INFORMER Friday, April 20, 2018 April Birthdays 1 st Barb McConnell 13 th Dorothy Noer 20 th Karin Connolly 3 rd Jo Entwisle 15 th Alicemary Borthwick 21 st Jean Jones Dorothy Blazek 15 th Bruce Voyles 25 th Eugene Herman 4 th Joanne Bolton 18 th Eugene McCaw 25 th Kathy Szary 5 th Cecil Flander 18 th Bill McNally 26 th Roberta Atwell Emily Pfitsch 19 th Rey Evans 27 th M.J. Zimmerman 8 th George Britton Chapel: Every Tuesday, at 10:00 a.m. in Carman Center Coffee, tea & fellowship preceding Chapel at 9:30 & again at 10:30 following the service. April 24 May 1 Rev. Gordon Packard, Mayflower Resident Bell Choir will perform Holy, Holy, Holy Sara Adams, Mayflower Resident Spiritual Care Coordinator Christine Tinker is available 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily and as needed on weekends. Christine takes Wednesday off and emergencies are covered by Len Eberhart. Christine is available by phone 641-990-9062 and appointments may be made at times other than her regular schedule. Chaplain Len Eberhart is at Beebe Tuesdays & Wednesdays and available by phone 641-990-3861. Len s ministry is primarily with the Beebe residents. Health Center Worship Service Sundays, 10:00 am, in the Carman Center. All Residents Meeting: Severe Weather and Response A special meeting for all Mayflower residents will be conducted on Tuesday, May 1st at 3:00pm in the Carman Center. The primary topic will be severe weather precautions and response. We will include an update on the use of the Mayflower electronic notification system and information about a one-way communications system being developed by a Grinnell College student. Refreshments will be available. --Bob Mann
Mann Missive Club 90 s Induction Party. On April 4 th a large dessert party was held to honor all Mayflower residents who are at least 90 years of age ( nonagenarians ). 45 Mayflower residents are members of Club 90, including the 15 new members (just turning 90) who were honored. An intriguing program of video and song highlighting the youthful years of cinema for the nonagenarians was presented by Bob and Dot Anderson and Shane Estes. Thank you. In addition, appreciation goes to Chery Nelson, Mayflower s Activities Director, and Tracy Woolfolk and Pauline McKenna, Activities Assistants. Another Gift/Another Remodeling! We are awaiting some final numbers, but it appears that with a recent charitable commitment, we will be able to remodel the north/south hallway in the Pearson building, the Kiesel Theatre hallway, and maybe even the Pearson/Buckley tunnel. The latter portion could include a new heating/cooling unit that should keep the tunnel at a more moderate temperature. The remodeling would include vinyl wood floor plank (LVP), new wall covering and handrails, and lighting enhancement. About time! Music and Governance. There must be something about singing and leadership. At last weekend s highly-lauded Shults and Company, A Time to Remember bi-annual music presentation, three Mayflower board Presidents performed. In October, JoAnn Britton, Mayflower resident, finished six years and two as President on the Mayflower Foundation Board of Directors. George Drake also finished six years and two as President in October on the Mayflower Homes, Inc. Board of Trustees. Austin Jones, who displayed a variety of solo dancing while singing, is the current President of Board of Trustees. He s served six years on the Foundation Board and four as a Trustee. Speaking of Music. A local ad hoc group has arranged to fund and recruit a fulltime certified music therapist to Grinnell effective July 1 st. The Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools successfully engaged a music therapist last school year. They will be a primary funder again, along with UPH-GRMC and Mayflower. We will be providing free accommodations in Montgomery apt. #2. Kelly Robertson plans to move here to take the position. 1 st Avenue Traffic Study. As the result of expressed concern about the speed of traffic on 1 st Ave through the Mayflower campus, from West Street to High Street, the Grinnell Police Department will be doing a traffic study to determine the rate of vehicle speed. (This will exclude George Drake on his bicycle!) The speed limit is 25mph in that area. Based on the results of this study, the City will take appropriate action. Frankly, we are concerned about any loss of precious parking along 1 st Avenue critical to our staff. The Police tell us that there have been no reported accidents in this area for at least three years. Bob Mann, Executive Director
