Beaumont News April Issue

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VOLUME TWENTY FIVE, NUMBER FOUR

APRIL 2011

Fun, fashion on magic carpet of memories

By Joe Fortenbaugh, Beaumont President

I can still see it in my dreams.

Residents and staff together, modeling clothes that for many recall magical or dramatic moments; Piper Sonoma méthode champenoise sparkling wine, Chef Mark’s herb-crusted roast lamb chops, Rose-Marie Pringle pulling it all together, and . . . myself, in tie and vest to match the red carpet, as Master of Ceremonies.

In my dream, much abbreviated . . .

First down the runway is Mrs. Marie Furlong, escorted by Mr. Dave Wells, husband of Human Resources Director Mary Wells. The lovely Marie has on a creamy natural mink jacket over a dusty pink and gray knit suit. Mrs. Catherine Ogden is next, on the arm of our former board chairman, Mr. Jack Miller.

Photo by Ann Louise Strong “Horsing around” for the show, as MC Joe Fortenbaugh put it, are Beaumont Vice President (for continued on page 2 Health Services) Linda Lemisch and her husband, Tony, who often do go riding together for real.

Photo by Louise Hughes Mrs. Nancy Webster and her husband, Maurice, will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary April 26. More fashion show photos pages 2, 6, 7.

This elegant cookie was one of the special favors and decorations enjoyed by guests at the show. New Dining Supervisor Robin Daye, making her debut as a Beaumont photographer, snapped it quickly before anyone could eat it.

Office Manager in Outpatient, in navy blue beaded chiffon; and Sue Charest, also from Outpatient, in lavender continued from page 1 chiffon.

Next: Kristen Ganley, Social Mrs. Ogden is wearing a beautiful, Services director, in a 1950s bridesjazzy, red top and slacks from her maid’s dress, black-lace and strapcruise wardrobe . . . less, escorted by Dr. Don Mrs. Sally Herd, in floating painted Trachtenberg, dapper in white tie and silk [Picture P.7] . . . Mrs. Dorothy tails; followed by Dr. Jay MacMoran Maass, in a coat she made herself, with Mrs. Elizabeth Royer [Picture P. escorted by Director of Nursing Paul 7], wearing her grandmother’s 1884 McCleary . . . Housekeeping Director wedding cape and bonnet, and carryBrock Nichols, escorting Mrs. Lillian ing a bouquet made for the same Lefevre [Picture P.6], in a gold and grandmother’s Golden Wedding coppery tunic she had made from fabPhoto by Ann Louise Strong anniversary . . . ric bought in a bazaar in Yemen, Kristen Gaspari, wait staff, on Brock where a man spit in her face because Fashion-conscious table numbers stood proudly in their tiny shoes.

Nichols’ arm, modeling a wedding she was not wearing a burka . . . dress from the 1950s; Jenny Hadfield, Oh, what have we here? A mysterious guest, not on Director of Recreation, in her 2008 gown, escorted by the program, wearing a burka! [Pictures P.6] Now, ladies and gentlemen, for sports attire: Mr. Mr. Wells; and Mr. John Culp escorting his daughter, Edwin Donaghy, our award-winning golfer, and his wife Lea Culp Knarr, in her dress with a little mud on the and sometimes caddy, Sophie, who appear to be hem, reminder of the double nor’easter that failed to looking for something [Picture P.6], and Dr. Robert spoil the 2009 wedding day that Lea (our Resident Morgan and his wife, Carole, who have won a number Care Coordinator) remembers as “magical” [Picture of tennis trophies. Following behind is Kisa Wolf, who P.6].

Our last bride is Mrs. Nancy Webster, with her husband, works in Physical Therapy here, modeling a vintage Maurice [Picture P.1]. They will celebrate 70 years of tennis outfit that was made in 1950 by our very own marriage this month. And with presentation of flowers Mrs. Elizabeth Royer, and carrying a tennis racket and a toast to the Websters, the show comes to . . . belonging to Mrs. Ann Louise Strong . . .

No! Finally, a little late, but welcomed warmly by the (I said Mrs. Strong won with that racket at Wimbledon, and some people actually believed me, audience, come 3-year-old twins Jakeer and Jakyra but the fact is that while she has many ribbons and Hudgins [Picture P.6], ring bearer and flower girl, whose mother, Kerry Ann Campbell Hudgins, works in trophies, they were all for riding horses . . .)

In a bright red parka is Mr. Bob Herd, in the jacket he the Health Center.

And so my dream ends, but not the memories. was required to wear on a birding trip to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands on the M/S Explorer. The ship sank in heavy ice a few years later . . .

BEAUMONT NEWS Now Health Services’ Linda Lemisch, a Beaumont The Beaumont News is published by vice president, and her husband, Tony, horsing around the residents and staff of the for us [Picture P.1], though they have real horses and Beaumont Retirement Community, ride them in real life . . .

601 N. Ithan Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 And next a mini-concert: Two singers from Dining Services, Monique Walters (“At Last”) and Joe Hoban Managing Editor Mary Graff (“What a Wonderful World”) plus a third from Dietary, Production Editor Christine Johnson-Hall Cherish Clayton (“The Way We Were”). Outstanding Editor Emeritus and Historian Louise Guthrie voices!

Concluding the program, for all you romantics (I New Residents Editor Jean Kirk said), the bridal section: Photo Editor Louise Hughes First come three beautiful ladies who have seen Events Manager Kim Norrett sons or daughters married in recent years, dressed as Proofreader Jennie Frankel they were at the weddings: Marketing Director Audrey Circulation Manager Barbara O’Brien Walsh, in navy blue beaded satin; Jeanne Drumheller,

Fashion show . . . .

The deadline for the May 2011 issue of the Beaumont News will be April 8. Please sign your story and either turn it in at the front desk or better, if you can, e-mail it to Mary Graff at graffs@msn.com. Please keep a copy for yourself!

For back issues, please go to our website, www.beaumontretirement.com 2

Reunited with her plants in her Beaumont kitchen after the 2011 Philadelphia Flower Show last month is Cecily Clark, who hasn’t missed a show since she first took part in one in 1945.

Continuing a decades-long winning streak, this year she ended up with two white ribbons for “Best Ivy of the Day” on separate days, two first-place blues, seven second-place reds, and [not shown below] four third-place yellows, two honorable mentions, and four commendations.

Photos by Ann Louise Strong

Report from the Flower Show

By Cecily Clark

blooming, and other categories.

That is the section where I live three days a week during the show.

Each exhibitor makes changes or not each day, according to where the plant might do best with the competition. Each plant must be reg r o o m e d , cleaned up and prepared for the close scrutiny and extreme knowledgeability of teams of three judges for each class on each day.

There is also a special panel who judge for special awards, such as best begonia, best cacti, best herb, best ivy (and so forth) of the day.

Speaking of ivy, it’s a big favorite of mine. I have a small collection of plants in my kitchen window, left over from my happy greenhouse days. I have four in particular, trained, that I’ve cherished for many years.

All were in the show. One, Hedera helix ‘Needlepoint,’ got two special Ivy Society awards for Best of Day. That was exciting!

For those of you who didn’t make it to the Flower Show, “Focus on Paris,” last month, there were changes I just felt good about.

New designs in some areas increased a feeling of openness. That and a room for families, young children and babies to relax in, added to the pleasure of being there. It seemed to me that there was more inspiration, humor, ingenuity, a sense of beauty, well researched horticulture and history than ever before. And lots of nostalgia realized by frequent performances by cancan dancers and familiar French music—Edith Piaf, for example. All great fun.

There is one area known as “The Horticourt.” It is in the part of the show where the competitive classes are held, where all kinds of container-grown plants are shown and judged.

At least a thousand plants are on display there, divided according to variety, pot size, blooming or not 3

Here’s help from Health Care with end-of-life issues cians, with emphasis on maintaining the best possible quality of life to the end.

May 11—Understanding the Ways We Grieve.

Leaders: Rev. Smith and Rena Burstein. We will examine the process of grieving and the supports provided by our various religious traditions.

