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Past 65 byCarlRiUetJr. Q. - "I am 88 years old. I have in my possession a refund check in the amount of seven cents issued by Montgomery Ward & Co. in 1945. The check was signed by a Capt. H.F. Gillie, F.D., as special representative of the Secretary of War when the U.S. Army took over Ward's for a brief time toward the end of World War II. That was when the Ward chairman of the board, who was Sewell .Avery, was force-carried out of his office in Chicago by two soldiers. Everybody past 65 can remember the news pictures of it that were printed in every paper in the U.S. Does my check for 7 cents have any value?" ~ Nicholas S. A. - It just might. Not because the seven-cent check was issued so long ago but because it was issued by the U.S. Army at the height of a quarrel between government and private industry that had the government, on orders of President Truman, take over the huge mail order firm. Nicholas can write for information to the chief executive officer of Wards. He can also go to a reputable coin dealer who might have an idea of where else to inquire. Q. - "I have a sup­ plemental health insurance policy that I'm sorry I bought. Before that, I had another one that I thought was good, but one day a smart young man rang my doorbell and after an hour of pounding at me with fast talk he persuaded me to drop the policy I had so that I could buy the policy that he was offering me from the same company. "The cost of the new policy is more than the old one and an insurance man I met at a senior citizen's party said I got gypped and that the policy the salesman had me drop was better for me than the new one he sold me. "What are old people who don't understand insurance going to do? We need in­ surance, but we don't know what to buy or whom to trust." -- Meg McB. A. - It's awful! It really is. It does no good to say to Meg now that she should not have listened to the smart young man who rang her doorbell. We senior citizens have two major worries, our health and our fear of becoming a burden to our children who have struggles of their own. We elders are often bombarded by unscrupulous salesmen, either face to face or in big smash-ad mail order pitches. Salesmen play on the fears and the weaknesses of senior citizens and trap us in our homes with the burden-to- our-children routine to get us to buy unnecessary or inadequate supplemental insurance. We elderly, in spite of our knowledgeable years, are no more able to understand the legalese wording of insurance policies than are those who are younger. Most supplemental health policies cost from $8 to $20 a month. Good policies are good to have. Bad policies are bad to have. What is needed is for experts to tell them just what is good or bad. Some Legal Aid Society offices have the capability to advise on insurance. Councils on Aging should have the same capability. If some councils do not help to protect the elderly from purchasing bad insurance they may some day be forced to do so on pain of losing some juicy govern­ ment grants. I think advice to senior citizens on the worth of supplemental health and life Insurance should be part of the reason for existence of Councils on Aging. Here are some points that may help any who want to know about special in­ surance for senior citizens: 1. Buy one insurance plan with good all-around coverage rather than a number of small policies covering individual aspects of care. One good plan will cover everything. 2. Compare any policy you are considering with a list of Medicare benefits that you already have. Do no pay for something you don't need. 3. Check to determine if nursing-home care and prescription drugs are adequately covered, and that the policy you are thinking of buying does list exactly what will be paid for. 4. Make sure the policy will cover physician fees beyond Med icare ' s 'reasonable charges' for such fees. 5. Check to see if the policy will pay for treatment of pre­ existing illnesses, or impose a waiting period before becoming effective. 6. Beware of door-to-door sa l e smen , t e l ephone solicitations, mail offers from out of state, ad­ vertising fliers, group-health plans offered by so-called senior-citizen groups, and "scare" policies covering accidents or cancer. 7. I know of no cancer insurance that is worth much to a policy-holder. Q. - "Why doesn't my insurance company, Aetna Life & Casualty, recognize c h i r opr ac tor s w he n Medicare and Medicaid do?" - Mrs. V.H. A. - Mrs. V.H. should write to Aetna and pose the hard question. They will explain, if she insists. Q. - "I took out a sup­ plemental medical, surgical and ambulance expense policy with American Estate Life Insurance Co. for $240 a year premium. I'm won­ dering if it is a reliable company." -- Irene L. A . . - Irene shou ld h ave wondered before she bought the policy and at that time inquired of her state's in­ surance commission. I have no way of determining whether an insurance company is reliable, or not reliable, unless it gets into trouble. Q. - "Lillian