VV Voice Winter 2013

Valley View Voice
Valley View Retirement Village • Rock of Ages Mennonite Home • M.A.I.D.S. • McMinnville, Oregon • Winter 2013
Kathryn “Kay” Hardmon
By Myrtle Fricke
IN THIS ISSUE:
Kay Hardmon........... 1
From Delvin’s
Desk......................... 2
Chaplain’s Corner .... 2
A Balanced Diet....... 3
New Sunday PM
Service..................... 3
Employees of
the Month................. 4
From the Office ........ 4
Wildlife ..................... 5
Endowment.............. 6
Valley View Voice
Published quarterly
by
Rock of Ages/Valley
View Retirement
Community
15600 Rock of Ages
Road
McMinnville, OR
97128
Editor:
Gordon Martin
Contributing Editors:
Jeanne Christensen
Myrtle Fricke
Sheila Selby
Kathryn was born April 24, 1918, in Portland, Oregon to Alfred and Olive Cattle.
She had an older brother and sister. Her father was a plumber and her mother a
homemaker. She said
her father died when Submitted photo
she was two years old
Kay and one
and has no memory of
of her many
him.
Her mother
creations
never remarried.
Kay attended schools
in Portland and then
attended
Linfield
College and proudly
calls
herself
a
“Wildcat.”
After
graduating
from
Linfield, she was a
high school English
Literature teacher in
eastern
Oregon.
During this time she met her future husband, Ernest Hardmon. They were married
in 1941 and shortly after, Ernest went off to serve in the US Navy during World War
II. Upon his return from the war he continued his profession as a forester. Kathryn
and Ernest lived in eastern Oregon for 20 years before moving to McMinnville.
Two sons were born to them, Richard and Ryland. They are both retired, and like
their father, both were foresters. Kathryn’s two sons and their father each served 30
years with the US Forest Service and enjoyed their work very much. Richard and
Ryland and their wives had two children each. As a result of their son’s families,
Kathryn now has 12 great grandchildren—six boys and six girls.
After Kathryn quit teaching and before she moved to Rock of Ages in 2011, she took
a three-year course to learn Machine Embroidery and then taught it to others. Her
home is adorned with her work and she will proudly show you if you would like to
see it.
Kathryn and Ernest were married 56 years. He has been gone for 13 years. Kathryn
has just recovered from a fall in her kitchen 10 weeks ago and after convalescing at
Life Care in McMinnville, she will be coming back to her apartment at Rock of Ages
on January 10th. Welcome home, Kay!
From Delvin’s Desk
year at their annual conference, LeadingAge of
Washington DC has a complete “smart home” set up
to give attendees the opportunity to experience from
the kitchen to the bedroom, how technology is able
to improve the lives of individuals.
High-Tech Aging
Getting “old” is far different than it was in the
60’s, or even 10 years ago. Today, technology plays a
big part in allowing people to stay home and be
independent longer. Networking means when you
have to go to the hospital they already have your
health records and history making it quicker to
diagnose the situation. Medication regimens can be
delivered by a daily dispenser, Blood pressures can
be taken readily and accurately, and in some places
we will be able to connect to your doctor and have a
face to face conversation online. Many of you have
an alert system where a real person will talk to you
just by the push of the button. LeadingAge Oregon
(on whose Board I serve) has just joined an
organization that focuses on technology in the field
of eldercare. The focus is use of high-touch, hightech methods to create opportunities that help us
serve the senior population more effectively. Every
Here at Rock of Ages/Valley View we want to keep
abreast of what is available in an ongoing evolution
of high-tech solutions.
In memory care our
medication system is all computerized—linked
directly to the pharmacy for greater accuracy and
better communications. We have exercise “sit to
stand” equipment that provides a mechanical lift up
for some that can’t stand on their own. Our oncampus camera surveillance system allows us to
observe and train staff to do a better job. When I am
in my office or on the east coast I can go online and
observe the care center live. We have used this to
retrain staff. We hope our residents will continue to
benefit from high-tech solutions as the options
continue to grow and make life better as we grow
older.
Chaplain’s Corner
1. Relationships—God will put different people into our
circle of influence to teach and encourage. The Lord
Jesus will also give us opportunities to show others
who He is as we share His love.
I believe we here at the Rock of Ages
enjoy, seek, and desire the Presence of Mar
k Niss
ley
our Lord God. We were designed to
experience, both corporately and individually, God’s
abiding Presence. Most of us would admit that
although we believe God’s Presence is here, we often
do not see or feel Him. I have been blessed by the
many stories in Scripture which tell of immediate
and profound changes that take place when God
moves. There are also many stories of how God was
present and moving, yet not seen or recognized for
what He was doing.
2. His Word, the Bible—When we read the Word of
God, which has been preserved for us as no other
book has been in the history of mankind, it becomes a.
mirror or manual of what God “looks” like.
3. Nature—The little flower, the spider weaving its
web, the breeze gently tossing the leaves around, the
bird’s song…the list is endless. In each of these is a bit
of God, His design, His provision, His creativity.
