JANUARY 2016
The Traditions Times
Traditions Assisted Living & Memory Care 609 HWY 150 N, West Union, IA 52175
Phone: 563-422-9200 Fax: 563-422-9300
From the Director’s Chair by Sandy Koester
Celebrating January
Book Blitz Month
International Brain
Teaser Month
New Year’s Day
January 1
Someday We’ll Laugh
About This Week
January 2–8
Bobblehead Day
January 7
Make Your Dream
Come True Day
January 13
Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
January 17–23
Disc Jockey Day
January 20
Belly Laugh Day
January 24
Curmudgeons Day
January 29
Brrrrr!!! Winter has finally arrived from its’ unseasonably long
hiatus! It was nice to have a white Christmas even if it meant
we had to give up our warm weather. The storms I could do
without, however.
I hope this newsletter finds you all in good health and filled
with the joy and anticipation of a new year. The new year is a
fresh page in the book of life, and an excellent time to set
goals for oneself whether they are work or home related or
personal in nature.
Goals are important, but one must also be mindful of how
complex or realistic our aspirations are. We must keep our
perspective so we do not end up as so many do, frustrated
and in the end, failing to reach our goal. Finding balance as
we strive to attain our goal is the key.
I recently witnessed an exercise on Goal Setting during a
local middle school assembly lead by their guidance
counselor. Several students were chosen and asked to stand
by the gym wall and throw 3 beanbags into a milk crate set at
center court in the gym. They were told they would be
rewarded for every shot made. No one made a one. Then
they were allowed to move the crate closer by half the
distance. A couple made it, but most did not. Then they were
allowed to choose a friend to help them by holding the crate.
The friend could move a few steps in any direction to meet
their friends’ tosses. Almost all of them made all 3! The
lesson? You can reach your goals by taking small steps
toward your goal and asking for help along the way.
My ultimate goal is to make 2016 a wonderful year for our
residents and for Traditions. I believe with the support and
cooperation of the community, our staff and our residents,
along with their families, all of us working together, we can
succeed and meet that goal!
January 2016
The Children of Invention
January 17 is the day of the K.I.D.—
that’s Kid Inventors’ Day for short.
This special day honors Benjamin
Franklin’s birthday on January 17.
While most people know Franklin to
be the inventor of bifocals and an
experimenter with electricity, what many don’t
know is that at age 11 he also invented swim
flippers that attached to the hands.
But he’s not the only kid inventor. Perhaps the
following inventions by kids will inspire you to
take your own unique product from idea to
“patent pending” (through the federal Patent
Office) someday soon.
In 1905, an 11-year-old kid from San Francisco
named Frank Epperson stirred some sugary
soda powder with water and left the mix outside
all night. He awoke to discover it had frozen
solid in the cold. When he licked it straight from
the wooden stirrer, he knew he had accidentally
made something delicious. The “Epsicle,” as he
called it, was the first Popsicle.
Staff Emails
Campus Director Sandy Koester
[email protected]
Campus Nurse DNP, RN, Pam Moss
[email protected]
Campus Nurse LPN Nicole Wolf
[email protected]
Activity Coordinator, Krista Ward
[email protected]
Dietary manager, Karen Baumler
[email protected]
On the last day of middle school, Sarah Buckel
watched as a friend struggled to scrape the glue
used to stick posters and other décor to the
locker wall. Over the summer break, Buckel
came up with a solution: magnetic wallpaper.
Fortunately, Buckel’s father ran a magnet
manufacturing company. In no time, her
decorative magnetic wallpaper could be found at
Staples, Target, and other huge chains. Since
2009, sales of her simple product have totaled
more than a million dollars.
Want more examples? Chester Greenwood
invented earmuffs at age 15. Louis Braille
invented braille, the alphabet for the blind using
raised dots, at age 15. Hart Main, 13, conceived
a line of candles for men called “Man Cans,”
offering manly scents like sawdust. Param Jaggi,
at 15, conceived the idea to insert algae into a
car’s muffler to eat up carbon dioxide before it
entered the atmosphere. And Mattie Knight,
dubbed “Lady Edison” by fans, developed a
safety device at age 12 that became a standard
fixture on looms. How’s that for ingenuity?
From Kids to Carols we had a jolly good time
this holiday season!