F. wrote to your column that at age 66 she was very much un­ derweight and hadn't been able to gain a pound. Her age has nothing to do with it, in my opinion. Naturally, we all feel better when we weigh what we have normally weighed most of our lives. Usually, it takes three things to help us lose or gain weight - elimination of stress, proper diet and sensible exercise. I am 70 and in­ terested in natural types of therapy that have worked for me for the past 22 years Such therapy helped me recover from a serious illness." - Steni D. A. - It was nice of Stefni to write. Lillian should see her doctor, bath about diet and exercise. He can tell her about stress, too. Q. - "A woman asked you what she could use on her hands to make them soft. I use 'Bag Balm' which is not expensive. I rub it on at night and then pull on white cotton gloves. It keeps my hands in good* shape and I can recommend it." - Jennie L.M. A. - Thanks to Jennie. Q. -- "We read your column and enjoy it but I don't like your answer to Lucile F. one bit. You said she should mind her own business by not breaking the eleventh commandment. If my 71-year-old husband received as much as $369.30 from Social Security every month, we would not com­ plain a bit. He gets only $204.50. SS is not at all fair. People with larger checks get larger raises than those with small checks. Two people in a family who each get a SS check get really large raises when raises in the SS benefits are handed out. You told Lucile to mind her own business. It is her business and mine to wonder about SS." - Mrs. A.T. A. - I was misunderstood. I thought Lucile should ask SS and stop wondering and fuming over her neighbor's check and whether the neighbor lady was bragging or fibbing. Q. - "My mother many times said to us as children that the eleventh com­ mandment was 'Thou Shalt Mind Thy Own Business.' My husband and I agree with you. He says he heard it from his folks many times while growing up. We both think it is good advice." - Ruth and Frank K. A. - It is difficult indeed to mind your own business because it's so much fun minding somebody else's business. That's why gossip columnists make more money than I do. Q. - "When I was a youngster of only 40 or so, here in the U.S. everywhere we had eye-ear-nose-and- throat doctors. Some other doctors specialized on eyes only and called themselves oculists. A fellow could understand in those days what his doctor specialized in. Today it's a mystery. "How can any doctor who calls himself an ophthalmologist reasonably expect anybody who has never been to one to quickly understand that he is an eye doctor? I can't even EG THRNK YOU Our Grand Opening was a huge success!!! "We are offering free padding with each carpet purchase - another full week! !" <ZRu±±E,C[\ Quxnituxz -Ltd.. Fowlers Carpet <£fxcciaCizing Ln <Sofa H3cdi and teHine.ii 4507 W. Highway 120 - McHenry, Illinois 344-5400 We split our OYtrhead to save yon $$$$$ OPEN DAILY Mon. 10-9, Sat. 10-5 Tues.-Thurs. 10-5 Sun. 12-4, Fri. 10-10 SOFT WATER RENTAL *7.50 ONLY PER MONTH!! •NO installation charge •NEW fully automatic softeners •TWO year option to buy with •FULL rental fee deducted •ONE phone call can answer any questions: CALL 312-259-3393 FOX VJU.LET DfVISION pronounce ophthalmologist. I copied it from the dic­ tionary. How can any M.D. who calls himself an otolaryngologist, like you wrote about last week, ex­ pect me to know that he is a doctor that prescribes hearing aids? I looked that up in the dictionary, too, and I had a hell of a time finding it because I couldn't spell it. Then I saw how you spelled it. What's with these doc­ tors? - Marshall A. A. - Oculists didn't want that name to their specialty anymore if they were medical doctors because an optometrist could call himself an oculist. Medical doctors who specialized in eye problems and op­ tometrists were fiercely competitive of each other. The optometrist-oculist could prescribe eye glasses. He was not permitted to operate. I go to an ophthalmologist and I l ike my otolaryngologist, but those two titles for an eye doctor and an ear doctor drive me nuts, too. I have asked the doctors why they have titles that most people cannot easily pronounce and they mostly smile in em­ barrassment. High-sounding or unpronounceable names for professions or crafts are a sign of the times. Everybody wants to sound bigger than they are, or so it seems. House detectives want to be called security officers, not door-knob rattlers. Janitors, members of a respected craft who keep apartments <warm in winter, want us to call them custodial engineers, and those who turn the valves that regulate the flow of guck in sewage disposal plants insist they are san i tary eng ineers . Meantime, otolaryngologists and ophthalmologists will probably always be with us until they think up an even bigger jaw-breaker. * Write to Carl Riblet Jr. with stamped envelope at Box 40757, Tucson, Ariz. 85717 for advice and in­ formation on questions about aging. « fiuii ii - r State Proposes Open Meeting Act Revision COAL PRODUCTION