Seniors About Seniors website offers online space to trade tips, stories

Have you ever wanted a space where you can read about history you’ve lived through and history you haven’t, share your own childhood memories, learn about senior centers and see what amazing seniors are doing around the world?

How about where you could also get financial tips, find scam warnings, and talk about these topics with other seniors?

Seniors About Seniors aims to be that central hub, and the site’s owner is reaching out to Lodi-area seniors to get involved.

The tagline Larry Vanderveen chose for the site — “Stories of this and that and things that matter” — reflects his goals.

“The design of this site and the purpose of this site is to be two-fold,” he said.

On the practical side, there are life tips on everything from reverse mortgages to dental care to avoiding fraud. The site has pages spotlighting senior centers and assisted living.

But the other purpose — and the one that’s more fun — is to entertain. Recent stories have covered Gold Rush history, peanut butter and a quick look at women in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Now, Vanderveen is looking for seniors from the Lodi area who want to contribute to Seniors About Seniors, whether by submitting their own memories and articles, or by reading, sharing and commenting on articles written by others.

“The word is getting slowly out and starting, I think, to accelerate,” he said.

Vanderveen, a radio broadcaster, was inspired to create the site after performing his one-man play about F. Scott Fitzgerald in Redlands. He was scheduled to perform at a library, but when the audience filled quickly, they asked him if he would mind moving to the senior center next door.

Though he was a senior himself, he had never been in a senior center before. He was surprised to find out just how much the center had to offer for seniors.

That inspired Seniors About Seniors, Vanderveen said.

There are plenty of websites out there for seniors to find advice, but there are few places where they can share their own experiences and talk to each other, he said.

One area he’s particularly proud to share is the Senior Salute page. The series pays tribute to seniors who are doing amazing things in the world. Past figures spotlighted are Queen Elizabeth II of England, 90; gossip queen Rona Barrett, 80; and 58-time Ironman competitor Lew Hollander, 85.

One honoree is the oldest working actress in Hollywood. Vanderveen met her at a luncheon hosted by the Southern California Broadcasters.

“I was sitting next to this lady, Connie Sawyer, and she said, ‘I hope this doesn’t go too long, I have an audition at 3 o’clock,’” he said.

He found out she was 103 at the time. She’s now 104 and still working, with recent credits on “2 Broke Girls” and “Ray Donovan.”

But extraordinary doesn’t always mean famous. The Plutes, who were also spotlighted in the section, met in college when Suzanne asked Ed to help her with an art project. They got married, and Suzanne Plute launched a career in art.

Ed Plute found a different career, but 50 years later, after they both retired, she still had art to work on while he was bored.

“She took him to her watercolor art teacher, and now they paint together,” Vanderveen said.

One note: The site uses responsive coding, which changes its size depending on whether visitors are using a smartphone, tablet, or traditional computer. If the site switches to the mobile version, the standard menu is replaced by three horizontal lines on the left. Clicking on those lines will take you to the menu.

Vanderveen invites Lodi seniors and their advocates to check out the site, comment on the stories, and write articles if they’d like.

“We’re looking forward to it growing,” he said.