V I L L A G E N E W S

STUARTS DRAFT RETIREMENT COMMUNITYStuarts Draft, Virginia

“Keeping active in mind, body, and spirit for the time of your life.”“Keeping active in mind, body, and spirit for the time of your life.”“Keeping active in mind, body, and spirit for the time of your life.”“Keeping active in mind, body, and spirit for the time of your life.”“Keeping active in mind, body, and spirit for the time of your life.”

VOL. 15 NO. 5 MAY 2018

WWWWWORDS OF WISDOM AND KNORDS OF WISDOM AND KNORDS OF WISDOM AND KNORDS OF WISDOM AND KNORDS OF WISDOM AND KNOOOOOWLEDGEWLEDGEWLEDGEWLEDGEWLEDGE

“Age is inevitable, but growing old is optional.”Anonomous

World War II ended inSeptember of 1945. Until

1995 I would say very littleabout the war. Following is the

story of what happened on Memo-rial Day of 1995 which was the im-petus for my writing and talking somuch about the war.

On that Memorial Day I watchedseveral Memorial Day programs onthe local (Shreveport, LA) televisionstations. On one of the programsthe announcer walked out amongthe audience and asked severalpeople about the meaning of Me-morial Day. The ones being inter-viewed answered with very flippant,thoughtless statements. I was quitetaken aback by the indifference theyshowed and thought about somespecial buddies who were killed.

Why IHave Written and

Talked So Much aboutWorld War II

and Some MemorialDay Thoughts

By James Q. Salter

MEMORIAL DAY - MAY 28

An unforgettable Memorial Dayprogram originating from the Tombof the Unknown Soldier in ArlingtonNational Cemetery then came onTV. The program featured WorldWar II. On the program an actorread a letter from a young Ameri-can soldier who had been killed inItaly. The soldier had written a longletter to his mother and left it in hisbarracks with instructions that if hewas killed the letter would bemailed. As the actor read the veryriveting and emotional letter, before

I realized it, tears werestreaming down my face. Ithought about Karl, the bestfriend I had in the Army. Hewas a wonderful guy. Karl did notget to complete his college degree— as I did. He did not get to marryand have a wonderful family — as Idid. He did not get to serve a fullcareer in the profession of hischoice — as I did. He did not get toenjoy years of retirement — as Ihave. On Friday night, May 25 in theworst mission of the war for B-29sKarl and his entire crew were shotdown and killed over Tokyo, Japan.Seventeen B-29s were lost thatnight; our plane almost made it eigh-teen.

Continued on Page 2

Page 2 VILLAGE NEWS

The contents of all issues of the SDRC Village News are for educational, informational and entertainment purposes only.Statements and articles are not intended to provide medical or health care counseling or directions. This applies as wellto nutrition, finances, insurance, or any other personal services. Use of such information is voluntary and reliance on itshould be undertaken only after independent reviews of its accuracy and confirming guidance from licensed profession-als. Neither the editors and feature writers, nor SDRC owner/administrators, Leland Brenneman and Rodney Martin, areresponsible for any person’s actions as a result of information available in the SDRC Village News.

VILLVILLVILLVILLVILLAAAAAGE NEWGE NEWGE NEWGE NEWGE NEWSSSSS

is published monthly by Promised Land, LLC, affiliated with Stuarts Draft Christian Homes

On the Sunday afternoon after Memorial Daywhile emceeing a high school homecoming pro-gram, I told the graduates about the effect theMemorial Day program had on me and told indetail about the horrific incident we witnessedwhen our beloved Squadron commander and thecrew with whom he was flying were shot down inflames and killed. After the program in the gym-nasium the graduates returned to the commonsarea where they enjoyed reminiscing. Their reac-tion to my remarks about World War II was over-whelmingly positive. They pointed out that thereis a real need for veterans to relate their experi-ences so that students might gain a better appre-ciation for the freedoms that we enjoy because ofthe sacrifices of those who served our country inwar. I resolved that Sunday afternoon from thatday forward I would dedicate my writing and talksabout World War II to the memory of those whogave their lives for our country. I have kept thatresolution.

On this Memorial Day, 2018 I shall say a spe-cial prayer of thanksgiving that I was not listedamong the following casualties of World War IIand pay tribute to their memory:

Twenty-three of my school mates in a small

high school;

About one-half of the draftees with whom I

rode on the bus from our parish (county) seat to

the induction center;

One hundred and six men of our bomb group

who were listed in these categories: Killed in Ac-

tion (22); Prisoners of War liberated on V-J Day

(33); and Missing in Action when the war ended

(51).

World War II andMemorial Day Thoughts

Continued from Page 1

I depart from my dutieswith the Village News withgratitude for all who helped tomake this the high light of mylife in Virginia. To the officialsof SDRC, our amazing com-puter graphics and layout art-ist, Donna Falls, our unsungheroine in the entire operation,Co-Editor Marge Piatt, our

contributors, to those who deliver the paper to yourdoor month after month, and to all who helped withthe Village News in any way — I extend a sincereTHANK YOU.