May 18—Palliative Health Care. Leaders: Dr. Kyle with Linda Lemisch, Beaumont’s vice president in charge of Health Services, and Dr. Amy Corcoran, Associate Medical Director of Geriatrics and Long–Term Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Hospice and nursing care will be the topics for this session.

June 1—A Brief History of Death. Leader: Gerri Paier, Ph.D. It used to be that death was considered a normal part of life, and it most often occurred at home.

The dramatic changes brought about by technological advances in health care have resulted in what has been called the “medicalization of death,” with the transfer of end-of-life care from home to hospital.

Hospice now offers another choice.

The Beaumont Health Care Committee believes that this program will be helpful to all of us as we make our wishes known to our families, lawyers, physicians and clergy for our care toward the end of life.

An announcement from the Health Care Committee In recent months there have been many articles in newspapers and magazines about end-of-life decisions and care. Two books on widowhood by prominent authors, Joyce Carol Oates and Michelle Latiolais, were featured on the front page of the New York Times Book Review in February.

Starting April 20 the Beaumont Health Care Committee will present a series of five Wednesday afternoon sessions for residents and their families, addressing these issues. Each session will start at 2 and last for about an hour, with overviews by one or two leaders followed by discussion. (Please note that dates are not consecutive.)

Dates, leaders and topics are as follows: April 20—Practical Steps to Take Now. Leaders: Edward W. Madeira, Esq., and the Rev. Ann Robb Smith. This session will look at legal and family matters including disposition of your assets and the choices to be made in planning religious services or other observances.

May 4—You and Your Physicians. Leaders: G. Clayton Kyle, M.D.; Kaighn Smith, M.D., and members of the Beaumont Health Center staff. Discussion will focus on what can be expected of you and your physi-

Sunshine finds new home, learns to meow

By Kathy Hesington, Beaumont Maintenance Department, Owner of Meow Care Services

Many residents will remember Sunshine as the feral cat who lived outside the Mansion’s Porch Dining Room for more than 15 years and for whom the “cat table” overlooking her old igloo-like outdoor home is named.

Sunshine is the sole survivor of three litters of kittens born outside the porch in May of 1994. Her brother, Marmalade, who hunted and cuddled with her and kept her warm, lived just 9 years.

I started working with both of them during the summer of 2000. Marmalade wouldn’t let me touch him. But slowly, Sunshine did let me pet her and also accepted food from me (though I encouraged her to hunt for mice).

After two years, she started allowing me to sit on the porch steps with her. We played and sometimes she got a brushing. In 2008, I found I needed help tending to her needs on most weekends. Marion Gardiner, LPN from Personal Care, and Tracey Vitabile, Personal Care Administrator, started helping.

Except for an occasional cold, Sunshine was healthy until January of 2010. She started experiencing head tilting, bad head colds, and weakness in her left rear leg. Tracey and I brought her inside. Marion took her to a vet who gave her several shots and eardrops. At that point the vet advised us to make

Photo by Tracey Vitabile Sunshine, who will be 16 next month

Sunshine an indoor cat.

So Sunshine began her new adventure as a domestic cat. She stayed for a time in Personal Care and then, last May, I took her to my home to live out the rest of her life.

Sunshine started her 16th year residing on the 1st floor of my home. My other cat, a 16-year-old female grey and white tabby named Samantha, resides on the 2nd floor. I am hoping that someday they will decide to continued on page 5

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The morning the alarms went off . . . to what was going on, when a masterful voice came on the loudspeaker to announce that there was no fire. A frozen pipe had burst in the basement, the announcer said, causing a flood. Firemen and staff were already at work, pumping the water out. We were relieved and once again grateful for our hard-working staff. Imagine us still in our former homes, frantically phoning our plumbers and sweeping the water out of our basements!

Peace and quiet were restored, and we returned to our apartments counting our blessings after an adventure that had ended happily and had given us a chance to know our neighbors better.

