Helping hands

A group of Palmer High School students teamed with residents of the Palmer Pioneer Home recently on a construction project that benefits everyone

By Casey Ressler

Valley Life Editor

Wednesday afternoon at the Palmer Pioneer Home, the kitchen looked like a construction zone. Finishing nails were being hammered, wood was being sanded, and the "workers" were sharing conversation.

It wasn't a renovation project -- it was a community project. Eleven students in Tom Lord's Palmer High School VICA club were at the Pioneer Home making shadowboxes with the residents. All 57 residents will get a shadowbox for their room, but they got the opportunity to visit with the students as part of the project.

"We have adopted the Eden Philosophy, in which the residents always come first, and we try to make them part of the community," said Richard Meneghelli, who works in the recreation department and got the project rolling. "The whole point of this project is to match the students with the seniors. We invite the community to come into the home, because it makes our residents feel like part of the community."

The Eden Philosophy has several important points.

"Part of the Eden concept is to prevent loneliness, boredom and helplessness," said administrator Mary Ann Harmon. "We are in the process of developing lifestyle assessments so we can individualize the personal care, which dovetails into fighting those three plagues of aging."

Projects like the shadowboxes not only give the community a chance to interact with residents, but also help the staff.

"We can see life through the eyes of the residents," Harmon said.

The Palmer High VICA students made 30 shadowboxes and brought them to the Pioneer Home Wednesday. Then, residents were invited to the kitchen area to help sand and finish them.

"Normally we do a lot of the projects at the school, but this was a good opportunity for the kids to come out and meet the people here," Lord said.

Lord also got a chance to meet someone who had a direct tie to his job at Palmer High School. Pioneer Home resident Jessie DeVries had a special interest in the shadowbox project because her late husband, John DeVries, was the first shop teacher at Palmer High School, a job he held for 27 years. In fact, Lord is only the fourth shop teacher Palmer has had.

"I've sanded lots and lots of things in my life," DeVries said with a chuckle. "My husband was a handy man to have around."

The project began some time ago, when the resident council came up with the idea to have a personal book for everyone at the home. After a couple of "revisions" in the project, the shadowbox idea was born. Meneghelli then talked to Lord, and Lord said his students wanted to chip in and help.

"Our residents really take away a lot of positives from projects like this," Meneghelli said. "It's another community connection for the residents, and for the students."

Connecting with the community is a big goal for the Pioneer Home, and its residents, Meneghelli said.

"This place has been around for a long time, and sometimes people don't even know its here," Meneghelli said.

"I say they should come and visit, and I always tell them, 'Oh yeah, why not?' I encourage people to come and visit. Our doors are open -- we're not a closed community," he added.

Wednesday, that was evident. While the students helped the residents finish the shadowboxes, they also picked their brains about the history of the town -- and not the history they could learn in school. Some of the students asked longtime Palmer residents about the mysterious tunnels under Palmer, a fact or myth -- depending on who you talk to -- that every teen ultimately wants to learn about.

"Some things they'll have to figure out themselves," resident Bob Dobson said with a sly smile. "We can't give out all our secrets."