Andrews Tribune by Andrews Senior Care

Andrews of Stratford residents had the

Covehead Lighthouse recently during a summer

tour of the North Shore. Pictured

Audrey Doherty, Sharon Woods-Bryenton, Camilla MacPhee and Naida Bawag.

UPDATE FROM ANDREWS

Dear family members and friends of Andrews Senior Care,

We had an amazing June at our homes We celebrated Father’s Day, our Stratford home’s 19th anniversary, enjoyed lots of live music, special meals, outdoor time and e-bike rides.

This month we celebrated Canada Day, will be trying virtual reality goggles, enjoying summer parties, outdoor exercise and scenic bus trips

We wish you all a wonderful start to July and a great summer!

Sincerely,

Andrews Senior Care

Team member Laura MacArthur, an LPN, and resident Anna Doucette share a laugh while walking to lunch at Andrews of Summerside

F A T H E R ’ S D A Y

We celebrated Father’s Day at our homes this past month. We enjoyed live music, special meals and other treats.

S

Adele Gardiner shows off a quilt she made for her granddaughter. Adele, a lifelong quilter, is worried future generations aren’t taking up the craft.

Andrews’ resident hopes younger generations will take up quilting

Former quilter Adele Gardiner wants to see more young people taking up the craft

Adele, a resident at Andrews of Summerside, started quilting when she was 9-years-old. She was taught by her mother, who was taught by her mother.

What started as a pastime as a young girl, became a lifelong passion. After years of quilting as a hobbyist, she went on to open The Village Craft House in North Bedeque, P.E.I. with a team of other women, selling quilts to clients around the world. She saw first-hand the joy quilting brought, not only to the people buying the finished product, but to the people making the quilts as well. She hopes future generations don’t lose that tradition.

“Nobody’s brought up with it in their homes,” she said. “I’d like to see somebody training a lot of the younger people.”

It's a sentiment shared by many in the quilting community, including Polley Whitlock, owner of Stitch in Time Quilting Studio in Hunter River, P E I

While Adele stepped away from her quilting business in the late 1990s, Polley opened her shop in 2015 She sells handmade quilts and offers classes One thing that’s stood out to her is the average age of the people interested in learning to quilt is generally 65 or older

“Nowadays there’s very few people who do it by hand,” she said “I wish people would ”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

“IT WAS ESSENTIAL”

Quilting has been part of the cultural, excuse the pun, fabric of Prince Edward Island for centuries. The practice was brought to the Island by French colonists in the 1600s. These quilts were primarily functional, serving as a source of warmth during the winter months. They were also much simpler in design, being made of repurposed clothing, blankets, horsehair and wool.

“It was essential,” said Polley “Quilting at that time was more about keeping your family warm ”

At a time when labour was divided along gender lines, quilting was primarily the work of women Girls would begin learning to quilt early in life and would develop the skill throughout adulthood

With the Industrial Revolution came more affordable and more available fabric By the end of the 1800s, decorative quilts were becoming more common It was also during this period that quilting bees became a form of social work in many communities Bees would often happen during the summer, between the planting and harvesting Women would gather together to work on a quilt, socialize and share food and drink

These traditions of working communally and passing down skills from mother to daughter remained strong throughout the late 1800s and into the 1900s It wasn’t until after the Second World War, when a combination of urbanization and an increase in women working outside the home, began impacting the popularity of quilting The rural lifestyle that birthed quilting bees was disappearing

“There’s just not enough interest as far as I can see, ” said Adele

NEW LIFE

Despite Adele’s and other veteran quilters concerns, there are younger people taking up quilting – albeit differently than Adele’s generation Maggie J. Whitten Henry, 38, began quilting in 2023 and now belongs to three quilting groups – Kindred Sprits Quilt Guild, the Modern Quilt Guild and Young and Millennial Quilters, a Facebook group that brings together young quilters from around the world. She’s met a number of quilters similar to her, who grew up appreciating the craft and took it upon themselves to learn.

She believes young people are quilting, but are less likely to join a realworld quilting guild than previous generations As someone who enjoys the social aspect of meeting regularly with other quilters, that’s something she hopes will change

“I love it,” she said, adding she’d like to bring quilting into new and different spaces

For her, quilting is the perfect artform, combining creativity, portability, technical skill and utility

“It’s very satisfying and practical,” she said “I’m definitely enjoying it so far ”

Members of Adele’s quilting group working on a quilt. At its peak, the business made 10 to 12 quilts a year to clients around the world.

