Coast Chronicles: John Vale leads the way

Published 5:35 am Monday, October 23, 2023

John Vale, president and chef of the Peninsula Senior Activity Center, “at home” in the kitchen.

PSAC: An unheralded gem

John and Kathy Vale turned up on the Peninsula full-time in 2011 ready to retire. When I asked John, “How’s that retirement workin’ out for you?” We both laughed — hard. John is president and chef of Peninsula Senior Activity Center (psac.site) in Klipsan/Ocean Park, but for all practical purposes he’s the executive director — as a volunteer! He’s either cooking for, working at, thinking about, or trouble shooting problems, meals, activities, and events every day of the week.

John crafts amazing meals for amazing prices; manages and purchases all the consumable inventory. With office manager Fred Carter, “cleaner-upper” Debora Perry (the only two paid staff), John, teachers and volunteers, PSAC provides a remarkable range of activities: zoomba; yoga; garage sales; pinochle, bridge and cribbage; mahjong; Thai Chi; swing dance; puzzling; sewing and quilting; game night; and a library. (Or, as John says, “We’re not sitting around in wheelchairs drooling.”)

John and Kathy collaborate on much of the writing for the monthly newsletter. The center also hosts services like hair cutting, wellness sessions (now in collaboration with the hospital), and financial workshops. They provide meeting places for many local organizations, and a medical equipment loan program. And now John and other board members are undertaking the construction of a 2,000-square-foot addition — a $1.3 million building project.

Who is this masked superchef?

But let’s pause for a moment to give John his due. How did he and Kathy find themselves here, and where did he get the abilities to handle this wide-ranging community-supportive miracle?

John gradated from Bowling Green State University, Ohio with an MA in speech therapy. First he moved to Montana and was hired as a speech therapist for the Hardin school district. That’s where he and Kathy met. “I was responsible for all the schools in the district, some over 50 miles apart. I probably traveled 1,000 miles a month.” But at the same time, John and Kathy were catering meals for weddings, football team banquets, teachers’ meetings, class reunions, and graduations. As John says, “I cooked out of my home kitchen and we had plates, dishes, silverware for 200 and holiday decorations — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentines Day — all stored in our garage. One time we catered an event for 1,250 people.”

They also catered for “brandings.” Thoughts rush into my head—“Brandings?” “Sure, you know when they brand calves and cut off their balls and throw them in the fire to eat? Rocky Mountain oysters!” says John. “There are several hundred cows, it’s a huge crew. I’d cook in the evening and set-up outside. Another time we cooked for Kevin Red Star [a well-known Crow painter from Montana]. He wanted Indian tacos. So we were out in the middle of nowhere with three grills rolling out fry bread.”

Peninsula connections

So how did they get from Montana to the Peninsula? As John explains, “Kathy has family in Portland but she also had cousins on the Peninsula that she never knew about because of family politics. But when the cousins were revealed, we used to come out and stay with them. We’d come out for vacations and stay in their basement. And one time after many visits we thought, ‘Why don’t we move to the peninsula? Looks like a great place to retire.’ So we did.”

Eventually, John began helping with small things at PSAC. “I think I volunteered to cook sometimes. Then I was asked to be on the board. And finally when Ernie Hanson retired and moved away to be closer to his kids, I took over all the meals. Ernie said, ‘I can see we’re leaving this in good hands.’”

I’d say that’s an understatement. John has upgraded the meals over time. He drives around always on the look-out for the best price for the best products. And he’s added special event meals along with the standard offerings. There is a salmon quiche breakfast coming up on Nov. 11 — for $10. John also made take-out dinners big enough for families during the covid shutdown. PSAC breakfasts are the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. (Membership — $20 — is one of the Peninsula’s best bargains. Meals are always open to the public.)

It was these breakfasts that brought my mom, sister Starla and I into the center for the first time. I’ll admit I too had the “wheelchair drooling” idea in my mind when I heard the phrase “senior center.” But after mom joined, we’d always go for the breakfasts, and I began to see the many charms of the place and the people. We enjoyed talking over our pancakes with other folks at the long tables. Pete Hanner would often sing. And we made lots of friends. Then I noticed yoga and the great prices of clothing in the women’s bathroom. (I’m revealing a closely held secret here … you’re welcome.)

Then I got to know John better during the time of Jimella’s illness. Nanci Main says, “When Jimella got sick, I hired John sight-unseen because he said he could help in the kitchen. ‘I don’t do fancy cooking, I’m a home cook.’ But his energy, his smile, his big laugh — he lifted the morale of the staff. He kept the café going during Jimella’s chemo treatments when I was with her in Portland. I’ll never stop being grateful to him. I fell in love with him and then we became friends. Now I know that John can show up at party with his cooler — with ice, salt, and makings for margaritas — and he can be a walking margarita bar!”

John will also be teaming up with Nanci and friends for the Vet Lunch Nov. 11, at the Moose Lodge in Ocean Park. He’ll be cooking 140 pounds of pot roast with veggies and gravy, even though he has several other commitments that day.

Sustaining the PSAC: please help

John has also brought together a band of 80-100 PSAC volunteers. One friend calls this talent “creating the groove patrol” — that is, making it fun. John sometimes comes to events in costume; he provides special lunches for his crew. He picks the right people for the right jobs. His whole demeanor and the way he looks at life makes it happen. Often people complain if they’re not called to help with an event. Now that takes a magical people person.

OK, here’s the rub — the PSAC needs more space. If there’s chair yoga in the big room, pinochle in the library, and a meeting in the storage room, sometimes the board has to hold meetings in the kitchen. The new addition will provide more activity, meeting, and much needed storage space. Though the annual PSAC budget is $100,000, with their prudent fiscal management they’ve managed to save almost half a million for this project. Several grants have added to that total and another one is pending (with writing help from Karen Darcy). They’ve also pull together another $120,000 — with the sale of commemorative bricks and other events. But an additional $150,000 is needed before construction can begin.

Please help upgrade and sustain the work of this vital community center. You can write a check directly to the Peninsula Senior Activity Center. (Mail or drop it by the office — 21603 O lane, Ocean Park, 98640.) Or donate online at South Pacific County Community Foundation, tinyurl.com/2s2ch6rh. And, P.S. — John and Kathy might like to really retire someday too. John would love to say, “I think I can walk away now — the center is in good hands.” We’re hoping the addition can be built and the next generation of doers will take up the baton.

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