United Presbyterian Home

Week of the Young Child finished up late last week with WACO students reading to day care children and visiting residents on campus. Harvey Holden?s great-grandson, Lars Freyenberger, was one of the visitors. He and his friends stopped in to visit with Harvey. Harvey gave them a tour of his apartment and told about living at the UPH.

The young kids were very familiar with visitor, Dan Wardell from Iowa Public Television when he arrived on Friday dressed in his yellow cape. Students from St. James Preschool attended as well as Red Bear Day Care. Many of the youngsters were thrilled that Dan read a book about Clifford to them while here.

Kids and residents planted sunflowers this week in recognition of Earth Day.

During windy weather conditions this week Health Center residents participated in indoor activities. They baked monster cookies one afternoon and later watched a movie about grizzly bears in Alaska while snacking on caramel corn.

Book Club met Wednesday to discuss a nonfiction book by James Bowen, A Street Cat Named Bob. This is the famous story about a beautiful, intelligent stray cat in London. He befriended a street musician and helped him turn his life around. Their story has been viewed many times on YouTube.

Myron Shield hosted a birthday dance in recognition of his 80th birthday on Wednesday for friends and neighbors of the United Presbyterian Home. Ned Francis played dance tunes known to be favorites of his audience. The women in attendance surprised Myron with a dollar dance, the real surprise being that they used pretend money. Dining services provided birthday treats according to Myron?s wishes and everyone enjoyed the social afternoon.

On her Thursday morning walk around the UPH Campus, Carol Ray observed how wonderful it was to see so many trees, shrubs and flowers in bloom. As she walked around the community garden she noticed it is ready for planting.

Classics Et Cetera for April 23 included ?Arrival of the Queen of Sheba? from ?Solomon? by George Frideric Handel; ?Salut d?Amour? by Sir Edward Elgar; 1st Movement of Clarinet Concerto No. 2 by Bernhard Crusell; ?The Cuckoo? by Louis Claude Daquin; ?You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby? played by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra; 2nd Movement of Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff; ?Lullaby? by Edvard Grieg; ?Ridin? de Goat? by Charles Lloyd Barnhouse.

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) aspired to be a great composer, which was a difficult task for one born to a lower class family for whom music was of little interest. His marriage to the daughter of a major general, however, helped in introducing him to the upper classes, and his ?Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1? (?Land of Hope and Glory?), played at the coronation of King Edward VII, brought him instant fame and eventual knighthood. The death of his wife in 1920 devastated Elgar and he composed little thereafter.