Minneman enjoys birthday with over 20 family members

Mike and Donna Orris celebrated their seventieth wedding anniversary on Jan. 25, 2019. Tom Orris and his wife Mary arrived from Lonedell, Missouri to pamper his parents with a trip to the Riverside Casino and dinner on Saturday and Café Dodici for a Sunday brunch. A larger family celebration was held in early September when Mike and Donna were joined by all three of their children; Susan and Frank Mertz, Tom and Mary Orris and David and Michelle Orris along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren for a tour of the last remaining World War II USS Landing Ship Tank while it docked in Bettendorf, Iowa. Following the tour Mike and Donna were surprised with an anniversary celebration in their honor back at the hotel.

Brad and Pat Goff held a celebration dinner in recognition of their daughter Betsy Milam's new job as Human Resources and Assistant Payroll Officer at the Washington County Hospital and Clinics. Betsy's husband Sam attended the dinner held at the Goff home; however, her brother, Scott and his wife Sheila had to cancel due to inclement weather and bad roads.

Pat Minneman enjoyed some well-deserved birthday fun Saturday when her grandchildren and great-grandchildren picked her and John up in a stretch black limo for a trip to her birthday party in Iowa City hosted by her children John and Peg Harris, Ann Harris and Jenny and David Sojka at the Sojka home. The limo ride provided quality time with adult grandchildren and much laughter with the addition of a little bubbly drink. Over 20 family members attended the dinner with a beautiful and delicious buffet of celebration foods.

Residents met for another night at the movies on Saturday to watch Wonder featuring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay. Based on a best-selling novel, Wonder follows the inspiring story of a family whose youngest child, born with facial differences, enters a mainstream school for the first time.

Jane Vetter celebrated her 90th birthday Sunday with a family pizza party attended by her children, grandchildren and great-grandkids. Jane's son Mark was unable to attend due to illness at the time. Jane had an abundance of cakes which she shared with others in the Garrett Center. Jane reports that getting high-fives from her youngest grandchildren brought great joy to her day. A bouquet of beautiful flowers remain in Jane's room as a reminder of her special birthday.

Carol Flickinger was treated to a birthday luncheon Monday in the Moore Family Dining Room. Carol's children Tom and Jana Dawson attended the lunch along with Carol's niece Mary Meeker.

It has been a week for birthday celebrations. Betty Flynn, Lucy Landon and George and Meda Fulton all treated friends and neighbors to goodies at coffee hour in the Town Center this week. What better way to pass a day of frigid temperatures than to share coffee and sweets with friends.

Classics Et Cetera for Jan. 312, 2019 included the overture and Nos. 1 & 2 from 'The Gadfly Suite” by Dmitri Shostakovich; 1st Movement from Quintet for Bassoon & String Quartet by Anton Reicha; 'In the Hall of the Mountain King” from 'Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 by Edvard Grieg; Sextet from 'Lucia di Lammermoor” by Gaetano Donizetti; 'Der Fuehrer's Face” performed by Spike Jones and His City Slickers; 2nd & 3rd Movements from Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) by Robert Schumann; 'The Spaceman,” march by T.J. Powell.

Italian Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) became the top composer of Italian opera between the retirement of Rossini (1792-1868) and the rise of Verdi (1813-1901), with competition from Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835). Equally adept at composing both comic and serious operas, Donizetti had many great successes, one of which was 'Lucia di Lammermoor,” set in Scotland. A high point in that work is the famous sextet in which all of the six principal characters take part. First it's a duet, then a quartet, and finally a sextet, giving all six a chance to express their anger, remorse, horror and terror.