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Homeland Center was rocking to “Mack the Knife” when Kat & Tom were back in town.

Kat & Tom are a husband-and-wife song and dance duo whose Homeland appearances always draw a crowd. The popular pair presents carefully crafted shows at retirement communities around the East, but their ties to Homeland are particularly strong and personal.

On this warm summer day, Kat and Tom Kovaleski performed everything from songs written by George Gershwin and Paul Anka – and even Bob Dylan’s ballad “To Make You Feel My Love” — to those made famous by Patsy Cline, Dean Martin, and Lee Greenwood. Homeland residents’ toes tapped to Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly with Me.” The Nat King Cole-Natalie Cole duet version of “Unforgettable” drew appreciative applause.

During instrumental breaks, the pair would step away from the instruments to show off their elegant ballroom and tap dance skills. While Tom, a classically trained ballet dancer, wore spiffy, two-toned wing-tip shoes, alert residents noticed that Kat was barefoot.
“I have injured my knee, and I can’t dance on the carpet in my shoes,” she explained. “I’m dancing barefoot today, and I hope you don’t mind. Do you mind too much?”

“No!” the residents responded.

As the duo presented their songs, Homeland CNA and dietary supervisor Aprile Greene wandered the room, clapping and inviting residents to dance. Resident Flora Jespersen happily danced to “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” Don Englander took some energetic twirls with Greene during the rousing “Mack the Knife.”

“I love to see them enjoy themselves and the music, and getting them to smile,” Greene said later. “They love it. They make my day.”

Kat & Tom introduced each carefully selected song with a short history, with the year it was written or recorded and any interesting factoids, such as the fact that “Save the Last Dance for Me” was written by a wheelchair-bound man for his wedding to a Broadway star.

“We do a lot of research,” Kat said after the show. “It is trivia, but it’s not trivial. People say, ‘I love that song, but I can’t remember who did it.’ We always want to know who wrote it, who did it, what it was written for.”

Music “will take you back to a place in time,” added Tom. “One of the most exciting things is to see how all of a sudden it touches people. Music will take you to places you don’t forget.”

The pair has a personal connection to Homeland through Kat’s parents, Ray and Joan LaTournous, who were Homeland residents.

“Homeland holds such fond memories,” she said. “We know the care they give here is just marvelous. The staff is so special. They don’t just put the time in. They’re present and accounted for.”

Resident MJ Muro, who had been humming along with the tunes, said it “was just wonderful that they would come here.” She remembered dancing “many, many miles” with her late husband, James. “That was one of our favorite things and singing. We both were always singing with groups.”

The performance even attracted four generations of one family – Homeland resident Betty Dumas, and her daughter Donna Longnaker, granddaughter Michelle Laychock, and great-granddaughter Hannah Laychock. Hannah, a dancer herself, appreciated Tom’s dance performance. Betty has seen Kat & Tom before, “and the sooner, the better” for seeing them again. However, she admitted to not dancing much herself.

“The only dance I went to was my prom,” she said.

“Don’t be bashful! We’ve got French fries!”

Homeland Center Board of Managers member Janet Young was standing before a cart stocked with hot, fresh French fries ready for Homeland residents to enjoy with lunch.

Homeland Center has hopped on board the food truck craze and, in what is becoming an annual tradition, brought a French fries truck right to the door in late May 2017 for the enjoyment of residents and staff.

The truck first made an appearance in April 2016, after residents asked for fries with their meals. But keeping fries hot and crispy while serving them to multiple dining areas was a problem.

In response, Homeland Board of Managers member Kelly Lick contracted York-based Bricker’s Famous French Fries to bring the treat to Homeland’s front door. Steady rain on French fries day also is becoming a tradition, so Homeland staffers and Board of Managers members filled trays with servings as they came out of the fryer and distributed them throughout the building.

“You can smell them coming in the door!” came an excited cry as a group gathered at the Sixth Street entrance.

“I came for my French fries,” said resident Marie Andrews. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss them.”

Andrews said she didn’t have a favorite French fries place growing up, although “as an adult, I thought McDonald’s had the best.” As for the Board of Managers’ effort, she said, “It’s wonderful. It’s very thoughtful of them to do this.”

Resident Lou Hepschmidt, philanthropist and longtime supporter of Homeland, had never had French fries until Homeland staff took her to Burger King.

“The taste is great, and the feel of them is great,” she said. “They’re hot. These are done just right.”

Visitors and Homeland staff enjoyed the treat as much as residents.

“The staff here is phenomenal,” said Lick as she walked the hallways with the aroma of fresh French fries wafting from her tray. “They are incredible people. It’s nice to be able to do a little thank you for them, too.”

Among those enjoying the treat was resident Geoffrey Davenport – something of an expert on French fries and cooking. His family owned Davenport’s, a restaurant that many Harrisburg-area residents remember fondly.

“The potatoes have to be grown correctly,” he said. “A load of sour potatoes is the worst smell in the world, so you have to keep the potatoes fresh. The grease has to be 370 degrees, and don’t overcook them.”

