Commun ty Matters Manor of the Plains
July 2017
‘Booming’ tradition
Resident recalls fun and family on the Fourth By the end of June, fireworks stands have popped up all over the town and the county, beckoning buyers with promises of the biggest booms. But when Jane Tyler was a girl, fireworks were a little harder to come by. Jane’s mother found out how to order fireworks by mail from a seller in Nebraska. And that started a Fourth of July tradition that grew through the generations. “It started when my sister and my brother and I were young,” said Jane, a resident of Manor of the Plains. “When my sister and I married and started our families, she kept doing it. Every Fourth, we would get together.” Over the years, more and more friends and relatives joined the fun. After Jane got married, her husband’s family started coming every year. FOURTH, continued on page 2
The Armouraires Quartet performs at a previous Manor of the Plains fundraiser.
Southern gospel Quartet returns for annual concert It’s July, and that means it’s almost time for one of our favorite Manor of the Plains traditions. The Armouraires Quartet will be back by popular demand at the 19th Annual Southern Gospel Christian Concert on Monday, July 31. The concert takes place at 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 3231 N. 14th Street. Admission is a Dodge City Days lapel pin. A free-will collection will be taken to benefit the Good Samaritan program, which provides support to Manor of the Plains residents who have outlived their financial resources. The Armouraires have been headlining our annual benefit concert for many years, and we’re always excited to welcome them back. Members of the Wichita-based quartet have almost 50 combined years in the ministry. Their mission is “to go where God leads and let the Lord use our personal testimonies and music to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” CONCERT, continued on page 3
FOURTH, continued from page 1
Usually about 25-30 people would gather on the buffalo grass lawn at Jane’s home near the town of Copeland. It also was her brother-in-law’s birthday, so homemade ice cream and cake became another cherished tradition of the day. “We would eat first, and then when it started to get dark, we would get the chairs set up in the front yard. Then we would shoot off the fireworks for about an hour,” Jane said. “It was always fun. We’d have a big yard full of people.”
Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Jerry Korbe, executive director Kurt Lampe, marketing director
To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Kurt at klampe@pmma.org. Telephone: 620-225-1928 Fax: 620-225-3982 Address: 200 Campus Dr., Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. ManorOfThePlains.org
The kind of fireworks they had then are most likely outlawed now, at least in the city limits. Like bottle rockets — it was lots of fun to see how high you could get them to fly. But what goes up must come down. “One year we had a bunch of people shooting those off, and all of a sudden we smelled smoke.We seemed to have a fire out in our wheat stubble,” Jane said. “That broke up the party for a while. Everyone ran to get the tractor and the disc.” Another time, Jane’s son made the mistake of looking down the barrel of a rocket that he thought was a dud. It flew right out at his face, but fortunately he wasn’t seriously hurt. And then there was the big surprise when Jane went out to burn the household trash a few days past the Fourth. Unbeknownst to her, one of her kids had put an old package of firecrackers in the trash. She lit the fire. “All of a sudden we were having a fireworks display. There was a telephone guy up on the pole, and I think he thought he was being shot at,” she laughed. Jane’s mother ordered from the same fireworks vendor for decades, even when Jane’s own grandchildren were small. But eventually it became easier to shop at stands. She recalled taking her grandson to a stand and indulging him a bit. “When Grandma goes shopping with their grandchild, you do whatever they want,” she said. The Fourth of July will always be a special day to Jane for the way it brings back memories of family, community and excitement — even the unexpected kind.
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Community Matters July 2017
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Manor of the plains presents
A Night of Praise featuring the Armouraires date: july 31, 2017 time: 6:30 pm CONCERT, continued from page 1
On the quartet’s website, armourairesquartet.com, they DMG_MoP_DCDbizcard_2.indd 1 add: “We will provide a caring, sharing and healing performance which will be the expression of God’s grace, equip believers, and transform the broken, battered and forsaken.” The concert is a tradition as well for
location: our lady of guadalupe cathedral admission: free-will offering the annual Dodge City Days festival.
pays tribute to the 60th anniversary of Boothill Museum’s Long Branch Variety Show. Lapel pins are $4 each, available at multiple locations 4/13/17 3:05 throughout the city.
This year the event takes place from July 28 to Aug. 6 with everyone’s favorite events, including a PRCA rodeo, cattle drive, Western parade, barbecue contest and more live music. For more information about the Find the complete schedule online at gospel concert, contact Kurt Lampe dodgecitydays.com. at 620-255-8726 or klampe@ This year’s theme, “Raise a Ruckus,” pmma.org.
Older Americans Week Following the circus theme of Older Americans Week, residents were treated to cotton candy (above) and an old fashioned ticket booth. Like us on Facebook
Manor of the Plains
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Circus, circus Older Americans Week was themed “It’s going to be a circus, so let’s have some fun!” There were treats, such as cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn and corndogs, and all the décor to go with a circus. See more photos on page 3.
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Community Matters July 2017
We will be featuring people who have received therapy through our Post Acute to Home (PATH) program in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. If you have a story to tell about your experience in our PATH program or know someone who does, or if you just want to tell the world what you love about living in your senior living community, we want to share the story. If you’ve got a story to share, contact Marketing Director Kurt Lampe and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters. Like us on Facebook