4. The Unknown—We can by faith embrace the future
expectantly because we have seen the God of the past
and do see the God of the present. By faith we know
that He is with us and will be with us whatever the
year holds.
How will you and I see and experience God’s
Presence in 2013? Will He move some mountains for
us as He promises to in Mark 11:23? Will He speak in
a gentle whisper, as he did to the prophet Elijah in
I Kings 19:12? However the Lord chooses to reveal
more of Himself to us this year, let’s be alert enough
to recognize Him and hear from Him the truths He
wants to teach.
I’m sure there are other ways God will reveal Himself
as we here at the Rock of Ages walk forward on life’s
journey into the Year 2013. It does not matter so much
how, or even when, we see or experience more of God,
but what matters is that we will indeed see Him. So
we pray, “Lord, open our eyes so that we may behold
Your beauty.”
This year, if we resolve with renewed desire to enjoy
God more, we will see Him in the following four
areas:
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cookbooks and diet books. They tell you not to eat
what you just learned to cook.”
A Balanced Diet
By Jeanne Christensen
Also, the word stressed spelled backwards is
desserts. Coincidence? I think not.
It is a tradition, of sorts, that the arrival of the New
Year is a time for reflection. So the following is a
compilation of New Year musings and quotes.
Mae West stated, “I never worry about diets. The
only carrots that interest me are diamonds.” So
spread the word and not the icing. Totie Fields
would have added: “I have been on a diet two
weeks and all that I have lost is 14 days.”
One old timer quipped, “A good New Year’s
resolution is like an old horse, which is often
saddled but never ridden.” Another countered,
“A New Years resolution is something that
goes in one year and out the other.”
Then there are those TV health gurus on
weekday afternoons known as Dr. Phil and
Dr. Oz.
It seems that resolutions have a long
history of focusing on diet and health
issue. There are even spiritual quotes,
“Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for they are sticking to their
diets.” Then there are the wise
Proverbs, “To lengthen your life,
shorten you meals!” Don't forget, “Your body is a
temple and not a drive through.” I might add,
“Dieting is not a piece of cake.” At Easter time I
stretched the truth a bit when I told friends I had
only eaten three Easter eggs. I forgot to mention they
were big Cadbury chocolate-marshmallow ones—
delicious!
They always seem to come up with
innovative ways to solve life's
problems. Dr. Phil might suggest a
plate of French fries with a bottle
of catsup to stave off drinking
problems. Dr. Oz judges his
participants while they bob for meatballs in a crock
pot. No toothpicks allowed. Of course, I am
exaggerating a bit, but sometimes their creative
ideas seem very strange to me.
Besides, I always thought that a balanced diet was a
cookie in each hand.
Have you noticed that Miss Piggy gives out a lot of
free advice about life, “Never eat more than you can
lift,” and “Too much exercise can damage your
health,” or, “Beauty takes practice.” Children love to
watch Miss Piggy on TV. She has a happy, loving
personality. She makes everyone smile just looking
at her. The late Andy Rooney always liked to point
out the ironies of life. “Some of the biggest sellers are
New Years toasts add sentiment to the past and
hope for the future, so here is to all of you:
“Dance as if no one were watching, sing as if no one
were listening, and live every day as if it were your
last.”
Sunday Evening Church Service
A group of four couples (almost all empty-nesters)
have been taking part in these online services for
some time. They have chosen the Shiloh Way
Chapel for their new meeting place and our church
board and staff welcomes them.
Here's wishing you more happiness than all my
words can tell, not just for the bloom of the New
Year but for all the year as well.”
Do you ever look around here at the “The Rock” and
wonder what is next? If so, then join us for the
NEXT.
Starting January 6th, an informal “plug-n-play”
Sunday evening church service is going to be held in
our Shiloh Way Chapel. The online service is from
North-Point Community Church near Atlanta, GA.
and Andy Stanley is the senior pastor. The services
are scheduled regularly every Sunday evening
between 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Their website is
http://www.northpoint.org. for those that want to
look it up. This is a new online concept, at least for
here at Valley View.
These services include music, biblical messages and
baptisms. This format frees everyone from the worry
about the basics of programming and still be
involved in building a strong church community.
There will be times for brown bag "lunches" and
some potlucks.
Valley View residents, known for their community
spirit, are invited to drop in and join them from time
to time or attend regularly.
3
Employees of the Month
From the Office
By Gordon Martin
Our new guest cottage is now available
Rock of Ages employees choose one of their peers each month for their
commitment to making life better for those they serve.
Visitors to Rock of Ages/Valley View now can stay
right on campus when they are here. The cottage
has two bedrooms and has an excellent view of the
valley to the East. Rental is on a first come/first
served basis. Call Sheila at 503 472-6212 to make
reservations.
I asked each of these special people this question: “What
do you like most about working at Rock of Ages.”
Employees of the Month for the fourth quarter of
2012 are:
October—Chris Palacios
Chris has been working at Rock
of Ages as a Memory Care Giver
for the past 1½ years. When I
asked Chris my question, he said,
“Getting a chance to serve while
building relationships with the
residents and being able to learn
from their amazing life
experiences.”
