Commun ty Matters Newton Presbyterian Manor
Being glad By Jerroll Martens, chaplain Newton Presbyterian Manor
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.” (Proverbs 24:17) We have heard, or perhaps said, “It serves him right.” It is usually in the context of someone who is evil, someone who has wronged us, or simply someone we do not like. What is the Christian to do? It is not wrong to rejoice when evil is defeated and the right prevails. However, on a more individual basis, the Bible has several references to this. Job searched his heart to see if he had rejoiced when something bad happened to his enemy. Job knew that to be wrong. King David had opportunities to “get even” with his enemies but he refrained. It is so easy for us to rejoice in our heart when something bad happens to someone we do not like. We must guard against that. In the final sense, let’s remember that we are all sinners, and if God gave us what we deserve, our case would be hopeless. His grace has extended to us love and mercy we do not deserve. May we find joy in His grace to us and to others— even those we may not like.
September 2018
Aliene Bolton: Hooser girl to storyteller From earning the nickname, “Kinks,” to writing a column in the Leon, Kan., newspaper and developing a fascination with airplanes, horses and building homes, resident Aliene Bolton has written a collection of stories documenting childhood memories growing up close to the Oklahoma border in the small town of Hooser, Kan. The memoir, “A Hooser Girl,” was something Aliene’s grandson asked her to write 22 years ago, but she didn’t get serious about putting pen Aliene Bolton holding her book. to paper until recently. Today, she’s looking forward to sharing her stories. Enjoy the following excerpt from “A Hooser Girl.” ‘Glimpses of the Past’ The Hooser boys soaped the rails in my Dad’s day. He told how one or two boys would distract the store keeper at the front while others would go in the back and steal a bar of soap. Because the train always had the same number of cars, it was consistent where it stopped at the depot. So they knew just where to make the tracks slick. It must have been “great sport” to watch that big engine spin its wheels. Boys will have fun in any given era. We had dirt streets. Didn’t every early cattle town have dirt streets? When it rained, they turned into mud. I did go barefoot all summer, most farm kids couldn’t wait to shed their shoes after the long, cold winters. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s affected Hooser as well. ALIENE, continued on page 2
ALIENE, continued from page 1
‘Telephone’ Our telephone was an oak wallhung box about 8 inches wide, 4 inches deep, and 20 inches tall. There was a hand-turned crank on the right side, a receiver on the left side and the speaker at the end of an adjustable, up or down holder. The speaker looked similar to an elephant’s trunk! The phone had two bells in half-circle shapes of silver metal which had a striker about like an alarm clock. They were battery operated, but not like our batteries of today. The people built their own lines. Some were simply attached to fence
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Newton Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Marc Kessinger, executive director Noelle Dickinson, marketing director Melinda Ebersole, activity director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Noelle at ndickinson@pmma.org. Telephone: 316-283-5400 Fax: 316-284-5900 Address: 1200 E. Seventh, Newton, KS 67114-2862 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. NewtonPresbyterianManor.org
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Community Matters September 2018
posts, then over the gates to fields or pastures.You were responsible to keep up maintenance along your property. In order to tell when it was calling you, each family was coded with a combination of short and long rings. Our ring was one long ring, followed by two short rings.You controlled that by the crank on the side. We kids were not allowed to make calls, it was for adults, at least at my home! Long distance was expensive and used only for emergencies or death notices. My mom and her sister, Aunt Edna, were on the same line, and devised a way to talk every day without alerting anyone else with a ring. They both listened on their battery-operated radios to the twelve-o’clock news on WIBW, Topeka. When that concluded, they would go to their telephone and say, “Hello, are you there?” They could catch up on family news without any of the other eight-or-so on the line being the wiser. One time my mom wished she hadn’t picked up on a call to Aunt Edna. It was to tell her Grandpa Harness, her father, had died. At that sad news, Mom hung up and hurried to her bedroom crying and telling Dad he would have to talk when they called her. Living on a farm at the end of a halfmile lane with my husband Bill and three sons in the late 1950’s, we had a snow storm that blocked not only our lane, but every other road. After a few days of isolation and no school, I was needing some adult visiting! I lifted the receiver only to find it busy. Two neighbors, who were brothers I knew well, were
Aliene with her family’s “kid horse.”
