Globe-Gazette from Mason City, Iowa • 30

10 October 29, 1977 PEOPLE ffo sunbelt retirement center tor Dr. Smiley were on the first floor of the present Memorial Hospital building. Later, offices were expanded into a building on the site of the existing clinic, which was occupied In 1958. Now the group has 24 members. "There have been a great many changes in medicine," Smiley said.

"I'm still using only two medicines that I used when I came to Mason City. Diagnostic and laboratory methods have improved." February 3, 1959, provided Smiley with one of the more memorable experiences of his Mason City career. That's the day of the plane crash just north of Clear Lake which killed rock and roll singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, who had appeared at the Surf Ballroom the night before.

Smiley, who was Cerro Gordo County coroner from 1940 to 1956, investigated the deaths. "Every six or eight months since then I've had a request from fans for a copy of the coroner's report," said Smiley. "I've had requests from all over the country for this report. I just got one within the last three months." Smiley said he won't miss North Iowa's winters warmer weather will be nice," he remarked), but he will miss his "old-time patients." "There are several families that I've taken care of since 1937," he said. "I've taken care of them since they were young people.

I feel very close to those families, and I think they feel close to me." Judging from the long list of community activities of Smiley and his wife, Mason City's loss is Dallas's gain. She has been with the women's club, state conference board of United Church of Christ, local women's fellowship, the YWCA board, Executives Club, the PEO and the Red Cross. He has been associated with the civil service commission, Kinney Pioneer Museum, Iowa Tuberculosis Association, Iowa Thoracic Society, Cerro Gordo Rifle Club, Red Cross Board, Cerro Gordo County Medical Society, Mason City Chamber of Commerce Chorus (now the barbershop chorus), Congregational Church and a member of its "You know," said Smiley, as he looked over the list, "this is starting to sound like an obituary." Not for quite a while, if he has anything to say about it. "I like to practice medicine," he said. "I think I can still help people, and I want to keep on." By Barbara Keeler Stall Writer Dr.

Ralph Smiley is flying south, and not just for the winter. Smiley, who has practiced medicine in Mason City since 1936 and is the senior member of the Park Clinic doctors' group, will leave Sunday for a new life in Dallas, Texas. He and his wife, Irene, are not going to live in some Sunbelt retirement center. He will be associated with Dr. William Rea, and the two doctors will work independently at a 15-bed allergy unit at Brook Haven Medical Center, on the northside of Dallas.

The unit is consigned to patients who cannot be diagnosed and receive initial treatment in an office, explained Smiley. While Smiley is technically still with Park Clinic he's using up some cumulative vacation time this month his last working day there was Oct. 5. He and his wife have been packing for two weeks, "and we've been throwing out things the past four months," he sighed. Their house is sold, and a new one is waiting for them in Dallas at 3127 Rolling Knoll Drive.

The truck carrying their belongings left for Texas Friday. "Oh, we hate to leave paradise," said Smiley. "Sure, we've got a lot of good friends here. We hate to leave a place we've enjoyed living in I've lived in Chicago, Cleveland, and quite a few communities in Iowa. My father was a Presbyterian minister, so we moved around quite a bit.

I think Mason City is the best of all." Then, why Dallas? "We became acquainted with the area when my wife went down for hip surgery three years ago," said Smiley. That's when he met his new partner. "(Dr. Rae) offered me the opportunity and I was planning to leave the clinic we finally got somebody else to take over the allergy department." Although Smiley is beyond retirement age, he's not ready to retire. "I enjoy practicing medicine," he said.

"Medicine has a lot of new developments. I'd like to live a hundred more years and see what happens in medicine." The doctor, a native of West Bend, has already seen quite a few changes since coming to Mason City in 1936. The Park Clinic doctors' group, which is believed to be the oldest such practicing group in Iowa, had six members when it was organized in 1920. (Actually, said Smiley, the group was "loosely organized" in 1911.) When Smiley joined the clinic, he became the ninth member. he joined the Park Group, all the doctors' offices jt tr' i 'y Seniors need special legal help uour fetiremsnt dollar Staff photo by Elwin Musser Dr.

Smiley wants to 'live a hundred more years' Slowdown on sweets advised By Peter Weaver At some time during the recent months you probably needed a lawyer but didn't get one. Either you didn't realize you needed legal assistance, or you realized it and figured you couldn't afford it. Retired people need legal services like everybody else, but more often than not they need specialized help. Older people have their own special legal problems along with the ones that plague the general public. First, and foremost, according to lawyers who work with older people, is the "Social Security Hassle." Your benefit checks don't show up or they're for the wrong amount.