UPCOMING EVENTS Book Club Friday, Friday, April 20: Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan. All are welcome! MRA Movie Matinee Saturdays, at 2 p.m. in Kiesel Theatre April 21: Wonder; April 28: Last Flag Flying SE*ED Senior Education Program Mondays at 10 a.m. Drake Community Library April 23: Keeping Grinnell Vibrant, with Chamber Director Rachael Kinnick Mayflower Bell Choir Mondays at 1:00 p.m. HC Conference Room Women s Table Tennis Mondays at 4:00 p.m. in the Irene & Vic Table Tennis Center Younger Next Year Mondays & Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. in the Table Tennis Center Armchair Travel 1 st & 3 rd Tuesdays at 2 p.m. in the Kiesel Theater Documentary/Film Discussion Series: The Matter of Black Lives Tuesday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Kiesel Theatre (see information under Mayflower Activities) Bucket Courses Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. at the Drake Community Library: April 25 & May 2: Wind Tunnels at NASA s Langley Research Center with Ben Guenther Game Night Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Anchor Room free ice cream. Lyceum Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Carman Center. April 26: Shults & Company Koffee & Konversation Fridays at 9:30 a.m. in Buckley Dining Room Mindfulness & Reflection in Nature Friday, April 27, at 10:30 a.m. in the Anchor Room Mayflower Community Drum Circle Friday, April 27 at 1:00 p.m. in the Carman Center (see information under Mayflower Activities) Music in the Carman Center Friday, April 27 at 3:30pm: Dennis Perry; Monday, April 30 at 3:30pm: Country Music with Phil Gould Informer Deadline Monday, April 30 at 4 p.m.; email submissions to Elizabeth at ehaas@mayflowerhomes.com All-Residents Meeting: Severe Weather & Response Tuesday, May 1st at 3:00 p.m. in the Carman Center. (see information on first page) Kentucky Derby Party Saturday, May 5 at 4:30 p.m. in the Buckley Dining Room (see information under Mayflower Activities) The FORUM Tuesday, May 8, 2-3:30 p.m. in Kiesel Theater: Grinnell s Mayor Dan Agnew Chair Yoga will begin again Tuesday, May 22 at 11 in Montgomery Lounge. Stay tuned.
MAYFLOWER ACTIVITIES MRA Movie Matinees -- Saturdays at 2 pm in Kiesel Theater April 21: Wonder 2017 PG 1 hr 53 min Wonder tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. Cast: Julie Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay April 28: Last Flag Flying 2017 R 2 hr 5 min Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry Doc Shepherd, Sal Nealon and the Rev. Richard Mueller reunite for a different type of mission: to bury Doc s son, a young Marine killed in Iraq. Forgoing burial at Arlington National Cementery, they take the casket on a bittersweet trip up the coast to New Hampshire. Along the way, the three men find themselves reminiscing and coming to terms with the shared memories of a war that continues to shape their lives. Cast: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne Please help us keep our library shelves looking fresh and new. Donate your nearly new books with current titles and recent copyright dates to the Mayflower Browsing Library. Take your books, in April, to the book box in The Anchor. Thank you from the Browsing Library Committee. Neighborhood Groupings - Mondays at 12:00 p.m. in Buckley Dining Hall April 23 Altemeier, Edwards, Harwich Terrace North May 7 Buckley 1st, Watertower 2 & 3, Harwich Terrace South May 14 Harwich Terrace Southeast, Watertower 1, Buckley 3 May21 Harwich Terrace East, Pearson, Montgomery, Buckley 2
MAYFLOWER ACTIVITIES WHAT IS A COMMUNITY DRUM CIRCLE? In a drum circle people of all levels of musical expertise come together and share their rhythmical spirit. The spirit and magic of rhythm expressed on drums and percussion instruments cuts through all ages, sexes, religions, races and cultures. Rhythm is a universal language known to everyone, if we can just remember. So, in a very objective, yet beautiful way, this interactive rhythm event (in a circle) puts us all on an equal footing with each other and brings us closer together. Co-operation and collaboration is the basic glue to a community. A drum circle is a collaboratively self-organized musical event created, in the moment, by the people gathered to participate (either by drumming or sitting and listening, tapping your feet, or clapping your hands along with the music). As we play together we give ourselves a rhythmical massage, an emotional release and a healing. It changes our relationships for the positive. The quality of the music produced is not based on the rhythmic expertise of the players, but on the quality of the relationships within the circle. One powerful voice is created out of the many. The players stop worrying about keeping time because time, as they know it, has stopped. In its place is a living breathing entity, expressing timeless joy, passion and release through the power of rhythm. That is the beauty of a community drum circle. -- Arthur Hull of Village Music Circles (http://www.drumcircle.com/) MAYFLOWER COMMUNITY DRUM CIRCLE All Residents & Guests Invited Friday, April 27, 1:00 pm Carman Center Chery Nelson and Anne Sunday (Mayflower Activities) along with a volunteer Grinnell College Student, Reece Downey (a drummer and music major from Indianola), will gather with all those who come to drum or listen. Please join us!
