UP Home News

Brad and Pat Goff celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary recently when they traveled back to the area of their former winter home to have lunch with TV personality P. Allen Smith at his Moss Mountain Farm near Roland, Arkansas. The garden designer and Public Television host of P. Allen Smith Garden Home and P. Allen Smith Garden to Table opens his private home to the public for tours of his lavish flower gardens and 1-acre vegetable garden overlooking the Arkansas River. He often dines with fans that stay for lunch. Brad arranged the trip and tour as a present to Pat for their June 21 anniversary.

Kids in the summer day care program have been busy raising money for summer activities while having fun. They provided car washes Friday in the parking lot east of Kerr Hall where they offered their service for a free-will donation. Owners of the shiny vehicles report that the kids did a very professional cleaning job.

Mildred Houseal was pleased to attend the Meyer reunion held Monday, June 24, 2019, at the Pizza Ranch in Washington with 40 family members attending. Traveling the farthest were Dean and Florie Meyer from Fallbrook, California. Dean's parents, Ted and Leta Meyer, resided at the United Presbyterian Home from 1990 until their deaths in 1999 and 2003.

More than 40 cottagers met Monday evening in the Campus Center to feast on a potluck supper. Larry Bartlett presided with a business meeting announcing birthdays and anniversaries. Cottage residents celebrating June birthdays include Jean Leeper, Kathy Knutson, Judy Driscoll, Jean Frazer, Donna Koehler, Robert Koehler, Jerry King, Joyce Letts and Jane Fehr. Couples celebrating anniversaries this month are Brad and Pat Goff, Gene and Judy Driscoll, Larry and Sarah Bartlett and Carl and Martha Chalupa. Hosts for the evening were Sue Kretzschmar, Carol Ray, Nancy Albert and Jean Frazer. Beautiful fresh floral bouquets decorated each table in summer fashion.

Seven members of the book club met to discuss In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Winspear. Carol Ray led the discussion. The mystery is one of the Maisie Dobbs series. It was set in 1939 at the beginning of Britain's entry into World War II. The book for discussion on July 31 will be Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It is a novel about three generations of a Korean family. The family ended up in Japan and became involved with the Pachinko parlors there.

Mark Gordon Gaskill performed classical 1950s hit music when he visited the United Presbyterian Home on Wednesday afternoon. Dressed in a tuxedo, Mark performed memorable songs from the 50s hit parade including Bye-Bye Love, At the Hop, Smoke Gets in your Eyes, Blueberry Hill and Unchained Melody. It was a toe-tapping good time. Mark is a talented guitarist, keyboardist and singer/songwriter from Gahanna, Ohio, and was accompanied to the United Presbyterian Home by Karen Maguire, daughter of Dorothy Soucek.

Happy Birthday to Joyce Letts and Pat Bagley who celebrated birthdays in the Town Centre this week bringing treats to share. Residents are always eager to help celebrate birthdays and share in the treats.

The soft maple tree that stood at the east entrance to the United Presbyterian Home drive for more than 30 years was taken down Wednesday morning. It may have been the result of poor planning or just that everything changes; but the tree was at a busy intersection blocking the view for drivers and had felt its share of metal scrapes over the years.

Classic Et Cetera for June 27, 2019, included the Overture to 'The Thieving Magpie” by Gioachino Rossini; 'I am the Rose of Sharon” by William Billings; Romance in F-sharp by Robert Schumann; 3rd Movement of Bassoon Concerto in F Major by Franz Danzi; 'Your State Name Here” with The Berrymans; 3rd Movement of Cello Concerto No. 2 by Joseph Haydn; 'Electromagnetic Polka” by Johann Strauss Jr.; 'The War March of the Priests” from 'Athalia” by Felix Mendelssohn.

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was known to be a chronic procrastinator. According to legend, before the first performance of Rossini's new opera 'The Thieving Magpie,” the producer made sure that he composed its overture by locking him in an upstairs room, and Rossini threw the sheets of music out of the window to the copyists below who then wrote the orchestral parts. No one can verify the truth of this story now, but it fits the personality of the great opera composer just fine.