Park West Tribune October 2023

Andrews of Stratford resident Sarah MacQuarrie shows off a few of the pumpkins she picked during a bus trip to Toad Hill pumpkin patch recenty.

UPDATE FROM PARK WEST

Dear family members and friends of Andrews of Park West,

September was a fun month at our home with musical guests and beautiful time spent on our patio

With cooler weather here, we are looking forward to autumn activities like decorating for Halloween, celebrating Thanksgiving and enjoying afternoon musi sessions

Wishing you all a cozy October and a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend spent with family and friends

Sincerely,

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

Antoinette Perry, lieutenant governor of P.E.I., stopped in to wish resident Catherine Hennessey a happy 90th birthday recently. Catherine has long been known as ‘P.E.I.’s heritage lady’ and has recieved numerous accolades for her commitment to preserving the province’s heritage.

Andrews of Parkhill resident Marvin MacEwan takes a swing at the ball during a game of noodleball.

Andrews of Stratford resident Jane Pierce peels cucumbers during a recent pickling party. Team members and residents spent the afternoon peeling and chopping vegetables in preparation for making mustard pickles. Pictured at right is resident Bonita Bevins sister, Laura Bulger.

Andrews of Stratford resident Wanda Ings recently took first prize at the Dundas Plowing Match for a watercolour painting she did during art class at Andrews.

Members of Wine Sing perform at Andrews of Park West.

Andrews of Summerside resident Verna Phillips recently celebrated her 103rd birthday. Verna offered a bit of advice for living as long as she has"Find things to laugh at."

ANDREWS COOKBOOK

In every family there's that one dish that mom or dad makes better than anyone else in the world Maybe it's dad's chili recipe, or mom ' s secret to perfect ginger snap cookies These dishes and desserts become family legend, favourites at holiday parties, birthdays or family dinners The recipes are often passed down through generations and become a part of a family's story We wanted to share those stories Every month we feature a different recipe submitted by one of our residents.

With Thanksgiving this weekend we wanted to share chef Terry’s favourite apple crisp recipe It’s simple, quick and delicious Enjoy!

Ingredients

For apple filling

6 apples peeled and sliced

2tbsp sugar

1 5 tbsp cinnamon

1tsp lemon juice

Crumble mixture

1 cup brown sugar

75 cup oats

75 cup flour

5 cup butter

Apple Crisp

Directions

Mix your apple filling ingredients in a large bowl, making sure to cover the apple slices thoroughly Layer in your baking pan

Combine your crumble mixture ingredients and top your apple filling Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes

Photos by Nathan Rochford. Apple crisp prepared by Andrews' culinary team.

‘We always looked forward to Halloween’

Residents share memories of celebrating spooky holiday

Andrews of Stratford resident Polly Mullin will never forget the Halloween local kids released a pig inside a neighbour’s house as a prank

“I know the woman that was living in that house,” Polly, who grew up in Morell, P E I said “She became a nun ”

As extreme as letting a pig loose inside someone ’ s home may sound, pranks like that were a staple of the holiday in the early to mid-1900s, a time when Halloween customs were still heavily influenced by the English tradition of Mischief Night. P.E.I. newspapers from the time abound with stories of Halloween shenanigans from one end of the Island to the other Tipping over outhouses even setting hay bales ablaze, were all standard fare for the period

In fact, Polly recalls another Halloween where a family woke up November 1 to find their wagon on the roof of their shed

“You’d pretty well know who the little devils were who were around doing that,” Polly said

But not all Halloween pranks were as complicated. Some were simply a play on the old idea of “trick or treat.”

“We would go to the neighbours’ houses and one house we went to, his name was Judge Fraser, he was the sweetest old man, ” said Jane Pierce, who grew up in Souris “We’d knock on the outside and he’d knock on the inside and he would talk to us and say there was nobody home Eventually he’d open the door and he always had wonderful treats for us ”

DRESSING THE PART

While pranks and games were more common, elaborate costumes were not

Families were much larger then, sometimes with as many as 12 children, so when it came to costumes people made do with what they had around the house.

“We didn’t have bought costumes,” said Jane “We’d get dressed with old rags around the house, someone ’ s old clothes or something We would usually get a new mask, but that would be it ”

Resident Evelyn Rafuse’s family made masks out of old pockets cut off of clothing and tied around the face Eye holes were then cut so the wearer could see

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Clippings from P.E.I. newspapers featuring Halloween stories and advertisements. Halloween in the 1930s and 1940s was very different than today. Costumes were simpler parents often felt comfortable letting their young children trick or treat alone.

FREE RANGE KIDS

Another generational difference likely relegated to the past was kids trick or treating alone.

“Now it seems one or both parents go out with their children,” said Jane “We never had that You just went out It was a quiet town and we just trusted everybody We circulated the houses, we went downtown If the stores were open, we always went into the stores ”

Polly and resident Steve MacDonald had similar experiences

“We weren’t scared to go, ” said Polly. “We knew everybody. Their kids would be coming to our house and we’d be going to theirs.”

In Charlottetown, it was common for very young children to trick or treat during the morning, while older kids went out in the evening

“The young ones went in the morning,” said Steve “They’d have their fun and come back for dinner and share their big basket of candies ”

GIMME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT

Like today, candy was a major draw of Halloween for kids

While chips, packaged candy and homemade treats were abundant, Andrews of Parkhill resident Marlene Mitchell looked forward to taffy apples.

“There wasn’t many taffy apples,” she said “It took a lot to make them ”

Residents agreed while Halloween wasn’t celebrated as commercially as it is today, it was still a very popular holiday

“We always looked forward to Halloween,” said Jane

‘I thought I was gonna die’

Campbell remembers the Halloween she was sprayed by a skunk while taking her kids trick or treating

She had taken her kids down to the neighbour’s house They were walking onto the property, when out of nowhere she was hit with an overwhelming odour.

“I got choked up, ” she said “I thought I was gonna die ”

Eventually, the stinging in her eyes subsided and Thelma was able to continue on with her night, despite the smell

When they got home, she made sure to clean herself and her kids thoroughly, erasing any lingering stink from the skunk attack

However, the next morning when they walked into church for Sunday service one of the parishioners announced they smelled skunk Thelma’s heart sank

In the weeks following, news of the skunk incident spread and the whole community was in on the joke, sending sympathy cards to Thelma.

“I had them saved,” she said with a laugh

Andrews of Summerside resident Thelma

OCTOBER

GAMES

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