You are qualified to get Supplemental Security Income or more than you're getting from Social Security. You complain, but you're eventually bogged down in red tape, forms, and poor communication. You give up. A lawyer who is wise in the ways of Social Security might well have pressed your case before the bureaucrats and win you some money The same goes for other government benefits such as eligibility for subsidized rent payments, food stamps, and disability claims. Next on the list after government benefit hassles, comes landlord-tenant squabbles.

You're being evicted, but, with the help of a lawyer, you might get to stay. Perhaps your rent is too high or the landlord is not complying with local building codes. A lawyer could spot the chinks in the landlord's armor. Of course, the whole problem of drawing up a will and figuring out vour estate All right, so you need a lawyer. But, where do you get one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? Try your local university law school, or one nearby.

Most law schools have programs where law students help local citizens who are short on funds. George Washington University, Antioch Law School (in the District of Columbia), University of Michigan, University of Detroit, Stanford, and USC have special programs for the elderly. Many others are following. The federal government has also made money available to state governments to hire special attorneys to set up legal services for elderly residents in their states. So.

get in touch with your state agency on aging. Now that the Supreme Court says lawyers can advertise their wares, you'll see new "discount" legal clinics and prepaid legal service plans popping up. With these, you can get a lawyer's help at affordable prices. (Peter Weaver welcomes questions from readers for possible discussion in this column. Please write to him in care the Globe-Gazette, Box 271, Mason City, 50401.) taxes is fair game for a lawyer.

Other tax matters are also ripe for a lawyer's perusal. Could save you hundreds of dollars in property taxes or income taxes? There may be deductions, credits or exemptions you never heard of. The whole field of consumer contracts, credit, warranties anmd insurance claims is difficult for the average citizen to cope with. A lawyer can often save you money and aggravation. Finally, there's the question of "competency" with guardianship and conservatorship arrangements for the elderly who, supposedly, can't manage their own affairs.

If someone is going to take over the power to manage you finances and your life, you'd better be represented by a lawyer. Even if you have difficulty with your bills, checking account and the like, you don't have to give up all your independence. A lawyer might suggest to the family that a "representative payee" be designated to handle your finances. This way, you get a periodic accounting and can cancel the arrangement if you're not satisfied Trust funds and powers of attorney are other alternatives. your health rauwolfia prescription implies he has some degree of high blood pressure.

Perhaps an electrocardiagram study is in order to determine if there is heart damage present. He should certainly be examined again. Digitalis or some other medication may help prevent the episodes. The giddiness was the result of disturbed blood circulation during the attack. Both caffeine and smoking can be causes.

Dear Dr. Thosteson: My eight-year-old daughter looks like she has a slight hump back, although It Isn't. I am constantly telling her to straighten her back. Should I have her sleep without a pillow at night? Answer: A spinal deformity, such as scoliosis or kyphosis, may cause one to slump. These conditons should be treated as early as possible.

If your little girl is slumping now, and one of these disorders is causing it. it will get worse with time. Removing her pillow wouldn't help. Braces might. 'Latenicks' are immature, selfish Elderly may see more benefits, but workers will feel big bite ClSQf Gobi! By Abigail Van Buren DEAR ABBY: Why are some people always late? I know two a man and a woman.

The woman has no excuse whatsoever because she has no job, no children and all the time in the world. The man is self-employed, and his reputation for tardiness is so well-known that when he makes an appointment it is assumed Dear Dr. Thosteson: I am writing to bring attention to what I feel is i harmful practice. In this day of obesity problems, with dentists telling kids to chew sugarless gum to avoid dental decay, and so on, why is it that kids in school are subject to so many sweets? And I don's mean in school lunches necessarily. What bothers me Is the practice of holding so many parties in the classroom with cookies, candies, and pop.

Kids' birthdays are celebrated, and with 30 kids in a room that's a lot of tweets. Some might even be children of diabetics. Teachers, it seems to me, could have a lot of influence in fostering good eating habits. Maybe you can say something in your column that will hit home without offending. Heaven knows, a teacher with 30 kids all day long doesn't need many complaining mothers, and I don't mean to complain.

I know the kids love it, but please, have a heart and a thought for the Answer: At the risk of throwing a wet blanket over thousands of classroom parties (and making millions of pint-sized enemies), I have to agree with you, and you've stated the problem well. Surely if such parties are to be held, some thought should be given to minimizing sweets. A cookie and fruit should suffice. Dear Dr. Thosteson: I enjoy your dally words of wisdom.

My question concerns my nails finger and toe. They become dry, peel back, and the corners split. I also have what I believe is psoriasis. Could this cause the nail Answer: NO need to guess about psoriasis. It's easily diagnosed.

And it can affect nails. If it is not psoriasis, you can look for such causes as fungus, chemical irritation, or protein deficiency. See my booklet, "Solving Your Nail Problems." Send 35 cents for printing and handling, and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to me care of the Globe-Gazette. Dear Dr. Thosteson: During the past two years my husband, 65, has had episodes of fluttering heart.

