Fulton Community Matters November 2017

Commun ty Matters Fulton Presbyterian Manor

Veterans Day

November 11, 2017 Honoring all who served

EVERYONE HAS THE CAPACITY TO GIVE.

Join us on November 28 to celebrate #GivingTuesday.

You can give your time, skills, voice, dollars, and goods to charity or #payitforward to help others. ® ®

To be a part of the global movement, visit presbyterianmanors.org/give_now.

SIGN UP to receive our newsletter by email.

Visit

FultonPresbyterianManor.org Enter your email address in the subscription box.

It’s that easy.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

November 2017

Kielbasas’ Migration Journey

It may seem like a lifetime ago to Margot Kielbasa, but the story of how she came to live in Fulton, Missouri, is truly timeless. It’s one of courage and determination, and ultimately, love.

At just 14 years old, Margot was sent to live on a farm, where she would work for four year and she wasn’t allowed to leave.Why? Because it was Germany in the mid-1940s.

“Hitler was in leadership at that Margot Kielbasa immigrated from time, and if you didn’t go to high Germany in the 1940s with her husband school, they sent you to work. So Stefen. mom was sent to a farm, where she got up and milked cows the very next day,” said her daughter, Lana Wetherell.

Lana fondly recalls how her mother and father met, and how they forged a trail during tragic times.

“My dad, Stefen, was from Poland, but was forcibly sent to work on the farm, and that’s where he met my mom.When the war was over, he wanted to take her with him to the United States, but he couldn’t do that unless they got married.”

Shortly after their marriage, they learned of a program through the Catholic Church that paired immigrants in need of relocation with a Catholic host family in the United States.

“The woman who brought my parents in had never married and didn’t have children of her own. But mom and dad helped her on her farm, and when she died, she gave the farm to my father. It’s really quite remarkable.”

That set the Kielbasa family on a firm foundation on a new continent, where they would go on to have two children and many grandchildren and great-

MIGRATION continued on page 3

Q & A with Secret Santa

As the leaves begin to fall and the days get chillier, our thoughts turn to the holidays, especially the most magical time of year. Christmas is a special season, a time to celebrate the ultimate gift given to us by giving gifts to others.

Christmas at Fulton Presbyterian Manor is especially exciting, thanks to our very own Secret Santa.We sat down with him or her (we’ve got to keep you guessing) to ask a few questions: Q:What do you do for the residents at Fulton Presbyterian Manor when Christmas comes around?

director, make a list of residents and go around to interview them to see what they would like from Santa. After the deadline passes for families to bring in Christmas presents for their loved ones, Keri gives me a list of suggested presents. I have no names, only a number to identify them. I take this list and, with Keri’s help, I go shopping so everyone has a present under the tree from Santa.To do this right, not only do they not know who I am, I don’t know who they are either.

Q:What inspired you to start doing it?

501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

A: I came to one of the Christmas parties, and I saw how some people received nice presents and some received things like lotion. I saw their expressions when those who received items like lotion look at their neighbor’s gift compared to theirs. It brought tears to my eyes.The first year I just gave money so the manor could buy better gifts.The next year I decided to do the shopping myself.With my cell phone in hand, I went to the mall. If I saw something I thought they would like, I would take a picture, send it to Keri, and she would say yes or no.

To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact kedwards 2@pmma.org.

A: Since 2012.

A: Keri Edwards, marketing director, and Donna Hunter, social services

®

®

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Fulton Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of

Dawn Smith, executive director Keri Edwards, marketing director

Telephone: 573-642-6646 Fax: 573-642-2202 Address: 811 Center St., Fulton, MO 65251-1922 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

FultonPresbyterianManor.org

Q: How long have you been helping Fulton Presbyterian Manor and their residents with Christmas?

Q: Have you ever been given a Secret Santa gift?

A: I don’t recall ever getting anything from a Secret Santa. Every so often, I will get a thank you card addressed to Secret Santa.They, too, bring tears to my eyes knowing I made someone’s day.

Q:What kind of “gifts” do you receive in return?

A: I receive a peace in my heart knowing 2 COMMUNITY MATTERS NOVEMBER 2017

I may have made someone’s day. My second year of giving, I went to the Christmas party and watched people’s reactions.Words could not describe what I saw. It made me cry to see these people so happy. After that time, I decided to not attend, if I could help it.

This may sound weird but I felt God wanted me to just do it, by watching I felt I was undoing his blessing he may have for me, for at the party I was sort of patting myself on the back and that is wrong.With a parent living there I couldn’t always avoid the parties but while there I would just focus on why I was there and not what everyone received.

