Retirement News : Seniors : Retirement home's Red luster fades

Retirement home's Red luster fades

Date Added: 21-03-2005

One was a young woman when she spent a night behind bars for attacking a policeman at a labor rally. "You're talking to a jailbird," she says. "Someone who stood for what she believes. An old Red."

Another was merely a girl when she became aware of "the extraordinary inequalities of the capitalist system."

Still another looks up from her walker, through 91-year-old eyes, and remembers a pair of anarchist icons executed after their 1920s trial: "Sacco and Vanzetti, they went to the gallows with such dignity."

There are only 11 of these aging leftists now, and Sunset Hall, their retirement home, is in jeopardy. Located in an immigrant neighborhood near MacArthur Park, it is small, poor and shopworn. Often, when residents die, no one replaces them. Five elderly newcomers, without political leanings, recently have come to fill vacancies, but that leaves 20 empty rooms.

Once before, when board members tried to close Sunset Hall and sell it, a judge ordered the home kept open. But perhaps there is no saving it this time.

Sunset Hall might be the only one of its kind. The nonprofit home was established in 1924 by women from a nearby Unitarian church. It was intended to house aging religious liberals. As time passed, it catered more to residents with a political bent.

"A retirement home that attracts old socialists and liberals?" said Anne Katz, an associate professor of gerontology at University of Southern California. "Totally unique."

Said Don Redfoot, a senior policy adviser on housing for AARP: "I've certainly never heard of anything so tied to an ideology."

A "precious" place

The day of reckoning is Saturday. That's when residents of Sunset Hall and its 50 or so dues-paying supporters will vote on its fate.

One plan, a long shot, is to keep it open for another year, hoping for donations and new residents. Among other plans: Sell the two-story building and buy or build another place in a better neighborhood.

"Unfortunately," said Wendy Caputo, its director, "that will be too late for the people living there now. Some of them don't have much in the way of family. And so many of them are so frail. What will happen to them?"

Luba Perlin is one. She is 91 and wide-hip sturdy. Like most of the others, she has a mind that slowly is betraying her. But because she remains opinionated and is one of the only ones left with much energy, she also is the unofficial spokeswoman.

"I have the sense that this is a very special place," she said, pronouncing her words crisply. "A place for people who care about the welfare of the working people and the trades unions, the AF of L.

"This place is most precious."

Sunset Hall's concrete-covered quad contains one tall mimosa tree, a few dozen other plants and a fishpond drained of water should any of residents fall in. A cozy library is lined with eye-catching titles: "This is Communist China," "The Collected Works of Lenin," "Karl Marx and Christian Ethics."

There are no finely trimmed lawns or golf courses. Residents sit, just before lunch, in Zen-like peace in the living room. Some sleep. Some seem frozen, not moving or making a sound. Some gaze at the television, distance in their eyes.

Perlin, as usual, then pipes up.

"People might believe it is not beautiful here," she said, before losing the thought. "What was I saying?"

A visitor reminded her.

"Oh, yes, I believe that Sunset Hall, it is beautiful because it is full of the most wonderful idealism. In today's world, I find that highly unusual."

The management at Sunset Hall, which calls itself "a retirement home for freethinkers," is careful to note that conservatives are welcome. A Republican lived here once. She left. Her story, which has reached mythic proportions, goes like this:

It was all over the food. Rye bread is a staple in the cafeteria, because most residents are Jewish. All that rye bread — the Republican couldn't take it. "She wanted white bread," one of the managers said, grinning. "White bread."

For More Information: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002213736_oldlefties20.html