For years it seems that I have had material andideas pending as subjects for writing — material forthree books, many newspaper articles, editorials,military articles, etc. With the possible exception ofsomething coming up in June, the “tank” is empty. Iam declaring a pause in my writing for a while, notknowing what the future holds.

PersonalStatement fromJames Q. Salter

May 28th

M E M O R I A L D A Y

James Salter

VILLAGE NEWS Page 3

Nancy PhillipsMoves to

Editor’s Spot,The Village News

By Jon DooleyRelations Coordinator, SDRC

Upon the retirement of JamesSalter as Editor of the Village News,Stuart’s Draft Retirement Commu-nity is pleased to announce thatNancy Phillips will be filling this po-sition as editor of the News. Jameswill work alongside Nancy for theediting process of the May News-letter with the expectation thatNancy will then acquire that rolethereafter.

James has served as editor ofthe Village Newsletter for over fouryears and is happy to step away,knowing that it is in such goodhands. Nancy will accompanyMarjorie Piatt as coeditor. Marjoriehas served as coeditor for severalyears and her experience will be in-valuable in this transition.

Nancy has an expansive back-ground in education. She has de-

Nancy Phillips

grees from the University of Rich-mond, VCU, and the University ofMichigan/Ann Arbor. She has beenan SDRC resident for over fouryears and has served as the leaderof TWIGS for much of that time,contributing many articles for theVillage News in that time. Early inher career she was a public schoolteacher and her education journeycarried her to an MEd with an em-phasis in Reading Instruction andher doctorate was in Curriculumand Instruction emphasizing earlychildhood studies. She retired as aprofessor at Lynchburg College in2001, moved to Waynesboro fromWintergreen and then to SDRC.She was involved in editing severalprofessional journals, edited and didthe layout for the Wintergreennewsletter, and took it to the printer.She is looking forward to workingwith Marjorie Piatt and Donna Fallsand the community’s great newscontributors.

In order to completely fill hernew role, Nancy has decided that itis best to step away from this posi-tion with TWIGS to focus her atten-tion on overseeing the editing pro-cess. Norman Raiford is set to as-sume the role as leader of TWIGS.With her experience in educationand expertise in writing, revising andediting, we are very confident thatNancy will be an absolute blessingto have in this position and we lookforward to seeing the Village Newscarry on seamlessly month to monthas it has since its beginning.

Needless to say, there has beena fair amount of shuffling of posi-tions, but I am very pleased with theway that everything has worked outand the new roles that everyone hasfound themselves in. We are veryblessed to have such willing and de-voted individuals who are interestedin overseeing projects that the restof us get to enjoy month to month.

My mother kept a garden,A garden of the heart,

She planted all the good thingsThat gave my life its start.

She turned me to the sunshineAnd encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturingThe seeds of self-esteem.

Her constant good exampleAlways taught me right from

wrong -Markers for my pathway

That will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother’s garden.I am her legacy -

And I hope she felt the loveReflected back from me.

Unknown

“Mothershold their

children’s handsfor a short while,

but theirhearts forever.”

My Mother’sGarden

Page 4 VILLAGE NEWS

Lessonsfrom . . .

Merry Momentsof May

By Norman Raiford

“O, the month of May, the merrymonth of May,” so wrote Englishpoet Thomas Dekker in 1599. Canthere be a finer month than May, themonth when the earth displays allits glory in full color while holding atbay summer’s heat and humidity?May has long been a month of mer-rymaking going back to ancient andmedieval times. Recent eras haveadded their own special days to thecalendar of May, and for me thereare several personal merry mo-ments in what is my favorite month.

May merriment is traceable tothe ancient Greeks and Romanswho celebrated fertility with a festi-val on May 1 — how appropriatethen is May’s gemstone, the emer-ald, which represents renewal andlove. The medieval English wel-comed spring with May Day cel-ebrations, when children freed fromwinter’s confines danced with aban-don around wooden Maypoles. Inthe 1650s Oliver Cromwell and hisPuritan followers came to power inBritain and banned what theydeemed “pagan” maypole festivals— what spoilsports those Puritanscould be! No wonder the word puri-tanical is pejorative. UponCromwell’s demise and the Puri-tans’ ouster, Maypole dancing re-turned and takes place on villagegreens to this day, enjoyed by noone more than those lassies luckyenough to be crowned May Queen.

HISTORY BLOOPERS

And now for more history “Bloop-

ers” and creative spelling from stu-

dents’ essays, courtesy of teacher

and author Richard Lederer.

When the Pilgrims landed atPlymouth Rock, they were greetedby Indians, who came down the hillrolling their war hoops before them.The Indian squabs carriedporposies on their back. Many of theIndian heroes were killed, along withtheir cabooses, which proved veryfatal to them. The winter of 1620was a hard one for the settlers.Many people died and many babieswere born, Captain John Smith wasresponsible for all this.

Elsewhere in the world, much lessfrivolity accompanies other May Daycelebrations.

