A Journey Through History
By Jackie Jonovic, Resident Engagement Director for Silverado Senior Living – Newport Mesa
At Newport Mesa, our residents treasure their weekly “History Buffs Club,” where they discuss periods of history from ancient Egypt and Greece to Colonial America, and everything in between.
Recently, our residents explored the American Civil War era. They examined the issues between the Union and the Confederacy, influential people such as Abraham Lincoln and Clara Barton, and the various roles of women during this time. Our residents then helped prepare apple sauce cookies and corn bread based on authentic Civil War recipes.
One of our residents, Betty M., spent many years researching her family’s genealogy, and revealed that she is related to Abraham Lincoln. This fact prompted a lot more discussion and questions from the “Buffs.”
While talking about history is fun, we also make every effort to make history come alive for our residents. On Sunday, September 4th, a group of residents visited a Civil War re-enactment, learned about Union and Confederate currency and talked to the re-enactors about the details of life during this era.
The club also went to the Drum Barracks Civil War Museum in Wilmington, California, the last remaining Civil War era military facility in Los Angeles. The residents were awestruck by the artifacts and intrigued by their vocabulary. The women also enjoyed looking at the uniforms and dresses worn, one resident even proclaimed, “Wouldn’t it be nice if all the girls wore dresses that beautiful again?”
As we left, Betty a picture of Abraham Lincoln and announced, “I’m related to him.” It was a wonderful end to our journey through history.
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