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You may have noticed a group of elderly folks peacefully demonstrating on Mondays at the corner of N 45th Street and Stone Way N and wondered who they are. At Wallingford’s University House retirement community, a group of residents formed “Elders Protecting Our Constitution” or EPOC! I introduced this group of active civic minded seniors in an article last April.

The group is still going strong and I was asked to notify the community about an upcoming presentation which will be open to interested members of the community. The following announcement was received from Patty Abrahamsen:

We are very excited about our upcoming February meeting and guest speaker—David Domke, founder and Associate Director of Common Power. Read about his impressive background.

David’s presentation, “Hope and a Plan: Both Are Essential and Both Are Here in 2026,” will be on Monday, February 9th at 3:00 pm in the University House auditorium. While we haven’t normally invited non-residents to our meetings, we are bending the rules for this presentation and opening it to the public.

Who Are Elders Protecting Our Constitution

We’re a small group of older Americans who still remember civics class, care about the rule of law, and are worried about the country we are leaving to you.

We are invested in educating ourselves about the issues; we are learning from similar efforts around the country; and we are mounting an offensive to speak out against what we see as a serious threat to our constitution, our democracy, and our way of life.

Like we said, we’re a bunch of old folks

We’ve lived long enough to see a lot of things:

• The Great Depression and its aftermath
• The Holocaust and World War II
• The Korean War
• The Cold War
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Vietnam War
• Watergate
• The Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Women’s Rights and LGBTQ Movements
• Nuclear Containment
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid implementation
• Enactment of Environmental Protections and Health & Safety Regulations

We’ve watched our country at its best and at its worst. We have seen what it looks like when democratic institutions are strong and when they are slowly weakened. Along the way we have picked up a few lessons we don’t want to keep to ourselves.

What we still believe

We don’t think the story is over.

We still believe the Constitution is worth defending.

We still believe facts matter. We still believe listening is better than shouting.

Most of all, we believe ordinary people can still make an extraordinary difference.

Not by knowing every detail of every policy, but by remaining alert, asking honest questions, and refusing to accept that a slow slide into autocracy is inevitable.

That is why this project exists and why we are still paying attention.

Here is a  recap of EPOC highlights and accomplishments for 2025:

• Organized as “Elders Protecting Our Constitution” following the inauguration of President Trump
• Promoted awareness of current issues; shared resources; learned from what other groups are doing
• Established an internal newsletter
• Participated in “Hands Off” and “No Kings” rallies
• Held regular (weekly) protests at the corners of Stone Way N & N 45th Street
• Hosted a website and blog EPOConline.com
• Posted our own videos on YouTube and our website
• Wrote letters to our representatives and news outlets; sent postcards to voters
• Networked with other senior living communities and activist organizations

People sometimes ask what they can do as individuals to stand up for what they believe, and whether they make a difference. Well, this is a small group which demonstrates people do have a voice. As for the EPOC group, in 2026 they hope to build on the actions from 2025. They are also ramping up a new initiative promoting youth voter registration, because every vote counts. They expect to be heavily involved in voter postcard campaigns in critical states ahead of the midterm elections. They will continue to look for ways to reach out and do more!

More information can be obtained on their website.