3 minute read
To God Be the Glory
Pearlie Ridener, 91, has been a CAP Elderly Services Program participant for nearly 30 years.
— Pearlie Ridener
BY BRIANNA STEPHENS
Pearlie Ridener gently rocks in her chair next to a table with a lovingly-worn Bible. The colorful pattern on her handstitched skirt mimics the summer wildflowers on the mountain outside her window. “The Lord blesses us every way we turn,” she said to Karen Mulder, a one-year volunteer and AmeriCorps member with Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Elderly Services Program, sitting in a chair across the room. “He has blessed me all through my life.”
Ridener, 91, was born and raised in McCreary County, Kentucky, and has been a participant in CAP’s Elderly Services Program for nearly 30 years. Mulder visits Ridener often and enjoys listening to her stories of growing up in Appalachia and her love for God. “I’ve been coming to see Pearlie since January, but it seems like she and I have been together for a long time,” Mulder said. “Pearlie loves to talk about the Lord and relishes quoting Bible verses and discussing the meanings.”
Ridener grew up in poverty on a farm, not far from where she lives now, with her parents and eight siblings. They lived without electricity, used a wagon to travel, and relied on a mule to plow the steep hillsides of their farm. They grew their own crops and raised animals to have what they needed. Nothing on the farm went to waste. Her mother made their clothing, sheets, towels, and underclothes from cattle feed sacks after they were emptied of the food.
“Back then we was poor and didn’t know it. The whole community was the same way,” Ridener recalled. “Soon as we were big enough to hold a hoe handle, we was off to work. It was a lot of hard work, but we had to do it to live.”
When she had five children of her own and a farm to manage, Ridener passed on the skills and value of hard work she learned from her parents along with her faith. Her husband also shared his woodcarving skills, which the family has used to craft and sell furniture and decorations. One of her prized possessions is a grandfather clock handmade by her son. CAP reached out to Ridener shortly after her husband died when she found herself living alone and without adequate resources to meet her own needs. Through the Elderly Services Program, CAP provides friendships and support to seniors in Appalachia and necessary transportation to the store or doctor appointments. Ridener has received food services, made close friends, and enjoyed day trips to surrounding counties as a participant in the program.
“I believe with all my heart the Lord sent CAP to this community. It has been such a great help to me, and I know it has to others,” Ridener noted. “They bring my commodities to me, and I wouldn’t be getting them if they didn’t because I do not drive and I live alone.”
While CAP’s programs make an impact on the communities we serve, the staff and volunteers create life-long friendships and bonds with our participants. “Pearlie and the rest of our participants provide us with insight into life,” Mulder said. “There is a lot of humor and laughter, sometimes there is sadness, but we have become family.”
(above) Pearlie Ridener and her family are skilled woodworkers and can make anything from small figurines to furniture. This grandfather clock was made by Ridener’s son and is one of her prized possessions.
(above) Pearlie Ridener (right) shows off her chickens to Karen Mulder (left) a one-year volunteer and AmeriCorps member with CAP. They enjoy their visits through CAP's Elderly Services Program.
(left) Ridener has also enjoyed day trips and gatherings through the program and made friends like Alice Banks (right). This was the first in-person gathering this summer, after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, that brought together participants from Jackson, Rockcastle, and McCreary Counties.
