Commun ty Matters Salina Presbyterian Manor
November 2015
Sending ‘Angels’ to the Good Samaritan Program
Dixie Lee Haddock
Special angels will soon be adorning Christmas trees and holiday displays at every Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica (PMMA) senior living community.
When Dixie Lee Haddock was a little girl, her family joked that she would paint anything that stood still.
The “angels” are paper ornaments that will arrive throughout the holiday season along with gifts to the annual Christmas Angel Appeal, which raises funds for the Good Samaritan Program for Benevolent Care. Donors who make gifts are asked to return paper Angel ornaments along with their gifts. The ornaments pay tribute to donors’ family members or friends and are displayed at PMMA communities designated by the donors. During the past two years, donors to the angel appeals have given more than $90,000 to the Good Samaritan Program. The program assists PMMA residents who have out-lived their financial resources through no fault of their own. Since PMMA began 66 years ago, no residents have been asked to leave because they exhausted their financial resources. If you would like to participate in the Angel Appeal, please email development@pmma.org or call 800-336-8511.
Artist’s prolific career began at a young age
As a child in Niles, Kan., she painted snowmen and poinsettias on the windows of her parents’ farm equipment store every Christmas. And the Easter lily she painted on the church window “Pretty Poppies” by Dixie Lee Haddock. stayed until the church was torn down. After her three children were grown, Dixie Lee returned to painting —this time on canvas. This year, two of her paintings were chosen to be reproduced as greeting cards in Presbyterian Manors’ systemwide Art is Ageless® competition. “I just think it’s a good thing for older people to do. People need to keep busy,” Dixie Lee said. “Some people will say, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’ Well, I say, just try.” Dixie Lee won for her paintings “Pretty Poppies” and “Santa is Watching You.” Flowers are her favorite subject, she said, because they’re not too difficult. She also painted portraits of all her children and grandchildren, and she recently completed one of her 1-year-old great-granddaughter. “It’s a challenge to get it to look just right,” she said. “I want the iris to look like an iris, and want this portrait to look like this person.” Dixie Lee enjoys helping out with the Art is Ageless exhibit every year, and this year she even recruited her friend and fellow painter Julia Stanley into entering for the first time. Julia’s painting, “Morning Flight,” also went on to win at the systemwide level and will be featured on a 2016 greeting card. Dixie Lee and Julia both participate in an oil painting group that meets every Thursday to work on their latest projects. Dixie Lee also takes a weekly watercolor class in Abilene. “We call it our group therapy,” she said.
Another Sunflower Showdown It’s clear that we have some serious sports fans at Salina Presbyterian Manor. Have you noticed some of the offices and bathrooms around this place? We make it a point to capitalize on this every time KU and K-State play each other.
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Nov. 28 is the big football game. To put your money where your mouth is, we will have another Presbyterian Manor’s K-State bathroom. food bank donation competition. There will be a box for KU and one for K-State. Residents and staff are asked to bring Salina Food Bank donations and put them in the box for their favorite team. KU won last time, so we’re going to see if that was a fluke or if they are the most serious fans. It’s a fun contest and a win/win for everyone, especially those who need our help.
Presbyterian Manor’s KU bathroom.
Turning Thanksgiving into ‘Thanks-Living’ By Mary Bridges, Salina Presbyterian Manor chaplain
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Salina Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Bradley Radatz, executive director Kim Fair, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Kim Fair, kfair@pmma.org. Telephone: 785-825-1366 Fax: 785-825-6554 Address: 2601 E. Crawford, Salina, KS 67401-3898 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. SalinaPresbyterianManor.org
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Community Matters November 2015
I was only 27 when my father died. Though we didn’t have many years together, he taught me so much. My dad was a kind, gentle, and quiet man. He taught through actions more than words. I believe his greatest gift to me was the gift of “Thanks-Living.” He never failed to thank those who helped him in any way. “Gratitude” is a noun, and “thankful” is an adjective. Being thankful is defined as being aware of and appreciative of a benefit, or grateful and expressing that gratitude. Gratitude is the state of being grateful, and thankfulness expresses that gratitude. What’s the difference? It’s worth reflecting on this during the Thanksgiving season. “Gratitude” is a feeling. “Thanksgiving” is an action. When that action is put into motion, it becomes Thanks-Living. For example: I am grateful for someone’s initiative, hard work, team spirit or kind deed. That is a thought or a feeling I have. Here’s the thing: someone may or may not be aware of my gratitude. How could they be? People are not aware of our feelings of gratitude unless we take some action of thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, most of us will spend a few minutes reflecting on those things or people for which we are grateful. What if you were to take another moment and ask yourself, “How will I turn my feeling of gratitude into a concrete, tangible action of Thanks-Living?” This Thanksgiving, spend a few minutes thinking about someone or something for which you are grateful. Figure out a way to translate your feeling into a tangible, visible action of Thanks-Living—maybe with a note, email, phone call, gift or favor.
Drama at the Manor?
