BY PENNY WENZEL

WESKOTA MANOR AVERA ACTIVITIES LEADER

In honor of Customer Appreciation Week October 4-10, members of the Service Excellence Team at Weskota Manor Avera hosted Customer Appreciation Bingo and provided a special snack afterwards.

Dorothy Krog played her Autoharp for us on October 13.

Tom Shonley entertained residents with storytelling on October 20. Tom also comes and volunteers on other days during each month by getting residents to group activities and calling Bingo numbers.

Susan and Gail Arnott, accompanied by Twila Zastrow, sang for the residents on October 21. We always enjoy their wonderful music.

We decorated Halloween cookies on October 26 and enjoyed them at the Halloween party on October 29.

Dorothy Heibel played the piano for us on October 30.

The annual Craft and Bake Sale, sponsored by Weskota Manor Auxiliary, was held November 2. Proceeds from this event go toward the residents’ Christmas gifts and it was a success again this year.

Members from the VFW presented a Veteran’s Day Program on November 11. Veterans that reside here at Weskota Manor Avera were honored. They include Laverne Hasz, Gerrit VonEye, Merwyn Moore, Darrel Roetman, and Marvin Powell.

Sister Roxanne Siefert of Mitchell presented a “Spiritual Renewal” program on November 12.

Jerauld Co. Thrivent ladies brought in a quilt show on November 17. Many beautiful quilts were on display for the residents to see.

Residents enjoyed the program presented by the Foothills Bible Fellowship Ladies on November 18. The ladies served delicious homemade pies following the program.

November 19 was a busy day for us. We went to the high school play, “The Legend of Robin Hood (Sort of)” presented at the Opera House. We returned to the Manor and loaded the bus again for supper at Ft. Thompson.

Tom Shonley presented a program on “Pilgrims” on November 24 for everyone to enjoy.

Iva Simmons had a birthday on November 3.

Several residents helped decorate the Manor for Christmas on December 3. Our hard work paid off because the trees and decorations were beautiful.

The Prairie Winds Group consisting of Valerie Channel, April Grubb, Becky Leslie and Vi Buchholz sang Christmas music for us on December 9.

Terri Mebius and Donna Moldrem brought out some merchandise from True Value for Shopping Day. It gave Manor residents and Weskota Apartment tenants an opportunity to do their Christmas shopping.

Gail and Susan Arnott accompanied by Twila Zastrow provided Christmas music for us on December 16, and Dorothy Heibel played Christmas music on the piano on December 17.

We decorated Christmas cookies on December 21 and took a bus ride around town to look at Christmas lights on December 22.

Santa Claus (a.k.a. Bryon Hinrichs) stopped in for the residents’ Christmas party that was held on December 23. We opened our gifts and enjoyed Christmas cookies for lunch.

A memorial service for Jasmyn Knippling, Weskota Manor Avera employee, was held December 29. It gave the residents and staff a chance to share memories of her and pay tribute to this wonderful young lady.

Clifford Isaak was here on December 30th to play his accordion. He is a favorite for the residents, and we enjoyed watching Tom and Lottie Thompson and Leroy and Ruth Horsley dance to the great music.

We celebrated three birthdays in December: Ella Schafer December 7; Orletha Keeton December 24; and Evelyn Hine December 26.

We hope everyone had a blessed holiday season, and, as always, if you have any suggestions for the Activity Department at Weskota Manor Avera, give me a call at 539-1621.