Stories

Homeland Center’s cooking club spice up residents’ lives

June 10, 2014

Dorothy Bettinger enjoys coming to Homeland Center cooking club sessions. “I can play with food,” she said. “Anything that’s good, I’ll eat.” Every other Monday, Homeland’s cooking club brings residents together around a table to cook, chat, learn about new foods and, of course, eat their creations. The club meets…

Celebrating 105 years ‘young’!

April 30, 2014

Homeland’s oldest resident Frances Merlina going strong as she celebrates her 105th birthday Living on her own at the time, Frances Merlina had fallen and broken her ankle. On the way to the hospital, the EMTs asked when she had last been in the hospital. She turned to her son, David,…

Contest imbues the doors with Holiday Spirit

January 1, 2014

From a smiling snowman to a cozy fire complete with stockings on the mantle, the doors of Homeland Center were transformed into beautiful seasonal postcards as part of the first annual “Holiday Door Decorating Contest.’’ More than 40 doors brightened the halls with holiday cheer as residents and their families…

Homeland’s Hummel collection

December 2, 2013

In the 1920 and ‘30s, a Bavarian nun named Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel drew sketches capturing the innocence and charm of the children around her. As her sketches grew popular, German porcelain maker Franz Goebel began producing them in figurines – each piece subject to Sister Maria’s approval. But while…

Knitting groups

November 24, 2013

For a small group of Homeland Center residents, their twice-weekly knitting circle isn’t just a chance to chat as they create intricate patterns. These four ladies knit with a purpose – creating slippers for homeless women and children. The effort started in the early 2000s, when a former resident taught…

Guiding a loved one with dementia toward the right kind of care

November 18, 2013

It’s perhaps the most insidious of all diseases. Dementia doesn’t sicken the body. It steals the mind, slowly robbing an individual’s very essence, their personality. All that makes them who they are. Up against this kind of foe, families often need help for a loved one with dementia. But how…