Kim Macdonald presents Bob Leo with Sister Claudia Riehl Living a Legacy employee award.

Employee Bob Leo received the Sister Claudia Riehl Living a Legacy award for his positive behavior to residents, family members and staff, and for modeling the Core Values of Cerenity Senior Care and Benedictine Health System (BHS). Cerenity’s Core Values are Collaboration, Hospitality, Respect and Stewardship.

Bob has worked at Cerenity Care Center – Humboldt for more than 10 years and is a member of the therapeutic recreation team. He is always willing to help when the need arrives and jumps in with full force and a smile on his face. Bob also has many musical talents. He regularly entertains our resident with his ability to play many instruments. He shares his gifts of playing accordion, keyboard, flute and saxophone.

Bob also applies his experience as a Ramsey County Volunteer Police Chaplain to assisting resident with their spiritual needs. He currently is working on being ordained at the St. Benedictine Monastery to further his education in order to help others.

“His presence and leadership skills are a blessing to the residents, family members and co-workers,” says Kim Macdonald, therapeutic recreation director. “He is an exceptional person and is well deserving of winning the Sister Claudia Award.”

Bob will receive an honorarium to use for personal self-improvement education and a specially designed certifi­cate and pin.

The Sister Claudia Riehl Living a Legacy employee recognition program was established by the BHS Foundation. Cerenity is a faith-based partnership between BHS, HealthEast Care System and Clement Manor.

Mary has worked at Cerenity Marian for 40 years, serving in many roles, including nursing assistant and activities aide. She was the director of the DayAway adult day program before moving into her current position, tenant services coordinator for the Residence.

During her tenure, Mary has served on many committees. Currently she serves on the Mission Committee. “Mary takes initiative in planning and facilitating all campus projects that focus on creating an environment that reflects our mission and values,” commented the employee who nominated her for the award. “Mary is always joyful and pleasant to work with, and she has a positive outlook and encourages others. She inspires me to be a better employee and a better person.”

Mary will receive an honorarium to use for personal self-improvement education and a specially designed certifi­cate and pin.

The Sister Claudia Riehl Living a Legacy employee recognition program was established by the BHS Foundation. Cerenity is a faith-based partnership between BHS, HealthEast Care System and Clement Manor.

In his homily last Friday, Archbishop Flynn recalled the thunderstorm that struck during the ground blessing. “They were singing, ‘Nearer my God to Thee,’ and I thought I was going to meet my maker that afternoon.”

Directing his remarks to the residents and tenants, Archbishop Flynn said, “Every day we face challenges, and aging is a challenge. One of the secrets of handling challenges is finding a place where it’s quiet and God can speak to us. It’s important for you to have a place where you can come and there is quiet, whether it’s this chapel or in your room. He will speak to you, without words, heart to heart.”

The Marian Center Foundation raised most of the funding for building the chapel. Ten years later, we continue to be grateful for the people who had the vision for this chapel and made it a reality. It remains a place of comfort, worship and inspiration.

Cerenity Humboldt is a hosting a variety of concerts all summer long under the beautiful shade trees on the campus grounds, including the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Free Concert for Seniors at 1 p.m., Thurs., July 18.  Click on these links for a concert schedule and to learn about other volunteer opportunities.

Going fishing this opener?

Irv fished a lot from shore and wanted a bobber-rigged line that he could cast a long way and land just past the weeds. He decided that a weighted bobber would help him cast further. He wrapped lead tape around a bobber, but that was too heavy. He experimented with different weights, testing the bobbers in a washtub in the basement. “I saw a washer on my workbench and thought, ‘that will go inside it!’ I put the washer in the bobber, dropped it in the washtub and it did exactly what I wanted.”

For the bobber colors, Irv chose orange, yellow and white to make it easy to spot in the lake. He added a tail that stands up when there is a fish on the line. Irv found a manufacturer, packaging firm and distributor. The copy on the packaging reads “Your new Tattle Tail bobber is designed to ‘tattle tale’ on the fish the instant it comes in contact with the bait. This is your cue to set the hook…no guesswork involved.” Irv sold 1,000 bobbers in the first month.

Irv and his wife Charlotte both liked to fish, and often fished opening weekend, even on Mother’s Day. After Irv retired, the couple went fishing twice a week. “She knew how to fish,” says Irv. “She had her own tackle box. When we were up in Canada, she gave the guide a piece of her tackle.

“Charlotte always used the Tattle Tail. We caught more fish than anyone around us.“

Tierney and David, seniors at White Bear Lake Area High School and Cerenity employees, posed with Curtis and Nancy, assisted living tenants.

On May 4, White Bear Lake Area High School prom attendees continued the tradition of holding a mini grand march at Cerenity Senior Care – White Bear Lake. Before the march began, Jeanne Lintner, director of recreation therapy and emcee, asked the older adults gathered for the event to practice “oohing and aahing.” The grand march was led by Tierney and David, seniors who work in Cerenity’s dietary department. David’s dad Jeff Wahl is a nurse at Cerenity. The next couple was Courtney, also an employee, and her date Dalton. Another participant, Jake, has ties to Cerenity as well. His mom, Dawn Dittel, is a physical therapist.

Each couple promenaded through the room, stopping once or twice to spin. Throughout the event, there was a lot of oohing and aahing. Nancy, an assisted living tenant, frequently could be heard saying, “Spin now – right here!”

