Fourth of July when we were kids

Residents enjoyed our fourth of July activities at Plush Mills, but were eager to share memories of
parades and parties when they were growing up.  Eleanor shared a very interesting and unique tradition from her home town in New Jersey.

                       Fourth of July, Oradell, NJ

                                        by Eleanor Bongiorno

The town or Oradell, NJ had and extravaganza on the 4th of July and the parade was extensive.
We would all bring folding chairs and select a good spot along the parade route to enjoy the event.  My children who were involved in little leauge, girl scouts, and brownies all marched in the parade.  There were grand marshall, several marching bands, live animals, dignitaries, and clergy involved in the festivities.  The final stop of the parade was the atheletic field where skydivers performed.  They ejected themselves from the airplane and landed on a precise spot on the field.  There was a solemn ceremony afterwards and local dignitaries spoke.  Afterwards there were games fro the children, dancing for the adults, it was a wonderful celebration.

                           
                                                  
                                                       

The Luau at Plush Mills inspires creativity

On June 14th the residents enjoyed a Hawaiian type luau with wonderful food, a signature drink and entertainment.  This  not only inspired a still life in our art class, but also a wonderful piece of writing by Jo Ann Petrovitch about her trip to Hawaii some years ago.  

                                       My Trip to Hawaii, our 49th state.  
                                                  
                                                               by Jo Ann Petrovitch

We flew to Hawaii on an airplane and it was the second airplane trip of my life.  It seemed I like sitting on the plane amongst the clouds of fluffy white.  We watched movies on the way and I sat next to Bert Thorne, a lady from Eddystone I had just met.

We had to go down in Chicago to check on an engine that went out on the plane.  It was soon repaired and was nothing serious so we were on our way.

We landed in Hawaii and went to the Outrigger West Hotel in Honolulu, where the beautiful seashore was.  I went on the beach soon and lay on a blanket in the sand near another girl from my hometown
of Eddyston.  The shore was so beautiful so I went in and stood in the white waves that came up pretty high.  Afterwards we shopped and I bought a blue towel for my brother Dale.  I was tickled to get it and it was huge.  I carried it all the way home on the plane.

The first morning I awoke I wrote a postcard about the pigeons on the railing outside my window that I was glad to see.  I addressed it to my home in Eddystone, PA.

We also went to the Big Island to see the volcanoes and road on unpaved roads on a bus.  We missed our flight back to Honolulu so we caught another plane later that night.

We also went on a tour of Maui, the island of beautiful flowers and birds.

These are my most special memories of my trip to Hawaii.

Water color still life painted by Jo Ann Petrovich

 

A new 'resident" in the garden

                                                      Esmerelda

                                                    By Joan Clelan

When you walk out of the front door of the lobby at Plush Mills be sure to look in the flower garden in the circle.  There you will find "Esmerelda" the large praying mantis.

This large sculpture was made and assembled by David Ffrench.  This was quite an arduous task, however David perservered.  If you think of it, perhaps you would like to tell David how much you appreciate his work and how wonderful we can all enjoy it.  Perhaps you may like to ask him how long it took him to carefully construct this piece.  I am sure he would appreciate discussing this with you.

Kudos to David from everyone at Plush Mills.  There is more work there than meets the eye.