50+ Lifestyles

August 2013

By Eloise Graham

Are you aware of any special “Day” in August? Let’s play a game. I’ll name the day, you think of the month. Here goes: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, (hope you didn’t miss that one!) Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Father’s Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Of course, there are many other “days” in every month. Some such as Take Your Dog to Work Day, National Diabetes Day, Thank a Nurse Day… the list can go on and on. Some are serious, some thought provoking, some frivolous and some down right inane, but there is not a special commonly known day that August can boast of.

However, take heart. In my search of the different days and themes of the months, I found that August 21 is National Senior Citizens Day. August has a day it can boast of and it is OUR day! Were you aware of that day, set aside to honor the country’s Senior Citizens? Here is the history of it:

By proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Proclamation 5847 — National Senior Citizens Day, 1988
August 19, 1988 – A Proclamation

Throughout our history, older people have achieved much for our families, our communities, and our country. That remains true today, and gives us ample reason this year to reserve a special day in honor of the senior citizens who mean so much to our land.

With improved health care and more years of productivity, older citizens are reinforcing their historical roles as leaders and as links with our patrimony and sense of purpose as individuals and as a Nation. Many older people are embarking on second careers, giving younger Americans a fine example of responsibility, resourcefulness, competence, and determination. And more than 4.5 million senior citizens are serving as volunteers in various programs and projects that benefit every sector of society. Wherever the need exists, older people are making their presence felt – for their own good and that of others.

For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older – places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 138, has designated August 21, 1988, as “National Senior Citizens Day” and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim August 21, 1988, as National Senior Citizens Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth.

– Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:42 a.m., August 22, 1988]

This has been on the books for 25 years – Let’s celebrate QCA Seniors!