Recall the Cold War era andcomes to mind the Soviet Union’sMay Day military parades. Not justhigh stepping soldiers but also mon-strous tanks and heavy artilleryrumbled across Red Square. Withthe fall of the USSR, we thought wehad seen the last of those juvenile,one-upmanship displays of militarymight, but not so. Russia’s VladimirPutin has brought it all back. An-other somewhat solemn occasion,Mexico’s “Cinco de Mayo”, is the oc-casion of celebrating Mexican-American culture, a celebration richin merry music and Tex-Mex food.The most significant war-relatedcelebration in all history occurred onMay 8, 1945 — ever since calledV-E Day — when Nazi Germanysurrendered unconditionally. Thatday also happened to be PresidentHarry Truman’s 61st birthday. Hegraciously said his only wish was“that Franklin D. Roosevelt had livedto witness this day” — FDR had dieda mere 26 days earlier.

May merriment includesMother’s Day, first officially recog-nized in 1914. West Virginian AnnaJarvis founded Mothers Day and ishonored with the InternationalMother’s Day Shrine in GraftonWest Virginia. May 17, though nota holiday, is the anniversary of the1954 US Supreme Court landmarkdecision declaring an end to racialsegregation in American publicschools. Speaking of schools, Mayis the month of many high schooland college graduations, occasionsfor much merry making as arealumni reunions in succeedingyears. Rounding out moments ofnational importance in May is Me-morial Day, a day set aside to honorthose who died while serving in thenation’s various military branches.For many years Memorial Day was

celebrated on May 30 but since1970 it has been the last Mondayof the month signaling the begin-ning of summer vacation. Trivia lov-ers, take note: May is NationalSalad Month, National BarbecueMonth, and National HamburgerMonth but most applicable to usSDRC folks, May is Older Ameri-cans Month and National BloodPressure Month! For this particularolder American, May is especiallymerry because my birthday is May20, my first grandson’s birthday isMay 18 and my secondgranddaughter’s birthday is May 26.For us Raifords, May is a busymonth blowing out candles, makingwishes and singing “Happy Birth-day!” On that note, I leave you withMarie Antoinette’s sentiment: “Letthem eat cake!”

VILLAGE NEWS Page 5

Norman Raifordto Head

SDRC Writers’ Group

Starting in June, Norman Raifordsucceeds Nancy Phillips as Presi-dent of The Writers’ Interest Groupfor Seniors (TWIGS) as Nancymoves to the editor’s spot for theVillage News. Norman is eminentlyqualified to help in that position. Hecomes from a career in higher edu-cation, having taught history for 43years, first at Spartanburg (SC)Methodist College and then atGreenville (SC) Technical College.

Norman earned his MA and PhDdegrees in history at the Universityof Virginia where he met his wife,Alice. Alice is from Schuyler, Virginia(a.k.a. “Walton’s Mountain”) and isa nurse and a Licensed Marriageand Family Therapist. The Raifordsmoved to SDRC in May 2016 andreside at 9 Rolling Hills Dr. #103.

Norman writes “Lessons fromHistory” for the Village News. Hestates, “Writing for the Village Newshas become my number one hobby.For me the act of writing is like craft-ing a fine piece of furniture — it re-quires smoothing and polishing andthen polishing some more until atlong last I am satisfied enough todisplay the finished work.”

On behalf of TWIGS, Normaninvites writers, would-be writers andjust lookers-on to our monthly meet-ings, 1:00-2:00 p.m. the firstWednesday of every month in thechapel. “Join us for a good time ofsharing stories and poetry,” Normanstates.

Our community is fortunate tohave so many residents who are will-ing to “step up to the plate” when theneed arises. Recently there hasbeen an extensive “changing of theguard” in staff positions and inchanges of residents who havehelped out in many ways. Our com-munity can look ahead to movingforward with “FULL SPEED AHEAD”with our activities and programs.

Thank You,JAMES

By Dub Beynon

Mr. James Q. Salter will nolonger be serving as Co-Editor ofour monthly newsletter, the VillageNews. He has decided to slow downand smell the roses, but this finegentleman cannot just walk awaywithout knowing how much we ap-preciate his service. He used all theskills he accumulated as a pub-lished writer, teacher and principal,and he generously used those skillsto put together the Village News.

Being the true professional heis, he would not leave the VillageNews without knowing he had thevery capable coeditor, MarjoriePiatt, there to take the helm of theVillage News. Marjorie has workedside by side with James for four andone half years and will continue ascoeditor to assure that the highstandard set by James and his teamremains in tact.

So, we will not notice anythingdifferent or lacking in today’s issueor in any issues in the future. Thankyou to Marjorie for giving of her skilland time in getting the Village Newsto the residents each month.

James, I know I speak for eachresident when I say, please acceptour sincere gratitude and thanks fora job well done. We’ll be watchingfor your articles in the Village Newsin future issues. God bless you al-ways, my friend.

FROM THE EDITORSJames Q. Salter & Marge Piatt

James Salter

FriendshipA Special

By Betty Luzadder

At the time we met,I had no idea we would be friends,

We were so different,yet so much alike.

Her smile and her ability to listen,made you feel she cared.Always with a kind word,

she tried to meet every need.There was laughter and tears-yet a strong bond between us.

