United Presbyterian Home News

Cottages once occupying addresses of 34 Maple Lane and 36 Maple Lane moved slowly down the street to new locations this week taking with them a bit of the United Presbyterian Home history. As two of the oldest cottages remaining on campus, 34 Maple Lane was built in 1954 by the Warnock sisters, Lucile and Mary. Other residents occupying this cottage include Frances Marshall, Rev. and Lois Fergus Grice, Margaret and Mary Ballantyne, David and Lena McGaffey and in 1999 Mary Case moved in.

The cottage at 36 Maple Lane was built in 1960 by Margaret Work who lived there until 1979 at which time Agnes and Jeanette Ballantyne moved in. Bessie Love occupied the cottage beginning in 1985 and Jean Wells moved to the cottage in 1999. Residents watched the moving process when the first house was jacked up and a trailer slid underneath for travel down the road. The entire process was repeated just days later for the second cottage. We were sorry to see the cottages go, but they make way for future development not yet determined.

Residents met for the Saturday night movie, Finding Forrester in which Jamal Wallace played by Rob Brown is a talented 16-year-old basketball player in New York City with a passion for writing. William Forrester played by Dean Connery is a reclusive Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who never gave the world a second novel. After an accidental meeting, Forrester becomes Jamal's unlikely mentor, providing guidance to help develop the young man's exceptional skills. Soon Forrester's harsh view of the world begins to change as both men learn lessons from each other about life, and the importance of friendship.

Residents participated in Active Aging Week by redefining active with what it means to them in one word. A poster of many words is displayed in the Wellness Center with words including exercise, walking, movement, strength, creativity, positive, mindful, involved, and sociability. Children came up with a few original words that couldn't be deciphered. The Iowa Healthiest State Walk also took place this week on the Cottrell Walking Path with residents and members of the Washington community participating on Wednesday afternoon. A board game bonanza was held on Friday in which residents engaged their minds in interactive thought with friends to finish out Active Aging Week.

Aegis Therapy offered fall assessment classes this week recognizing October as Physical Therapy Month. Campus therapists met with residents to assess their safety and risk of falling. They offered ideas to strengthen one's body and tips to prevent a fall. A special gift was awarded to residents dressed in Halloween costume. Lucy Landon was the lone, brave, creative sole who came dressed in a family Kimono with a story to go with it.

Kerr Hall residents met for lunch in the Moore Family Dining Room Tuesday with Dorothy Koehler and Herb Yoder serving as hosts. Herb offered a blessing prior to a baked potato bar meal. The dining room was beautifully decorated in a fall theme and residents enjoyed a shared lunch with neighbors.

Classics Et Cetera for October 10, 2019 included the overture to 'The Creation” by Franz Joseph Haydn; 'Agnus Dei” by Georges Bizet; 'Fingal's Cave” (or 'Hebrides”) Overture by Felix Mendelssohn; 'Dah Vieni Alla Finestra” from 'Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; 'Black Rock” played by The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra; 3rd Movement of Symphony No. 6 ('Pathétique”) by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; 'The Mad Major” a march by Kenneth J. Alford.

In 1829, at the age of 20, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) set out to travel. After a concert season in London, he set off on a summer tour of Scotland. On his excursion, his visited Fingal's Cave on the small, uninhabited island of Staffa in the Inner Hebrides, about five miles off the northwest coast of Scotland. The cave is famous for its eerie walls of hexagon-shaped pillars of basalt that look like a huge set of organ pipes inside and out of its 260-foot length. The sea swashes in and out of the cave's 70-foot height and 40-foot width. Mendelssohn immediately started composing his now-popular 'Fingal's Cave” (or 'Hebrides”) Overture with its ghostly sounds of the sea.