Penn Hills Sr. SENIOR SCENES Services Volume 21 Issue 12 December 2019 147 Jefferson Road Celebrating Holiday Memories Penn Hills, Pa 15235 We all carry memories from days gone by that when “poked” still make the heart smile. 412-244-3400 This is especially true when we remember those little nuggets tucked away in our hearts Fax: 412-242-7078 of what made life special to us as a child. We thought that it might be fun this year to www.pennhills.org reminisce about some of those holiday and winter moments, and share them here in the December newsletter. Thank you to all those who participated in our holiday question- *** naire and made this article possible. Some of you put your names on them, and some Wm. McKinley Sr. didn’t, but we valued all your responses and enjoyed reading them. Let’s take a look in Satellite Site our “pot of gold” where even winter blizzards were magical. Seventh & Center Sts. Except for Alice Hughes who was raised in South Carolina, the weather outside really Verona (Hilltop) PA 15147 was ‘frightful’, in the best sense of the word...especially in the 1950s. Many of you re- 412-828-5888 called at least 3,4, and 5 feet of snow so high that you “couldn’t even walk out the door”. Bunny Styslinger said every winter meant sled riding and building snowmen. Don Thiel- Funding man built igloos while Carolyn Hill remembers riding her sled down the steep hills in Funding is provided by Rankin. Paul Henry remembers playing in 3 feet of it in Wisconsin while Shirley Morris, the Municipality of rode her sled with her 6 siblings down the hillside at her Grandma’s house in Limestone, Penn Hills* New York. and the Allegheny County Area Agency on It may have been cold outside, but inside it was warm with holiday hope and cheer. As a Aging child in the 1940s, Mary Beth Phillips writes, “Christmas was the most wonderful time of the year to me and it still is today! I loved everything about the season - the decora- Wishing you a tions, the smells, the get-togethers, the secrets and of course Santa’s visit”. Some of blessed you decorated your homes with fresh pines and others, like Sandy Nix, with homemade holiday season! popcorn and cranberry crafts. You lit Menorah, Kinara and Advent candles. You put up Gratitude is when trees, lights, mistletoe, stockings, and trains. memory is stored Your homes were filled with the amazing aroma of freshly baked pies, orange rolls, an- in the heart ise cakes, poppy seed bread, and as Cindy Donaldson’s Mom made, cookies, knots, and not in the mind. pretzels, and nut rolls. It didn’t stop there though. When supper time came around, the ~~Lionel Hampton latkes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, stuffing, and yams were carefully placed Activities Calendar...Page 11 next to the brisket, turkey, ham or roasted chicken on your tables. For Shirley Citizen Savvy App..Page 2 Colcombe it was Slovak Soup, and for Don Thielman, it was fresh wild mushroom soup. Many of you celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve and like Marie Holiday Memories...Pgs. 1, 3, 8 Canfield, enjoyed a seafood meal of squid, shrimp, cod and spaghetti with clam sauce. Jefferson News...Page 4,5 Last Minute Snippets.. Page 2 ,3 Quite a few of you came from large clans, some with even 9 or more children. The times were hard for most families, and few if any toys were ever found under the tree. Yet, Light Up Nite..Page 2 many recalled at least one special gift. Bunny remembers a small rocking chair, Bill Lunch & Learn….Page 5 Bunn, Lionel trains, and Shirley Colcombe, a snowman with skis. You remembered the McKinley News…..Page 6,7 homemade gifts as well as the tool chest, the scooter, the Roy Rogers pistol, the choco- Menu……. Page 12 late boot, the John Gnagy Art set, the screwdriver with multiple tips, and every kind of Photos...Pgs. 6, 9 doll imaginable. Perhaps though, it was best summed up by Carolyn Hill who said: “all Senior Travels….Page 5 our gifts were special because we knew how hard our parents worked and sacrificed to make Christmas happy”. Your favorite memories were of celebrating the holidays with Softball Scenes...Page 3 your families. For Bill Bunn, it was having his favorite uncle home who was wounded at Stamp Collectors...Page 2 Solomon Isles. You loved all the holiday music, but Silent Night came out on top. Some Veterans Meeting..Page 2 went to Midnight Mass, some served as altar boys Like Don Thielman and John Morris. Weatherization...Page 3 Wherever your house of worship, you drew near with faith and awe. Finally, you said Word Scramble...Page 