She walked each day,with the Christ before her.When she left it was as ifa cloud blotted the sun.

There was a period of grief,until it became clear,to give gratitude for

this special friendship.

By Dub Beynon

You must be very, very quick tomake a snowman after the snowstops falling if you reside at theStuarts Draft Retirement Commu-nity and Christian home. The snowremoval crew begins its task ofclearing the streets and parking lotsimmediately just after the last snow-flake falls and possibly even before.

I’m not quite sure just how manyof the residents would ever attemptto make a snowman if the crewdidn’t clear the area of snow, butwe’ll never find out as long as thesnow removal crew does such anexcellent job.

On behalf of the residents ofSDRC, I want to say ‘THANK YOUFOR A JOB WELL DONE” to theentire snow removal crew!! EvenFrosty would approve!

FROSTYFROSTYFROSTYFROSTYFROSTYthe Snowman

Page 6 VILLAGE NEWS

Briggsand

Stratton

Reminiscing

By Bunny Stein

I looked out the windowand sighed. . .I could seecows grazing lazily in thefield alongside my home inLyndhurst. It brought backmemories of the two petsheep I once had, and hadto leave behind when Imoved from Love to thishouse three years ago.

I remember the day theyarrived at my mountain home. Two Amish men drove up in a truckwith a huge cardboard box in the back. The men climbed aboardthe truck and let down the ramp. Two fat wooly Dorset sheepjumped out of the cardboard box. It was love at first sight for me.

My reason for acquiring these animals was to have themmaintain the grass in my front and back yards. Having been wid-owed for several years, trying to run three home businesses alone,left little time for lawn work. Hiring someone to do this chore wastoo costly, so this idea came to mind.

Because I was going to use these sheep for lawn mowers, Idecided to name them Briggs and Stratton. These two friendlycritters were almost identical except one had a lame leg and limpeda little. When asked which was which, I always replied, they bothresponded to any name you called them.

These 400# wool factories became my best friends, followingme everywhere I went, especially at feeding time. They didn’t liketo be petted.

I had studied up on raising sheep, but I don’t remember read-ing that sheep should never be grazed anywhere near a body ofwater. But someone told me this later, and I was concerned be-cause my cabin was surrounded by a bold mountain stream, whichwould be their main source of water. But it was too late to worryabout it now. I had gone to great expense to have the two areasfenced in for grazing and had planted just the right kind of grassfor sheep grazing. Our small barn once used as a chicken housewas converted into a sheep barn, complete with a feeding trough,a hay rack, and a spike for a salt lick. I felt good about the progressI made in my plan for grass mowing.

My worry about the creek was short lived because the sheepnever went near the creek except to the shallow edge when theywanted to drink. The creek was fairly shallow most of the timeexcept during heavy rains. Then it became a menace. Briggs andStratton seemed to thrive in their new environment and seemedto know when to stay away from the creek during the rainy times.Briggs and Stratton were popular with everyone. My bed & break-fast guests enjoyed feeding them, and would watch with fascina-tion while they were being sheared. Many people stopped andtook pictures and videos of them as they grazed in the enclosedfront yard. They ended up on the canvas of several artists, includ-ing Linda Patrick, a popular local artist. That painting sold at the

A Tribute

Mother-in-Lawto my

By Anna Brenneman

My father-in-law met my mother-in-lawin another state, fell in love, married her whenshe was already pregnant, and brought herto his state of Iowa. His parents welcomedher, but somehow she never really felt ac-cepted, (which I actually thought was onlyher own feeling of disappointment in herself).

She loved her children and grandchildrenand all the in-laws. When my husband and Imarried, we lived with her and my father-in-law for 6 weeks until our house was ready tomove into. She made us feel comfortable.We enjoyed all the good meals.

Another daughter-in-law and her 2 smallgirls lived with her for 18 months while herhusband was deployed to Korea. The daugh-ter-in-law, Paula, was from Germany - a Ger-man war bride. Both my father and mother-in-law greeted her with open arms.

Even though we had our disagreementsand opinions, it always seemed to work out.She loved and enjoyed the grandchildren.Since we lived close by at the time, mydaughter Judy was a favorite - althoughGrandma denied having favorites. Herdaughter said otherwise!

Judy would sit on her lap and Grandmawould feed her coffee soup. I cringed. It wasweak and did not seem to hurt any of theother grandchildren since they were stillhealthy and robust - especially the grand-sons. After moving to Virginia we alwaysenjoyed visiting my in-laws/grandma. I canstill hear the children laughing and having agood time in the kitchen with my mother-in-law.

When the time came that she was get-ting more forgetful, my father-in-law died.Her dementia increased and she finally wasplaced in a nursing home where she receivedexcellent care. We would go to visit her whenwe went to Iowa, and I was lagging behind,she turned and said, “Come on Anna!” I wasshocked - she knew who I was for the mo-ment.

I remember the day my daughter Judycame to the car with tears. “Grandma doesnot know me anymore,” she cried. We allhad fond memories of my mother-in-law/grandma! Continued on Page 7

VILLAGE NEWS Page 7

rumored price of $900.00. She had named it Briggs& Stratton, but because of a possible law-suit bythis well-known lawn mower company, she changedthe name.

