Cuddeback shares stories with Halcyon residents

This past Sunday’s Chapel Service at Halcyon House in Washington was held by Minister Kwang Song of Washington United Methodist Church. The sermon was titled, “Who Is the Blessed?” and Psalm 1:1-6 was read. Minister Kwang Song was accompanied by Virginia Tschantz on piano.

This week, residents attended a Veteran’s Day social where we honored our service members. The event center was beautifully decorated with white lace linens and patriotic center pieces.

Residents’ and loved ones’ photos were displayed for all to honor along with other memorabilia. Residents told stories of their experiences and connected with one another over apple pie and coffee. We Lucky Few and Three of Hearts, stories of first-hand accounts of war-time experiences from veterans in southern Iowa, were shared by Larry Cuddeback, co-author of the books.

Larry came to share stories of his favorite and most interesting experiences he and his daughter, Cheyenne Miller, had while interviewing veterans for the books. The program ended with songs “America the Beautiful” and “This is Our Land” played on piano by Virginia Tschantz while residents hummed and sang along.

Thank you to all who served, and still serve this great country. The week was finished out by a musical performance by Treasure Music. Residents enjoyed the uplifting music and look forward to Treasure Music returning to Halcyon again.

In Wedgewood, residents did a word search puzzle with clues as to what was in the beat up, 100-year-old, “Mystery Suitcase.” Resident Alice George was able to figure out that it was vintage Fisher Price toys in the suitcase.

With the clanging bells on the fire truck these noise making toys brought back a lot of memories and stories to share. These iconic toys have been around since 1930 and have withstood the test of time.

Last week, our residents in Rosewood enjoyed coffee time together in the dining room. Of course chocolate is always involved along with some good conversation. As the weather is getting cooler and the daylight is shorter, conversation turns to Thanksgiving and the holiday season soon upon us.

A lot of reminiscing of holidays and things we are so thankful for are a great topic. Holiday movies are always good to watch in the living room. Tis’ the season!

In Arborwood during “Puzzles and Ponderings,” the residents challenged themselves to complete difficult crossword puzzles. With the help of one another, they were able to figure them all out and move on to complete even more word puzzles!

During exercise, residents had a fun time playing with the parachute. It reminded them of when they would play with the parachute when they were younger which led to reminiscing about times as a kid and even discussed their Thanksgiving traditions they had when they were younger and what they are looking forward to about Thanksgiving this year.

During “Tuesday Tunes,” Fred Stark played the trombone for the residents as they listened in awe. The music inspired them to play on the piano.

We had another great week here at Halcyon House!