By ED CULLEN, Advocate staff writer
Published: Sep 16, 2007
Along with the term “military industrial complex” and the blueprint for the nation’s interstate highway system, the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower focused the nation’s attention on elderly Americans.
In the American lexicon since the 1930s, “senior citizen” is associated with the Eisenhower years because the term was used so often in the mid- to late 1950s.
As Eisenhower’s administration drew to a close in 1960, plans were under way for the first White House Conference on Aging the next year.
National Employ Older Workers Week, begun more than 40 years ago and scheduled for Sept. 23 through 29 this year, continues the Eisenhower legacy to aging workers through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Senior Community  Service Employment Program (SCSEP).
Catholic Charities of the diocese of Baton Rouge, formerly Catholic Community Services, administers an SCSEP placement for workers over the age of 55.
Last year, Catholic Charities dispersed $731,679 in salaries to workers through nonprofit agencies and government offices in 12 civil parishes. The money reaches Catholic Charities through the U.S. Department of Labor and the state Office of Elderly Affairs.
A worker may spend no more than two years in the program. There are 130 people in the program administered by Catholic Charities.
There is an income ceiling of $12,763 for a single person that escalates with dependents. Many retired workers are at least partially responsible for the care of grandchildren.
“Louisiana has the highest percentage of kinship caregivers in the United States,” said Catholic Charities’ Carol Spruell.
The older workers program is headed in Baton Rouge by Claude Waite, 62, who found himself out of work when he was laid off by Piccadilly.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about hiring older workers,” Waite said.
Some older workers, such as Oklahoma transplant Dick Chisholm, 79, look for work to occupy their time. Others work because they must.
Many widows or older, divorced women must work, Waite said.
“I have two children in Baton Rouge,” Chisholm said. “I thought I’d come down and freeload for a while.”
Chisholm knows he’s lucky to have a son and daughter in the same town. He lives in a condo owned by a son who lives in Chicago.
“My children are doing a good job of taking care of their daddy,” said Chisholm, a retired oil company exploration geologist.
Chisholm wanted a reason to leave his condo each day. In Edmond, Okla., north of Oklahoma City, the affable Chisholm worked the front desks of  retirement apartments.
“I liked doing that,” he said. “I applied to places like that here, but I never heard from anyone.”
Catholic Charities found Chisholm a temporary job at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library where the retired geologist covers books.
“I’m paid by the diocese,” Chisholm said, “but the library likes retired people. That’s why Claude hasn’t had any trouble getting people on over here.”
Mary Harless, 66, sold cars for more than 30 years. She worked as a short-order cook but couldn’t take the kitchen’s 100-degree heat. Her husband, with whom she owned a car lot, died five years ago.
“I went back to work because I hated staying home,” she said. “It allowed me to do more and it gave me health insurance. I had to use charity hospital until I was old enough to go on Medicaid.”
Through Catholic Charities, Harless works at the West Baton Rouge Council on Aging in Port Allen. When her time with Catholic Charities runs out, Harless will look for work as a receptionist. She’d consider selling cars again.
“People just want you to give them information,” she said. “They don’t want you badgering them into the car YOU want them to buy.”
Workers placed by Catholic Charities may receive a minimum wage of $5.85 an hour but some move up to $8 an hour and a few to more than $10 an hour, Waite said. Average wage is $6 to $8 an hour, he said.
Jo Ann Grimmer, 68, and her husband lost their health insurance when the company he worked for went bankrupt.
“I’d gone to Employment Security,” Grimmer said. “They told me about the program at the Catholic Life Center.”
Grimmer’s part-time, temporary job at the library became a full-time job.
Marjorie Chisholm, 62, not related to Dick Chisholm, has felt the unspoken discrimination other older workers describe when applying for work.
“You can tell you’re being rejected because you’re older,” she said. “I had one fella who wanted to hire me, but he hadn’t met me. As soon as he saw me, it was, ‘Can I call you back?’”
Emma Allen, 58, works the front desk at Catholic Charities. After she was laid off from a job with an insurance company, Allen was “over qualified” or “didn’t have the experience they were looking for” when she applied for jobs.
“I think it was my age,” she said. “The age number is a block. If you can get that interview, they see that your age has nothing to do with the job you do. It’s getting that first interview.”
When her job with Catholic Charities runs out, Allen would like to find clerical work. “Maybe customer service. I know computers.”
Though she knew she had a legal case against a would-be employer, Chisholm didn’t have the time or money to pursue the matter.
“It really depressed me,” she said. “I was looking in the newspaper. It was like I was talking to God and asking him to lead me to the right person. That’s when I saw the Catholic Charities ad.”
Chisholm’s temporary job led to a full-time job with the library.
“Working full time helped me tremendously. It was calming. It made me feel like I was worth something. It was challenging. I had to figure out how to do things.”

For more information about Catholic Charities Senior Employment program, contact Claude Waite, program coordinator, at 225-346-0680 • 1-800-560-0200 or email him here.