Hadi Shrine Circus
Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, the Jacob’s Village bunch left at 2:00 in the afternoon to attend the 73rd Annual Hadi Shrine Circus. Residents Wanda, Debbie, Mike, Michael, and Scott, minus Donna Kay, who is still recovering from her leg injury, arrived in plenty of time with fill-in home-coordinators, Janice and Chris to get good seating for the 3:00 performance. The seats were filling up quickly and by show time; there was a full house in attendance to watch the final matinee performance of the Hadi Shrine Circus at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, IN. The Circus did live up to its expectation with a spectacular sound and light show. The stars on parade kicked it off followed by 33 exciting, adventurous fun-filled acts including: Elephants, Siberian Tigers, Bears, Trapeze Artists, and Clowns. Greg Oeth, Indiana State Police Officer of Mt. Vernon and member of the Posey County Shrine Club, for the second year, donated general admission tickets to Jacob’s Village. The near capacity crowd on this Sunday afternoon left Robert’s Stadium with smiles on all their faces.
EARC Halloween Party
Friday night, October 27, 2006, the residents of Jacob’s Village were invited to a Halloween Party sponsored by the Evansville Association of Retarded Citizens(EARC); although, Michael was with his family that night and missed out on it. On a dark and stormy night, Wanda, Debbie, Donna Kay, Mike, Scott, and home coordinators Janice and Barry left Jacob’s Village a little after 5:00pm. The costume/pizza party at the downtown CK Newsome Center was to begin at 6:00pm. Upon finding a space in the parking lot, the Jacob’s Village bunch was greeted by many ghouls, goblins, and witches hurrying around trying to find shelter from the rain. Entering the front doors single file, mostly because of large costumes, there was a funnel effect into the building. Once inside, almost like following a herd of sheep down a hallway, the large gymnasium was found to be already abustlin’ with a party atmosphere. An EARC furnished music system & employee was playing the appropriate Halloween/dance music that was enjoyed by all, especially out on the dance floor. There were over 200 in attendance for this event and Pizza Hut furnished the pizza and drink. Jacob’s Village buddy/EARC employee, Chris Keitel was there helping with the organization of service and placement. Angela Goedde, Activities Director at Woodbridge Healthcare & Rehab Nursing and ‘Shrek the Ogre’ for the night was also there with a few of her residents, one of which was the Pope. Most of the costume creations were worthy of a prize but favorites of specific categories had to be chosen. Awards were presented to individuals with the scariest, prettiest, funniest, strangest, and most unique, and original. One party goer that didn’t get recognized but wore a different kind was an over-easy egg costume with red horns, a red tail, carrying a little red pitch-fork, hence he was………a ‘Deviled Egg’. Mike was decked out in IU Hoosier fan garb, Debbie looked like a little jail-bird in her black and white striped clothing and Scott was wearing his chicken hat and a clown nose. That was about the extent of our costumes, but a ghoul time was had by all at this Halloween party.
...and Chili for China
Sunday morning, Oct. 29, 2006, everyone prepared themselves for a Church service. As usual, at 8:00am Jim Mosby arrived to provide Mike and Wanda a ride to the St. Agnes Catholic Church on Glendale Avenue off Broadway. Michael, Scott, Carol, and Halleck left for the WestWood General Baptist Church at 9:00am for the Doing For Others (DFO) Bible study class at 9:30am, with WestWood’s contemporary service following at 10:30am. Barry remained at Jacob’s Village to await Mike and Wanda’s return about 11:00am and to prepare tuna salad for lunch. The WestWood Church service lets out shortly after twelve-noon putting the return home about 12:30pm. A full schedule on this day’s calendar was at hand so a quick lunch was in demand. A trip to St. Mary’s Hospital to see how Donna Kay was doing was the first item on the list. Donna Kay had an accident involving her leg the week before and was in surgery recovery awaiting her clearance to move into St. Mary’s Rehab Institute. All of the Jacob’s Village residents: Wanda, Debbie, Mike, Michael, Scott, and home coordinators Carol, Halleck and Barry surprised Donna Kay with a visit in her hospital room. She was so excited to see everyone and requested a hug from all. Donna Kay is really enjoying all the one on one attention and the visitors that come by to see her. A short visit it was, they all bade farewell with their healthy recovery sentiments hoping Donna Kay would be back on her feet soon and they quickly left the premises.