He has been on rauwolfla medicine. He doesn't have any other symptoms of heart problems. The last episode frightened him because he became dizzy and lightheaded. Is this something to be alarmed about? Would caffeine Intake have a bearing on Answer: He should be reporting these episodes. It is a form of tachycardia (fast heart beat or an irregular rhythm).

The about the major tax increase, most agreed that the financial crisis was severe enough to merit the drastic steps. However, the House added two amendments that Increased the tax rate beyond what the committee called for. One amendment would remove limits on wages earned by Social Security recipients, phasing out the current maximum of $3,000 on outside earnings by 1982. Under current law, recipients lose $1 in benefits for every $2 they take in above that amount. Elderly persons could therefore continue to receive a full salary while drawing full Social Security benefits.

The second amendment, approved earlier, continues an exemption for more than 6 million public employees and congressmen, who have separate retirement plans. The House did not consider any change in the benefits Social Security pays to 33 million people already receiving benefits. The House-approved bill would also alow recipients to continue receiving benefits even after marrying. Some elderly couples now live together without rnarry- would Under the pending Senate bill, employ- The Social Security tax is now 5.85 per- Lf wa. with workers eaniinT $16,500 paying the maximum of WASHINGTON (AP) Legislation that would put an unprecedented tax bite on the 104 million Americans who have Social Security taxes withheld from their pay checks is heading to the Senate after winning House approval.

A Senate vote on a similar bill could come as early as next week. This week, the House passed, 275 to 146, its version of legislation increasing the tax for every worker covered by the program, with the heaviest Impact falling on upper-income workers. Their employers would also pay more under the House bill. A decade from now, anyone earning $42,600 would pay over three times as much Social Security tax as is now withheld. The tax would go from $965 this year to $3,025 in 1987.

Congress will probably enact hefty tax increases this year to keep the Social Security system from going broke. The tern has amassed $5.6 billion in deficits since 1975. Because of population age shifts and such other factors as high unemployment, less money is being taken in by Social Security than it is paying out in benefits. "We are concerned about keeping the system solvent and this bill will do it," Rep. Al Ullman, said after the House approved the bill produced by the ways and means committee, which he heads.

Although some members complained that he will be anywhere from half an hour to an hour late and he always is. He has never been known to apologize for his lateness. My time is every bit as valuable as anyone else's, and I resent being kept waiting. Why, oh why, are some people always late? Sign HATES LATENKS DEAR HATES: Show me a "latenik" and I'll show you a person who is selfish, inconsiderate and emotionally immature. Like children, they live in a timeless world, and they couldn't care less about the Inconvenience they cause others.

Occasionally, one who is meticulously punctual will be made late through no fault of his own. But those who are chronically tardy are Invariable Immature and inconsiderate in other ways. DEAR ABBY: When I recently extended an invitation for an 8 o'clock dinner at my home to a couple we know and like, she said, "May we bring our children?" (They are 5, 7, and 9.) I said, "I am sorry, but this party is for grownups. I'll have the children another time when we plan a cookout." She became very angry and said, "Well, if our children are not welcome, don't count on us!" Then she slammed the tele phone down on my ear. Abby, I do not think children belong at parties with grownups, and hers are particularly ill-mannered.

My husband thinks I was wrong for not making her children welcome. I'd like your opioion. HOSTESS DEAR HOSTESS: I'm with you. CONFIDENTIAL TO BITTER AND DESPERATE IN BIRMINGHAM, In my sister's kitchen Is this framed philosophical gem author unknown. Perhaps it will help you.

"Life is easier than you think. All you have to do is accept the impossible, Do without the Indispensable And bear the intolerable. (And be able to smile at Hate to write letters? Send $1 to Abigail Van Buren, 132 Lasky Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212, for Abby's booklet "How to Write Letters for All Occasions." Please enclose a long, self-addressed, stamped (24 cent) envelope. For Abby's booklet, "How to Have a Lovely Wedding," send $1 to Abigail Van Buren, 132 Lasky Beverly Hills, Calif.

90212. Please enclose a long, self-addressed, stamped (24 cent) envelope. Vitamin pills are a Yip off Vitamin pills are "ripping off" consumers, according to Iowa State University extionsion nutritionist Kay Munsen. She sayd Americans spend over a billion dollars a year on vitamin supplements. But, she said, vitamin pills are a waste of money.

The great claims made for vitamin pills are not backed by controlled scientific studies. In fact, Munsen says, research only makes a stronger case for eating a variety of foods from the four food groups; it's the only way to get the variety of over 50 nutrients needed for good health. Vitamins can only correct a disease or disorder if a deficiency of that vitamin caused the problem in the first place But vitamin deficiencies are not as common as current advertising claims may lead you to believe..