CLARA WELCH THANKSGIVING HOME NOTES

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Summer in upstate New York is truly a beautiful time of year. The same beauty is found here at the Thanksgiving Home, with its lush green grass, trees in their finery and our gardens, bursting with color and fragrance.
Frank and Gary keep the grounds looking lovely and our “Green Thumbs” Garden Club has done a wonderful job with the annuals, perennials and herbs. The veggie garden is progressing nicely and providing the kitchen with lettuce, onions and herbs, green beans and peas, and pretty soon tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
Our ever faithful morning chair aerobics pals, Fannie Navarra, Hildegard Parr, and Bert Kull Chapin keep in shape daily in the wellness room. The Fun and Fit trainers, Maureen Moglia and Amy Porter really do make exercise fun.
Bobby Mook, Peg Hage, Dotty Bly, Rena Lull, Margaret Reed, Art Laidlaw, Tarbie Hoes, Ruth Druse, Hilde Parr, Wanda Noyes, and Bert Kull Chapin have been in this enjoyable exercise class.
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July 22 Betty and Leonard Sohackie, Eucharistic ministers from St. Mary’s, offered communion and visited with some residents.
Hilde Parr took off downtown for shopping with Sandy Brigham, then later joined our Reading Aloud group which includes Fannie Navarra, Wanda Noyes, Bert Kull Chapin, Tarbie Hoes, led by Susan Kenyon, activities director. This group is now listening to “Ghost of Chance,” the memoirs of Peter Duchin, America’s top society bandleader for over 30 years.
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July 23 brought us a surprise visit from Rosemary and Frank Gould, who met with Alberta and Bill Bowes, Julia Gil, Fannie Navarra, Peg Hage and Martha Quinn caught up on news, old and new. They graciously presented The Home with a Norman Rockwell jig-saw puzzle.
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July 24 our staff and resident picnic at Camp Minnetoska was cancelled due to weather conditions, but Janet Saporito brought some rays of sunshine with “Laugh Lines.” Giggles “a-plenty could be heard from Ruth Druse, Peg Hage, Tarbie Hoes, Fannie Navarra, Hilde Parr, and Wanda Noyes as Janet told her jokes and funny stories.
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July 26 Natalie Laidlaw joined Judy Pooler for jewelry class and in the afternoon, “The Happiest Millionaire,” our Saturday matinee, was shown. On July 27 “It Happened One Night” was the Sunday movie.
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July 28 the garden herbs were brought indoors for a craft session led by Carol Affourtit and Judy Pooler. Bert Kull Chapin, Peg Hage, Fannie Navarra, and Natalie Laidlaw made “Tussie- Mussies”, which are small herb bouquets, tied with ribbon. The entire first floor smelled wonderful!
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July 29 Leon Rathbun, Bill Bowes and Bobby Mook took off for Lakefront Park in the evening to hear “Abbey Road,” “an exhilarating music production,” they reported to all.
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July 31 Nancy Rackmyer led the “Birdwatchers.” The planned field trip was cancelled due to rainy weather but the group gathered in the library instead. Peg Hage, Marguerite Pomeroy, Wanda Noyes, Bobby Mook, Fannie Navarra and Bert Kull Chapin looked at numerous framed prints of birds in their “bird book.”
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Felicitations!!! To our staff and residents celebrating birthdays: Alberta Bowes, Ruth Swart, Bobby Mook, Ruth Druse, Alexa Stanton, Chrissy Karpowich and Jan Scrafford. Sneaking in on Aug. 1, Happy Birthday to our lovely kitty, Ginger.

Labels: Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home Notes, Columns