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SUMMER
2001 
From Our Friends Homean article that appeared in the Salem County Record
in honor of twenty-five years at Friends Drive
You Are Invited ...
to an Ice Cream SocialSaturday, June 9, 2001
Rain or Shine
Friends Home at WoodstownFresh ice cream made with an old fashioned steam engine. Fancy toppings and accompaniments included. Live music, entertainment and tours of Friends Home.
Tickets are $4.00 each and just $10.00 per family. All proceeds benefit Friends Home. For more information, call (856)769-1500.
Friends Home at Woodstown will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their current facility on March 27, 2001. In honor of this milestone in their history of service and dedication to the needs of the aging, please join us as we talk to some of the Board members, staff, residents who were there in 1976.
Salem Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends established Friends Boarding Home in 1896, “to provide a sheltered environment for older people.” Its first location, a house on N. Main Street, opened in 1897 and accommodated 12 people. Over the years, improvements and additions helped the Home earn and maintain an excellent reputation for providing quality care and service in a home-like atmosphere.
The Board of Managers of Friends Boarding Home, 1974-76, included: Joseph R. Gemberling, president; J. Willard Gardiner, Sr., vice president; Eleanor E. Erbaugh, secretary; Oakford W. Richman, Sr., financial secretary; Howard K. Urion, Jr., treasurer; Margaret L. Flitcraft, assistant secretary; Hazel P. Bond; Laurence C. Broomell; Doris H. Buzby; William P. Cadwallader; George A. Crispin; Helen B. Haaf; Dorothy P. Kramme; C. Allen Patrick; Grace W. Peacock; Perla S. Polk; Mabel P. Waddington; and Henry G. Waddington.
Howard K. Urion, Jr. recalls: “In the early ’70s, the institution of new federal and state codes for long-term care facilities finally made Friends Boarding Home on N. Main Street obsolete. The costs to make the necessary modifications required to bring the building up to the new codes were prohibitive. The old facility served for 76 years, and it was time to move on.”
Dorothy P. Kramme remembers the Board’s deliberations concerning how best to move forward. “The question came up whether to abandon Friends home in light of the challenges and expenses involved in adapting to meet the newly instituted state and federal standards. But we didn’t! It [building the new Friends Home] was a tremendous undertaking — we weathered trying times. The Board worked very much as a team and served as a support to one another. We stayed together and accomplished a great deal.”
The whole of Salem Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends took on a goal to raise $400,000 toward the new building. Dorothy P. Kramme and Helen A. Zehner co-chaired the Fundraising Committee for the new Friends Home, and the Committee included: Helen B. Haaf, board liaison; J. Sharpless Richie, Greenwich Meeting; Seaville Meeting, no representative; Ernest Smith, Mickleton Meeting; Elizabeth P. Thomas, Woodbury Meeting; Mary and Eric Sullivan, Mullica Hill Meeting; Betty and Arthur Gemberling, Woodstown Meeting; Robert E. Gardner, Hanna P. Smith and John C. Vyverberg, Salem Meeting.
Friends Home at Woodstown was designed to provide pleasant and spacious surroundings in a homelike atmosphere. A full range of services was planned to fulfill the needs of the residents in both the 42-bed skilled Health Care Unit and the 60-bed Residential Unit. As with the old home, residency was open to Friends and friends of Friends — all those who are congenial with Quakers.
The new facility was ready for occupancy and March 27–28, 1976, was designated as move-in weekend. Friends Home at Woodstown opened with 10 people in the Health Care Unit and 15 people in Residential. Within three months, all 102 beds were filled.
Howard Urion remembers Saturday, March 27. “More than 25 Board Members, Quakers and friends joined the families and friends of the residents and patients on moving day. Cars and trucks were lined up waiting to deposit their treasures at the front door.”
Evelyn Volkmar discovered her vocation to work with the elderly while caring for her grandmom. She began her career at Friends Home as a nurse’s aid on April 13, 1976. “Friends Home was, and still is, a good home. It’s well taken care of. They offer good patient care,” said Evelyn, “and I like the people I work with.”
Today, Evelyn Volkmar is a Certified Nursing Assistant in the Health Care Unit. “I feel like I belong here. When some of the most difficult patients you have suddenly (unexpectedly) tell you they love you, it makes it all worthwhile. It lets you know you’re appreciated.”
