Kendaliers Sing-a-Long Exemplifies Life at Kendal

After hearing the Kendaliers sing on the evening of December 19, I decided to write my blog using the occasion as an example of one of the qualities that makes life at Kendal so special.  As a part of my preparation I asked another resident who had taken pictures that night if he would be kind enough to email pictures so I might include one in my blog.  Typical of the sort of answer that you get when you make such a request here, he said that he would gladly.  He sent me a group of pictures so I could make a choice.

Then I discovered that another of the Kendal bloggers, Reed Browning, had written a blog about the Kendaliers.  Upon reviewing it I found that his excellent description of the event provided the  perfect background for my observations.  Since we were going to have a double take on the event, I decided it was worthy of more than one picture and so published three as a separate blog.

Now as to what struck me in addition to all that Reed reported.  What I noted first of all was that it was a packed house.  Attendance was far in excess of that of the other seasonal things on our calenda. We filled all of our folding chairs.  Then we dragged additional chairs out of the adjacent dining room and library.  The lobby was filled and people were seated down the halls in both directions as well as in the library.  Those arriving at the last minute had to either sit on the floor or stand.

What brought out the largest crowd we've had for any of the other seasonal events?  I believe it was the fact that it was that special thing about Kendal.  The Kendaliers were made up of both residents and staff.  That's what is so special about Kendal.  It's the way that the residents and the staff relate to one another.  We work together on committees.  We plan and carry out special events together.  We see each other as individuals who matter.  We respect one another.  We are on a first name basis.  We care about each other. We do it in so many ways.  And so when we had a Christmas concert and sing-a-long we wanted to be there all at the same time in so far as it was possible.

It's one of the reasons I give thanks that I chose to come live at Kendal at Granville.

Kendalier Pictures

Teddy Westlake leading the sing-a-long.



The Kendaliers - Staff and Residents

The Kendaliers seated during sing-a-long facing audience.

Teddy standing facing audience to lead sing-a-long.

The audience - note standing room only.

Filled the lobby extending into the library

and down the hall in both directions.

Note how close audience sits to performers.

The house was packed!!



The Kendaliers

Good news – Kendal at Granville is no longer without a choir! On the evening of December 19, with a program of traditional Christmas music, the Kendaliers made their debut. They are a nine-member chorus comprised entirely of Kendal residents. The enthusiasm of the standing-room only crowd showed that the community appreciated the group's efforts, and the singers themselves said how pleased they were to have been given an opportunity to return to the hobby of choral singing they had once so much enjoyed. While it's not clear whether the Kendaliers will become a fixture on the Kendal scene, there's little doubt that many residents have been reminded of the lure of choral singing, and so it's likely that other efforts and experiments will soon follow.

The founder and director of the Kendaliers is Teddy Westlake. Having just retired from careers in which she directed both church choirs and community choirs – and a fine keyboardist as well – Teddy realized that she had talents to offer to her fellow residents. From her work as the guiding spirit of the Vintage Voices, Granville's community choir for seniors, she is familiar with the vocal limitations that adults in the seventies and eighties might experience, and she knows how to coax spirited and enjoyable performances out of mature vocal cords. She recruited her singers early in the fall and scheduled one-hour weekly rehearsals during which they learned to blend their voices, listen to each other, and overcome their discouragement that they might no longer have the resonant voices and vocal control that they recalled having had when thirty years younger. She also recruited two talented and non-senior singers, Sandy Wolfe (who works in our Wellness Center) and her daughter Brittany, to perform solos and duets.

The event was held in the large entrance hallway of Kendal at Granville, decked out with traditional seasonal trappings. The program celebrated Christmas, with choral settings of familiar carols and solo performances of reverential pieces, interspersed with a narrative telling of the Christmas story. Afterwards, the community joined with the chorus in singing Christmas songs of all sorts – the lively, the quiet, the rollicking, and the soaring. Several audience members enlivened the occasion by supplying, when appropriate, an aural backdrop of sleigh bells.

When the evening was over, everyone felt warmth about the occasion and gratitude toward Teddy – for her vision, her labors, her generosity. Moreover, the comments that have been making the rounds in the days after the concert suggest that there is a genuine appetite for more choral opportunities and performances at Kendal. Let's hope the Kendaliers have a future.

Better Late than Never

I planned to write this the day before Thanksgiving, but as so often happens in our lives in the words of  Robert Burns “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”   All sorts of things conspired to keep me from following my plans until today.  So here I am at last able to reflect on what there was and is to be thankful about my life here at Kendal at Granville.  One real big thing for me in connection with thanks giving is the very special way in which the Thanksgiving Dinner is handled here.

Our meal is served from eleven to three that day making it possible for us to eat a very leisurely meal.  The menu is fabulous.  So much so that when someone asked my daughter-in-law where she was going for Thanksgiving Dinner and she said she was going to eat with her mother-in-law who lived at a CCRC, and that person said, "Oh that's too bad," my daughter-in-law replied, "Oh no, it's a wonderful place to eat for Thanksgiving, we love the food there. It was our choice to eat there instead of at home.' The fact that my family which includes my son, his wife and two sons - one just beginning college and one a sophomore in high school,  all of whom like to come here so we can enjoy the meal together has a lot to do with making it something I'm very thankful for.

Our menu offered two soups - one a wonderful crab and corn chowder and the other a delicious roasted butternut squash soup.  In addition to the usual mixed greens salad with assorted dressings there were four special salads - broccoli cole slaw, a fresh fruit salad, lemon Seven Up salad and a tomato avocado salad.  The main entrees consisted of honey glazed ham, baked filet of sole with seafood stuffing and white wine sauce, and the traditional roast turkey.  My daughter-in-law told me the sole was really scrumptious and from the number of helpings my son and grandsons had of the ham I know it hit the spot. The sides included mashed potatoes, praline sweet potato casserole, corn bread stuffing, green bean casserole, creamed pearl onions, and cranberry sauce. Of course, there was plenty of gravy.   My daughter-in-law also told me that the sweet potato casserole was very tasty.

 As if all that were not enough for desser we had a wide assortment of pies and cakes crowned  with a luscious chocolate cherry cobbler and warm bread pudding with caramel sauce.   As always cookies and ice cream and assorted beverages were on hand.  Who could ask for anything more?

One of the nice things that the dining department does is check ahead of time to see who has family coming.  Tables are then set up and reserved so that when a family comes in they can be seated together without a great deal of rearranging of tables to get all of the family together.  There are also dining personnel available to help those who need assistance and to keep the tables cleared of used dishes.

Oops I almost forgot to mention that the dining room also makes sure that the tables are set with tablecloths and special cloth napkins.  In addition the dining room is decorated so that you don't feel like it's an institution but a very special dining spot suitable for a family gathering.  Add i tall up and you can see that the Dining Department is one for which I am very grateful here at Kendal

The many other things I'm thankful for here at Kendal are the convenience of housekeeping and maintenance services, drivers to take us to medical appointments, the caring staff, and the chance to live with a community of people who believe in the Kendal values.