Boomer Q&A: ‘Older middle aged’ Boomer intends to keep active

3:27 AM, May. 29, 2011
Written by Keith Uhlig

 

 

Vickie Richmond Hawkins visited Stirling Castle in Stirling, Scotland, while visiting her son in April. Travel is high on her bucket list of things to do as a baby boomer. / (Photo courtesy Vickie Richmond Hawkins)

Vickie Richmond Hawkins, 62, of Wausau honed her baby boomer chops as a young woman studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fresh from a childhood growing up as part of a blue collar family in Eagle River, Richmond Hawkins found herself swept up in the idealism and activism at the time.

She avoided outright demonstrating, and was not attracted to the extremism of the protests, but she saw the value in questioning authority. For her part, she opted to become involved as a volunteer, helping college students connect and Madison area Girl Scouts, for example. When the U.S. invaded Cambodia in 1970, she organized a letter-writing campaign to elected officials instead of grabbing a picket sign.

But that turbulent time in college built a foundation for her professional life working with the Girl Scouts, for the United Way and in higher education. She has been the director of continuing education at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County since 1996. The Madison experience also set the stage for her yearning to continue growing as a person and mother.

“I think there was an expectation that good things are going to happen,” Richmond Hawkins said, referring to a general attitude of the baby boom generation. And, she said, boomers were and are willing to work to make those good things happen.

Question: At age 62, you must be thinking about retirement?

Answer: Not yet. … Because I can’t afford to yet. I love my job. I still love what I’m doing. And I can still do it. I’m not planning to retire until I’m 67. Well, one, I can’t get full Social Security until I’m 66 … And at 67, I’ll have 20 years with our University. Depending on what happens to our retirement system, hopefully there’ll still be some of it there that I can take full benefit of it after 20 years. … That gives me another five years. And I can do a lot in five years.

Q: Your sons are adults, and are spread across the planet, with one, Joseph Walter “Wally” Hawkins, living in Scotland, and the other, Richard Hawkins, in Milwaukee. What is that like?