He gave Bricker’s French fries and the food truck’s appearance an enthusiastic thumbs up: “It’s nice for a change.”

Homeland’s dietary philosophy balances the nutritional needs of residents with quality of life. All meals and each resident’s food plan are carefully crafted to offer nutritional value and accommodate individual circumstances, but as long as there are no dietary restrictions, items like French fries and ice cream are freely dished out.

It’s all part of Homeland’s commitment to live up to its name: creating a welcoming home for residents and looking after both their physical and emotional well-being.

Babs Phillips, a Board of Managers member, said the board’s efforts to delight the residents and maintain Homeland’s cheery atmosphere are “just a joy.”

“You get more out of it than you put into it,” she said.

A beacon of care and stability. A model for change.

This is the Homeland Center that was celebrated on May 7, 2017, when Homeland’s many friends gathered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of a storied Harrisburg institution.

Homeland’s 150th anniversary gala, held at the Hilton Harrisburg, was noted for its elegance, its reverence for the past, and its confidence in a bright future.

In 1867, 18 Harrisburg women pooled their energies and talents to create “The Home for the Friendless.” Originally meant to shelter Civil War widows and orphans, it evolved over 150 years to become Homeland Center, the region’s premier Continuing Care Retirement Community and service provider.

Few central Pennsylvania organizations can boast the longevity of Homeland, and the anniversary event attracted 400 people representing all corners of the region’s business, culture, and nonprofit segments.

Co-chairs John K. Stark and Marion Alexander kicked off the festivities, with Stark sharing his deep family ties to Homeland. His grandmother, Katherine “Kitty” Kunkel, was president of the Board of Managers, instrumental in instilling Homeland’s lasting commitment to the residents’ comfort and someone who “truly loved Homeland and passed that appreciation to me.” Grandfather Congressman John Crain Kunkel grew up behind Market Square Presbyterian Church, original meeting place of Homeland’s founders.

The night’s featured guest, retired CBS News Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood, entertained the crowd with songs at the piano and memories of his career in the news business. He opened by saying that he is “agape at the significant achievement you are celebrating tonight.”

“What you have done here for all this time is so effective and so beautiful that it should be a model for the rest of this country,” he said.

He said that he had met Homeland residents earlier that day and played piano for them, too. There was one song he particularly wanted to play, he said, before launching into “Happy Birthday.” By the time he reached “Happy birthday, dear Homeland,” the crowd was singing along.

Board of Trustees Chair Morton Spector mused on “how amazed and how proud Homeland’s founders would be today. In a time without a social safety net, they had the vision to create a new beacon of caring. Today, that commitment guides us in a host of ways.”

Last year, Spector said, Homeland provided almost $3 million in charitable care, “and no resident in financial distress has ever been asked to leave.” He offered a toast “to all who have given their passion for service as a gift to our community.”

Gala guests were entertained by the renowned Steve Rudolph Trio, with jazzman Rudolph at the piano. He also accompanied entertainers Rick Stevens and Debbie Smith, singing reflections on Homeland’s unique nature to the tunes of such familiar songs as “New York, New York.”

“Our mission is prime. Our care is sublime. And I’ll make sure you’re part of it, Homeland, Homeland!” Stevens sang.

A custom-produced video spanned Homeland’s history, from its founding in the wake of the Civil War, to its expansion into today’s comprehensive service provider, featuring personal care suites, skilled nursing care, dementia unit, and hospice, home health, and home care services. The expansive facility is crowned by its hallmark circular conservatory, part of the 24-bed dementia unit.

“Seen at night, the conservatory’s glowing panes mark Homeland as a true beacon of care,” the video narrator noted.

Homeland’s founders – those 18 women and the seven-member Board of Trustees charged with business and financial matters – “didn’t start with any money. They started with a conviction,” said President and CEO Barry S. Ramper II. “They started with principles they believed in. They then acted upon those principles.”

Homeland has survived 150 years because “thousands of individuals have not wavered on those convictions,” Ramper added. The entire staff is outstanding, not only because of their skill sets, “but because they have a heart that is second to none.”

The founders made wise decisions that allowed Homeland Center, plus the more recent creations of Homeland Hospice, Homeland HomeCare, and Homeland HomeHealth, to thrive by staying true to “the original, fundamental, total commitment they had 150 years ago,” he said.

“They made something that today we only have a responsibility to make stronger,’’ Ramper said. “Fifty years or 100 years from now, our names are meaningless, but the goal is for it to be able to be said by someone 100 years from now, ‘They did a good job in 2017 in preparing us for the world we’re in today,’ just as those in 1867 did an outstanding job in preparing the world that we are in.”

As the evening closed, Stark announced that the event had been a success “in more ways than one,” spotlighting not just the milestone anniversary but Homeland’s adherence to benevolent care, which the gala benefited, providing care even when residents run out of resources.

“Homeland Center exists because of our community generosity and willingness to help others,” said Stark. “For our residents and their families, words cannot fully express join in knowing their loved ones have a safe and secure home.”