Happy New Year everyone! We started our New Year off with a bang, because we did our fireworks on New Years evening. Here are a few shots of the residents enjoying the evening and the fireworks themselves.

The biggest event this month was the birthday party for Gilbert Reese (102) and Ronald Elliott (98) at the Park Manor nursing home. About 23 of us were there including the (then) 5 Park Manor residents and 9 PG residents. We don’t know the lady in the front in a wheelchair, but she enjoyed joining us! It is a nursing home.

Elsie enjoyed a visit from her New Braunfels neighbors Franz and Sally Holzmann. Here they are joining her at the puzzle table.

Jeff and Monica Hertz came from Nebraska to see several. They knew Roberta, Elsie, Gwen and Doreen. Here they are at the puzzle table.

Irving has had several visitors, two of which were his nieces and one of their husbands. Dan and Bev Oakes and Cheryl Hollifield.

Long time friends of Pecan Grove, Ray and Myra Klepzig came for a visit and Kent and Linda Opel were here too.

Roger and Renee Neumiller came for a visit from ND. Here they are with Wayne and Dawn Overby (originally from ND) and Roberta

More folks from ND, Mark and Donna Richtsmeier of the Hunter convention grounds came to visit. They were in a rush to carry on so could not stay for lunch, but had a lot of warm visits in a short span of time. Mark and Becky are cousins, so she was happy to see him even for a brief visit.

Chuy and Juanita Ibarra visited from Pearland. Here they are with Esther.

Yvonne Wilson came to visit her son Wendall, and of course everyone here. Wendall is a good friend of Ronald’s and has been here multiple times. His mother from Trinidad came to enjoy a visit with Marie and the others. Here she is with Kent and Linda, Gwen and Ruth.

Carla Crawmer Spilman came from California to see Irving. She knows Lorianne Lerwick well, so Lorianne came to be with her.

Bobby and Kathryn Smith brought Lorraine, and Jill Rich came to take her back to College Station.

Terry and Linda Boelter visited Naomi. Here they are with Roberta and Naomi.

Charles and Dorie Sterling are here now. They came to see Irving and plan to be in the union meeting here in the morning.

Resident Journals

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well, she likes to interact with the company she recognizes. She is still a staple part of the puzzle crew and spends a lot of her time trying to finish them. Here she is with Ray and Myra.

Irving Ross

Irving has had a difficult month with 2 hospital stays, and now he’s in skilled nursing at Park Manor to try and get his strength back to return to Pecan Grove. He doesn’t complain and is trying to do the best he can by himself. There have been several pictures of him above when he was able to enjoy visits here. Hopefully he’ll improve and return here in February.

Emma Perez

Emma is still doing great. She took a trip to the valley for a funeral. She likes to go out for Sunday’s at the Opel’s because afterward they get to eat out! Here she is with Yvonne Wilson.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth walks down to the pond or up to the mailbox everyday regardless of how cold it gets. She has a keen mind, remembering all the little details that we as staff sometime miss.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie is especially happy with her sister to keep her company. Other than her hearing she is sharp as a tack. It must be all the puzzle work she does!

Roberta Stipp

Roberta enjoys spending time with her sister. She tries the puzzles but is more interested in reading. She likes to pick through our bookcase and see what interests her. She recently had some dental work done that was painful for a while, but she didn’t complain.

Naomi Watson

Naomi does well, except when she is eating. Sometimes she has problems swallowing. The speech therapist recommended a set of guidelines for the staff to follow when cooking and exercises for Naomi, which have helped. Hopefully these steps will help her continue to eat what everyone else is eating.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen does good except the cold days seem to mess with her. She seems to get tired very easily, but when she has energy she still wants to help out as much as she can.

Esther Duncan

Esther continues to do well and have regular correspondence. She likes to make marmalade and send jars out to a few of her friends. She takes long walks every day the weather permits.

Marie Mounce

Marie is doing good. Sometimes she is short of breath. The doctor told her she’s getting old! She still loves to cook and bake.

Park Manor Nursing Home

Ronald Elliott, Gilbert Reese, Fern Duncan, Alice Oetken, Joyce Naber (and for now Irving Ross)

All of our Park Manor five full time residents continue to do well. They’ve had many visits this month.

Pecan Grove

We had a surprise bounty this month! We have been having trouble with wild hogs rutting in the back pastures and pecan orchard. Jerry asked a local man for some help trapping them, and we got one! We decided to smoke it and it was delicious, and plentiful. Here are before and after pictures. Just as this blog post was being finalized we saw a bunch of hogs in the pecan orchard. This picture only shows a few of them. By the time we got a rifle they were gone.

We had temperatures as low as 18 at night this week, but not much precipitation or wind, so not bad. The ice on the grass and trees was beautiful.

Thanks for your interest and care for us here!

Ken and Kenny

We had only one birthday this month but it was a big one. Ronald turned 98! We were unable to take all of the residents to celebrate, like we usually do, because he had tested positive for covid. He has been released from quarantine and is doing just fine! We plan to have a birthday celebration early in January with both Ronald and Gilbert who will be 102! Here Ronald is with Kathy and Joyce.

Betty Goss and Lounell Claybourn went for a visit of our residents at Park Manor. They had just been showered and their hair was not done, so the ladies had a salon day. Here is Alice after getting her hair done and Fern visiting.

Emma had several visitors. Their names were Balta and Salva Zazafies and Jorge. They also came to see Ronald and Alice, so they stayed for lunch and then took Emma to see everyone at Park Manor. Here they are at Park Manor with Ronald, Alice and Joyce.

Fred Adadjo came for a few days, trying to escape the New York cold snap. Of course, he was coming to visit everyone, including the Park Manor residents. He took Esther, Doreen and Roberta for a visit to Park Manor. Here they all are in the living room at Park Manor with all 5 PM residents. Then Fred with Irving and lastly all 10 or our residents with both sets of visitors.

The Pecan Grove staff had a holiday dinner together and a picture taken.

We had a whirlwind of visitors these last few weeks. We had several visitors come just for Christmas. Here we all are at the Christmas dinner table enjoying Esther’s lamb, and a shot of all of our residents and most of the visitors after Christmas dinner. Our visitors here were Mona Reese, Steve Peirson, Lorraine Lerwick, Brook Henderson, Sandra Boettcher and her co-worker (Kathy’s sister) Pat Johnson.

Silas Gartin brought his brother Skylar for the first time. Here they are with Pat and Sandra.

Jennifer Uzzell brought her grandmother and 5 of her children out to visit. Here they are in front of the piano.

Joyce’s brother Wayne Naber came, and brought his two sons Dwayne and Devin. They went to Park Manor to pick up Joyce for a visit here.

Another time Pat and Sandra visited Park Manor with Ken and Kathy. Here they are with all 5 and again with Joyce.

Gregg and LaNell Willert were here for a visit from Missouri.

Jerry’s mother, Judy, came for a visit and to see how they were doing. They invited several from the farm and Fred for a visit. Also, Becky’s daughter Izzy is here for a visit from Minnesota.

This evening (New Years eve) Don and Becky Schroeder came. Here they are with Joyce Lawrence and Sandra Boettcher.

Resident Journals

Irving Ross

Irving has been doing well since his return from the hospital. He has a good memory and keen mind, we really appreciate his part in the studies. He is giving Emma a run for her money when it comes to visitors per month! He went out for an appointment and later visited Park Manor. Here he is visiting at Park Manor, with Steve Peirson who professed in his meetings in NYC in 1968, with his nephew and his wife, Don and Carol Ross, lastly with Linda Berry.

Naomi Watson

Naomi enjoyed a week with her son for the holidays. She decided she needed a new bed, and has been extoling its comfort ever sense. Here she is playing her beloved piano, bringing lots of joy and cheer!

Gwen Farmer

Gwen stays the same, doing well and doing puzzles. She enjoyed the company, especially her visit with Steve Peirson. Here she is enjoying one of several holiday feasts with visitors.

Marie Mounce

Marie had a fall this month, and seemed to have blacked out. There was not really anything we could find as the cause. She was ok, no pain from the fall. She continues to work in the kitchen, making interesting recipes that catch her fancy. Here she is making shrimp scampi.

Elsie Schroeder and Roberta Stipp

Roberta has decided she would like to stay as a resident! We think her spending every day with her sister has brought both of them a lot of comfort and joy. They can often be found at the puzzle table, or taking walks together. Here they are working on a puzzle, and Roberta visiting Ronald at Park Manor.

Emma Perez

Many people come to visit Emma, and our other Spanish speaking residents at Park Manor. She does well, taking them for walks, giving them tours and of course showing them her room. Here she is with Joyce on her visit.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen is doing great, she helps in the kitchen as much as she can. She knows the routine well, and comes out beforehand to get things on the table and after helps with dishes. Here she is visiting with LaNell and some of the ladies in her room, and again with Carl and Gloria Reiff.

Esther Duncan

Esther is still doing great. She had a heart scare this month, but thankfully she was sitting down when the episode happened. The doctors could not find anything irregular about her heart, but it had been fluttering and making her dizzy. She still walks up to the gate every day, regardless of the weather. Here she is visiting Park Manor with Fred Adadjo, Roberta and Doreen, and again with Kristy Garrett and her mother Linda Berry.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does well considering her recovery from her fall. She has had some days of dizziness and tiredness, but generally does not let those things impede her daily routine. She has a great appetite for soup and really enjoys when the staff makes her some. She enjoyed a Christmas visit from her great niece Brooke. Here she is with some visitors, Ron and Bette Lu Lerwick.

Alice Oetken, Gilbert Reese, Ronald Elliott, Fern Duncan, Joyce Naber

Our Park Manor residents are faring well. Ronald had a fall, which caused the staff to take him to the ER where he tested positive for covid. He never had covid symptoms but had to endure some isolation back at Park Manor. Alice also had a sort of fall, she slid off her bed. She was fine also. Fern has been doing better. When visitors come she is actually conversing and recognizing them. We think maybe a change to her medications has caused this revival. Gilbert has grown more quiet. He rarely says anything and sleeps a lot, but seems content. Joyce is so happy to be at Park Manor with ones she recognizes, and to have fellowship again. Here they are, Irving with Fern, Kathy with Gilbert and a group around Fern.

It was 80 degrees on Christmas! Our wild life has been loving the mild weather. Here are some neighbors we saw recently.

Happy New Year! From all of us here at Pecan Grove! Thank you for all of your support and love throughout 2025. We hope you all have an amazing 2026!

Kenny and Ken

First a note about Redbud Canyon. Last month Amy included a link to join the Pecan Grove email list in the Redbud Canyon newsletter. That resulted in over 100 joining our list. This month we want to reciprocate and provide a link to the Redbud Canyon newsletter for those who don’t receive it. Here it is:

We also added the 3 buttons in the upper right corner which allow you to switch between the list of 46 residents and this blog. The last button can be used for someone who wants to join the email list. We typically send 1 email per month to let subscribers know when the blog is completed.

The biggest news for PG in November was Irving Ross deciding to come here as a resident. Dan Helenek traveled with him on Friday the 21st, and stayed several days. Unfortunately, Iriving was only at PG 4 days and ended up going to the hospital with several issues. He has improved in the hospital in some areas, but not in others. We hope he will come home soon!

Dan and Bev (Ross) Oakes visited Irving in the hospital and stopped by PG.

While Dan Helenek was here, John Sumner brought Betty Goss for a visit.

We received several visitors earlier on in November. Dan and Perlita Dissmore came for a meal and the union meeting. They knew Marie and Ruth quite well and stopped by to have a good chat with them.

Robert and Linda Klepzig brought Kaye Peterson for a one week visit. Also, Joyce’s brother Galen and Marilyn Naber visited. They brought Joyce from the nursing home to PG for a visit.

Roberta had her birthday with us and it was a big one! She’s here as a visitor for now. We hope she will decide to stay. Here are the sisters, Elsie and Roberta with Elsie’s son Don and Becky Schroeder, and Kaye.

Becky (Farring) Grosskreutz’s mother and sister, Ruth and Priscilla Farring visited from Fargo.

Naomi used to meet with the Hapner’s many years ago in Missouri. Becky and Lottie came for a visit and were pleased to have a chance to see Roberta as well. Here Roberta is with Lottie Hapner. Becky took the photo.

