Maple Ridge Residents Visit Pathways
Pathways was recently very happy to host a visit from residents of Manistee’s Maple Ridge Manor, our nearby assisted-living facility. About a dozen of our neighbors came out for Cream Cup Dairy ice cream, farm tours via golf cart, and visits with our horses. The volunteers who participated felt that this was one of their favorite activities of the summer, and Maple Ridge residents enjoyed their afternoon with us a great deal. “They’ve had fascinating lives,” one volunteer noted. “It was really interesting to hear about their adventures, and also to hear how many people ended up coming back to Manistee County after living all over the country and the world.”
According to another volunteer, “I think the people who came out saw how much we valued them, how interesting we found their stories. They were a great group!”
We’ve been wanting to have this sort of event for awhile now, and are working out more ways to make our facility accessible to those using walkers and wheelchairs. We’ve installed a ramp and lift for our arena, and now we’re working out the best way to get people to the arena itself. As the slope of the land prevents us from creating a paved path, the best route will likely be a wheelchair-accessible golf cart. We’re exploring cost and availability options as we teach our horses that dangling humans (from the lift) are no big deal.
These days, a lot of elderly folks end up residing separately from families. While this can provide greater independence, it often means that children do not grow up surrounded by grandparents. As a result, there's sometimes a tendency to think that your generation is the only one that has had to deal with particular issues. When we spend more time together, we realize that our life experiences can actually be quite similar, and we're all reminded of how much we enjoy each others’ company! We hope to bring the Maple Ridge gang out again before winter sets in, but if that isn’t possible, we know they’ll be out next spring and summer!
According to another volunteer, “I think the people who came out saw how much we valued them, how interesting we found their stories. They were a great group!”
We’ve been wanting to have this sort of event for awhile now, and are working out more ways to make our facility accessible to those using walkers and wheelchairs. We’ve installed a ramp and lift for our arena, and now we’re working out the best way to get people to the arena itself. As the slope of the land prevents us from creating a paved path, the best route will likely be a wheelchair-accessible golf cart. We’re exploring cost and availability options as we teach our horses that dangling humans (from the lift) are no big deal.
These days, a lot of elderly folks end up residing separately from families. While this can provide greater independence, it often means that children do not grow up surrounded by grandparents. As a result, there's sometimes a tendency to think that your generation is the only one that has had to deal with particular issues. When we spend more time together, we realize that our life experiences can actually be quite similar, and we're all reminded of how much we enjoy each others’ company! We hope to bring the Maple Ridge gang out again before winter sets in, but if that isn’t possible, we know they’ll be out next spring and summer!