Commun ty Matters Wichita Presbyterian Manor
October 2017
Walk to end Alzheimer’s The Wichita Walk to End Alzheimer’s is this month, and there is still time to get involved.You can join us on the Wichita Presbyterian Manor team. Or you can show your support even without even taking a step, by donating money or volunteering to help at the event.
The Wichita event is Saturday, Oct. 21, at WaterWalk. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.There is a ceremony at 11 a.m., and then the walk begins. The route is 2.4 miles. The overall goal for the Wichita walk is to raise $194,755.The money will help the Alzheimer’s Association provide much needed care and support to people affected by the disease as well as fund critically needed Alzheimer’s research. Alzheimer’s disease is now the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death. In Kansas alone, 51,000 people live with Alzheimer’s. For more information or to make a donation visit alz.org/walk.
Farewell,Yvonne
Longtime dining services staff member retires After 16 years of serving our residents with care in the kitchen and dining room,Yvonne Mimbi is retiring from the dining services team at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. In that time,Yvonne has witnessed major changes in the way our residents experience meals and mealtimes. The No. 1 change is choice. “Now it’s more like a restaurant style than when I started there,” Yvonne said. “It wasn’t like they could come in and choose what they wanted. Now they can.” When Yvonne started in our kitchen, she was initially a salad maker. Later she graduated to pureeing foods for residents who required it, but that has also become less common. Spending time with the residents in the dining room was always her favorite part of the job. “It’s about being around the residents; some of them are so pleasant to be around, and the staff, too,” she said. Many told her how much they would miss her after she retires. Some of the residents made a lasting impression on Yvonne. She recalled FAREWELL, continued on page 2
FAREWELL, continued from page 1
one gentleman who liked to make birthday cards for people — including Yvonne and other staff members. And she’ll always remember how he looked after his wife, who needed softened food. “He always made sure his wife’s food was the right consistency, and he wouldn’t feed it to her if it wasn’t.” Leaving Presbyterian Manor is a bittersweet time for Yvonne. One
Fellow residents and staff members say their farewells to Yvonne Mimbi.
Brad Radatz, interim executive director Melody Dodge, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Amy Watson, life enrichment director, awatson@pmma.org. Telephone: 316-942-7456 Fax: 316-941-3806 Address: 4700 W. 13th St., Wichita, KS 67212-5575 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. WichitaPresbyterianManor.org
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Community Matters October 2017
We wish Yvonne the best in her retirement. And we’re grateful to everyone on our dining services team who makes mealtimes pleasant and enjoyable for all.
Halloween memories
Stories about treats, spooks and traditions
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Wichita Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.
of the things she liked best about working with older adults is that it reminded her of her parents, who have passed away. “It was like being around my mom and dad again every day. The residents are really sweet and interesting, and they tell you such interesting things from their past.”
Making mischief, making memories, making a pile of candy — how do you remember the Halloweens of your youth? We asked our residents and staff members to share some of their favorite stories and traditions from the spookiest holiday. Ann Hunter of the Westerly Residences grew up in the small town of Port City, Iowa. As an annual prank on Halloween, kids would tip over outhouses, and also load them on trucks and line the main street with them. The farmers would all be missing their outhouses when they went out to work.
Peggy Endicott and Marlene Stine of the Westerly Residences remember enjoying candy corn — it was always that special Halloween treat. They also said the “wax bottle candy” (a.k.a. Nik-L-Nips) was the candy they loved. They were shaped like mini pop bottles and filled with a liquid “juice” candy concentrate. After you sucked out the liquid, you could chew on the wax like a piece of gum. Home Health Director Cheryl Rains: “I grew up in a small town of 4,500 people. Back then it didn’t seem dangerous or inappropriate for my 11-year-old brother to take my sister (7) and me (8) trick-ortreating. He had us put our little plastic pumpkins away and grab queen-sized pillow cases from the linen closet. He drug us all over the entire town. I think we even doubled back on some of the houses with HALLOWEEN, continued on page 3 Like us on Facebook
the “good candy.” I was so tired by the time we headed back home that I was dragging my pillow case full of candy. About 13 blocks later I happened to look down and saw that my pillow case had worn a hole in it from dragging, and I had a trail of candy stretching back farther than I could see. I started crying. Rick tied a knot in the pillow case and we proceeded to back track and pick up each piece of candy. I think it was one of the longest nights of my young life!”
Resident Marty Hartwell remembers that her younger brother was always a real troublemaker when they were kids. One year as a Halloween prank, he and his buddies got together and decided to stack up the huge woodpile for heating the school building in front of the main schoolhouse door so that the next day, no one could get in the building to go to school. The next morning, the principal arrived and was upset. As punishment, he made the entire second grade class unstack the wood.
Meggin Nicolas, life enrichment staff: “For years we had the tradition of setting out tables and chairs to watch a few kidfriendly Halloween movies outside projected on the garage door. We would have five or six huge dishes of assorted candy for the neighborhood kids to pick from and would make appetizers, hot chocolate and apple cider for all the family and the passers-by. Everyone in the neighborhood made sure to stop.
Carol Sue Friess of the Westerly remembers growing up very poor on their family farm. Every year they would head to Independence for the Halloween parade. One year she decided to make her own confetti to throw at the parade. She spent all day cutting up catalogs and getting the pieces ready. She used a small match box — the kind that slid open and shut — to collect the confetti. When they got to the parade, she decided she was going to
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throw the confetti on her brother. She slid the matchbox open only to discover she was accidentally holding it upside down. Instead of getting her brother, it just all fell to the ground in one big pile. Dining Services staff members Brooklyn Plogger and Kalvinh Thongsophaphone loved going to houses where people would hand out the big bars of candy. It was always the best surprise on Halloween. Their favorite candies included Laffy Taffy and Sour Skittles.
Pastor appreciation breakfast October is Pastor Appreciation Month, so we have planned a special event to honor your pastor. Residents are invited to attend this special breakfast with their pastor. The key is that residents must get their pastor to attend. We have a prepared a special invitation that you can give to your pastor. In some cases there are many residents who attend the same church. There will need to be a little coordination in who will be contacting the pastor. Contact Chaplain Greg Spring if you need Like us on Facebook
an invitation or information about this special event. Our Pastor Appreciation Breakfast will be Tuesday, October 10, at 8 a.m. The celebration will be in The Landing and Commons area. We are encouraging an RSVP for pastors and residents so that we will have plenty of food prepared. At the event, there will be two special activities that you might consider participating in. We will have a photo booth for pictures to be taken of residents with pastors.
If it is appropriate our residents are encouraged to give their pastor a tour of our community and maybe even a quick peek at their apartment. Wichita Presbyterian Manor
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Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s Post-Acute To Home (PATH®) program isn’t just about getting you home—it’s about getting you back to your life. Call 316-942-7456 today to schedule your personal appointment and tour. WichitaPresbyterianManor.org
Tell your holiday stories We will feature Christmas in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. If you have a story about Christmas, whether a favorite tradition or a memorable holiday celebration, 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. Contact Amy Watson, life enrichment director, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.
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Community Matters October 2017
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