January 2016
Employee of the Month:
Pam Moss
Pam is a new face at Traditions, she was hired
in November to assist with the nursing duties in
the West Union facility. Pam has been an RN
for 29 years, and most recently graduated from
Augsburg College in May of 2014 with a Doctor
of Nursing Practice Degree. She is married to
Craig Moss, and the two of them have three
children: Mallory Wiese (23), Nelson Wiese
(21) and Cassandra Moss (14). They live near
West Union on an acreage that they have called
home for the past 10 years. Pam also teaches
online in a Master’s Program for Chamberlain
College of Nursing. In her spare time she loves
to spend time with her family, preferably
camping, biking, or kayaking.
Favorite color: Pink
Favorite food: Chocolate
Favorite movie or TV show:
“Big Bang Theory”
Favorite genre of music:
Contemporary Christian
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Pet Peeve: People that are not
accountable for their actions
What I enjoy most about Traditions:
Meeting all of the residents and staff
Day of the Dragon
Why wait every 12 years for the Chinese Year
of the Dragon when you can enjoy Appreciate a
Dragon Day every year on January 16? These
massive flying, fire-breathing beasts are
enough to appreciate in and of themselves, but
perhaps even more fascinating is how the
belief in dragons evolved independently among
ancient peoples living in China, Europe,
Australia, and the Americas. Anthropologist
David E. Jones thinks the widespread belief in
dragons grew from the discovery of dinosaur
fossils or whalebones that seemed to back up
superpredator myths. With real-life 18-foot Nile
crocodiles in Africa and eight-foot Australian
perentie lizards, it seems that humans already
have plenty of reptiles—of the non-firebreathing variety—to wrangle.
We welcome the New Year with
grace and joy…
…smiles & warmth
Resident of the Month:
Augusta “Tootie” Jensen
Augusta (Miller) Jensen (endearingly known as
“Tootie”) was born the first of two children to Gussey
and Benjamin Miller of Clermont, Iowa in 1924.(She
also had two half-sisters who have passed on.) She
was raised a farm girl (who self admittedly “hated
the cows and was inept at milking”) and attended
Clermont schools. During her school years she
played basketball and was quite accomplished. She
graduated in 1942 and as a carefree young woman
she attended AIB in Des Moines earning a degree in
Business and pledged to a sorority she thoroughly
enjoyed hanging out with. She met the love of her
life, Homer, in 1947 while attending an AIB dance
with some of her sorority sisters. He asked her to
dance, then if he could take her home. (She agreed
only if he would take her friends home too.) They
were married in 1949 and made their home in Des
Moines, she working in Finance and Homer as a
banker. Tootie became an avid golfer becoming club
champion as well as a tennis player. She even
earned a Fittest Female award at the age of 40!
After successful careers they enjoyed traveling
before eventually settling down in Arkansas enjoying
retirement and golfing. After Homer passed away
Tootie decided to move back to Northeast Iowa to
be near family so dear to her heart. She moved into
Traditions in 2010. She is a marvel as she exercises
every morning, walks every evening and is one of
the most bubbly and positive people you will ever
meet! She is a lifetime Cubs fan, loves college
basketball, (especially former ISU coach Fred “The
Mayor” Hoiberg) and follows “Tiger” and “Phil” via
the GOLF channel. Traditions staff knows firsthand
there’s nothing better than being crowned “Miss
America” by a spunky senior diva you just delivered
a simple glass of water to…. Tootie.
January Birthdays
In astrology, if you were born between
January 1st and 19th, you are a Goat of
Capricorn. Goats are the most stable and
sure-footed of astrological signs. Reliable,
economical, practical, and organized, they
make good multi-taskers and politicians.
Those born between January 20th and 31st
are Aquarian Water Bearers. Aquarians have
attractive personalities, vivid imaginations,
strong intuition, and a thirst for knowledge.
They also share a strong desire to help
humanity and create unity. Some of note:
J.R.R. Tolkien (writer) – Jan. 3, 1892
Soupy Sales (comedian) – Jan. 8, 1926
Robert Stack (actor) – Jan. 13, 1919
Rakesh Sharma (cosmonaut) – Jan. 13, 1949
Ethel Merman (singer) – Jan. 16, 1908
Oliver Hardy (comedian) – Jan. 18, 1892
Dolly Parton (singer) – Jan. 19, 1946
Neil Diamond (singer) – Jan. 24, 1941
Oprah Winfrey (host) – Jan. 29, 1954
Jackie Robinson (ballplayer) – Jan. 31,1919
Happy January Birthday!
Yvonne Elwood 16th
Cindy Barness 17th
Lisa Johnson 19th
Velma Cox 27th
Quote of the Month
“Your success and happiness lies in you.
Resolve to keep happy, and you and your
joy shall form an invincible host against
difficulties.” ~ Helen Keller