Briggs and Stratton were frequently lazy anddocile, but on occasion, were seen backing awayfrom each other, leaping into the air to rush at oneanother on their hind legs, and butt heads with greatforce. This seemed to be a game with them.

Once, my neighbor knocked on my door to tellme that the sheep were out in the road. I had leftone of the gates open, so they decided to go on anadventure. My neighbor had rounded them up, butnot before they had nibbled all of my shrubs andeaten all of the daisies in my flower garden. A hand-ful of grain enticed them to follow me back to theirenclosed area.

Once during a spring freeze, many of the treelimbs, heavy with new buds, fell off the trees duringthawing time. Briggs and Stratton decided to feaston these buds. Briggs ate too many and becamebloated. When I got home that day, I found her withher feet up in the air, unable to move. Stratton wasstanding there looking at her. I called the vet imme-diately to find out what to do. He suggested gettingher on her feet, hold her front feet up over her head,and burp her! I had to consider this advice for amoment. Luckily my son happened to be home thatday, and you can only imagine what happened whenwe tried to pick up 400 pounds of dead weight! Itwas not only comical, it was impossible! We man-aged to get her on her feet, which seemed to sat-isfy her. . .and us. She appeared to be okay, so welet her go, put her on a diet for a day, and watchedher for a couple of days. In the meantime, we rakedup the remaining limbs that she had been snackingon and she suffered no further ill effects from hergluttonous meal.

Suffice it to say, B and S made life interestingfor me and I still miss them.

My thoughts and memories were interrupted bythe bleating of a calf looking for his mama. He foundher. . . I was glad. I sighed again and closed thewindow, thankful that I lived near farm animals towatch and be reminded of my two four-legged lawnmowers.

Continued from Page 6

Briggs and Stratton Flower GardenBy Anna Bibens

For several years my dad worked onthe summer cottage to make it a year

round home. Now it was time to work onthe land around the house. The first thinghe wanted to do was create a garden in the

hill in the back and side yards. He decided to make themterraces so that the rain water would be contained.

There was a stone quarry in the area, and Dad wouldgo and get the stone to make the walls and the steps forthe two landings. This took a long time to complete. EverySaturday you would find him working on the wall. When itwas finished, Mom and Dad began to plant the flower beds.They planted many different kinds of flowers, like iris, rosestulips and other very beautiful flowers. The iris was mydad’s favorite. He had some special ones that he prized.The garden looked so beautiful with all the different colorsfrom all the lovely flowers.

A few years after Neal and I were married and movedto Connecticut, my mom and dad sold the house at thelake and moved to Quincy. In 1975, my sister, Estelle, andI went to see the house when we were in the Boston areavisiting relatives. The new owner was in the yard and westopped to see him. We told him about the iris plants thatour dad loved. He said for us to take some back toGlastonbury with us. We planted them in a special placein our gardens.

I have so many wonderful memories of the house bythe lake and my dad’s gardens with his beautiful flowers,especially the iris.

The

Page 8 VILLAGE NEWS

“SPORTS CHAT”

Ron MentusRLM Athletics

My FMy FMy FMy FMy Favoriteavoriteavoriteavoriteavorite

R E C I P EOF THE MONTH

By Marge Piatt

This is a slow-cooker recipe thatI made many times when the familywas young. The best thing about itwas that the kids loved it and still do.I hope you enjoy it as much as wedid.

Anne’s Chicken

1 frying chicken, cut up2 tbsp. butter, meltedSalt and pepper to taste2 tbsp. dry Italian salad dressingmix1 10½ oz. can mushroom soup,

undiluted2 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cut incubes½ cup sauterne, sherry or whitewine1 tbsp. onion, choppedRice or noodles

Wash chicken and pat dry. Brushwith butter. Sprinkle with salt andpepper. Place in slow-cooker. Coverand cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.About ¾ hours before serving, mixsoup, cream cheese, wine and on-ion in small saucepan. Cook untilsmooth. Pour over chicken in slow-cooker. Cover and cook 30 minuteson low.

Serve over rice or noodles.

“Ten-Hut (Attention)!” “Aboutface,” “Parade rest.” “At ease.”

Those were just a few militaryphrases which got our April 12Sports Chat session off to a greatstart as our audience welcomedspecial guest, basketball coach DanEarl of the Virginia Military Institute.

A graduate of Penn State,Coach Earl had been an assistantcoach at his alma mater before be-coming an associate head coach atthe U.S. Naval Academy. This pastseason was his third in commandof the Keydets who play in theSouthern Conference.

A season-high of 17 swarmedinto the Friendship Room, virtuallyall of whom were enthralled byCoach Earl’s rendition of Basketball101. The New Jersey nativetouched on a host of subjects deal-ing with Division 1 basketball as wellas his experiences in the proranksin Europe and in the NBA’s devel-opment league.

