In recent years, the technology boom has been at the forefront of daily life. Media are flooded with images of children and teenagers using personal computers, MP3 players and other gadgets developed for convenience and entertainment.

 Seniors, too, have caught the wave, "surfing" the World Wide Web alongside their children and grandchildren, using personal computers to organize lists and addresses, write books and perform a host of other functions.

Eighty-year-old Hugh Jones is no exception. He is currently working on a second book using his computer's word processing program and storage capability.

Originally from Chicago, Jones has lived in Orangeburg for the past 10 years and said he and his late wife, Lynne, first used their computer to pen a golf satire.

That manuscript, titled "Babe and the Little White Ball of Doom," will soon be published.

"The idea sprung from the Four Holes Community in Orangeburg," said Jones, whose story is centered around the Fore! Holes Swamp Golf Course. The satire is dedicated to well-known entertainer and golfer, the late Bob Hope, whom Jones befriended during World War II.

"When Bob Hope's plane landed in Okinawa (Japan), he asked was it safe, and I told him, 'Only if you tell one of your jokes,'" Jones said.

Donald Royster, 75, uses his computer to print Bible studies and church bulletins and keep a personal journal.

A Baptist minister who retired in January 2006, Royster began Morningside Community Church for fellow Morningside of Orangeburg residents. Services are held Wednesdays and Sundays.

Royster, who moved to Orangeburg from Rock Hill in the early '80s, said he also uses the computer to keep track of financial records as well as for entertainment and online banking needs and keeping in touch with children, grandchildren and former churches and church members.

"I also use the computer in my hobby of Ham (amateur) radio," said Royster, adding that he and his wife, Carolyn, use the computer for fun and games and posting digital photos.

According to Perry Fields, owner of Carolina Senior, a Web site and business designed for baby boomer and senior surfers, more and more older Americans -- about two-thirds of adults ages 50 to 64 -- are using the Web for all sorts of reasons.

Fields created www.CarolinaSenior.com as a tool to meet the demands of Palmetto State seniors and their middle-aged children searching for a good nursing home, investigating health care options, seeking investment tips or researching issues dealing with elder laws or real estate.

"The folks at Carolina Senior understand the frustration involved with the Internet being geared towards younger generations," Fields said, adding that a wide range of ages have visited the Carolina Senior site.

Sylvia McLachlan, 68, originally from Pinewood, said she uses the Internet to order clothes, conduct research, play bridge and e-mail her brother.

"I have a brother in Texas. We e-mail back and forth," she said. "And I e-mail girlfriends."

McLachlan keeps a journal on Microsoft Word, employs the address book to stay in touch with friends and family and uses the calendar to keep track of appointments, make "to do" lists and record book titles she's read.

She also uses a cell phone -- but mostly for safety reasons.

Art Schroeder, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, has a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and a Master of Business Administration in management.

Now, at age 75, Schroeder is pursuing a master's degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina -- online.

"I am doing that because at age 65 in South Carolina, you can go to college tuition-free, a state college or university," he said. "I also use the chat room with the college."

Currently using the computer in the lab at The Oaks, Schroeder, who has lived in S.C. since 1988, goes online to manage his stock portfolio, do his taxes, send and receive e-mail correspondence, make Christmas cards and log-in to his USC courses. He is retired as a computer and systems manager for Dupont Corp. and has been working with computers since 1961.

Retired from Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance, 80-year-old Mary Reese not only uses her computer to e-mail friends and family, play games and send instant messages -- she also uses programs like Microsoft Publisher and American Greetings to make her own greeting cards and create family books for grandchildren.

"I've created an extensive family tree, genealogy in which I've scanned pictures," said Reese, who also does her taxes online, researches topics of interest, shops from the comfort of her own room, reads online newspapers, calculates medical expenses, keeps an inventory of her embroidery floss supplies and logs recipes.

And Reese conducts research for her husband, Richard, when needed.

Reese is no stranger to computer technology. During her time with Aetna, she installed computer systems in 26 branch offices. In addition, while at The Oaks, she has become a regular user of the Nintendo Wii system for exercise.

Her favorite game? Bowling.

"Studies have been done to show that seniors using the Wii system have greater mobility (and) hand-eye coordination," said Linda Biswell, director of campus life at The Oaks.

Biswell said that using computers helps residents stay connected to family, and she advocates the use of games that require mental and physical activity. In fact, The Oaks will soon have "Brain Age" for Wii, and the retirement community engages residents in "mind aerobics" to help them stay sharp.

Fields said more and more elderly people over the age of 65 are learning to "surf," most likely the result of crash courses from their children and grandchildren, who teach them to send e-mails and navigate the Web.

"They come for a variety of reasons but get the same results, amazing outcomes," Fields said.

Sixty-eight-year-old Boyd Chewning has resided in Orangeburg County for 13 years. A retired United Methodist minister of 43 years, Chewning depends on technology for letter writing, filing and playing games.

"Using computers for those of us here at The Oaks is a means of keeping up with technology, the younger generation and staying in touch with the present" he said. "I think it is important for me to stay in touch with what's going on in generations after me."



From left, Mary Reese, Boyd Chewning and Art Schroeder gather around a computer in The Oaks computer lab. Schroeder is currently taking classes online at the University of South Carolina. Chewning enjoys using a PC to play games and write letters, while Reese has created an extensive family tree on her computer. (T&D Photo/DONNA HOLMAN)

 T&D Features Writer Donna Holman can be reached by e-mail at dholman@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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