As resident Ann Robb Smith remembers the morning of January 23: The peace and quiet of a Sunday morning at Beaumont was suddenly shattered at about 9:30 a.m. by the rasping screech of the fire alarm. As it continued unabated, the residents of Baldwin at the eastern end of the 3d floor began to cautiously open their doors and look around. When we saw our fellow neighbors peeking out, we gingerly emerged and gathered in the small lobby by the elevator. Luckily, with a newly refurbished sofa and several chairs in the lobby, some of us could sit down quite comfortably.

We were a motley crew, in various stages of dress and undress. Most of us were still in bathrobes and bedroom slippers—one lady had the prettiest pink bathrobe!

One couple wore sweat pants and fleece jackets and carried their coffee cups with them. A few ladies were impeccably dressed for church. One gentleman wore tennis garb of white shirt, jacket and shorts.

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. . . and as Director of Housekeeping Brock A. Nichols recalls it: Mother Nature threw us some frigid weather conditions that morning, with temperatures in the single digits. Frozen and broken pipes caused substantial flooding in the laundry area ultimately requiring that the main water supply to the laundry, kitchen, Health Center, commons areas and Personal Care all be turned off for a few hours so repairs could be made.

Staff worked diligently to ensure that services to residents went on uninterrupted.

As firefighters and maintenance crews worked to contain and repair the leak, laundry and housekeeping staff continued to clean up the area and see that linens were delivered as scheduled. Kitchen and dining staff managed to pull off Sunday brunch without a hitch.

Compassionate nursing staff saw that all residents’ special needs were met.

The front-of-the-house operations ran so smoothly that aside from the alarms that went off because of the drop in water pressure, most residents wouldn’t have known there was any issue at all. The teamwork, care and dedication I saw made me proud to work at Beaumont.

We were all present and accounted for except for one lady who, after being checked on by one of her friends, was found happily asleep with her ear plugs firmly in place.

A leader arose among our ranks with a list of residents in our block and proceeded with roll call, bravely shouting above the racket of the fire alarm. We were all present and accounted for except for one lady who, after being checked on by one of her friends, was found happily asleep with her ear plugs firmly in place.

A vivid demonstration of the importance of the roll call!

We were milling around, chatting and speculating as

my attention. (She never needed to talk when she was living outside.) When I am at work at Beaumont she spends her time with my partner, David (a two-time cancer patient), who is retired and living on the 1st floor. They take care of each other.

Every two to three months I take her to the vet to get an injection to keep her upper respiratory problems under control. She loves her vet and the technicians.

She likes to ride in the car if I hold her paw in my hand.

Sunshine’s new home . . . . continued from page 4

share the entire house. For now, though, they are happy, each with her own territory.

Sunshine’s favorite time is in the evening. She waits for me to put a pillow on the floor and lie down with her and watch television. In December, after listening to Samantha, she started learning how to meow to get

IN MEMORIAM Margaretta Calvert.......March 19 • Vernon D. Cox.......March 22 Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their families and friends.

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Left: Mystery guest lurks prominently in her burka as Lillian Lefevre, once spit upon in a Yemeni bazaar because she wasn’t wearing one, looks on. Mrs. Lefevre, escorted by Housekeeping Director Brock Nichols, models the tunic she had made from material bought at the bazaar. Below: While the lips of the News editors are sealed when it comes to the identity of mystery guests, we noted a mysteriously knowing look in the eyes of Liz Dornberger.

Photos by Robin Daye

Three-year-old twins, Jakeer and Jakyra Hudgins, shone as ring bearer and flower girl. Their mother, Kerry Ann Campbell Hudgins, works in the Health Center.

Lea Knarr, Resident Care Coordinator, on the arm of her father, John Culp, called her 2009 wedding day “magical’ despite the dogs that ate the party favors and the double nor’easter that caused the groom’s mother to slip in the mud.

Photos by Robin Daye

Photo by Robin Daye As MC Fortenbaugh commented, golfers Edwin and Sophie Donaghy “appear to be looking Beaumont Administrative Assistant Jennie Frankel for something.”

Photo by Louise Hughes seemed to be everywhere, doing everything.

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Left: Mrs. Elizabeth Royer modeled the cape and bonnet her grandmother wore in 1884, and (not shown) the bouquet made for the same grandmother’s Golden Wedding anniversary in 1934.

