Commun ty Matters Kansas City Presbyterian Manor
Growing up a gardener
Minnie Younghans, a lifetime gardener.
Kansas City Presbyterian Manor resident MinnieYounghans doesn’t remember life without a garden. “My whole life was spent working the family farm,” said Minnie.
Since she can remember, Minnie’s role on the family’s 25 acres in Kansas City, Kan., included weeding and picking. They farmed a variety of things including vegetables and flowers, but alfalfa was their major crop. After her parents passed away, Minnie and her brother continued to live on the family farm to keep up the garden. Their grown items were sold at the produce market.
When asked if she had any gardening tips to share, Minnie replied, “You better like hard work if you are going into gardening.” And when it comes to her favorite farm food, Minnie is a fan of string beans. “They were and still are my favorite.”
June 2015
June is bustin’ out all over FROM CHAPLAIN DIANE GUNSOLLEY
Put on your thinking cap. I’m going to test your knowledge of Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. The musical I’m thinking of opened in 1945. Richard Rodgers later wrote that it was his favorite of all his musicals. The story line revolved around a young carousel barker name Billy Bigelow who dies young in a robbery attempt but is given a chance to make things right for his daughter.
“Give the g listening. Oift of truly u father long r earthly and....our s for it H Father doe eavenly s, too.”
The musical? … Carousel. The show includes a very appropriate song for this time of year. Tap your toes and smile because “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.” March went out like a lion A whippin up the water in the bay Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along come pretty little May!
May was full of promises But she didn’t keep ‘em quickly enough for some And a crowd of doubtin’Thomas’s Was predictin’ that the summer’d never come
But it’s comin, by gum, We can feel it come, You can feel it in your heart You can see it in the ground
You can see it in the trees You can smell it in the breeze Look around! Look around! Look around!
Do you feel it in your heart? Are you ready to enjoy fresh strawberries BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER continued on page 2
BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER
continued on page 2
and feel June sunshine on your face? Are you planning ahead for Father’s Day? My father is gone, so I use the day to remember him. My dad taught me how to balance a checkbook and bait a hook. Well, he tried to teach me how to bait a hook. He taught me to love peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches while staying up most of the night fishing. Dad taught me to drive, and you’d better believe that it was with a manual transmission because, “If you learn on a stick shift you can always switch to an automatic, but if you learn on an automatic you’re
stuck with automatic for life.”
My dad taught me how to do life. He passed away in 2006. If I had him at my table this Father’s Day, I would bake, or probably buy, a sour cream raisin pie and grab the seat right next to him. I long to be near him and hear his voice. My dad loved me and I loved him. He often felt that he fell short of the mark for a good father and carried that pain. The truth is that I knew that he loved. When it was all said and done, that is what mattered the most.
I’m unable to have my dad at my table on Father’s Day this year but,
Lord willing, my husband and my son will be there. My prayer is that they will experience my love for them with the cheesecake and my focused attention listening to their every word.
For those of you blessed with still having your father, I exhort you with the words of Scripture from Proverbs 23:22 “Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
Give the gift of truly listening. Our earthly fathers long for it and; by the way, our Heavenly Father does, too.
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Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Kansas City Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org Peatric Gates, executive director Charley Lewis, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Charley at clewis@pmma.org. Telephone: 913-334-3666 Fax: 913-334-2904 Address: 7850 Freeman, Kansas City, KS 66112-2133 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. KansasCityPresbyterianManor.org
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Fathers show their love for their children in many different ways.
Myths About Aging, Debunked
By Pamela Blair for Next Avenue To age successfully, we need to be aware of the newer and older myths about aging that our current culture holds true. Here are examples of the myths I’ve heard and what I know to be true: Myth: Old people are depressed and lonely. Truth: We may get sad and lonely from time to time, but the research shows that the least lonely and depressed are older than 75. Myth: Old people have more stress in their lives. Truth: According to psychologists, older people have more stress-free days than younger ones.
Myth: Growing older is synonymous with the loss of meaning and purpose. Truth: Research and the elderly themselves are demonstrating that one’s later years can be the richest ever in wisdom and spirituality. Myth: If you are older and reminiscing about the past or are becoming garrulous about the past, you are exhibiting signs of senility. Truth: These recollections are natural and appropriate, and their purpose is to resolve conflicts of life and to do a life review. Copyright© 2014 Next Avenue, a division of Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
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Coming up in Community Matters:
We’ll be talking about education in an upcoming edition of Community Matters. Were you a teacher or a school administrator? Do you have fond memories of what school was like when you were young? Are you amazed at the changes in schools now that your grandchildren and great-grandchildren are attending? If you’d like to share your thoughts or memories,contact Charley Lewis to share your idea.Your story may be selected for the next issue of your community newsletter.
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