Here's a story from the current issue of "The Visioneer," which includes project updates on Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio's New Vision Campaign. The compete issue of the newsletter is in an attachment at the bottom of this story.
“Suzie” was among the first elders to move to Willow Ridge. Because of a stroke suffered five years earlier, Suzie had difficulty finding words, finishing thoughts and interacting with people. A few weeks after Suzie moved to Willow Ridge, she was enjoying the hearth room when she began speaking.
A beautiful tenor voice floated out through the Maple Crest halls last Friday afternoon as Luis Torres led a hymn sing for residents.
His wife, Pearl, accompanied the singers on the grand piano. Luis and Pearl, from Puerto Rico, are personally connected with Bluffton and with the Maple Crest community.
In the 1940s, several Mennonite couples from Bluffton served under the Civilian Public Service program in a hospital in Puerto Rico and made an initial contact with Luis’ church.
This month's PrimeTimers program is Tuesday, June 4, which features an old-fashioned hymn sing with Joyce Jackson on piano and Debbie Mohr leading singing.
Meat, beverages and table service will be provided. Participants are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share.
PrimeTimers is for adults age 55 or older. It will meet the first Tuesday of each month (except January or July) at St. John Mennonite Church at noon. For more information, please contact Dave Stratton at 419-384-3680.
In honor of the May Older Americans’ Month theme of “Unleash the Power of Age,” Bessie Bassitt, a retiree of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio, Bluffton, volunteered at Maple Crest last week and demonstrated the art of arranging live floral bouquets.
Bassitt’s mother loved flowers and instilled in her daughter the knack for growing them. Perhaps, too, Bassitt’s 35 years as a beautician, (before her 11 years at Mennonite Memorial Home in the activities department), gave her the eye for symmetry and style necessary for flower arranging.
In honor of the Memorial Day holiday, the residents of Richland Manor enjoyed a week’s worth of festivities and an evening full patriotism in late May. This “USO Dinner” was planned specially for the campus residents and featured a menu that contained buffet cuisine similar to what one could find in an Army canteen.
The chef-prepared menu included appetizers and assorted entrées served buffet-style.
