Residents at Alexian Village are lining up to share their stories and relics from the past during “A Walk Down Memory Lane,” which could be described as a senior version of show-and-tell.
The first event, held recently, was so successful some residents were turned away and a second event is already being discussed for sometime in November.
“With all of us being the ages we are, even though we have limited space, we all have treasures,” said event organizer Joyce Hill, a member of Alexian’s Koffee Klatch Craft group, which consists of around 20 ladies who get together to knit, crochet and make crafts they sell to benefit resident groups, such as the activities departments of Alexian Village and Health Care Center as well as the library and scholarship fund for dining room employees. The group also regularly donates to local charities including the Community Kitchen, Bethel Bible Village and Red Cross of the Greater Chattanooga Area.
The keepsakes showcased at the event included exquisite antique wedding dresses, newspaper clippings and wedding albums, a miniature General Electric refrigerator and a Nazi flag, which was given to a resident’s family by a dinner guest who captured it in Germany at the end of World War II.
The group had the idea after putting on a quilt show in conjunction with the recent National Nursing Home Week, which featured special activities for Health Care Center residents each day.
“[The quilt show] was such a success we thought we should have ‘A Walk Down Memory Lane,'” said Hill.
Alexian Village Residents Association President Dudley Meadows made an announcement at the association’s monthly meeting for residents who had items they felt would jar the minds of others to sign up to share their reminders of the past.