In celebration of Octoberfest, The Rhein Valley Brass Band was to perform in the lobby of the downtown Central Library at 3:00pm Sunday afternoon. The afternoon concert was the next stop on the list. The Jacob’s Village bunch arrived and entered the Central Library as the band was setting up. Being the first ones in the lobby for the show, they had their choice of seating. There were forty chairs lined up in five rows in front of the impromptu stage and there was not a bad seat in the lobby. The Brass Band consisted of five instruments that included: a coronet, trumpet, tuba, keyboard, and a drum set. The open seats soon had occupants, mostly children, and the young lady speaking for the band, playing the coronet and being a story teller gave everyone in attendance a brief lesson in music 101, specifically about Brass instruments. The band played many recognizable songs, from Roll out the Barrel to The Beer Barrel Polka, and a few kids, a few adults and even Wanda got out of her seat to do The Chicken Dance when it was played. A good time was being had by all and The Rhein Valley Brass Band was still performing when the Jacob’s Village bunch had to leave.
The WestWood General Baptist Church was having a Chili for China fund drive/supper for Johnny & Emily Jourdan’s Mission in China beginning at 4:00pm and Michael had to return some CD’s to Willard Library. Being rushed to make it to WestWood, it turned out to be handy and a good thing Willard was along the way, right off the Lloyd Expressway. The last stop on the list was finally in site and everyone had worked up an appetite for the benefit Chili Supper. The parking-lot was filling up and by chance it seemed again, the two usual spaces for Jacob’s Village were open. The Jacob’s Village bunch was greeted at the front door by some familiar faces of teenagers, members of the WestWood Youth Ministry who had been out to Jacob’s Village the week before cleaning windows. Once inside, a walk down the hallway was needed to reach the Fellowship Hall where Chili for China was being served. The Jacob’s Village bunch is no stranger to the Fellowship Hall, having been to many functions there in the past, it is a large room with a kitchen at the West end. Again, many familiar faces from the Church and Bible Study Classes greeted all and showed them to a table. There were three tables near the entrance and kitchen, one provided information about their mission in China and two were covered with the evenings’ tasty treats. A couple of students offered to provide assistance with trays and drinks. The menu consisted of two types of chili, mild & hot, crackers, peanut butter sandwiches, and a stacked up, overflowing table with an assortment of deserts; cookies, breads, pies, cake, lemonade, tea and water. Wanda, Debbie, Mike, Michael, Scott, and home coordinators Carol, Halleck, and Barry feasted on the tasty chili and enjoyed the deserts. Pastor John Sloan was in attendance having missed the morning service due to a herniated-disc back surgery earlier in the week. Everyone was glad to see Pastor John and offered their prayers to him for a healthy recovery. There was a large turnout for their missionary benefit Chili for China and a good time of fellowship with many friendly faces was had by all.
Window Cleaning
37 friends and members of the WestWood General Baptist Church visited Jacob’s Village a little before 11:00am Saturday Morning, October 28, 2006. Associate Pastor/Youth Minister Rodney Sloan, Youth Disciple/Coach Chris Burton, USI Students Angela & Michelle headed up this youth work group to clean the windows of all three homes. Before they tackled the windows, all 33 kids presented a show of sing along songs with hand and body motions and skits. To name a few of the songs that were acted out, there were: Jesus Loves Me, Father Abraham, Whose Side Are You Leaning On, & We Lift Your Name up High, all of them were thoroughly enjoyed by the residents. Following the entertainment, the buckets with a special cleaning solution and newspapers for window cleaning were divided up amongst the eager youths. It took about 2 hours for the windows in all three homes to be cleaned. We can see clearly now... the dirty film is gone... off the windows. Jacob’s Village sends a ‘Big Heart Thank You’ to the WestWood Youth Ministry for cleaning the windows, a job well done.