Recruiting for a military schoolsuch as VMI has its challenges be-yond the basic A-B-Cs of findinghoops talent. For instance, thecoach noted that the talent pool ofprospects become quickly dilutedwhen these young men are ap-prised of the requirements and ex-pectations of attending the Lexing-

And remember:

Don’t BE a character — SHOW some!!!

ton campus. In a nutshell, somesimply are not inclined to earlywakeup calls or donning uniformsfor class or marching in parades.But — as the coach pointed out, thevalues of earning a diploma via thepeak standards of VMI’s academicregimen will be borne out once thegraduate sails into the seas of reallife.

As for assembling a competitivesquad (VMI is 24-66 under Earl), heexpressed the need to adapt hispersonal preferences as to style ofplay versus the talent and skills ofhis players. Also, he said it is im-perative to be well aware of theoverall capabilities of the SouthernConference foes and adjust accord-ing to their strengths andweaknessses. It’s almost like achess match played at a fast-pacedlevel.

And, as with many fans, CoachEarl is on occasion frustrated bythose questionable and most oftencontroversial calls regarding charg-ing or blocking; or the fouls calledon some coaches and officials can’tagree on some of these quirks ofthe game. Perhaps it can be simplyblamed on the human element:Nobody’s perfect.

All in all, Coach Earl’s appear-ance drew a virtual 100 percentapproval rating. Several in the au-dience have already suggested hebe invited for a return trip to SDRC.The coach indicated he would wel-come another such opportunity.

Please join us at our nextSports Chat on Thursday, May 10,from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Sameplace — the Friendship Room withplenty of good seats available. Ourguest will be Chris Graham of theAugusta Free Press. Come and bea part of the “Biggest Hit in AugustaCounty!”

Visiting an Irish PubBy Ruth Y. Martin

VILLAGE NEWS Page 9

Watching movies from BBC, expecially All ThingsBright and Beautiful, references are often made to thePub. The Pub was the place to meet socially and torelax with friends.

On the recent tour of Ireland our first stop was inthe city of Belfast. The tour bus stopped, and the groupwas given the freedom of exploring on our own. Sug-gestions were given of places to see. One suggestionwas the Crown Pub. Kelly and I set off to look for theCrown Pub.

The directions sounded simple according to our busdriver, but we had to ask for help. When we mentioned“pub”, why ask; there were pubs all around. We werelooking for the Crown Pub. That was around severalcorners. After walking a ways, there it was.

Walking into the Crown Pub was a bit like walkinginto a jewel box, or maybe a miniature cathedral. Thedecor was very ornate; colorful tiles, stained glass win-dows, arches, columns, Victorian in style. There was along bar on the left as to be expected. On the rightwere small elaborately carved wooden boxed-like com-partments.

Kelly and I made our way to the back where therewere bar stools. We could select from about five differ-ent beers. Did they serve ginger ale? We were servedginger ale by a friendly bar maid. When we asked ques-tions about the place, she gave us a brochure of thehistory of the pub.

The pub dates back to 1826 when the first train ranfrom Belfast to Lisborn. It was called “The Railway Tav-ern” and was owned by Felix O’Halon. He sold it toDaniel Flanigan, whose son, Danny, made the bar fa-mous by using skilled craftsmen from Italy to jazz it up,so to speak. These tradesmen were working on thebuilding of cathedrals at the time. Danny persuadedthem to work on the bar in their off hours. One has afeeling of being in a cathedral rather than a bar.

The small boxed areas, or snugs, as they are called,were designed for persons who may want a drink butin private. Now they are there for social sharing withfriends. They come equipped with a bell to use for call-ing for one’s drink.

Presently the pub is owned by The National Trust.In 1981 the Trust carried out a sympathetic restorationcosting a sum of around 400,000 pounds to restore thebar to its full Victorian splendor. Again in 2007 half amillion pounds was spent to ensure the pub was savedin pristine condition for generations to come. Visitingthe Crown Pub was a treat.

By Clair Hershey

Thinking Inside

THE BOOKTHE BOOKTHE BOOKTHE BOOKTHE BOOK

“How Does YourGarden Grow?”

It’s springtime, a most beautiful time of the year, atime when we think of the beauty of new foliage, freshfruit, etc.

This brought to my mind the beauty of the “Fruit ofthe Spirit” in God’s word!

In the fifth chapter of Galatians, we see the awful“works of the flesh”, in verses 19-21.

Then in verses 22 and 23 we see the beautiful Chris-tian character of the “Fruits of the Spirit produced in usby the Holy Spirit.

What is this “Fruit” that pleases God and bringsglory to Him?

Read Galations 5:22-23 and think about these traits(fruit) in your life.

God’s Word tells us the “fruit of the spirit” is love,joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness and temperance. Now, let’s picture theseverses as a garden — the Holy Spirit plants the seedsin our lives, He waters, weeds, and tends to them, asthese seeds sprout.

They grow at different rates, produce different fruitsand flowers, come in many shapes and colors, but theyare each part of the same garden.

What is the state of “your” spiritual garden?

Which “fruits” are most evident in your life?

