Retirement Haven

While a band played and an American Legion color guard clicked to attention, a flag was sent proudly aloft last week in a newly paved Florida plaza named for Betsy Ross, U.S. seamstress and upholsterer.* The ceremony marked the official opening of "Salhaven," a multimillion-dollar retirement community for Betsy Ross's latter-day followers, the Upholsterers International Union.

Located some 14 miles north of West Palm Beach, Salhaven was named after U.I.U. President Sal B. Hoffmann, who has spent $2,500,000 of his union's welfare-fund profits to build a 634-acre community that will eventually cost $5,000,000, house 500 union members and their families in 240 air-conditioned, completely furnished cottages and ten apartment lodges. Since Salhaven's residents will live primarily on their union pensions and social-security checks, they will have to pay only $50 a month rent for a cottage with one bedroom, $12 more for each additional bedroom. The one-room apartments will rent for $35 a month. Residents will get free medical care in Salhaven's 32-bed convalescent hospital, swim in one of 15 pools, work off spare energy in a workshop making furniture for Salhaven's cottages and apartments.

*Betsy Ross's first husband, John, ran an upholstery shop on Arch Street in Philadelphia. When Ross was killed on patrol duty in January 1776, Betsy took over the business.

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