Elders enjoy some early summer fun at Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout
6/27/2016 8:00:00 AM - Andahwod Senior Care

Elders enjoy some early summer fun at Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout

By Joseph V. Sowmick, Photojournalist

One of the true joys of living at the Andahwod Continuing Care & Elders Services Facility is to see the community come interact with the residents. On June 4, our Tribal Elders enjoyed some early summer fun at the annual Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout.

Andahwod Senior Assisted Living Administrator Rosalie Maloney was quick to see the benefit of combining the two special days together.

“Mother’s and Father’s Day is all about family and combining the celebrations made sense to us and it turned out to be one of our most well attended events of the year,” Maloney said. “Each one of the Elders who came received a jewelry bag of gifts but with the cookout and the many prizes awarded at the various games, everyone left with something.

Andahwod Dietary Lead Cook Damon Cornett and his staff were on hand and served up the customary fare you would expect to see at an early summer cookout.

“We had the burgers, brats and hot dogs along with potato chips and fruit but we really would like to thank all the families who brought in their dishes to make it like a potluck,” Cornett said. “I like the variety that brings to the menu we already prepare and you never know what delicious desserts are going to come in.

Andahwod resident Chi Chi Drews thought the Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout event was “all good.”

“I like it all because we get a chance to talk to people that we don’t see often and we get to eat all this good food with them,” Drews said. “I really liked the way they cooked up the brats … they were my favorite.”

Elders Community Activities Assistant Katherine Reid informs during the Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout we had several games played by the elders.

“Overall, I thought the event turned out very nice. There were many people that showed up and also brought a dish to pass,” Reid said. “The Elders seemed to enjoy their games and getting their jewelry goodie bags.

Events at the cookout included ladder ball, horseshoes, water balloon toss and an egg toss where there was a first and second place winner for each game.

Elders Community Activities Assistant Elisa Schleder mentions there was also a ladder ball game for the kids and the top two also won a prize.

“With the  Andahwod Mother’s and Father’s Day cookout, along with the grandparents we know we are going to have a lot of grandkids at the facility and we always want to have something fun for them to do,” Schleder said. “A lot of the kids enjoyed dancing with their grandparents as they did the ‘Cupid Shuffle’ song. For me, the contest was a big hit and there was a lot of laughs with it. We had four winners for that event.”

Schleder also believes there was a hard-boiled egg that someone was using in the egg toss contest but Observer sources could not verify the infraction.

The event also featured the draw for the Ride & Slide Summer Getaway Raffle and Maloney mentions the real winners are the people who come out to enjoy the Elders activities.

“Elder Duane Pelcher won the grand prize where he gets to take a summer getaway to Cedar Point that includes six admission tickets and a $300 Visa gift card. Brenda Nolan won the second place prize of a Pohl Bison Bed & Breakfast overnight stay and two tickets to the summer concert of her choice,” Maloney said. “Tribal Elder and Elders Advisory Board member Marie Kequom won a Waabooz Run golf and dinner package for two. We have a lot of generous sponsors that help our program with donated packages and we couldn’t do events like the cookout without that support.”

The next event for the facility is a 4th of July Parade scheduled at 4 p. m. where Elders are encouraged to decorate their golf carts, ATV’s and scooters with a patriotic theme.