Keep in mind that “LOVE” influences or shapes allothers. If we love one another, we will try to be at peacewith each other. To exercise longsuffering (self-controland patience), to be gentle and kind, to seek good-ness, to be faithful, and to express joy in all that we doand say, takes a lot of work on our part.

So, let’s take a few moments to pray and ask theHoly Spirit to help us become fruitful children of God.

Let’s grow a beautiful garden!

Page 10 VILLAGE NEWS

By Matilda LeeFFFFFamilamilamilamilamily Ty Ty Ty Ty Time aime aime aime aime at the Beach . . .t the Beach . . .t the Beach . . .t the Beach . . .t the Beach . . .If people asked if you would like

to go to the beach with them, wouldyou be excited and say yes?

That happened to me. Gladly Iwent along. Of course, my paintsand brushes went, too.

My granddaughter, KristinKegerreis, rented a four-storyhouse on North Topsail Beach inNorth Carolina. (Topsail is pro-nounced Tops’l.)

I traveled to the beach with mydaughter, Irene Kegerreis, fromHarrisonburg. Because it is difficultfor Irene to drive so far, we went toKristin’s house in Durham and thenext day she joined us to drive therest of the way.

From Kristin’s house we soonleft the highways and drove coun-try roads, which were more inter-esting. In some places all we could

see were pine trees on both sidesof the road. Then we would comeback out into the open and see thelandscape. We passed throughsmall towns and tiny villages. Ev-ery once in a while we saw tobaccobarns so old I wondered if they werebuilt in the 1800s. These usuallystood by the tiny, nearly unoccupiedvillages. Some of these villages hada few newer houses. Strangely, wealso saw large, new houses set

wife, Megan, and their three littleboys were there. Aaron is five, Danieltwo and Gabriel was just two weeksold. When they came back from thebeach the second day, I askedDaniel if he had fun out by the wa-ter. He said, “I was scared. I ran tomy mama.” Can you imagine how alittle tot would feel when a wavemuch bigger than he came towardhim? A good reason to be scared.

The houses were all on TheBeach Sound and the water, treesand other vegetation made for muchmore interesting paintings than theocean. Unless I could make thewaves appear to be moving, therewas not much to paint. Some dol-phins were sighted, but they weretoo far out to see clearly.

I sat in the living room andpainted for five days, several hoursa day. My first painting, a 9 x 12, wasa view out the back across the ca-nal. From the side window I paintedthe canal and upstream on a 24 x36 canvas. That one pleased me themost. There were houses with pierson small islands along the canal. Ofcourse, also the birds. I did not bringthat one home; Kristin bought it!Which means I’ll have to do anotherone.

Continued on Page 11

back in open fields next to thewoods in this nearly forsaken land.Farther on we reached slightlylarger towns, and then a small citywith an airport.

After a four-hour drive we ar-rived at our destination. Wow! We’llhave this huge house for 20people? We had a huge kitchen, liv-ing and dining room area. We hadnot been able to see the beach andocean because of the tall sanddunes along the road, but we neednot worry. From the second throughfourth floors we could see plenty!This was where I got most of myenjoyment; watching the ocean infront and the canals behind andbeside the house. We saw morebirds, including pelicans, on the wa-terways than by the ocean. Inever tired of watching thebirds and studying them forpainting.

Our family time togetherwas very enjoyable. We hadbrought puzzles and gamesalong. That big house gaveus a large space to fill withall the love and peace wehave for one another.

My grandson, Jan, his

VILLAGE NEWS Page 11

Another

Veteran

Moves into

SDRC

Staff Sgt. William Ernest(Bill) Kopp served three andone-half years in the UnitedStates Air Force and threeand one-half years of activeservice with the Missouri Na-tional Guard for a total ofseven years of service.

Sgt. Kopp’s major workwas in radio airways commu-nication. His overseas serviceincluded duty at Iwo Jima andin Japan. After extensive workon the F41 Phantom Jet, Sgt.Kopp worked in the spaceprogram. He states that hehelped to put man on themoon.

Sgt. Kopp moved fromNorth Carolina into theShenandoah Terrace on No-vember 1, 2017.

Staff Sgt.William Ernest Kopp

Concert PianistHeaded For SDRC

Continued from Page 10

FFFFFamilamilamilamilamily Ty Ty Ty Ty Time aime aime aime aime at the Beacht the Beacht the Beacht the Beacht the Beach

Linda McKechnie, a nationallyrenowned pianist, arranger and re-cording artist has been booked toappear at our Saturday Night Liveprogram on May 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Mrs. McKechnie has inspiredthousands around the globethrough her piano and orchestrarecordings and personal appear-ances. As a Steinway artist, she of-fers dramatic flair in breathing newlife into familiar melodies with pow-erful themes of the great classicalcomposers. Over one million of heralbums have been sold. She willhave several of her CDs availablefor purchase at $8 each.

Linda and her husband, David,reside in Charlotte, NC. Our com-munity looks forward to welcomingthem for this special evening ofChristian entertainment.

Linda’s website is: www.lindamckechnie.com.