Ann Coy Time
Due to prior commitments, Tuesday, October 17, 2006, was the date set for Ann Coy’s activity time. She usually visits on the last Tuesday of each month, but Jacob’s Village will always adapt to her schedule. Ann sent word a couple of weeks in advance to the residents of what the theme for her forthcoming visit would be and what she wanted the residents to have prepared. Love would be the theme and a favorite Bible quote and a picture of someone very close to their heart, past or present, would be the topic for show and tell this month. Everyone did have a quote ready to recite telling of which Book, Chapter, and Verse it came from and a picture of a loved one or ones to pass around to the others. Similar to each monthly visit in the past, this activity was enlightening, heart warming, and good for the soul. Ann’s guest musician returning once again to Jacob’s Village on this evening was UE music student and musician extraordinaire Pete Anderson. Pete brought his guitar along with him for this visit and strummed out some favorite gospel and folk songs that all the residents enjoyed singing along to. Later in the evening another special guest was welcomed to Jacob’s Village for the first time, Tina Jones, Nutritionist and Weight Watcher’s Advocate. Tina shared information with the residents about the importance of having a healthy diet and choosing good eating habits. The four basic food groups always come into play when discussing this topic and this time was no different. She reminded everyone what foods benefited specific body areas, highlighting ones that interact with the brain, releasing endorphins causing a feel good attitude. Tina brought snacks for all; she mixed, blended, and processed an assortment of fruits together. This salsa looking type of fruit dip was prepared for baked tortilla chips coated with a sprayed-on cinnamon mist that were previously prepared. Oh yeah, another item, don’t forget the nuts, sometimes you’re gotta feel like a nut cause nuts have good nutritional value, so Tina had bran-fiber-nut muffins for all. Put these snacks with the homemade oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate-chip cookies and apple juice that Ann brought in; a large variety of healthy snacks were enjoyed by all. It has been said many times in many ways, how much the Jacob’s Village bunch really appreciates the special time Ann spends with them. So again it must be noted, Wanda, Donna Kay, Debbie, Mike, Michael, and Scott send a big heart thank you to Ann while they anxiously wait and look forward to the 2006 holiday season visits with her.
WGBC 'Fall Fest'
Saturday afternoon Oct. 21, 2006, about 3:30pm, Wanda, Mike, Michael, Scott, and Home Coordinator Joe went over to St. Paul’s UCC German Township Church on Big Cynthiana Rd. St. Paul’s was having a Chowder dinner with all the fixings and were also offering a carry out. The parking lot was full and the serving line to receive Chowder was long but moving quickly as the Jacob’s Village bunch pulled in. St. Paul’s Church supplied half gallon and gallon buckets and two gallons were purchased for what was going to be lunch at Jacob’s Village the following day after Church service on Sunday. Joe spent a few minutes waiting in line and when the Chowder was picked up, they headed West to Wadesville. The Wadesville General Baptist Church has become a good neighbor to Jacob’s Village and had invited them to their ‘Fall Fest Night’ that was to begin at 4:00pm at the Wadesville Athletic Club. The Athletic Club is really the Wadesville Community Center, cared for by the Wadesville Athletic Club, on Joest Road, North of Wadesville. It is a few wooded acres with children’s playground equipment, a large building for activities, and a shelter house out back for outdoor picnics. As the Jacob’s Village bunch arrived for this event, someone just pulled away leaving a space right up front. There were several cars in the lot and upon exiting the van, Paul & Claudia Mlinar and Pastor Joe Dumond met us and showed us to where the action was taking place. There were several familiar faces such as Linda Schneider, Beverly Yancey, and Pastor Joe’s wife Jaclyn Dumond gathered around picnic tables and the fire pit conversing and watching the children play. The Jacob’s Village bunch joined right in with the fellowship and entertainment. Soon, the hotdogs, baked-beans, BBQ chips, and drinks were placed on a table for everyone to partake of and a tasty picnic it was with a little desert to cap it off. Following the meal, Michael joined the kids and a few adults for a hayride. Scott went inside the building where bingo was being played and Joe, Mike, and Wanda stayed outdoors for the fellowship and camaraderie. There were about twenty bingo players at this time and more joined in when the hayride returned, but no bingo winner for Jacob’s Village on this night. The Jacob’s Village bunch was having a good time and would have liked to watch the movie that had been planned, if not for the prior commitment of Michael’s. The hosts were showing Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Michael had to be back in time for his ride to be taken to the FOP Camp for the EARC early Halloween hayride. Although having to leave the fun early, an outstanding good time was had by all and a big heart thank you goes out to The Wadesville General Baptist Church for their enjoyable, giving hospitality.
