United Presbyterian Home residents perform historical pageant to retell history

When Mary Atwood was asked to be part of the United Presbyterian Home Historical Pageant, she tied an apron around her waist and picked up a script. Atwood was just one of about 20 people who came together to write and perform in a historical pageant at the UP Home in Washington on Wednesday, March 20.

Julia Gamon, a resident at the UP Home, orchestrated the entire event. She said she wanted to have a lighthearted conversation about the history of the campus and find a way to celebrate it.

She spent about three months finding pictures and asking friends to work together to create skits and act them out. The actors portrayed Dr. William McIntyre, Dr. George Kerr, Mrs. Bergman and Maud Jackson, founding patrons of the UP Home when it opened in 1947.

Dr. McIntire, played by Darwin Widmer, was the first superintendent of the home, Dr. George Kerr, played by Herb Yoder, is known as the first father of the home; Maud Jackson, played by Mary Atwood was the first matron; and Mrs. Bergman, played Carol Ray, was among the first people to build a cottage on the campus. The trio were interviewed by current cottage dweller Jana Nieman.

They all shared stories of the founding days of the home and explained the history, hardships with construction and fun anecdotes. One is that during fundraising for the home, a girl in Illinois donated a turkey from her farm. The turkey raised $100 for the construction of the home.

In between slide shows of old pictures and events held at the UP Home were interviews with former CEOs. Esther Bordwell interviewed former CEO Dick Colby, who was at the UP home from 1965-1992.

During their interview, she asked him what his most special memory was during his 27 years as CEO.

'That's easy,” he said. 'I think my most special memory is the people.”

Colby explained he was born in Minneapolis and moved to Des Moines for college. He had experience in hotel management before accepting the job at the UP Home. He was present for the building of Stewart Hall in 1968, the building of the Brownlee Health Center in 1974, and the McCleery wing was added in 1980.

He explained the wing got its name because during construction, the plans were made to create double rooms to cut down on cost. The UP Home members wanted to have single rooms for people to live in and were trying to come up with a way to make that happen.

'Dick McCleery said build it the way you want it and I'll pay the difference,” Colby explained.

After Colby left in 1992, Mike Moore became the CEO and stayed until 2017. Moore, who has a degree in math and accounting from the University of Iowa, says he got the job purely by luck. His wife saw an ad for the job in the paper and he, along with four others, interviewed.

He said when he was offered the job, he thought it would only be a temporary thing but even after taking a pay decrease to get the job and other job offers while CEO, he stayed.

'I couldn't give it up,” he said.

The pageant was attended by both members of the UP Home and members of the public. Jana Nieman, who acted in a skit, said she was happy to see the turnout and be part of telling the history of the UP Home.

'I think it's always important to keep a historical perspective,” she said. 'To know where you come from and see how it is today.”