THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508010074
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
In the winter of '93, some eight residents of the Norfolk Health Care Center decided they had had enough.
They wanted to see Nauticus. They wanted to visit the zoo.
They wanted to find out for themselves what was happening in the community.
But since all of them are wheelchair-bound amputees, they needed a specially equipped van to get around. One solution was to hire a TRT van. But the cost - at $30 per hour - was just too steep for more than an occasional outing.
Undaunted, the residents decided to take matters into their own hands.
They formed The Nub Club.
``Everybody would sit around and had nothing to do,'' explained Clarence Walker, a 72-year-old Norfolk native who serves as the group's president. ``Somebody had the idea to have a meeting ... and raise some money so we could do something outside. So we did. We decided to call ourselves The Nub Club 'cause everybody's legs were cut off.''
What they did have was incredible get-up-and-go. Motivated by Russell Miller, a former salesman who serves as vice president, club members began holding fund-raisers to pay for field trips and various activities.
Their first project was a bake sale. They sweet-talked the center's staff into bringing in homemade baked goods for them to sell in the front lobby. Then club members sold raffle tickets for a chance at winning some stuffed animals.
So far, The Nub Club has raised $500. Members spent some some of their cash to visit Nauticus in November. Then in April, they spent another $375 to build a wheelchair-level wooden vegetable and flower garden at the end of the center's parking area.
Each day, members religiously roll outside to water, weed and harvest the radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes they've planted.
``It's fun,'' said Miller, 66. ``I never gardened before. But I like it. Now we want to grow stuff in the winter, too.''
Touched by club members' enthusiasm, the center's maintenance supervisor, Bob Kupko, contributed the labor and some parts for the garden. He also got Atlantic Coast Landscape Service to donate the concrete and dirt.
``They're so excited about that garden,'' Kupko said of Nub Club members. ``They go out there every day. Now they're talking about building a gazebo out there, where they can go and sit under some shade. It'll take a while, but I bet they raise enough for it.''
The club's dream, however, is to buy the center a van.
``We're thinking on that,'' Walker said. ``If everybody works together, it won't be too bad.''
But Miller, ever the hard-driving salesman, was more pessimistic.
``We'll have to do better than we have to get that much,'' he admitted. ``But we'll try.''
He already has a plan. Club members hope to start a daily snack cart service for residents within the next few months.
``This club has been so good for them,'' noted Laura Edwards, activities director at the Princess Anne Road facility. ``Even though they have some limitations, they're still able to do physical activities. Something like this really makes them feel good about themselves.''
The Norfolk Health Care Center, at 901 E. Princess Anne Road, is a long-term assisted living facility. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Nub Club president Clarence Walker tends to the garden that he and
fellow members raised funds to build.
by CNB