Historic Blizzard Hits Lebanon!

When Lebanon, PA got hit with over 30 inches of snow in one weekend, shattering the old record, the Juniper Village staff stepped up to the plate to make sure that there was coverage of all shifts.  Sable Cheresini and Lisa Stifler from Wellness stayed over two shifts, and Venetta Hunsicker from Dining Services slept on a couch in The Club.

Many other staff also stayed past the end of their shifts, came in early, and got rides from others as possible.  Even our own Director, Joan-Marie Norman, personally picked up staff through all hours of the night and day.  Environmental Services also worked around the clock, plowing, shoveling, salting, and even climbing on rooftops to shovel snow away from vents and to prevent the roof from collapsing.  

Because of the dedication of all of our staff, the residents didn't even notice that anything was different! I'm sure that all of the families of the residents were relieved to know that there was full coverage of all shifts in the Dining and Wellness areas.  It made me proud to be part of such a wonderful team.  One resident, Mary B., stated that because everything was taken care of by the staff, she was able to sit back and simply enjoy the beauty of nature.  I'm sure that sentiment was echoed by all of the residents!

Bowling Fun at Juniper Village at Lebanon

Our co-worker Lindsay Bender, the Business Office Assistant, made our Christmas at Juniper Village at Lebanon a little more exciting by placing a very large and mysterious wrapped gift under the Christmas tree in The Village.  We forgot to open it during the excitement of our Christmas party and Open House, and we still forgot to open it on Christmas morning.  But finally on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, we remembered the special gift that Lindsay and her two daughters had so lovingly chosen and wrapped just for us, and we tore into it with all of the excitement of Christmas morning.  And just like those Christmas mornings from long ago, the gift was a special game:  an Electronic Tabletop Bowling Alley, complete with all of the bells and whistles and sound effects of a real bowling alley!  Luckily, Lindsay was there to help us assemble our new game and to supply us with all of the many needed batteries. (Lindsay is always the one we go to for tech help!)  Very soon, we had everything assembled, found just the right table, and the contests began!  We took turns bowling all afternoon.  The pictures speak for themselves about how much fun everyone had that day.  Lindsay’s daughters are planning to challenge our residents some afternoon, if they ever get a snow day!  Many thanks to Lindsay and her family for their amazing thoughtfulness and generosity!

Elvis Was In The Building!

On Friday, January 8th, we celebrated Elvis' birthday all day long at Juniper Village at Lebanon.  We started off with some Elvis trivia, surfed the Internet to find out more about his life, had a special Family and Friends Luncheon featuring his favorite foods, and wrapped up the evening with a screening of his movie, "Jail House Rock".  But the highlight of the day was when Elvis actually entered the building at 2:00 pm and treated us to an hour of his best numbers.  Residents, staff, and family members were dancing in the aisles, and ladies in the first row were swooning as he threw his sweat-soaked scarves into the crowd as souvenirs.  Elvis only took one break, and that was to let resident crooner Paul H. sing a Neil Diamond number, which the crowd also enjoyed.  It was standing room only, and Elvis shook everyone's hand before he left the building.  One interesting note: baritone John Garloff already had the voice down before this program, but he always had a full beard and moustache.  JUST FOR JUNIPER VILLAGE, John shaved off his beard and moustache that morning.  Even his own college student granddaughter did not recognize him when he made his entrance in his Elvis attire!  John immediately started growing out his beard after this performance, as this is the only all-Elvis show he plans to do!  We owe a great deal of thanks and a thunderous round of applause to John Garloff and his supportive family for making this event possible!

The Bologna Drops Early at Juniper Village at Lebanon, PA!

We started our New Year's Eve celebration a day early at Juniper Village at Lebanon.  We have been privileged to have world-renowned pianist Karl Hausman at our New Year's Eve Party for the past several years, and this year he could only do our party if we scheduled it a day early, so that's what we did.  We might do this every year from now on, because we had a packed house with standing room only!  The night started out with a wonderful Family Dinner featuring steamed shrimp and Asian Pot Stickers.  Then the party moved to our lobby, where we were serving trays of cheese, crackers, and of course.....Lebanon bologna!  Karl put on quite a show, which inspired residents and family members to get up and dance!  Then at the stroke of midnight (or actually 7 PM Lebanon time), the lights were dimmed and our very own lighted bologna was dropped as the crowd shouted out the countdown from 10 to 1.  Then Karl played Auld Lang Syne on the piano as everyone toasted with their real champagne or sparkling cider.  It was a magical night that everyone was still talking about the next day.