Stoneham seniors want Internet access and training
Published on August 23rd, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - The oldest surfers on the World Wide Web may get the most from their time on the board — the keyboard that is.
Senior citizens use the Internet to maintain the interests and relationships that old age can make impossible.
Only one of the four personal computers at the Senior Center has Internet access. And this connection, through Media-One, is down.
"Every senior should have access," said Don Hutcheson, who is in his 60s and on oxygen. "I can't leave the house much, but (via email) I talk to my friends all the time."
Traveling to museums in the city or visiting far off relatives has become difficult for many older folks. But Web sites and email keeps the world accessible to these people who are still intellectually and emotionally vibrant.
Brian Clapp, Stoneham's tech guru, is working to repair the problem.
"The modem is down," Clapp said. "It should be easy to fix."
Stoneham Senior Center Director Jane Lavender said that she plans to offer seniors both Internet access and classes on how to use the Internet, but not right away.
"Right now we are offering classes for people who do not know how to turn on a computer," said Senior Center instructor Jack Kilroy.
Clapp is developing a network arrangement that will allow all the computers at the Senior center to access the Internet. The building has been wired for such a network.
Internet access today
Any Stoneham citizen can walk into the Stoneham Public Library and send an email or surf the Web.
"As part of our $25,000 fee to the North of Boston Library Exchange we get Internet access," said Public Library Director Hugh Williams.
The collaborative group of public and college libraries first made it possible for communities to share books. Today the organization allows all users to share a World Wide Web of knowledge.
"Thanks to a grant written by (Assistant Library Director) Mary Todd, we are offering computer classes, including an introduction to the Internet," Williams said.
At the Jenks Senior Center in Winchester, as in Stoneham, basic computer classes are given, but no Internet connection is in place.
"People go to the library for the Internet," said Jenks Center volunteer Frank McGrath.
Kilroy said that the Stoneham Senior Center's computer program is moving at a deliberate pace, showing folks how to turn on the machines, then some basic word processing, and eventually the Internet.
"We know a lot of people want to learn, but this is going to take time, like the Big Dig," Kilroy said.
Kilroy and Lavender agreed that Internet classes and access are probably about six months away.
Like the Big Dig, teaching old folks new tricks could be frustrating for some, but when done, travel over the information super highway should be as smooth as cruise control.
For more information on how to get online — or in line for the online classes — at the Stoneham Public Library, call 438-1324.
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