Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill Archives

Carlton Senior Living Blog | January 10, 2021

"Paul Moser: Part of An Invasion that Fortunately Never Happened," by Harriett Burt

A short story from one of Carlton’s many veterans as written by Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez resident, Harriett Burt. Paul Moser graduated in 1942 from Pittsburg High School (California), a US Steel mill town across the country from the original US Steel mill in Pittsburg, (Pennsylvania). He and his three best friends signed up for the service in 1943, Paul choosing the US Navy’s V-12 program which trained young enlistees to be Naval officers. He took ‘basic training’ at San Mateo Junior College and was accepted to Midshipman School at Northwestern University in Chicago. It was a 90-day training program. When asked if that made him a ’90-da …

Resident Spotlights | December 13, 2020

"Eileen Callahan: Typefaces, printing presses, books galore and ink, these are among her favorite things…"

Eileen Callahan was born in Ohio and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, the middle child in a family of four girls and two boys. Her father worked in public relations in New York City and her mother was a nurse. Eileen was a voracious reader who knew about San Francisco’s City Lights Book Store and its owner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, long before she came to San Francisco. That love of reading and writing and encouraging both activities by becoming a publisher here caused her to live most of her life quite happily in the Bay Area. Telling her mother on Saturday mornings that she was going to the Stamford Library, Eileen instead hopped on a train t …

Carlton Senior Living | November 29, 2020

"Which Army to Join? Scott Wan Chose the US over the Chinese," by Harriett Burt

Wan Qupi Sum was 16 when he made a life-changing choice 68 years ago. He could have remained in southern China where he was born in 1936 or he could come to America in 1952 where his father had lived as a farm laborer near Stockton since 1924. For years the father had worked hard in America to make enough money to support his Chinese family at home and to put aside to retire in America someday. In the late 1940s, history in the making would bring Qupi Sum and his eleven-year-old brother to America in 1952. The Chinese Communists had taken over China in 1949 after helping America’s World War II ally, the Nationalist Chinese, to drive out the J …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | November 15, 2020

"Let's Dig In, Go Green & Talk Recycling"

Today we recognize America Recycles Day, a day to spread awareness of keeping our communities beautiful and sustainable for future generations. We are excited to showcase the efforts of Denee Coleman, one of Carlton Senior Living’s Inbound Marketing Specialists, who has gotten involved in cleaning up her local Contra Costa community of Martinez, California. The above photo of Denee was taken at Nancy Boyd Park in Martinez across from Contra Costa Fire Station 13. “You can make a meaningful difference in your community, even if it’s in a small way, like picking up litter.” -Denee Coleman, Inbound Marketing Specialist, Carlton Senior Living De …

Carlton Senior Living | October 11, 2020

"Two Worlds Meet at Carlton: The Story of Setsuko Iwawaki Brockman" by Harriett Burt

An interesting thing happened during the recent temporary re-opening of the dining room so that new wait staff could be trained on proper meal service techniques. Table seating of residents (two to a table or booth) were organized by Dining Room Manager, Janine Smith of Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez. Among the ‘two at a table’ next to a window were Blanche Perry and Setsuko Brockman. Both being friendly types, they started exchanging information about themselves right away. Blanche mentioned she had lived in Japan for two years after World War II with her US Air Force husband and their family. Lo and behold, it turned out Blanche had lived i …

Carlton Senior Living Blog | September 22, 2020

"There’s a Bit of Daredevil Inside! The 20th & 21st Century Life of Bobbie Rose" by Harriett Burt

It is an interesting coincidence that Barbara Sharp ‘Bobbie’ Rose was born in San Francisco on June 21, 1918, right in the middle of the Spanish Flu pandemic, the last deadly worldwide health assault before the Covid-19 pandemic we are now experiencing. Bobbie’s mother was in labor for three days. It took her five months in the hospital and one month with relatives to recover, at least partially, from a serious infection. It was not totally cleared until sulfa drugs were developed in the late 1930s. Another problem in this most difficult birth was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Bobbie’s neck. To keep the baby alive during the birt …

