Fort Scott Community Matters - August 2022

Fort Scott Presbyterian Village

AUGUST 2022

Bernita Hill receives a much deserving honorary associate degree Vicki Halls and her sister have learned about the Anasazi culture together.

Learning with each other across the miles Though they might live apart, resident Vicki Halls and her sister have never stopped reading, and learning, together.

The sisters have their own book club,

Bernita Hill was honored by Fort Scott Community College.

Recently the Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees awarded Fort Scott Presbyterian Village resident Bernita Hill with a prestigious “Honorary Associate Degree” for her generous support of students’ success.

Bernita taught English and Journalism at Fort Scott Community College for 30 years. Her work also included the college newspaper and yearbook, as well as General and Developmental Psychology.

Bernita Hill – continued on page 2

Vicki has a china cabinet full of her

Learning – continued on page 4

Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at FortScottPresbyterianVillage.org/covid-19.

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Bernita Hill – continued from page 1 As a faculty member, she often carried a full load of teaching because so many students requested her.

She was not an “Easy A” kind of teacher. Rather, she had a knack for making students “want” to learn.

Bernita built a deep connection with many students over the years. Today, many of those students remain in touch with her through weekly emails, phone calls and personal visits, though some of her former students are now retired, as well.

believes in them. Bernita has lived her life with a servant’s heart and devoted faith, which she believes is what guides her every day.

Thank you, Bernita for all you do for your students, young and old, and the difference you continue to make in other’s lives. The honorary associate degree, which you were awarded, is well earned! u

Her success is visible in the many lives of those she connected with over her career. One such student is our very own Ginger Nance.

“When I tip-toed into my first class, as a nontraditional student and mother of two children at 19 years old at FSCC, I didn’t think I could do college work,” Ginger recalls. “I was so emotionally down at that time in my life that I wasn’t sure if college was something I was even capable of. Within my first week in Bernita’s class, not only did I begin to think maybe I can be a college student, I was already dreaming of plans to graduate one day with a master’s degree.”

That dream became a reality years later while raising her family. During those challenging years, Bernita continued to check in on Ginger and many of her other former students with encouragement and inspiration to cheer them on.

Bernita’s influence in the community is vast. Many would agree that she is a bright light that shines because she is quick to tell people how much she Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.

Community Matters 620-223-5550 u Fax: 620-223-7800 2401 S. Horton Fort Scott, KS 66701 FortScottPresbyterianVillage.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | August 2022

is published monthly for residents and friends of Fort Scott Presbyterian Village

by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

To submit or suggest articles: gnance@pmma.org Ginger Nance, executive director Taylor Bailey, director of marketing and human resources

OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

Get ready for National “Tell a Joke” Day You may not know this, but August 16 is “Tell a Joke Day.” No-one can quite figure out where or how the day started (or why it’s not a national holiday yet) but the idea behind it is quite simple – tell a joke and share a laugh. It’s good for you!

Laughter is considered one of the greatest medicines – it can improve your heart health, release endorphins and reduce your stress, even work your abs.

So, we wanted to take the opportunity to share a few jokes – as presented by an anonymous resident at one of our communities who enjoys walking around, making people laugh. Some of his jokes are good, some bad, some corny: Q: What do you call a pallbearer in Oklahoma?

A: Karaoke (“carry-Okie”) Q: What resort’s grand opening received very little coverage?

A: The nudist colony’s Q: Who wore the first Arrow shirt?

A: General Custer Q: What do you call a cat that ate a lemon?

A: A sourpuss Q: Why couldn’t they play cards on Noah’s Ark? A: Because an elephant stood on the deck

The history of the joke While the origin (and creator) of National “Tell a Joke” Day are a mystery, many “experts” have tried to find the origin of the “joke.”

But as it turns out, that’s a difficult task as well.

Some suggest that the joke was created by the Greek hero Palamedes, who outsmarted Odysseus during the Trojan War but there’s no evidence to support that claim.

But there’s another claim for the Greeks.

In 350 BC, the original Friar’s Club met regularly in the Temple of Heracles in Athens to tell jokes but “none have been passed down.”

In the 1600s, Shakespeare included lots of humor in his plays, some funny one-liners, and many jokes that were actually insults such as “Thine face is not worth sunburning” from Henry V (Act 5, Scene 2).

A classic joke that endured the test of time was first published in 1847 in the monthly New York magazine Knickerbocker: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.”

In modern times, stand-up comedians brought humor to clubs and on the radio, TV and the internet. In 2002, an English professor held a contest for the world’s funniest joke. The winner was from comedian Spike Milligan: “Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator says, ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’ There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, ‘OK, now what?’”

The above dates and information are from Stop Me If You’ve Heard This A History and Philosophy of Jokes

by Jim Holt. u

Fort Scott Presbyterian Village | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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2401 S. Horton Fort Scott, KS 66701 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Learning – continued from page 1 and recently they’ve decided to study up on the history and habits of the Anasazi culture. The Anasazi were a prehistoric Native American civilization that lived in North America from approximately 100 to 1600 AD, with origins dating back to 1500 BC.

Wireless Internet is available to residents in their apartments, providing expanded opportunities for them to engage in classes, book clubs, and various social connections with family and friends across the country. u

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the Anasazi lived in the Four Corners region of America, where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona meet. This early civilization built extravagant dwellings and laid hundreds of miles of roads to network villages to one another. Their descendants are the Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo tribes.

Based on their reading, Vicki and her sister decided to launch a project, where one makes a portion and then sends it to the other, and so on. What began as a simple gourd is now a beautiful re-creation of Anasazi art in Vicki’s home.

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | August 2022

The first recreation the sisters attempted was a gourd.