WEDNESDAY, march 18, 2020 | SENIOR LIVING | PAGE 1
SENIOR LIVING THORNE CREST Senior
Living Community presents a
Historical Lecture Series
Gary Schindler is a retired administrator at Riverland Community College and has devoted much of his time in retirement in history related travel and research. His lectures have been showcased in lecture series across southern Minnesota.
H Friday, April 17 at 2pm
Free and open to the public!
“Songs from ‘Your Hit Parade’ in World War II”
Enjoy some of the major hit songs and performers from December 1941 through April 1945. Listeners will hear the original hit songs as determined by the producers of "Your Hit Parade".
H Friday, May 8 at 2pm “The Golden Age of Radio" Relive a "day in radio" as we explore popular radio programs that aired from 1940 to 1955. We will gather around the Victrola to relive the Golden Age of Radio.
– Please join us in the Theatre/Chapel – 1201 Garfield Avenue • Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373-2311 • ThorneCrest.net
Thorne Crest is owned and operated by American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a not-for-profit provider of senior health care since 1930.
A community get-together
Thorne Crest Senior Living Community staff dress up for the car show in 2019. Provided
Thorne Crest Senior Living Community prepares for 15th annual car show By Sarah Stultz
sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com
Thorne Crest Senior Living Community leaders are preparing for the 15th annual classic car show to take place May 28 outside of the facility. The show in recent years has brought in about 100 classic cars, said Marilyn Claassen, Thorne Crest activities director, and Beth Rheinfels, office manager. “It’s something for the community and our community to enjoy together,” Claassen said, noting that it brings many of the residents back to their earlier years when they worked on or drove classic cars. Parking of cars begins at 2 p.m. in the west parking lot the day of the event, with the show starting at 3:30
p.m. for residents and 5 p.m. for the general public. The show typically extends into the parking lot at Hawthorne Elementary School next to the senior care facility. Prize winners will be announced at 6:45 p.m. In addition to the show itself, there will be Bruno’s corndogs, root beer floats and snow cones available for purchase, along with free entertainment. Commemorative dash plaques and a gift bag will be given to the first 100 cars that register. There is no cost to register. Rheinfels said the event has become a good way to kick off the summer season and said she starts receiving calls about it at the end of January from classic car enthusiasts who look forward to attending the show.
“Everybody loves it,” she said. The event is also a fun time for the Thorne Crest employees, many of whom dress up in poodle skirts and other outfits to celebrate the day. Residents enjoy the theme of the show throughout the day with chicken strip baskets and burger baskets offered to them for meals, Claassen said. Last year, one of the residents received a surprise when friends and family detailed one of his classic cars and brought it to the show. He ended up winning first place. Families of many past residents also attend, Claassen said. The women encouraged community members to come out to enjoy the show. Thorne Crest is at 1201 Garfield Residents eat Bruno’s corndogs while watching the car show a previAve. ous year. Provided
4 family members either work or live at Good Samaritan Society By Sarah Stultz
sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com
It’s all in the family for Jill and Michael McGary and two of their three sons, Travis and Daniel. Jill McGary and the two sons work at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea facilities, while Michael McGary is a resident of Good Samaritan’s skilled nursing facility. Jill McGary said she has worked for Good Samaritan Society for seven years and started as a registered nurse in the post-acute unit working overnights. She gradually transitioned over to become the senior living director and has been doing that for about six years. In this position, she is in charge of nursing and administrative oversight of staff at the Good Samaritan Hidden Creek and Bancroft Creek Estates facilities. There are 24 apartments at Hidden Creek, and 44 at Bancroft Creek. Travis McGary said his first job was lifeguarding and he had to
use first aid and CPR during his first year working. “I knew from then I always wanted to help people, and this was a good opportunity,” he said. He has worked as a nursing assistant at Bancroft Creek Estates since 2016. Daniel McGary has always worked in food service of some kind and heard about an opening in the dietary department at Hidden Creek and Bancroft Creek Estates two or three years ago, and applied for the job, his mother said. Michael McGary said he has been a resident in the nursing facility since September and was also previously there for therapy in 2015. He said 33 years ago when he was 24, he was diagnosed with a tumor inside his spinal cord. At the time, he was living in southern California. Doctors removed the tumor, but he suffered some nerve damage, although he was still able to walk.
At the end of 1999, he met his wife, and that’s when they moved to Minnesota. He said it was a slow decline until 2015, when he was having great difficulty walking, and additional problems were found. He had a pulmonary embolism and came to Good Samaritan for three months for rehab. This past year, he said, things started getting more difficult for him physically and more medical issues came up. He came to the care center for a rehab, but ultimately decided to stay because he needed more help than his wife could provide. The family said they enjoy working through Good Samaritan Society, and it is convenient that they all live and work near each other. “I’m able to swing by and see him and say hi,” Jill McGary said of her husband. The couple’s third son does not work through Good Samaritan So- Jill McGary, not pictured, and two of her three sons work at Good Saciety but also lives in Albert Lea. maritan Society, where her husband, Michael McGary, also lives. Provided