United Presbyterian Home News

Diners arriving for the Cinco de Mayo meal on Sunday in the Moore Family Dining Room were greeted with virgin margaritas, chips and salsa. The remainder of the special menu included traditional fiesta foods of tacos, quesadillas, rice and refried beans. It was a lively group of people who lingered to celebrate more following the meal. Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday recognizing the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. In America, Cinco de Mayo recognizes Mexican-American cultures and is typically celebrated with Mexican food and drink.

The family of Cathy Kleese held a retirement party in her honor Sunday afternoon in the Moore Family Dining Room. A large crowd of well-wishers attended including friends, neighbors, family and co-workers from Cathy's past and present. Cathy says that she was overwhelmed with the turnout and it was good to see people that she hasn't visited with in a while. Cathy will retire at the conclusion of the 2019 school year following 35 years of service with the Washington Community School District.

The UPH Wellness Center held an open house on Tuesday afternoon to commemorate the opening of the warm water therapy pool to the public. Wellness staff offered tours of the pool and locker room area while adding information about the facility and how to participate. The inaugural fitness class took place on Monday afternoon with five people attending the 30 minute workout session taught by Hanna Brenneman. The class was a combination of stretches and movements that utilized water resistance to get a full aerobic workout with less stress and strain on muscles and joints than most traditional aerobic exercises. The Wellness Center will offer early morning, afternoon and late afternoon classes to accommodate various schedules. Personal training and physical therapy also will be offered using the two treadmills built in to the bottom of the pool which can be adjusted for individual workout sessions. The treadmill support arms can be removed to allow for up to nine people in one exercise class.

Lucy Landon recently traveled with her two sisters to Savannah, Georgia, to attend a wedding of the young lady whom Lucy was a nanny for at one time. The sisters visited a niece enroute. They enjoyed lots of good seafood in Savannah and learned quite a bit about the city's history on a trolley tour.

The United Presbyterian Home is honored to have a wonderful group of volunteers and they expressed their gratitude by hosting a breakfast for them Thursday morning. Volunteers were treated to a buffet of spinach quiche, bacon, cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit while listening to the piano music of Andrew Zuehlke. Children from Up with Day Care entertained, putting motion to music as they sang songs familiar to them including Yes, Jesus Loves Me, Our God is Awesome God and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. They exited the room giving volunteers a high five. United Presbyterian Home CEO, Erin Drahota thanked all volunteers for their gifts of time, talent and service to our community while staff members handled out T-shirts with a LIFTUP slogan, fitting for the many ways the service of these volunteers lift us up.

Classics Et Cetera for May 9, 2019 included preludes to Act 1 and 3 of 'La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi; Serenade, D. 957, by Franz Schubert (performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, lyric baritone, and Gerald Moore, piano accompanist); 1st & 2nd Movements of 'Serenade for Strings” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Sonata No. 3 in A Minor by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged for contrabassoon and piano; the four movements of 'Music for the Royal Fireworks” by George Frideric Handel; 'Santilla,” a march by Thomas Preston Brooke.

Gerald Moore, CBE (1899-1987), a British classical pianist, made a fine career of accompanying other musicians and became famous doing so. His book, 'The Unashamed Accompanist,” (1943) explains it all. His first recording accompanying the violinist Renée Chemet was released in 1921. Subsequently he was the preferred accompanist for singers Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Victoria de los Angeles and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and cellist Pablo Casals, among other top classical performers. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1954.