Thankful For The Memories—

Ashlar, Lockwood Lodge Residents Prepare Feast For Local Family

By Kendra Bobowick

“I want to eat that, and that, and that looks good too,” said Ashlar resident Barbara Arnone. Both she and Beverly Wilson were the first to try a bite from a fresh batch of stuffing Tuesday afternoon as they helped sweeten the sweet potatoes, dish out portions of cranberry sauce, or add butter to the squash.

Like the handful of staff, interns, and residents in the kitchen this week, they do not take grandma’s green bean and rutabaga soup recipes for granted. As the Ashlar residents have discovered, they are thankful for what are now nostalgic memories of whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar, the sound of a whisk blending flour into a silky gravy made with salt, pepper, and turkey drippings.

Ashlar of Newtown and Lockwood Lodge residents were, in a sense, back at the Thanksgiving table, and locally, two recipients that prefer anonymity will receive the dinners prepared with care by Ms Anone and others. A mother and her children, and one elderly woman in town will have a hot turkey and gravy supper thanks to the efforts at Ashlar and the generosity of staff and one family member’s monetary contributions.

The idea to take up the aprons and casserole dishes emerged from the year’s Young at Heart support group discussions. The assisted living facility’s loss and reminiscences group conversations had “tapped into frustrations,” said Social Services Manager Carrie Effinger. “Older adults are faced with loss,” she said. “They are coping with frustrations.” In particular as the holiday season starts up with Thanksgiving, she noted that it prompts memories difficult to manage.

“They no longer have the ability to do things they once were able to do, and they want to feel useful,” Ms Effinger said. Regarding the holidays, she explained, “They no longer host holidays or make food.” Recently, Lockwood Lodge and Ashlar residents merged to form a traditions committee, and the new group quickly began talking about Thanksgiving and family recipes.

“Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, we focused on what we can do,” Ms Effinger said. Pulling together resources, the group reached out and discovered the families in need, she said. With a food collection quickly organized, the group made plans to cook for the households. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the support-turned-outreach group cooked a Thanksgiving spread using Ashlar residents’ own family recipes from pies and cookies to mashed potatoes and yams.

“It’s therapeutic,” said Lockwood Lodge Recreation Manager Dana Dinho. “They reminisced about giving back,” she said. As they baked pumpkin pies Monday, she noted, “They’re helping less fortunate families, and they came up with great recipes.” With their work and effort, the feast has “really come together,” said Ms Dinho. Mixing pie fillings, baking bread, basting turkey, and seasoning the stuffing, she said, “They got involved, they feel part of it.”

As the doors closed on the kitchen at the end of a ground floor hallway this week and seasoned aromas escaped the room, also carrying down the hall were fading comments including, “Is this lid tight enough?” “Do we have enough servings?” “That smells good.”