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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090710/NEWS/907100367
July 10, 2009
Sheldon residents see their dreams come true
By STACI HUPP
shupp@...
Sheldon, Ia. - Dreams come true
at any age, residents of a northwest Iowa retirement home found out
this week.
Gertie Vander Ploeg, 89, who wanted to learn how to e-mail her children, received a donated computer and free lessons.
Ken Roos, a World War II veteran weakened by stroke, was visited by Army pals who shared a tent with him on Okinawa.
Daloris Rensink, 82, saw the family farm she left behind - from 1,500 feet in the air.
A single-engine airplane carried Rensink over rural Hospers, where she pointed to the house, hog sheds and lush fields she and her husband, Henry, inherited a half-century ago. Their son owns the land now.
"To think we used to walk all those beans," Rensink said. "Just gorgeous."
Workers at Fieldcrest Assisted Living in Sheldon wanted to give elderly residents something bigger than an ice cream social or an arm to help them walk.
"Just because you're older doesn't mean that you still can't dream," said Linda Strubbe, Fieldcrest's resident services director.
A questionnaire about dreams went out. Thirty-four came back.
Balloons, camera crews and flower bouquets helped turn the dining hall into a surprise game show called "Dreams Don't Retire" this week.
One by one, residents were told to "come on down." They did, with smiles and tears on their faces.
Vander Ploeg's hands covered her mouth when volunteers in bright yellow "Dream Team" T-shirts brought her a computer monitor.
Northwest Iowa Community College in Orange City donated the equipment. Students will help the retired shorthand teacher master e-mail.
Vander Ploeg had checked off most of her dreams in life.
She married a "good man" and raised crops and six children on their farm in rural Paullina.
"I've done a lot of things in my life, and I've had hobbies," said Vander Ploeg, who pointed to her quilts and hand-painted china.
"But I never had a computer to send and receive e-mails. Our kids have e-mail. They said, 'If you e-mail, you'll hear more from us.' "
Nine months of hard work and hundreds of dollars in donations went into making 34 dreams a reality.
Roos' son called two men who served with his father in World War II. One drove in from South Dakota, the other from Nebraska.
When a nurse helped Ken Roos walk to lunch this week, "they were sitting on the davenport, and it just blew me away," said Roos, 74.
Creativity stepped in where money and other factors could have derailed some dreams.
A man who wanted to live as long as his mother did, almost 86 years, received a miniature fountain of youth.
Maxine Ruyter, 93, dreamed of meeting Jeff Gordon. She received a NASCAR lamp with pictures of her favorite driver instead. It matches a blanket with Gordon's number, 24, on her couch.
"I just really like the way he races," she said with a smile.
Some dreams were simple.
Aletha Mouw, 82, wanted a piece of pie bigger than the "real skimpy" ones residents get on Sundays. A local bakery donated a whole lemon meringue pie.
"I couldn't believe it," she said.
Some dreams, like Vander Ploeg's, were a journey into the future. Others were a step back in time.
A doll with a red dress comforted Jean Miller as a child in the hospital, but she wasn't allowed to take it home.
"It was Depression times, and we couldn't afford toys," she said. "I must have dreamed about that doll for years. It was a friend."
The doll came to mind when Miller, 80, was asked about a dream.
"I thought maybe at 80 years of age, my dream would come true."
An area shop donated a porcelain doll for Miller this week.
It has a red dress and "Jean 2009" engraved in the back.
Gertie Vander Ploeg, 89, who wanted to learn how to e-mail her children, received a donated computer and free lessons.
Ken Roos, a World War II veteran weakened by stroke, was visited by Army pals who shared a tent with him on Okinawa.
Daloris Rensink, 82, saw the family farm she left behind - from 1,500 feet in the air.
A single-engine airplane carried Rensink over rural Hospers, where she pointed to the house, hog sheds and lush fields she and her husband, Henry, inherited a half-century ago. Their son owns the land now.
"To think we used to walk all those beans," Rensink said. "Just gorgeous."
Workers at Fieldcrest Assisted Living in Sheldon wanted to give elderly residents something bigger than an ice cream social or an arm to help them walk.
"Just because you're older doesn't mean that you still can't dream," said Linda Strubbe, Fieldcrest's resident services director.
A questionnaire about dreams went out. Thirty-four came back.
Balloons, camera crews and flower bouquets helped turn the dining hall into a surprise game show called "Dreams Don't Retire" this week.
One by one, residents were told to "come on down." They did, with smiles and tears on their faces.
Vander Ploeg's hands covered her mouth when volunteers in bright yellow "Dream Team" T-shirts brought her a computer monitor.
Northwest Iowa Community College in Orange City donated the equipment. Students will help the retired shorthand teacher master e-mail.
Vander Ploeg had checked off most of her dreams in life.
She married a "good man" and raised crops and six children on their farm in rural Paullina.
"I've done a lot of things in my life, and I've had hobbies," said Vander Ploeg, who pointed to her quilts and hand-painted china.
"But I never had a computer to send and receive e-mails. Our kids have e-mail. They said, 'If you e-mail, you'll hear more from us.' "
Nine months of hard work and hundreds of dollars in donations went into making 34 dreams a reality.
Roos' son called two men who served with his father in World War II. One drove in from South Dakota, the other from Nebraska.
When a nurse helped Ken Roos walk to lunch this week, "they were sitting on the davenport, and it just blew me away," said Roos, 74.
Creativity stepped in where money and other factors could have derailed some dreams.
A man who wanted to live as long as his mother did, almost 86 years, received a miniature fountain of youth.
Maxine Ruyter, 93, dreamed of meeting Jeff Gordon. She received a NASCAR lamp with pictures of her favorite driver instead. It matches a blanket with Gordon's number, 24, on her couch.
"I just really like the way he races," she said with a smile.
Some dreams were simple.
Aletha Mouw, 82, wanted a piece of pie bigger than the "real skimpy" ones residents get on Sundays. A local bakery donated a whole lemon meringue pie.
"I couldn't believe it," she said.
Some dreams, like Vander Ploeg's, were a journey into the future. Others were a step back in time.
A doll with a red dress comforted Jean Miller as a child in the hospital, but she wasn't allowed to take it home.
"It was Depression times, and we couldn't afford toys," she said. "I must have dreamed about that doll for years. It was a friend."
The doll came to mind when Miller, 80, was asked about a dream.
"I thought maybe at 80 years of age, my dream would come true."
An area shop donated a porcelain doll for Miller this week.
It has a red dress and "Jean 2009" engraved in the back.
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