An urgent message especially for
new residents
(and a reminder for everyone else)
Since we maintain our own water and sewer systems
here at Rock of Ages/Valley View, we need to be
aware of practices that can jeopardize the integrity
of those systems.
• Please, Please, do not flush any kind of wipes,
pads, diapers, kitty litter or other similar things
down the toilet. Those things should be
wrapped in a plastic sack and placed in the garbage. The ONLY thing that should be flushed
down the toilet is human waste and toilet paper.
November—Sherry Leslie and Sheila Selby
Sherry has worked at Rock of
Ages for 15 years and is currently
the Residential Care Manager.
She said, “Helping to make a
difference in people’s lives—I
really love being able to bring a
smile to someone who is having a
hard time.”
•
Sheila has worked at Rock of Ages
for 13 years and is the Office
Manager. Sheila says: “I really like
meeting the new people that come
here, and I get to tell them all
about Rock of Ages and how great
it is.”
Please, Please, try to keep oil and grease from being
flushed down the drain when washing dishes.
Wipe the oil and grease off of all utensils with a
paper towel and put it in the garbage.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Pithy sayings from our friends at
Cloverdale Farms
December—Francisco “Frankie” Rangel
Frankie has worked at ROA for
one year in Food Service, helping
the dining room. He says: “I most
like serving the people and talking
to them. Sometimes I come to
work in a not-so-good mood and
then the people come in, and
when I start interacting with
them, my mood changes to good.”
When solving a problem, dig at the roots,
Instead of just hacking off the leaves.
Sow a thought, Reap an action
Sow an action, Reap a habit,
Sow a habit, Reap a life
A successful person is
One who can lay a firm foundation
With the bricks others
Throw at him!
4
Valley View Wildlife
Ducks on the Pond
By Gordon Martin
Some of you who walk around our trail may have
noticed that we sometimes have a large flock of
ducks on our pond
right now. I have
counted over 50
together in the last
few days.
They
come and go, visit
other
feeding
grounds and then
come back again.
They seem to stay for a couple of months, then
disappear.
One morning about
a year ago, as I left
my house and was
walking
over
toward the pump
house,
I
was
looking down and
saw a large shadow
pass over me. When I looked up to see what had
made the shadow, I spotted a very large bird circling
above the small fish pond in the water feature below
the Lodge. I estimated its wingspan to be about six
feet. It was mostly white on the underside with
black wing tips and a black strip through its eye. It
was a beautiful Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
These ducks are American Widgeons
(Anas americana), at least the ones I have gotten close
enough to identify. Widgeons are much smaller than
the Mallards of our resident flock and their call is
more of a peep-peep than the reedy quack of the
Mallards. Some people call them Baldpates because
of the cream-colored patch on top the head of the
males. They are quite pretty little ducks.
It flew gracefully in circles, all the while looking
intently down over its shoulder toward the little
pond. I suppose it was no more than 40 feet up in
the air. All of a sudden it dove full speed straight
down with its talons unfurled. It hit the water with
a loud KERSPLASH! knocking a lot of water out of
the pond. Most of the bird disappeared into the
pond. As it rose up out of the pond I looked intently
to see if it had caught any of the fish in the pond, but
its talons were empty.
One Dead Duck
Our resident Mallard flock lost one of its members a
few days ago (there are now only twelve). One of
our local Red-tailed Hawks had one of the Mallard
drakes for lunch right below our chapel. It took the
hawk two days to consume the duck. I didn’t see the
hawk kill the duck so I don’t know how it died—but
the hawk certainly didn’t let it go to waste! It was
not the usual meal for this species of hawk.
I suppose I should have gone over and flapped my
arms and scared the bird off, but you have to
understand I am a biologist by training, so I wanted
to see what would happen if I just stayed back and
watched.
New Building Progress Report
The Osprey rose up and again began circling, again
looking intently down toward the pond. And then it
dove again, with the same results…big splash, no fish.
As I watched, this happened three more times for a
total of five dives. I don’t know how many dives it
had made before I came out of my house. Oh yes, on
the last dive, the Osprey came up with a red koi
about eight inches long and flew off down the valley.
When I looked in the pond, all the rest of the fish
were hiding under the rocks on the bottom of the
pond. The lesson to be learned here, I suppose, is
sometimes you just have to keep trying to get the
results you want.
The permanent “pole barn” building on the back side
of the pond is basically completed. The metal roof
and sides are the same “Hunter Green” that was used
on the “container shop.” Electrical lines have been
buried and will be connected next Summer when the
ground dries out. There is talk of having canvas rollup walls that will block some of the wind that often
blows through that area.
I have been watching for the Osprey to come back,
but I have never seen him again.
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Rock of Ages Endowment
Rock o
(501-C-3 organization)
Thank you for considering Rock of Ages Endowment
in your estate planning!
Your gift will keep giving and help Rock of Ages provide loving
care for those we serve.
Call 1-800-280-CARE(2273)
for additional information
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15600 SW Rock of Ages Road
McMinnville, OR 97128
Valley View Retirement-M.A.I.D.S.
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Rock of Ages
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