In Memories: Resident Recalls WWII

Wartime Memories

By Phyllis Johnson

Phyllis Johnson, who was born and raised in Illinois during WWII

Early 1930s

The somber tone of their voices grabbed my attention. I was playing on the sunroom floor, not yet five. Grandma Anna Max was talking to a friend who had recently returned from a visit to Germany. Grandma had on the usual long sleeved, lightweight cotton, flowered dress and dark cotton stockings. Not yet adapted to the American custom of wearing a bra, her breasts were formless under her dress.

 "It is terrible, Anna," the visitor said. "Carl and his son, they fight all the time and shout at each other."  With their serious faces, they now had my complete attention. Many years later I realized the son had joined the Nazi party and it was creating a schism in the family that was having an effect even on family across the Atlantic.

 

Putting on the Grits!

Springmoor is getting geared up for our series of “Putting on the Grits!” events, and the culinary staff couldn’t be more excited! We’ll be welcoming 100 visitors to our community, and treating them to our Southern hospitality—and Southern cooking, of course!

Ground-corn grits are a Southern specialty, and a personal favorite. They are so simple, and can be made in so many ways—literally hundreds. To find inspiration for our four-course, all-grits event menu, we scoured cookbooks, websites and even TV cooking shows. We tasted scores of recipes, and—while some didn’t cut the corn—a gritty, pretty few will proudly plump our plates, including grits pie, shrimp-and-grits tarts and pepper jack grits poppers.

Since all five of our “Putting on the Grits!” events are full, we thought we’d share the "Southern Living" showstopper that most inspired us, and that might inspire you to throw your own grits party (you could even throw grits like confetti if you want)!

Springmoor Walks its Way to Fitness—and Paris!

Springmoor Walks its Way to Fitness—and Paris!

By Kari Richie, Springmoor Health and Fitness director

We just finished walking from Raleigh, N.C., to Paris, France, and, boy, are our bodies feeling the benefits.

Ninety Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community residents and staff just completed a 10-week walking challenge, S.A.M.E. (Springmoor Actively Making Efforts) Goal, and recorded walking the equivalent of 13,172 miles—or a little more than the distance from Raleigh, N.C., to Hawaii (about 5,000 miles), followed by a stroll from Hawaii to Paris, France (about 7,500 miles).

Springmoor's Floral Focal Points: Hydrangeas and Roses Burst in July

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor landscape manager

Thom Morgan

Many of my Landscape Architecture courses in college stressed that every good design should have a focal point. A focal point in a landscape setting is something you are drawn to—a primary area of interest, something that brings focus to itself.

Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community’s 43 acres in northwest Raleigh, N.C.—connected by 2.5 miles of walkways—present many opportunities for residents to walk ahead, see what is just around the corner, and be surprised by a burst of color.

Each month, Floral Focal Points will point out highlights around Springmoor’s colorful campus, and discuss the preparation and maintenance that help bring out the best in Springmoor’s blooms. As Springmoor’s landscape manager, I get asked a lot of questions and receive a lot of compliments from residents and visitors alike, so I hope this blog helps answer any questions you may have about plants that best withstand and thrive in North Carolina’s hot, July weather.

By July, azaleas and dogwoods have lost their color, which is why Springmoor placed the following colorful, hearty trees and shrubs around our campus to shine through summer: