United Presbyterian Home News

Residents gathered in the Town Center on Friday morning to wish Julia Gamon a happy birthday and celebrate the occasion with coffee and treats provided by Julia.

West Branch Elementary School third grade students dropped off a large box of valentines especially created for veterans of our community. They included notes of thanks for bravery, service and sacrifice, sometimes spelled differently, with wishes for a happy Valentine?s Day. Those notes warmed the hearts of many.

A Valentine Dance was held on Monday afternoon and a large crowd of residents, dressed in shades of red, gathered to enjoy the music of Ned Francis and his one-man band. Everyone from able-bodied dancers to toe tappers moved to the beat of the music. Sweet treats and other hors d? oeuvres were available for valentines to enjoy, compliments of the dietary staff.

Valentine deliveries of flower bouquets, roses and balloons arrived as friends and relatives found ways to show their love of UPH residents.

Up with Day Care children enjoyed valentine fun on Tuesday afternoon when they met in the Health Center to play noodle ball and bean bag toss with residents. The kids presented each resident with a homemade valentine and in return took home a bag of treats.

The February birthday party was held in the Health Center Wednesday afternoon. Marilyn Johnston of the UP Church Circle 3 provided birthday cake for everyone attending the party. Kids from day care sang Happy Birthday to the honorees along with an assortment of other tunes. They were led in song by Adrian Green who enjoyed using the microphone and improvised with a chair for her stage. Those celebrating a February birthday include Sharon Evans, Sally Hubbard, Marjorie Kyle, Raymond Nebel, Marshal Rose and Cal Wolf.

Classics Et Cetera for Feb. 16, included the overture to ?The G?frett Brothers? by Franz von Suppé; 3rd Movement of Petite Symphonie for 9 Winds by Charles Gounod; Prelude No. 7 in C Minor by Frédéric Chopin; ?Romany Life? from ?The Fortune Teller? by Victor Herbert, performed by Patrice Munsel, recorded from ?The Voice of Firestone? radio program; Humoresque No. 7 by Antonin Dvo?ák played by Dick Leibert on the Mighty Wurlitzer at Radio City Music Hall; 1st Movement of Violin Concerto No. 1 by Niccolò Paganini; ?So Long, It?s Been Good to Know Yuh? by Woody Guthrie

Thought by some to be the greatest violinist of all time, Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) combined his extraordinary dexterity, technical ?tricks,? and his angular dark presence on stage, to give the impression that he must have made a pact with the Devil to be able to play the violin like no one could before him. Today?s virtuosos must learn Paganini?s secrets, or most of them, to play the demanding music expected of them, but without help from the underworld.