St. Luke Living Center
By SUE GUTSCH
St. Luke Living Center reporter
Our large corkboard is now displaying a pictorial biography of Irma Reznicek's family. More than 50 years of marriage and 11 children have given the family curators a great deal of material. All of us are enjoying the exhibit.
The living center bakers' project Friday morning was the result of a nostalgia magazine's recipe for Oma's Washboard cookies. Most of us remember the store-bought version and the homemade ones were just as good or maybe better. It also was good to have Alice's daughters, Anita Gallbraith and Jan Erpelding and Frances' daughter, Lynne Watts, join us. Those "Van Buren girls" had our work place, including dishes, cleaned up in a jiffy.
Gene Vinduska and his accordion entertained us with Christmas music Saturday morning. Happily, we should have one more Saturday before Christmas with his music.
Marion Christian Church was scheduled to provide a Sunday afternoon service this week. We appreciated having David McGinness and Donna Hayen here to provide the message in word and music.
Sunday evening we had our first official carolers when members of the Happy Hustlers 4-H Club were here. In addition to song, they also brought a large basket of fruit.
Monday morning we broke from the schedule and prepared two cakes for baking — German chocolate and lemon. After lunch we frosted them in time for the afternoon party celebrating the December birthdays of Helen Bailey, Mildred Hajek, Fred Podszus, and Lillian Stenzel.
Because Monday was actually Helen's 106th birthday, her family brought ice cream, cheesecakes, and fruit pies to add to the festivities (and we certainly didn't complain). After we all had been served refreshments and sung our birthday wishes, employees from the rest of the St. Luke facility were invited to share in the celebration as well.
Members of Helen's family present were Dalene Tharp, Blair and Nancy Tharp, David and Carla Tharp, and Becky and Abi Bernhardt. Friends Rex and Vernolis Siebert also stopped by to be part of this milestone.
Monday is "pitch day." Usually not too much interferes with these card games, but this afternoon the players, Ruby, Mel, Amelia, Olinda, and volunteer Marie Navrat, stopped to go to the party. But, they continued the games after partying and were still bidding at 4:30.
Playing "20 Questions" was the way we used some mental muscle Tuesday morning. When forced to answer either yes or no, Ruby couldn't conclusively tell us if she (Santa Claus) was alive. Perhaps the child in all of us has trouble with that question.
That afternoon Laura was introduced to sociables, name cards, and literaries, as social life in the DeSmet encompassed the Ingalls family.
We joined Dick Pracht in the chapel for prayer group Wednesday morning, nd spent the rest of the day "decking the halls." Beautician Bonnie's little shop was already adorned in strands of greenery, poinsettias, and baubles of snowmen with a red and green jingle bell wreath on the door.