Carlton Senior Living | August 23, 2020

"Life Isn’t Always Easy, But It Can Be Fulfilling: Bill Rainford's Story" by Harriett Burt

Life Isn’t Always Easy, But It Can Be Fulfilling: Bill Rainford’s Story Carlton is not the first place Bill Rainford has lived in the neighborhood dominated by Taylor Boulevard, Pleasant Hill Road and Alhambra Avenue. A few years ago he owned a condo on Ridgeview Court, which is located near Carlton. But he has also resided in an impressive number of other neighborhoods across the country and overseas for much of his life before ending up twice, so to speak, in Pleasant Hill. Rainford is the name of a village in the northwest of England formerly famous as a producer of clay pipes. His paternal grandfather grew up there leaving in the 1890s to …

Carlton Senior Living | August 10, 2020

Carlton's Virtual Career Conference

Join us for our Virtual Career Conference via Zoom Monday, August 24th 1PM – 2PM This event is completely virtual and will be presented through Zoom. Space is limited, email Ashley Melendez at amelendez@carltonseniorliving.com to RSVP. We’re hiring for a variety of positions to provide services to our Assisted Living, Memory Care and Independent Living residents at our Downtown Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Hill, Poet’s Corner and Concord communities. View available positions and apply online at CarltonSeniorLiving.com/Careers Share this event via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1583742881784175/ If you have any questions, please email As …

Carlton Senior Living | July 19, 2020

“You Don’t Meet General MacArthur But I’d See Him…” by Harriett Burt

Japan at the end of WWII Is Just One Part of Blanche Perry’s Active Life When Blanche Perry moved to Carlton Pleasant Hill-Martinez from Carlton Concord last December, she already had friends here. But along with her belongings, she also brought her life story with her. One of the most interesting chapters covers February 1950 to February 1952 which she spent in Occupied Japan as the wife of an Army Air Force rear gunner assigned to the crew of the two airplanes used by five-star General Douglas MacArthur, head of the U.S. occupation of Japan at the end of World War II. When asked if she ever met the aloof General of the Armies, the answer is …

Carlton Senior Living | June 28, 2020

"At Home in the World of Animals and of People" by Harriett Burt

“There’s nothing more daunting than taking a blood sample from a lion,” Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill-Martinez resident and retired veterinarian Denny Bohlke observes. He ought to know because his Yakima office was close enough to a retired circus animal ranch to hear them roaring and to make a ‘home visit’ from time to time. Oh, by the way, how do you take the sample? From its tail, he says. Denny was born in 1931 and grew up on a 12-acre farm near Yakima. His dad was a fruit inspector in Washington’s largest fruit growing area. It was the beginning of the Great Depression so keeping the wolf from the door meant everybody in the family …

Resident Spotlights | May 24, 2020

Resident Spotlight - Donna Rolls

Meet Donna Rolls, Carlton Senior Living’s spotlight resident – Donna de Saint Croix Rolls was born on August 6, 1931 in Arlington, Massachusetts to Frances and Donald Wood. She was named Donna after her father and her unique middle name had been passed down through her mother’s family for four generations. Naturally, when Donna gave birth to her own daughter, Allison, she also passed on the middle name. Donna was raised Unitarian Universalist, a religion which traces its roots back nearly 450 years to 16th Century Transylvania. Her mother took care of the home and family while her father was a self-employed gold and silver smith. Due to the n …

Carlton Senior Living | May 3, 2020

"His Life ‘Began’ with a Bike Ride to the New York World’s Fair" by Harriett Burt

Ed Vining moved into Carlton Senior Living Pleasant Hill-Martinez a few months ago from the Muir Oaks section of Martinez. He was born in North Carolina in 1925 shortly before his family moved to Montgomery, West Virginia. His father was a teacher and his mother was a housewife. He had two sisters. Ed is certain of one thing: “my life didn’t start until I was 14” when the 1939-40 World’s Fair opened in New York. He wanted to see it, but his family wasn’t able to go. Ed around 1946 It was 1940 before he started the trip. How did he get there? “I rode my bike,” he replied. What??? Montgomery is nearly 500 miles from New York City! “Were your p …

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