Irene Woodward joined the dietary staff on May 24, 1976. “Every day new residents and patients were moving in. It was confusing and chaotic and warmly rewarding,” she recalls. “Everything at the Home was entirely new, even the way the meals were served. At the old home meals were served family-style, here we had individual tray service in Health Care and table service for the residents.”
Irene, now a Certified Dietary Manager, comes up with the perfect cake for every Friends Home special occasion. “Special parties are the icing on the pride and dedication I have for my role in the Friends Home. I want to set an example for the younger generation of how rewarding caring for others can be.”
A second Certified Nursing Assistant, Rose Platt, has also served at Friends Home for 25 years.
Louise Powell and Beatrice Van Emburgh moved to the Residential Unit in April and June 1976 respectively. Both enjoyed long professional careers, and they quickly became good friends. Today, they consider each other best friends.
Louise Powell came to Friends Home on April 19, 1976. At 48, the muscle weakness she suffered as a result of childhood polio became an increasing concern. “ I knew I had to do something.” Louise lived in Erie, Pa., with her mother, and her brother, James Powell, lived in Woodstown. “Mother was afraid if something happened to her, who would be there for me. We decided that it was best for me to move to a long-term care facility near my brother. Then Mother moved to Friends Home in 1980.” Agnes Powell passed away in January 1991.
Louise was an active member of Asbury Methodist Church in Woodstown. “I lived in Residential for over 12 years. I liked it better when I could get out and around and take care of myself,” she reminisced. “I still enjoy scheduling the ministers’ visits to Friends Home and proofreading the Friendly News.”
Louise frequently gave organ recitals, to the delight of other residents. “I loved organ music and I bought one and studied.” When she moved into a semi-private room, she could no longer keep her organ with her. At Louise’s request, the organ was moved to the Meeting Room so that she could continue to practice.
Beatrice Van Emburgh moved into Room 211 on June 16, 1976. A Philadelphia native, Bea was taken to Temple University Hospital when she began passing out for several hours at a time. She had worked full-time as a bookkeeper and executive secretary in addition to caring for her mother for 20 years. Bea’s sister owned and operated Red Cross Health Grit in Glassboro and wanted Bea to move closer to her. The sisters chose Friends Home. “It was wonderful! There’s no question about that,” exclaimed Bea.
“People did not come here because of illness back then. They came for sociability and activities. They did not want to be alone, with no place to go, way out in the country,” recalled Bea, sitting in her room. “It’s not the same room, but I’m still here in Residential 25 years later. Then, we were all very active. We enjoyed playing croquet and shuffleboard. We sat outside in our lawn chairs after dinner.”
Louise Powell and Beatrice Van Emburgh can’t hop in Bea’s car and go into town or out to lunch anymore, but they are still best friends. They visit each other in their rooms. Sometimes Bea sits and listens while Louise practices the organ. Most of all, they have many happy memories to share. Theirs is a special friendship, and Friends Home is blessed to still have Louise and Bea as they celebrate their 25th anniversary.
Tom Lyons, LNHA, became Friends Home’s fourth administrator in October 1991. “Coming from the for-profit sector, I wanted to move into the nonprofit world,” said Mr. Lyons. “When the opportunity came to work in a Quaker facility, where devout care toward people and seniors was a rule, I took it. Faith-based organizations place a high value on life, individualism, spiritualism, and the level of care.” For ten years, Tom has commuted from his home in Abington, Pa. “When you find a good community, you want to stay and remain part of the life of the community.
We are looking forward to our 25th anniversary. The Board of Managers and the Institutional Advancement Committee are planning an old-fashioned ice cream social on June 9, 2001, so save the date. Everyone is invited and we will be distributing the details in the near future.”
In summing up the Friends Home anniversary story, it is Bill Jones, a resident in Woods Court independent living apartments since 1986, who says it best: “There is a feeling of contentment — something warm and real that hasn’t just been slapped together — it’s something durable at an important milestone in our lives. It is a transition to new friends with similar concerns. It is a discovery that we are not alone. We are a family.”
For more information concerning Friends Home or the Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social, contact Mary Ellen Brooks, director of institutional advancement, at 856-769-1500.
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Last modified:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