Nancy, a TCU patient, said, “It brings back good memories. I went to prom at White Bear Lake High School 50 years ago. A lady gave me a Paris original to wear, and it fit beautifully. We had 58 students in my class, 49 boys and just 9 girls. My date was John from Mahtomedi.” Now there are about 2,500 students at White Bear Lake Area High School.

Annabelle, who attends the DayAway adult day program at Cerenity Senior Care – Marian of Saint Paul, answered, “The little boy is pulling the little girl’s hair and she’s getting mad.”  Others added to the storyline: “It’s a third grade classroom;” “The teacher is out of the room, talking to the principal;” “The girl’s name is Annabelle and the boys’ names are Maynard and Dennis;” “Dennis pulled her hair because he likes her;” and “Maynard is jealous.” Using the storyline they created, actor-educators and participants acted out the scene. Annabelle’s role was the teacher.

The CLIMB Theatre created a four-part acting workshop for elders designed to elicit stories from their pasts and their imaginations. The prototype for the workshops, which were held across the state, was tested at Cerenity Marian. Marie, Annabelle and Pat enjoyed the prototype so much the DayAway staff brought them to a nearby community center to participate in additional sessions.

At the last session, the elders recalled a favorite present they received and then role played giving and receiving an imaginary gift using a purple velvet bag.

John, a participant, presented the bag to Marie and said, “Marie, I would like to give you the gift of a healed foot.” Marie’s spontaneous response was, “When I have that healed foot, I will dance a jig for all of you.”

Annabelle passed the bag to Pat, saying, “I’m going to give you the gift of life. May you live for a long, long time.”

“Oh my goodness,” Pat exclaimed when she accepted the gift. “I told my kids I’d like to live to 100. Maybe I will now.”

CLIMB Theatre, based in Inver Grove Heights, is in its 38^th year as a nonprofit. Funding for this series for elders was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Once I learned about the art classes, I started to go right away,” she says. “I was so impressed with Dana. She is terrific. If you have a problem with your painting, she can help you.” Dana Hughes, a graduate of Minneapolis Institute of Art, is a therapy recreation coordinator and art specialist at the Humboldt Residence.

“I wasn’t familiar with watercolors. I splattered some paint accidentally and had little tiny dots on my painting. I asked Dana if I should start over. She suggested I add tiny colored dots to the bottom of the painting. It turned out really nice.”

Dorothy, age 84, studied art in high school and enrolled in a summer art class after graduating to study oil painting. She painted on her own after that, taking time off to care for her family. “I colored photos for four different studios when my two adopted sons were young,” says Dorothy. “I could do that from home. I did that for about 15 years, and then the studios started taking photos in color.”

After 20 years of marriage, Dorothy had a baby girl and took a second break from painting. When her daughter was 10, she took a portrait class. “Most of our models came to the school after work. They were tired and always looked stern in the paintings.” Dorothy recalls a French man named Pierre who was a good model. “He could hold a nice expression,” says Dorothy, modeling the expression. “It makes a difference. I painted my grandma, but she kept falling asleep and looked crabby.”

Dorothy’s favorite medium was oils and she’s tempted to try oils again. “I don’t like acrylics because they dry so fast.”  

Several pieces of Dorothy’s work were on display at the recent art show held at Cerenity Residence.

Dorothy painted “Whitetail Bounding” in 2001. The inspirations for her oil painting were a photo of fall colors taken at Acorn Park in Roseville and a photo of a deer published in the newspaper. “I knew deer frequented that park so I added a deer.”

The congregation at St. Ambrose Parish in Woodbury didn’t need much convincing when a Cerenity Senior Care employee visited to gauge interest in supporting an adult day care program at the site.

“I had people coming up and offering to volunteer,” said Sharyl Kaase, Cerenity’s director of adult day programs. “People would say ‘I’m retired from being a nurse, I’d love to volunteer.’ It was really positive.”

 Two kinds of adult day care services — a medical and a social model — are meant to offer relief for care givers who need to be outside of the house during the day and can’t care for their elderly.

 The Woodbury site will be a social model: a place for independent elderly, who need minimal medical support, to attend and be among others in similar situations. Kaase said there will not be a nurse or in-house medical equipment at St. Ambrose Parish.

If approved by the city, Kaase will apply to the Minnesota Department of Human Services for a permit that allows 20 people to be in the Woodbury care unit at once. Kaase said up to 40 or 50 families could be involved with the new program, because the permit dictates a 20-person capacity at one given time.

Jeff Thorne said it’s also an alternative method for families who want to prevent their elder relatives from going into nursing homes until it’s necessary.

“Adult day service is a huge factor in keeping people at home,” Thorne said. “It’s an opportunity for them, a respite for their care givers, many times children who still have a career and are working.”

The Woodbury planning commission and city council approved a conditional use permit to convert a church room into an adult day center.  The next step is approval from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Tom frequently bakes cookies to bring to Eleanor, who recently turned 90. “He makes good cookies,” she says. One of their favorites is sugar cookies. “This is a recipe Eleanor and I had been using for years,” explains Tom. “It’s foolproof.”

Tom and Eleanor’s Sugar Cookies

½ cup shortening
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ¼ cups flour
¼ tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt

Mix together shortening, butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Sift together and stir in flour, salt and soda. Form dough into small balls, roll in sugar, place on ungreased cookie sheet and press flat using bottom of glass. Bake for 10 minutes at 375° until light brown at edges.