Senior Citizens Center, and anyone wishing to attend or anyone needing a ride can call 369-8700 for more information.