MAYFLOWER ACTIVITIES Please join us for a Saturday, May 5, at 4:30 pm, in Buckley Dining Room Mint Juleps and Kentucky Fare will be served at no charge Live action & race in the Bistro at 5:30 pm - $1 bets Prizes for outstanding Derby Hats So, go get your ribbons, your bows, & your flamingos, & show some hattitude! Hosted by Suzanne Schwengels & Darwin Kinne Think Spring! It will arrive eventually. And then Birds 101 with Sue Ahrens IS BEING RESCHEDULED FOR FUTURE DATE Come learn about the birds that inhabit the Mayflower and beyond! Learn more about our feathered friends with photos and discussion. Then, practice your birding skills at Arbor Lake. The Lester bus will be going. Stay tuned for new date and time. Mindfulness and Reflection Exercises to Use in Nature Learn techniques to notice the world around you, relieve stress, and find relaxation in difficult daily moments. Friday, April 27, at 10:30 in the Anchor Room -- Register for this session by calling Anne Sunday or emailing annesunday624@gmail.com. A Trip to Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge --Tentative Date: Sunday, June 3 Ranger talk, wildflowers, butterfly garden, walking path, visitor center exhibits, light picnic supper, bus ride through the wildlife loop. Stay tuned for more information!
MAYFLOWER ACTIVITIES THE MATTER OF BLACK LIVES DOCUMENTARY/FILM SERIES Fourth & final film: STEP (1hr. 23 min) Tuesday, April 24, 6:30 pm Kiesel Theater The documentary we had planned to show in our last session is not yet available on DVD. Instead our series will have a more celebratory and moving documentary from 2017. STEP focuses on the Step Team and the first graduating class of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, a school founded on the conviction that every one of its graduate would go on to a college degree. The Step Team was founded when this first graduating class began in the sixth grade as a competitive activity to connect students with each other and nurture the discipline and determination required to meet the academic expectations of the BLSYW. STEP focuses primarily on the Step Team as it prepares for a three-state competition in the spring at Bowie State University and particularly on three seniors and their famiilies: Blessin and her mother Geneva, Curi and her parents Triana and Shelton, and Tayla and her mother Maisha. The students energy and pride in their achievements makes this final presentation well worth watching. --Harley Henry Check out the next BUCKET Class being offered 4/25 & 5/2 An upcoming two-session Bucket Class offered by Ben Guenther will explore how engineers have used wind tunnels to improve aviation. The course is titled Wind Tunnels at NASA s Langley Research Center. The course will take place on two consecutive Wednesdays, April 25 and May 2, from 10:00 to 11:30 am. The course, which meets at the Caulkins meeting room of the Drake Community Library, is free and open to all. No registration is required. Social Justice Learning Opportunity: Poor People s Campaign Iowa Chapter is hosting a training session on Saturday, May 5, from 2-4:30 pm at the United Church of Christ Congregational at 902 Broad Street. What is the Poor People s Campaign? It is described as: A National Call for Moral Revival is uniting tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation s distorted morality. Visit www.poorpeoplescampaign.org for more information on this movement.
BETWEEN THE BOOKENDS Our lives are being transformed in so many realms all at once and it is dizzying. In Thank You for Being Late, version 2.0, with a new afterword, Thomas L. Friedman exposes the tectonic movements that are reshaping the world today and explains how to get the most out of them and cushion their worst impacts. Friedman offers several common sense, pragmatic solutions and manages to convey a sense of optimism that, eventually, the world will be capable of adapting in a manner that improves global civilization. Quotes from Amazon about this fascinating, new book. New Library Acquisitions: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn LP On the Podium: Roses by Fabio Petroni -- MRA Librarian: Robin Estes Dear Mayflower Residents and Staff, We thank you for all of the messages of sympathy extended to us since the passing of our father. -- The Family of Ramon Gruhn Thank you to the friends who remembered my birthday with beautiful cards and good wishes. Additional thanks for all the kindness sent my way during the past few months since the death of Gordon. Moving to Mayflower is the best decision we made in recent years. -- Alicemary Borthwick Ramon Gruhn, who passed away on Thursday, April 5, at the age of 87 Elsie M. Johnston, who passed away on Saturday, April 14, at the age of 94