Q: Have you inspired others to be their own Secret Santa?

A: I do not know, only a handful of people know I do this.To me the fewer that know, the better.

Q: Any helpers you’d like to thank?

A: Poor Keri has been stuck dealing with me the past five years. I don’t know what I would do without her. I am afraid if she ever leaves the manor, the Secret Santa will, too. I can’t imagine anyone putting their heart into this Secret Santa like Keri has. Plus, I really can’t imagine someone else putting up with me through this like she has, especially come shopping time.

While Secret Santa may think Keri is weary of her role, she doesn’t feel this way!

SECRET SANTA continued on page 4

Heart and Soul Hospice recognizes Hospice Month

November is National Hospice Month, and to recognize the importance of hospice services to quality end of life care, we’d like to share this story from Presbyterian Manor’s Heart and Soul Hospice.

It was not long after Clayton was diagnosed with a life limiting illness that he was told that curative treatment was no longer an option.

Clayton quickly made the decision to seek hospices services. At first, Clayton thought hospice was a way to avoid burdening his family with his illness.

Clayton soon began to understand that by deciding to utilize hospice, he had put together a supportive team

for himself and his entire family.

Together, Clayton, his family, and the hospice team created a plan of care that included Clayton’s medical needs as well as emotional and spiritual needs for himself and his family.

Clayton’s wishes are prioritized.

Clayton is not a fan of baseball, but his family loves the game. Clayton’s wish was to have a baseball party for his entire family.The hospice team helped him make that happen.That day there was baseball, air hockey, and a room filled with family, laughter and smiles.

Clayton beat most of us at the air hockey challenges!

with no cure. But, with his hospice team’s focus on providing medical care and emotional support that enhances his quality of life, Clayton has had more good days to be able to make memories with his loved ones.

For information about hospice services available at Parsons Presbyterian Manor, contact social services.

Heart and Soul Hospice is based in Farmington, Mo., and Wichita, Kan., and is a proud member of the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Family.

Clayton has been with hospice since June and is still facing terminal illness

MIGRATION continued from page 1

grandchildren. Stefen died in 1999, but his legacy lives on in the family he helped establish here in the United States.

Lana recalls a handful of times her family wasn’t warmly welcomed in this new land, but for the most part, they were quickly adopted into the wider community.

“I didn’t feel all that different growing up,” Lana recalls, “except for the fact that we didn’t have any family around here. No grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.That was probably the biggest thing.”

Lana did get to meet her German family when she and her mother traveled there in 1978, and they enjoyed several weeks of sightseeing and family gatherings.

“It was a neat thing, to see where they were from. But they did so much here, too.They worked hard, made a good life. Dad knew English but never learned to read or write. But he always had a job and always worked. He was a laborer and worked construction on the state hospital, the Missouri School for the Deaf, and even the nuclear plant.”

We’re grateful that fate brought the Kielbasas to Fulton, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to share their story!

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

The Kielbasas were featured in a newspaper article in the late 1950s.

FULTON PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

Yearbook find!

Lowe Cannell, environmental services director, was recently

going through his high school yearbooks to find pictures for a slide show for his upcoming reunion. He was tickled to find a

photo of Elsie Carrington, one of our residents, in his yearbook!

®

Fulton Presbyterian Manor 811 Center St. Fulton, MO 65251-1922 ®

LIKE FULTON PRESBYTERIAN MANOR ON

SECRET SANTA continued from page 2 Santa brings to our residents.”

“It’s been fun working with our Secret Santa over the years,” Keri said. “To be a part of the process from beginning to end is wonderful. It definitely takes some work on Santa’s part to find the right gift for everyone. It doesn’t happen overnight; it takes a few weeks of us communicating closely. Santa has been a blessing not only to me but the rest of our staff and residents over the years. I look forward to our resident Christmas party every year. It’s an amazing sight to see the joy our Secret 4 COMMUNITY MATTERS NOVEMBER 2017

Executive Director Dawn Smith agrees.

“Our secret Santa has been blessing our residents for several years.We are so grateful for this person as they are helping us give lots of love to our residents at Christmas.”

Perhaps you’ll be inspired to be a Secret Santa for someone you know, or even for someone you don’t know! A little extra love can go a long way, especially during this time of year, which can be hard for those who’ve lost loved ones.

Plan Ahead: For the resident Christmas party we will invite resident families along with staff families in for a big breakfast. Our dining staff creates an amazing breakfast that includes almost every breakfast food you can imagine.We try to have Santa and Mrs. Claus come to give out presents. Any children who are there also receive a gift.This is a special time of the year for the residents, staff and their families. Stay tuned for more details.