Illinois mines produced 5,277,792 tons of coal during August, according to Brad Evilsizer, Director of the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals. Perry county led in production with 962,670 tons. There were 2,415,880 tons mined in 26 surface mines and 2,861,912 tons mined in 30 underground mines. There were 132 ac­ c ide nt s , none fa ta l , August, 1980. in Illinois Attorney General Tyrone C. Fahner today shared with broadcast news executives and reporters the first "working draft" of revisions he intends to propose for the State Open Meetings Act. Fahner told the Illinois News Broadcas t er s Association that he was sharing the revisions with them in order to draw their suggestions and comments on improving the Act. He said he not only wanted the broadcaster's comments, but also those of public of­ ficials, state's attorneys, and interested members of the general public. The Attorney General said he expected that a number of other amendments to the Act could result from suggestions that will be made by interested parties in the next few months. The revisions Attorney General Fahner revealed to the broadcasters provide for public notice of all meetings of public bodies, whether "open" or "closed"..written minute s t o be kept o f a l l meetings...improved en- WINDOW and WALL DECOR CUSTOM SHUTTER SAVE 25% CUSTOM SHUTTERS DELMAR WOVEN WOODS CLASSIQUE MINI BLINDS Daily 9:30-5:30 Wed 9:30-Noon Closed Sunday We Measure and Install 800-892-8916 VtSA Rt. 12 North of Rt. 120 Volo. III. All it takes is a woman's touch to make a room feel warm. The Radiant JO is convenient and easy to operate--just press a lever and it's on. It has a clean, modern look that fits any decor Running up to 37 hours on 1.92 gallons of kero­ sene. it fills easily with the handy siphon pump that comes with every model. With a Kero-Sun Portable Heater, like this U.L listed Radiant 10 model, you can leave your ther­ mostat turned low and save money m the months ahead 99.9% fuel-efficiency means odor­ less, smokeless operation And it needs no chimney Battery-powered ignition system and automatic shut- off device for extra safety. 9 models to choose from See a demonstration today KER05UN The good news in home heating THE HOUSE THAT SERVICE BUILT" GEORGE P. FREUNDJnc PAGE 17 - PLAIN DEALER . FRIDAY. OCTOBER It. ltM proposed revisions to the Act would not be submitted to the legislature until next spring, "a time element that should provide plenty of opportunity for comments and suggestions to reach my office." forcement of the Act through clarifying language and providing for compensation of legal costs to prevailing plaintiffs... provisions that the general public has the same right of recording meetings as do news organizations...and an en­ forcement p rov i s i on tha t would permit courts to nullify any actions taken at an improperly closed meeting. Fahner observed that any revision aimed at providing a definition of the word "meeting" should await an Illinois Supreme Court opinion in a Champaign county case bearing on that point. He also noted that the protection of individual legal rights and the public ad­ vantages in permitting government limited areas of confidentiality should not be damaged in the effort to assure more "openness". Attorney General Fahner has in d i ca ted tha t h i s BOARD MEETING The adjourned regular September meeting ̂ c^the McHenry County Boafa wHi. convene Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the hour o f n in e o ' c lock a .m. , at the Court House, 2200 N. Seminary Avenue (Route 47 North) in Woodstock, for the p ur p os e s a s fo l l ows : t o consider amendments to variations from, and con­ ditional uses recommended under the McHenry Count Com p reh en s ive Zo n ing Ordinance, to consider, acknowledge and take ac­ tions pursuant to the recommendations of the duly authorized committees of the McHenry County Board and the authorized sub-commit t ee s o f s ame , and to consider the adoption of an annual Appropriation Ordinance and Tax Levy for McHenry County for the year 1980-81 15th Anniversary Sale! INFLATION FISHIER SPECIAL.... BUY 1 PACKAGE OF BUY AT WHOLESALE Hearing Aid Batteries Get 1 rtxee MMVU MUBAH WITH COUPON Good thru Wednesday, October 29 WEDNESDAYS BNLY 10-6 pm L McHenry Hearing Aid Center 385-7661J 3937 W. MAIN McHENRY, IL 4102 W. Crystal Lake Rd. McHenry 3t5-0420 The McHenry Plaindealer Newspaper Available At The Following Locations: •WHITE HEN PANTRY •MAYS DRUG •BELL LIQUORS •J ft L GAS •LAKEVIEW •SUNNYSIDE FOOD •McHENRY WALGREEN • JOHNSBURG FOOD MART •BOLGER'S DRUG STORE *ADAMS GROCERY •BEN FRANKLIN •OSCO DRUGS •JEWEL •HORNSBY'S •HERMES ft CO. •LIQUOR MART •VILLAGE MART • JI R STORE •McHENRY HOSPITAL •LITTLE STORE •FRED ft IRENE S TAP •McHENRY QUICK MART •SUNRISE GROCERY •STEINY TAP •McCULLOM LAKE GROC. •HILLTOP GROCERY •FOOD MART •BITS ft PIECES •NORTHWEST TRAIN WALLPAPER SALE SAVE NOW 30 % OFF TODAY SALE ENDS OCTOBER 31st S. CRANE ft S.A. MAXWELL WALLPAPERS / inr fob'A QDIdaa 4720 W. ROUTE 120 McHENRY, ILL. ( 8 1 5 ) 3 8 5 - 1 1 1 6