ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 19, 1996 TAG: 9612200055
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
Robena Atkinson remembers driving up and down the streets of Roanoke and her hometown of Salem, gazing at the Christmas lights that shimmered against a dark sky.
"I loved to see how different people fixed their lights up, the different designs," she said.
She doesn't get out much anymore. But this year, she has a perfect view of 12,000 colored Christmas lights from her window at Friendship Manor's Healthcare Center.
"I thought they were so pretty," she said. "I just stood at the window and looked. It made me happy."
The lights were a gift from 45 women at Friendship Manor who call themselves "Secret Pals."
The group, made up of staff members from different departments at the center, formed more than 10 years ago to boost each other's morale. They draw names and spend the the next year doing little things for the person they pick - gifts on birthdays, cards when someone's having a particularly bad day.
"It's a neat little thing to do," said Nancy Bowser, a nurse and Medicare/Medicaid coordinator at Friendship Manor. "It helps us get to know each other."
This year, the Pals decided to do something for the residents as well.
"We started by baking cupcakes for Mother's Day and Father's Day," Bowser said.
In the fall they planted bulbs: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils.
This month they chipped in with another group - the Carousel of Clowns - to buy $400 worth of lights to cover the trees and bushes of the center's Memorial Gardens.
Five of the health center's eight units - or some 300 people - have a view of the gardens from bedroom or hallway windows.
For those residents who are able, there is a Friendship Manor bus tour of area Christmas lights. The Elks National Home in Bedford is a particular favorite.
Those who can't get out peer outside.
"I saw one lady at the window motioning to the others, `Come down here and look,''' said Ken Srpan director of retirement services. "They don't get much of a chance, other than this, to see traditional Christmas lights."
It's good reminiscence therapy for the people in the Alzheimer's ward, too, said Sam Keaton, a physical therapist at the center. "A lot of their memories of childhood are based on Christmas."
"I have a family member in that ward," Bowser added, "so it hits close to home."
Christmas decorations can be seen inside the center, too, of course. And many of the residents decorate their rooms.
Atkinson expects to track down her miniature tree any day now. A handmade wreath already adorns the door of the room she shares with her husband, Willie.
Resident Lucille Meador helped decorate the Christmas trees in the center's dining room earlier this month.
Last week she watched the lights go up from the sidewalk and from the hallway window.
"I told everyone to watch for them," said Meador, who's lived in Roanoke since 1955. "They're beautiful. I think everyone ought to have Christmas lights. I was brought up that way."
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