Inheriting Independence: Springmoor Mothers Share Wisdom Behind Their—and Their Mothers’—Choice to Move to the Community

A sense of independence and adaptability: It’s a trait Dora Beal believes she inherited from her mother, and one she believes her daughters have inherited from her. It’s also the trait that led Dora’s mother to decide to move into Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in the 1980s while she was still active, and what led Dora to move into Springmoor just one year ago.

“The wonderful thing about mother is that she was always adaptable. She saved me a lot of grief and worry, and made the decision herself to move here,” Dora said.

Charity Sisters: Springmoor Siblings Bond Over Food, Community Service

Sisters Elsie Eads (left) and Elizabeth Crawford
work together to share food and love with neighbors,
local charities.

Always very close, sisters Elizabeth Crawford and Elsie Eads love that Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in Raleigh, N.C., allows them to live down the hall from one another and to combine their love of baking and volunteering.

Crawford enjoys baking and often bakes desserts for her friends at Springmoor; Eads likes helping others and giving back to the community, and spends her day working with several different, local programs geared at helping those in need.

The two decided to combine efforts: Crawford bakes desserts and meals and Eads travels to deliver the goods to different groups both on the Springmoor campus and in the local community.

Springmoor Springs into Wellness, Shares Simple Salsa Recipe to Start the Season Right

By Kathleen Loescher, Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community move-in coordinator

New exercise equipment is being arranged, the pool is being filled, and in a little less than two weeks, Springmoor’s Pathways Wellness Center will be open to residents and their guests! And it couldn't be happening at a better time. With summer (hopefully) around the corner, many of us are not only thinking about exercise, we are watching our diets, too.

What to Look for When Buying Trees and Shrubs

Thom Morgan

By Thom Morgan
Springmoor Landscape Manager

If you have ever bought a used car, you know that there are a few things you need to check before you purchase it. When buying landscape plants, you should approach it like you would when shopping for a used car. Landscape plants have been previously handled: someone planted it before selling it to the nursery, and the nursery is in business to sell the plant to you. 

Here are some tips to kick the tires, so to speak, when buying a tree or shrub:

Springmoor Gears Up for Pathways Wellness Center Grand Opening on March 25!

By Kathleen Loescher

The exterior of the new Pathways Wellness Center

“Wellness used to be treadmills,” said Springmoor Chief Executive Officer David Ammons, and when Springmoor opened its doors in 1984, the community reflected that: the exercise rooms were small and were filled with stationary bikes and treadmills; the aquatics pool was simply for those who enjoyed water aerobics.

Today, Springmoor views wellness as “whole-person” wellness through the Pathways program that grew from the roots planted in the community’s development. Physical wellness is still a component, but emphasis is also placed on a person’s emotional, vocational, nutritional, social, environmental, spiritual, and even intellectual well-being—aspects that were all taken into consideration in Springmoor’s nearly complete Pathways Wellness Center. 

The community will celebrate the grand opening of the Pathways Wellness Center on March 25 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Sustainable Landscapes

By Thom Morgan

Springmoor Landscape Manager

Thom Morgan

Everyone loves fresh fruit and vegetables; I always look forward to eating the first beefsteak tomato of the summer, sliced over a piece of toast, with mayonnaise and bacon. That goes the same for that freshly-picked ear of sweet corn (boiled just long enough until it is tender, with melted butter, and a sprinkle of salt on it). Yes--I am longing for the summer.

Not everyone has enough land, full sun, access to water, or the time to spend on growing fruit trees, and vegetables, though. 

Here are some ways to get around these problems, and incorporate fresh fruits, and vegetables into any landscape:

Springmoor Starts Work for Stop Hunger Now

By Stacey Axler, intern

Chaplain Phyllis Mayo with the 50,000 meal award

Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community is gearing up for Stop Hunger Now, a meal-packaging program that will aid international hunger-relief efforts.

Feb. 14 marks the third year that Springmoor residents will host a Stop Hunger Now event.

“This is the third year we hosted Stop Hunger Now on Valentine’s Day because it is Springmoor’s way to give our love back to the world,” Springmoor Chaplain Phyllis Mayo said.

Local Eats: Springmoor Residents Can Feast Mediterranean-style at Nearby Neomonde Baking Company

In the 1970s, the Saleh family (mother, Cecelia, and sons Sam, Joe, Mounir and DeGaulle) left war-torn Lebanon for a better life and the opportunities that the United States could provide. They searched around the Raleigh, N.C., area, but could find nothing resembling the bread they gathered around the table to eat at home. So, with a converted pizza oven, a rental space in a strip mall, help from an uncle, and a pita recipe that had been passed down through generations, Neomonde Baking Company was born.   