Kent and Linda Opel decided it would be nice for all of the residents to join them for a tea party. Most of them had not seen their new home (7 miles from PG) and were very pleased to go. The staff and a few others were also invited. Here they are enjoying their tea and snacks.

Resident Journals

Naomi Watson

Naomi does well, and is very considerate if the staff need or want for anything, especially desserts. She has moved to her 3rd room, which was Clarence’s previously, and is happy to be fully moved in. Kenny asked her if she would like to use her teaching experience to tutor his niece Katelyn. She agreed and they soon hit it off, they really appreciate one another. Here she is on an outing with Abigail enjoying some Mexican food.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well. She so enjoyed having our visitors Ruth and Priscilla Farring. Priscilla and Gwen were in Korea together. They took her out for a meal after a doctors appointment. She still does the puzzles with Elsie, but there are even more interested parties (Roberta and Dawn) so the space is limited at the puzzle table sometimes.

Marie Mounce

Marie does well. She still loves to be in the kitchen and help make something festive. She made sweet potato casserole for thanksgiving and cranberry sauce. She managed to escape being in pictures very often this month, though she is with the Dissmore’s above.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie really thrives now that her sister is here. She still doesn’t say a whole lot but is more excitable during conversation. Her son Don and Becky came for a surprise visit to celebrate Roberta’s birthday. He likes to keep her guessing about when or if he will show up! Here they are on the couch enjoying a laugh. Candice and her kids came to visit Elsie also.

Roberta Stipp

Though Roberta is a visitor, we’ll include here in this roundup. Roberta is more of a talker than her sister, and she appreciates a good joke. She keeps Elsie talking, or perhaps, more listening. She fits right in, having known several of our residents for many years. Dave Bolt (Newry PA) came by for a visit. Here he is with Roberta (who was in PA for several years).

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does well, especially given her fall just over a month ago. She has pain, and her added medications still bother her digestion. However, given that, her recovery was remarkable. She walks without a cane or walker for the most part. She did spend a night in the hospital again last week because of being dizzy from AFib. Here she is enjoying a visit with Timothy Uzzell and Talus Murphy.

Emma Perez

Emma spent time visiting friends in San Antonio this month. Sylvia McPherson and her son-in-law (little) Gordon Smith brought her to PG.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen does very well, and just had visitors, Glen and Betty Gerritson from Iowa.

Esther Duncan

Esther is her usual. She makes a special effort to get to every meeting she can, which can be tiring at her age. We’re glad for her example and care for others.

Park Manor and Willis Nursing

We currently have 4 ex-residents in Park Manor Nursing, Fern Duncan, Alice Oetken, Gilbert Reece and Ronald Elliott, and 1 resident in Willis Nursing, Joyce Naber. We have completed the paperwork for Joyce to be moved to Park Manor, so she can be with the other 4. Now we are waiting for a female, long term bed to become available. All 5 are doing about the same. Ronald has a different (and much better) roommate. Here he is with Brian Jagielski and Silas Gartin (the co-workers in our field this year).

Brendan and Karla (Newman) Furrow and 3 of their 4 kids visited Park Manor today. Ronald was able to visit with Fern and she was very responsive. Then twin 1 (Maren) read Ronald his mail and twin 2 (Maven) read Fern her mail.

Weather

We always appreciate the fall weather, it starts off cool and foggy and ends with crisp sunny skies. We have had some wonderful full moons as well…

Thanks for your interest and support for us here.

Ken and Kenny

We have had many changes to our ranks this year. Some came for long visits, others came to stay permanently, and one (Clarence Mounce) left to return to the work. This is the second time he recuperated at PG and returned to the work. Here is a picture of most of our current residents posing with Barry Barkley. Emma is missing.

October has brought some fine fall weather, and beautiful clear nights. Our wild life really enjoys the slow mornings and the quiet. Here is a deer getting an early start on our persimmons this year. Not to mention all the wildlife that seems to find its way inside! Here are some of the creatures we have found loitering in Pecan Grove.

Naomi has finished moving into her new room, which brought with it cause for celebration! She invited all the ladies for a tea party to christen her room. Here they are pulling out the tea party hats from long ago, trying on their favorite ones, and then having a home coming tea party in her room.

Ruth celebrated her first birthday with us, and it was a big one! She turned 96 years young, and made it look easy! Here she is with some beautiful red coronations and again at the lunch table with her cake.

We also had a surprise celebration for Barry Barkley. He was stopping by to see Fern before being carted off to Georgetown, and while he was here we found out it was his birthday. Needless to say we had to celebrate! Here he is with Fern and the others, and again with his cake.

It happened to be Abigail’s birthday on the very same day. We celebrated with her on the day after because she had taken her birthday off. Her theme was sushi, and the staff did a good job of making it very appropriate and cute. Here she is with her cake and a few of the party decorations.

Abigail also got a fun gift for her birthday: a Panda Drum. Here she is playing happy birthday to herself!

Elsie was once again visited by Don and Becky Schroeder. This time because it was her birthday! She is 97 and going strong, she really loved to see everyone. Here she is with one of Dons favorite cakes: Elsie’s sour cream and chocolate cake!

Elsie’s younger sister, Roberta Stipp, came for a long visit. Here she is with the workers who brought her.

With all the visitors and many birthdays our kitchen has been incredibly busy. The grandchildren decided they would like to get in on the action and bake a cake. Here they are taking turns measuring things for Abigail’s cake.

Curt and Patty Henderson from Hector Minnesota came to see his aunt, Ruth. They ended up staying for a while because Ruth fell and was in the hospital. Here they are posing in the kitchen.

As always we look forward to October because it is convention time for us. Almost everyone went to Georgetown Convention this year. Gwen and Elsie decided to stay home. Val Killum volunteered to fill in for the staff while we were away. Here are the kids at lunch at Georgetown and Val with her two roommates doing a puzzle.

Resident Journals

Esther Duncan

Esther continues to do well, and takes a daily walk. This month it has finally cooled off enough that she can feel at home outside. It reminds her of Ireland. She enjoyed hearing so many conventions and expressed that “she still was not full”. Here she is with our visitor, Florene Miller from NC.

Naomi Watson

Naomi is doing great and fits in well. Her son, Kevin, has come for several visits and really enjoys the scenery. He likes to be up and doing things, so he has even asked Jerry if he could help mow! Here she is with her friendly visitors, Frank and Wanda Burhans, and again playing her beloved piano.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen does very well, and really enjoyed going to Georgetown. She also mentioned how much she appreciated being able to listen to Mountain Peak and Texarkana. She had some visitors who knew her from Iowa, Doug and Gloria Kellogg. Here they are smiling in front of the table.

Marie Mounce

Marie was pleased to be able to attend Georgetown English and Effie. As usual she stayed in Louisiana for a few days after Effie to visit family. Here she is with Fern, and again with her sister, Joy, and husband, Robert Appleman, and brother Clarence.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie does well, especially after seeing her family for her birthday. Don and Becky came for the weekend to celebrate with us. She also is now being visited by her sister, Roberta Stipp, who came after Effie for a long visit. Here they are completing a puzzle together, and posing with the workers who brought Roberta.

Emma Perez

Emma does well, and still receives many visitors. Carlos and Gema Ramons came again for a visit with Gema’s mother, Rebecca Molina. Here she is outside the front door with her visitors, and again with Rose Hanson and the Millers.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen does well, she decided to stay home from conventions this year. She was able to hear the meetings for all three conventions and really appreciated them. Here she is with Ronald and again at the puzzle table.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth had a bad fall while attending Georgetown. She has some significant bruising on her legs and lower back, as well as a cracked sacrum. She was able to walk on her own, and for a few days stayed by herself in her room. Unfortunately, she began to experience major discomfort in her abdomen and was admitted to the ER. There we were informed that she had critically low sodium levels and would need to stay for observation. They were able to help her relax enough to finally get some much needed rest. She is back at PG now and gaining strength. Here she is trying out a new walker with Becky.

Alice Oetken, Ronald Elliott, Fern Duncan and Gilbert Reese

Our lovely residents, who are at Park Manor nursing home, continue to do well. Ronald has an old and cantankerous roommate which bothers him. So, we are trying to get him moved into the same room as Gilbert. We don’t have a picture of Gilbert. He’s showing his 102 years of age and slowing down.

Joyce Naber

Joyce, who is at Willis Nursing Home, continues to do well, and appreciates her frequent visitors. We are in the process of trying to move her to Park Manor so that she could be near the other residents. She enjoyed a visit from Florene Miller, seen here smiling together, and also with Barry Barkley.

Thanks for your interest in us here!

Kenny and Ken

September has finally started to cool us off around here, with mild mornings reminiscent of Fall . The humidity is still very high, which is great for foggy lakes and rings of mushrooms. Also, it must be peak season for humming bird migration because we now have at least five full time humming birds near our feeder. Here are some of the wonderful Fall phenomenon we are enjoying .

Naomi’s piano has finally arrived, and it is gorgeous! She wants to let it settle in before tuning it and then being able to play it. For now it makes for a shiny new piece of furniture. Here are some pictures of it being put in place. Once it had been here a few weeks, Regi Hedahl came and tuned it.

Naomi celebrated her first birthday with us, and it was a big one! She turned 89 years young, and was so pleased to have her son and his wife here to join in the festivities, and the table of party goers.

Carol Aarstad came for a long visit to see her mother Elsie. She enjoys helping her with her favorite past time: making puzzles.

Resident Journals

Emma Perez

Emma has had a great month with several special visits. She got a quick visit from Emily Garcia and William Nichols, two young friends who know her well. She also got new hearing aids! Just in time to go to convention! She is very pleased to be able to attend both Spanish and English Georgetown and then remain in that area for further visits. Here she is with her young visitors.

Naomi Watson

Naomi’s first full month with us has been very eventful. Not only did she move in, change rooms, and get her piano moved in. She also turned 89! Where does she find the time? Even with all this excitement she finds time to laugh or tell jokes. She decided to play a little prank on Clarence because he usually doesn’t drink his water with meals (so she gave him less). Here she is testing her piano, and Clarences plate.

Gwen Farmer

Gwen continues to do well, she spends a lot of her time at the puzzle table with Elsie. She was very curious to see what was going on when Naomi’s piano arrived. Here she is supervising its delivery.

Esther Duncan

Esther had a wonderful month, she was invited to conventions once again and was in 3 in KY and TN. We received a lunch visit from Ruth Taplin and Sue George. Here is Esther with Ruth.

Ruth Henderson

Ruth does well although she struggles with stomach problems. She takes them all in stride, and was quick to learn her knew medication regiment (and keep us on top of it too!) Here she is chatting with Sue George.

Doreen Beyer

Doreen also was invited to return to her home convention in Boyden IA. She was so excited to see everyone again, but suffered from a pretty bad cold the entire time. She could not seem to shake it for days after her return. She had gotten better by Naomi’s birthday, and can be seen here beaming with her Gwen and Joyce.

Elsie Schroeder

Elsie really thrives when her family comes to town. She does puzzles with them and plays games back in her room, often sharing memories or stories as well. Here they are in front of the fireplace.

Clarence Mounce

Clarence does well, he takes walks every day and chats with Marie. He was invited to go to both Spanish and English Georgetown and then on to Mountain Peak. Here he is waiting to leave on his journey.

Marie Mounce

Marie still likes to bake her sweets, but she has other projects as well. She went and bought some very comfortable shoes, but they just were not the right color. So she took matters into her own hands and painted them herself! Here she is making some blue shoes.

Joyce Naber

Joyce was so tickled to be able to join us for Naomi’s birthday. It was as much a surprise to her as it was to our residents! They each took turns hugging her and exchanging love. She kept saying how great it felt to be with friends, and repeating how surprised she was. Here she is with Gwen and Doreen again.

Gilbert Reese, Alice Oetken, Fern Duncan and Ronald Elliott

These 4 in the Park Manor Nursing home had several visitors this month, but no pictures were taken! Gilbert is eating well, so we were asked to bring him some larger clothes. He sleeps more, but otherwise remains the same. Alice is her usual happy self, glad to see anyone that visits. Fern is about the same, sitting in her special chair sometimes, communicating very little. Ronald remains quite confused. He walks around the home a lot with his walker or pushing a wheel chair.

Thanks for your interest and care in us here!

Kenny and Ken