7 the true meaning of the season was love, family, and the birth of Christ. Word Search...Page 10 Page 2 PHYLLIS’ LAST MINUTE SNIPPETS REMEMBER: The Penn Hills Senior Service Center and the McKinley Senior Satellite Site will be closed on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24TH AND WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25TH for the Christmas Holiday but will open on December 26th. Municipal Light–Up Nite: make plans to attend the Annual Light-Up Nite at the ‘new’ Government Center on Duff Road, Thursday, December 5, 2019. Center Security Surveillance: The cameras record 24/7, 365 days a year and are held for a very limited length of time. This action was taken to provide the best safety for our seniors and staff. This includes the ’new’ computer lab and I check it often. And remember to smile!!! Veteran’s Meeting: Reminder: NO Veteran’s meeting until (hopefully) Thursday, JANUARY 16th. Happy Holidays. CO-PILOT SCREENING: Remember to scan your Co-Pilot cards when you come into the Center. If you are a VOL- UNTEER it is very important that you enter your hours each time you volunteer. Some VOLUNTEERS do no take the time to do this and it is so very important—if you miss signing in on the first floor, please stop in the Lunchroom office and do so. We notice that there are some people who select the “Volunteer” square who are not volunteers, please take the time to read what you have selected. If you ARE a Volunteer and do not record your day and time, we have problems when we make the lists for our Annual Volunteer Luncheon. Please remember to check, select the correct activities and if you are a volunteer, please remember to record your day and hours Mobile Device Users: did you know there is an APP you can download that will tell you everything going on in Penn Hills?? Well there is! It is called “CITIZEN SAVVY” and it is FREE. You can find out about road closures, upcoming events and other important news about our community. Again, the app is FREE to download onto your mobile device and you can select whether to get the information by text or e-mail. For more info, visit: https://www.savvycitizenapp.com Or find “Savvy Citizen” in your smart phone’s app store. Upcoming events: we have a very busy December. You still have time to get a CRAZEE HOLIDAY SHIRT (if you choose to) for Crazee Holiday Shirt/Top Day which will be held on Mon., Dec. 9th. Bible Study Productions will be presenting their Annual Christmas Pageant on Fri., Dec. 13th in the Activity Room, 1st floor, following lunch. Again, there will be room for 125 people which includes the cast, so when the sign up sheet is posted, make sure you sign your name; remember people from outside the Center do attend this event each year. Our Christmas Gala will be held on Wed., Dec. 18th—check with Linda or Rae to see if there are any tickets available—they went on sale Nov. 18th Editor: Jane Carr and there are only 100 tickets available—NO MORE! Remember all of the Editor Emeritus: tickets for our special events are first come-first served. We will end the Phyllis Ann Paciulli year with our New Years Celebration on Tues., Dec. 31st. Tickets are $3.00 per person, non-refundable, and will go on sale in the Center Lunch- Contributors: Phyllis Paciulli, room on Mon., Dec. 2nd thru Fri., Dec. 20th—100 tickets only!! Lena Natalia, Jan Austin, Cheryl Collins, Michele Pirollo, Tammy The staff hopes you have enjoyed all the parties so far. With the sale of the Morante, Linda Tucibat, Rae Fra- tickets we have been able to have entertainment, special treats, and sur- zier, Mary Anne Sciullo, Rege prises. I would like to take the time to thank, Lena, Linda, Rae, Tammy, Walney Jan, Michele, Cheryl, Jane and Mary Anne at the McKinley Senior site for Council Corner: Linda Eaton all the hard work to make these event as entertaining as possible for you all. Menu/Activities: Michele Pirollo DO YOU KNOW ANY STAMP COLLECTOR’S? Sr. Travel: Jane Gira If you know someone who is knowledgeable about stamp collecting, please contact Phyllis at 412-244-3407. Thank you. Word Search: Shirley Haerr Volume 21 Issue 12 Page 3 On behalf of the entire staff of the Jefferson Road Center and the McKinley Senior Site I want to extend to you, our “FAMILY”, the warmest holiday wishes. Enjoy the season and stay safe—we have great plans for 2020— and we want you all to be there enjoying the festivities with the staff. Each year we face changes some happy and some not so happy but we hope that the staff has helped you in some way with those changes.