Vintage valentines to Kerr Hall residents

Rumor has it that Donna Proudfit was the Cupid who delivered personalized vintage valentines to everyone in Kerr Hall. Ella May Ruppert received a teacher valentine, Pat Coon's cat Freddie was included on hers and Pat Bagley had a turtle valentine card. For being a new resident, Donna seems to know everyone very well.

Carla Carter treated friends and neighbors to coffeecake Friday morning in the coffee shop in celebration of her birthday.

A large crowd gathered in the Moore Family Dining Room makeshift dance hall for a Valentine Dance Friday afternoon. Dancers and toe tappers moved to the music of Ned Francis and his one-man band. There were plenty of sweet treats lining the tables, a buffet of hors d' oeuvres for the hungry crowd and a little bubbly for the thirsty ones.

Mildred Houseal attended a farewell dinner at the Crawfordsville Church on Saturday for her granddaughter, Emily Boylan; Emily's husband Scott and daughter Ryleigh Ann. The Boylans are moving from a Marine base in North Carolina to a base in Oregon. A birthday party for Ryleigh was included in the celebration as she will turn 2 in March. Ryleigh's grandparents are Duane and Ann Lewis of Crawfordsville, Iowa. Because the Boylans are making the move in two cars, Grandma Ann traveled along to help with the move.

Residents and day care kids from all centers in Washington were able to meet a real talking dog Monday morning as Ventriloquist Todd Oliver and his canine comedy partner, Irving, visited the United Presbyterian Home. Todd and Irving along with a couple of puppet character friends shared their humor through ventriloquism, music and magic. This comedy-based team of man and canine were a finalist on America's Got Talent and have appeared on several national television shows.

The Wellness Center awarded prizes to those residents who exercised in the Wellness Center and/or participated in the classes offered in the Wellness Center at least 150 times in 2018. This year's winners were awarded with a T-shirt with the Wellness Center screen print on back and the front displaying a bright orange '150” over the following 'PRWUP Champion - Prevention - Wellness - Recovery.” The winners really are Champions, leading the way for their peers. The goal of the Wellness Center is to help people create consistent lifestyle habits to PREVENT ill health, live life happily and healthfully through all dimensions of WELLNESS and when necessary help people RECOVER from setbacks and return to the way of life they desire. Our CHAMPIONS know how to PWRUP (power up) and work hard for their goals in life. There is plenty of time to get 150 workouts in before the end of 2019 and be a PWRUP Champion! This year's PWRUP Champion list includes: Connie Bauer, Betty Beenblossom, Esther Bordwell, Jackie Bower, Dick Colby, Betty Flynn, Julia Gamon, Dean Garrett, Mildred Houseal, Kathy Knutson, Lucy Landon, Joyce Letts, Mary Meeker, Reid Orris, Ella May Ruppert, Ted Stewart, Mary Temple, Betty Thompson, Charlie Thompson, Carol Thornton, Marion Turnipseed, Dorothy White, Gwen Ying and Herb Yoder.

Classics Et Cetera for Feb. 21, 2019 included the overture to 'Lothario” by George Frideric Handel; 'Largo” from Symphony No. 9 ('From the New World”) by Antonin Dvorák (arranged for Brassissimo Vienna brass quintet); 2 Choral Numbers from 'Elijah” by Felix Mendelssohn; 'Land of the Free” by Walter B. Rogers; 'The Typewriter” by Leroy Anderson; Transcription for piano by Franz Liszt of the 1st Movement of Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven; 'The Sirens,” waltz by Emile Waldteufel; 'The Flag of Friendship,” march by Franz von Blom.

Pianist and composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) transcribed orchestral works of 99 different composers for piano. He usually completed only one or two pieces of each composer, but for Beethoven, he transcribed all nine symphonies - a herculean task. At one point he gave up on the Finale of the Ninth (Choral) Symphony, but years later he took it up again and finished even that. Musicologist Dr. Alan Walker (born 1930) stated that Liszt's Beethoven Symphony transcriptions 'are arguably the greatest work of transcription ever completed in the history of music.”