By Bill Phillips

As we noted last month, March came in like a lion with 37 mph windson March 1 and 48 mph winds on March 2. In total, 17 of the 31 days hadwinds of 20 mph or more with six of those days showing winds over 30mph. Some of the villas suffered wind damage which has since been re-paired. I recorded 49 mph winds on April 4.

We had two measurable snows in March and, being generous, snow-fall totaled 12 inches with 8 inches on the first day of spring. The measure-ment of melted snow is difficult, but counting what I did measure, I had1.93 inches. I believe the total moisture was more than this.

The gardeners have already started and mid-May should see our lastfrost day. Flowers on the patios and borders will follow. We still need moreApril showers.

The Weather ReportThe Weather ReportThe Weather ReportThe Weather ReportThe Weather ReportA Look Back at March

It was too cold to be at the beachvery much. The temperature wasonly around 40 and windy most ofthe time. One day we had a 70 mphwind for about 12 hours. Not sur-prisingly, the ocean rose and thewaves came close to the sanddunes and deposited interestingshells and driftwood.

It was finally warm on the daywe left, so after checking out andclosing the house we spent a fewhours on the beach before headinghome. I watched as the waves camein, flattened and gave way to thenext wave. The waves kept comingand coming, never stopping. Howawesome! It was like sneaking alittle time for some fun; a thrill andpleasure before our long journeyhome, giving us relaxing thoughtsof the beach.

My praise and thanks to God theFather who watched over us andbrought us back safely. My thanksalso to Kristin for planning and or-ganizing this.

All material must be turned in to Nancy Phillips or

to Marjorie Piatt by the 12th of each month for pub-

lication the following month. Use and editing of all

submissions are the prerogative of the editorial

staff.

Please Send Articles or Inquiries to Editors:Marjorie Piatt — ampiatt53@gmail.com, 571-296-5996Nancy Phillips — 540-942-5280or contact one of the regular feature writers:Clair Hershey and Bunny Stein

Please check the Shenandoah Terrace bulletin board for changes in these announcements.

www.stuartsdraftretirement.com

Reminders

WORSHIP SERVICESSunday Morning Services:

Meadows (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th) .......... 9:30 a.m.The Cottage ........................................... 10:15 a.m.

Sunday Evening Services:Shenandoah Terrace ................................ 7:00 p.m.

Holy Communion:Shenandoah Terrace ............................. 3rd Sunday

Sunday Services Speakers: 1st Sunday, 5/6 - JonDooley; 2nd Sunday, 5/13 - Carol Byrd; 3rd Sunday, 5/20- Communion; 4th Sunday, 5/27 - Waynesboro Menno-nite Church

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

MAY SCHEDULE

May 5 ............................. No Scheduled Performance

May 12 ..................................................... Frank Byars

May 19 ............................................ Linda McKechnie

May 26 ...................................................... Jay Daniels

SDRC COMMUNITY BREAKFASTThe Community Breakfast will take place the first Mon-day of each month at 9:30 a.m., Skyline Terrace, sec-ond floor. Bring your favorite breakfast snack, join yourneighbors in fellowship and hear all the latest Village news.

BIBLE STUDYBible Study is held each Tuesday morning in theShenandoah Chapel at 10:00 a.m.

HYMN SINGHymn Sing is at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays at The Mead.Hulda Heatwole, Pianist.

JULIET LUNCHEON (For the gals)The second Wednesday of each month join the ladiesfor lunch at local restaurants in the area. The van leavesfrom the Friendship Room at 11:00 a.m.

Page 12 VILLAGE NEWS

Computer Graphics and Layout — Donna Falls

RECYCLE PROGRAM Participation is voluntary.VILLA RESIDENTS: Use the recycle center locatedbehind Skyline Terrace or place separated items onroadside on designated trash pickup days.TERRACE RESIDENTS: Use the indoor recycling centerbins located in storage room on first floor of SkylineTerrace.

T.W.I.G.S.The Writers Interest Group for Seniors will meet thefirst Wednesday of each month in the Chapel at 1:00p.m., first floor. T.W.I.G.S. is for everyone who likes towrite poetry, memoirs, short stories, fiction, reminiscences.Or, come if you simply want to listen to interesting workcreated by T.W.I.G.S. members.

PRAYER TIMEThose interested in joining a weekly prayer time are wel-come to meet each Wednesday afternoon in the Chapelfrom 3:30 p.m. until 4:45 p.m.

SDRC COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIPThe Community Fellowship is held the second Thurs-day of each month at 9:30 a.m. Come and enjoy freshdonuts and fellowship in the Skyline Dining Room.

SPORTS CHATJoin Ron Mentus the second Thursday of the month at10:00 a.m. in the Friendship Room for a lively discus-sion of sports currently in the news.

ROMEO CLUB (For the guys)Breakfast out every third Friday of each month. The vanwill pick you up at 8:00 a.m. at the Friendship Room togo to a restaurant of choice.

AEROBICS CLASSThe first Monday of the month only, there will be no ex-ercise class. Every other Monday, Wednesday and Fri-day there will be exercise class at 9:45 a.m., third floor,Skyline Terrace.

CROQUETCroquet begins the first Friday in May at 6:30 p.m.