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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 28, 2005 Laurel Dohman, 90, volunteers often at the Medford Senior Center. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Laurel Dohman’s volunteer work at the Medford Senior Center comes from her strong Midwestern values of ... ‘Giving back’ 90-year-old volunteer enjoys helping people and ‘not looking for anything in return’ By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune She works six days a week. For no pay. At age 90. Why does Laurel Dohman do it? Her answer is modest, as befits a lot of volunteers who have made "giving back" a way of life. "It gives me something to do and gets me out of the house," she says, without cracking a smile. The boss at Medford Senior Center, Patti Proctor, puts it a little differently. "She’s my right arm, whether it’s in the office, running bingo or helping in the kitchen. She’s pure of heart and does anything willingly." Her values, says Dohman, come straight from her parents, who raised her on a North Dakota farm where she learned how to milk cows, shock grain (tying the stalks into a tepee shape) and even drive farm machinery. Advertisement "Laurel can do anything and she does it with a willingness, wanting to help people and not looking for anything in return," says Proctor. In the tradition of Plains farmers, she is private, uncomfortable with talking too much about herself, co-workers say. Details come out slowly, such as her mother delivering her baby — and Dohman working at Douglas Aircraft in World War II. "She takes care of us here, in a motherly way," says receptionist Linda McCoy. "She puts in more work here than anyone, and is very modest about it." With her husband, Kenneth, Dohman began her volunteering in the 1980s, after retiring from a career with Merle Norman Cosmetics in Santa Monica. They enjoyed camping and fishing in the mountain lakes and at the coast until he died three years ago, she says. And now, volunteering is pretty much her life — except making the annual trip back to the family farm, still run by her brother (and last surviving sibling) in North Dakota. When Jim Roby runs the bingo games and is short of help, "Laurel is always right there to pitch in. She sees a need and she fills it, always very pleasantly," he says. At the Senior Center, "we couldn’t run our programs without Laurel and volunteers like her," says Proctor, noting that many of them are in their 80s and 90s. One, Loraine Maceaux, 90, of Medford, works with Laurel, volunteering many hours a week. Why? "They appreciate it and it gives me something to do." John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Advertisement s