Written by Laura Feiser
To commemorate Creative Week, Garden Spot Communities invited team members to submit short stories, poems and more about their work at Garden Spot. The following was submitted by Laura Feiser, Director of Memory Care.
I was born a Glick. I’ve been proud to be with “the Glick’s in Smoketown” tied to Ken’s Gardens for the past 50 years. Then I married a wonderful man with the last name Feiser, in November of 2021. And I’ve been Laura Feiser ever since. I currently serve as Director of Memory Care (in GSV’s Personal Care Memory Support Building called Meadow View). Prior to that I served at Maple Farm (our sister campus in Akron, PA) for 5 years as their Director of Activities and Volunteers. A fun fact about myself is I have the same birthday as my dad, and my next door neighbor. What are the odds?!
You’ve heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
I like to think a picture captures a special moment in time; a group or special event which may never repeat or happen in the exact same way order or grouping again. A truly unique wonder when you think about it.
Like this group in the photo below: (Back: Josh (Previous Maintenance Technician at Maple Farm, Jake (Former Resident at Maple Farm), Illah (Former Resident at Maple Farm), Front: Betty (Former Resident at Maple Farm), and Front Right: Nouka (Previous International Visitor Exchange Program Volunteer at Maple Farm).
The year was 2019. To set the scene, it was spring season. The bus was loaded, we drove to Ken’s Gardens and all were thrilled to take in the greenery; the ambiance that was the greenhouse smells and sights. Nouka (International Volunteer Exchange Programmer from Laos) had the best attitude of us all. Nouka had never seen a greenhouse and was just as enamored with the experience as the residents were. Staff came together in community, alongside the residents as we met the owners and passively people watched.
The best part though was convincing Jake (the resident) to attend. When I first started at Maple Farm in 2018, Jake was one of the first residents I met. He was known as being “tough to get along with.” But I like a challenge. So, I marched right on into his room, introduced myself and the rest was history.
Long story short. Jake knew my family simply from my last name “Glick.” We ended up reading my great, great grandfather’s mini-memoir book he had published. I’ll be honest, I had yet to read it. But reading it with Jake, it connected us in ways I can only recall through feeling. Each visit with Jake, each chapter, reminded me of the same feeling as the bus trip we took to Ken’s Gardens way back when.
The feeling of friendship, love and the feeling of God’s grace to befriend a resident (I was certain would find me no different than the other staff/residents he didn’t care to chat with.) This is a true reminder of God’s profound plan for us. We are here to connect with certain individuals (and I’ve always believed it’s different people for each one of us), to create lasting memories and to serve those in their most vulnerable time of need. This I believe is our greatest calling.