Commun ty Matters Arkansas City Presbyterian Manor
April 2018
Dear grandpa Helen Czaplinski keeps residents Bill Flick is a long-time resident of Presbyterian Manor and the Arkansas City community. He is an avid outdoorsman, and has passed his love for nature on to his children and grandchildren. His grandson, Matt Dewell, wrote this essay about his relationship with his grandpa. He was in the eighth grade at this time. My grandpa is my best friend. He does all the things I like. He is the one who got me hooked on flyfishing. We do everything together. When I am at his house, we walk, and shoot birds and also ground squirrels. Grandpa buys me junk food even when my parents say no. If I have slipped and fallen into the stream, he is there to pick me up. He is a fairly tall man with a bald head. His hands are tough and enormous from working with wood and plumbing all his life. His attitude toward life is to do everything now because there might not be any tomorrow. My grandpa is the coolest guy I know. I started fishing with my grandpa when I was four. I remember having a little Snoopy rod that I caught my first fish on. I was at the lake that he partially owns when I caught this monster fish. I felt the pole jerk, so I yanked it back furiously. My GRANDPA, continued on page 2
looking and feeling their best
For nearly 39 years, Helen has been the consistent face residents have turned to whenever they want to get spruced up. She runs the Arkansas Presbyterian Manor beauty salon. “My first shop was in the laundry room before the health care addition was built on,” said Helen. “On that first day, I had five patrons. Once I settled up that day, I started a second day, and then a third … and here I am now.”
Helen Czaplinski has been styling
The majority of Helen’s patrons residents’ hair for nearly 39 years. simply request to have their hair shampooed or set with rollers, but Helen knows that the positive effects of her work—on both the residents and herself—can never truly be measured. “It gives me great joy when they walk down the hall and just beam when someone says, ‘Oh, you look so nice,’” said Helen. “I know their hairstyles probably only last until the next time they lay down, but for at least a little while, they feel really good about themselves.” While Helen may not have always known that she wanted to work in an assisted living community, the path she would take to become a stylist was determined when she was just 15 or 16 years old. “When I was in the 10th grade, I had to give a speech on a possible career choice. I interviewed a local hair stylist and immediately thought, ‘I’d really like to do that,’” said Helen. “So, I graduated from high school on HELEN, continued on page 3