talking.Yes, I knew better than to eavesdrop, but maybe I could tell if they were about through if I listened briefly. One of them had been ice fishing that morning and the telling of that story was more than I could resist.Yes, I forgot what I was doing and cackled right out loud just before I “came to” and quickly hung up the receiver. I always wondered if they knew my laugh as well as I knew their voices. The first year (1957) we leased the Covert Farm, Gary Bolton, age 14, came to spend the summer with us and work for his Uncle Bill when needed. We were attending a wedding at church one evening, and Gary had chosen to stay at home since he didn’t know them. The next morning, all were busily going about starting the day when a neighbor drove in and asked if our phone was off the hook. Sure enough, it was. They had heard voices and a rooster crowing, and knowing we had chickens gave us away. Someone had called while we were gone and Gary had hung the receiver crossways, having not turned on a light. What fun! Like us on Facebook
Newton artists among Art is Ageless® masterpiece level winners Two winning artists in Newton Presbyterian Manor’s annual Art is Ageless® juried competition will be featured in the 2019 Art is Ageless Calendar produced by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America. “Storm is Coming,” a painting by Bob Grant; and “Eighteenth Century Daily Life,” a photo by Mary Becker Smith will appear in the calendar when it is released this fall. Works by local winners are automatically entered into a masterpiece level competition with winning art from 16 other PMMA communities. More than
180 entries were received for this year’s masterpiece competition. The winners are featured in the Art is Ageless calendar and greeting cards. “We are inspired by the talent in our senior community and are thrilled we have the opportunity to share it and inspire others through the Art is Ageless calendar and greeting cards,” said Noelle Dickinson, director of marketing/senior living counselor, Newton Presbyterian Manor. Art is Ageless, open exclusively to people age 65 and older, is a copyrighted program of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America.
Upcoming events ... Mark your calendars • Tuesday, Sept. 4, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – Men’s and Women’s Bible study resumes. Men meet in the library. Women meet in the chapel. • Thursday, Sept 13, 11:30 a.m. – “It’s a Guy Thing” barbecue hosted by Heart & Soul Hospice Chaplain Greg Schmidt, Haury Courtyard. Presbyterian Manor men, please RSVP to mebersole@ pmma.org or 316-283-5400 by Sept. 12. • September 24 to September 28 – Active Aging Week. Our Aegis Therapies® team is taking the lead with their WALK! Program on Monday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. Residents, employees, families, friends, preschoolers, and everyone will be encouraged to come walk the Presbyterian Manor block with us. Meet in the circle drive for instructions and goodies. Watch for more info around campus and on Facebook. Move-it Monday will be followed by Trivia Tuesday and other fun wellness events all week long, including Senior Fitness Testing on Thursday, Sept 27 at 2 p.m. in the Wellness Center and a capstone outdoor barbecue on Friday Sept. 28.
“Storm is Coming,” a painting by Bob Grant.
• Thursday, Oct. 4, 6-9 p.m. – Taste of Newton in Downtown Newton. Eat dessert first! Presbyterian Manor will host its annual Good Samaritan fundraiser by serving its famous hot apple dumplings and ice cream. NewtonPresbyterianManor.org/upcoming-events Like us on Facebook
“Eighteenth Century Daily Life,” a photo by Mary Becker Smith. Newton Presbyterian Manor
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Newton Presbyterian Manor 1200 E. Seventh Newton, KS 67114-2862 Return Service Requested
A call for recipes The employee committee is putting a Newton Presbyterian Manor Cookbook together to be for sale in time for Christmas. Recipes from residents and employees are welcome and due by September 30. More than one favorite recipe is welcome per person. Please share them with Emily Trask at etrask@pmma.org or drop them by the front desk. Thanks!
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Community Matters September 2018
Bravo of the Month: Niki Mullin This month’s Bravo! goes to Niki Mullin, administrative assistant, who recently celebrated 90 days with Presbyterian Manor and is already making a difference and demonstrating our mission. One resident’s daughter, Cyndy Mitchell, wrote, “Niki, thank you so much for everything you are doing to help us with Mom’s Niki Mullin accepting her award from stay at Presbyterian Manor.You all have just gone above and beyond Marc Kessinger. with this issue with the phone. I also appreciate the updates on her and the information about the Presbyterian Manor calendar. She loves keeping up with her hometown, too, so your idea of getting her the complimentary subscription is perfect! She’ll love reading the paper regularly.Your willingness to help and empowering yourself to make Mom’s stay good for both of us is so appreciated.” It wasn’t in Niki’s job description to reach out via email and connect with a family member, but she did it well and made great connections as a result. Congratulations, Niki! Like us on Facebook