Caring Clowns | More Than A Garden Club

…laughter can’t add years to your life but it can add life to your years.

By Dave Marko

If laughter really is the best medicine, then the residents of Passavant Retirement Community in Zelienople are all going to enjoy long, healthy lives!

Passavant recently organized the Caring Clowns, a group consisting of Passavant staff, residents and community members who have volunteered their time to be trained on how to become a clown to bring joy and laughter to everyone they meet.

 And so far, the results have been, well, hilarious.

 Kathie Morrow, Passavant’s outreach coordinator, and Cathy Reid, activities specialist, are leading the program. 

 “The only prerequisite we ask of our clowns is that they want to make people laugh and that they can be right ‘in the moment’ with each resident or patient. Fifteen minutes of laughter to someone who is ill, bedridden or with no family is a godsend to them,” Kathie said. “And our volunteers are finding they are getting back as much joy and laughter as they are providing. Everyone has really been getting into the spirit of the program.”

Cathy had a good head start on being a clown - she was named “Class Clown” in college - while Kathie had already created numerous fun days on the Passavant campus, such as Hootie Hoo Day, Change Your Name Day, Give Someone a Hug Day and her signature, every-Tuesday special, Crazy Shoe Day. Both women attended Pittsburgh Performing Arts Ministries workshops, where they learned other related activities such as juggling, puppeteering, balloon making, improv techniques and makeup application.

 Several residents, including Marie Musser, Doris Scheidemantle, Linda and George Richards, Ada Spithaler and George Ford, have joined the “clown ranks,” setting the tone for other residents to join in the fun. Several Passavant staff members are also actively involved.

 Training sessions last approximately an hour and a half and go for four weeks. While the emphasis is on having fun, “volunteers are quickly finding out there is a lot to learn,” Kathie said. “It’s a commitment even though it’s all about fun.”

The women are also creating roles and scenarios for two-clown visits. “We’ve found that we can expand our routines by interacting with one another, so we are writing more jokes and skits for two clowns,” Cathy said. A “Humor Cart” - loaded with fun games and lots of surprises - that will be pushed around the Passavant campus is also in the works.

 “Someone once said that laughter can’t add years to your life but it can add life to your years, so the program fits in with our philosophy of creating an abundant life atmosphere on Passavant’s campus and hopefully throughout all of Lutheran SeniorLife’s campuses,” Kathie said.

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More Than A Garden Club

By Barbara A. Killmeyer

Flowers are universally loved and even have their own language. Every special occasion from the joy of a wedding to the sadness of a funeral provides a reason to display flowers. Gardeners are constantly on the lookout for ways to grow the “perfect” flower.

On January 9, 1922, twenty-two women who shared a love of plant life met at the home of Mrs. Beegle, convening the first meeting of the Richland Unit of the Farm and Garden Association. This group became the first unit organized in Allegheny County as well as the first horticulture club. Mrs. Beegle was elected as president, and the group’s mission was to hold regular neighborhood meetings where they could discuss plans to buy and plant seeds, hold an annual fair and develop a Christmas Market.

Back then, they didn’t realize that not only would they meet these objectives, but they would become a vital part of community life, and the club would still be strong 85 years later.

The Annual Fair and the Christmas Market both made their debut in 1923 and continue to be popular attractions.

One of the main goals of the Richland Garden club is education, so in addition to providing information to members through guest speakers, they also formed, in March of 1923, a club for junior gardeners. This club was open to any child in the township. Seeds were given to interested children, and they were encouraged to plant their seeds. Prizes were given in several categories.

The list of charitable activities and contributions that the club has been involved in through the years is proof of the group’s civic minded nature. Beginning in 1924, and continuing for many years, plants were sent to disabled soldiers to sow outside one of the local hospitals. Also in 1924 members planted tulips around each of the four Richland Township schools. In 1943 garden surplus was donated to Magee Hospital. The hospital received 158 bushels of vegetables, 290 dozen ears of corn, 30 pumpkins, and 4 chip baskets of yellow tomatoes.

Today, you can see results of their work at the Gibsonia Presbyterian Church, where they display their talents with decorative plantings in wooden barrels. This church has been their meeting place for a number of years.

St. Barnabas has also been a favorite charity of the club. One of the projects was a nature trail on the property that is used by boy and girl scouts as well as residents.

Richland Garden Club member Diane Gardner said that her mother was a long-time member, and when Diane moved back to the area to care for her mother, she would take her to the monthly meetings. Diane is now an active member herself and under her guidance, the club has written a cookbook containing recipes donated by members. These recipes are from the past right up to the present. Another wonderful feature of the book is the many snippets of information about club history that are included.

For more information about the club or the book, Diane can be reached at 412-487-8761.

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