Buhler Retirement Community Celebrates...

Recently, Sunshine Meadows Retirement Community celebrated its 60th Anniversary. In 1945, the founding fathers from Buhler MB Church had the vision to create a ministry for the elderly with medical needs. The growth stemmed from a 3 story house to 3 basic levels of care beginning with independent living to assisted living and then skilled nursing care. Al Isaac, along with his anniversary committee, planned and pulled off a wonderful weekend of celebration.

Saturday's sunny skies allowed for plenty of outdoor activities. Some of those included smoked brisket done by Wayne Anderson and Eric Beye, both the Schnigel Fritz Band and the Reno County Brass Quintet entertained the crowds. Classic cars were displayed for the men to enjoy. Buggy rides were given to young and old alike. Sundance Farms provided the two different buggies pulled by miniature horses. The children thoroughly enjoyed the inflatable games, ring toss and spinning the wheel. An evening like this cannot be complete without a few games of Bingo!

On Sunday, the celebration was brought inside to get out of the rain. Keith Pankratz, Administrator, opened the program in the afternoon. Reflections were shared of all the changes that occurred over the past 60 years. A volunteer senior choir, lead by Lois Janzen, sang a number of favorite songs. Nick Rempel, who has been involved at SMRC for 31 years, reviewed how the ministry has grown in different facets over the years. The featured speaker, Peter Wiebe, got the interest of the audience as he shared about ways to age creatively. His speaking ability and humor was a great way to reflect on the 60 years of history at Sunshine Meadows. Many of the attendees of the afternoon festivities enjoyed the scrapbook displays and ours. The recent completion of the 5-plex expansion allowed for a grand opening of the addition. These apartments are especially inviting for the independent person who likes to get out and about but desires to give up the maintenance and yard work. A delightful Faspa was served in the late afternoon. The atmosphere encouraged a lot of old fashion visiting, reminiscing and sampling of the homemade cakes and zweibach.

Sixty years come and go quickly. During this period of time a lot of positive changes have been made to better accommodate the aging population in a homelike setting.