Well, sure! Activities Director Karen Larsen has some new murder mysteries that will bring out the actors in our group! Look for information soon on how to participate or just enjoy the show.
Travel & Taste
Check SAMN for Travel & Taste location and date and other outings.
Health Care Happenings
Health care has a variety of activities planned for November with a theme of turkey and Thanksgiving. •
Thanksgiving “Price is Right” game
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Truth or Turkey game
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Turkey Tail Bingo
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We will learn about the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
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In cooking, we will bake bread using the cantaloupe we froze from our garden.
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Christmas is also near, and one of the art projects will be making peppermint ornaments for our tree
Annual Soup Supper a success The 35th annual Soup Supper took place Oct. 23 with proceeds going to the Good Samaritan Program. Ticket sales were brisk this year, led by resident Dale Anderson, who sold more than 800. We also thank our volunteers, many of whom have helped with the A scene from last year’s Soup Supper. supper for years. The Good Samaritan Program assists residents who have outlived their financial resources through no fault of their own, enabling them to continue living at Presbyterian Manor. Volunteer Coordinator Janet Smith extends a personal thank you to volunteers who devoted so much time to this year’s event. “The Soup Supper was a success! Volunteers assisted by attending committee meetings, baking, cutting and packaging pies, making crafts and other baked goods, donating equipment, and serving the night of the supper,” Smith said. “Thank you for being so supportive and giving so much to the Salina Presbyterian Manor community. This could not happen without your help.”
Employee of the Month
Congratulations to Melissa Maas, Employee of the Month for October. Melissa has worked at Presbyterian Manor for Melissa Maas four years as an LPN. She is single and enjoys exploring old towns or “hole in the wall” restaurants, reading, any outdoor activity, cooking and baking. One thing none of us knew before is that Melissa has always wanted to run a small-scale feedlot. Her dream is to be a labor and delivery nurse. Melissa also worked at Emporia Presbyterian Manor for two years.
Baseball tourney We have baseball fever at Salina Presbyterian Manor. We enjoyed a great tournament against local resident communities and a few other Presbyterian Manor campuses. Residents enjoyed the friendly competition. Our teams consisted of independent, assisted living, memory care, health care residents and employees. Keep an eye on the brackets, and watch for winner announcements soon!
Wii Bowling
Salina Presbyterian Manor resident teams took the two top spots in a recent Wii bowling league, a friendly competition with residents from Newton Presbyterian Manor and Aberdeen Village. We bowled in a seven-week round robin tournament. Team 1 was Mary Havel, Romaine and Elsie Swanson, and Dorothy Carmichael. Team 2 was Don Lloyd, Maxine Hays, Gail Berry, and Karen Larsen. The eight teams came to our community for an awards ceremony and a catered lunch of Brookville chicken. Salina Presbyterian Manor
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Real men wear pink
Sunflower Senior Fair
More than 700 people attended the 40th anniversary Sunflower Senior Fair, presented by the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging at Salina’s Bicentennial Center. Salina and Clay Center Presbyterian Manor shared a booth, with Kim Fair and Heather Germann providing visitor information. It was a special treat to have our photo taken with former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker and Larry Hatteberg of KAKE-TV’s “Hatteberg’s People.”
Veterans Day: The Button Editor’s Note: Opal Haden is a health care resident. Her daughter, Adair Martinez, shared this story.
him a card with a button stitched to it for good luck and to carry a piece of home with him.
When Raymond Ralph Haden entered the service in World War II, he quickly returned home for the birth of his daughter, Adair. He even gave his wife, Opal, anesthesia during the birth. Soon after, in the spring of 1944, he was ordered to report to Savannah, Georgia, to ship out to Europe. His mother gave
A year later, on Adair’s first birthday, he was shot down over Czechoslovakia and taken to a POW camp. The group was marched to Nuremburg, Germany, where they were liberated by Gen. George Patton under orders of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. He returned to the U.S. and made his way to
Everyone has a story to tell The January issue of Community Matters will focus on new beginnings. Do you have a story about a time you decided to start anew? What happened? How did that alter the course of your life? Contact Marketing Director Kim Fair, and your story may be selected to appear in an upcoming Community Matters. 4
Community Matters November 2015
Every Friday in October is Pink Day at Presbyterian Manor in honor of breast cancer awareness month. Chaplain Mary Bridges and Bill Cumberland the wife of an employee were both recently diagnosed with breast cancer and have started treatment. We applaud Bill Cumberland, director of environmental services, for so visibly supporting the cause. Leavenworth, Kansas, where a freight train engineer offered a ride to Clay Center. At some point in his travels, the card with the button stitched to it was lost. Through a series of events, Linda Johnson in Hasting, Nebraska, found the button in July. Her husband had been the superintendent of CliftonClyde schools, and she thought she recognized the name on the card. She found Adair’s brother, Russell Haden, in Florida, and then sent him the card. He then sent it to Adair, bringing the card home.
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