Retirees move into student housing for the summer
EUGENE, Ore. -- Summers in places like Arizona aren't just hot, they're dangerous for the elderly. So when students in Eugene move out for the summer, these folks move in.
"You see the same old people," said Jean Block. "Oh, I shouldn't say old!"
College kids, make way for these folks. Senior citizens have moved in for a three month stay at "Ducks Village," a complex primarily for students.
It's part of a program called the "Sunbird Program." The program brings in older folks mostly from Arizona to escape their brutal desert summers.
"When we left three weeks ago, it was 114," said Sunbird participant Marilyn Lust. "And it's also the beginning of monsoon season, which means a lot of thunderstorms."
Workers say they've been doing this program for years.
"We do activities," says Duck's Village Manager Lorie Doan. "We take them on tours all over oregon. We take them on winery tours and to the zoo."
And these are some active seniors. We found them laying by the pool, enjoying the hot tub and even pumping some iron.
Manager Lorie Doan says in the summer, their population is only about 15 percent college students.
In case you're wondering just how these different generations mesh: "We don't see much of them," says Lust. "I think they avoid the old people!"
"You see the same old people," said Jean Block. "Oh, I shouldn't say old!"
College kids, make way for these folks. Senior citizens have moved in for a three month stay at "Ducks Village," a complex primarily for students.
It's part of a program called the "Sunbird Program." The program brings in older folks mostly from Arizona to escape their brutal desert summers.
"When we left three weeks ago, it was 114," said Sunbird participant Marilyn Lust. "And it's also the beginning of monsoon season, which means a lot of thunderstorms."
Workers say they've been doing this program for years.
"We do activities," says Duck's Village Manager Lorie Doan. "We take them on tours all over oregon. We take them on winery tours and to the zoo."
And these are some active seniors. We found them laying by the pool, enjoying the hot tub and even pumping some iron.
Manager Lorie Doan says in the summer, their population is only about 15 percent college students.
In case you're wondering just how these different generations mesh: "We don't see much of them," says Lust. "I think they avoid the old people!"
