Cobble Hill
These youngsters are feeling old!
A Cobble Hill nursing home awarded students from local elementary schools for stellar essays they wrote exploring the lives of their favorite senior citizens, as part of a project that helps kids connect with the past in a rapidly changing world, according to one nursing center executive.
“The reason why I love this event is because it bridges different generations,” Donny Tuchman, CEO of the Cobble Hill Health Center. “And, today, in this world of technology and how fast-paced it is, it’s easy to leave people behind, especially an older generation.”
The health center’s 2019 Story Contest awarded six winning essays penned by budding PS 29 and 58 authors with prizes including certificates and $50 gift cards to Cobble Hill Cinema, which fourth-grade winner Joseph DePaolo said he would share with “my friends!”
A fifth grade winner, Cobble Hill resident Izi Welch, wrote about her great-grandmother, including the hardships she faced living in a post World War II France.
One runner up, Noelle Barone, explained the value in the experience and guidance oldsters can provide younger generations.
“They usually teach me stuff that they figured out when they were little,” said Barone, a fourth-grader from the Columbia Waterfront District.
And the nursing home residents in attendance at the award ceremony applauded the kids’ efforts, saying the youngster truly captured the spirit of another age.
“They were so smart and well written,” said Dorothy Rudder.
— Elizabeth Winn
