STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Tommy Farr was a young squirt of 50 in 1971 when a new organization called the Senior Connection started a weekly get-together for seniors over lunch at the Miner’s Hall in Hailey.
That weekly luncheon turned into so much more 11 years later when Farr learned that there were grants available for “these small things called senior centers.”
Farr, a World War II pilot who had just retired as district ranger for the Ketchum Ranger District, gathered a group of friends, including Leo Stavros and Pete Cantor, to apply for 501©3 status so they could go after those monies. Then in 1983 they raised $300,000 to break ground for the Senior Connection center.
Today the 97-year-old Bellevue resident is a recipient of a robust organization that provides lunches Monday through Friday, along with transportation for seniors to doctor’s appointments, fitness classes, activities for those dealing with various forms of dementia, Meals on Wheels, recreational activities ranging from weekly nature walks to symphony outings, minor house repairs, and even employment services for low-income adults 55 years and older.
Farr and his fellow founders were honored Monday evening during the Connection’s annual Donor Appreciation BBQ with the unveiling of a plaque denoting the Tommy Farr and Founders Fireplace.
“We wouldn’t be standing here tonight if not for his vision,” the Senior Connection’s Executive Director Teresa Beahen Lipman told more than 200 celebrants as they enjoyed a dinner of barbecued ribs, chicken, salmon and apple crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.
Marie Gallo, who was on the committee that raised money for the plaque, presented Farr with a T-shirt saying, “I’m kind of a big deal.” It was fitting for “the real deal,” said Lipman.
Farr grew up in Eureka, Ill., the self-proclaimed “pumpkin center of the world,” where he attended a one-room schoolhouse.
The son of a science teacher, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940. And he found himself piloting a Douglas A-20 Havoc with two gunners on D-Day in 1944—assigned the task of bombing Normandy.
When he returned home, he fell in love with a college-educated lass named Janet and the two operated White Clouds Aviation, while spending summers on the Salmon River for the Forest Service.
Farr and his wife built their dream home in Muldoon Canyon during the summer of 1980 and there Farr gained a reputation as “a wood cutting fool” who amassed firewood piles of legendary proportions.
Today he is a daily visitor to the Senior Connection where he swaps war stories with fellow World War II veterans.
“I always wanted to grow up to be like Tommy Farr,” said Allen Pinkerton, who met Farr when Pinkerton was transferred to the Sawtooth National Forest. “He was humble and modest, a strategic thinker. And he flew his own plane, getting paid to look for wildfires.”
Martha Burke applauded Farr for understanding the needs of a growing community.
“He wasn’t an old guy when he recognized that we needed to support our seniors. And it’s beautiful that now he’s here enjoying the facility,” she said. “It goes to show it’s not about the money but the vision. It’s about not losing sight of the goal and it’s about giving of yourself--that’s what Tommy has done.”
Leo Stavros concurred. “We built the center because so many people were aging in this valley and needed a place to come together. That’s why we put it together.”
Among those who swear by the Senior Connection is Tim Stevens. He and his wife moved to the valley four years ago and quickly became integrated into the community through the Senior Connection. His wife became a faithful attendee of the four-day-a-week Connection Club for those who live with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other forms of cognitive impairment.
“One day I asked her, ‘Did you have a good day?’” Stevens recounted. “And she looked at me with a grin and said, ‘Well, what do you think?!!!’ This town does not know how lucky it is to have such a facility as the Senior Connection and the Connection Club. I cannot express my gratitude for what they offer.”
DID YOU KNOW?
The Senior Connection serves more than 25,000 meals a year if you count the lunches it offers five days a week at the center and the Meals on Wheels it delivers to those who can’t get out.