Above: While the ladies were getting makeup assistance behind the scenes, help was also available for their male escorts. Here Nursing Director Paul McCleary fixes a stubborn bow tie for former Beaumont Board Chairman Jack Miller before both men took to the runway themselves.

Below, left : Sally Herd appears about to take off from the runway in a painted silk wrap.

Photos by Robin Daye

Photo by Louise Hughes Above: Judges, from left, were Mrs. Janice Martin, Ardmore dressmaker, and residents Sarah DaCosta, Board Chairman (and head judge) Mary Schnabel, Dr. John Carson and John Butterworth. Winners they picked in the various categories were Lillian Lefevre, Catherine Ogden, Bob Herd, Linda and Tony Lemisch, Lea Knarr and Sue Charest.

Left: MC Joe Fortenbaugh with Dining Services Director Rose-Marie Pringle, who gracefully accepted welldeserved credit (and flowers) for masterminding everything—and having the idea in the first place.

Photo by Robin Daye

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Consolation (?) prize for an Eagles fan Rumors of a Packers blanket worth a picture trailed in the wake of the Super Bowl in February, but it was not until recently that the Beaumont News tracked down new resident George Miller with this story: “Yes,” he said. “It was sent to my wife, Louise Miller, by our daughter Meg Derrick and her sons, Blake and Sean, as a joke before the Super Bowl. Meg, Blake and Sean live in Hudson, Wisconsin, and are Packers fans. Louise has been a hardnosed Eagles fan all her life. So after the Packers beat the Eagles 21 to 16 in January, they sent her this blanket as a consolation prize.” That’s Amy, the Millers’ 14-year-old cocker spaniel, lending a little doggy interest to the picture.

Photo by Louise Hughes

A story to warm the heart

By Rachel Debus

park, cheering them on. Then this crowd took a shortcut to come back to the finish line. A voice called out “Clear the course—here they come.”

The girls got the same cheers. Their teammates also came back to cheer them on. They are tired. They’ve trained hard. Their goal is to finish—and finish strong regardless of their place in the race. One girl slowed to a walk and her teammate came up right beside her, pointing to the finish line and said, “You’ve got it—it’s RIGHT THERE!”—and the girl started running again.

As I sat at the picnic table watching, a couple also sitting there was waiting for their daughter. She approached them in tears, saying “I’m sorry.” “For what?” her dad asked. “I fell,” she said.

Eavesdropping, I learned that she had passed out along the course. She felt as if she had let people down, but her parents, coach and teammates were all just concerned about her health. Everyone falls sometimes. The important thing is to get up again.

She will run again next time.

Her younger sister was also sitting there at the picnic table. She heard what happened and got out paper and markers to make her sister a sign. It was her sister’s name with words for each letter. As she read it to them, there was one that stood out: “‘I’ is because she’s perfectly imperfect.”

And that is the perfect end to the story.

Rachel, a prize-winning writer on her own time, is Beaumont’s Mistress of Accounts Receivable.

I went to the park the other day to relax and read a book, and ended up witnessing something wonderful.

It turned out that in this huge park I had just happened to sit in a spot that was the starting point and finishing line of a high school track team cross-country race.

I decided to put down my book and become a spectator. As I watched, I felt tears on my cheeks from the cheers of the spectators as the boys came running past: “Good job!” “Come on!” “You’ve got this!” “Don’t stop!” “You can do it!” ”Keep going!” “Finish strong!”

“You’re almost there!” “All the way—all the way!” “You look good!” “You’re so close!” “Don’t slow down!” “Kick it to the end!” “You’re right there at the finish—you can do it!”

Some of the runners did finish strong. Some others looked weak and doubtful. A few of them kicked it into high gear at the end and others barely made it across the finish line. As some of the runners finished they came back and lined the course to cheer on the others who were still running. The very last guy was way behind the rest, but still running. They were still cheering. “Go Andy, you can do it!” He must have known he was in last place. It wasn’t about winning. It was about finishing.

Then it was the girls’ turn. They’re all running the same race—different speeds, different strides, but the same course. A little while after they passed me I heard a crowd of spectators on the other side of the 8