A close-up of the intricate stitching on one of Adele’s quilts.

A painting of a traditional quilting bee in the 1800s.

Debra had pitched the idea of raising money for Christmas lights to her sister, who volunteers with the Girl Guides, after seeing how happy residents were with their creative indoor decorations in 2023 Her hope was to raise enough money to decorate the halls on all three floors of Andrews of Parkhill

“On the second floor we had enough lights where we kind of cris-crossed them back and forth all the way up the hall and the residents thought it was amazing,” she said “They could walk down the hall, they thought they were in Las Vegas or something They all wanted to live on the second floor. They’re already excited. They’ve all been asking ‘when are you decorating for Christmas?’”

Barb Pye, activity director at Andrews of Parkhill, helped spearhead the second-floor decorations in 2023. She’s thankful for the Girl Guide’s generosity and is excited about the creative opportunities afforded by the donation.

“I can’t describe the feeling it gave to the residents,” she said. “To hear them saying ‘it’s magical’. This year, nobody is going to do without. To see these little ones (Girl Guides), to see them doing this for our residents, it was just a really good feeling.”

Team members at Andrews of Parkhill will start decorating in late November and decorations will remain up until January.

Debra Stavert, centre, photographed with Andrews of Parkhill residents and members of the Kensington Girl Guides.

ABOVE & BEYOND

June 2024

Every month our team and residents recognize one team member for showing exceptional care

Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Harpreet Kaur

Harpreet is a team player, always willing to help where and when she’s needed She’s kind, professional and excels at food presentation

Harpreet started working as a cook at Andrews of Parkhill in 2023 Prior to joining our team, she worked in similar roles at restaurants in Montreal

Since joining our Parkhill team, Harpreet has felt supported by her colleagues and welcomed by our residents

“I love my colleagues,” she said “They’re very friendly ”

In her spare time, Harpreet enjoys cooking at home and watching horror movies. One of her favourite dishes to make is a pav bhaji, a street food dish from India consisting of a thick vegetable curry served with a soft bread roll

Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Amandeep Kaur

Amandeep is a pleasure to work with She’s always willing to help when and where needed, is compassionate toward our residents and shows genuine care and concern toward her team members We are fortunate to have her at Andrews of Summerside Amandeep first started working as a caregiver at Andrews in 2022. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a dispatcher. While her background is finance, she adapted to working in senior care very quickly

“I’ve never had this kind of job,” she said “I really like the residents They’re a part of my life now I really like their company. (They) feel like grandparents.”

When she’s not at work, Amandeep enjoys being with friends, traveling and spending time in nature

Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Mindy Anderson

Mindy is a hard-working, dedicated team member who is always willing to help her team members. She has a great rapport with our residents and consistently goes the extra mile to put a smile on their faces.

Mindy started working as a server at Andrews of Charlottetown six years ago Prior to joining our team, she worked for a number of years as a restaurant cook Today, she is our souschef, a role she thoroughly enjoys She said the most rewarding part of her day is interacting with the residents

“I love hearing the residents’ stories,” she said “I love hearing what they went through and seeing their smiles ” When she’s not at Andrews, Mindy is busy working as a cook at the P E I Brewing Company, or at one of her security guard jobs

Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Jenny Watson

Jenny is extremely organized, takes care of our residents needs efficiently and with care. She is a pleasure to work with and we are fortunate to have her as part of our team

Jenny started working at as a housekeeper at Andrews of Stratford almost three years ago After eight months in the role, she became Facility Manager

While her work revolves between managing the building and coordinating the housekeeping team, she said the best part of each day is the residents “I enjoy getting to know them and spending time with them,” she said When she’s not at work, Jenny enjoys walking her dogs Her favourite spot to take them is Kinlock Beach

Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Rejani Thomas Rejani is a dedicated team member, always willing to go the extra mile for our residents and fellow team members.

We are fortunate to have her as part of our Park West team Congratulations, Rejani!

Parkhill Summerside

Charlottetown

Stratford

Park West

Sudoku

The object of the puzzle is to fill the remaining squares, using all the numbers 1–9 exactly once in each row, column, and the nine 3 × 3 subgrids

Community Cash 50/50

Weekly 50/50 draw in support of support not for profit groups including Murphy s Pharmacies Community Centre and the Holland College Athletics Department Anyone can play for just $2/week