Garnita had been sharing stories about how she used to love to swing when she was younger. Cassandra was bringing Garnita back from an appointment and they ended up taking a detour to Loomis Park. They took some time to smell the fresh air, and get a few pumps in on the old fashioned swing set! Garnita stated that she was worried that her “rump” wouldn’t fit into the seat like it did when she was younger but it did and she had a great time!

When Gloria made the move to Bickford, she said that she really wished she was able to have her dog, Black Jack with her again. Until Black Jack was able to join Gloria here at the branch, Cheryl brought in her dog, Sandy to work with her. Gloria spent hours with Sandy and took great care of her while Cheryl was working. Gloria said she loves dogs, and Sandy was such a good girl. A few weeks later Gloria was reunited with Black Jack but Gloria and Sandy remain great friends!

Zeta’s beloved husband, Richard passed away while living at Bickford. Richard and Zeta were never apart so BFM Brittney made sure she went with Zeta to Richard's memorial. As the memorial ended, with a tear in her eye Zeta smiled and said “I love you Richard”. Zeta said that it meant so much for her to be able to be at Richard's memorial. 

Flick was a long time farmer in Iowa. You can find him enjoying a good cup of coffee and reminiscing about his days in the field. One day, BFM Nick overheard him talking about going to check his crops. Nick wanted to make Flick’s day and had the perfect idea. He stopped by a local farm and asked the farmer if he could bring Flick by the next day to “check on” his crops. The farmer was more than happy to help out. The next day, Nick told Flick they were going for a drive. They grabbed a cup of coffee and hit the country road. Flick was already happy just being able to look at the fields but then Nick pulled into a farm and invited Flick to get out and check on the crops. Flick grabbed an ear of corn and peeled it back. He said, “It’s dry. It’s ready to come out!” Nick let him keep the ear of corn so Flick could teach Nick more about farming on their way home.

June has always enjoyed making her own bread and used to make several loaves every week at home. She had been talking about how much she missed doing it so Teresa, our Kitchen Manager, got busy planning. Teresa and June spent the next morning making bread. June taught Teresa a few new tricks and they shared many laughs together. “We knead to knead the bread,” they would say with a chuckle. June and Teresa still get together a few times a month to make bread for lunch and spend time together. June’s favorite thing to do is to eat real honey with her bread and she recommends that everyone try it!

Cleo really, really LOVES sports. So when the Fort Dodge Dodger girl’s softball team made it to the state tournament, Cleo was obviously glued to his phone watching the live stream and giving everyone updates. CRD Katie wanted to do something special for him so she offered to take him to a game. For superstitious reasons, Cleo declined the offer. He had been to two of the past state tournaments and they had lost. Katie reached out to the head softball coach and asked if the team would stop by Bickford the day of the championship game so that Cleo could wish them good luck. Coach Adams was delighted to do that for Cleo. The entire team came to Bickford, met Cleo and posed for pictures. Cleo was ecstatic to meet the team and even followed them outside to take pictures and video them driving away in their cars!

Sonja loves the Iowa Hawkeyes just as much as she loves blankets! You will never run into Sonja without a nice blanket or shawl on, even in summer. Chelsey asked her family member to crochet a special shawl just for Sonja in Hawkeye colors - black and yellow. Sonja shed tears of appreciation for Chelsey’s gift. She uses it daily and even asked for a few more to be made for her! When I asked Sonja what she felt she said, “Pure love!”

A week before her birthday, Geri and two BFMs were talking in the dining room about collectibles. Geri mentioned she had collected multiple Precious Moments over the years but when she moved to Bickford, it was something she was unable to bring along. Halley decided to order Geri a Precious Moments figure holding a little flag that said Happy Birthday. Geri was besides herself that Halley even remembered her saying how much they meant to her. She displayed it in her room and enjoys showing it off to everyone who visits!