The Saleh family founded the Neomonde Baking Company

New Year, New Plants!

By Thom Morgan

Springmoor Landscape Manager

Here are a few new plants on the market that are sure to brighten your garden, and your year:

Windcliffslaty blue Lenton rose

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Landscaping the new Wellness Center

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor landscape manager

Thom Morgan

It’s a November morning, and I am standing in front of what will be the entrance to Springmoor’s new Wellness Center. Piles of dirt, broken concrete and construction materials surround the area. Large machines sit parked ready for another day of work. Somehow this soon will be a finished landscape, inviting residents, guests and employees in to use the new center. Where to start? There are no sidewalks in yet, which would indicate where plant beds go. There will be walkway lights, and other utilities that I must avoid covering with plants. There is a transformer box that will need to be hidden, and access to an existing transformer will need to be provided. I make note of other utilities such as a water faucet, which could come in handy. I know the sun will reach the area most of the morning, and into the early afternoon in summer. The main entry of the Wellness Center is on the southeast corner of the Valley building, so it will be well protected from cold winds in the winter. Fortunately, the builder provided me with a plan that indicates where the sidewalks, parking spaces, and lights go, and where windows and doors are located on the building. I now know how people will walk into and out of the building, as well as see into, and out of it. There is a large existing Willow Oak that should be saved. 

This is the inventory, and analysis phase of the design now for a concept. It was very hard to come up with a design, but I wanted to simply match the purpose of the building--wellness--to the landscape.  All of the plants in the plan can be used, or were used, for medicinal, herbal, or culinary purposes. The exception is a specimen Japanese maple, and some Encore azaleas--it’s OK to break some rules and not completely follow the concept; I can justify using the azaleas since they tie in nicely with what we have throughout campus. The Japanese maple--when matured--will have a peaceful, sculptural shape to it.  Now it’s time to locate the plants on the plan. I will start out with the trees first, and choose those that meet the criteria for the wellness concept. I place the trees where they will provide shade from the hot summer sun, and also where they will be noticed as people walk into, and out of the building.

Ready to Feast? Thanksgiving Dining Options Aplenty!

Every Thanksgiving, Springmoor puts on a traditional meal in each dining room from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. If that’s not on your agenda this year, there are plenty of other places to get together with family and friends. Over the past few weeks, both The News and Observer and WRAL have compiled their lists of restaurants with Thanksgiving hours and even those with carry-out options. 

"Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure"

By Kari Richie
Springmoor Health and Fitness Director

Kari Richie

Wellness is more than the absence of disease or sickness. It is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. If we embrace this process and educate ourselves, we are choosing to live a lifestyle of prevention rather than treatment.

One very easy, simple way to prevent disease is to keep on top of health exams and screenings that can help detect issues before they become serious problems. Checkups can also help find problems early, when your chances for treatment and a cure are better. By getting the right health services, screenings and treatments, you are taking steps that help your chances for living a longer, healthier life. Your age, health and family history, lifestyle choices (i.e. what you eat, how active you are, whether you smoke) and other important factors impact what and how often you need healthcare.

Springmoor's Medical Director Moonlights as Award-Winning Photographer

Dr. Edmundson poses next to one of his photographs hanging
in a Springmoor exam room

Most people around Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community know Dr. Wells Edmundson as the community’s longtime medical director, whom they trust to care for their aches and pains. But, outside the community and the medical field, Edmundson is known for something else: nature photography.

“Being a doctor feeds your family, and being a photographer feeds your soul, but I get a lot of satisfaction out of both,” Edmundson says. “If a picture falls off a wall and breaks—nobody cares about that; if you get it wrong with a patient, that’s a whole different story.”

Springmoor Floral Focal Points: Trees and Shrubs for Fall Leaf Color

By Thom Morgan, Springmoor landscape manager 

Thom Morgan

After summer winds down, those of us living in the Northern Temperate Latitudes get treated to one last burst of color as leaves on trees begin to change. Daylight decreases from 15 hours to—eventually—10, causing leaves to compensate for the decrease in light; green chlorophyll fades as the other plant pigments stand out to produce red, orange and yellow. Finally, leaves drop due to what is called an abscission layer, which forms and allows leaves to break away.

Trees for fall leaf color: