Geneva woman marks 100th birthday with Red Lobster meal
Arden Courts of Geneva, a memory care center in operation for nearly 20 years, celebrated a "first" this week.
Resident Dorothy Maynard celebrated her 100th birthday July 2 at Arden Courts, marking the first "centennial birthday" for the facility.
Most importantly, Dorothy knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate this occasion.
"As a special request, Dorothy wanted to celebrate her special day enjoying a meal from Red Lobster and a cake with her family and friends in the comfort of her home at Arden Courts," said Justine Villaruz, marketing director at Arden Courts.
Based on how crowded Red Lobster seems on a regular basis, Dorothy came up with a pretty good choice.
Her birthday party took place on July 2 with friends and family. There's a good chance that the topic of fashion came up during the party because the fashion world was a significant part of Dorothy's life.
Villaruz let us know that Dorothy was a fashion coordinator for McCall's magazine and at Marshall Field's department store. She attended Purdue University and Tobe-Coburn School for Fashion.
"When asking Dorothy what her favorite part of her job was, she said it was looking at the newest pieces and how they were designed," Villaruz said.
We have to remember what America was like for women when Dorothy was making a name for herself in the fashion world.
"She is most proud of raising two children and her success in the fashion industry at a time when many women did not have a career outside of the home," Villaruz added.
Reaching the grand age of 100 is more common than it was in the past, but it was something new and exciting at Arden Courts this week.
Passion for youths, bikes:
Those familiar with Grace Lutheran Church of Lily Lake know that a key part of the church's 125-year history has to do with former Pastor Arne Walker and the work he did for and with young people.
As the church celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, it is bringing Pastor Walker back as a guest preacher for the 9 and 10:30 a.m. services Sunday, July 14.
Walker published his second book late last year titled "A Trail Less Hiked." The book picks up a similar theme from his first book, "Even I Will Learn to Dance," with its focus on those who have a calling to help others. Funds from both books support Affirm, a youth spiritual enrichment program.
"A Trail Less Hiked" has already raised more than $2,000 to support Isaac Taylor of Knoxville, Tennessee, in his ministry work in Australia with aborigine teens.
Taylor was part of Pastor Walker's Affirm group a decade ago.
The special visit from Walker will come a day after an equally symbolic gesture, as the church is inviting everyone in the community to join in on a 15-mile bike ride.
After all, during Walker's time with Grace Lutheran, the church staged annual bike-a-thons that took riders on two-and-a-half week journeys on back roads throughout the Midwest, visiting other churches along the way.
It was a journey in which participants built lifelong friendships and spiritual strength while also learning much about themselves when it came to cooking and doing their own laundry. (Yes, doing your own laundry at that age is a skill that serves one well throughout life.)
The bike ride begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 13, at Grace Lutheran Church, 5N600 Hanson Road, and goes along the Great Western Trail to LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve and back.
After the ride, participants can enjoy lunch at the church.
Lots of water:
It makes total sense for a city with water restrictions to send out a reminder to residents about using a sprinkler only between 6 and 9 a.m. and 6 and 9 p.m. on your designated days.
But my question is this: Has anybody really been watering, considering the stuff has been coming down in buckets around here for the longest time?
Lobsters fly again:
For more than 30 years, TriCity Family Services in Geneva offered the Lobster Fly-In as a fundraising event for agency. Over that time, it built a loyal following of those who enjoyed taking home lobsters - live or steamed - for their dinners.
The agency was planning on no longer staging the fly-ins, in which lobsters were flown in from the supplier to be picked up. But Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva is taking over the event to help various organizations in the area.
Among other partnerships, the church says it has supported TriCity Family Services, Lazarus House, Hesed House, the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Alcoholics Anonymous and free community dinners.
The 2019 Lobster Fly-In set for 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the church, 227 East Side Drive, will help the congregation continue that mission.
The last lobster orders will be taken on Saturday, Aug. 24. For information, contact Craig Copper at (815) 351-1169 or at ckcopper@comcast.net.
Some movie streaming:
With so many consumers absorbing their TV shows and movie viewing through digital streaming services, the Batavia Public Library wants its cardholders to be in on that action - at no cost.
The library is offering free access to Kanopy, a movie streaming service that offers more than 30,000 movies to its users.
Cardholders can sign up at bataviapubliclibrary.kanopy.com to stream films on computers, televisions and mobile devices.
dheun@sbcglobal.net